Parents arrested at Durham hotel days after Amber Alert for baby

Two parents linked to the Amber Alert of a days-old baby from last week are in custody.

Destinee Cothran and Justin Lee Brown were taken into custody on Monday. The two are being held at the Durham County Detention Facility.

The couple was illegally staying at the Surestay Plus Hotel in Durham along Hillsborough Road. Cothran and Brown gave a fake name to elude arrest, according to arrest warrants.

Arrest warrants indicated that the hotel manager refused to give them a room, but the couple stayed in one anyway, which led to trespassing charges. According to arrest warrants, Cothran gave a fake name and refused to leave the room as a Durham officer was attempting to arrest her.

Authorities launched a search for Cothran and Brown after the Department of Social Services (DSS) threatened to intervene for the safety of their son, Jaxton, who was born on Feb. 18 at Duke Regional Hospital. This prompted an Amber Alert. Jaxton was found safe the night of Monday, Feb. 26.

Brown’s charges include violating his probation, second-degree trespassing, resisting a public officer, driving with a revoked license and driving while impaired. Cothran was charged with driving while impaired, possessing heroin, resisting a public officer and second-degree trespassing.

Cothran and Brown were not charged with kidnapping. They appeared in court Tuesday morning.