Gardaí believe a serial offender, with a history of convictions for chaotic crimes, was behind the theft of a car that resulted in a major security alert because a baby was in the back of the vehicle when it was taken.
The suspect, a Dubliner in his late 40s, has committed almost identical crimes in the past when he stole cars from roadsides or car parks as the owners had stepped out of them momentarily.
However, gardaí strongly suspect the man did not realise the baby girl was in the back of the car he stole on Mountjoy Square in Dublin’s north inner city on Monday afternoon.
The girl, aged five months, was in the back of a silver Nissan Qashqai hatchback when it was stolen from Mountjoy Square West, at about 1.50pm, leading to the major alert.
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Prolific criminal with chaotic history suspected of stealing car in Dublin with baby girl inside
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The car, with the child still in it, was located parked on North Richmond Street, Dublin 1, shortly after 4pm by a garda unit on patrol and reunited with her parents soon thereafter.
Gardaí believe the man who stole the vehicle quickly realised the child was in the back and then abandoned the car where it was later found, on a side street around 600 metres from where it was stolen.
“Obviously a very traumatic time for the mother and father with their baby girl gone missing like that but thankfully they were all reunited together shortly after 4pm,” Supt Liam Geraghty said at a media briefing on Monday evening.
When the vehicle was stolen, after the child’s mother had stepped out of it briefly, gardaí were alerted and issued a Child Rescue Ireland (CRI) alert. There are issued to the media in a bid to generate nationwide publicity when a child has been abducted or there is a serious risk to the health and welfare of a child that cannot be located.
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However, the CRI alert was cancelled on Monday afternoon after the baby girl was found safe and well, though gardaí stressed the incident was a serious one and that a significant criminal investigation was now under way.
Gardaí were now searching for the suspect for the offence and have called to a number of locations looking for him, though he is said to lead a transient lifestyle. He has spent periods of his life with no fixed address.
The man, who has previously resided at a property in the north inner city, has a history of serious drug addiction and has spent time in prison. He has convictions for car theft and stealing money from people during bogus car sales.
Some of his crimes have been opportunistic while others have been pre-planned.
In other cases he has handled stolen vehicles and sold them, resulting in the loss of very large sums of money for the victims. He has also engaged in burglaries of business premises.
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