Woman sentenced for stealing car with child in backseat
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — A woman who pleaded no contest to stealing a car with a child in the backseat was sentenced Wednesday to four years and eight months in prison, according to court records.
Melissa Kay Sherwood, 35, pleaded no contest to child stealing, vehicle theft, assault on a person with force likely to produce great bodily injury and child cruelty in connection with stealing a car parked at Memorial Hospital with a 3-year-old girl inside.
According to court documents, the child’s mother left her in the backseat with the car running and a friend’s teen niece watching over her as she entered the hospital Aug. 19 for a quick visit with a friend.
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As she approached the emergency room entrance, the woman saw her blue Honda Civic leave the parking lot. She ran to the car and tried to open the driver’s side door but it sped off, documents said.
The teen, 13, told police she was startled when Sherwood opened the door, and was afraid she would hurt her or the child if she didn’t follow her orders to get out of the car. She told police she tried to take the child with her but was unable to unbuckle her seat belt before the car started moving.
The child’s mother later identified Sherwood as the thief. Surveillance video at the hospital showed Sherwood, who had just been discharged, take the vehicle, according to the documents.
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