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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings, Torture and Big Money |
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July 25th,
2008 - Accused Soldier’s Friends Say the Charges Are Hard to Believe |
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Accused Soldier’s
Friends Say the Charges Are Hard to Believe By Jorge Barrientos The Bakersfield Californian July 25, 2008 Jess Cunningham, a former
Arvin High School and Bakersfield College athlete, is a “good guy,” who never
made bad decisions, his friends said Friday. So when they heard that the
Army staff sergeant is being charged with three others in connection with the
deaths of several detainees captured in Iraq in 2007, they were shocked. “He wasn't one to be
involved in any kind of trouble,” said childhood friend Louie Salas. “He was
the role model in school as far as athletic ability, and also in academics.” He added: “I just don't
believe he would be a part of that. I'm in shock right now.” Cunningham, whose family
lives in Bakersfield, and three other members of the “Dagger Brigade” were
charged Monday with conspiracy to commit premeditated murder for an April or
May 2007 incident, according to the 7th Army Joint Multinational Training
Command. The charged soldiers -
Cunningham, Sgt. Charles Quigley, Spc. Stephen Ribordy and Spc. Belmor Ramos
- are members of Company D, 1st Battalion, 2nd Infantry Regiment, 172nd
Infantry Brigade. The unit is based in Germany and is credited with reducing
violence in Baghdad and Ramadi. Former Arvin football coach
Chuck Chamberlain remembered Cunningham, in the three years he coached him,
as an “outstanding kid” with “great character.” Cunningham also played
basketball. “This kind of floored me
when I heard of it,” Chamberlain said. “It would be difficult for me to
believe he would do something like that. But who knows.” Cunningham graduated from
Arvin in 1999 and went on to play a year of Bakersfield College football as a
safety. Then he enlisted in the Army - and for the right reasons, his friends
said. “He didn't just want to go
out there and hold a gun,” said Frank Segura, high school friend and football
teammate. “He wanted a career out of it.” The football friends knew
each other well, Segura said, and grew even closer when friend and teammate
Chad Yarbrough was carjacked, kidnapped, shot and killed in 1997 - a crime
that shocked the community. “He's a good person with a
good heart,” Segura said. “It doesn't match up. I can't see Jess doing that.” More information on the
allegations and investigation were not immediately available from the Army
Friday. Family members could not be reached. External link: http://www.bakersfield.com/102/story/506966.html |