An Arizona couple is being held without bond after Greensburg police said they took their 1-year-old son from a relative when they were not permitted to have contact with him, according to court papers.
Zerion A. Brown, 21, and Malay’ja T. Draw, 20, both of Surprise, Ariz., are charged with interference with the custody of a child and conspiracy.
The Arizona Department of Child Services in December prohibited Draw and Brown from having contact with the boy and custody was granted to Brown’s mother, according to court papers.
The two suspects were in Greensburg Tuesday visiting Brown’s grandmother at Pershing Square on West Third Street. Police said the child also was there around 1 p.m. and Draw picked him up and fled. She and Brown left in a Kia Soul, according to court papers.
Police were able to get emergency help from the cell phone provider for one of the suspects and learned that they were in the New Alexandria area, according to Capt. Shawn Denning. State police found them at a gas station there.
The child was found safe with them and he was returned to relatives, Denning said.
Brown and Draw were arraigned after 6 p.m. They were being held at the Westmoreland County Prison. They did not have attorneys listed in online court records. Preliminary hearings are set for Sept. 9.
Brown pleaded guilty to a reduced charge in connection with a 2019 burglary in Maricopa County, according to Arizona public records. He was sentenced to probation that was later revoked. A bond forfeiture hearing is scheduled for January.
Surprise, Ariz. is about 2,100 miles from Greensburg.
