STATESVILLE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — Statesville Police say an 18-year-old is in jail for stealing a car with a 10-year-old inside on Friday.

On Friday, authorities responded to a call from the 2000 block of Tara’s Trace Drive around 7:50 a.m. The child was in the backseat of the car at the time. Before the car left the neighborhood, the child escaped and returned home.

Officers caught up with the stolen vehicle on Davie Avenue, conducting a traffic stop. They found Salisbury resident Carson Dennis Tate III and took him into custody. They took a stolen firearm and later returned it to its owner.

Tate faces charges of Larceny of a Motor Vehicle, Kidnapping, Possession of Concealed firearm, and Resist Obstruct Delay. He is in the Iredell County Jail on a $25,000 secured bond.