Immigration nabs Colombian in N.H.

NASHUA, N.H. (AP) – Federal immigration agents have arrested a Colombian man on an attempted-murder charge.

Officials said they arrested Libardo Sepulveda-Catano, 43, Friday, along with three other men. All were from Colombia and living in the United States illegally.

Paula Grenier, a spokeswoman for the immigration agency, said Sepulveda-Catano was wanted for attempted homicide in Colombia. She had no details about the charges. He was held at the Rockingham County jail and will face deportation proceedings.

Two of the other men also face deportation. The third, Ignacio Sepulveda-Catano, was deported from the United States two years ago as an aggravated felon, and Grenier said her agency would seek federal prosecution.

Gangs blamed for Nashua attacks

NASHUA, N.H. (AP) – Police say they suspect gangs are behind a recent rash of attacks.

The latest incident came during the weekend, when a 15-year-old boy hit a 29-year-old man on the head with a baseball bat. The man was hospitalized and released.

Detective Lt. Richard Sprankle said the word “Folk” was on the bat, which may have been used in a similar assault earlier this month by another man.

Sprankle said local gangs affiliated with a network known as “Folk Nation” often oppose the Latin Kings and other gangs affiliated with another network called “Peoples Nation.” Police believe both gangs are active in Nashua.

Woman dies in police custody

NASHUA, N.H. (AP) – A woman died after police arrested her at a pharmacy and placed her in a holding cell at police headquarters.

Police said they were called to the CVS store on Main Street shortly before midnight Friday because a woman had been in the store for two hours. After they identified the woman as Catherine Wade, 39, they learned she was wanted on three arrest warrants out of Franklin and Derry.

Wade was booked at police headquarters and put in a holding cell. At about 11:30 a.m. Saturday, the booking officer found Wade unresponsive and called an ambulance. She was dead.

Police say the state attorney general’s office declined to investigate because the death was not suspicious, but Nashua police are doing their own investigation.

Jail Crowding

WESTMORELAND, N.H. (AP) – The Cheshire County jail is so crowded that officials have stopped holding federal prisoners. That frees some space, but also costs the county about $350,000 in revenue from the government.

The county generally has housed 10 to 15 federal inmates and federal payments for them account for more than 10 percent of the operating budget.

County Commissioner Roger Zerba says the arrangement is good for the county, but right now there just is no room. County taxpayers will have to make up the difference.

The jail originally was designed to hold 57 inmates, and now holds 100.

Sununu-Uzbek

WASHINGTON (AP) – Sen. John Sununu, R-N.H., is one of a half-dozen senator protesting the Pentagon’s plan to pay nearly $23 million to Uzbekistan for use of an air base.

The Uzbek government recently announced it no longer will allow U.S. aircraft and troops to use the base, which has been an important part of U.S. combat and humanitarian missions in Afghanistan.

The payment comes as human rights groups and others are criticizing Uzbekistan’s human rights record, particularly in light of the government’s response to violence last May in which a disputed number of civilians was killed.

In a letter to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Sununu and the other senators say the money should be placed in escrow and provided to the Uzbek government only when it shows that it is again willing to work with the United States.

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Online Licenses

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) – More New Hampshire hunters and anglers are pointing and clicking before shooting and casting.

Fish and Game says it has sold more than $1 million in licenses and permits this year, a first for the department. Director Lee Perry says the sales are more convenient for hunters and more efficient for the state.

The bad news is fewer people are buying hunting licenses. License revenue, which pays for more than half the department’s budget, is not keeping pace with its costs.

The department has been looking into ways to increase revenue to head off a shortfall that could come within two years.