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SOUTH SALT LAKE — With his gun in one hand and a baby in the other, a Salt Lake County sheriff's deputy was able to rescue a young girl and arrest the man who allegedly took her at the same time.
"This is a very unusual situation, and we are all grateful for the positive outcome," said Salt Lake City Police Chief Mike Brown.
The wild incident started Monday about 2:15 p.m. when police say a 29-year-old man stole a vehicle that had been left running in the area of 100 North and 1300 West, according to Salt Lake police. Officers learned a mother had stepped away from her car for a moment, and her 8-month-old girl was still in the back seat.
The department immediately flooded the area with officers and put out an attempt-to-locate to surrounding agencies after getting a description of the vehicle and license plate number. Using license plate reader technology, detectives determined the stolen car was spotted heading south on 900 West near 1950 South.
A short time later, the stolen car pulled into the parking lot of the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office, at the corner of 3300 South and 900 West. The man who allegedly stole the car went up to a deputy who was off-duty and not in uniform, who had just walked out of the building.
Salt Lake police spokesman Brent Weisberg says the man handed the baby to the deputy and then allegedly admitted to stealing the car, apparently unaware he was talking to a sheriff's deputy.
As soon as the deputy had the girl in his arms, he drew his gun with his other hand and ordered the alleged car thief to the ground. About the same time, a South Salt Lake officer who was nearby and saw what was happening, and had also heard the alert broadcasted to other agencies, quickly drove to the deputy to assist. Another deputy in uniform also came out of the sheriff's building and helped take the man into custody.
Weisberg said the girl and her mother were reunited a short time later. Dimitri Saliba was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail for investigation of possession of a stolen vehicle.
The sheriff's office did not release the deputy's name on Monday, saying he is an "experienced" law enforcer assigned to Canyon Patrol.
