6/30 UPDATE — The St. Bernard Sheriff’s Office says the suspect in this incident has been taken into custody. According to the SBSO, detectives alongside Louisiana State Police apprehended Johnathon Perkins in New Orleans East around 4:30 p.m. Thursday. Police say Perkins will be charged accordingly.

CHALMETTE, La. (WGNO) — A New Orleans man is wanted in St. Bernard Parish after detectives say he stole a vehicle with a baby inside on Wednesday, June 29. According to Sheriff James Pohlmann, 21-year-old Johnathon Perkins is accused of stealing a white Subaru Outback with Mississippi license plates from a Chalmette business on Paris Road.

Pohlmann reports that when deputies arrived on-scene around 11 a.m., the vehicle was already gone with no sign of the suspect. The child, who is only a year old, was found alone but safe on the side of the road on the Almonaster Avenue overpass in New Orleans. Deputies later found the abandoned vehicle on the Desire Street overpass still running with its hazard lights flashing—but still no sign of the suspect.

Once arrested, Perkins faces charges that include theft of a motor vehicle, possession of stolen property, and aggravated kidnapping of a juvenile.

Detectives continue to search for the suspect, who is described as a Black male believed to have been wearing a black shirt, orange reflective construction vest, a gold chain, and earrings when the incident occurred.

Anyone who knows where Perkins is or has any additional information about the incident is urged to contact the SBSO at (504) 271-2501 or the CBI at (504) 278-7630. 

Tips can also be submitted online to Crimestoppers, or by calling (504) 822-1111.