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| Arizona hiker gets new trial in fatal trailhead shooting |
| 2009-07-09 |
| It is a back country wanderer's worst nightmare; arriving at a remote trailhead to find yourself accosted by two growling, snarling off-leash dogs, and then their owner, who threatens to kill you for having taken action to deter the approaching canines. That's what retired Arizona teacher Harold Fish told investigators in May 2004 at the end of a dayhike in the Coconino National Forest that put him in a deadly confrontation with a man named Grant Kuenzli. Fish said he yelled a warning to Kuenzli to call off the dogs--a warning apparently ignored--then drew his 10mm Kimber semiautomatic pistol and fired one round into the ground when the dogs were about seven feet from him. The dogs split up, one to each side of Fish. At the sound of the gunshot, Fish said, Kuenzli became enraged and rushed toward him "yelling profanities and swinging his arms" according to court documents. Fish "thought (Kuenzli) was going to kill him and he had nowhere to run because the dogs were at either side of the trail," the court documents said. "At one point (Fish) yelled to (Kuenzli) to stop or he would shoot." When Kuenzli was between five and eight feet from Fish, still advancing and yelling, Fish shot him three times in the chest. Kuenzli died at the scene. Fish made his way to a highway, flagged down a motorist and asked for help. Fish was prosecuted and convicted, and sentenced to 10 years in prison, but last week, the now-incarcerated 62-year-old ex-teacher was granted a new trial by the Arizona Court of Appeals, which reversed the verdict and remanded the case back to the trial court. There is a great deal about the Fish case, and the appeals court ruling, that raises more questions than answers. |
| Posted by:Everyday a Wildcat(KSU) |
| #1 Sounds to me like a direct court driven attack on Self defense, thwarted by (Higher) cooler heads. If he hadn't called police himself, he'd really be screwed. |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2009-07-09 14:59 |