Police find baby after delivery in hotel room

Youngtown Police arrested a Surprise man on drug possession charges Wednesday afternoon shortly after the woman he was with gave birth at a local hotel, police said.

Jimmy Viella was booked into the Fourth Avenue Jail in Phoenix on drug possession charges, while Amber Searles and the baby girl were taken to Banner Thunderbird Hospital, said Youngtown Police Chief Kimberly Johnson.

Searles, who is in her mid-20s and lives in Surprise, was not arrested, but an investigation is pending, Johnson said.

The police chief said Youngtown officers received a phone call Wednesday from management at the Motel 6 on Grand Avenue. A motel official said the couple had been staying at the motel for almost a month.

Police discovered a placenta and bloody towels along with drugs and drug paraphernalia in a room.

"No one was in the room when our officers walked in, but there was clear evidence something happened because those individuals tried to clean it up," Johnson said.

Officers visited Searles' and Viella's homes in Surprise but couldn't find them.

Searles and Viella were driving back to the Motel 6, when officers arrested them near a Youngtown restaurant, police said.

When they stopped the couple, officers tried to check on the baby, but the mother refused for several minutes, police said.

"We were able to get her to let the fire department look at the baby and herself to make sure they were fine, then she was taken to the hospital," Johnson said.