2 Juveniles Charged In Meriden For Stealing Car With Child Inside

MERIDEN, CT — Two juveniles have been charged with stealing a vehicle in November that had a two-year-old child inside, according to a police statement. Police received a call Nov. 5 at 12:45 p.m. reporting an Audi had been stolen on Liberty Street while parked in front of the address.

Police learned that the two-year-old child was several hundred feet from where the Audi was stolen. Police believe the thieves removed the child from the car and left the child on the side of Liberty Street.

Witness accounts and surveillance footage show that the suspects in the vehicle theft were accompanied by another car, a Hyundai Elantra. After the child was left on the side of the street, both the Hyundai and the Audi drove on East Main Street.

Near 110 E. Main St., the Hyundai was passing other vehicles in an erratic manner and crashed into two other cars, according to police. The Audi then pulled up next to the crash, and the Hyundai's driver got in the Audi and fled.

The Hyundai was determined to be a stolen vehicle which was totaled in the crash. One of the other vehicles in the wreck, a Tesla, was also significantly damaged.

Police recovered the stolen Audi 10:15 p.m. the same day, which had been abandoned in Middletown.

Meriden and Middletown police investigated the case. Two juvenile arrest warrants were obtained, with both suspects charged with third-degree larceny and conspiracy to commit third-degree larceny.

Both juveniles are Middletown residents, according to police. One warrant has been served and the juvenile was issued a juvenile summons and released to a parent per the warrant's stipulation. The other juvenile warrant is expected to be served Wednesday with the same release conditions.