thedrifter
06-27-06, 05:10 AM
Hamdania defense attorneys get documents; Work begins in earnest at defending accused Marines, Navy corpsman
By: MARK WALKER - Staff Writer
CAMP PENDLETON -- Defense attorneys for eight servicemen accused in the alleged kidnapping and killing of an Iraqi man on April 26 were poring over evidentiary reports on Monday after receiving the documents from the Marine Corps.
North County attorney Jane Siegel, who represents Pfc. John Jodka III of Encinitas, and a Marine Corps spokesman declined Monday to specify what was in the material released to the defense attorneys over the weekend.
"I'm just trying to get through a great deal of evidence that the government has presented to us," Siegel said.
Gibson said he could not talk about what the men and their attorneys have been given.
"It would be inappropriate for us to comment on what has or has not been provided to the defense," Marine Corps spokesman Lt. Col. Sean Gibson said Monday in a written statement.
The Marine Corps on Wednesday charged Jodka, six other Camp Pendleton Marines and a Navy corpsman with murder, kidnapping and conspiracy charges in the April 26 death of Hashim Ibrahim Awad in the village of Hamdania. The men were assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment's Kilo Company.
Charged are Sgt. Lawrence G. Hutchins III, 22; Cpl. Trent D. Thomas, 24; Navy Hospitalman 3rd Class Melson J. Bacos, 20; Jodka, 20; and Cpl. Marshall L. Magincalda, 23; Lance Cpl. Tyler A. Jackson, 22; Lance Cpl. Jerry E. Shumate Jr., 20; and Lance Cpl. Robert B. Pennington, 21.
The servicemen are accused of kidnapping Awad from his home, binding his hands and feet and shooting him, and then staging the scene to make it appear he was an insurgent planting a roadside bomb.
Victor Kelley, a private attorney hired by Thomas' family, said Friday he was expecting the documents to include the results of an autopsy and forensic examination conducted on Awad at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware earlier this month.
Gibson said the next official announcement from Camp Pendleton in the case is expected to be the date of what is known as an Article 32 hearing for the accused. It is unclear whether all eight will have a single hearing, each his own or some other combination.
Similar to grand jury hearings, Article 32 hearings will allow the Marine Corps to present its evidence against the men and provide an opportunity for the accused and their attorneys to question witnesses and present their own evidence.
The hearing is the first step toward what could result in courts-martial for the men, who face the possibility of the death penalty if convicted of premeditated murder. Under the military's system of justice, none of the eight who remain in a Camp Pendleton brig has yet had an opportunity to respond formally to the charges.
The first Article 32 hearing is not expected to take place until the week of July 10 at the earliest.
As defense attorneys now begin work in earnest to investigate the allegations and prepare their defenses, family members of the accused continue to seek outside support for the men.
Three of the families have established Web sites soliciting monetary contributions to help pay the private attorneys they have hired. The private attorneys are in addition to military attorneys assigned to each man.
The most recent Web site was established late last week by Pennington's family in Washington state. The site, first reported by The Herald in Everett, Wash., is www.defendrob.com. It includes pictures of Pennington from when he enlisted and during his service as well as information on how to donate to his defense fund.
Haditha case
The Hamdania case is separate from the accusation that up to a dozen members of the 3rd Marine Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment's Kilo Company shot and killed 24 unarmed Iraqis in the city of Haditha last Nov. 19.
That case remains under investigation by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, the same agency in charge of the Hamdania probe. No one is in custody in the Haditha case.
Sources close to the Haditha case ---- citing its relative complexity including the number of people involved, dozens of witnesses that have to interviewed and forensic challenges ---- say it will be several more weeks before a report on that incident is issued.
An examination of whether Marine commanders in Iraq failed to pursue reports of the Haditha killings or attempted to cover up what happened was completed earlier this month by Army Lt. Gen. Eldon Bargewell and sent to Army Lt. Gen. Peter Chiarelli, the second-highest-ranking commander of U.S. forces in Iraq.
Chiarelli has yet to comment on the Bargewell report or give any indication whether he is asking for more work to be done or intends to hand the document further up the U.S. chain of command.
Contact staff writer Mark Walker at (760) 740-3529 or mlwalker@nctimes.com.
Ellie
By: MARK WALKER - Staff Writer
CAMP PENDLETON -- Defense attorneys for eight servicemen accused in the alleged kidnapping and killing of an Iraqi man on April 26 were poring over evidentiary reports on Monday after receiving the documents from the Marine Corps.
North County attorney Jane Siegel, who represents Pfc. John Jodka III of Encinitas, and a Marine Corps spokesman declined Monday to specify what was in the material released to the defense attorneys over the weekend.
"I'm just trying to get through a great deal of evidence that the government has presented to us," Siegel said.
Gibson said he could not talk about what the men and their attorneys have been given.
"It would be inappropriate for us to comment on what has or has not been provided to the defense," Marine Corps spokesman Lt. Col. Sean Gibson said Monday in a written statement.
The Marine Corps on Wednesday charged Jodka, six other Camp Pendleton Marines and a Navy corpsman with murder, kidnapping and conspiracy charges in the April 26 death of Hashim Ibrahim Awad in the village of Hamdania. The men were assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment's Kilo Company.
Charged are Sgt. Lawrence G. Hutchins III, 22; Cpl. Trent D. Thomas, 24; Navy Hospitalman 3rd Class Melson J. Bacos, 20; Jodka, 20; and Cpl. Marshall L. Magincalda, 23; Lance Cpl. Tyler A. Jackson, 22; Lance Cpl. Jerry E. Shumate Jr., 20; and Lance Cpl. Robert B. Pennington, 21.
The servicemen are accused of kidnapping Awad from his home, binding his hands and feet and shooting him, and then staging the scene to make it appear he was an insurgent planting a roadside bomb.
Victor Kelley, a private attorney hired by Thomas' family, said Friday he was expecting the documents to include the results of an autopsy and forensic examination conducted on Awad at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware earlier this month.
Gibson said the next official announcement from Camp Pendleton in the case is expected to be the date of what is known as an Article 32 hearing for the accused. It is unclear whether all eight will have a single hearing, each his own or some other combination.
Similar to grand jury hearings, Article 32 hearings will allow the Marine Corps to present its evidence against the men and provide an opportunity for the accused and their attorneys to question witnesses and present their own evidence.
The hearing is the first step toward what could result in courts-martial for the men, who face the possibility of the death penalty if convicted of premeditated murder. Under the military's system of justice, none of the eight who remain in a Camp Pendleton brig has yet had an opportunity to respond formally to the charges.
The first Article 32 hearing is not expected to take place until the week of July 10 at the earliest.
As defense attorneys now begin work in earnest to investigate the allegations and prepare their defenses, family members of the accused continue to seek outside support for the men.
Three of the families have established Web sites soliciting monetary contributions to help pay the private attorneys they have hired. The private attorneys are in addition to military attorneys assigned to each man.
The most recent Web site was established late last week by Pennington's family in Washington state. The site, first reported by The Herald in Everett, Wash., is www.defendrob.com. It includes pictures of Pennington from when he enlisted and during his service as well as information on how to donate to his defense fund.
Haditha case
The Hamdania case is separate from the accusation that up to a dozen members of the 3rd Marine Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment's Kilo Company shot and killed 24 unarmed Iraqis in the city of Haditha last Nov. 19.
That case remains under investigation by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, the same agency in charge of the Hamdania probe. No one is in custody in the Haditha case.
Sources close to the Haditha case ---- citing its relative complexity including the number of people involved, dozens of witnesses that have to interviewed and forensic challenges ---- say it will be several more weeks before a report on that incident is issued.
An examination of whether Marine commanders in Iraq failed to pursue reports of the Haditha killings or attempted to cover up what happened was completed earlier this month by Army Lt. Gen. Eldon Bargewell and sent to Army Lt. Gen. Peter Chiarelli, the second-highest-ranking commander of U.S. forces in Iraq.
Chiarelli has yet to comment on the Bargewell report or give any indication whether he is asking for more work to be done or intends to hand the document further up the U.S. chain of command.
Contact staff writer Mark Walker at (760) 740-3529 or mlwalker@nctimes.com.
Ellie