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Background: A section of Underwood Road in Baldwin County, Alabama (Google Maps). Inset: Darnell Hernandez-Lopez (Baldwin County Sheriff”s Office).
A man is currently incarcerated in southern Alabama following allegations that he assaulted his wife during a domestic dispute, prompting her teenage son to intervene and defend her. The incident has resulted in Darnell Hernandez-Lopez, 32, facing charges of domestic violence strangulation, as indicated by jail records examined by Law&Crime. He was officially detained at the Baldwin County Corrections Center on Tuesday.
The altercation took place around 8 p.m. on Monday at a residence located off Underwood Road, just outside Foley, Alabama. According to a Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office news release, reviewed by local Fox affiliate WALA, Hernandez-Lopez was engaged in a heated argument with his wife. The exact cause of the dispute remains undisclosed.
During the confrontation, Hernandez-Lopez allegedly attempted to strangle his wife. She recounted the harrowing experience to the local news outlet, revealing the severity of the threat she faced. “He was threatening to kill everyone in the house because he was high on drugs and he was drunk,” she remarked. “I was able to sneak away and give my son my phone to call the police.”
This brave act of contacting authorities was instrumental in addressing the situation, as it not only brought attention to the immediate danger but also highlighted the critical role of the teenage son in safeguarding his mother. The case sheds light on the serious issue of domestic violence and the impact it can have on families, especially when substance abuse is involved.
“He was threatening to kill everyone in the house because he was high on drugs and he was drunk,” she said. “So I was able to sneak away and give my son my phone to call the police.”
Though the mother reportedly told her son, who was 13, to wait inside their house until police arrived, he declared he “wasn’t going anywhere,” the woman added. “He was worried about me.”
Hernandez-Lopez allegedly tried to hit the son with a bicycle and then swung at the teen, who dodged the swing and then punched his stepfather “a few times,” knocking him out, the mother added, per WALA. “I was scared because I thought he was going to get hurt, but he had the situation under control,” she said.
The suspect, who is reportedly not a U.S. citizen, was arrested and booked into the local jail. Neither she nor her son was seriously injured, the woman said.