Authorities arrest 16-year-old suspect who they say kidnapped seven-month-old baby



Photo: Harris County Precinct 4 Constable Photo: Harris County Precinct 4 Constable Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Authorities arrest 16-year-old suspect who they say kidnapped seven-month-old baby 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

A 16-year-old boy has been accused of stealing a woman's car with a 7-month-old baby and later abandoning the baby in freezing weather has been taken into custody, Harris County Precinct 4 announced at a news conference Thursday morning.

The 16-year-old has been charged with theft of a vehicle and child endangerment, according to authorities.

Deputies arrested the teen at Nimitz High School, where he was a student, on Wednesday just after 4 p.m., said Precinct 4 Constable Mark Herman. He's no longer a student there, Herman said.

"In 32 years, you think you've seen it all in this business, but when you have someone who would take a kid and just set her in an alleyway, it's just mind-boggling to us," Herman said. "You think you've seen it all but you haven't."

Herman said his office received tips from people who had heard the 16-year-old "bragging" about the incident, and were able to find out where he went to school and arrest him there.

The incident unfolded on Jan. 1 at a Shell gas station in the 21500 block of Aldine Westfield Drive, in Humble, after a mother went inside the store and left her baby, Allison King, in the car.

According to police, the mother left the car running.

While the mother was gone, a male now believed to be the 16-year-old suspect went into the unlocked 2007 black Nissan Sentra and drove off with the baby in tow.

After deputies launched a search around the area. Herman said more than 120 patrol vehicles from partnering agencies were called help. They were able to find the baby six miles away in an alleyway near the Aldine Westfield and Beltway 8 intersection, Herman said.

Herman said the search lasted for two hours, involving helicopters from the Texas Department of Public Safety, units from the Harris County Sheriff's Office and local school districts.

Finally, he said, around 9:30 p.m., a deputy pulled into an alleyway near an apartment complex called Greenbriar Colony, and happened to find the baby barely noticeable in the bushes.

Herman noted the temperature that night in the Houston area was in the twenties and if they had not found the baby, he believes she would have died.

"It was the coldest day of the year," he said. "The good lord upstairs was looking out for this kid."

The suspect, whose identity was withheld due to his age, was interviewed by police but he would not cooperate or say anything, Herman said. His parents were also not cooperating, Herman said, but he would not go into more detail about why.

Herman said prosecutors will make a decision about whether to try him as an adult.

"I hope they certify him as an adult," Herman said. "I think this kid needs help and this may be the way to get it."

Herman said deputies believe he may be responsible for other crimes in the area, but declined to elaborate.