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August 8th,
2007 - Schofield Soldier Disputes Claim he Shot Iraqi News article by the Honolulu
Star-Bulletin |
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Schofield Soldier
Disputes Claim he Shot Iraqi By Gregg K. Kakesako Honolulu Star-Bulletin August 8, 2007 Two Schofield Barracks
soldiers charged with murdering an Iraqi civilian during a night raid in June
are claiming that the victim was a member of an insurgent cell suspected of
trying to plant a roadside bomb near Kirkuk. And one of the soldiers,
Spc. Christopher Shore, insists he purposely shot away from the civilian
rather than obey orders to "finish him off." Michael Waddington, Shore's
civilian attorney, says three of the Iraqi men who were arrested in the raid
are on trial in Iraq because an assault rifle and other weapons were
confiscated. Shore is one of four
soldiers who reported the shooting and turned in the Schofield Barracks
soldier who ordered the killing, says Waddington. The Army maintains that Sgt.
1st Class Trey Corrales, 34, ordered Shore, 24, to shoot the Iraqi man. Both
soldiers, the Army claims, shot the Iraqi man several times with their M-4
carbines. But Waddington maintains
that Shore just fired his weapon twice, but never at the Iraqi man, according
to a report in the Athens, Ga., Banner-Herald. "Shore is one of four
guys who turned in Corrales, and that's why he's so shocked that he got
charged. And based on the evidence I've seen, my client didn't shoot the
guy," Waddington told the Georgia paper last weekend. He said he's filed a motion
to try Shore separately from Corrales. Waddington said: "Shore
is the only one who implicates himself, the only guy who said, 'I popped off
two rounds but I didn't hit the guy.' And our position is, Shore didn't shoot
anybody and there is no evidence that he shot this guy." On his Web site, Corrales
acknowledges he led the June 23 raid of 25th Infantry Division scouts. "By the end of the
raid, one insurgent was mortally wounded and several others were
captured," according to Corrales' account. Waddington said Corrales'
platoon was flown by Black Hawk helicopter to the village and Shore was a
point man when the Schofield Barracks unit stormed the house where the
insurgents had taken refuge. Earlier, other soldiers in a
helicopter had spotted insurgents planting a roadside bomb along a supply
route outside of Kirkuk, where U.S. convoys regularly were ambushed, and
followed them, Waddington said. The soldiers fired a small
rocket into the house where a group of men and women were holed up. Inside, while the soldiers
were checking the hands of the detainees in the house for traces of
explosives, one man bolted from the house. Waddington said that Shore,
after hearing the shots, went out of the house and saw that Corrales had
wounded the suspect. Corrales ordered Shore to
"finish him off," but, instead, Shore fired his rifle twice and
purposely missed, according to Waddington. The Iraqi man died a couple of
days later. Waddington said the Army
alleges that when Corrales ordered Shore to shoot the wounded detainee, Shore
stood over the body and shot him at close range, but the autopsy report
concludes the Iraqi was shot five times from a distance. Lt. Col. Michael Donnelly,
Army spokesman, said last night in an e-mail from Iraq there is still no date
for an Article 32 hearing, which is similar to a preliminary hearing in
civilian criminal cases. Maj. Gen. Benjamin Mixon,
who commands the 25th Infantry Division, will determine whether Corrales and
Shore will face a court-martial based upon the findings of the Article 32
hearing. If a court-martial is held, it will probably be at Schofield
Barracks. External link: http://starbulletin.com/2007/08/08/news/story10.html Winder soldier told to ‘finish
off’ Iraqi is no murderer, attorney says By Moni Basu & Jeffry Scott The Atlanta Journal-Constitution August 8, 2007 The lawyer for a Georgia
soldier charged with the premeditated murder of an detainee in Iraq said
Wednesday that the detainee had already been shot when a platoon sergeant
then ordered Army Spc. Christopher P. Shore to shoot and "finish him
off." The attorney, Michael
Waddington, of Augusta, said there were no witnesses to the incident but that
Shore says he was standing four feet away from the detainee when he fired his
weapon twice. Shore says he intentionally did not hit the man. Waddington said Shore and
four other soldiers reported the incident within hours to their company
commander. "Why would he [Shore] turn himself in if he did it?"
Waddington said. Shore, 25, of Winder, and
platoon Sergeant 1st Class Trey A. Corrales, 34, of San Antionio were charged
last month with the June 23 premeditated murder of the unidentified man in
the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk — it's a charge that carries the death
penalty. The soldiers, who are
assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 35th
Infantry Regiment, which is part of the 25th Infantry Division based in
Hawaii, are members of a scout platoon. The night of the alleged murder they
had been airlifted on Black Hawk helicopters to al Shaheed, near Kirkuk, to
clear a series of houses which the Americans believed were harboring the
suspected terror cell, said Waddington. According to the attorney,
other soldiers were already in the area searching the houses when Shore's
platoon arrived. The soldiers fired a rocket, a smaller version of an
anti-tank missile, into the target house. As they tested four men inside the
house for explosives, one ran outside. From inside, Shore heard
shots being fired, Waddington said. Shore stepped outside and saw Corrales
standing before the bleeding suspect on the ground. That is when Corrales
allegedly ordered Shore to "finish him off." The Army has declined to
release details of the incident, saying it is an ongoing investigation. Waddington said the Army
pathologist's report shows that the bullet wounds that fatally wounded the
detainee did not come from an M-4 carbine fired at close range. There were no
powder burns or stippling, Waddington said. "The bottom line is that
[Shore's] bullet did not hit the guy," he said. Waddington said the
detainee, described by the military as being of Middle Eastern descent, took
five bullet wounds. Corrales civilian attorney,
Frank Spinner, of Colorado Springs did not return a call seeking comment
Wednesday. On Corrales' web site asking
for funds to pay for his defense, he wrote that the mission that day was to
"take down a confirmed cell of Iraqi insurgents responsible for roadside
bombings of U.S. troop convoys." According to the site:
"SFC (Sergeant 1st Class) Corrales, a San Antonio, Texas native, led the
assault team into the building. By the end of the raid, one insurgent was
mortally wounded and several others were captured." According to Waddington, two
of the detainee's gunshots proved lethal: one bullet went in under an eye and
the other through his back. He was treated by U.S. medics, then medavaced to
a hospital where he died two days later. Shore's father, Ray B. Shore
of Lawrenceville, said he has talked to his son several times since he was
charged. "He is determined about this and convinced that when the truth
is out, he will be cleared," said Shore. Shore and Corrales are awaiting
an Article 32 hearing, in which the military will lay out its case against
them and decide whether to proceed with a court martial. The hearing was expected to
be in Iraq, but Shore's unit is scheduled to complete its 15-month tour and
return home by mid-October. Waddington said the hearing is now likely to be
held this fall at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, where the 25th Infantry
Division is based. Shore and Corrales probably
will be tried separately, Waddington said. External link: http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/stories/2007/08/08/soldier_0809_web.html |