The man accused of dragging a Klahowya Secondary School grad behind a pickup truck last fall will be sentenced for second-degree manslaughter next week after reaching a deal with Pend Oreille County prosecutors.

Pend Oreille County Prosecuting Attorney Tom Metzger said Wendell Sinn Jr., 45, entered an Alford plea Monday, which means he does not admit guilt, but believes he would be found guilty if he went to trial for the death of Jerid Sturman-Camyn.

Sturman-Camyn, a 2005 Klahowya graduate, died shortly before 11:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 24 in Pend Oreille County after being dragged for miles behind a pickup truck.

Sturman-Camyn, of Seabeck, was camping with friends at Sinn Jr.’s campsite on LeClerc Creek Road in Pend Oreille County. Some of the eight young people were drinking heavily when witnesses said Sturman-Camyn “lost control of his temper and repeatedly threatened those at the campsite with bodily harm” and armed himself with an axe, according to a Pend Oreille County Sheriff’s Office news release.

Sinn Jr., of Newman Lake, Wash., reportedly feared for his safety and those at the campsite, so he told his 17-year-old son, Justin Sinn, to get into his 1996 Ford F250 pickup truck, “start it and be ready to leave if things got bad,” according to the news release. Sinn Jr. later allegedly placed one end of a rope around the truck’s trailer hitch and the other end around Sturman-Camyn. He then yelled for his son to drive away. The teen did not know the 20-year-old Eastern Washington University student was attached to the truck and drove away in fear, dragging him for miles and causing his death, according to the news release.

Sinn Jr. faces 21 to 27 months in prison for the second-degree manslaughter charge and will be sentenced Monday, Sept. 22. Metzger said he originally faced second-degree murder and first-degree manslaughter charges with aggravating circumstances, which could have carried a much higher prison sentence.

Justin Sinn has not been charged in the incident. Metzger said he has an immunity agreement with prosecutors stating that he will testify truthfully against his father. Metzger added that it is still unclear as to whether or not he knew Sturman-Camyn was attached to the back of the truck as he drove off.

“This obviously has ripped two families apart,” Metzger said.

Sturman-Camyn was a standout athlete at Klahowya, earning the Central Kitsap Reporter’s 2005 Male Student Athlete of the Year award.

As a member of Klahowya’s football team, Sturman-Camyn, a linebacker, was named the Nisqually League’s Defensive MVP his senior year, in which he helped the Eagles to a first-ever state football berth. As a wrestler, he earned the then-highest state-placement in KSS history, taking second place at 189 pounds as a senior. He also placed seventh in 2004.