According to records, a child reported to police that when she woke up on Saturday morning, she saw an unfamiliar male sitting in the driver’s seat of her mother’s 2021 silver Nissan Versa rental. When the car was stolen in Miami, she was one of the three kids inside.
She informed police as well. Then, according to the arrest report, the man turned to face her and stated, “I got something for you.” He then removed his shirt, exited the vehicle, and fled. Noel Castro was later identified as the kidnapper by police.
A Miami Police Department spokeswoman, Officer Kiara Delva, stated in a statement on Saturday afternoon that Castro, 26, had stolen the vehicle with the kids inside, just south of the Little Havana neighborhood.
“The mother parked her vehicle along the side of the street and left her children, ages 1, 10, and 12 asleep inside the vehicle for just a few minutes,” Delva stated. “When she returned moments later, she discovered that her vehicle had been stolen.”
According to the arrest complaint, detectives discovered security footage that appeared to show Castro getting into the Nissan Versa and leaving the area of a motel at Tamiami Trail and Southwest 23 Avenue.
Later, Castro left the Nissan between Beacon Boulevard and Southwest Sixth Street, and police say they set up a perimeter before arresting him close to West Flagler Street and Southwest 27 Avenue.
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“We are thankful that the children were unharmed,” Delva stated.
Police said that Castro, who was born in Havana, Cuba, confessed in Spanish. Charges against him included kidnapping, grand theft of a car, breaking into an inhabited vehicle, and child abuse with no significant bodily harm.
According to court documents, Castro was already on probation for aggravated battery of a pregnant woman and had an ongoing case for resisting an officer without using physical force against him.
