A Durango man who shot a Farmington police officer was sentenced Monday to 10 years in the New Mexico Department of Corrections.
Elias Buck, 26, pleaded guilty to aggravated battery on a peace officer causing great bodily harm for shooting officer Joseph Barreto on Jan. 7, 2022, after Buck had escaped from the La Plata County Jail.
He admitted to brandishing a firearm in the commission of a non-capital felony offense and admitted to being a habitual offender with two previous felony convictions.
Buck already is serving a 10-year sentence in federal prison for possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. The sentence runs concurrently with a two-year sentence for charges of escape, assault and aggravated vehicle theft in La Plata County.
District Judge Stephen Wayne ordered that Buck’s sentence in New Mexico run consecutively to the federal incarceration, meaning when he is released from custody in Otisville, New York, he will be remanded to the custody of the New Mexico Department of Corrections to serve his 10-year sentence.
Wayne ruled that the shooting warranted a sentence enhancement as a “serious violent offense,” which limits meritorious deductions to “a maximum of four days per month of time served.” That means Buck is eligible for a total reduction of three years from his sentence should he earn time for good behavior in prison, according to court records.
Buck was barred from possessing a firearm because of a 2019 case of attempted possession of methamphetamine for sale in Arizona.
His crimes in La Plata County were tied to the shooting of Barreto.
Timeline
Nov. 27, 2021: Elias Buck is arrested by the Aztec Police Department after a motor vehicle theft.
Dec. 27, 2021: Buck allegedly escapes from La Plata County Jail by climbing a perimeter fence.
Jan. 7, 2022: Buck allegedly shoots Farmington Police Department officer Joseph Barreto in the right arm after being confronted about an allegation of drunken driving.
Jan. 14, 2022: Buck is captured by law enforcement at a QuikTrip Convenience Store in Phoenix.
March 6, 2023: Buck is sentenced to two years in prison for escape, assault and aggravated vehicle theft.
March 24, 2024: Buck faces arraignment at 8 a.m. in 11th Judicial District Court for allegedly shooting Farmington officer Joseph Barreto.
May 5, 2025: Buck is sentenced to 10 years in the New Mexico Department of Corrections to be served following his federal prison sentence.
Buck was arrested by the Aztec Police Department on suspicion of motor vehicle theft Nov, 27, 2021, and extradited to Colorado. While at the La Plata County Jail, he climbed a perimeter fence and escaped Dec. 27, 2021.
Buck resurfaced in Farmington on Jan. 7, 2022, with then-girlfriend Victoria Hernandez Rossi.
He allegedly was driving drunk at 10:17 p.m. “in the drive-thru at Starbucks” at 2900 E. Main St. He reportedly was driving a 2009 black Cadillac passenger car “at a high rate of speed,” according to the arrest affidavit.
Police found the Cadillac unoccupied at 10:32 p.m. in the Carl’s Jr. parking lot, and three minutes later, Barreto encountered Buck and Hernandez Rossi walking in the area of 10th Street and North Fairview Avenue, the affidavit states. They said they were running from a dog.
After Barreto requested that they sit down, Buck asked if he was being detained. When Barreto said yes, Buck “reached into his waistband, backed up, asked why he was being detained and shot the officer,” according to the affidavit.
Buck and Hernandez Rossi fled Farmington and were arrested at a QuikTrip convenience store in Maricopa County, Arizona.
Buck was brought to Farmington by the San Juan County District Attorney’s Office to face the shooting charge. He will return to federal prison for the remainder of that sentence. Then, he will be brought back to New Mexico to serve the 10 years, followed by two years of mandatory supervised parole.
