thedrifter
11-13-06, 09:05 AM
November 13, 2006
Marines' courts-martial will be this week Reservists based in Lehigh County agree to plead guilty to shooting, serve 5-6 months in jail.
| The two Marine reservists based in Lehigh County accused of shooting a fellow Marine in Iraq last year will face court-martials this week.
A court-martial for Lance Cpl. Michael C. Fulcher, 21, will be held Tuesday at Camp Lejeune; Lance Cpl. Sean P. Riley's will be Wednesday.
Fulcher and Riley have been charged in connection with the death of Lance Cpl. Adam R. Fales, 21, who was shot in the back of the head after an M-16 went off in the trailer where the three were watching a movie.
Fulcher is charged with involuntary manslaughter and negligent discharge of a weapon, according to 2nd Lt. Philip W. Klay, a spokesman for the 2nd Marine Logistics Group at Camp Lejeune, N.C. Riley is accused of involuntary manslaughter and dereliction of duty.
Their hometowns were unavailable. All three were serving in Iraq, but were based at the Marine Reserve Center in Hanover Township, Lehigh County.
According to Fales' mother, Glenda Fales, at first the Marines told the family her son was shot to death while sleeping in his bunk, raising suspicions of a murder and sparking a feverish search for facts. Within days, relatives learned the shooting was an accident, but they groped for answers to lingering questions for weeks.
Documents show the military classified Fales' death as a homicide caused by a mishandled weapon, but Fales said it wasn't until a hearing in August that she got the full story of what had happened:
Fales was in a trailer shared by Riley and Fulcher, and all three were getting ready to go out after watching a movie. Fulcher picked up Riley's weapon off a bed and it fired, striking Fales in the back of the head.
The bullet shouldn't have been in Riley's M-16, but Fales said an investigation found that neither Riley nor a sergeant properly checked the weapon to make sure the chamber was empty after he returned from patrol that day. Fulcher had no idea the weapon was loaded.
For their actions, each man agreed to plead guilty to charges of involuntary manslaughter, Fales said. While they each could have gotten 10 years, Fulcher agreed to a deal giving him six months in custody, and Riley took an agreement giving him five months to serve.
Most importantly for Fales, Fulcher and Riley each will be able to get an honorable discharge, meaning their records won't be tainted with the stain of a dishonorable separation from the military.
Also as part of the plea, both Fulcher and Riley have agreed to join with Adam Fales' family in making a training video about the importance of gun safety, she said.
At the court-martial, a court will hear details of the shooting, decide whether to accept the Marines' pleas, and, if all goes according to plan, impose sentences.
Ellie
Marines' courts-martial will be this week Reservists based in Lehigh County agree to plead guilty to shooting, serve 5-6 months in jail.
| The two Marine reservists based in Lehigh County accused of shooting a fellow Marine in Iraq last year will face court-martials this week.
A court-martial for Lance Cpl. Michael C. Fulcher, 21, will be held Tuesday at Camp Lejeune; Lance Cpl. Sean P. Riley's will be Wednesday.
Fulcher and Riley have been charged in connection with the death of Lance Cpl. Adam R. Fales, 21, who was shot in the back of the head after an M-16 went off in the trailer where the three were watching a movie.
Fulcher is charged with involuntary manslaughter and negligent discharge of a weapon, according to 2nd Lt. Philip W. Klay, a spokesman for the 2nd Marine Logistics Group at Camp Lejeune, N.C. Riley is accused of involuntary manslaughter and dereliction of duty.
Their hometowns were unavailable. All three were serving in Iraq, but were based at the Marine Reserve Center in Hanover Township, Lehigh County.
According to Fales' mother, Glenda Fales, at first the Marines told the family her son was shot to death while sleeping in his bunk, raising suspicions of a murder and sparking a feverish search for facts. Within days, relatives learned the shooting was an accident, but they groped for answers to lingering questions for weeks.
Documents show the military classified Fales' death as a homicide caused by a mishandled weapon, but Fales said it wasn't until a hearing in August that she got the full story of what had happened:
Fales was in a trailer shared by Riley and Fulcher, and all three were getting ready to go out after watching a movie. Fulcher picked up Riley's weapon off a bed and it fired, striking Fales in the back of the head.
The bullet shouldn't have been in Riley's M-16, but Fales said an investigation found that neither Riley nor a sergeant properly checked the weapon to make sure the chamber was empty after he returned from patrol that day. Fulcher had no idea the weapon was loaded.
For their actions, each man agreed to plead guilty to charges of involuntary manslaughter, Fales said. While they each could have gotten 10 years, Fulcher agreed to a deal giving him six months in custody, and Riley took an agreement giving him five months to serve.
Most importantly for Fales, Fulcher and Riley each will be able to get an honorable discharge, meaning their records won't be tainted with the stain of a dishonorable separation from the military.
Also as part of the plea, both Fulcher and Riley have agreed to join with Adam Fales' family in making a training video about the importance of gun safety, she said.
At the court-martial, a court will hear details of the shooting, decide whether to accept the Marines' pleas, and, if all goes according to plan, impose sentences.
Ellie