Update: Father accused of kidnapping 5 kids in Richland, then taking them to work
A 37-year-old man allegedly was in a jealous rage when he forced his way into his former Richland home and kidnapped five children.
Juan D. Salas previously threatened that he would beat up any man who dated his ex, said court documents filed Tuesday.
He allegedly made good on that threat about 4:30 p.m. Monday at the home on the 2600 block of Jason Loop.
He reportedly spotted a man at the home and busted in the door. The mother of his four kids told police that he attacked the new boyfriend, leaving him injured, court documents said.
She tried to pull the men apart and then said she was going to call the police. Salas responded by yelling for his kids and a fifth child who was there to get in his car.
When they were in the GMC Yukon, he drove off.
“(Juan’s ex-girlfriend) believed that Juan was so upset with her, he was going to keep the children away from her,” Richland Officer Emily V. Villafana reported. “She felt like he was so angry with her that he was not thinking about the well-being of the children.”
Police said Salas doesn’t have legal custody of the kids, who lived in the house with their mom.
Richland police alerted other agencies about the apparently kidnapping and started to work on sending out an Amber Alert.
Before the alert could be issued, Pasco police tracked Salas down to the Darigold plant where he worked. The kids were inside Salas’ running Yukon while he was inside the plant, said police.
He was arrested without incident, and booked into the Benton County jail on suspicion of first-degree burglary and second-degree kidnapping.
The children were not hurt and were reunited with their mother, said police.
Salas told officers he was upset about finding the other man in the house, and didn’t want the children to be there. But he denied forcing his way into the home and hitting the boyfriend.
This story was originally published September 9, 2025 at 11:22 AM.