SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Aug. 5, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) — Police have arrested a 29-year-old man accused of stealing a car with a sleeping baby inside.
The investigation began at 2:16 p.m. Monday when emergency dispatchers received a call from a woman who reported her car had been stolen with her 8-month-old baby sleeping inside near 100 North and 1300 West.
Salt Lake City police say the car had been left running in the driveway while the woman was picking up her other children when it was stolen.
Police say the man who stole the car, Dimitri Saliba, drove to the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office at 3365 S. 900 West after realizing there was a baby in the car.
When he arrived, Saliba approached an off-duty sheriff’s deputy, handed them the baby and confessed to stealing the car, Salt Lake City police said.
A South Salt Lake police officer who happened to be nearby helped the deputy take Saliba into custody until Salt Lake City police arrived.
The baby was unharmed, and Saliba was arrested for investigation of theft of a motor vehicle, police said.
“This is a very unusual situation and we are all grateful for the positive outcome,” Salt Lake City Police Chief Mike Brown said. “Our officers and detectives started doing everything they could to find this missing child. This case should serve as a reminder of the dedication that police officers and sheriff deputies across Utah have to keeping our communities safe.”
Salt Lake City police officers later reunited the mother and baby.
