New Haven police have two people in custody in connection with the SUV stolen Wednesday night with two children inside and said Friday that there will also be a warrant for a 15-year-old.
The SUV was taken from outside Roberto Clemente school on Columbus Avenue.
A 14-year-old was driving the car, according to police, and he was taken into custody on Thursday morning on a different warrant.
He remains at a Bridgeport detention facility and a warrant in the stolen car incident will be lodged on Tuesday, police said Friday. The charges will include two counts of reckless endangerment, which is a felony, according to police.
On Friday, police said there will be a warrant for a 15-year-old who was also in the car.
An 18-year-old who is accused of using credit cards stolen from the car was also arrested, police said. Police have identified him as Dulyn Foreman and said he will be arraigned today at New Haven Superior Court.
Police said the credit cards were in the car, but they do not believe that Foreman was in the car while the children were inside. They said they picked him up at a later time.
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According to police, the children's mother got out of the SUV and left it running as she walked towards the school to pick up another child. The mother may not have entered the building and may have kept the SUV within her view. She said she hadn't even made it to the school building when she turned and her car was being stolen.
"I literally jumped in front of the car and I was like my kids are in the car," Jenny Santos told NBC Connecticut.
The 14-year-old jumped into the car and took off, not realizing the children were inside, police said.
"I ran back into the school and I said call the cops, somebody took my car and my kids are inside," Santos said.
New Haven police canvassed the area while Santos says she tried to track her SUV using the car’s technology.
"My heart, I felt like I was going to die right there. I felt worthless like what am I gonna do," Santos said of those moments.
The teen eventually took the children out of the vehicle and left them by Rice Field, where they were found by a good Samaritan, Kasandra Monteiro, a short time later.
"She was a guardian angel to guard my kids and I just thank the Lord for her," Santos said.
A New Haven police detective spotted the Mercedes SUV in New Haven later and recognized the driver as a 14-year-old wanted on an unrelated warrant. The detective was not able to stop the SUV, but officers located the teen this morning and took him into custody, police said.
The SUV was found in West Haven Thursday afternoon. Police are urging people to lock their vehicles and not leave keys inside.
