Roosevelt Co. man to serve life sentence for slaying

Posted at: 10/15/2009 10:13 AM
By: The Associated Press

PORTALES, N.M. (AP) - A Roosevelt County man charged with shooting an eastern New Mexico farmer in 2005 as part of a murder-for-hire drug deal has pleaded guilty in exchange for a life sentence, avoiding the death penalty.

Donald Scott Taylor of Rogers, N.M., entered the plea in federal court last week.

The nine charges against him included shooting Jimmy "Bo" Chunn as part of an agreement to obtain a chemical used to manufacture methamphetamine for what authorities say was the race-based criminal group Aryan Brotherhood.

The 29-year-old Taylor will not face the death sentence and waived his right to appeals.

Prosecutors said Taylor was in the driveway of Chunn's home in Causey, N.M., in July 2005 and used a rifle to shoot Chunn, who was seated in a chair in his living room.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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