FORT DODGE, Iowa—A mental competency evaluation has been ordered for a man accused of beating to death a pastor outside a central Iowa church. A judge recently approved a request from the attorney for 36-year-old Joshua Pendleton. The attorney says his client has been acting irrationally.
Pendleton has pleaded not guilty in the Oct. 2 slaying of the Rev. Allen Henderson. Court records say Pendleton acknowledged to investigators that he fought with a man at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Fort Dodge. The 64-year-old Henderson was senior pastor at St. Paul and had served as a chaplain to area first responders.
(contributed article and photo, Associated Press)
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