LCPD: Man stole car left running, unattended; 5-year-old girl inside vehicle
Las Cruces Police say a five-year-old Las girl is back home with her parents after a man stole her parents’ car while she was inside the vehicle. Police say the vehicle was left running and unattended.
Police charged 35-year-old Victor Castillo, of the 9500 block of Alegria Court in unincorporated Dona Ana County, with a third-degree felony count of child abuse and one fourth-degree felony count of unlawful taking of a motor vehicle. Castillo was jailed without bond.
Police learned a 2017 Chevy Cruze, with the 5-year-old girl in the backseat, was left running near a home on the 1800 block of Thomas Drive shortly after 7 a.m. on Thursday, March 14, 2019.
The young girl’s mother went back into her home for a moment. When she returned, her car and daughter were gone. Police immediately canvassed the area and alerted all area law enforcement agencies to be on the lookout for the stolen vehicle and the young girl.
About an hour after the vehicle was stolen, a New Mexico State Police officer spotted the vehicle heading east on I-10 toward El Paso. The officer relayed the information to other agencies and followed as the vehicle exited I-10 at State Road 404, near Anthony, New Mexico and began traveling west on Stern Road.
The state police officer engaged in a relatively slow-speed pursuit before the Chevy Cruze came to a stop on Stern Drive and west Berino Road. The driver, identified by police as Castillo, was taken into custody and the 5-year-old girl was located inside the vehicle. The girl showed no signs of physical injury, police said.
Police remind motorists to refrain from leaving vehicles unattended while warming up. Children should never be left unattended in a vehicle, running or not.
“We’ve had a few warmup thefts in the last few weeks. Obviously. it’s devastating anytime your vehicle is stolen, but for it to be taken with the keys inside when you know it’s preventable, and then, obviously, in today’s case, the outcome could have been much more tragic,” said Las Cruces Police Spokesman Dan Trujillo.
