Arrest Made After SUV Stolen With Child Inside
BOSTON (CBS) -- An East Boston man has been arrested after an SUV was stolen Sunday with a child inside.
Police say Ronald Smoot, 50, jumped into the idling Silver Acura SUV Sunday morning. A 4-year-old child was inside the car while his father used an ATM at the corner of Porter and Bennington streets.
The boy's father, Alcides Henriques, did not want to go on camera but spoke about his fight to get his son.
"The guy come from behind and jumped in over my car and threw me down," Henriques said. "So I hang on to the jacket and he closed the door. I say 'take the car but not my kid, my kid is inside' but he didn't listen, he ran away so fast."
The child was dropped off safely at a nearby Mobil gas station shortly after.
The car was located on Putnam Street Monday morning.
Smoot has an extensive criminal record which includes armed robbery, assault and a standoff with police. He was held on $25,000 cash bail and ordered to undergo a mental health evaluation.
Mark Vitale just happened to be buying coffee when the suspect dropped the boy off at the Mobil station on Meridian Street unharmed. Vitale called police and the boy was reunited with his father.
"He was crying in the gas station... I felt bad for the kid I'm just glad the suspect did leave the kid at the gas station with people there," he said. "I just saw that his dad was really relieved and the little boy was still crying but at least he was in his father's arms."
Saugus police believe Smoot is the same suspect who shoplifted at a Walgreens on Route 1 about 20 minutes after the car theft.
