In a shocking case, a Kentucky man is accused of fleeing town in the car of his newborn’s mother shortly after witnessing the birth at Pikeville Medical Center. Police say 37-year-old Christopher Mollette of Tomahawk stole the vehicle from the hospital after not being allowed inside due to visitation restrictions.
The child’s mother, reportedly his ex-girlfriend, told Law&Crime, that she allowed Mollette to wait in her car to stay warm. After the birth, Mollette allegedly returned to the vehicle while the mother remained inside the hospital. When it was time for him to come back, he was nowhere to be found, and the woman discovered her car was missing.
Mollette has a criminal history, including prior arrests and drug-possession charges. Security footage reportedly showed him entering the vehicle through the passenger side, then moving to the driver’s seat and driving away.
Mother who just gave birth has car stolen from hospital by baby’s father angry after being booted from room due to visitation policy: Police https://t.co/JK5ZzQnBMe
— Law & Crime (@lawcrimenews) January 5, 2026
The mother told police she called Mollette, who allegedly answered and said it was none of her business where the car was before hanging up. He was arrested in Paintsville, about 45 minutes from Pikeville, on January 3.
Mollette has been charged with auto theft and receiving stolen property, according to jail records. As of January 5, he was being held at the Big Sandy Regional Detention Center on a $10,000 bond for each charge he had been accused of at the time of writing.
In Kentucky, auto theft is a serious offense that falls under KRS 514.030, also known as “Theft by Unlawful Taking.” Penalties are determined based on the value of the stolen property.
To clarify the charges, Kentucky law defines auto theft broadly. The statute includes offenses such as shoplifting, taking a vehicle without consent, and retaining property after permission has ended.
While the legal consequences of theft depend on the nature of the crime, an individual’s criminal history, and other factors, the public often confuses terms such as theft, robbery, and burglary.
Kentucky law treats these as three distinct offenses, and understanding the differences is important for anyone facing such charges.
Under Kentucky law, theft generally refers to taking property that does not belong to the individual. Minor crimes, ranging from shoplifting to fraud, fall under this category. Burglary, often understood as breaking into a home, is defined differently.
According to Dickmanlawoffice, Kentucky law defines burglary as unlawfully entering or remaining on another person’s property without permission and with the intent to commit a crime. While that crime is often theft or robbery, it is the unlawful entry itself that constitutes burglary.
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Yet, burglary should not be confused with trespassing, which involves unauthorized entry into property such as a house, business, vehicle, aircraft, or ship- without necessarily committing any further crime.
Finally, to complete the distinction, robbery is a form of theft that involves threats, force or intimidation. In Kentucky, robbery involving a weapon is typically charged as first-degree robbery, which is a serious felony leading to a prolonged jail sentence.
As stated by the law firm, while not all thefts may qualify as robbery, all robberies involve an attempt to steal property through force. It is the most violent one of all as it involves the direct harm or threat to another person.
