A 28-year-old man was arrested on Christmas night after he stole a car in downtown Mountain View that had two children inside, police said.
A woman called Mountain View police at 7:30 p.m. to report that her Toyota sedan had been stolen from the area of Dana and Castro streets.
She told a dispatcher that she had parked and run quickly into a store to get some food while two of her girls, ages 7 and 13, had stayed in the car.
As she was in the grocery store, a man later identified as Francisco Reynoso, 28, got into the Toyota and began to drive away, causing the girls in the back seat to scream, according to police.
Reynoso told both the girls to leave the car, which they did, and he drove away, police said.
Responding officers were able to track the car and found it in Palo Alto. They pulled it over at Wilton Avenue and Orinda Street.
Reynoso was booked into the Santa Clara County Jail for carjacking, felony child endangerment, kidnapping and several outstanding warrants.
I’m glad the children are okay, but never leave your children in the car. She left the keys too. Wow.