WINTER GARDEN, Fla. – The man accused of stealing a car with a 4-year-old girl in the back seat Thursday afternoon was arrested Friday night, according to officials from the Winter Garden Police Department.
Police on Friday identified the man as David Joseph Swatkowski, 30, who was wanted on charges of grand theft auto and kidnapping after allegedly stealing the car only to run out when he realized the child was inside. Winter Garden police said Swatkowski was believed to be trying to leave the state with his girlfriend and possibly head to North Carolina.
Officers said Saturday that Swatkowski was dropped off at a hospital and was treated for a possible drug overdose. Authorities were notified and Ocoee police arrived at the health center to talk to Swatkowski. He allegedly provided them with a fake name, according to police. He was then identified using a fingerprint reader and fully confessed to officers, police said.
Police said a man stopped at Cash Stop Pawn on West Colonial Drive around 2:35 p.m. Thursday and left his 4-year-old daughter in the back seat of his white Kia Forte with the engine running.
A man, later identified as Swatkowski, alledgedly walked in and out of the pawn shop and then got into the Kia and drove away, according to police. The victim said he ran after the vehicle.
The child said Swatkowski stopped the car at the entrance of Regal Point subdivision when he realized she was in the back seat, according to authorities.
The girl was not injured and was reunited with her family, police said.
Anyone with information about the crime is asked to call the Winter Garden Police Department at 407-656-3636 or Crimeline at 800-423-TIPS.