Police have arrested a man who stole a car with two children in it in downtown Mountain View on Christmas Day and drove it to Palo Alto.
According to a Mountain View Police Department news release, around 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Mountain View Police received a call from a woman who claimed her Toyota sedan had been stolen on Dana and Castro Streets. She parked the car and rushed to the grocery store to buy groceries while her two daughters, aged 7 and 13, remained inside, she said.
While she was in the store, a man who was in the store got into her car, a Toyota, and started driving. Two girls in the back seat started screaming and a man told them to get out of the car, according to a news release. When they did, he drove off, police said.
Mountain View Police tracked the vehicle to Palo Alto's Ventura neighborhood, where he was arrested around 8:00 p.m. They detained the man on Wilton Avenue and Olinda Street without incident, according to a news release.
According to police, the man is a 28-year-old temporary resident with no fixed address. He was booked into the Santa Clara County Jail and charged with carjacking, felony child endangerment and kidnapping, and having several outstanding warrants.