Cops: Men stole car with child inside

NEW HAVEN — Police have released images of the men who allegedly stole a car with a child in the back seat.

Police continue to search for several men who allegedly sped off in a woman’s car after she went inside a bodega to buy snacks for her young son on Nov. 24, according to a news release. Police on Tuesday released surveillance images taken from neighborhood cameras showing the suspects as well as a car driven by an alleged accomplice.

The incident happened at about 2:30 a.m. in the 1300 block of State Street, between Rock and May streets. After the woman came out of the store, she saw her Honda Odyssey was gone, along with her child who was inside the car. She called police from the gas station across the street because her cellphone was in the car and the bodega owner would not help her, the release said.

When police arrived, she described what happened and what her son was wearing. Another woman who had seen the mother talking to police said she witnessed several young, black men get into the woman’s car and drive off toward Willow Street, the release said.

All available patrols were assigned to search for the car and Connecticut State Police and neighboring departments were notified. Officer Joseph Silvestrini, who was on patrol, found the boy as he rounded the corner to Rock and Ridge streets. Silvestrini saw a man waving at him next to a boy who was wearing a T-shirt, shorts and winter hat, according to police. Silvestrini wrapped the boy in his uniform coat and returned the child to his mother. Medical responders brought the woman and child to the hospital to havethe boy checked out as a precaution.

Since the woman’s cellphone was active in the car, police located it in Hamden, and around4 a.m. Hamden police recovered the Honda where it was abandoned on the block of Woodstock Road, the release said. The woman’s cellphone and keys were found nearby.

The case remains under investigation and anyone with information is urged to contact police.