'Freakout' as thief found boy in car

The man who drove off in a stolen car with a child in the back seat has told a jury in Wellington District Court that he and his mates "freaked out" when they realised the little boy was there.

Evani Kamoto, 19, has pleaded not guilty to kidnapping Alan Baxter, 3, on September 19 last year after taking the boy's father's Subaru car from a driveway in Alicetown, Lower Hutt.

Shane Baxter had gone inside to pick up a friend, leaving the car's motor running about 8pm.

Another person involved, Henry Tauti, 17, was discharged yesterday after Judge Chris Tuohy agreed there was not enough evidence to put to a jury. Both young men had pleaded guilty to abandoning the child, theft and unlawfully taking the car.

The boy was found asleep, still in his car seat, in Stamford Grove, Lower Hutt, by a woman who recognised the car from a news report. He woke up and looked at her briefly but went back to sleep.

Kamoto said that he was "hyped up". He had not looked in the back seat of the car and was only concerned with whether there was anyone in the driver's seat.

He told his lawyer Chris Nicholls he did not hear the child crying. He had driven the car around, and admitted he was speeding, but denied going burnouts and doughnuts.

When the car broke down and Tauti looked in the car for things to steal, he discovered the child.

"I didn't know what to do. It was the first time I knew there was a child there."

Kamoto said he would not have taken the car if he had known. They left the car lights on, tooted the horn and yelled out that the car was stolen so that someone would find the child.

He admitted panicking and lying to police to cover himself. He told Crown prosecutor Ian Murray he was not minimising the amount of time they had the car to make it sound better but he had wanted to protect himself and the others so had said he knew nothing about it.

- © Fairfax NZ News