Esquilin
Franklin
MONTICELLO – A couple that missed a scheduled court appearance
concerning four children in their custody has been arrested on the court
warrant and the children were located on Thursday morning.
As a result, the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office cancelled an Amber
Alert for them. The alert was issued after it was learned the children
were taken from their Monticello home and it was believed the two suspects
– Alfred Franklin, Jr., 30, and Tina Esquilin, 27 – might
have been headed to North Carolina or Florida with them.
The family court order was issued to remove the children from their custody
due to a history of child neglect, violent behavior and substance abuse.
The sheriff’s office received several tips from the Amber Alert
system and at about 10 a.m., deputies located the four children at a residence
in Cochecton owned by their great grandmother. Their ages are six months,
two years, four years and five years old. Esquilin is the mother of all
four. Franklin is the father of one.
At the same time, sheriff’s deputies and the Monticello Police located
Franklin and Esquilin at the Horizons Housing complex on West Broadway
in Monticello. They were taken into custody without incident.
