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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings, Torture and Big Money |
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June 24th,
2008 - Trial Postponed for Ex-Marine Charged in Iraq Case News article by the Associated
Press |
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Trial Postponed
for Ex-Marine Charged in Iraq Case By Associated Press June 24, 2008 Riverside, Calif. - A former
Marine charged with voluntary manslaughter in the killing of two Iraqi
captives in Fallujah will face trial in August. Jose Nazario, 27, is one of
three Marines accused of shooting a group of unarmed detainees during some of
the heaviest fighting of the war in November 2004. His trial was scheduled to
begin July 8, but U.S. District Court Judge Stephen Larson postponed it on
Monday to August 19, U.S. Attorney spokesman Thom Mrozek said. The charges against Nazario
involve the killing of two Iraqis. He has pleaded not guilty. Because he
completed his military service, the former sergeant faces charges in
Riverside federal court. External link: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gJBGkERPk8ZiV1rYMiNrLa2yvSpgD91G6NMO0 By Paul Young The Desert Sun June 24, 2008 An attorney for a former
Marine sergeant accused of killing two captured Iraqi insurgents during the
2004 battle for Fallujah said today that newly released transcripts of grand
jury proceedings may indicate the strength - or weakness - of the government's
case against his client. “Up to now, we've seen
nothing new from federal prosecutors,” said Kevin Barry McDermott, one of
three attorneys representing Jose Luis Nazario. “The transcripts will tell us
what the government offered as evidence regarding the alleged cause of death
(of the prisoners).” McDermott said he hoped the
court papers, made available today, would identify the individuals allegedly
gunned down by Nazario. “That's how you satisfy a
defendant's due process,” the attorney said. Nazario, a 10-year U.S.
Marine Corps veteran and ex-Riverside police officer, was indicted in
September on two counts of voluntary manslaughter for allegedly slaying two
handcuffed enemy combatants while leading his squad into Fallujah during the
November 2004 battle to retake that city from insurgents. The 28-year-old defendant is
scheduled for trial Aug. 19. A U.S. Naval Criminal
Investigative Service inquiry concluded that on November 9, 2004, Nazario and
fellow Marines attached to K Company, 3rd Battalion of the 1st Marine
Regiment were sweeping through an area when they encountered hostile fire. The NCIS affidavit stated
that Nazario and the remnants of his squad stormed a house from which they
believed the gunfire was coming and discovered four men inside, presumably
insurgents. The Marines also found a
cache of ammunition and automatic weapons, the affidavit said. An interview
conducted later with one of the Marines, then-Cpl. Ryan Weemer, indicated
that Nazario radioed for instructions on what to do with the four prisoners
and received a reply asking, “Are they dead yet?” Nazario allegedly shot two
prisoners in the backs of their heads, then recommended his squad mates do
the same thing with the other two men, according to the NCIS investigation. The incident came to light
two years later when Weemer was undergoing a background screening for a
Secret Service job. The 25-year-old Illinois man
was asked during a polygraph examination whether he had ever been involved in
a wrongful death and reportedly told the story of what happened in Fallujah. Weemer, now a sergeant in
the Marine Reserve, was charged in March with dereliction of duty and murder. He is scheduled for court
martial this year at Camp Pendleton, along with another squad mate of Nazario,
Sgt. Jermaine A. Nelson. According to McDermott,
Nelson and Weemer have given differing accounts of what transpired on the day
of the alleged shootings. “Their statements don't
jibe,” the attorney said outside court. “Weemer may have had an odd motivation
for speaking in the first place and is actually regretting it right now.” McDermott described Weemer
as a Post Traumatic Stress Disorder patient who is “self-medicating” and not
receiving appropriate treatment. Nelson has publicly stated
that he will not testify against Nazario. “Jose saved Jermaine's life
twice in Fallujah,” McDermott said. Nazario was honorably
discharged from the Marine Corps in 2005. Because he had been out of
the Armed Services for two years when the federal government opened its
investigation, he could not be court-martialed. Instead, he was charged under
the Military Extra Territorial Jurisdiction Act. The federal law was
conceived in the wake of Operation Desert Storm as a means of punishing
military contractors committing felonies in a war zone, according to
McDermott. Thirteen MEJA referrals have
been made in the last three years, the majority of them involving civilian
contractors trafficking in child pornography or committing crimes of a sexual
nature, according to Justice Department documents. Nazario was barely into his
first year on the job as a Riverside police officer when the federal
indictment against him was handed down. He could be reinstated if
acquitted on all charges. The New York native is free
on a $50,000 property bond, living with his wife and 2-year-old son in the
eastern United States. His attorneys - McDermott,
Douglas Applegate of Irvine and Emery Brett Ledger of Newport Beach - are
working pro bono. During a pre-trial
conference, U.S. District Court Judge Stephen G. Larson said that he had
anticipated starting Nazario's trial next month, but no longer deemed that
feasible because another widely publicized trial in Riverside - the trademark
infringement lawsuit pitting El Segundo-based Mattel against family-owned MGA
Entertainment - is expected to last another two to three weeks. External link: http://www.mydesert.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080624/NEWS01/80624008/1263/update |