This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Two people originally charged with murder after a man locked in a basement died last year in a Price house fire have resolved their criminal cases.
Ashley Ann Platt, 22, pleaded guilty Monday in 7th District Court to obstruction of justice, a third-degree felony, and class A misdemeanor negligent homicide. Michael John Dees, 39, pleaded no contest to the same two charges.
Platt, Dees and 40-year-old James Pendleton were originally charged with one count each of first-degree felony murder, first-degree felony aggravated kidnapping and second-degree felony criminal conspiracy in connection with the July 2014 death of 32-year-old Brian William Swink.
Last month, Pendleton was sentenced to prison for up to five years after he pleaded no contest to third-degree felony counts of attempted kidnapping and attempted manslaughter.
Platt and Dees are scheduled to be sentenced Monday.
According to plea documents, prosecutors have agreed to not seek further jail time for the two, who have been behind bars since charges were filed in August 2014.
Pendleton is accused of beating Swink with a baseball bat before the trio locked him in the basement of Pendleton's Price home on July 29, 2014.
The victim died from smoke inhalation while inside the basement. 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 Platt, Dees and Pendleton 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, who was his cousin, 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."
Platt admitted in court papers to "keeping the victim in the basement of the house when I should have been aware of a substantial risk that death may occur."
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.
Twitter: @jm_miller