Carbon County pair plead guilty for roles in fatal house fire


7 photos
Save Story
Leer en español

Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

PRICE — Two people have pleaded guilty to reduced charges for their roles in a 2014 house fire that killed a Carbon County man.

Michael John Dees, 39, and Ashley Ann Platt, 22, were charged in 7th District Court with murder, kidnapping and criminal conspiracy in connection with the death of Brian William Swink. The charges were amended Monday under a deal with Carbon County prosecutors that saw the pair plead guilty to obstructing justice, a third-degree felony, and negligent homicide, a class A misdemeanor.

The guilty pleas were entered a little over a month after James William Pendleton Jr. was sentenced to serve up to five years in prison for his part in Swink's death. Pendleton, 40, also accepted a deal from prosecutors, pleading guilty to reduced charges of attempted manslaughter and attempted kidnapping, both third-degree felonies.

"I think (Dees and Platt) were less involved than Mr. Pendleton," Carbon County Attorney Gene Strate said Monday. "But they still locked Mr. Swink in that basement knowing that he was psychotic, possibly suicidal and also was under the influence of drugs."


They ... locked Mr. Swink in that basement knowing that he was psychotic, possibly suicidal and also was under the influence of drugs.

–Gene Strate, Carbon County Attorney


Swink initially left Pendleton's house on July 29, 2014, after Pendleton assaulted him with a baseball bat, according to investigators. When Swink returned to the house later that day, Pendleton was gone but Platt and Dees were there.

"(Swink's) behavior was erratic," said Dees' defense attorney David Allred, noting that his client and Platt were concerned about the possibility of another violent confrontation between Swink and Pendleton.

"Mr. Swink was in the basement (of Pendleton's house)," Allred said. "They tried to convince him to come out and leave."

When Swink refused, Dees and Platt locked him in the basement, according to some witnesses. Other witnesses testified at a preliminary hearing that the pair never locked the basement door and Swink was free to leave.

Related Story

"The evidence was confusing and there were contradictions in the evidence because most of the witnesses were under the influence of drugs when this incident happened," Strate said.

Investigators say there is no question that Swink started a fire in the basement shortly after he was left alone. Pendleton was home by then and called 911, telling dispatchers Swink was locked in the basement and armed with a gun. Price police said Swink wasn't armed and the false report delayed firefighters' efforts to reach him.

An autopsy showed Swink, 32, died from asphyxiation due to smoke inhalation.

Attorneys for Platt and Dees said their clients are satisfied with deals they reached with prosecutors.

"To her, it's a plea that encompasses what happened, I think, and the outcome she wanted out of this case," said Platt's attorney, Robert Oliver.

"I think there were a lot of circumstances that supported a lesser charge," Allred said.

Dees and Platt are scheduled to be sentenced Aug. 3.

Photos

Related stories

Most recent Utah stories

Related topics

Utah
Geoff Liesik

    STAY IN THE KNOW

    Get informative articles and interesting stories delivered to your inbox weekly. Subscribe to the KSL.com Trending 5.
    By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

    KSL Weather Forecast