Franklin
Esquilin
MONTICELLO – A couple who 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.
