PORTLAND, Ore. – Portland police arrested a man who they believe stole an SUV while a 6-year-old boy was inside.
Police arrested 18-year-old Isaiah Meyer Bobo on Oct. 16, 2019. He was indicted Monday on charges of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, possession of a stolen vehicle, and unlawful entry into a motor vehicle.
According to the probable cause affidavit, officers responded on Oct. 13 to a woman reporting her white Chevrolet Tahoe was stolen with her 6-year-old grandson inside. The woman said she had parked the SUV outside 15710 SE Alder St. because she saw a sign about a new daycare and wanted to ask the homeowner for more information.
The grandmother said she left the car unlocked and running with the boy inside while she talked to the homeowner on the front porch.
In the probable cause affidavit, the woman said the next thing she knew, someone was driving her SUV away.
While an officer took the woman’s statement, she learned that the boy was found standing on the street crying. The boy said he was sitting in his car seat when a man he did not know got in the car and started driving.
When the man noticed the boy, the boy said he told him to get out and the boy complied. The boy described the suspect as young, with darker skin and dark curly hair.
Investigators found the Tahoe later parked at 1600 Southeast 156th Ave.
Police lifted a partial print on the driver’s side door and the owner said the only thing missing from the SUV was the key.
On Oct. 14, an officer contacted a resident in the 15700 block of Southeast Alder Street because he had seen surveillance cameras outside the home. The homeowner allowed the officer to review the video from the day before. The video showed the Tahoe parked on the street when a red sedan pulled up and two men got out. The driver of the red sedan then looked at the Tahoe, got in, and drove away as a woman ran after the car.
The video showed the passenger of the red car walking away. Later, the video showed the driver of the red sedan returning to the area, getting in the red car again, and driving away.
The investigating office put out a flier with the suspect’s photos.
On Oct. 18, an officer responded to a call of a suspicious vehicle in at 15572 SE Morrison St. Police determined the car was stolen and the driver was identified as a 15-year-old. Another passenger was identified as Bobo. The officers realized the 15-year-old matched the description of the suspect in the flier.
When officers questioned the 15-year-old about the Oct. 13 incident, he said he and Bobo saw the Tahoe running and Bobo suggested they take it. He said Bobo got in the driver’s seat and he got in the front passenger seat. The 15-year-old said they drove, noticed the child, and he immediately got out.
When an officer interviewed Bobo, he initially said he had nothing to do with the stolen Tahoe, but then admitted he and the 15-year-old were the suspects in the flier. He said he was the one who got in the Tahoe and drove off. He said he heard a woman yelling about her grandson as they drove away.