Defendant pleads no contest in shooting of Native activist at protest of Spanish conquistador statue
Associated Press
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A New Mexico man has pleaded no contest to reduced charges of aggravated battery and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in the shooting of a Native American activist during demonstrations about abandoned plans to reinstall a statue of a Spanish conquistador. Ryan David Martinez on Monday accepted combined prison sentences of 9 1/2 years that will be served concurrently over a four-year period. Prosecutors agreed to dismiss a possible hate-crime sentence enhancement. Activist Jacob Johns was wounded in the shooting. He says he’s disappointed with the plea agreement. He still regards the shooting as a crime motivated by racial hatred.
