By KRWG News
Las Cruces – A federal jury in Las Cruces has found Dona Ana County responsible for the 2007 wrongful death of a Nevada man and awarded his estate $575,000 in damages.
Jurors also found the county negligent in the hiring, training and supervising of then-sheriff's Deputy Carlos Montoya, who fatally shot Megan Dylan Causey as the man and his 6-year-old son were driving from Causey's parents home.
Deputies were responding to a reported domestic disturbance when Causey tried to drive away and failed to respond to Montoya's orders to stop.
The judgment, reached by jurors Friday, is expected to be reduced because Causey was found to be partially responsible for his death. Had he survived, authorities said he would have faced charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
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Information from: Las Cruces Sun-News, http://www.lcsun-news.com
Copyright 2010 The Associated Press.