The man who allegedly yanked a Utah woman out of her minivan and drove off with her 4-year-old daughter has been charged with kidnapping and aggravated robbery.
Derek L. Orr, 29, was charged with the first-degree felonies in 3rd District Court; his bail was set at $250,000.
At 1:16 p.m. on May 16, a woman was stopped in the left-turn lane on 2100 South at 645 East when a man “opened her door and demanded she get out of the car.” He “pushed [her] out of the minivan and drove away” with the 4-year-old girl still in the back seat, according to a probable cause statement.
According to witnesses, the victim was left “in the street on 2100 South screaming that he had taken her baby.”
(Police originally reported the child was 3; according to charging documents, she is 4.)
About 30 minutes later, the child was found unharmed “crying and asking for mommy” near a coffee house at 975 S. West Temple and reunited with her mother. According to police, Orr said “that when he realized there was a child in the car with him, he pulled over and let the child out.”
Five days later, Orr was located by police and a SWAT team surrounded the house where he was hiding. He refused to come out for several hours, but eventually surrendered.
Orr had been booked into the Salt Lake County Jail on charges from an unrelated incident on May 8 when, according to court documents, police attempted to stop him as he drove a stolen car in a grocery store parking lot at 845 E. 4500 South. Orr struck another car and police “finally terminated pursuit because of Orr’s reckless driving.” He is also facing felony theft charges in two separate incidents.