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Pendleton files notice of appeal

He is currrently sentenced to life in Henderson's death

Joshua Pendleton is appealing his first-degree murder and first-degree robbery conviction for the October 2019 slaying of the Rev. Al Henderson in Fort Dodge.

Pendleton, 37, of Fort Dodge, was convicted by a Scott County jury in April after his trial venue was moved to Davenport. On Aug. 20, he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the murder charge and to 25 years in prison for the robbery charge, with both sentences to be served concurrently.

Court documents show that Pendleton filed his notice of appeal in Webster County District Court on Tuesday morning. Now that he has filed his notice of appeal, he will be assigned a state public appellate attorney to write and file the appeal to be considered by the Iowa Court of Appeals.

On the evening of Oct. 2, 2019, Pendleton went to the back door of St. Paul Lutheran Church and attacked Henderson, leaving the pastor’s lifeless body laying on the sidewalk.

Pendleton was arrested shortly after Henderson was found unresponsive on the ground outside the church’s back door. Henderson was pronounced dead at the scene and had died as a result of strangulation and blunt force trauma to the head, a medical examiner testified during trial.

Pendleton was identified as a suspect from security footage from the church. He was later located and taken into custody at his apartment, located about two blocks east of the church on Fourth Avenue South.

During trial, the defense asserted that Pendleton — a diagnosed schizophrenic — was hallucinating and delusional when he attacked Henderson, asking the jury to find the defendant not guilty by reason of insanity. The strategy was unsuccessful and the jury convicted Pendleton of all charges.

Prior to sentencing, Pendleton motioned for a new trial, arguing that the evidence presented at trial showed the defendant was insane at the time of the crime. The motion was denied by District Court Judge Gina Badding on Aug. 4.

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