Linda Diaz, the former lieutenant governor of Pojoaque
Pueblo in New Mexico, was sentenced to one year in federal prison and six months house arrest in connection with a fatal hit and run on the reservation.
A jury found Diaz guilty of leaving the scene of a fatal accident. She struck Phillip Espinoza, 31, along a highway on April 4, 2009.
"If I would have known, I would have stayed to help him," Diaz said in court yesterday, The Santa Fe New Mexican. "I had no idea."
Judge Leroy Hansen ordered Diaz to surrender within 60 days but her attorney wants her to remain free while she pursues an appeal. Apparently, Diaz is the first Indian defendant in New Mexico who was tried under the relevant federal statute.
Get the Story:Judge hands former pueblo official one year (The Santa Fe New Mexican 11/3)
Former Pueblo Official Sentenced to Year In Prison (The Albuquerque Journal 11/2) Related Stories:
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