United States - June 26, 2024

Broward Sheriff’s Office detectives from the Special Victims Unit have apprehended the suspect involved in a harrowing carjacking incident where a woman's vehicle, with her child inside, was stolen. The arrest came following an anonymous tip that identified the suspect as 35-year-old Willio Petioma.

The incident unfolded on Wednesday, June 26, at 850 W. Commercial Blvd. in Oakland Park, when Broward County Regional Communications received a report of a stolen vehicle. According to preliminary investigations, the mother and her three-year-old daughter were involved in a traffic collision. As the mother stepped out to exchange information with the other driver, an unknown man entered her vehicle and drove off with her child still in the back seat.

Desperate to stop the theft, the mother clung to the passenger door and pleaded with the suspect about her child's presence. Despite her efforts, she was dragged along before falling to the ground as the suspect sped away.

Surveillance footage captured pivotal moments of the incident, showing the suspect abandoning the child on a sidewalk, leaving her unharmed in her car seat, and later using the victim’s credit card at a Family Dollar store.

On Sunday, June 30, Petioma was apprehended and subsequently booked into the BSO Main Jail. He faces multiple charges, including kidnapping, carjacking, interference with custody of a minor, and illegal use of a credit card. Additionally, he was arrested on a warrant from Palm Beach County for charges related to possession of cocaine and resisting an officer.