Erik Michael Briones faces five aggravated assault counts after investigators say he confronted people fishing near his property during a yearslong fight over river access.

Damien Willis, Organ Mountain News

PECOS, N.M. - A private landowner accused of threatening fishermen with firearms while they used public waters on the Pecos River has been arrested on five aggravated assault counts, Attorney General Raúl Torrez announced Monday.

Erik Michael Briones, 65, was arrested May 29 after a San Miguel County magistrate judge issued a warrant charging him with five counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, according to court records.

The charges follow reported encounters between fishermen and Briones near his Pecos River property in April 2023, July 2023 and March 2026. An investigator with the New Mexico Department of Justice said in an arrest warrant affidavit that witnesses described Briones displaying firearms and threatening to shoot near them while they were fishing.

The case centers on New Mexico’s public-water access protections, which allow people to recreate in public waters even when those waters flow next to private property.

“These allegations involve dangerous and unlawful intimidation directed at New Mexicans who were exercising their legal right to access and recreate in public waters,” Torrez said in a news release. “No one has the right to threaten violence against members of the public because they disagree with established law.”

According to the affidavit, two fishermen told investigators they were fishing in the Pecos River near Briones’ property in April 2023 when he arrived and told them they were in private waters. When they asked to see paperwork supporting his claim, investigators said Briones returned with a shotgun, cocked it and threatened to shoot near them if they did not leave.

Investigators said they obtained video of that encounter.

In a separate July 4, 2023, encounter, a fisherman reported that Briones confronted him while he was fishing in the river near the property. Investigators said video from that incident shows Briones holding a firearm and threatening to begin “target practice” while telling the fisherman to leave.

Two other fishermen reported a March 7, 2026, confrontation under a bridge along the Pecos River, according to the affidavit. They told investigators Briones approached them, demanded they leave and showed them a firearm in his waistband while threatening to shoot around them.

Investigators said witnesses later identified Briones from photo arrays.

One fisherman also told investigators he observed heavy equipment manipulating the river’s flow near Briones’ property during an April 23, 2026, visit. The affidavit states that the fisherman reported the equipment was “essentially building a dam” in the water and provided video showing a truck transporting the equipment. The criminal complaint does not include charges related to that allegation.

The arrest follows civil litigation over public access to waters near Briones’ property. The New Mexico Department of Justice said courts have upheld the public’s right to recreate in public waters even where those waters run alongside private land.

The department said a court last month granted the state’s request to hold Briones in contempt in the related civil case after finding continued violations involving public access protections and court orders governing the river.

Briones faces five fourth-degree felony counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Court records show a pretrial services assessment recommended his release on his own recognizance, but the uploaded records do not indicate whether a judge accepted that recommendation.

Damien Willis is founder and editor of Organ Mountain News. If you have a personal story to share or a lead we should follow up on, reach out at OrganMountainNews@gmail.com or connect with him on X at @damienwillis.