Tuesday, March 16, 2004Rancher Arrested During Roundup
By Jeff Jones
Journal Staff WriterAn embattled southwestern New Mexico rancher, whose cattle are being removed from the Gila National Forest, has been arrested on suspicion of attacking federal law officers involved in the roundup.
Diamond Bar allotment rancher Kit Laney charged three officers while on horseback Sunday evening, yelling, "You son of a bitches" and other profanities, according to a criminal complaint filed against him Monday in federal court in Las Cruces.
Laney and his horse nearly trampled one officer near a temporary enclosure holding his cattle and another officer was knocked into a cattle guard, the complaint said. Laney also tried to tear down the enclosure and was sprayed with pepper spray by one of the officers, the complaint alleges.
Laney, 43, who has been on the losing end of a yearslong federal court battle to graze his cattle on U.S. Forest Service land, faces a felony charge of assaulting or resisting federal law officers and a misdemeanor count of interfering with the court order that resulted in the roundup of his cattle.
Laney remained in the Doña Ana County Detention Center late Monday afternoon, where he is being held without bond pending a detention hearing today.
Before Sunday, Laney maintained he would not physically interfere with the roundup. However, he also has said he thought the roundup, which began last week, amounts to theft.
Laney's ex-wife, Sherry Farr, who still ranches and lives with him, said during a brief telephone interview on Monday that she was not with Laney at the time of Sunday's incident. She said she doesn't believe he would have tried to forcibly remove his cattle from the federal enclosure.
"I haven't talked to Kit— I don't know his side," Farr said. "We've just been checking our cattle, riding through them, looking for sick ones, like we always do."
The criminal complaint against Laney said he approached a temporary cattle enclosure about 7:30 p.m. Sunday and charged three officers, spurring his horse to a fast gallop.
"The horse nearly trampled (one officer) as he quickly moved to the side," the complaint said, adding a second officer was struck in the arm and shoulder by Laney's horse and was knocked into a cattle guard.
"Whenever the officers approached Laney, he guided his horse in their direction, threatening to ram or trample them," the complaint said.
Laney also tried to remove the fencing of the enclosure and struck one of the wranglers with leather reins, the complaint said.
"Laney dismounted from the horse, and while continuing to yell and scream, attempted to pull down the enclosure," the complaint said. He allegedly shoved one officer several times during the incident. The complaint said Laney was warned to stop and calm down and was finally told he was under arrest after pushing a second officer.
After one of the officers sprayed Laney with pepper spray, four of them tried to put him on the ground, the complaint said. However, "Laney continued to resist by struggling and kicking with his spurred boots."
The Laney legal battle is now nearly a decade old. In 1995, the couple's Gila National Forest grazing permit expired. They didn't apply for a new permit or remove their cattle but instead sued the federal government, asserting a private-property right to graze their cows on the forest land.
The pair lost that case and were forced to remove their cattle and pay more than $50,000. But they moved cattle back into the forest last spring without a permit, maintaining they had a private-property right based on historical use predating the creation of the national forest.
The U.S. Attorney's Office has said federal judges have rejected that claim. The pair in December were found in contempt of prior court rulings and a judge ordered their herd off the federal land.
The roundup, being conducted by wranglers hired by the Forest Service, began March 9. A team of more than a dozen Forest Service law officers are providing round-the-clock security.
The assault charge against Laney carries a possible prison sentence of up to three years, the U.S. Attorney's Office said on Monday.
Forest Service spokesman Jim Payne said Monday that about 240 cattle have now been rounded up. Laney's herd is estimated at about 400 animals.
"This operation will go on for a number of weeks," Payne said. "You're looking at some pretty rough country up here."
Copyright 2004 Albuquerque Journal