Bow Hunters Attacked Near Gallina By Michael Walton SUN Staff Writer Published: Thursday, October 11, 2012 10:07 AM MDT A group of unknown and supposedly heavily armed individuals last month allegedly assaulted two bow hunters from Aztec, N.M. while the men were hunting near Gallina, according to a report from the Rio Arriba County Sheriff�s Office.
E-911 dispatchers first notified Sheriff�s deputies of the alleged assault at roughly 8:20 p.m., Sept. 14, the report states. Dispatchers sent deputy Manuel Romero to the area near Forest Road 11, where he met brothers Alfred and James Saiz. Both men alleged they had been hunting near their truck when all of a sudden they heard �a clear and distinct buzzing noise and whistling of rounds overhead,� the report says. The brothers immediately began shouting �hunters, hunters,� as they presumably thought another hunter, or hunters, had mistaken them for game. This was not the case, though, and a group of male subjects approached the Saiz brothers. * The men allegedly became �aggravated and drew down with an automatic weapon on (Alfred�s) head,� the report reads. Alfred and James Saiz became upset and frightened. The two quickly ran to their truck, left the area and called 911. The report lists a description of the alleged criminals provided by the Saiz brothers as four men and a woman with an older, grey Chevy pickup truck. Romero and several other deputies searched for the suspects and the vehicle on forest roads 8 and 11, and on State Road 96. The deputies found nothing, the report states. Sheriff Tommy Rodella did not return a call for this story seeking further information on the alleged assault, but Alfred Saiz said Oct. 5 that, as far as he knew, no arrests had been made in the case. Alfred Saiz also questioned whether the report quoted above accurately describes what he alleges transpired Sept. 14. Alfred and James Saiz ended what should have been a five-day hunting trip early after the incident which occurred that day, Alfred Saiz said last week. The two men had a bull elk in their sights shortly before the gunfire erupted. Alfred Saiz said he had bugled the animal up a canyon to within 20 yards of his brother. Alfred Saiz begin to move around behind the elk, hoping to prompt the animal to turn, thus giving James Saiz a clear shot at its broadside. But as Alfred Saiz tried to maneuver, roughly five to six gunshots rang out in his direction, Alfred Saiz said. The two men called out to identify himself as hunters and the shooting stopped. With the elk by now scared away, Alfred and David Saiz headed out of the canyon toward their truck. When the brothers arrived back at their vehicle, though, several individuals allegedly were waiting for them in a pickup truck of their own, Alfred Saiz said. One of the men approached Alfred Saiz and began pushing him. Alfred Saiz pushed the man back, and David Saiz told the individuals they should not be firing guns in the area during bow hunting season. The first man responded he lived in the area and the Saiz brothers did not. Meanwhile, Alfred Saiz approached the individuals� truck, he said. As he did so, the first man allegedly pulled out a weapon which Alfred Saiz described as �an assault rifle.� Alfred Saiz alleged the man pointed the rifle, with a round in its chamber, at his head and told him he was going to die. �He was looking right through me,� Alfred Saiz said. Alfred Saiz and his brother were each armed�Alfred was carrying a .357 revolver with six rounds while his brother had a .40 caliber semiautomatic pistol with a 12 round clip�but Alfred Saiz saw the individuals had additional guns in their truck. �We were way outnumbered and way outgunned,� he said. Alfred Saiz said he slowly diffused the situation by talking to the man armed with the rifle: at one point Alfred Saiz reminded the man that he was a human being, too. Still, Saiz said he was terrified at the time, and remained shaken up as of last week. �People tell you all the time, before you die, you see your family and all your life,� Alfred Saiz said. �It�s true, man.� But Alfred Saiz did not die that day. The unknown man allegedly lowered his gun and left the brothers with a warning: be gone from the area tomorrow, or we will be back. Alfred Saiz admitted that, at the time, his first thoughts returned to the elk which had narrowly escaped falling victim to one of David Saiz�s arrows. �But then we both started shaking,� he said. The Saiz brothers still do not know why this group allegedly accosted them on National Forest land, but he offered one possibly theory as to a motive for the crime: Perhaps he and his brother nearly stumbled onto an illegal marijuana grow site. �I think it was just us at a bad place at the wrong time,� he said.
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