Bayfield Marshal’s Office deputies responded to a man with a fatal gunshot wound about 11:30 p.m. Tuesday on Cedar Drive in Bayfield.
John Bonds, 32, was found dead upon deputies’ arrival. The La Plata County Coroner’s Office has ruled the gunshot wound to be self-inflicted. The incident took place in the victim’s garage.
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Deputies do not suspect suspicious circumstances, said Lt. Brandon Tisher, with the Bayfield Marshal’s Office.
Tisher said deputies received a call from a family member notifying the Marshal’s Office of the situation. La Plata County Coroner Jann Smith said the victim had not been deceased long before he was found.
The Coroner’s Office does not know whether drugs or alcohol were involved with the incident and will not know until it receives a toxicology report. Smith said there is reason to believe alcohol was involved.
“It takes about four weeks to get the report back from Kentucky,” she said. “So right now, we don’t know that. It’s suspected but we can’t confirm that. Not drugs necessarily, but alcohol.”
Bonds worked at Steamworks Brewing Co. in Durango, according to a Facebook post from the restaurant, which was closed on Wednesday.
“He was a hard worker and he was constantly making us laugh with his fun, goofy attitude,” the post reads. “He will be sorely, sorely missed by all of us.”
A fundraiser has been set up at www.givebutter.com under the header “Bond’s Family Fundraiser” to help his mother with expenses.
tbrown@durangoherald.com
