DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A man charged with murder says his actions in an Urbandale bar fight are protected by Iowa’s “stand your ground” law.
The Des Moines Register reports that a judge has set a hearing for Aug. 20 to consider the motion filed for 49-year-old Rodney Henricksen. He’s pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder in the Jan. 18 death of Joshua Sadlon, of Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
The motion says Henricksen was defending himself from an intoxicated and aggressive Sadlon. Henricksen told three people at the bar that Sadlon had threatened his life. 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.
According to police reports, Henrickson punched Sadlon numerous times in the head and face, then picked up him up and slammed his head onto a concrete floor.
The motion says Henricksen was entitled to use reasonable force to preemptively strike at Sadlon to avoid injury to himself.
