NM man burned by buddies released from hospital

LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) — A 47-year-old New Mexico man whose pants and prosthetic leg were set on fire by his friends after he lost a drinking bet has been released from a Texas burn center.

Sheriff’s investigators say they opened a criminal case on Thursday to determine if the friends should be charged even though the man agreed to be lit on fire. Sheriff’s investigator Bo Nevarez says a person can’t consent to an aggravated battery.

The men may have been drinking to celebrate the victim’s release from probation for a 2007 drunken driving, burglary and auto theft conviction.

Sheriff’s deputies found the man naked beside U.S. Route 70 with his prosthetic leg in flames on July 5.