Man charged after stealing car from gas station with sleeping child inside

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) – A Louisville man has been arrested after stealing a car from a gas station in the Highview neighborhood with a 5-year-old inside Tuesday morning.

Stephen Murphy, 27, was taken into custody by Louisville Metro Police Tuesday afternoon.

The child’s mother said her 5-year-old daughter was asleep in the vehicle when she went inside the Speedway in the 7900 block of Fegenbush Lane around 9:15 a.m. Tuesday. When she came out, she said her vehicle had been stolen.

Ruoff said the child and the car were found at the Meijer on Preston Highway about an hour later. Officers said the child was still asleep inside the vehicle and she was not harmed.

Police said the suspect and the victim did not know each other.

According to an arrest report, Murphy had stolen the victim’s cell phone from the car after abandoning it.

A resident in the area flagged police down stating they heard a noise in their backyard playset, the report states. Officers searched the playset and found Murphy along with the stolen cell phone.

Police said Murphy later gave a statement admitting to stealing the vehicle from the Speedway on Fegenbush Lane.

Murphy has been charged with two counts of theft by unlawful taking and criminal trespassing-third degree. He is currently booked at Louisville Metro Corrections.

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