TAMPA, Fla. — The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office shared a video Wednesday that showed the arrest of a man charged with stealing a truck with two children inside.
Deputies said the driver of the truck flagged down Deputy Jonathan Pazmino Alvarez just after 6:40 p.m. Monday near the area of East 137th Avenue and North 15th Street in Tampa.
The man told Pazmino Alvarez his two kids, ages 4 and 8, were inside.
Pazmino Alvarez pursued the truck and stopped the suspect, identified as Kevin Smith, 37, within just a few minutes, according to deputies.
In the video, one of the children can be heard telling the deputy that the man driving was not his father.
Smith was placed into custody and the children were returned, unharmed, to their father, deputies said.
Smith faces one count of grand theft motor vehicle and two counts of felony kidnapping.
"This situation could've been a lot worse had it not been for the swift action taken by Deputy Pazmino Alvarez. He halted what could have been an otherwise terrifying situation for any parent," Sheriff Chad Chronister said. "Thanks to him, two children are safe and in the arms of their loved ones today."
