Two men were arrested over the weekend when police said a man stole a car with a child still inside.
Officials with the metro Nashville Police Department said 46-year-old Emanuel Batey left his 19-moth-old daughter in his car while he went into a Clarksville Pike market.
He told police he went inside Saturday evening to buy cigarettes, but when he the car and his daughter were gone.
Batey called police and officers quickly began searching for the car. Officers called Batey's cell phone, which had been left in the car. Police said the man who took the car, Frederick Rutherford, picked up the phone admitted he was drunk, didn’t know what to do with the child, and kept driving.
Rutherford ultimately stopped at the intersection of Heiman Street and 14th Avenue North. He was taken into custody there at 8:20 p.m.
The child was rescued from the car with minor injuries because Rutherford admitted that he slapped her several times because she was crying.
Rutherford was jailed in lieu of $96,500 bond on a number of charges, including kidnapping, DUI, driving on a suspended license, aggravated child endangerment, and assault.
Batey was also arrested on charges of aggravated child neglect (for leaving his daughter unattended) and driving on a revoked license. He was released from jail after posting a $5,500 bond.
