Paperwork snafu delays DeLemus plea deal in Nevada

Jerry DeLemus (Courtesy photo)

LAS VEGAS, Nev. - A plea deal for a Rochester man indicted in the Cliven Bundy Nevada standoff with federal agents in 2014 has been delayed due to paperwork issues, his defense lawyer said on Tuesday.

Jerry DeLemus' plea agreement was supposed to have been announced on Tuesday but was delayed till Thursday due to a snag in paperwork, according to his defense attorney, Brian Smith.

DeLemus, a Rochester Tea Party activist, co-chair of the state's Veterans for Trump and former Strafford County sheriff candidate, is expected to plea to federal charges in connection with the armed standoff between Bureau of Land Management agents and sympathizers with the Bundy forces in April 2014.

Under the plea agreement DeLemus is expected to face prison time on federal conspiracy and interstate travel in aid of extortion charges.

DeLemus was among 19 people to face charges that include obstruction, weapon possession and use, and threatening and assaulting federal officers.

A 60-some page indictment specifically charges him with conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States, threatening a federal law enforcement officer, assault on a federal officer, obstruction of justice, attempting to impede or injure a federal law enforcement officer, interference with interstate commerce by extortion, and several firearms charges, according to court records.

He was arrested on March 3 as several FBI vehicles full of armed agents in full tactical gear with weapons drawn swarmed his Rochester condo.

The Bundy standoff was an armed confrontation between protesters and law enforcement that developed from a 20-year legal dispute between the Bureau of Land Management and Nevada cattle rancher Bundy over grazing rights on federal land in southeastern Nevada.