TAOS — An Embudo man told authorities he thought he was shooting an elk when he shot and killed a Taos hunter Oct. 12.

New Mexico State Police found a mixture of prescription drugs in a single, unmarked bottle when they searched 67-year-old Gilbert Sánchez, who has been charged in the incident.

According to a statement of probable cause, Sánchez has been charged with involuntary manslaughter and negligent use of a deadly weapon in the death of Taos County resident Clifford Sánchez, who was shot off the back of a moving all-terrain vehicle.

State Police Lt. Tim Johnson said the men were not related and were part of two separate hunting parties in the forest near Carson.

The driver of the ATV said he and Clifford Sánchez were riding through the forest when Clifford Sánchez grabbed him, said something about his back and fell off the ATV.

The driver stopped the ATV and saw that Clifford Sánchez had been shot in the back right shoulder, but the bullet was lodged in his chest.

In an interview with police, Gilbert Sánchez said he and a friend were driving around, waiting for better visibility to hunt, when he spotted something moving that he "believed to be a bull elk." Gilbert Sánchez told police that he "didn't want it to get away, as it was the last day of the hunt," and that he claimed to see antlers, which he may have confused with the ATV's handlebars.

Gilbert Sánchez assured police in the interview that he was "very stable" because he "didn't like to miss and he was shooting an elk, which turned into a human being."

He told police that shortly after he fired his Remington 700 bolt action 30.06 rifle, the driver of the ATV approached the truck and said, "You shot my friend." Gilbert Sánchez claimed that he could not hear the sound of the ATV over the noise of the truck's diesel engine.

State police investigating the incident found Clifford Sánchez dead when they arrived and did not perform a field sobriety test on Gilbert Sánchez. However, when they searched Gilbert Sánchez, they found a single, unmarked pill bottle.

The bottle, according to the report, contained a mixture of Valium, oxycodone, Zantac, metformin and blood pressure medications.

Gilbert Sánchez told police that he was "pretty sure" he was on Valium but "couldn't remember" how many or what kinds of medications he was on for sure.

He is being held on 10 percent of a $10,000 bond.