UPDATE: The baby’s parents are Pattrick Julbe and and Jennifer Melendez, according to authorities.
Julbe, 27, double-parked in front of a Boost Mobile store at 71 East Kingsbridge Road and left the car running with Melendez and their 7-month-old daughter inside, cops say. He allegedly waved to Melendez from inside the store to get her to come inside to look at a phone case.
Melendez reportedly went inside the store, but immediately exited, and saw the car driving off with the baby still inside. She chased the car heading westbound on West Kingsbridge near University Avenue.
Julbe has ten prior arrests in as many years, ranging from assault to weapon and controlled substance possession.
No charges are being pressed against Julbe and Melendez so far, according to law enforcement sources.
The suspect is described as a Hispanic male between the ages of 25 and 35, possibly Dominican.
There were three 911 calls related to the incident aside from the one made by Melendez. All three calls were made around 7:30 or 7:45 p.m., from payphones. Two of the calls came from the same payphone; those two were in Spanish. That caller informed the operator of the location of the stolen Jeep. However, authorities reportedly believe all three calls were made by the same person, and possibly the suspect, because of the caller’s knowledge of the incident and whereabouts of the car.
The car reportedly belongs to a Pennsylvania resident named Angel Luis Ramos who told police Julbe had permission to use his car.
Metro’s original story is below.
A car robbery turned into a kidnapping last night when a man made off with a Jeep with an infant inside.
Police report that a man jumped into a 2005 Grand Cherokee when the occupants had stepped out, and sped away.
A 7-month-old baby girl was inside the car.
The theft occurred at around 6:30 p.m. last night. The car was found about two miles south at Goble Place and Jerome Avenue about an hour later. The baby was inside, unharmed.
The police caught the suspect on surveillance camera (video below) in a parking garage at 1521 Inwood Avenue, about a block away from where the car was found. The suspect had tried to park the car around 20 minutes after the theft.
DNAinfo reported that the vehicle’s occupants were the infant’s parents, who had parked their car on East Kingsbridge Road between Morris and Creston avenues, with the keys and the infant inside.
The police are requesting the public’s help in finding the suspect, who they describe as a heavy-set Hispanic man in a black and white striped shirt and a baseball cap.
Follow Danielle Tcholakian on Twitter @danielleiat
