$500K Bail Set For Parolee Accused Of Car Theft, Child Abduction

BRIDGEVIEW, IL —Bail was set at $500,000 for a parolee accused of stealing a minivan with a 4-year-old boy inside in Bridgeview Monday evening that triggered an Amber Alert on Monday evening.

Rudy Gutierrez, 28, of Lyons, is facing multiple felony charges, including aggravated kidnapping, vehicular invasion, possession of a stolen vehicle and unlawful use of credit card. The kidnapping charge is a Class X felony. During their investigation, police learned that a Gutierrez was on parole from the Illinois Department of Corrections on a retail theft case.

Around 5:35 p.m. Monday, 4-year-old Liam Barbarassa was sleeping inside a minivan that had been left running in front of the 7-Eleven store at 79th Street and Roberts Road. The boy’s father ran into the store to buy a slice of pizza for his son but none was available. When he returned, the vehicle and his son were gone.

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Cmdr. David Case, of the Bridgeview Police Department, said Gutierrez was captured on camera climbing into the minivan and driving off with Liam still inside. Officers set up a grid search in the area surrounding the 7-Eleven.

“Our experience is when a car is stolen with a child in it, most times once [the suspect] realizes he has a child on board, he will abandon the car and child and walk away,” Case said.

Through Chicago Police Crime Prevention Information Center, the minivan had been viewed by camera on Pulaski Road and 26th Street in the city. The vehicle continued north on Pulaski to the city’s North Side.

Gutierrez used the father’s credit card at a gas station on Montrose in Chicago just before 9 p.m., Case said. About a half hour later, the van and Liam were located near Irving Park and Pulaski. The boy was brought to Swedish Hospital where he was checked out and reunited with his parents.

“Chicago police were called on an unrelated parking complaint and recognized the car,” Case said. “Recognition of this car was huge. There were no keys recovered with the car, so the car had to have been turned off.”

Gutierrez returned to the Bridgeview-Summit area later that evening, where police said he was a known panhandler. An astute Joliet police officer working on the Chicago FBI’s violent crimes task force, spotted him a few minutes past midnight walking near Harlem and Archer in Summit.

“At some point he realized Liam was in the car with him,” Case said. “He ended up getting on a bus and coming back to Bridgeview and Summit area. We’re still a little unsure why at this time.”
Police learned Gutierrez had an active warrant out of Grundy on a retail theft charge. He was brought to the Bridgeview police station as the investigation continued. It was also determined that a parole violation had been issued for Gutierrez on a retail theft case.

Gutierrez appeared for a bond hearing on Wednesday before a Bridgeview judge, where bail was set at $500,000. His next hearing is Dec. 11 in Brideview.

Numerous agencies assisted Bridgeview police in the search, including the FBI. and officers from Justice, Burbank, Bedford Park, Summit, Willow Springs, Hodgkins, Palos Hills, Palos Heights, Oak Lawn, Crestwood, Orland Park, Chicago, Cook County Sheriff’s Police and the Illinois State Police.