The incident received wide attention last week because the grandmother was dragged by the car as she tried to save the children, and the 8-year-old boy helped his 10-year-old sister escape the car.
Police asked Singh how he acquired the car in which he was found, and he said, “I take it,” according to the police report.
Singh also acknowledged that he knew there were two children in the car and that he resisted the grandmother’s attempts to open the car door before taking off at a high rate of speed out of the parking area near the Atrium Medical Center parking lot last Thursday, according to the report.
Police said Singh, 24, of Middletown, had received his Miranda warning about self-incrimination and agreed to talk, the report said.
Singh has been charged with two counts of kidnapping, a second-degree felony; grand theft, a fourth-degree felony; assault, a fist-degree misdemeanor; and a misdemeanor charge for no operator’s license. He was arraigned Friday morning in Middletown Municipal Court, where a preliminary hearing has been scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on May 3. He is being held in the Middletown City Jail under a $200,000 bond.
VIDEO: Man arrested after allegedly taking car with 2 children inside at Atrium Medical Center
According to the police report, as Officers Connor Kirby and P.R. Engleka headed to the hospital, they started looking for the stolen car. As they headed north on University Boulevard, they saw the stolen car going past them in the southbound lanes. The officers stopped the car at Nelbar Street and Atco Avenue, where Singh was taken into custody.
Police said the incident happened about 4:18 p.m. Thursday when Nita Coburn, 69, was taking her daughter, who was the childrens’ aunt, to the emergency room for treatment. There were two children, Chance Blue, 8, and his sister, Skylar Weaver, 10, in the backseat as Coburn was helping her daughter out of the car near the entrance.
Police said about 10 seconds later, Singh allegedly jumped into the driver’s seat and took off with the children still in the back seat. Chance opened the door to escape with his sister, but Singh allegedly grabbed the her hooded sweatshirt to keep her from leaving the moving car, according to the report.
As Skylar tried to get away, Chance managed to pull her away from Singh, as both children tumbled onto the pavement from the moving car, police said.
Coburn did not realize the children were able to escape because they went out of the passenger side of the car while she was chasing the car on the driver’s side for about 40 yards, police said. As Coburn opened the driver’s door to regain control of the vehicle she thought her grandchildren were in, Singh slammed the door shut again and locked the door.
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Coburn told police she kept hanging onto the vehicle and was panicking because she thought the children were still inside. She was dragged with the car until Singh sped up to where she was forced to let go.
She told police that she thought she had locked the car and did not know if the car had been unlocked by either her or her daughter, according to the report.
As Skylar went running after her grandmother, Chance ran inside the Emergency Room to get help.
After the incident, Skylar told police she noticed the man sitting a few feet from her before he took the car. She told police she thought his demeanor was “odd.”
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In his report, Kirby said he had dealt with Singh earlier on his shift during a trespassing complaint at the Verity Food Mart on North Verity Parkway. He said Singh had a small gray gym bag with red trim during the earlier incident and that the same bag was in the passenger seat next to him in the car. The hospital surveillance video was shown Singh with the same bag before he took the car.
Kirby drove Coburn’s car back to the hospital, and Engleka transported Singh to the hospital for medical treatment, which he declined and was taken to the Middletown City Jail.
Anyone with additional information about this case should contact Kirby at 513-425-7700.
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