
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, August 28, 1993                   TAG: 9308280198
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: LON WAGNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

MEXICAN FEUD MOVES TO VA.

Two migrant orchard-workers apparently carried a family feud from Mexico to a Franklin County farm, where the dispute escalated Thursday night and one of the men was shot in the leg four times, authorities said.

Bonifasio Gusman was taken to Roanoke Memorial Hospital, where one of the slugs from a .22-caliber rifle was found lodged near his hip, said Capt. Bill Overton of the Franklin County Sheriff's Department. He was listed in stable condition.

Authorities charged Celso Cabnera, 36, with felonious wounding. He was being held in Franklin County jail with bail set at $25,000.

Shortly before 11 p.m. Thursday, the Sheriff's Department was called to a cinder-block building where migrant workers live off Virginia 742 near Dillons Mill. Deputies arrived to find a confusing situation - both the wounded Gusman and his alleged assailant were "highly intoxicated," Overton said.

"They've known each other for a while," Overton said of the two men. "The defendant's father and Gusman have evidently had some arguments in the past. The best we can tell, this was an ongoing feud that carried over from Mexico."

Authorities continued working with an interpreter Friday to try to find out what caused the shooting. Overton said the details were not clear Thursday night because of the men's intoxication and problems interpreting their Spanish.

At least initially, Overton said, it appeared that the four shots at Gusman's leg were clustered closely because his assailant didn't want to cause more serious harm.

"The statement through the interpreter is, he didn't want to kill him," Overton said.

by CNB