Pocatello police have identified the suspect alleged to have stolen a mother’s vehicle from a local Walgreens last week while her infant was still inside and are asking for the community’s help in locating him.
The investigation into the harrowing incident is still ongoing, police told the Idaho State Journal on Thursday, however, officers are unable to release the suspect’s name because he is under the age of 18.
“This individual has been identified and the case is still ongoing,” Pocatello police said in a news release posted to Facebook on Tuesday. “We would like to speak with him and are having a hard time contacting him. If you see him please contact dispatch. There is a chance that he is on the run and was last known to be heading west across Idaho from the area of Jerome County.”
Pocatello police detectives told the Journal that the suspect was recently placed in Pocatello at a home for runaway juveniles after fleeing his home in the Boise area of Ada County. The suspect has apparently fled the Pocatello area following the alleged theft of the mother’s vehicle on the evening of Aug. 27.
The entire alleged vehicle theft incident lasted only about 15 minutes, but was long enough to leave the mother terrified of what could have happened.
The ill 4-month-old baby girl was returned to her mother the night of Aug. 27 and officers the following morning located the woman’s Dodge Journey compact SUV abandoned on West Alameda Road.
The incident began to unfold around 8:40 p.m. at the Pocatello Walgreens on the 900 block of Yellowstone Avenue when the local mother parked her Dodge Journey and ran into the drug store to get her ill 4-month-old baby girl some medicine, police said.
The mother unfortunately left her vehicle running and the suspect stole the SUV while her sick infant was on board in a car seat before speeding away.
The terrified mother immediately called 911 after exiting Walgreens and realizing that her vehicle and infant daughter were gone.
Pocatello police began an immediate search for the suspect that remains ongoing.
About 15 minutes after the initial theft, a local resident found the baby girl and car seat in a grassy area off nearby Wilson Avenue and contacted police.
Pocatello police rushed to the scene, located the infant and reunited her with her mom. The infant was uninjured when found, police said.
The suspect was spotted in the Jerome County area earlier this week and it’s believed that he is heading back toward his original home near the Boise area of Ada County, police told the Journal on Thursday.
Criminal charges in connection to the alleged vehicle theft are pending with the Bannock County Prosecutor’s Office until the suspect is arrested, police said.
Officers described the suspect as being about 5 feet, 11 inches tall and weighing approximately 160 pounds. The suspect has a shaved head at this time, police said.
If you have any information about the suspect in this case, please contact the Pocatello Police Department immediately at 208-234-6100.
Local Pocatello, ID
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