Sheridan Man Agrees To 4-6 Years For Punching Hockey Coach To Death

A Sheridan man has pleaded not guilty to a charge of manslaughter related to evidence that he punched a local hockey coach in the head and killed him, in the second round of a fight the men had over a parking space last summer.

Cody Joseph McCalla, who turns 35 this year, gave his guilty plea in Sheridan District Court on Wednesday after signing a plea agreement in which he and the prosecutor, Sheridan County Attorney Dianna Bennett, agreed on a sentence of four to six years in prison.

McCalla is scheduled to be sentenced April 21. 

The plea agreement allowed McCalla to give a conditional “no contest” plea, with a provision letting him appeal a Feb. 4 decision in which Sheridan District Court Judge Benjamin Kirven declined to dismiss the case.

McCalla had asked for an early dismissal by claiming he acted in self-defense July 12, 2024, when, during a parking lot fight with local hockey coach Patrick Mudd, 48, McCalla delivered a reportedly fatal punch to Mudd’s head. 

Kirven said McCalla appeared to be the initial aggressor in the fight and wouldn’t have his case dismissed early as self defense; but that McCalla still could try to prove his self-defense argument before a jury.

McCalla’s plea agreement has other noteworthy provisions. It says if Kirven rejects the four- to six-year limit on sentencing, McCalla can withdraw his no-contest plea and negotiate with Bennett once again or go to trial. 

It also says that by signing the agreement, Bennett agrees “not to prosecute (McCalla) for the multiple instances of perjury” she believes he committed while trying to prove to the court that he acted in self-defense. 

Bennett also agreed not to seek other charges against McCalla stemming from the parking lot fight.

Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.