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Tuesday News Roundup: US Marshals Shoot Man In Albuquerque's South Valley

US Marshals Shoot Man Outside Of Albuquerque The Associated Press

Authorities say federal marshals shot a wanted felon Tuesday morning in southwest Albuquerque.

Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office spokesman Aaron Williamson says shots were fired as the U.S. Marshal's Service Task Force moved in to arrest the man. Williamson said he didn't know if the suspect was armed.

The suspect was taken to the University of New Mexico Hospital, where he was reported in stable condition.

The suspect's name was being withheld, but Williamson says he is a parole absconder wanted for aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, child abuse and possession of a firearm.

Williamson says a federal marshal also suffered minor injuries in the incident.

Sheriff's officials, state police and Albuquerque police are investigating the shooting, which sparked a small protest.

Hundreds of people took to the streets for 11 hours Sunday to protest against recent shootings by Albuquerque police.

Ex-Belen Policeman Pleads Guilty In Assault Case The Associated Press

A former Belen police detective has pleaded guilty to using excessive force while arresting a man in 2012.

Prosecutors say 41-year-old John Lytle entered his plea Tuesday in federal court to violating an arrestee's civil rights.

Lytle admitted to repeatedly striking a handcuffed man on March 15, 2012.

He also admitted to pulling the victim from the back of a police squad car, throwing him to the ground and striking him again.

Authorities say the man suffered injuries to his face and torso.

Under the terms of his plea agreement, Lytle will be sentenced to five years of probation and must pay restitution to the victim.

He also can't work or seek future employment as a law enforcement officer in any capacity and must forfeit his law enforcement certification.

 

Police Chief Praises Officer Restraint In Protest- The Associated Press

 A day after a peaceful protest over recent Albuquerque police shootings turned violent, the city's new police chief commended officers for showing remarkable restraint.

Chief Gorden Eden says protesters hunted down police, threw rocks and bottles, and spit on them.

Eden says officials decided to disperse the crowd with tear gas late Sunday after one man pulled out an AK-47, other streamed onto Interstate 25, and unruly crowds trapped people and officers in cars and started attacking each other.

There was only one minor injury in the fracas, an officer who hurt his knee. Four protesters were arrested.

Albuquerque police have been involved in 37 shootings since 2010, 23 of them fatal.

Eden, who has been on the job for just a month, says he is working on reforming the department's recruiting process.

Tests: Four More Workers Contaminated At New Mexico Nuke Dump - The Associated Press

The Department of Energy says tests show four more workers were contaminated with low levels of radiation during a leak at federal government's underground nuclear waste dump.

Officials also said Monday that they're planning to get a crew underground Tuesday for the first time since the Valentine's Day accident at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in southeastern New Mexico.

The DOE says a total of 21 workers received low doses of radiation, all well below levels deemed unsafe.

On Tuesday, the DOE said it plans to send a team of team of eight experts into the half-mile deep mine to begin setting up bases from which they can start investigating what caused the leak.

The dump is the nation's only permanent underground repository for low-level radioactive waste from nuclear weapons facilities.

Containment Of Valencia County Fire At 60 Percent - The Associated Press

A wildfire burning in Valencia County is 60 percent contained as crews continue to mop up the fire area and patrol the fire lines.

New Mexico State Forestry spokesman Dan Ware says the size of the fire was holding late Sunday at just under 200 acres.

Ware says no structures have been damaged and that none are threatened.

New Mexico Officials To Discuss Wildfire Season - The Associated Press

Gov. Susana Martinez is warning New Mexicans that the state is entering what could be another season of dangerous wildfires.

At a press conference in Albuquerque Monday to kickoff "Wildfire Awareness Week," she said continuing historic drought conditions heighten the risk of what already has the potential to be another active summer of fires.

So far this year, nearly 100 fires have burned close to 6,000 acres of state and private land.

The 2013 fire season was brief but very active. More than 190,000 burned acres on public and private lands and forced the evacuation of hundreds of residents.

Supersonic Skydiver's Capsule Going On View In DC - The Associated Press

Supersonic skydiver Felix Baumgartner is bringing his pressurized balloon capsule from his record-setting jump to the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum.

The museum is opening an exhibit Wednesday that includes the Red Bull Stratos capsule that took Baumgartner to the edge of space, and one of his pressure suits.

The Austrian parachutist known as "Fearless Felix" reached a speed of more than 843 mph during his October 2012 jump over New Mexico. That's 1.25 times the speed of sound. Baumgartner became the first human to break the sound barrier with only his body. A giant helium balloon took him to an altitude of 127,852 feet for the jump.

Baumgartner's capsule and flight suit will eventually become part of the museum's permanent collection at its Udvar-Hazy Center in northern Virginia.