The Iowa Court of Appeals heard arguments on Tuesday from an attorney for a former Fort Dodge man who is serving a life sentence for killing a local pastor in October 2019.

Joshua Pendleton, 39, was arrested Oct. 2, 2019, shortly after slaying the Rev. Al Henderson near the back door of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Fort Dodge. Pendleton’s trial was moved to Davenport and in April 2021, a Scott County jury convicted him of one count of first-degree murder and one count of first-degree robbery. He was later sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Pendleton is appealing his conviction and asking for a new trial.

In addressing the Court of Appeals, Pendleton’s appellate defender, Melinda Nye, said there are two primary issues raised in Pendleton’s appeal — first, that his motion to suppress statements made to investigators after his arrest and waiver of Miranda Rights should have been granted in its entirety and, second, that the evidence was insufficient to support the first-degree robbery conviction. These two errors require a new trial, she said.

Nye argued that though Pendleton took Henderson’s cell phone after attacking him, that action was not sufficient to prove an intent to permanently deprive Henderson of the property — a requirement to sustain a charge of first-degree robbery.

“The evidence was that he took the phone because he was delusional at that point,” Nye said. She continued, stating that Pendleton was having an “unmedicated, psychotic episode” and believed Henderson was hurting a child inside the church. Pendleton thought that the pastor was using a cell phone to record those actions — which the defense has asserted throughout this case that was a delusion Pendleton was experiencing and not based in reality. Pendleton relied on the insanity defense during trial.

“And we see in the way this plays out — he takes the phone and turns it over to police as soon as he encounters the police,” Nye said.

Pendleton is challenging Iowa Code 814.28, which states that when the prosecution relies on multiple theories to prove a crime, the jury may return a general verdict and the appellate court cannot set aside or reverse the verdict on the grounds that a theory is defective or insufficient if one or more of the theories presented by the prosecution is sufficient to sustain the verdict on at least one count.

Nye said she asserts that Iowa Code 814.28 is unconstitutional under the separation of powers, equal protection and due process. Because the Iowa Supreme Court has not decided any cases on that code, Nye argues it is within the Court of Appeals’ power to decide how it applies in the Pendleton case.

The state, represented by Assistant Attorney General Zachary Miller, argued that there is sufficient evidence to support the prosecution’s theories. He highlighted that though Pendleton claimed to have taken the phone from the pastor as evidence of crimes he believed the pastor was involved in, Pendleton never sought out law enforcement to turn it in.

Miller also argued that the citizen’s arrest provisions of the Iowa Code don’t allow for taking property from someone.

Pendleton is also appealing his conviction because he believes the statements he made to officers and investigators prior to and after waiving his Miranda Rights should have been suppressed from the evidence presented at trial. Nye argued that because Pendleton was having a delusional episode, his waiver was not knowing or voluntary.

“There’s definitely information that the law enforcement in Fort Dodge was well-acquainted with Mr. Pendleton and his erratic behavior,” Nye said. “You can see his behavior on that day — he’s talking in accents, he’s sort of fixating on random things, so clearly, the officers knew that day that they have this history with him and then they’re seeing him acting pretty bizarrely in their interactions.”

She said Pendleton’s behavior that day showed he could not knowingly waive his rights when questioned by investigators.

“He’s acting under delusions, he’s having hallucinations,” Nye added. “He’s clearly off his meds. He’s not of sound mind at that point.”

Appeals Court Judge Mary Tabor noted that at one point while reading the Miranda waiver with then-Detective Larry Hedlund, Pendleton pointed out a grammatical error in the waiver, which showed he understood it.

“I think just because he’s smart and sort of knows some things doesn’t mean he’s not still acting under delusions or still has severe mental health problems and is not rational at that point,” Nye answered.

Miller noted that the statements Pendleton sought to suppress at trial were the “crux” of his insanity defense.

“If he doesn’t have those statements that he’s now trying to exclude, he doesn’t have a defense at all,” Miller said.

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.

After the oral arguments were complete, the case was officially submitted to the Iowa Court of Appeals, which will review the arguments and court records before issuing a written ruling on the appeal.