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.
...evidence from the crime scene – including footprints and the Victim’s wounds – corroborated Defendant’s story that the Victim moved quickly from high ground, that the Victim’s arms were raised, and that Defendant did not shoot until the Victim was very close; and the testimony of at least eight witnesses that the Victim frequently became violent and aggressive corroborated Defendant’s account of the Victim’s behavior.
