The LaSalle Street home of Robert Gonzalez became a crime scene this afternoon after New York Police Department and FBI agents found him and Joanna Coates, the 14-year-old girl who lived two doors away, in Brooklyn.
"Without incident, they were located and taken into custody without any problems,” confirmed Rochester Police Department Commander Joe Morabito.
Coates was taken to a hospital. The police department said she's fine.
Finding them ended an Amber Alert that began Monday. Child Protective Services and State Police had checked in on the Coates' home earlier in the day. Joanna's mother told authorities her 14-year old was missing, which led to a 911 call, triggering the alert.
"Keep an eye on them. Know where they are,” Morabito said when asked what advice he had for parents worried about keeping their children safe. “Know who they're with. That's your best defense against something happening to your child."
The relationship between Gonzalez, a convicted drug felon, and Joanna remains at the heart of it. Family said there was one but RPD continues to investigate.
"We’re following up on all potential information related to the two of them,” Morabito said. “Any kind of relationship the two may or may not have had, we're following up on that as well."
Gonzalez was wanted on a separate assault warrant before he was named in the Amber Alert. Authorities brought Gonazlez back to Rochester Wendesday and are working to bring Joanna as well.
"There's a lot of work to do when we have a case of this nature comes up," he said. There were three investigators working to determine whether Joanna's situation warranted an Amber Alert and, once it was confirmed that it did, one was sent.