What is he accused of?
Cellphone video that has since gone viral shows the heated confrontation between Pentland and the unidentified victim in a subdivision in Columbia called The Lakes at Barony Place.
It shows Pentland, who is white, demanding the victim to leave the area, telling him, “You’re in the wrong neighborhood, motherf—er” and then threatening him with physical violence.
“You either walk away or I’m going to carry your ass out of here,” Pentland tells the younger man. “I ain’t playing with you. I’m about to show you what I can do.”
The three-minute clip doesn’t show what sparked the altercation.
Pentland was initially given a citation for malicious injury to property for allegedly slapping the man’s phone from his hand and causing it to shatter.
But on Wednesday, he was arrested and charged with third-degree assault.
Officials said the victim was not a minor but declined to identify him.
What is Pentland’s military background?
The 42-year-old is stationed at Fort Jackson, the Army’s biggest basic training facility in the country and located near Columbia.
Pentland was promoted to sergeant first class, a senior noncommissioned position, in April 2020 and has also worked as a drill sergeant at Fort Jackson.
He also spent time stationed at Fort Drum in New York and was part of the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division.
The division on Wednesday posted a comment on a 2017 photo of Pentland in military garb, saying, “There is no place in the Army for extremist ideologies. We support the decision of the Fort Jackson Commanding General to look into this matter. This image will remain viewable to foster dialogue.”
Pentland’s military resume with the 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division based at Fort Carson in Colorado.
Who is Pentland’s wife?
Pentland married Cassie Dalrymple in 2006, according to an online post announcing their engagement that year.
Cassie can be heard in the now-viral video, calling the victim an “aggressor” and accusing him of picking a “fight with some random young lady.”
Pentland’s since-deleted Facebook page said the couple have a young son and daughter.
They own a home in The Lakes at Barony Place subdivision, where the encounter happened.
Dozens of Black Lives Matter protesters demonstrated outside Pentland’s home Wednesday night.
What has the Army said about the incident?
The incident is under investigation by the US Department of Justice, Fort Jackson commander Brig. Gen. Milford Beagle Jr. said in a statement.
“The leaders at Fort Jackson in no way condone the behavior depicted in the video posted recently,” Beagle said. “This action deeply impacts our community … I ask that our communities and leaders exercise a degree of patience, affording Sheriff Lott and law enforcement investigators to account for the full measure of events before, during, and after the incident that was recorded.”
culled from Nypost