Police Say Tot Rode In Getaway Car

By CHRIS ECHEGARAY The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 23, 2007

TAMPA - A 14-month-old baby was in a getaway car as the baby's mother, the driver, waited for her partners, who were stealing copper coils and damaging two air-conditioning units valued at $12,000, police said.

Just before midnight Monday, thieves loaded copper coils into the trunk of a 1998 Pontiac Grand Am, police boxed them in and the driver backed into a police car, Tampa police said. The thieves - two male adults and a 13-year-old male - ran but were soon apprehended, police said.

April Renee Ellison, 24, of 12708 N. 19th St., Tampa, was arrested and charged with aggravated child abuse and multiple counts of burglary and grand theft. As officers took Ellison into custody, they saw the baby inside the car. The baby's grandmother was given temporary custody, and the Department of Children & Families was notified, Lt. Stephen Hartnett said.

A man who lives at the same address as Ellison - Travis Trayun Jupiter, 21 - was also arrested, along with John Robert Moore, 24, of 3303 E. Commanche Road in Tampa, and a 13-year-old. The 13-year-old and Jupiter were caught immediately. Moore fled into a nearby residential area, butwas found after a brief search by a K-9 unit.

Ellison was in Orient Road Jail on Tuesday with bail set at $17,500. Jupiter was in jail with bail at $14,500, and Moore was being held with bail set at $11,000, according to jail records. The 13-year-old was taken to the Juvenile Assessment Center, police spokeswoman Kristin Molina said.

The three are charged with multiple counts of burglary and grand theft, according to police records.