Berget changes plea to guilty in prison guard killing

SIOUX FALLS (AP) — A second inmate accused of killing a South Dakota State Penitentiary officer has changed his plea to guilty.

Forty-nine-year-old Rodney Berget changed his plea Thursday afternoon during a court hearing in Sioux Falls.

Authorities say Berget and 49-year-old Eric Robert attacked and killed 63-year-old Ronald Johnson in a work area inside the Sioux Falls prison and then used his uniform in an unsuccessful escape attempt April 12.

Robert changed his plea to guilty in September and was sentenced to death.

Robert told the judge that he hit Johnson with a pipe and covered his mouth with plastic wrap, then carted a large box toward the prison gate with Berget inside.

Both inmates were apprehended before leaving the grounds.

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