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New Mexico Man Gets 27 Years In Christmas Day Murders

  A Santa Fe teenager is getting the maximum sentence allowed for the fatal shooting of two men on Christmas Day 2012.  District Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer sentenced Joe C. Rivera to 27 ½ years in prison.

Prosecutors say Rivera, who had just turned 18, shot 23-year-old Johnny Griego and 29-year-old Nicholas Baker at a Santa Fe home in a dispute over a bottle of liquor.

Rivera claims the gun fell on the floor during the argument and he shot both men to protect his younger stepbrother.

Sommer told Rivera that he did not seem truly remorseful about the shootings.

Rivera addressed the victims' families, saying he was sorry for what happened.

Rivera was convicted of several charges including two counts of manslaughter.

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Information from: The Santa Fe New Mexican, http://www.sfnewmexican.com

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