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Kevin Smith: Florida man, 37, charged with kidnapping after he stole vehicle with two children inside

In a video of his arrest, Smith can be seen being reluctant to exit the truck out of fear that the deputy would allegedly punch him

TAMPA, FLORIDA: A Florida man was charged with abduction after he stole a truck with two small children inside, according to officials. On Monday, October 10, 2022, a man from Tampa went to Hillsborough County Sheriff's Deputy Jonathan Pazmino Alvarez and reported that his pickup had been stolen, along with his two children, aged 4 and 8.

According to a news statement from police, Deputy Alvarez chased the allegedly stolen 2011 white Chevrolet Silverado and made a traffic stop "within a just a few minutes." The suspect was identified as Kevin Smith, 37. In a video of his arrest, Smith can be seen being reluctant to exit the truck out of fear that the deputy would allegedly punch him. One of the children can be heard telling the deputy, "That's not my dad." 

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The two children were securely delivered back to their father. Smith has been charged with two counts of abduction in addition to one count of grand theft of a motor vehicle, as reported by Fox News.

The sheriff's office revealed that Smith has a felony record in Hillsborough County dating back to 2003. He is now being held without bond at the Falkenburg Road prison.

This was not the first such case of child abduction. Another story of child abduction which made headlines recently was of six-year-old Ken'Adi Nash who was nearly kidnapped by Deric McPherson, 33, in Hamilton, Ohio. He was charged with abduction and gross sexual imposition.

In another case, a boy named Freddy Méndez, 11, was killed after he was abducted by three men in Guatemala on August 12. His kidnappers were burned alive by a Guatemalan mob.

Another attempt to kidnap two girls in Tampa in June 2022 was by a man named David Daniels was thwarted when one of the girls mouthed "help me" to a female churchgoer.

Violent crimes such as child abductions and murders are a serious concern for American citizens. Based on a recent Politico-Morning Consult survey,  77% of Americans think violent crime is a serious problem, 17% think it's a small one, and only 2% don't think it's a problem at all. Similar to this, over 74% of Americans believe that violent crime is rising, while only 18% believe that it remains the same.