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Police immediately took the baby from the woman and began to interview the distraught couple, police said.
The man, Mikhail Melamud, 27, of West Hartford, admitted to police that he stole the car on Albany Avenue a short time before, but did not realized the baby was inside, police said.
Just then, the baby's father arrived on the scene and told police that he had been buying food at Scott's Jamaican Bakery on Albany Avenue and had left the car unlocked and running with the infant strapped into a car seat in the rear, according to police.
The baby's father, East Hartford resident William Quinones, 24, said when he notice the car and his child were missing, he called Melamud on a cell phone he had also left in the vehicle, police said.
Melamud told Quinones where the car and the child could be found and drove to his girlfriend's apartment.
Police said they arrested Melamud and charged him with second degree kidnapping, risk of injury to a minor, and third degree larceny.
Yergeau said that Melamud was a Russian immigrant who was concerned about his immigration status.
Quinones was also arrested and charged with risk of injury and leaving a child unattended in a vehicle, police said.
During a search of the car, Quinones was also found to be in possession of powder and rock cocaine, leading to additional risk of injury charges, as well as possession of narcotics, possession with intent to sell, and interfering with police, according to the police report.
Yergeau said that Quinones is a convicted felon with a lengthy history of dealing drugs in the area.
The baby was unharmed and returned to her mother, but the Department of Children and Families were called in to investigate, police said.
The baby's mother and father do not live together, Yergeau said.
Both men were held overnight, Melamud on a $100,000 bond and Quinones on an $80,000 bond, and were scheduled to appear today in Hartford Superior Court, police said.
