Man shot after Colorado bar argument arrested at U.S. border for attempted murder

Thirty-seven-year-old Francisco Saenz is sitting in a southern California jail awaiting his transfer to Colorado to face a charge of attempted murder. Saenz was arrested last month at the U.S. border with Mexico.  

The charge relates to a bizarre altercation in downtown Fort Collins in mid-September.

An argument at a bar led to a foot chase through Old Town with Saenz, brandishing a machete, running after another man at 1:30 in the morning, according to a Fort Collins Police Services press release. 

The 21-year-old man being chased turned around and fired a gun at Saenz, then continued running. 

FCPS officers on patrol in the area heard the gun shots and ran toward them. Those officers found Saenz with several gunshot wounds. Saenz received treatment for his injuries.

Investigators later caught up with the 21-year-old whom Saenz had been chasing and determined that man was acting in self defense. 

Saenz, meanwhile, had been released from the hospital and could not be found. 

The department issued a warrant for Saenz's arrest on Nov. 10. 

Later that same day, Saenz was stopped by U.S. Customs agents in southern California. Those agents discovered the warrant and Saenz was taken into custody.

Calexico Police Department officers were called to the West Port of Entry at 8:47 p.m., Calexico PD Sgt. Martha Gutierrez told CBS4. Saenz was transferred to Calexico's custody and jailed. 

Saenz was attempting to re-enter the U.S. at the time of his arrest, according to Gutierrez. 

The 21-year-old who fired his weapon has not been publicly identified by investigators at this time. 

The September incident began with a "heated verbal exchange" inside an Old Town bar between two groups of patrons, per police. The two groups later confronted each other outside the establishment, resulting in the foot chase.

"This was a chaotic scene with a lot of unknowns initially. Our job is to find the truth based on facts and evidence, not assumptions," FCPS Criminal Investigation Division Lieutenant Jeremy Yonce stated in a separate press release announcing the arrest. "I'm proud of the extensive work by our detectives to piece together what happened in this complex case."

Court hearings in the case have yet to be scheduled. Prosecutors have asked that Saenz be held without bond when he is booked and jailed in Colorado.