A man has been arrested in connection to a carjacking in Taft in which he nearly drove away with a toddler inside the car, the Kern County Sheriff's Department said Friday.

Campbell was arrested on August 18 after finding the stolen car abandoned and burned on Highway 166 in Santa Maria.

READ THE PRESS RELEASE FROM THE KERN COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE:

On August 10, 2016, at about 4:38 PM Taft Substation deputies were dispatched to 300 Block of Adams Street to investigate a carjacking. The adult male victim told deputies that after parking his 2004 Acura TSX in a parking lot in the 300 block of Adams Street he was approached by a white male adult with tattoos on his face. The suspect lifted up his shirt, exposing a handgun in his waistband and demanded the keys to the victim’s vehicle. Fearing for his life, the victim provided the suspect with the keys to the vehicle. As the suspect was approaching the vehicle the victim’s wife was able to remove their child from the car seat shortly before the suspect entered the vehicle and drove away.
On August 12, 2016, the California Highway Patrol located the Acura TSX abandoned and burned on the shoulder of State Route 166 in Santa Maria California. Through the course of the investigation Taft Substation Investigators developed probable cause to arrest 35 year old Tony Wayne Campbell for the carjacking.
On August 18, 2016, Taft Substation Investigators located and arrested Campbell at his residence in the 300 Block of Polk Street. Campbell was booked at the Kern County Jail for P.C. 215(a)-Carjacking.