Man faces carjacking charge accused of stealing car with two kids inwards
Man faces carjacking charge accused of stealing car with two kids inwards
What to do if you are carjacked
Man arrested, two children found safe after car is stolen with them inwards
Grandmother speaks after children are found safe following carjacking
Grandmother, aunts react to kids being found safe in stolen car
BURTON (WJRT) – UPDATE: (03/24/17) – 29-year-old Leandree McNeal was charged with carjacking and unlawful driving away of an automobile Friday in a Flint courtroom.
A twist came out in the courtroom. McNeal is actually the one who called nine hundred eleven to report the car missing.
Investigators say he didn’t realize an infant and toddler were in the backseat until after he was already driving away in the stolen Monte Carlo.
After he called 911, he kept witness over the kids, waiting nearby where the car was dumped on Flint’s north side until police arrived. Then he ran off. He was arrested a duo of hours later.
Genesee County Prosecutor, David Leyton, says McNeal has prior convictions. This means down the road prosecutors can ask the courts for a mandatory minimum sentence of twenty five years in prison.
The children’s mother will not face charges.
ABC12 was on scene as police discovered the stolen car and rescued the children inwards Wednesday.
70 officers from numerous agencies took part in the search, but it was Sergeant Dunell Chaney with Mott Community College who very first found the brother and sister.
Sergeant Chaney tells us it was police instinct. He says he went to the south side of Flint very first, but came up brief.
Being a former Flint City police officer, he says he determined to go north and check a few areas where stolen cars had been recovered in the past.
Around ten a.m. Wednesday, he found the stolen Monte Carlo, near Dort Highway and Carpenter Road.
“Just, I don’t know what you call it, the luck of the draw or what, just checked that area and that’s where the vehicle was and then the kids,” Sgt. Chaney explained.
When he approached the car, Sergeant Chaney says 9-month-old Lincoln and his 2-year-old sister Arianna were still buckled in, packaged up warmly with blankets. And both of them were howling, most likely in fear.
He called dispatch instantaneously and Sergeant Chaney says he made eye contact with Arianna through the window and attempted to tranquil her down as his fellow officers arrived to rescue them.
“As a parent myself, I couldn’t begin to imagine, you know, what that 2-3 hours felt like for that Mom,” he explained. “I’m just glad the kids were found unharmed and they’re back with their family.”
UPDATE: (03/23/17) – Charges are expected in the next forty eight hours against the man accused of stealing a car with two children inwards.
He was arrested Wednesday afternoon at a home on Flint’s east side.
Police say he stole a car from an Admiral gas station in Burton, with a baby and toddler inwards.
Their mother had gone into the gas station, leaving the car running.
After a three hour search, police found the car ditched on Flint’s north side with both children still inwards.
The man could be charged with kidnapping, child endangerment and auto theft.
The lead detective on the case says this situation is a training moment for some parents.
“As it showcased yesterday, it takes only a split 2nd for something to go bad. Fortunately, this turned out for the good. There have been instances out there where things have taken a turn for the worst and ended in tragedy,” said Detective Eric Freeman.
(03/22/17) – Tonight Burton police say a 29-year old Flint man is in custody.
Burton Police Chief Tom Osterholzer tells us the man -who was taken into custody this evening–will be lodged in the Genesee County Jail tonight.. He could be facing charges of auto theft, kidnapping and child endangerment.
“Gratefully this did not end tragically but it certainly could of–that’s my message–not the time to look at blame–let’s learn from it.”
Words of wisdom from Burton Police Chief Tom Osterholzer after a massive multi-agency manhunt completes with an arrest on Flint’s east side.
“I certainly think this was a crime of chance, the individual, the suspect, was looking for a rail,” Osterholzer noted during a 6pm press conference Wednesday evening.
It all began when Kaytlin Fletcher stopped at this Admiral Station in Burton early Wednesday morning, leaving her car running with her nine month old son and two year old daughter in the backseat.
“I parked my car, I ran in to get cigarettes of all things,” Fletcher said.
Fletcher says she witnessed a man leap in her car and take off with the children still inwards.
A search effort was launched involving fifty to seventy officers searching Flint and Burton and an Amber alert was issued statewide.
About three hours later police located the car on Flint’s north side. ABC twelve news was the only squad on scene when the officers eliminated the children–who were unharmed– from inwards the vehicle.
“Thank God it’s a ease knowing I’ll be able to hold them again and smooch them again,” remarked the children’s grandmother, Courtney Patterson.
When asked if the mother would face any charges for leaving her children unattended in a running car Chief Osterholzer replied:
“When you look at what happened, we can all sit there and go man I’ve done something like that or I know someone who did that, that decision will be made by the prosecutor’s office and that’s going to take some time.”
It is against the law in the state of Michigan to leave a child unattended in a car. As for the suspect–his case will be transferred over to the prosecutor’s office.
(03/22/17) – A baby and toddler have been found safe inwards of a car after it was carjacked by a man at a Burton gas station and a suspect has been arrested.
The kids were found safe hours later on Flint’s north side. At around Five:15 p.m. Wednesday, a 29-year-old man from Flint was arrested.
Police pulled the 9-month-old boy and his 2-year-old sister, who were covered in blankets, from the car. Both are safe and back with their parents.
Family tell us they were just a little cold from being in that dumped car for some time, but are otherwise healthy.
“Thank God, thank God they found them and they are OK. They’re checking them out now. They are safe, their mommy and daddy have them, so thank you,” said Courtney Patterson, the children’s grandmother. “It’s like a super ease knowing that I am going to be able to hold them again and smooch them again.”
ABC12 was on scene as police rescued the children from the car at around ten a.m. Wednesday in the Dort Highway and Carpenter Road area.
In the movie you will only see on ABC12, you can see an officer holding a car seat with 9-month-old Lincoln inwards. Just moments before, his sister, 2-year-old Arianna, was pulled from their mother’s car and taken away in a paramedic SUV.
The chaos embarked at seven a.m. Wednesday at the Admiral gas station in Burton off Saginaw.
The kids’ mom, Kaytlin Fletcher, went inwards, leaving her kids in the car. As she was making her way back out, she witnessed the man in the driver’s seat of her Monte Carlo – driving off with both kids inwards. She yelled, ‘My kids are inside’, but he didn’t stop.
“I parked my car right by the window, right by the door. I ran in to get cigarettes, of all things,” Fletcher said. “My window was cracked, so I did say, ‘My kids are in the car’. It made him speed off swifter.”
More than seventy officers sprung into activity, searching Burton and Flint in a grid system. That led them to Flint’s north side in the Dort and Carpenter area, where the car was ditched.
The man who took it was nowhere to be found. Because he ditched the car, police were not sure if he is on foot or has another rail.
Police quickly searched the scene using several K9s. We observed them take several articles of clothing away as evidence and that Monte Carlo was taken to the police station to look for fingerprints and anything else that might lead them to the suspect.
Burton Police Chief Tom Osterholzer says charges for the man may include auto theft, kidnapping and child endangerment. Ultimately, charges will be determined by the prosecutor’s office.
Stay with ABC12 News and abc12.com as we proceed to learn more.
(03/22/17) – An Amber Alert has been issued for two children who were in a car that was stolen from a Burton gas station Wednesday morning.
Police say 2-year-old Arianna Buning and 9-month-old Lincoln Buning were in a two-door two thousand dark blue Monte Carlo with tinted windows when it was stolen around seven a.m.
It happened at the Admiral gas station in the four thousand block of South Saginaw.
The suspect is described as an African American man wearing a crimson sweatshirt. Call police instantly if you see them or have any information.
Man faces carjacking charge accused of stealing car with two kids inwards
Man faces carjacking charge accused of stealing car with two kids inwards
What to do if you are carjacked
Man arrested, two children found safe after car is stolen with them inwards
Grandmother speaks after children are found safe following carjacking
Grandmother, aunts react to kids being found safe in stolen car
BURTON (WJRT) – UPDATE: (03/24/17) – 29-year-old Leandree McNeal was charged with carjacking and unlawful driving away of an automobile Friday in a Flint courtroom.
A twist came out in the courtroom. McNeal is actually the one who called nine hundred eleven to report the car missing.
Investigators say he didn’t realize an infant and toddler were in the backseat until after he was already driving away in the stolen Monte Carlo.
After he called 911, he kept witness over the kids, waiting nearby where the car was dumped on Flint’s north side until police arrived. Then he ran off. He was arrested a duo of hours later.
Genesee County Prosecutor, David Leyton, says McNeal has prior convictions. This means down the road prosecutors can ask the courts for a mandatory minimum sentence of twenty five years in prison.
The children’s mother will not face charges.
ABC12 was on scene as police discovered the stolen car and rescued the children inwards Wednesday.
70 officers from numerous agencies took part in the search, but it was Sergeant Dunell Chaney with Mott Community College who very first found the brother and sister.
Sergeant Chaney tells us it was police instinct. He says he went to the south side of Flint very first, but came up brief.
Being a former Flint City police officer, he says he determined to go north and check a few areas where stolen cars had been recovered in the past.
Around ten a.m. Wednesday, he found the stolen Monte Carlo, near Dort Highway and Carpenter Road.
“Just, I don’t know what you call it, the luck of the draw or what, just checked that area and that’s where the vehicle was and then the kids,” Sgt. Chaney explained.
When he approached the car, Sergeant Chaney says 9-month-old Lincoln and his 2-year-old sister Arianna were still buckled in, packaged up warmly with blankets. And both of them were weeping, most likely in fear.
He called dispatch instantaneously and Sergeant Chaney says he made eye contact with Arianna through the window and attempted to peaceful her down as his fellow officers arrived to rescue them.
“As a parent myself, I couldn’t begin to imagine, you know, what that 2-3 hours felt like for that Mom,” he explained. “I’m just glad the kids were found unharmed and they’re back with their family.”
UPDATE: (03/23/17) – Charges are expected in the next forty eight hours against the man accused of stealing a car with two children inwards.
He was arrested Wednesday afternoon at a home on Flint’s east side.
Police say he stole a car from an Admiral gas station in Burton, with a baby and toddler inwards.
Their mother had gone into the gas station, leaving the car running.
After a three hour search, police found the car ditched on Flint’s north side with both children still inwards.
The man could be charged with kidnapping, child endangerment and auto theft.
The lead detective on the case says this situation is a training moment for some parents.
“As it showcased yesterday, it takes only a split 2nd for something to go bad. Fortunately, this turned out for the good. There have been instances out there where things have taken a turn for the worst and ended in tragedy,” said Detective Eric Freeman.
(03/22/17) – Tonight Burton police say a 29-year old Flint man is in custody.
Burton Police Chief Tom Osterholzer tells us the man -who was taken into custody this evening–will be lodged in the Genesee County Jail tonight.. He could be facing charges of auto theft, kidnapping and child endangerment.
“Gratefully this did not end tragically but it certainly could of–that’s my message–not the time to look at blame–let’s learn from it.”
Words of wisdom from Burton Police Chief Tom Osterholzer after a massive multi-agency manhunt finishes with an arrest on Flint’s east side.
“I certainly think this was a crime of chance, the individual, the suspect, was looking for a rail,” Osterholzer noted during a 6pm press conference Wednesday evening.
It all began when Kaytlin Fletcher stopped at this Admiral Station in Burton early Wednesday morning, leaving her car running with her nine month old son and two year old daughter in the backseat.
“I parked my car, I ran in to get cigarettes of all things,” Fletcher said.
Fletcher says she spotted a man leap in her car and take off with the children still inwards.
A search effort was launched involving fifty to seventy officers searching Flint and Burton and an Amber alert was issued statewide.
About three hours later police located the car on Flint’s north side. ABC twelve news was the only squad on scene when the officers eliminated the children–who were unharmed– from inwards the vehicle.
“Thank God it’s a ease knowing I’ll be able to hold them again and smooch them again,” remarked the children’s grandmother, Courtney Patterson.
When asked if the mother would face any charges for leaving her children unattended in a running car Chief Osterholzer replied:
“When you look at what happened, we can all sit there and go man I’ve done something like that or I know someone who did that, that decision will be made by the prosecutor’s office and that’s going to take some time.”
It is against the law in the state of Michigan to leave a child unattended in a car. As for the suspect–his case will be passed over to the prosecutor’s office.
(03/22/17) – A baby and toddler have been found safe inwards of a car after it was carjacked by a man at a Burton gas station and a suspect has been arrested.
The kids were found safe hours later on Flint’s north side. At around Five:15 p.m. Wednesday, a 29-year-old man from Flint was arrested.
Police pulled the 9-month-old boy and his 2-year-old sister, who were covered in blankets, from the car. Both are safe and back with their parents.
Family tell us they were just a little cold from being in that dumped car for some time, but are otherwise healthy.
“Thank God, thank God they found them and they are OK. They’re checking them out now. They are safe, their mommy and daddy have them, so thank you,” said Courtney Patterson, the children’s grandmother. “It’s like a super ease knowing that I am going to be able to hold them again and smooch them again.”
ABC12 was on scene as police rescued the children from the car at around ten a.m. Wednesday in the Dort Highway and Carpenter Road area.
In the movie you will only see on ABC12, you can see an officer holding a car seat with 9-month-old Lincoln inwards. Just moments before, his sister, 2-year-old Arianna, was pulled from their mother’s car and taken away in a paramedic SUV.
The chaos embarked at seven a.m. Wednesday at the Admiral gas station in Burton off Saginaw.
The kids’ mom, Kaytlin Fletcher, went inwards, leaving her kids in the car. As she was making her way back out, she witnessed the man in the driver’s seat of her Monte Carlo – driving off with both kids inwards. She yelled, ‘My kids are inside’, but he didn’t stop.
“I parked my car right by the window, right by the door. I ran in to get cigarettes, of all things,” Fletcher said. “My window was cracked, so I did say, ‘My kids are in the car’. It made him speed off quicker.”
More than seventy officers sprung into act, searching Burton and Flint in a grid system. That led them to Flint’s north side in the Dort and Carpenter area, where the car was ditched.
The man who took it was nowhere to be found. Because he ditched the car, police were not sure if he is on foot or has another rail.
Police quickly searched the scene using several K9s. We observed them take several articles of clothing away as evidence and that Monte Carlo was taken to the police station to look for fingerprints and anything else that might lead them to the suspect.
Burton Police Chief Tom Osterholzer says charges for the man may include auto theft, kidnapping and child endangerment. Ultimately, charges will be determined by the prosecutor’s office.
Stay with ABC12 News and abc12.com as we proceed to learn more.
(03/22/17) – An Amber Alert has been issued for two children who were in a car that was stolen from a Burton gas station Wednesday morning.
Police say 2-year-old Arianna Buning and 9-month-old Lincoln Buning were in a two-door two thousand dark blue Monte Carlo with tinted windows when it was stolen around seven a.m.
It happened at the Admiral gas station in the four thousand block of South Saginaw.
The suspect is described as an African American man wearing a crimson sweatshirt. Call police instantly if you see them or have any information.