DICKINSON, N.D. -- A Dickinson man was sentenced Tuesday to prison time after pleading guilty to charges related to his 7-month-old son’s death.
Andrue Saunders pleaded guilty at the Stark County Courthouse to Class C felony charges of child abuse, possession of a controlled substance and terrorizing.
Saunders, who was born in 1989, was charged after an autopsy showed traces of cocaine and methamphetamine in his infant son after the child was found dead in the home Saunders shared with his then-wife, Theresa Saunders.
The boy died of asphyxiation, or sudden infant death syndrome, in October 2011.
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Under a plea agreement, Andrue Saunders was sentenced to five years in prison with all but 18 months suspended for each count, to be served concurrently with credit for time served. He will be on five years’ supervised probation upon release. He also must register as an offender against children and won’t be permitted to be with a minor until the end of his probation.
The terrorizing charge involved a fight with his stepfather in which Saunders threatened to cut him “from top to bottom,” according to court documents.
Theresa Saunders pleaded guilty earlier this month to Class C felony child abuse in the case but avoided jail time.
