A carjacker abandoned a child on the side of the road in Florida after allegedly stealing a car from a mother who had just gotten out to exchange information following an accident.
The Broward County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that the suspect responsible for the alleged carjacking, Willio Petioma, 35, was caught after an anonymous tip led to his arrest.
Officials said the incident took place on Wednesday, June 26, just before 8:30 a.m., when a call about a stolen vehicle was reported in Oakland Park.
The preliminary investigation revealed the victims, a mother and her 3-year-old daughter, were involved in a car accident with another vehicle.
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Broward Sheriff’s Office Special Victims Unit detectives arrested the suspect who carjacked a woman and drove off with her child in the back seat. (Broward County Sheriff’s Office)
When the mother exited her car to exchange information with the other driver, an unknown adult male entered the driver’s side of her vehicle and began to drive away with her child inside, police said.
Investigators said the mother grabbed onto the front passenger door of her vehicle and yelled out to the suspect that her child was inside the car. The mother was then dragged before falling to the ground as Petioma drove away.
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Officials said an anonymous tip led to the identification of the suspect, 35-year-old Willio Petioma. (Broward County Sheriff’s Office)
Investigators obtained surveillance video of Petioma that captured the entire ordeal.
Video shows Petioma getting out of the vehicle with the child in the car seat. He then leaves her on the sidewalk.
Luckily, a couple of Good Samaritans immediately go up to the abandoned child.
Additional surveillance video shows Petioma abandoning the vehicle and then using the victim’s credit card at a Family Dollar store, police said.
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Good Samaritans jump into action after a child was left on the side of a road in Florida during a carjacking. (Broward County Sheriff’s Office)
On Sunday, June 30, officials said Petioma was taken into custody and booked into the Broward County Sheriff’s Office Main Jail.
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Authorities said he is facing charges that include kidnapping, carjacking, interfering with custody of a minor and illegal use of a credit card. He was also arrested on a Palm Beach County warrant for possession of cocaine and resisting an officer.
