DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A man who had said he was only defending himself when he beat another man at a central Iowa bar has been convicted of second-degree murder.
On Monday a jury found 49-year-old Rodney Henricksen guilty. His sentencing is set for April 15. Joshua Sadlon, of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, died a day after the incident at the Escape Lounge in Urbandale in January 2018.
Henricksen had said he’d tried to de-escalate threats made by the drunken Sadlon and said Iowa’s “stand your ground” law protected him from prosecution. The law says a person doesn’t have to retreat before using deadly force if he or she reasonably thinks his or her life is being threatened.
The jury rejected his claim of self-defense. Prosecutors called it a bar beating, not a bar fight.
