Deputy shares experience of stopping suspect with stolen truck, kidnapped children

TAMPA, Fla. - For any law enforcement officer, a carjacking is a high-risk call. For a Hillsborough County deputy, stopping a man behind the wheel of a stolen truck with two children inside was a tense, fast-moving situation, but keeping everyone calm was crucial. 

Typically, deputies come into these calls with guns drawn and getting everyone out of the vehicle one by one. When kids are involved, though, that changes everything. 

"My priority at that point was the lives of two kids," said Hillsborough Deputy Jonathon Pazmino Alvarez said.

RELATED: Hillsborough sheriff: Man arrested for kidnapping after stealing truck with two kids inside

Monday night, the deputy had just finished serving a warrant with his partner near East 137th Avenue and North 15th Street in Tampa when a frantic father caught his eye.

"We see this gentleman running behind his truck yelling, ‘he just took my truck with my kids,’" Pazmino Alvarez said. "I got in my car, and I followed the vehicle."

Hillsborough County Deputy Jonathan Pazmino Alvarez was serving a warrant when he saw a frantic father yelling, "he just took my truck with my kids."

After giving several commands through a speaker, he got the driver, 37-year-old Kevin Smith, to stop. The next challenge was keeping everyone calm.

"I just wanted to make sure they were safe, that this subject did not do anything that could harm them," Pazmino Alvarez said.

Body camera video shows the deputy asking the kids if Smith is their parent. One of them replied, "no." 

READ: 1 shot, killed at Sunshine Skyway Fishing Pier, deputies say

"Step out of the car, bro," the deputy said. "Help me out now. It's not you? Let me figure it out."

"From the moment I opened that door, he looked nervous. But at the same time, I was just looking at his hands, making sure that he did not do any quick movements with them," Pazmino Alvarez said. "That's why I took control of one hand right away. But in my mind, I wanted to make sure that he got me the keys because I didn't want him to take off again."

Eventually, he got Smith into handcuffs. It's unclear if Smith knew the two kids were inside the truck when he got in. He refused to speak to the deputy after being read his Miranda Rights.

Kevin Smith has been arrested on two counts of felony kidnapping and one count of grand theft of a motor vehicle. 

Deputy Pazmino Alvarez moved to Florida from Ecuador in 2012, became a citizen, and dreamed of one day becoming a law enforcement officer.

MORE: 2 shot, killed trying to rob jewelry store at Magic Mall in Orlando, police say

"I used to be an aquatic's director for the YMCA," he said. "I used to do ropes courses and team building. So, I was surrounded by kids all the time."

That experience shaped how he handled this call. The deputy was just as relieved as dad.

"He just said to me, I'm so glad you were there. And I look back and say, 'wow, I'm glad I was there, too.' And we are both so lucky that this did not go any other way," said Dep. Pazmino Alvarez.

Smith was charged with two counts of felony kidnapping and one count of grand theft of a motor vehicle. He remains in the Hillsborough County Jail.