MAN SHOT AT POT SITE RECOUNTS HORROR TO JURY

William "Bill" Hunt said he heard his 4-year-old son, Riley, cry out from
just behind him.

"Is Matthew dead?"

"I told him he wasn't, that he was still breathing," Hunt said.

On Thursday, Bill Hunt, 41, took the witness stand in a Cameron Park
courtroom, describing how he struggled to stay alive and save his
8-year-old son, Matthew, after they were struck down by shotgun blasts Oct.
8 while hunting on the family's vast, forested property near Georgetown.

Now 9, Matthew also took the stand. He wore a lime green soccer T-shirt,
smiled brightly and eagerly answered questions. He had a raised scar on his
forehead and a brace on his leg. He testified he had no memory of the
shooting that left him unconscious for days and nearly killed him.

On trial is Luis Lopez Arriaga, 78, who is facing attempted murder charges
for allegedly opening fire on the pair to protect a secret marijuana
garden. Authorities say Bill Hunt's brother-in-law, Silvestre Gonzalez, 39,
also on trial for attempted murder, planted the garden, supplied the gun
and ordered Arriaga to shoot anyone who came near.

Prosecutor Sean O'Brien rested his case Thursday after the Hunts'
testimony. Two defense attorneys, questioning a police detective and a
court translator for less than an hour, also rested.

After closing arguments Tuesday, the jury will begin deliberating the case
- -- likely with fresh memories of Bill Hunt's horrifying account of the
shooting.

He testified that he and his sons had set out for a morning of deer hunting
after awaking in their camper on the family's property near the Blodgett
Experimental Forest in El Dorado County. He said he was carrying his
hunting rifle and Matthew was at his side, carrying a child-sized BB gun.
Riley was just behind them as they headed up a wooded slope.

Suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, Hunt said he heard a gun blast -- and
felt a searing pain in his left wrist.

"I was bloody. Something had gone through it," Hunt testified. "I thought
my own gun had gone off or exploded. Something had happened."

He testified he started to turn to check on his sons. He said that his ears
were ringing -- and that he didn't hear a second blast from a shotgun that
stuck him in the chest and abdomen.

Hunt said he dropped to his knees, bleeding heavily. Then, he said, he
turned far enough around to see Matthew, bloodied and face down.

"I saw he had blood and a hole in the center of his forehead and in his
nose and cheek," Hunt said.

A former dairyman and longtime resident of Herald in south Sacramento
County, Hunt had worked six years as an emergency medical technician. He
testified that he assured his younger boy, who was unhurt, that Matthew was
alive. But he knew that both he and Matthew were were critically hurt and
didn't have long to live without help.

He testified that his lung had collapsed, his vision was starting to blur
and he couldn't move his left arm. He said he wrapped a handkerchief around
his wounded wrist to slow the bleeding.

Matthew "was a little congested from the blood in his mouth and airway," he
said. With his right arm, Hunt testified that he turned the boy on his side
so he could breathe more easily.

From the witness stand, Hunt pointed to Arriaga and said the frail,
elderly man was the one who shot him. Prompted by O'Brien, he also waved
and pointed out his brother-in-law, Gonzalez.

Authorities said Gonzalez, who wasn't present at the shooting, had run a
marijuana operation on the family property without the Hunts' knowledge.

Hunt said he didn't see Arriaga shoot him, but he testified that the older
man emerged from the forest holding a shotgun as he and his son lay wounded.

He also testified that he saw Arriaga's son, Mario Arriaga Lopez, run to
the scene. Lopez testified earlier in the trial that he had gone to the
area to go fishing with his own sons, ages 12 and 13, when he heard the
shots, ran over and came upon the aftermath.

Under questioning by O'Brien, the prosecutor, Hunt testified that Lopez ran
to his aid -- and then blurted out something in a loud voice.

"He said, 'Silvestre did this to you!'" Hunt recalled.

He was unable to elaborate. Gonzalez's attorney, James Clark, immediately
objected, arguing that the statement was hearsay. Judge Thomas A. Smith
agreed and instructed the jury to disregard the statement.

The jury then heard Hunt's account about how Lopez lifted Matthew in his
arms and rushed him more than 200 yards through the forest to Hunt's truck.
He said Arriaga grabbed Hunt's right arm and placed it on his own shoulder
to help him walk down.

Once at his truck, Hunt said he collapsed on the horn of his steering
wheel. His brother, Donald Hunt, who had been hunting in another area of
the forest, rushed over and drove them out of the forest, frantically
trying to make a cellphone call. The call didn't go through. But as they
turned on to the road, they got lucky, passing a U.S. Forest Service fire
truck. The crew rendered medical aid and summoned a Life Flight helicopter.

So Thursday, young Matthew was able to climb into the witness chair,
accompanied by his mother, Erin Hunt.

"Do you know what you're supposed to do on the witness stand?" Smith asked him.

"You're supposed to tell the truth," Matthew said, answering him brightly.

Under questioning by O'Brien, he said didn't remember anything about the
hunting trip but said he knew he was in the hospital a long time. He also
said he used to play soccer and climb trees. When O'Brien asked if he did
those things anymore, he said, "No."

Bill Hunt testified that his son is "fairly able-bodied but his left side
is weak and he can't use his hand. His eyesight and concentration are not
what they were." Matthew has returned to school but still requires care.