The man who allegedly stole a vehicle in Harlem with a baby inside on Tuesday told police he was “sorry” before being apprehended.
Officers took 34-year-old Jakyrie Grant into custody and retrieved the child unharmed. Police say Grant has a prior arrest history involving car theft, and allegedly stole a vehicle days earlier in the confines of Brooklyn’s 94th Precinct.
According to NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell, the Harlem incident occurred at 8:50 a.m. on June 18 near the corner of 134th Street and 8th Avenue, in the confines of the 32nd Precinct.
Authorities said a father left the car idling with a 1-year-old baby inside while he ran into a daycare center.
“On video we do see a male lurking across the street who takes advantage of the car running and jumps in the car,” Chief Chell said.
But Grant, police sources said, apparently did not realize he stole more than a car. By the time he did, police had launched a massive, citywide hunt for the stolen car and infant.
The NYPD called a Level 3 mobilization, and police took the extraordinary measure of shutting down all Manhattan crossings, hoping to catch the kidnapper before he could leave the island.
Police then learned that the father had left his cellphone inside the stolen vehicle, which allowed cops to track it. Detectives then took a chance and called the phone — and incredibly, Chell said, the suspect picked up.
“The perpetrator and told us where he was and that he was sorry,” Chief Chell recounted.
Police located Grant at the corner of 72nd Street and 1st Avenue on the Upper West Side, where they placed him under arrest. He was charged with kidnapping, grand larceny auto, and acting in a manner injurious to a child.
But as Chell noted, cops were most relieved that the baby was found unharmed.
“We didn’t want a situation where a baby was left in the car with the heat, so it was it was a nice job all around,” Chief Chell said.
Police remind drivers not to leave their cars running unattended, and never to leave their children alone inside vehicles.
