Armed man sentenced to prison Friday
03/12/2021

Dakota Penland (Credit: Atchison Co Sheriff's Office)

(KAIR)--A Saint Joseph, Missouri man will spend nearly 10-years in prison for entering one Atchison County home, attempting to enter another, threatening a driver with a handgun and stealing the vehicle, and for waving a handgun at people near the Atchison Library.

23-year-old Dakota Penland was sentenced to prison Friday in Atchison County District Court on charges of robbery, two counts of aggravated assault, attempted burglary of a dwelling, and criminal trespass.

According to a release from Atchison County Attorney Sherri Becker, Penland, on the morning of July 16, 2020 was located inside a residence, with a woman who lived there notifying authorities her young children had let Penland inside. Asking him to leave, Penland told her he would if she helped him acquire gas for his broken down vehicle.

Cooperating with him, the woman reported he left her residence, but a short time later, a second homeowner reported that a man, later identified as Penland, was trying to break into her rural Atchison County residence. The woman reported that her son arrived home and confronted Penland, who showed a handgun in his waistband during the verbal exchange. After threatening to kill the family's dog, Pendland, accopanied by a woman, walked away.

Later that morning, shortly before 11:00, both the Atchison Police Department and the Atchison County Sheriff's Office, were called to the Atchison Library following the report of a man waving a handgun at people in the area. Witnesses were interviewed, with one telling authorities he had, that morning, saw Penland and a woman walking on a rural road and offered them a ride to the library where they could charge a cell phone.

When they arrived, the witness said the woman exited the truck, but Penland used a handgun to hit the driver, steal the keys, and drive away.

Penland was later located hiding in the bed of a pickup truck in the 400 block of Kansas Avenue by Atchison Police and he was taken into custody.

Using witness information, a search by law enforcement led to the discovery of a firearm inside a nearby dumpster.


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