Man charged in

Lower Sioux shooting accepts a plea bargain

Shooting was gang related, court says

By KURT NESBITT

Journal Staff Writer

REDWOOD FALLS -- Rather than face the possibility of at least 40 years in state prison, Dennis William "Bundy" Pendleton, Jr., struck a deal Monday with prosecutors and ended what was Redwood County's first murder trial in years.

Pendleton, 21, of rural Morton, appeared in Redwood County District Court on charges of aiding and abetting second degree murder.

He is one of two people accused of shooting Frank Irving Parker II, 21, of Minneapolis, at an early-morning house party near the Lower Sioux Agency near Morton on June 9, 2002.

After the shooting, Pendleton and Christopher Sander, 26, of rural Morton, were identified by authorities as members of the Gangster Disciples gang, according to the criminal complaint against Pendleton. They had an ongoing dispute with Parker, the complaint states.

The jury was selected last week.

The trial was supposed to start at 8 a.m. Monday. However, almost instantly, attorneys, friends and family members were talking with Pendleton and his attorney about the possibility of a plea bargain.

Initially Pendleton refused a deal. He had previously waved off earlier offers from prosecutors.

Witness testimony began almost one hour later. The court heard testimony from two of the investigating officers in the case, Parker's mother and two of the witnesses to the shooting.

When the court reconvened after an early lunch break, prosecutors and family members were at it again, trying to get Pendleton to accept a plea bargain.

Pendleton pleaded guilty by way of an Alford plea to assault with a deadly weapon in the second degree -- charges lessened by prosecutors in exchange for the plea. They earlier dropped a second charge of aiding and abetting murder in the second degree for the benefit of a gang.

Prosecutors also agreed to drop two pending assault cases against Pendleton -- one third degree, one fifth degree -- and also agreed not to implicate him in a at least two different, unnamed felony cases that prosecutors say are currently pending.

In addition, Pendleton received credit for the 90 days he spent in the Redwood County jail during the investigation of the case. He will probably serve his 60-month sentence in prison outside Minnesota due to what defense attorney Eric Newmark said are "security concerns" about the Minnesota State Prison at St. Cloud.

"My client's satisfied, I'm satisfied. It's a good and fair result, based on the circumstances," said Newmark after the plea bargain was reached.

For Michelle Dietrich, the Redwood County attorney leading the prosecution, the plea bargain was also an appropriate end to Pendleton's case.

"I think it was fair under the circumstances of this case," said Dietrich, who declined to comment further, saying she didn't want to say anything that would prejudice the upcoming trial of Sander.

Court complaints said witnesses saw Sander and Pendleton pull up to the house and shoot Parker during the early morning hours of June 9, 2002. The two suspects were wanted on warrants both for the shooting and older, lesser crimes until their attorneys brought them to the Redwood County Law Enforcement Center on June 17.

According to court documents, Sander is tentatively scheduled for trial early in March. The trial could take place in either Redwood Falls or Marshall, court documents said.