Three Florida children were kidnapped when the rental car they were sleeping in was carjacked Saturday morning.
Local 10 reports that video surveillance captured 26-year-old Noel Castro commandeering a Nissan Versa from in front of a motel along Tamiami Trail and Southwest 23rd Avenue, just south of the Little Havana neighborhood.
According to CBS News, the mother reported her car stolen with her children inside around 3:05 a.m. on Saturday.
“The mother parked her vehicle along the side of the street and left her children, ages 1, 10, and 12, asleep inside the vehicle for just a few minutes,” the report stated. “When she returned moments later, she discovered that her vehicle had been stolen.”
At some point, the 12-year-old girl woke up to find a stranger in the vehicle. She told police that Castro looked at her and said, “I got something for you,” then took off his shirt. Castro exited the car and fled on foot.
Castro abandoned the Nissan near Beacon Boulevard and Southwest Sixth Street, where police later found the unharmed children.
Police apprehended Castro at West Flagler Street and Southwest 27th Avenue.
According to Local 10, Castro, a native of Havana, Cuba, gave a full confession in Spanish, according to police.
Court records show a pending case against Castro for resisting an officer without violence. He was on probation at the time of the carjacking for aggravated battery of a pregnant victim.
He now faces charges of kidnapping, grand theft vehicle, burglary of an occupied conveyance, and child abuse without great bodily harm
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[Feature Photo: Noel Castro /Police Handout]
