Santa Rosa police release ‘most wanted’ list

A fugitive chiropractor who has remained at large since a jury found him guilty earlier this year of molesting young, female clients has joined the list of most-wanted criminals compiled by Santa Rosa police.

Darius Bunyad, 36, is pictured alongside suspected murderers and other serious felons who have eluded capture for months and even years.

Police hope to find new leads about Bunyad and the other nine men by putting their faces on social media and offering rewards, Sgt. Tommy Isachsen said. Earlier this year, publicity led to the arrest of murder suspect Ricardo Puentes, who had been wanted for more than a dozen years.

“It was us putting out the most-wanted list in addition to people seeing there was reward money,” Isachsen said.

He credited Sonoma County Alliance’s “Take Back Our Community” program, which provided reward funds. The new list contains some of the same names, including two men suspected of separate homicides.

One suspected killer, Francisco Reyes, 64, has been wanted for more than 25 years.

Oswaldo Gallardo, 37, is also sought in a 1999 shooting in Santa Rosa’s South Park neighborhood.

Others on the list include men suspected of other violent crimes and sexual predators.

Bunyad could be the most well-known. He was tried and convicted of groping clients under the guise of therapeutic treatment in his downtown Santa Rosa chiropractic office.

However, he disappeared as the jury began deliberating and was not in court when the verdict was read. He faced up to eight years in prison. Just where he went remains a mystery.

He was last spotted in Walnut Creek with an unknown woman.

Police put a hold on the Afghanistan native’s passport and don’t believe he was able to leave the country.

He’s hiding out somewhere. Isachsen doesn’t put much stock in theories that he’s killed himself.

“We’re still looking for him,” he said. “We know he’s on the run.”

You can reach Staff Writer Paul Payne at 707-568-5312 or paul.payne@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @ppayne.