Willimantic police have arrested a man who is accused of stealing a vehicle with a 3-year-old boy inside on Wednesday night and he has been charged with kidnapping and additional charges.
Police received several 911 calls around 4:17 p.m. on Wednesday from people who said someone had just stolen a vehicle with a child inside of it at the Valero Gas Station.
Officers immediately responded, started searching for the vehicle and they were able to track it.
They found the child safe in Lebanon, according to the arrest warrant. The little boy was taken to to Windham Hospital to be evaluated for back and hand pain.
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Police took 28-year-old Hainef Baker into custody in Preston and brought him back to Willimantic, where he was charged with kidnapping in the second degree, robbery involving occupied motor vehicle, risk of injury to a minor, larceny of a motor vehicle first offense and breach of peace in the second degree, police said Thursday morning.
According to the arrest warrant, Baker told police that he started to panic when he realized a child was in the back seat and he debated about turning around and bringing the car back, but knew he would be arrested, so he kept going.
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He told investigators that he tried to calm the child by playing music and telling him he would be back with the person he had been with soon, the warrant says, then he dropped the child off at a building that looked like a house.
Fifteen minutes into his drive, Baker dropped the child off at Meadow Hill Veterinary Shoppe in Lebanon.
Workers said he placed the child into a customer’s front seat while she was there picking up her dog. According to court documents, Baker stole an iPad from the vehicle before continuing on with the stolen Volkswagen.
When he ran out of gas, he left the car he took from the gas station in the woods, started walking toward the casino and police found him, according to the warrant.
“After the last appointment of the day, the client went to leave and came right back in and said, there’s a child in my car and it’s not mine. So we went outside and there was a child just sitting in the car crying,” Hannah Ruble, a veterinary assistant, recalled.
“We brought him inside and just offered him food, kept him calm. The police responded very quickly, they were here within five minutes, and after a couple hours, mom was here…good little reunion. The kid was very brave though the entire thing," Ruble continued.
The boy was taken to the hospital as a precaution.
“The silver lining out of this bad situation is the fact that at least he was left somewhere safe and warm, versus on the side of the road where anything could have happened,” Ruble added. “The little boy was very brave and he was so polite while he was here. He’s a very good kid, and I hope that the events don’t have a lingering effect on him.”
He was held on a $250,000 bond and appeared in Danielson Superior Court on Thursday.
Police said on Wednesday that the Department of Children and Families was made aware of the incident and Connecticut State Police said they are assisting Willimantic police with their investigation.
