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A 40-year-old Carbon County man was sentenced to prison for up to five years Tuesday for his part in death of his cousin, who died in a house fire after being locked in a basement last year.
James William Pendleton pleaded no contest last month to reduced third-degree felony counts of attempted kidnapping and attempted manslaughter in the July 2014 death of 32-year-old Brian William Swink.
Seventh District Judge Lyle Anderson ordered the two zero-to-five-year prison terms to run concurrently.
Pendleton, along with two others, were originally charged with one count each of first-degree felony murder, first-degree felony aggravated kidnapping and second-degree felony criminal conspiracy.
Pendleton is accused of beating Swink with a baseball bat before Pendleton, Michael John Dees, 38, and Ashley Ann Platt, 22, locked him in the basement of Pendleton's Price home.
The victim died from smoke inhalation while inside the basement on July 29, 2014. Officials believe Swink likely started the fire himself — a lighter was found in his pocket after his death and the fire's origin was traced to cardboard and Christmas decorations that had been ignited on a basement shelf.
But prosecutors charged the trio with murder, arguing that if Swink had not been locked inside the basement, he would not have died.
In plea agreement documents, Pendleton admitted to trying to detain Swink that day.
"I did attempt to lock the victim in my basement, knowing he was an active user of methamphetamine, was having psychotic episodes and had threatened to burn my house down," Pendleton admitted in court records. "And that [the] act was reckless as to whether it would cause the victim's death."
Pendleton's plea deal also resolved several other of his criminal cases, including dismissing allegations of retaliation against a witness, failure to stop at the command of police and assault.
Dees and Platt are scheduled to go to trial in August.
During a preliminary hearing for the three defendants, several witnesses testified that Pendleton had been upset with Swink for taking his truck without permission. This sparked a fistfight between the two on the evening before the fire, during which Pendleton allegedly hit Swink with a bat several times.
Platt later told police that she had Dees and another man put Swink in the basement, saying she did it so Pendleton wouldn't know that Swink was still in the house and because she was scared of Swink.
Police have said the group likely was using drugs in the house.