Term 68 years for gunman in standoff

LAS VEGAS — A federal judge sentenced a Phoenix man Wednesday to 68 years in prison for his role as a gunman in a standoff that stopped federal agents from rounding up cattle near the Nevada ranch of anti-government activist Cliven Bundy three years ago.

Prosecutors had sought a maximum sentence of 73 years for Gregory Burleson after he was convicted of threatening and assaulting a federal officer, obstruction and traveling across state lines in aid of extortion.

But Chief U.S. District Judge Gloria Navarro in Las Vegas knocked five years off the recommendation, noting that the 53-year-old Burleson has gone blind, has serious health problems and was once an informant for the FBI. Burleson’s attorney, Terrence Jackson, said he will appeal. Navarro said she believed Burleson and other armed men used “scare and bullying tactics” to put federal agents in such mortal fear that they abandoned attempts to enforce court orders to round up Bundy’s cattle in April 2014.

Bundy, his sons Ammon and Ryan, and two other defendants are due for trial later this year. Six others, including two other Bundy sons, are scheduled for trial next year.

AP/The Virginian-Pilot/ALLISON HESS Chincoteague ponies go ashore Wednesday during the ponies’ 92nd annual swim in Chincoteague, Va., making it across the Assateague channel in four minutes.