A Durango man who escaped from the La Plata County Jail and allegedly shot a Farmington police officer in 2021 was sentenced Monday to two years in prison for escape, assault and aggravated vehicle theft.
Elias Buck, 25, stood expressionless in the courtroom as 6th Judicial District Court Judge Kim Shropshire handed down the sentence Monday morning.
Buck’s sentence will be served concurrently – or at the same time – with a 10-year federal prison sentence he received for being a felon in possession of a firearm, meaning he won’t face any additional time in prison.
He will be eligible for release in 2030, said his defense attorney Elizabeth Krupa.
In a statement to the court, Buck said he made a series of bad choices 2½ years ago.
“As time has gone by and clarity sets in, I realize the decisions that I made were selfish,” Buck said.
Buck expressed remorse and acknowledged to the court that he understood he would be spending a substantial portion of his adult life away from his loved ones.
Krupa told the court that during his incarceration, Buck had achieved sobriety and earned his General Educational Development diploma.
While reading Buck’s sentence, Shropshire said he would have plenty of time to reflect on his past actions and consider how to become a better person once he had completed his sentence.
She was also encouraged to see that he had earned his GED, and said that pursuing further education while incarcerated would be beneficial.
Buck was first arrested in 2021 on suspicion of motor vehicle theft. While at the La Plata County Jail, he climbed a perimeter fence and escaped Dec. 27, 2021.
Eleven days later, he allegedly shot Farmington police officer Joseph Barreto in the right arm as the officer approached Buck and his girlfriend, Victoria Hernandez, regarding a suspected drunken driving incident. Barreto returned fire, but none of the shots struck Buck.
Buck spent another seven days on the run, but was eventually captured by law enforcement on Jan. 14, 2022, at a Quiktrip Convenience Store in Phoenix.
New Mexico prosecutors had initially charged Buck with assaulting a peace officer in connection with the shooting, but later dropped the charge to allow federal prosecutors to pursue a weapons charge instead.
Buck faced just six years in prison for shooting a police officer in the arm, but a longer sentence for the federal charges of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
tbrown@durangoherald.com
