LUKE TURF

The FBI has arrested a man associated with the armed citizen patrol group Ranch Rescue, the agency said. It is the second arrest of a border militia figure in Cochise County during the past week.

Torre John Foote, aka Jack Foote, was arrested Monday on a warrant charging possession of a firearm by a person convicted of a domestic violence misdemeanor, FBI spokeswoman Susan Herskovits said. Sierra Vista police assisted. The warrant stems from a February incident and the domestic violence conviction was in Montana, said Sandy Raynor, a U.S. Attorney's Office spokeswoman.

Foote is Ranch Rescue's national spokesman, according to the group's Web site. He organizes armed border patrols in Arizona and Texas and once declared war on the Mexican military, saying he would open fire if Mexican troops crossed onto a ranch he was patrolling.

Foote's arrest came five days after FBI agents arrested border militia organizer Casey Nethercott, 37, of Douglas. During that arrest in the parking lot of a Douglas Safeway, an agent shot a man who was with Nethercott. Kalen Riddle, 22, was in critical condition last night at University Medical Center, a hospital official said. Nethercott was wanted in an Aug. 31 incident in which he allegedly threatened Border Patrol agents. The FBI has said only that actions taken by Nethercott and Riddle prompted agents to fire.

A hearing to determine whether Foote should be held in custody was set for this morning in U.S. District Court here.