Man steals car with toddler inside in Winston-Salem, abandons child and commits larceny, deputies say
A man stole a car with a 3-year-old inside before abandoning the child and committing larceny, police said.
On May 21, the Randolph County Sheriff's Office responded to reports of an unconscious person in a vehicle blocking traffic.
This incident was at the intersection of Meadowbrook Drive and NC-62 in Trinity.
When on the scene, deputies located a white SUV occupied by an unconscious man in the driver's seat.
The deputy attempted to wake the man by knocking on the window, but they did not respond, resulting in the deputy opening the car door for evaluation.
The man, later identified as Raymond O'Neal, 49, woke and attempted to start the vehicle, the sheriff's office said.
The deputy ordered him to turn off the vehicle and exit it.
O'Neal refused to cooperate, becoming combative, according to a news release.
The citizens who reported the man assisted the deputy in restraining O'Neal before additional deputies arrived.
NC State Highway Patrol responded to conduct a field sobriety test.
During the investigation, it was determined that the vehicle O'Neal had occupied was reported stolen from a Sheetz in Winston-Salem that a child was in.
O'Neal abandoned the 3-year-old at a Thomasville Walmart, where he also committed larceny.
Electronics with anti-theft inventory devices still attached to them and some Mainstays brand items were visible in the vehicle upon O'Neal's arrest.
Winston-Salem Police Department detectives and the Thomasville Police Department collected evidence before transporting O'Neal to the Randolph County Detention Center.
O'Neal was then charged with the following:
- Felony possession of a stolen motor vehicle
- Misdemeanor possession of stolen goods
- Impeding the flow of traffic
- Misdemeanor resisting public officer
- Misdemeanor assault on a government official.
- Misdemeanor larceny
- Felony first-degree kidnapping
- Felony larceny of a motor vehicle.
He was also served with an outstanding warrant by Thomasville police for misdemeanor larceny.
O'Neal was issued bonds totaling $141,000 and a court date of May 23.