The fleeing man was among five people taken to hospitals for either minor injuries or precautionary measures, police said.
“Putting that poor little kid’s life in danger is worse than anything,” said Philadelphia Drive resident Rick Haenggi, who saw the suspect running with the baby.
The suspect’s identification was not released as of late Thursday afternoon.
The arrest followed reports of robberies at three stores — two of which police said they believe the suspect was involved in — on Dayton’s west side.
From about 9:50 a.m. to about 10:10 a.m. robberies were reported at: the Dollar Tree, 2198 N. Gettysburg Ave.; Quick Stop, 4575 Little Richmond Road; and Dollar General, 2312 N. Main St. Police apprehended the suspect before 10:30.
The chase, wreck and arrest came after the robbery of the North Main store. Police said they believe the suspect was also involved in the North Gettysburg crime, said Lt. Eric Sheldon of the Dayton Police Department.
Cruisers were in the area as part of an initiative after previous store robberies and officers “were flagged down” by the North Main store owner, Sheldon said.
Witnesses saw him seen running down Nottingham “into the woods” with a “newborn child,” recordings indicate. Cruisers converged on the scene quickly, Haenggi said.
“The one car was there within seconds and the rest of the police cars were there within 30 seconds,” he said. “And they were going all over trying to find this one person.”
Staff Writer Malik Perkins contributed to this report.
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