PUBLIC RELATIONS UNIT

August 5, 2024

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contact Information: PolicePRUnit@slcgov.com

Media Request Form: https://slcpd.com/mediarequest/

SLCPD, SSLPD, SLCo. Sheriff’s Office Arrest Man Who Stole Car with 8-Month-Old Baby Inside

SALT LAKE CITY — Today, as a result of a coordinated effort between law enforcement, officers with the Salt Lake City Police Department arrested a 29-year-old man who is accused of stealing a car that had an 8-month-old baby sleeping inside.

“This is a very unusual situation and we are all grateful for the positive outcome,” said Salt Lake City Police Chief Mike Brown. “Our officers and detectives started doing everything they could to find this missing child. This case should serve as a reminder of  the dedication that police officers and sheriff deputies across Utah have to keeping our communities safe.”

The suspect is identified as Dimitri Saliba. He will be booked into the Salt Lake County Metro Jail on a charge of theft of a motor vehicle. The case will be reviewed by the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office.

This investigation started at 2:16 p.m. on Monday, August 5, 2024, when SLC911 took a call from a woman reporting someone stole a car with her eight-month-old baby inside of it near 100 North 1300 West.

Officers immediately responded and started gathering information so other officers and detectives could start looking for the car. Detectives assigned to the Salt Lake City Police Department’s Auto Theft Unit used license plate reader (LPR) technology to determine the car’s last known location. SLC911 dispatchers provided information about the case to other law enforcement throughout the valley.

Based on the preliminary information, officers believe Saliba stole the car as it was left running in a driveway while the child’s mother finished picking up her other kids.

Once Saliba realized an infant was in the backseat, he drove to the sheriff’s office, located at 3365 South 900 West. Saliba got out of the car, approached someone, handed the person the baby and said he had just stolen the car.

The person Saliba handed the baby to was an off-duty deputy assigned to the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office. The off-duty deputy immediately took custody of the baby and then ordered Saliba to get on the ground.

A South Salt Lake police officer, who happened to be in an adjacent parking lot, responded and helped the off-duty deputy take Saliba into custody until Salt Lake City Police arrived.

The baby was not hurt.

SLCPD officers reunited the baby and her mom.

No other information about the child or mother is being released.

The Salt Lake City Police Department would like to recognize the work of its officers and detectives along with the quick action of the off-duty sheriff’s deputy and the South Salt Lake police officer who took the suspect into custody while protecting the baby.

Charges are only allegations, and every arrested person is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

The Salt Lake City Police Department is not the custodian of record for jail booking photos. Utah Code 17-22-30 mostly prohibits the release of jail booking photos. Generally, a jail booking photo can only be released by the custodian of record after a conviction or when law enforcement determines the person is a fugitive or an imminent threat to a person or public safety. In Salt Lake City, the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office is the custodian of record for jail booking photos.

A photo taken from the scene is being released. Media may use this photo with credit to the Salt Lake City Police Department.

Video of the arrest is also available on the SLCPD’s X account.

Photo: Salt Lake City Police officers stand next to a stolen car parked in front of the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office on Monday, August 5, 2024 (SLCPD photo – August 5, 2024).

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