SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) - A second inmate accused of killing a
South Dakota State Penitentiary officer has changed his plea to
guilty.
Forty-nine-year-old Rodney Berget changed his plea Thursday
afternoon during a court hearing in Sioux Falls.
Authorities say Berget and 49-year-old Eric Robert attacked and
killed 63-year-old Ronald Johnson in a work area inside the Sioux
Falls prison and then used his uniform in an unsuccessful escape
attempt April 12.
Robert changed his plea to guilty in September and was sentenced
to death.
Robert told the judge that he hit Johnson with a pipe and
covered his mouth with plastic wrap, then carted a large box toward
the prison gate with Berget inside.
Both inmates were apprehended before leaving the grounds.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
AP-NY-11-17-11 1442EST
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