A Dolores man involved in a two-hour standoff with police in Durango and is wanted on several felony warrants for weapons and menacing offenses will be extradited to Cortez after he was arrested last week in St. George, Utah.
John Finocchiaro was arrested Friday in St. George after officers were called to a family disturbance.
According to a report in the St. George News, officers arrested Finocchiaro at the Jubilee Home, a guest house for patients and family members of the Dixie Regional Medical Center.
Officers arrested Finocchiaro on outstanding warrants from Montezuma County and said they discovered drugs on him during a search before he was transported to jail.
According to the news report, Finocchiaro fought with officers after his arrest and slammed his head on the hood of a patrol vehicle with enough force to dent it. He then head-butted one of the arresting officers before being taken to jail.
On Monday, he was in custody of the Purgatory Correctional Facility in St. George, and a spokeswoman at the jail said he will be extradited to Cortez.
Finocchiaro was booked into the St. George jail Friday on suspicion of second-degree felony, possession/receiving a stolen vehicle and third-degree felony damage to the jail.
He also faces seven misdemeanors for the incident in Utah: assault on a police officer; interfering with arrest; domestic violence simple assault; domestic violence criminal mischief; drug possession; possession of paraphernalia; and providing false information.
On Feb. 3, Montezuma County Sheriff’s Office arrested Finocchiaro in Dolores as a felon in possession of a firearm. According to the incident report, Finocchiaro became agitated as officers placed him in a patrol vehicle, and he slammed his head against the cage.
Deputies recovered a Hi-Point 9 mm rifle and nine rounds of 9 mm ammunition. Possession of a firearm by a previous offender is a Class 4 felony.
Finocchiaro also had an encounter with deputies the day before the firearm arrest. He was cited for disorderly conduct after arguing with a woman at the Rio Grande Southern Hotel in Dolores. A Sheriff’s Office incident report states deputies had been called to the hotel twice in recent days for the same complaint.
On Feb. 10, Finocchiaro was arrested in Durango after he allegedly barricaded himself in a hotel room and refused to come out after police received information he was staying at the inn.
Finocchiaro is wanted in Montezuma County on seven warrants, including several felony menacing charges, several felony bail bond violations and possession of a controlled substance.
On Feb. 20, Finocchiaro failed to appear in Montezuma County Combined Courts for hearings on at least four pending cases.
At the hearing, Montezuma County Judge JenniLynn Lawrence expressed concern for public safety, particularly after Finocchiaro had been charged with possession of a weapon by felon.
According to The Journal archives, Finocchiaro has been convicted of multiple felonies dating to 2002, when he was convicted of assault with a deadly weapon. In 2012, he was convicted of felony menacing for use of force with a deadly weapon.
The Dolores resident in 2013 provoked the Montezuma County Sheriff’s Office to lock down Dolores High School. Law enforcement saw Finocchiaro walking near the school after they had tried several days to locate him on a Colorado Department of Corrections no-bond warrant for parole violation.
In 2014, Finocchiaro was sentenced to 18 months in prison after pleading guilty to a firearms charge.
parmijo@the-journal.com
