A New Mexico man suspected of multiple assaults and leading police on a float down the Animas River was formally charged Friday in 6th Judicial District Court.
Mark Bufano Jr., 21, was charged with misdemeanor assault, false imprisonment, obstruction of telephone service and child abuse. More charges are expected to be filed next week in connection with the criminal episode that occurred May 31, prosecutors said.
According to police reports and two arrest affidavits filed in District Court, Bufano harmed a child, assaulted his girlfriend, sexually assaulted a 16-year-old girl and hit his grandmother all within a few hours of each other.
Bufano is being held in the La Plata County Jail on $100,000 bail in connection with sexual assault on a child and assault of an at-risk adult his grandmother, who is 60 or older.
Prosecutors plan to file formal charges next week in that case.
The series of events began at a house on County Road 203 north of Durango.
Bufano is suspected of choking his girlfriend multiple times and refusing to allow her to use a phone to call 911. During the encounter, Bufano fell to the ground while holding a child. The child suffered a slight cut on the left cheek.
The woman eventually escaped the house and went to a neighbors house where she called 911.
The La Plata County Sheriffs Office began searching for Bufano, but he was en route to Durango in a car with several other people, including his grandmother and a 16-year-old girl.
While in the car, Bufano put his hand up the girls skirt on several occasions as she resisted his advances, according to an affidavit.
He then punched one passenger in the chest and punched the driver in the face with a closed fist. The driver became dazed and almost lost control of the vehicle, according to the affidavit.
The driver pulled over at north City Market, 3130 Main Ave., and Bufano continued to punch someone in the car. He then jumped out of the vehicle, ran to the 32nd Street bridge, jumped from the bridge and fell into a ditch before rolling into the Animas River, according to the affidavit.
Police arrived and followed him downstream for about three blocks to 29th Street, where he was pulled from the river and handcuffed.Police said he was intoxicated.
shane@durangoherald.com
