James Pendleton appeared in Seventh District Court on Tuesday for sentencing regarding attempted kidnapping and manslaughter charges in addition to a variety of other charges.
Judge Lyle Anderson sentenced Pendleton, 40, to up to five years in the Utah State Prison for attempted kidnapping as well as up to five years for attempted manslaughter, both third-degree felonies. Pendleton was also ordered to pay $7,000 restitution.
The charges stem from an incident in July when authorities found Pendleton’s cousin dead in the basement of a home that caught fire. Pendleton, Michael John Dees and Ashley Ann Platt were originally charged with murder, aggravated kidnapping and conspiracy to commit kidnapping in the death of Brian William Swink. Pendleton was also charged with aggravated assault.
Other prison sentences received by Pendleton for Carbon County cases include the following: possession of a controlled substance, a third-degree felony (up to five years); assault, a class A misdemeanor (up to one year); assault by prisoner, a third-degree felony (up to five years); burglary, a third-degree felony (up to five years); theft, a third-degree felony (up to five years); criminal mischief, a third-degree felony (up to five years); attempted tampering with a witness, a class A misdemeanor (up to one year); attempted possession of prohibited items in a correctional facility, a class A misdemeanor (up to one year) and false statements, a class A misdemeanor (up to one year). Pendleton was also ordered to pay $38,477.09 in restitution in the possession/assault case.
Sentences from Carbon County cases will run concurrently, meaning they will run simultaneously.
A matter that occurred in Emery County was also sentenced by Judge Anderson. In the matter of theft, a third-degree felony, Anderson sentenced Pendleton to a term not to exceed five years in the Utah State Prison. This sentence will run consecutively, following in uninterrupted succession, of the Carbon County charges.