FLAGSTAFF — A retired Tolleson school teacher convicted of second-degree murder in the 2004 shooting of a hiker in Coconino County was sentenced Thursday to 10 years in prison.
Harold Fish, 59, was found guilty in June in the May 11, 2004, shooting death of 43-year-old Grant Kuenzli of Payson at a remote trailhead in the southeastern part of the county.
"Regardless of the verdict, I am not a murderer," Fish told the court before sentencing. "I do not think the trial was fair."
Fish, who faced up to 22 years in prison, plans to appeal his conviction.
Fish claims the shooting was self-defense, telling investigators Kuenzli's two dogs rushed him, he fired a warning shot at them and then Kuenzli charged him in a rage. Fish shot him three times in the chest.
"I did not kill that man on purpose," Fish said Thursday. "Yes, I fired three times. I never saw any of those bullets strike Mr. Kuenzli" until the last shot.
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There were no witnesses to the shooting, but both the medical examiner who performed an autopsy on Kuenzli and firearms experts testified during Fish's trial that the victim's wounds likely were defensive.
