Posted: 6/20/2008 7:27:36 AM EDT
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i dunno if this a dup or not, but............. kob.com/article/stories/S484301.shtml?cat=500 update to the update: "A man convicted of manslaughter in the shooting death of a second man who allegedly was attempting to break into his SUV will soon be a free man. District Judge Albert Pat Murdoch reduced Elton John Richard's sentence to the three months in prison he has served and placed him on probation Richard agreed to continue to pay restitution of $500 a month to the family of Daniel Romero. He was allowed to serve out his probation in Texas where he has family. During Friday morning's hearing, Murdoch announced that he would not take into considertion the public outcry against Richard's sentence and said he would only consider the opinions of the testimony from members of both families. Richard entered a no contest plea to a charge of manslaughter last year. During the trial Richard testified that he caught Romero, carrying a mallet or sledge hammer, trying to break into his SUV. He confronted Romero with a pistol. Richard says that Romero threatened his family, and then fled. Richard followed for roughly a quarter mile before confronting Romero. A struggle ensued and Romero was shot and killed. District Judge Albert Pat Murdoch has said that the sentence he originally handed down to Richard was one of the most difficult decisions that he has made in 22 years on the bench. Governor Bill Richardson and U.S. Senator Pete Domenici had publicly called for the sentence to be reconsidered, and a veteran APD officer collected over 500 petition signatures on Richard’s behalf. " Well, It's better than nothing. $500 dollars a month though??? WTF? |