Eyewitness saw Sonny Jim, companion shot

Noted rodeo cowboy Sonny Jim, 68, died Oct. 23 of gunshot wounds received while accompanying a friend involved in land dispute near San Rafael, N.M.

According to family members, Jim was helping out Wayne Johnson, 75, when the dispute between Johnson and another man turned violent.

Both Johnson and Jim died of gunshot wounds.

The following account of the incident is taking from the incident reports and witness statements compiled by the Cibola County Sheriff's Office.

Jim died about 4 p.m. Friday on a ranch south of San Rafael, according to Sheriff's Deputy Lance Lister, who responded to the call that gunshots were fired.

When Lister got to the scene, he found Fernando Begay in the middle of the road. Begay told him he was not the shooter but the one who called police.

Begay pointed to another man down the road - who turned out to be Danny W. Stanfield, 61 - and said he was the shooter.

Lister noted in his report that Stanfield walked toward the road with a gun in his hand, which he laid on the ground.

Lister reported that Stanfield complied with his order to lie down, and when asked if anyone was shot, Stanfield responded, "You're damn right I shot ... it was self defense."

He then told Lister where the victims were located.

The deputy noted in his report that he found Johnson lying on his side near a pickup truck, a chrome-plated derringer with the hammer cocked in his hand. Lister checked for a pulse and couldn't fine one.

Lister walked around the truck and found Jim lying on his back, blood on his chest and bullet holes in his chest and left forehead. Lister again checked for a pulse and couldn't find one.

Begay told police he was present at the scene because he had met Jim earlier at the Indian Trails Trading Post to help him haul some steers to Carl Elkins.

When they met, Begay said Jim also asked him to help take down a fence at a friend's house and he agreed. They then went to the Johnson ranch near San Rafael, a small community several miles south of Grants, N.M.

When they arrived, Jim met with Johnson and the two began looking over some property deeds Johnson had with him. Begay told police that Jim and Johnson began talking about a man - Stanfield - whom they were trying to remove because "he wasn't paying them anymore."
Jim's family members said later that Jim did not own an interest in the property and was with Johnson that day just to be supportive. Johnson had been in dispute with Stanfield, a squatter on his land, for several months, they said.

Begay said Jim and Johnson discussed a fence that Stanfield had put up in the middle of the property, and he saw the two begin taking it down. As they finished, Begay said he saw Stanfield walk up to them and start talking.

Begay told the deputy he wasn't close enough to hear what was said, but he saw Stanfield begin yelling and walking away to a nearby bus. At that point, he said, Johnson pulled out his cell phone and called the police.

Begay said he stayed where he was, at a distance from the men. He saw Stanfield come back toward Johnson and Jim wearing a gun in a holster.

Stanfield drew the gun and pointed it in Johnson's face, stating, "You are under citizen's arrest" and pulled out a pair of handcuffs.

Johnson, who was still on the phone with police, told the listener that he was being threatened. Stanfield grabbed the phone and threw it down, grabbing Johnson by the arm and telling him again that he was under arrest, Begay said.

Johnson pulled away and Jim, standing on the other side of a pickup truck, moved slightly at the same time. Stanfield turned to Jim and shot him, Begay said.

Lister asked Begay if Jim had tried to grab Stanfield or anything like that but Begay said all he saw Jim do was "take a step away from the truck."
Begay said at that point Stanfield fired a couple of shots at him and he began running for help, dialing 911 on his cell phone.

As he went, he saw Johnson run around in front of the truck and heard him and Stanfield "going at it," referring to several shots being fired.

The county medical examiner, who pronounced Jim and Johnson dead at the scene, stated that Johnson had four apparent gunshot wounds to his chest.
Stanfield is in the county jail on two open counts of murder, one count of assault with intent to commit a violent felony, and one count of interference with communications. A bond of $1 million cash has been set for his release.

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