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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings, Torture and Big Money |
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April 30th,
2008 - Sergeant Says He’s Innocent in Iraqi Murder Case |
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Sergeant Says He’s Innocent
in Iraqi Murder Case By Angela K. Brown Associated Press April 30, 2008 Fort Hood - An Army sergeant
fired his weapon twice, hitting an Iraqi insurgent once, but was following
the rules of engagement because the man was a threat, he testified Wednesday
during his court-martial. Sgt. Leonardo Trevino is
accused in testimony of ordering a medic to suffocate the badly wounded
insurgent, shooting the unarmed insurgent and then ordering another soldier
to place a pistol by the dead man. Asked by his attorney whether he committed
those crimes, Trevino said, "No, I did not." Trevino acknowledged
Wednesday that the insurgent did not have a pistol, but he said he wasn't
worried when questioned by Army investigators "because all those shots
were legitimate." Trevino, a 1st Cavalry
Division soldier from San Antonio testifying on the first day of the defense
case, has pleaded innocent to all charges. He could face life in prison if
convicted of premeditated murder, attempted murder, obstruction of justice
and solicitation to commit murder. Earlier Wednesday, an Army
investigator testified that the pistol allegedly used to kill the insurgent
was not found in Trevino's room until a few weeks after the initial search -
when others had access to the room. Mickey Nogle, a special
agent for the Army's Criminal Investigative Division, said he would not have
missed the weapon while searching Trevino's room after he was taken into
custody. Sgt. Mark Howard said he
found the gun in a backpack at the front of the room a few weeks later while
collecting Trevino's belongings. Howard said other people, including some
soldiers who turned Trevino in, had access to his room. "I found it kind of
strange that all of a sudden there was a (pistol in the) pack in his
room," Nogle testified, referring to his reaction to Howard's discovery. Nogle also testified about
his three lengthy interviews with Pvt. Tristan Miller, one of the soldiers on
Trevino's small-kill team who went to a village overrun with al-Qaida
insurgents in Muqdadiyah, Iraq, one night last June. Miller, a key prosecution
witness, previously testified that after soldiers killed one insurgent in the
street, they followed a blood trail and found a severely wounded insurgent in
a house. He said Trevino shot him in the abdomen, a nonfatal wound, and then
motioned for another soldier to place a gun beside the man before telling
both soldiers, "This is the story. This is the story: The man had a
gun," Miller said, quoting Trevino. A medic earlier testified
that Trevino ordered him to suffocate the insurgent, which the medic said he
pretended to do, and that after learning the man was still alive, Trevino
shot and killed him. Nogle said Miller never told
him or wrote in his statements that he knew the insurgent was unarmed because
he kicked a pillow off the man's arm - which he had told jurors. But under
cross-examination, he said Miller stated several times that the insurgent was
not a threat. "We needed to know what
kind of threat level they were under by the insurgent in that room,"
Nogle told the military jury. Two soldiers testified that
they believed Miller was untruthful. Another medic, Spc. Buddy Stratton,
testified that another soldier who later turned Trevino in appeared to fake
heat stroke symptoms after Trevino ordered him to do exercises as punishment
for some infractions. Spc. Stephen Patterson
testified that he took pictures of the two insurgents' bodies that night, a
common practice by U.S. soldiers to document evidence. He said he was outside
the house that night and heard two gunshots that seemed to come from inside. In March the medic, Spc.
John Torres was acquitted of attempted premeditated murder and dereliction of
duty for failing to provide aid, said Maj. Steven Lamb. In another trial in March,
Cpl. Justin Whiteman, accused of placing the pistol by the insurgent's body,
was acquitted of accessory after the fact to attempted premeditated murder
and with dereliction of duty, Lamb said. External link: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/metro/5743604.html |