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Keaton Armstrong

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Dalton Sharp

Two men arrested in May of 2016 for an attack in rural Marion County were sentenced on Thursday.

Keaton Armstrong, 19, of Indianola and Dalton Sharp, 20, of Melcher-Dallas were both sentenced to 30 years in prison for Robbery in the Second Degree, Willful Injury Causing Serious injury, Conspiracy to Commit a Forcible Felony and Possession with intent to deliver Methamphetamine. A third man, Justin VanderEcken of Melcher-Dallas, pled guilty to willful injury causing serious injury and conspiracy to commit a forcible felony and was sentenced to 10 years in prison in August of 2016. Armstrong and Sharp were offered a reward from VanderEcken in April 2016 for the robbery and murder of Kenyon Reed. Court records indicate Armstrong and Sharp met with Reed in the early morning hours of Saturday, April 30th, 2016, and attacked him with an aluminum baseball bat. The attack hospitalized Reed, but did not kill him. Armstrong, Sharp and VanderEcken were later identified by law enforcement as the perpetrators of the crime. Neither Sharp nor Armstrong will be eligible for parole until 2027. Marion County Attorney Ed Bull Tells KNIA/KRLS News, “After nearly a year, justice finally came for the victim of a vicious and pointless attack in rural Marion County. After discussions with both the victim and law enforcement we believed we reached an appropriate resolution in this case. It is our hope that during their time of incarceration they take advantage of educational, substance abuse treatment and any other services their prison counselors recommend so when they are released they can become productive members of our society. I wish to thank Jared Harmon and Nicole Olson of my office for handling this case. It is important also to note the incredible work by the Marion County Sheriff’s Office that quickly apprehended the suspects, and meticulously investigated the case.”