Man still held in abduction case
A man detained in the investigation of a North Las Vegas boy’s abduction can be held a week longer while prosecutors consider filing a weapons charge, a judge decided.
The brief hearing did not address the abduction, and police have not said why they consider Jose Lopez-Buelna a “person of interest.”
The convicted drug trafficker was arrested during the investigation into the abduction of Cole Puffinburger, 6, who was found unharmed Saturday night.
Justice of the Peace Stephen Dahl found probable cause to hold him on suspicion of a felony weapons violation and set bail at $10,000. Lopez-Buelna, 48, could be released if prosecutors don’t file a charge by Wednesday.
Cole was abducted from his mother’s home Oct. 8 by two men posing as police. He was the subject of an intensive search before he was released unharmed on a Las Vegas street.
The boy’s grandfather, Clemens Fred Tinnemeyer, and a woman believed to be his companion are being held in federal custody as material witnesses. Police have said they were investigating whether Tinnemeyer stole money from Mexican drug dealers.
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