Man arrested after stealing car with baby inside in Fontana

FONTANA, CA (FOX 11) - A transient man has been arrested after Fontana police say he stole a car with a baby in it Monday afternoon.

It happened in front of the Chipotle near the intersection of Sierra and Slover in Fontana, after the baby's mother left her child in a car unattended with the key still in the ignition while she went inside to get food.

"The second she turned around to grab her food, she turned around and saw that her vehicle was pulling out," said officer Daniel Romero of Fontana PD. "She started banging on the hood of her car letting him know there was a baby in the car, the suspect ignored her commands."

The suspect drove 15 miles away to Norco before bailing out near the intersection of River Road and Bluff Street, taking the baby with him.

He was arrested by police a short time later, and the baby was recovered and taken to the hospital as a precaution.

The suspect's name has not yet been released, but police say he was arrested for burglary three days ago.

The manager of the Chipotle told FOX 11 the suspect is a transient they've encountered before, and they gave him a free meal shortly before the crime.

"He was trying to eat and he wasn't able to pay anything, so we comped a meal, but apparently the guy that we served and helped actually ended up stealing a car with a baby!" said Freddie Salazar.

"One of the customers actually told us hey some guy stole the baby, and we're like what? And we just came to the conclusion it was the guy that we helped! And at the time we were like "oh F, we just helped this guy out."

According to California law, its illegal to leave a child under the age of 6 unattended in a vehicle, unless they're being supervised by someone who is at least 12-years-old.

It's unclear if the mother in this case will face any legal trouble.

"You don't leave your kids unattended with the keys inside, I have a kid myself so I would know and I would never leave them," Salazar said.

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