Man Pleads Not In Dragging Death Case

NEWPORT, Wash. (AP) - A man pleaded not guilty to charges he tied a rope around the neck of a college student who was strangled while being dragged 13 miles behind a pickup truck. <br/><br/>Wendell C.

Friday, December 7th 2007, 11:57 am

By: News On 6

NEWPORT, Wash. (AP) - A man pleaded not guilty to charges he tied a rope around the neck of a college student who was strangled while being dragged 13 miles behind a pickup truck.

Wendell C. Sinn Jr., 45, faces charges of second-degree murder and first-degree manslaughter. His trial was scheduled Thursday for March 31.

His lawyer has said Sinn acted in self-defense and to protect others at a northeastern Washington hunting camp where witnesses said Jerid Sturman-Camyn, 20, became violent and out of control.

Investigators were told Sturman-Camyn threatened others in the camp with an ax, at which point Sinn caught him looking another way, looped a rope around his neck and attached it to the truck's trailer hitch.

Sinn then yelled to his 17-year-old son, Justin D. Sinn, to drive away, the documents allege. Sturman-Camyn was found dead November 24th.

Investigators have said the teenager didn't know Sturman-Camyn was roped to the pickup, adding that his view was likely obscured by darkness and the truck's canopy.