N.H. man gets 7 years in Nevada ranch standoff case

(Update with sentencing)

LAS VEGAS (AP) – A judge called a New Hampshire man a “bully vigilante” and sentenced him to more than seven years in prison for organizing armed backers of Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy following a standoff with U.S. agents in 2014.

Gerald “Jerry” DeLemus on Wednesday became the first person sentenced to prison for his ties to the confrontation.

He’s been jailed for almost 16 months, so he’ll spend about six more years behind bars. The 62-year-old had been expected to receive about six years.

But Chief U.S. District Judge Gloria Navarro faulted him for trying to withdraw the guilty pleas he entered last August to conspiracy and interstate travel in aid of extortion.

She says she doesn’t think DeLemus accepted responsibility for his actions.

DeLemus said he came to Nevada to protect the Bundy family from armed agents.

Navarro last week postponed until July 10 a retrial that had been set to start June 26 for four defendants whose two-month trial ended in April with a hung jury.