CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A four-month manhunt for parents accused of abusing and abandoning their then-4-month-old baby came to an end in Mint Hill Thursday night, police said.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg police confirmed that 24-year-old Brandon Augustine and 23-year-old Mildred Chestnut were arrested late Thursday. Both suspects are charged with felony child abuse inflicting serious injury.
Augustine was arrested after ordering food at the McDonald's on Lawyers Road in Mint Hill around 8 p.m., Lt. Jim Ivie said. Chestnut was arrested a short time later when detectives found her inside a tent in the woods nearby. He said it was unclear how long they'd been in the camp, but said it was "at least" a few days.
"They had been on the run in Georgia, through South Carolina and made it back to this area," Ivie said.
Just minutes after CMPD's news conference, Chestnut posted a $1,000 unsecured bond and was released from jail, records show. Augustine's bond was raised to $50,000 from its original amount of $15,000. CMPD officials scoffed at the low amounts.
"We as an agency, and I personally am very disappointed in the bond amounts," Ivie said. "I think that despite not only considering the extensive resources that law enforcement expended to find these two who are running, but also that you have a 4-month-old child who didn't even have a chance at life who has been injured so that their life will never be the same, and they're giving such a low amount so that they can get right out of jail."
Augustine and Chestnut were known in their east Charlotte neighborhood as withdrawn.
"They were very quiet," one neighbor, who asked not to be named, said. "We even actually tried to engage them when we were like barbecuing in the back. They used to be very, very out in the yard and stuff and, we tried to talk to them and they were always very, very closed off."
Another neighbor said they saw some activity at the house since the couple first went on the run four months ago.
"A month ago there were... I'll say cops, kind of like bounty hunters," the neighbor said. "Like they had like a business. So they came to us and they asked the same thing, but we had no clue."
The couple's car was found in Austell, Georgia, on March 21. Austell is about 260 miles away from Charlotte and about 20 miles outside Atlanta. CMPD announced they were looking for the couple in April, about three weeks after Augustine's mother reported them missing.
Moments after CMPD shared the details, Diane Augustine shared more with WCNC Charlotte. She said she found out about the accusations 30 minutes before CMPD's news conference.
She said she had no idea her son and his fiancée were being investigated for a crime this serious.
"[CMPD] kept me in the dark on everything because they were looking at family," Dianne Augustine said.
CMPD teamed with eight different law enforcement agencies, including FBI Charlotte, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation and the Secret Service in their search to find the pair. Ivie said CMPD got a lot of help from Georgia authorities who collected evidence from their vehicle.
Ivie said the couple isn't facing any more charges at this time, but the investigation remains in the early stages with detectives trying to piece it all together.
"At this point, we're still trying to put together a timeline prior to the child being left at the hospital," Ivie said. "It suffered severe, life-altering brain injuries. This child's life will not be the same."
Ivie didn't get into details as to how CMPD knew Augustine and Chestnut were in the area but he credited tips from the public and other law enforcement agencies for tracking them down.
Police confirmed they didn’t share any details of their investigation with Dianne Augustine. Prior to the missing's person report being filed, CMPD was already investigating the parents.
In March, Brandon Augustine's mother said she was under the assumption her son and his fiancée were in the hospital due to a car crash, which her grandson was also in.
"They went because of the accident, and they were there for days, a couple of days, and then they got the flu," she said.
CMPD said doctors alerted their officers to the hospital where the child was.
"The severity of the child's injuries were not consistent with a minor crash, as the parents insisted," an officer said.
Note: WCNC instituted a policy in March 2021 regarding the broadcast or posting of mugshots.
WCNC will only air or post a mugshot if the person has been formally charged with a crime and in a few other cases. The exceptions include: If it appears the person could be a danger to themselves or others or if they are wanted by authorities; to differentiate between people with a common name; if the photos could encourage more victims to come forward. The news-editorial leadership may also decide to use a mugshot based on the severity of the crime(s) committed and/or the level of public interest in the crime and ensuing criminal proceedings.
WCNC Charlotte is choosing to show the mugshots of the suspects in this case due to the serious nature of the charges.