SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) - A third inmate has been charged in the
April killing of South Dakota State Penitentiary officer Ronald
Johnson.
Forty-seven-year-old Michael Nordman made an initial court
appearance Thursday on murder charges handed down by a grand jury.
Judge Bradley Zeller entered not guilty pleas on Nordman's behalf.
Prosecutors allege Nordman supplied a metal pipe and a roll of
plastic wrap used in the killing of the 63-year-old Johnson.
Two other inmates are charged in Johnson's death - 49-year-olds
Rodney Berget and Eric Robert. Authorities say they were trying to
escape. Robert has pleaded guilty and Berget not guilty in the
killing.
Prosecutors have said they will seek the death penalty against
Berget and Robert. Zeller gave prosecutors until Oct. 31 to make
the decision in Nordman's case.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
AP-NY-09-29-11 1055EDT
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