10 animals shot to death
Bloomfield, NM (US)Incident Date: Sunday, Jul 29, 2007
County: San Juan
Charges: Misdemeanor
Disposition: Alleged
Alleged:
» Thomas Obiedo
» Derek Witt
» Dale McDaniel
Three men have been arrested on charges of animal cruelty, injury to livestock and shooting from a motor vehicle after 10 animals were shot to death on a family farm south of Bloomfield.
Thomas Obiedo, 29, turned himself in Thursday after learning San Juan County sheriff's deputies had searched his house and impounded his vehicle. Derek Witt, 23, and Dale McDaniel, 30, were arrested later.
Investigators believe Obiedo used a .22-caliber rifle to shoot and kill 10 animals belonging to brothers Andrew and Gilbert Benally, who live with their families on three acres.
Gilbert Benally said he was in his home about 3 p.m. Sunday when three men parked near his land. When he heard gunshots - followed by the sound of his dog yelping - Benally went outside.
He saw a man stretched across the hood of a pickup truck about 300 yards away, aiming a rifle at a herd of about 20 sheep and goats. The dog was dead.
"He knew what he was shooting. He had no regard for property or livestock," Benally said.
After shooting four animals, the man got into his truck and drove a short distance. He parked again and shot the other six animals, said Benally, who grabbed a video camera and drove out to confront the shooter.
"He was laughing and smiling," Benally said. "He told me he was shooting prairie dogs, but he shot half of our animals."
When the man saw Benally's camera, he got into the truck and fled toward Bloomfield, Benally said. Benally took video of the incident and turned it over to investigators.
"The video was very instrumental in this case," sheriff's Lt. Tyler Truby said. "What the Benallys did was unconventional but it assisted us in solving the case, identifying the suspects quickly and tracking them down."
Andrew Benally said the situation could have been worse since the shots were fired across a county road with well-traveled U.S. 550 in the distance.
The Benallys buried their animals Tuesday in a mass grave. References
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