PIEDMONT — Carjacking suspects allowed a woman to remove her infant child from the vehicle Sunday morning before stealing it, police said.
The vehicle was later recovered in East Oakland and a 19-year-old Rodeo man was jailed, police said.
The carjacking happened about 9 a.m. Sunday in the 1200 block of Grand Avenue.
Police said a 38-year-old woman was putting her 5-month-old child into a 2018 BMW near her home when two men approached her and demanded her purse, keys and mobile phone.
The suspects allowed the woman to remove the child from the BMW before driving it away, police said. No one was injured.
Police said officers worked with BMW representatives and were able to track the stolen car. It was traced to several different locations in Oakland throughout the day but was not found by police at any of them.
A California Highway Patrol helicopter was brought in to assist officers in the search. About 4 p.m. Sunday the helicopter officers located the BMW at a tire shop in the 8300 block of International Boulevard, where it was getting a flat tire repaired, Capt. Chris Monahan said.
Oakland police responded and detained five people at the shop — the 19-year-old Rodeo man and four females, police said. The man was eventually identified by the victim as one of the suspected carjackers and he was arrested on suspicion of carjacking and possession of a stolen vehicle. The females were released.
The arrested suspect was being held at Santa Rita Jail in lieu of $110,000 bail. The second carjacker is being sought.
Anyone with information about the case and the second suspect is asked to call Piedmont police at 510-420-3000.