OTTUMWA —
The Ottumwa man accused of killing an adult movie theater manager earlier this year has pleaded not guilty to the crime.
Prosecuters formally charged Bruce Pollard, 25, Monday morning in Wapello County District Court with first-degree murder and first-degree robbery.
Police allege that one night in March, Pollard entered the Cinema X adult theater downtown with the intention of robbing it. They say he used a crowbar to kill the manager of the business, Kenneth McDaniel, 70, of Ottumwa. Pollard is accused of stealing some pornography and cash. McDaniel’s body was not discovered until the following morning.
Police delayed charging Pollard, or even naming him as a suspect, while awaiting results from an autopsy. At that time, he was already in jail on other charges stemming from different crimes. It is unclear at what point Pollard was considered a suspect by police, but they arrested him for murder on May 30. On July 12, authorities tacked on the robbery charge.
Police say they have the murder weapon used in that crime, as well a a confession.
Pollard is currently being held in the Wapello County Jail on more than $1 million cash-only bail.
Robbery in the first degree is a Class B felony punishable by up to a 25 year prison sentence; murder in the first degree is a Class A felony, carrying a mandatory penalty of life in prison.
Other charges Pollard faces include an armed robbery at a local restaurant, a felony burglary charge, the armed robbery of a local convenience store and the armed robbery of a customer at that store.
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Pollard pleads not guilty to murder charge
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