JACKSON HEIGHTS — Police arrested a mom who allegedly swiped an iPad used by a special needs child to communicate after it was left outside his home while his father carried him in from the cold, police said.
Jaheda Latif, 42, walked by the victim's 69th Street home at 4:10 p.m. and snatched the item, as well as a special helmet the child uses in case of a fall, a weighted vest that helps him balance, a lunch box and a backpack with the iPad and speakers inside, police said.
The victim's father, who asked not to be named, said he left his young son’s things from school outside his house while he carried him inside.
His son, who has a neurological condition that affects his movement and speech, had fallen asleep on his school bus.
"He was cold," he said. "I brought him inside, got a blanket."
When he went outside about a half hour later, everything was gone, he said.
After checking surveillance video, he saw Latif and her son had walked by the items — which had tags on it showing it was Department of Education property labeled with the victim's name — then walked back, looked inside the backpack and took it.
“She saw something she liked and took it,” he said.
He turned over his video footage to the police. Latif was found when she registered the iPad in her own name, according to the criminal complaint.
The time spent without his son’s crucial items was “difficult” because he uses a special program on the iPad to say what he wants and needs, the father said. He also wears the helmet — which was molded for him — in case he falls while walking.
Police told the victim that when they arrived at Latif’s home, also in Jackson Heights, her son answered the door while playing with the stolen iPad, the victim said.
When she was arrested, she allegedly told police she walked by the items but “thought it was garbage, so I took it home,” court papers read.
She was charged with petit larceny and criminal possession of stolen property and is due back in court in June.
Her lawyer did not respond to a request for comment.
