A Las Cruces man on trial for fatally shooting his housemate in 2008 has been acquitted of murder charges.
36-year-old James Bogart was found not guilty of second-degree murder.
Authorities say Bogart shot 30-year-old Jeremy Hernandez inside their Sonoma Ranch home on March 15, 2008 and then placed a knife in Hernandez's hand.
Bogart said he was acting in self-defense after Hernandez took a butcher knife with the intention of attacking him.
Prosecutors say Bogart made up that story and told Hernandez's wife not to call police because he "tried to save her."
Bogart is awaiting sentencing on a related conviction of evidence tampering.
The jury had deadlocked on the murder charge when the case first went to trial in December.
___
Information from: Las Cruces Sun-News, http://www.lcsun-news.com
Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.