Authorities have arrested an 18-year-old man accused of stealing a vehicle with two young children inside before abandoning it, according to the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office.
Jorge Richar Casola-Martinez was taken into custody on Monday and is facing multiple charges, including kidnapping and grand theft, in connection with the Jan. 22 incident.
Deputies responded to a call at a warehouse in the 7100 block of Northwest 50th Street after a white Mitsubishi Outlander was stolen while the children’s mother briefly stepped away.
Police issued a “Be On the Lookout” alert, and officers later found the abandoned vehicle near Northwest 74th Avenue and 47th Street with the 2-year-old and 6-year-old still inside, unharmed.
Surveillance footage and GPS tracking led investigators to Casola-Martinez, who was later stopped and arrested in Miami Lakes. Following his arrest, he allegedly admitted to stealing the vehicle and abandoning it upon realizing the children were inside.
