Carjackers steal car with kid inside

Northside auto thieves were apparently surprised today when they discovered what had been left in Lila Monjaras's car: her 4-year-old son, Julio Reyna. Fortunately, Reyna was found, unharmed, in the car a few blocks from where it was stolen. Monjaras left her car unlocked with the engine running while she stopped at a convenience store in the 4400 block of Irvington Boulevard at about 7 a.m. When Monjaras came out of the store, the car was gone.

"When I called 911 and I'm actually saying, 'My kid's in the car. Hurry!' That is when it hit me that he was actually gone," Monjaras told KPRC Local 2.

Police reunited the mother with her son at the Central Apartments on Fulton at Weiss, where an officer passing by spotted the car.

"I hugged him and started crying," Monjaras said.

It only took police about five minutes to find the stolen car, which was left at the Central Apartments at Fulton and Weiss. As HPD Lt. Jesus Davila told KHOU:

"The moment we heard that go out over the air, all of the available units were converging on the area in hopes of, you know, trying to capture the suspects, but more importantly — save the child before something, you know, detrimental happens."

Residents of the Central Apartments told police they saw a man jump out of the car and leave the scene in a black Ford pickup driven by a woman. HPD said Julio has been very cooperative in the investigation, but the only thing he really remembers about the thief is that he had gold teeth. Monjaras isn't facing any charges, but she said she hopes her experience will be a warning to other parents: "Don't do it," she said. "I mean, you think people aren't watching. They are watching."