CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. (AP) - A 1-month-old baby was found dead Friday in the trunk of a car in Florida, and the boy's father has been taken into custody, police said.
The infant was identified as Josiah Saintil, said Coral Springs police Lt. Joe McHugh. The boy's father, Janus Saintil, 24, was arrested Friday outside a Coral Springs apartment. Charges were not immediately filed. It was not immediately clear if he had an attorney.
An autopsy will be performed on the child. An official cause of death has not yet been released.
Saintil was with the child's mother, another female and a male adult Thursday night driving to a North Lauderdale Walmart when he became angry and pulled out a gun, according to the Broward Sheriff's Office. He kidnapped the group and drove about 85 miles north in a stolen car to Port St. Lucie, where Saintil left the baby at a house and then forced the male to take money from a nearby ATM. The elder Saintil fled the area after the male victim yelled for help. He apparently retrieved the baby before returning to South Florida, authorities said.
"When you say you've seen it all, this is one of those things," Broward County Sheriff Al Lamberti said. "It's almost like the baby was carelessly discarded inside the trunk. Total lack of respect for the life. It's one of those things, if you are a parent, it's got to tug at your heart strings."
Saintil was taken into custody without incident, said Coral Springs Police Deputy Chief Tony Pustizzi.
"There were so many officers by the time he opened the door, he really didn't have a chance," Pustizzi said. "Thank God he decided not to fight."
Court records in Broward County show Saintil has been arrested numerous times over the past six years, including charges of armed robbery and trespassing. In 2008, he was sentenced to two years in prison for grand theft, according to court records. Saintil also had an outstanding warrant in Coral Springs, authorities said.
Telephone messages left with Port St. Lucie police weren't immediately returned on Friday.