A federal judge ordered Linda Diaz, the former lieutenant governor of Pojoaque Pueblo in New Mexico, to report to prison no later than December 29.

Diaz was convicted of guilty of leaving the scene of a fatal accident. She struck Phillip Espinoza, 31, along a highway on April 4, 2009.

Diaz sought to remain free while she took her case to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals. But Judge C. LeRoy Hansen denied the request.

Diaz has been sentenced to one year in federal prison and six months house arrest.

Get the Story:
Former Pueblo Official Denied Release on Appeal (The Albuquerque Journal 12/9)

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