Third suspect indicted in Parker killing

By KURT NESBITT

Journal Staff Writer

REDWOOD FALLS -- The younger brother of one the two suspects charged with a fatal shooting near Morton in 2002 was recently indicted on first-degree murder charges.

A Redwood County grand jury took about four days to determine if prosecutors have enough evidence to charge Jesse Ross Sander, 20, of rural Morton, for the murder of Frank Irving Parker II, 23, of Minneapolis, outside an early-morning house party on the Lower Sioux Indian Community on June 9, 2002.

Prosecutors charged Christopher Richard Sander, 25, and Dennis William Pendleton, Jr., 21, both of rural Morton, with murder in connection with Parker's death in the days following the shooting.

Parker, a confirmed captain in the Native Mob street gang, was found dead on the lawn of the house by Redwood County deputies. Subsequent investigation found that he was shot by at least two people who were seen before and afterwards in a maroon GMC Yukon Denali SUV.

Pendleton is currently serving a 60-month sentence in a state prison outside Minnesota after entering into a plea agreement with prosecutors. Christopher Sander was acquitted of the charges stemming from the Parker murder, but served some jail time in Redwood County for lesser, unrelated charges. He was released earlier last month.

On Oct. 24, the grand jury returned a four-count indictment against Jesse Sander, accusing him of murder in the first degree and murder in the second degree as well as two counts of committing a crime for the benefit of a gang.

First-degree murder carries a maximum sentence of life in prison and one of the "benefit of a gang" charges is also punishable by life in prison. The second-degree charges have maximum sentences of 40 and 45 years in prison respectively.

Sander was arraigned on the new charges late last week, where Redwood County District Judge David Peterson set bail at $1 million dollars and, among other things, ordered Sander not to have any contact with the witnesses who testified during the grand jury investigation. He is currently in custody in Redwood County.

Many of the witnesses who testified during the trials of Dennis Pendleton and Christopher Sander -- including Pendleton and Sander -- were questioned during the grand jury investigation.