Tough-talking Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio is warning civilians who embark on armed patrols in remote desert terrain that they could end up "seeing 30 rounds fired into them" by one of his deputies.
His unapologetically terse comments came Tuesday after a member of an Arizona Minuteman border-watch movement was arrested over the weekend for pointing a rifle at a Maricopa County sheriff's deputy he apparently mistook for a drug smuggler.
Court records say Richard Malley believed he had the right to aim the rifle at the deputy because he thought a crime was occurring. Malley was arrested for aggravated assault.
He was released on $10,000 bail and is to appear in court Aug. 26. It wasn't clear if Malley had an attorney, and telephone numbers listed for him were disconnected.
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