Convicted Santa Rosa chiropractor back in Sonoma County Jail after arrest in Mexico

The Santa Rosa chiropractor wanted for fleeing ahead of his conviction for molesting women and teen clients nearly two years ago was in custody at the Sonoma County Jail on Thursday, less than a week after federal authorities arrested him in Mexico.

Sonoma County deputies picked up Daryoush “Darius” Bunyad from Marin County Jail, where he'd been taken by Los Angeles County authorities by bus. He was booked into Sonoma County Jail at 6:26 p.m.

He was being held without bail in connection with the March 2017 sex crimes conviction, where a jury found him guilty in absentia of 14 felonies, including sexual battery, annoying or molesting someone under age 18 and battery.

Bunyad also was booked on an additional felony for failing to appear in court on his molestation case.

He's scheduled to appear before a Sonoma County Superior Court judge on Friday, when he'll likely be arraigned on the new felony related to his disappearance, the Sonoma County District Attorney's Office said. A judge will decide how to proceed with the new case and the sentencing for the 2017 sex crime convictions, for which he faces a maximum prison sentence of eight years.

The Santa Rosa Police Department said a tip from a resident of Playa del Carmen, Mexico led to Bunyad's arrest in the area, located south of Cancún.

The resident also sent photographs of Bunyad and investigators confirmed his identity. Santa Rosa officers forwarded the case to the U.S. Marshals Service after receiving the tip, and the federal officers made the arrest on Jan. 24.

A civil case to determine whether Bunyad and his company should pay for medical expenses and other damages to a woman he began groping and sexually molesting when she was a teenager has been settled. Terms of the deal, were confidential and additional details were not immediately available.

You can reach Staff Writer Nashelly Chavez at 707-521-5203 or nashelly.chavez@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @nashellytweets

EDITOR'S NOTE: This story has been revised to note that Sonoma County deputies picked up Bunyad from Marin County Jail. An editing error had previously indicated he was picked up by deputies from Los Angeles County Jail.