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July 24th,
2008 - Charges Dismissed Against Marine in Iraq Shootings News article by the
Associated Press |
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Charges Dismissed
Against Marine in Iraq Shootings By Chelsea J. Carter Associated Press July 24, 2008 San Diego - Charges have
been dismissed against a Camp Pendleton Marine sniper accused in the shooting
deaths of two Syrians in Iraq, Marine Corps officials said Thursday. The charges against Sgt.
John Winnick II were dismissed without prejudice by the commanding general of
the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, meaning charges could be brought again at
a later time. Winnick, 24, was charged
with two counts of voluntary manslaughter and failing to adhere to the
military's rules of engagement by firing without reasonable certainty that
his targets were hostile. "In light of all of the
circumstances, the commanding general has determined Sgt. Winnick's actions
do not warrant referral of the charges to a military justice forum,"
said Marine Corps spokesman Mike Alvarez. Alvarez said he didn't know
why Lt. Gen. Samuel Helland left the door open for possible future
prosecution. An investigating officer had
recommended that Winnick face a lesser charge of dereliction of duty for the
June 17, 2007, shooting in Iraq's western Anbar province. "This is the first I'm
hearing of it," Winnick's attorney, Gary Myers, told The Associated
Press when asked for reaction to the dismissal. "We are obviously
pleased, and it was the correct result," he said. Myers said Winnick, of Del
Mar, Calif., was not immediately aware of the dismissal of charges but
believed he would be "relieved" by the news. "Now he can go back to
being a Marine," he said. During an Article 32
hearing, similar to a preliminary hearing, to determine whether there was
sufficient evidence to send the Marine to court-martial, Winnick testified
that he shot the men because he believed he was protecting his comrades. The shooting began after a
soda delivery truck stopped near a sniper team hideout on a busy road near
Lake Tharthar where roadside bombs were a common threat. During the hearing,
Winnick's comrades testified that the Marine fired a fatal sniper round at a
man who hopped out of the cab, removed a container or bag from a side
compartment, and appeared to begin digging at the ground. Winnick then killed
a second man with a shotgun after the team stormed out of its hiding place,
they testified. Winnick had faced up to 40
years in prison and dishonorable discharge if convicted on all counts, which
also included aggravated assault against two truck passengers who were
injured in the fight. Copyright © 2008 The
Associated Press. External link: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jTk2vhLgyi7D1H2ScDEwGvQ27oXgD924K6HO1 Marine sniper cleared of
manslaughter charges General orders case dismissed against Sgt. John ‘Johnny’ Winnick II By Mark Walker North County Times July 24, 2008 Camp Pendleton -
Manslaughter and dereliction of duty charges have been dropped against a
Marine sniper accused of wrongfully killing two men he suspected were
planting a roadside bomb in Iraq last year. The dismissal of charges
against Iraq war veteran Sgt. John "Johnny" Winnick II of San Diego
was ordered this week by Camp Pendleton's Lt. Gen. Samuel Helland, head of
the base's I Marine Expeditionary Force. Helland's action came after
a hearing officer who presided over a two-day investigative hearing into the
circumstances of the incident recommended the charges be dismissed. "In light of all the
circumstances, the commanding general of I MEF had determined that Sgt.
Winnick's actions do not warrant referral to court-martial," said Marine
Corps spokesman Mike Alvarez. The dismissal is the latest
in a series of favorable rulings for Camp Pendleton Marines accused of
unlawful killings in Iraq. Winnick's father, John
Winnick Sr., said he was "overjoyed" to learn that his son will not
face further prosecution in the incident that took place in the Anbar
province on June 17 last year. "It shows justice truly
does exist in our system," he said. "Johnny is an excellent Marine
and a man of integrity who was just doing his job." Gary Solis, a former Marine
prosecutor and judge who teaches military law at Washington's Georgetown
University, said the Winnick case stands out from others because of the
testimony during the hearing that showed he had reason to believe the men
were involved in planting a roadside bomb. "It boils down to a
judgment call of what constitutes positive identity on the part of a Marine
who has to make a split-second decision versus what a commander may later
assess," Solis said during a telephone interview. "Lacking
clear-cut evidence of wrongdoing, do we really want to send a Marine to
trial? "You have to wonder how
a case like this got this far," Solis continued. "Sometimes, it
seems like the Marine Corps is eating its young." Winnick was leading a sniper
team near a Marine outpost in an area that had been hit with two roadside
bomb attacks. As he and his five men watched, two vehicles drove up and the
men inside got out of the vehicles and appeared to prepare the surface of the
roadway for a bomb, according to undisputed testimony. Shortly after those vehicles
departed, an 18-wheel semitrailer stopped at the same spot. The driver got
out, according to testimony, crawled under the truck and appeared to place a
bomb on the roadway. At that point, Winnick fired at the man, killing him.
His men also began firing at the truck and three other men who emerged from
its two-seat cab. As Winnick and another
Marine ran up to the truck, a second man who had been wounded was crawling
toward a cell phone, prompting Winnick to fatally wound him with a shotgun
blast, according to the testimony. A search of the truck cab
and cursory search of the trailer did not turn up any weapons, bomb-making
material or shovels. Testimony showed that the truck went unguarded and
disappeared within a day. The dereliction charge
alleged that Winnick had failed to follow the rules of engagement requiring
positive identification. Capt. Oliver Dreger, an
intelligence officer for Camp Pendleton's 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment
that included Winnick's platoon, testified the squad had been sufficiently
briefed on the rules of engagement. But much of the hearing
focused on confusion about those rules. The platoon commander, Lt. Dominic
Corabi, testified that snipers had no clear understanding about when they
could shoot a suspected insurgent at long range. Senior commanders, he said,
were unable to define terms such as "hostile intent" and
"positive identification." The charges were dismissed
without prejudice, meaning they could be refiled if new evidence comes to
light. External link: http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2008/07/24/military/z515d26d47fed263e882574900083c7a6.txt |