Hammer attacker changes plea

from our new mexico mobile newsroom … the trial for 44–year-old guy young started today, but he changed his plea before the first witness took the stand. in exchange for pleading guilty to aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, armed robbery and other charges — prosecutors dropped a charge of “attempted murder.” according to court documents, young went to the home of 83-year-old charles greene and his wife patsy in june of last year. young demanded cash before attacking the couple with a hammer and taking off in their truck. police spotted him later at truck stop — he’s been in custody ever since. “”things tend to resolve whe they’re charged appropriately. this morning the state got rid of the attempted murder charge which was what we had been pushing for..for some time now. so with that charge gone mr. young was able to take responsibility for the remaing charges.” young, who is from hobbs, is a convicted felon and faces enhanced sentencing. with prior felony convictions his maximum possible sentence could be 52 years. the judge ordered a 60-day evaluation before sentencing. a las cruces school janitor is facing