BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. – A man briefly stole a car from a Brevard County gas station before returning the vehicle when he realized there was a baby in the back seat, according to the sheriff’s office.
The incident happened Tuesday at a Sunoco off US-1 in Cocoa.
According to a probable cause affidavit, a woman told deputies she went into the store when she saw her Toyota driving away with her 1-year-old baby inside.
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The vehicle reached the parking lot exit before it backed up and was returned to a parking spot in front of the store, the affidavit states.
A man, identified as 53-year-old William Mullis, got out of the vehicle as the woman exited the store and told her he didn’t realize there was a child in the car and apologized before walking away.
A deputy arrived a short time later, and Mullis was arrested.
Mullis also told the deputy that he would not have taken the vehicle if he knew there was a child inside, according to the affidavit.
Mullis faces charges of grand theft of a motor vehicle and kidnapping confinement under 13.
In jail on Wednesday, Judge Kelly Ingram denied giving Mullis a bond.
Under Florida law, an adult can leave a child under the age of 6 alone in a car for up to 15 minutes.
Ronnie Crane is the mother’s neighbor and also a retired sergeant with the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office. He thinks the law should change.
“This guy could’ve kept going with the kid and we’ve had children, after a guy steals a car, the guy’s left children sitting along the side of the roads before,” Crane said. “That could have very well happened in this case.”
Crane said he hopes his neighbor learned a lesson.
“I know the people over there, and they’re good people,” he said. “She just made a bad choice.”