On December 25,2017 at about 1:38 a.m., a call to 911 was made regarding a child abduction at the Racetrac gas station in the 8100 block of East R. L. Thornton Freeway. Information provided to officers stated that a white Chevy Malibu with two small children had been taken by a Black male and fled southbound along N. Jim Miller Road.

Officer J. Villar #11199, Officer C. Alvarado #10420, Senior Corporal G. Ceraso #9415, Officer J. Ruiz #11141, and Senior Corporal J. Debevec #9672, responded to the call for service. During the investigation of incident, Officer J. Villar located the mother of the two small children and quickly began gathering further descriptive information of the vehicle and suspect, relaying both to fellow officers and dispatch over the police radio.

Air 1 was requested to assist in locating the white Chevy Malibu containing the two small children that was driven by the suspect. Sergeant J. Scott #8765 worked with the Communications Division to get a better location of the vehicle. Air 1, being piloted by Senior Corporal L. Lespagnol #7874 and Senior Corporal L. Turano #9186, responded from the hangar to assist officers in the field with this investigation. Senior Corporal J. Debevec quickly notified Youth Operations of the child abduction and all information gathered up to that point, who in turn notified on-call Detective G. Harper #9668.

Air 1 eventually located a white vehicle in the 1300 block of East Clarendon. The pilots determined that the vehicle observed was indeed the white Chevy Malibu taken in the offense, and relayed this information to officers in the field.

Officers assigned to the South Central Patrol Division assisted the officers from the Southeast Division, and with a coordinated effort from Air 1, K-9 units, and Patrol elements from both Southeast Division and South Central Division, the suspect was apprehended and taken into custody. Both small children were located unharmed still inside the vehicle.

Once both children were determined to be unharmed and evaluated by paramedics, they were reunited with their mother by officers. The suspect, mother of the children and the children were then transported to Jack Evans Police Headquarters to be interviewed by Detective G. Harper 9668 with Youth Operations. Upon completion of the interviews of all persons, the suspect, Calvert Johnson B/M/40, was transported to Dallas County Jail and charged with Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle, two counts of Kidnapping, and Evading Arrest on case number 291604-2017.

Because of the quick response and coordinated efforts of Southeast Patrol officers, South Central Patrol officers, K-9 Units and Air 1, the suspect was quickly located and the children were safely returned to their mother. The Dallas Police Department is proud of these officers for their quick thinking and hard work to bring a frightening situation to a peaceful end. Great work!