Indianapolis man charged after stealing truck with toddler inside

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — An Indianapolis man who stole a truck with a 1-year-old in the back seat has been charged, according to the Marion County prosecutor.

Gonzalo Mondragon, 35, is charged with auto theft, operating a vehicle as an habitual traffic violator, resisting law enforcement, and two counts of criminal confinement.

On the morning of Sept. 20, a truck was stolen from a gas station in the 3400 block of North Emerson Avenue. A toddler was in the back seat when the truck was stolen.

The toddler was found safe two hours later, but the truck was not found.

Just after 6:30 p.m. that day, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officers saw a truck drive by them with the license plate number TSM709, the numbers of the missing truck.

The officers began pursuing the truck but lost sight of it shortly after.

A few minutes later, the officers saw the truck parked in a nearby vacant parking lot. The truck was still running, unlocked, and the windshield wipers were activated but Mondragon was not inside, according to court papers.

An IMPD officer then located a man matching Mondragon’s description walking less than a mile from the vacant truck.

Officers arrested Mondragon. He later told officers he had ingested methamphetamine prior to running into police.

Mondragon is scheduled to appear in court Nov. 28.