A man is behind bars after stealing a car with an 8-month-old baby sleeping inside. The Salt Lake City Police Department announced that it had arrested a 29-year-old man in connection to the incident.

SLCPD has identified the suspect as Dimitri Saliba who was booked into the Salt Lake County Metro Jail on a charge of theft of a motor vehicle. The case is being reviewed by the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office.

Around 2:16 p.m. on August 5, 2024, SLC911 received a call from a woman reporting her vehicle stolen with her baby inside near 100 North 1300 West. Officers responded and gathered information so authorities could search for the vehicle.

SLCPD’s Auto Theft Unit used license plate reader technology to find the vehicle’s last known location. SLCPD says the preliminary investigation indicates that Saliba stole the vehicle as it was running in a driveway while the mother finished picking up her other children.

Once the suspect realized an infant was in the vehicle, he allegedly drove to the sheriff’s office at 3365 South 900 West, handed the baby to someone, and said he had just stolen the vehicle.

The person who took the baby was an off-duty deputy with the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office. The deputy took the baby and ordered Saliba to get on the ground. A South Salt Lake police officer responded and helped take Saliba into custody.

The child was not hurt and has since been reunited with her mother.

 

Today, with the help of @SouthSaltLake Police and @SLCO_Sheriff, our officers arrested a 29-year-old man who is accused of stealing a car that had an 8-month-old baby sleeping inside.

Link: https://t.co/Akl0l9Fx9h
#SLC #SLCPD #SaltLakeCity pic.twitter.com/ScVhy24NWc

— Salt Lake City Police (@slcpd) August 5, 2024