The Broward Sheriff’s Office on Sunday arrested a 35-year-old man who was seen on surveillance video in Oakland Park carjacking a woman and driving off with her child in the back seat.
Willio Petioma was charged with kidnapping, interfering with custody of a minor, carjacking and the illegal use of a credit card.
During his court appearance on Monday, Petioma’s bond was denied by a judge.
The incident occurred at around 8:30 a.m., Wednesday after BSO received a call about a stolen vehicle at 850 W. Commercial Blvd. in Oakland Park.
According to detectives, the mother tried to stop Petioma by grabbing the front passenger door and shouting that her child was inside. She was reportedly dragged along before falling to the ground as the he sped away.
Surveillance video obtained by investigators showed Petioma exiting the vehicle and leaving the child, still in her car seat, on a sidewalk. Bystanders in the area quickly rushed to the child and she was not injured.
More surveillance video captured Petioma abandoning the vehicle and taking off the shirt he was wearing when he committed the crime. The final clip showed him using the victim’s credit card at a Family Dollar store on the 1900 block of Northwest Ninth Avenue in Fort Lauderdale.
Aside from being wanted in this carjacking case, Petioma was also wanted out of Palm Beach for possession of cocaine and resisting arrest.
