AURORA |Authorities in Florida have arrested a 35-year-old man on suspicion of assault months after investigators in Aurora believe he assaulted a local store clerk when asked to wear a face mask.
Aurora police on Thursday announced that Ion Buzdugan had been arrested in connection with the January incident in Alachua County Florida on March 9. Buzdugan remains detained at the Alachua County Jail in Gainesville, Florida awaiting extradition to Colorado.
Investigators said Buzdugan entered the Sinclair gas station at 14401 E. Sixth Ave. at 10:45 a.m. on Jan. 4 and assaulted a clerk who had asked the him to cover his face to comply with public health protocols.
The employee who was attacked sustained “serious bodily injury to their face,” police said in a tweet.
Attorneys in Aurora’s 18th Judicial District will prosecute Buzdugan. He is currently being detained on a second-degree assault charge.
The assault in January marked the latest instance of violence or property crime in Aurora prompted by social restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Several high-profile crimes related to COVID-19 restrictions were reported to Aurora police last spring.
Ion, would it not have been better, and easier, to just put on a mask?