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Man arrested for attempted sexual assault at Iris Park

24-year-old suspect from Durango currently being held without bail
Phillips

A Durango man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted sexual assault on a woman in Iris Park in Durango.

Vernon Phillips, 24, was being held Tuesday without bail at the La Plata County jail on suspicion of attempted sexual assault, misdemeanor assault and violation of a protection order.

According to a news release issued Tuesday by the Durango Police Department, a woman called police at 9:39 p.m. Saturday to report that a man attacked her from behind about 15 minutes earlier on a bridge near Iris Park, 1235 Camino del Rio.

The woman said she was approached from behind by Phillips, who she recognized from interactions at her place of work, a downtown restaurant, according to the release. When she turned around, Phillips grabbed her and forcibly started kissing her. He also tried to stick his hand down her pants, but was unable to do so, the woman told police.

The woman was able to free herself from the man by kneeing him in the groin.

She gave police a detailed description of the suspect, and nearly two hours later, an officer saw a man who matched the description walking in the 900 block of Camino del Rio, a couple of blocks south of Iris Park.

The officer turned around in his patrol car, and the man took off in a full sprint toward the Animas River, according to the release. The officer followed, identified himself as a police officer and yelled for the man to stop.

The man ran down a steep embankment toward the river; the officer was barely able to walk down the embankment in pursuit, the release said. When the officer got to the river, he found the man hiding behind large rocks. Several officers arrived and escorted him up the hill.

The woman identified the man as her attacker.

Phillips was taken to Mercy Regional Medical Center where he was treated for injuries he suffered as a result of falling down the steep embankment while running from police, the release said. He is being held without bail because of a possible parole violation stemming from a felony assault and menacing case in Cortez.

shane@durangoherald.com



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