Man who stole truck with toddler inside, causing Amber Alert, enters plea agreement

INDIANAPOLIS — The Indianapolis man charged in connection to stealing a truck with a one-year-old child inside on the city's east side in September has entered a plea agreement with the Marion County Prosecutor's Office.

Gonzalo Mondragon Jr, 35, faced two charges of criminal confinement, one count of operating a vehicle as a habitual traffic violator, one count of auto theft and one count of resisting law enforcement.

According to court documents, one charge of criminal confinement and the charge of operating a vehicle as a habitual traffic violator has been dropped. He pleaded guilty to the other three felony charges.

According to court documents, Mondragon was seen on surveillance video exiting a Chevy Equinox and getting into a running Nissan Frontier in the parking lot of the Shell gas station near the intersection of 34th Street and Emerson Avenue. The Nissan was running in the gas station parking lot with a one-year-old child inside as their mother was inside the gas station.

An Amber Alert and wide search area were put into place in the aftermath. The child was eventually located by a construction worker in Speedway and was unharmed, according to court documents.

After the conclusion of the Amber Alert, IMPD patrolmen and officers continued their search for the stolen vehicle.

According to court documents, an IMPD working on a crash investigation in the 1600 block of Rural Street witnessed the vehicle with matching plates drive by. After following the vehicle, the driver later identified to be Mondragon sped away leading to a pursuit.

After the pursuit was terminated, officers located the vehicle unoccupied in the 2500 block of 25th Street. Approximately .7 miles away from the vehicle, Mondragon was located and taken into custody, according to court documents.

A sentencing hearing has been scheduled for 1 p.m. on Jan. 4, 2023.