Mental tests ordered for man accused of killing Iowa pastor

FORT DODGE, Iowa (AP) – A mental competency evaluation has been ordered for a man accused of beating to death a pastor outside a central Iowa church.

A judge recently approved a request from the attorney for 36-year-old Joshua Pendleton. The attorney says his client has been acting irrationally. Pendleton has pleaded not guilty in the Oct. 2 slaying of the Rev. Allen Henderson.

Court records say Pendleton acknowledged to investigators that he fought with a man at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Fort Dodge.

The 64-year-old Henderson was senior pastor at St. Paul and had served as a chaplain to area first responders.

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