Sheridan, defendant in Pasco murder, free after making deal

Kidnapper turns canary in deal to testify against other 8 involved in 2020 Miller shooting murder
 
One of the nine defendants who are facing charges in the murder of Sarah Pasco is free after reportedly making a deal to testify against the other eight people charged in the case. Frank Sheridan, of Aurora was released from the Lawrence County Jail on Tuesday, Jan. 18, on his own recognizance, pending a scheduled appearance in court on Monday, April 4, for a pre-trial conference. He’d been held at the jail since he turned himself in on Aug. 19, 2020.
According to a motion filed for Sheridan’s release on Friday, Jan. 14, Sheridan, 29, agreed to plead guilty to first-degree kidnapping, for which he will receive a suspended execution of a 15-year prison sentence and five years of supervised probation and “testify truthfully again all (eight) co-defendants” in the case. In return, all of the other charges against Sheridan in the case will be dropped. The co-defendants in the case are: Gary Hunter and Sierra Dunham, both of Mt. Vernon; Diona Parks, Lyle DeLong, Kimberly Henderson and Christina Knapp, all of Stotts City, Andrew Cypret, of Billings and Steven Calverley, of Republic.
According to the probable cause statement in the case, the incident began on Aug. 16, 2020, at the pavilion located at the intersection of Mt. Vernon and Center Streets in Stotts City. Hunter allegedly walked up to a truck being driven by a woman identified as the “Confidential Victim,” in which Pasco was a passenger. Hunter asked the Confidential Victim to be let into the truck and once he was in the truck, allegedly put a gun to Pasco’s head and ordered the other woman to drive to Knapp’s residence.
It was also reported that Frank Sheridan, who was in a relationship with Dunham, allegedly came to the house to bandage a wound that Hunter suffered earlier in the day. According to the probable cause statement, he and Dunham allegedly rode along in a truck with Hunter, who drove.
Later, the two victims were allegedly driven to an abandoned well in Miller and were forced to climb inside. Hunter allegedly shot both women; Pasco was killed, but the other person was only wounded; she played dead until Hunter left and then crawled out of the well.
In addition to the kidnapping charge, Sheridan was originally charged with first-degree murder, four counts of armed criminal action, one count of first-degree assault and one count of first-degree robbery (his co-defendant, Dunham, allegedly took Pasco’s shoes and sunglasses during the incident). As of press time, those charges were still in effect.
According to the motion for his release, should Sheridan commit any violations while out on his own recognizance, he will be returned to jail, and his plea deal will be terminated.