2 of 3 men accused of burning down church plead guilty

RIDGEVIEW, S.D. (AP) - Two of three Dewey County men accused of burning down a church that had stood for nearly a century have pleaded guilty.

Twenty-seven-year-old Cody Yellow and 28-year-old Ake Kyle Eagle Hunter have each pleaded guilty to one count of accessory after the fact to arson.

The Argus Leader reports (https://argusne.ws/1QTyVbw ) that the two men and 28-year-old Robert Grindstone are accused in a July 19 fire that destroyed St. Basil’s Church west of Ridgeview. The church was built in 1917. It no longer had regular services but still hosted weddings, funerals and an annual Memorial Day Mass.

Grindstone is expected to plead guilty to an arson charge Tuesday afternoon in federal court.

The church wasn’t listed on the National Register of Historic Places but was considered a local historic landmark.

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Information from: Argus Leader, https://www.argusleader.com