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Man accused of stealing car with 5-year-old inside, Austin police say

According to Austin police, when the father told the suspect that his 5-year-old daughter was in the backseat, the suspect looked at the child and put the vehicle in drive.

AUSTIN — The Austin Police Department has arrested a man who allegedly stole a vehicle with a 5-year-old girl inside.

According to an arrest affidavit, on Thursday at approximately 11 a.m., the victims in this case went to a residence to purchase a television. When the victims arrived at the residence, the father of the 5-year-old left the child inside of their running vehicle while he approached the residence to get a remote, police said.

As the father was waiting outside of the residence, he reportedly saw a blue vehicle park next to his and a suspect get out of the passenger side and into the driver's side of his car. The father then reportedly ran to the front of his vehicle and yelled that his daughter was inside the car.

The suspect, later identified as Randy Nathan Torres, 19, allegedly looked at the child in the backseat and put the vehicle in drive. The father then jumped out of the way to avoid getting struck by the car, police said.

According to the affidavit, the father chased Torres for two blocks before Torres let the child out of the vehicle. Police said Torres and his accomplice, who was driving the blue car, fled the scene. Police identified the accomplice as Simon Nunez, 17.

Violent Crimes Task Force (VCTF) were able to locate Torres and Nunez by using the stolen vehicle's GPS location. When police arrived at the location, they reportedly saw the two suspects taking property out of the stolen car and apprehended them, the affidavit said.

Torres and Nunez have each been charged with aggravated robbery. A judge set each aggravated robbery charge at $15,000. Torres has also been charged with kidnapping and that bond was set at $25,000.

According to online records, Nunez and Torres were still in Travis County Jail as of Saturday afternoon.

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