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Dig It: Man Tunnels Through 4 Motel Rooms To Evade Police
Photo by Chriss_Lott via LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr
A Covina man on parole who barricaded himself inside a motel room early Monday morning "burrowed through the walls of neighboring rooms" in an attempt to evade capture but eventually gave up and surrendered to authorities, reports the Pasadena Star News.Officers received a report from a woman around 3:00 a.m. of a domestic violence incident claiming that 34-year-old Fernando Sanchez "made threats against her while brandishing a handgun," according to the Azusa Police Department.
Learning that Sanchez had fled to the Arrow Inn at 469 E. Arrow Highway, police arrived at the motel and contacted Sanchez by phone. He surrendered peacefully after an hour and a half of refusing to come out of his room.
Officers entered the room noticed "that Sanchez had kicked a hole in the wall to gain access the the room next door. Further investigation revealed that, in an attempt to escape, he had tunneled through the walls of four additional rooms," notes the Pasadena Star News.
Police said the holes, causing approximately $3000 in damage, were barely wide enough for a person to fit through.
Sanchez was arrested on suspicion of making criminal threats, brandishing a firearm, battery, felony vandalism, resisting arrest and violation of a restraining order. He is being held at the Azusa jail on $50,000 bail and is due for arraignment at the West Covina Courthouse on Wednesday. No handgun was recovered.
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