ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) A New Mexico county has paid $125,000 in attorney fees to a weekly newspaper for violating open records laws in a lawsuit over Billy the Kid's death. The Albuquerque Journal reports that a De Baca County News attorney says the settlement agreement represents only the payment from Lincoln County to the newspapers, which sued along with East Mountain resident Gale Cooper in 2007. The lawsuit sought documents relating to an investigation into Billy the Kid's death and whether he was buried in Fort Sumner.
Four other law firms previously involved in the case were paid another $70,000 combined and one claim is outstanding.
The Lincoln County sheriff's office has opened an investigation into the escape of the famous New Mexico outlaw from the Lincoln County jail 122 years ago, hoping to determine if he had an accomplice.
