Trial Date Set for Sheridan Man Charged With Involuntary Manslaughter

A trial date has been set for a Sheridan man charged with involuntary manslaughter. Sheridan Media’s Ron Richter  has the details.

An arraignment hearing was held Thursday in Fourth Judicial District Court for Cody McCalla of Sheridan. McCalla pleaded not guilty to the charge of felony involuntary manslaughter. District Court Judge Ben Kirven scheduled a five-day jury trial to begin on March 3, 2025. A pretrial conference was set for January 30 at 9 am.

Kirven approved two bond modification requests, the first being a motion from Defense Attorney Ryan Wright to lower the alcohol testing requirement of his client from twice daily to once a day, and a motion from Sheridan County and Prosecuting Attorney Dianna Bennett to not allow any contact, directly or indirectly between McCalla and any of the witnesses in the case.

The charge stems from an alleged incident this past July when McCalla punched 48-year-old Patrick Mudd in the face and head, causing traumatic brain injury that resulted in Mudd’s death. According to court documents, an officer with the Sheridan Police Department, on July 12, responded to the 1900 block of West 5th Street shortly after 6 pm for a fight in progress. When the officer arrived on scene, Mudd was lying on the ground in a puddle of blood and McCalla was close by with blood on his face and his hands.

McCalla told the officer that he had been in a fight with Mudd and that he had hit him once. Two female eye witnesses told the officer that Mudd and McCalla were having an argument about a parking related issue and that they heard Mudd tell McCalla to leave him alone. The two witnesses said they then heard a “knuckles hitting” sound and saw Mudd fall to the ground. If convicted, McCalla faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.