Boston police arrest wanted man who allegedly stole truck with toddler inside

BOSTON — Police in Boston have arrested a wanted man who allegedly stole a truck with a toddler inside before dropping the young child off at a busy intersection earlier this month.

Cristofanes “Christopher” Mendes is slated to be arraigned in Boston Municipal Court on charges including reckless endangerment of a child, larceny of a motor vehicle, and unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle in connection with a kidnapping incident that occurred on Friday, July 14, at Geneva Avenue and Leroy Street in Dorchester, according to the Boston Police Department.

Mendes, who was added to the department’s “Most Wanted List” last week, was arrested without incident in the area of Massachusetts Avenue and Chesterton Street in Roxbury around 10:30 a.m. Monday.

Officers responded to the intersection of Geneva Avenue and Leroy Street on the afternoon of July 14 for the reported kidnapping. The victimized family told police that they had pulled over to tend to the 2-year-old when the suspect entered their truck and sped down the road with the baby still inside.

Surveillance video showed the stolen truck fleeing down Geneva Avenue toward Bowdoin Street as the family tried to chase down the alleged kidnapper. The truck is then seen returning moments later and speeding down the wrong way of a one-way before opening the front door and dropping the car seat holding the child on the street corner. A woman then swoops in, picking up the child from the curb.

The stolen truck was found abandoned an hour later on Columbia Road, a mile from where the alleged kidnapping took place, Boston police said.

An investigation remains ongoing.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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