By Monica Wepking, Editor Jennifer L. Ladd, 36, also known as Jennifer L. Meek of Rosebud, SD or Mission, SD pled not guilty to first degree murder charges in Charles Mix County (CMC) court on Monday, March 2, 2009. Ladd was indicted by a CMC Grand Jury, which alleges that Ladd murdered Louis Fast Horse, 44 of Mission on Feb. 15, 2009 in Lake Andes. The charge is murder in the first degree, which Judge Bruce Anderson explained includes a $50,000 fine and a mandatory life sentence in prison. A lesser sentence can't be given, however, the maximum sentence is death. Anderson gave the State until March 30, 2009 to determine whether they will pursue the death penalty. Anderson also set March 25, 2009 as a motion hearing date. A jury trial has been scheduled for June 29, 2009. Ladd remains in the CMC jail on a $500,000 cash only bond.