3rd border activist may get life in prison in Ariz

Friday, July 15, 2011

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) -- A third border activist convicted in the killings of a southern Arizona man and his young daughter in a 2009 home invasion may have avoided the death penalty.

A Tucson jury decided Friday that Albert Gaxiola should get life in prison for Raul Junior Flores' death. But jurors couldn't reach a unanimous decision on the sentence for the death of 9-year-old Brisenia Flores.

The Pima County Attorney's Office must decide whether to empanel a new jury or let a judge sentence Gaxiola to life with or without the possibility of release.

The Arizona Daily Star says Gaxiola also is facing additional time for the attempted first-degree murder of Flores' wife.

Gaxiola's two co-defendants -- both from Washington state -- were convicted earlier this year and are on Arizona's death row.

___

Information from: Arizona Daily Star, http://www.azstarnet.com