Tri-Cities man chokes mom with extension cord, then hides in makeshift tunnel

A man is accused of choking his mother and hiding from police in a makeshift tunnel under a Benton City, Washington, home.

Ritcherd J. Hernandez, 27, allegedly choked his mother, 60, with an extension cord between Christmas and the day after, the Benton County Sheriff’s Office .

He allegedly refused to let her leave the home . On Thursday, she escaped to a neighbor’s house . She was taken to a hospital for treatment, Lt. Mike Clark said.

Deputies returned to the home Thursday. They talked to him through windows, but he refused to come out, Clark said. Instead, he barricaded himself inside, and made a tunnel he had dug out underneath the house. He was able to access the tunnel from a hole he’d cut into the floor, Clark said.

Deputies found him hiding underneath the house.

Hernandez was booked in Benton County jail on suspicion of second-degree assault, unlawful imprisonment, harassment and malicious mischief.