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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings, Torture and Big Money |
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April 28th,
2008 - Judge Hears Motions in Court-Martial for Fort Hood Soldier |
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Judge Hears Motions in Court-Martial
for Fort Hood Soldier By Angela K. Brown Associated Press April 28, 2008 Fort Hood, Texas - A
military judge on Monday heard motions in a court-martial for an Army
sergeant accused of killing a severely wounded, crying and unarmed Iraqi
insurgent last summer. Sgt. Leonardo Trevino, of
San Antonio, faces up to life in a military prison and a discharge if
convicted on premeditated murder and other charges in connection with events
one night in June in Muqdadiyah, Iraq. The motions sought to
suppress some witness statements and bar one soldier's testimony. Col. Gregory Gross, the
judge, was to rule on some of the motions after lunch and then begin jury
selection at Fort Hood, where Trevino is a 1st Cavalry Division soldier. The
trial is expected to last a week. Trevino is accused of
shooting the Iraqi twice: in the abdomen, a nonfatal wound, and then in the
head, fatally, after ordering an Army medic to suffocate him. Trevino also is
accused of lying to his superior, telling a soldier to drop a gun by the
Iraqi's body and instructing troops to say the man was armed. Trevino's attorney Richard
V. Stevens declined to comment Monday. He previously said witnesses lack
credibility and are holding grudges against their squad leader because
Trevino disciplined them when they made mistakes. Military prosecutors declined
to comment before the trial. But at a hearing in December, a prosecutor said
Trevino went to great lengths to kill the Iraqi and told fellow soldiers,
"I tried to kill this guy; he just wouldn't die." In two separate military
trials last month, Trevino's two co-defendants were acquitted on charges
stemming from the case, a Fort Hood official said. Copyright © 2008 The
Associated Press. External link: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5j6BRna4sI3-ecQZD7CJIbWWyVYLQD90AVB0G0 |