Sacramento man arrested on suspicion of stealing car in Roseville with two children inside

Roseville police arrested the man suspected of stealing a car that contained two children from a gas station this month.

Detectives located and arrested Johnny Panyanouvong, 29, of Sacramento on Tuesday in the area of Watt and Whitney avenues.

Panyanouvong faces charges of kidnapping and child endangerment after he allegedly stole a car that was left idling in front of a gas station on Washington and Pleasant Grove boulevards. Two children were in the car at the time of the theft.

The mother had left her children in the car, ages 11 and 6 years old, while she went into the business. When the car was stolen, she called 911.

Police broadcast the incident to agencies in the area and were able to track down the location of the vehicle, police said at the time. About 20 minutes after the theft, the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call from one of the children reporting they were safe and the suspect had fled.

Panyanouvong was identified by police as the suspect in the case, which was investigated by Roseville Police Department’s Crime Suppression Unit, the Placer County’s Special Investigations Unit and the Regional Auto Theft Task Force.

In addition to the kidnapping and child endangerment charges, Panyanouvong is accused of vehicle theft. He also has outstanding arrest warrants for possession drug paraphernalia, being a felon in possession of a firearm, and felony evading, police said.

Panyanouvong was booked into the South Placer Jail and is ineligible for bail. He’s expected to appear in a Placer Superior courtroom Jan. 23.