The "Pendleton '8' K/3/5 - Hamdaniya" The Death of the Marine Corps?

[thedrifter]

September 13, 2006
Death Penalty Not Sought for Marine in Killing of Iraqi
By CAROLYN MARSHALL

CAMP PENDLETON, Calif., Sept 12 — Lance Cpl. Jerry E. Shumate Jr. sat quietly in a military courtroom here Tuesday, taking notes and whispering occasionally to his lawyers as military prosecutors sought a court-martial but not the death penalty for his suspected part in the killing last April of Hashim Ibrahim Awad, an Iraqi civilian.

The military equivalent of a grand jury proceeding was the third in a series of pretrial hearings involving eight servicemen accused of killing Mr. Awad.

In an hourlong hearing, the military prosecutors, Lt. Col. John Baker and Major Donald J. Plowman, urged the court to recommend a court-martial based on 39 articles of evidence, including signed statements from several marines and testimony from three agents with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, which conducted an inquiry in Iraq after the incident.

The government has charged the eight servicemen — seven marines and a Navy corpsman — with conspiracy, kidnapping and premeditated murder of the unarmed Iraqi. Five were also charged with making false statements. All of the men were members of the same squad in K Company of the Third Battalion, Fifth Marine Regiment, First Marine Division.

According to the charges, the men were patrolling near the village of Hamdaniya, attempting to catch insurgents burying roadside bombs, when they broke into Mr. Awad’s house, dragged him from the residence and forced him to the ground, binding his hands and feet. According to charging documents, four of the marines, including Corporal Shumate, fired their rifles at point-blank range, killing Mr. Awad.

The men are accused of planting a shovel and an AK-47 assault rifle near the body to make it look as if he were an insurgent digging a hole for a hidden bomb.

A military investigator, Special Agent Kelly Garbo, testified that she interviewed Corporal Shumate and other members of his team in Iraq on May 11, obtaining handwritten maps, diagrams and written and typed statements that the prosecution has characterized as confessions.

Defense lawyers have said that the investigators coerced the marines into making incriminating statements, using sleep and food deprivation and verbal threats. “There was no force used,” said Ms. Garbo. “There were no threats made.”

She and other agents said Corporal Shumate, who also has been charged with an unrelated assault along with five other marines, was read his rights, was informed that the Naval Criminal Investigative Service already knew “the real story,” and voluntarily cooperated.

The hearing was abbreviated by the court’s decision not to review all of the evidence publicly. The defense lawyers have argued that a public airing of the evidence would taint jury selection should the cases go to a court-martial.

Pfc. John J. Jodka and Cpl. Marshall L. Magincalda have already appeared in court, with prosecutors saying they would not seek the death penalty in those cases, either. Hearings will be held later for the other men charged.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Hearing officer recommends court-martial for Encinitas Marine

By: TERI FIGUEROA - Staff Writer

A hearing officer is recommending that the Encinitas Marine accused of kidnapping and killing an Iraqi man face court-martial ---- but the officer's report also highlights weaknesses in the prosecution's case, the accused man's defense attorney said Thursday morning.

The officer's recommendation is based on evidence presented to him Aug. 30 at a pretrial hearing for Pfc. John J. Jodka III.

Col. Paul Pugliese, the investigating officer overseeing Jodka's hearing, found this week that there was enough evidence to send the 20-year-old Jodka to trial, according to Jodka attorneys, Joseph Casas.

Jodka is one of seven Marines and a Navy corpsman accused of snatching 52-year-old Hashim Ibrahim Awad from his home in the rural Iraqi village of Hamdania on April 26, shooting him to death and then staging the killing scene to make Awad appear to be an insurgent.

"It's no surprise that it was recommended to a general court martial," Casas said Thursday, adding that the burden of proof is a low threshold at pretrial hearings. "The government can meet that burden by dumping a stack of papers in front of the investigating officer."

Casas also said he and co-counsel Jane Siegel were pleased with some Pugliese's comments in the report itself, "particularly with regard to the inherent weaknesses in the government's case. (Pugliese) definitely said the government has hurdles to overcome."

Among those challenges, Casas said, is the potential of difficulty of getting testimony from the Iraqi witnesses.

Casas said Pugliese's report also asked Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis to take note of the age and experience level of the Jodka, who is the youngest and lowest ranking of the eight accused men. A native of Encinitas and a graduate of San Dieguito Academy, Jodka was 13 months out of out boot camp when the killing happened, and had been in Iraq for only three months.

The report heads to the Camp Pendleton-based Mattis' top legal advisors for their recommendation on the case. The final decision ---- which ranges from dropping the charges to sending Jodka to court-martial ---- lies with Mattis.

Jodka was one of four of the accused Marines who asked to waive the pretrial hearing, known in military parlance as an Article 32 investigation, and head straight to court-martial.

Mattis denied that request last month, prompting Jodka's attorneys to ask that no witnesses be allowed to publically testify at the hearing. Citing concerns of pretrial publicity, they asked that Pugliese review in private the government's evidence, including statements made by Jodka's co-defendants.

Aside from Jodka, the accused men are Sgt. Lawrence Hutchins III, Hospitalman 3rd Class Melson J. Bacos, Cpls. Marshall Magincalda and Trent D. Thomas, and Lance Cpls. Tyler A. Jackson, Jerry E. Shumate Jr. and Robert B. Pennington.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Sunday, Sep. 17, 2006
Exclusive: The Soldier Who Led the Marine Squad in Haditha
Frank Wuterich, the central suspect in the notorious massacre of 24 Iraqis, speaks out for the first time
By SALLY B. DONNELLY

Frank Wuterich knew before he finished boot camp that he didn't want to be a Marine for life, but he may wind up one anyway. Wuterich is the central suspect in the Iraq war's most notorious massacre, at Haditha, where 24 Iraqis were killed by U.S. Marines—Marines led by Wuterich. During his first media interview, the former high school band member and honor student is exceedingly polite. Wearing jeans, black sneakers and a light blue polo shirt, he shows a visitor around his two-story semidetached house at Camp Pendleton in southern California, patiently answers questions and waits good-naturedly for a photographer to set up his equipment. There is no military paraphernalia cluttering his home, which is filled instead with family pictures, knickknacks, and souvenirs from his wife Marisol's sorority days. His 4-year-old daughter is just up from her nap, and he kisses her� forehead. He allows Marisol, who is expecting their third child in January, to finish his sentences.

Wuterich, 26, who grew up in Meriden, Conn., signed up for the Marines at 17 and volunteered for the infantry, the grunts who are the heart and soul of the corps. Finding boot camp a dull grind compared with what he felt the recruiting videos had promised, he asked to switch out of the infantry. "I thought I could use my mind a little differently," he says. But he was turned down. He tried again in 2002, requesting a transfer to counterintelligence, but his eight tattoos disqualified him; those kinds of markings make a man too easy to identify. Among the tattoos on his arms, chest, neck and leg are a series of musical notes, the kanji character for endure and a heart for an ex-girlfriend. The one tattoo he's reluctant to exhibit, on the inside of his right forearm, is of a skewer running through a bunch of severed fingers and eyeballs. "That's the one I really don't like," Marisol says sternly but with a smile.

Wuterich long imagined the corps as just a stop on the way to a career as a music producer, but he re-enlisted after 9/11, in part to support his family while Marisol finished her nursing degree but also because he was itching for action. With the rank of sergeant, he was dispatched to Iraq with Kilo Company of the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, in September 2005. He saw his first firefight that month in the town of Hit when his team suddenly came under fire. "Was I scared? Sure," he says. It turned out that the shots were coming from a Marine officer, who quit shooting once Wuterich's guys sent up three red flares letting him know they were friendly. While under fire, the squad members, none of whom were hurt, took cover and waited to identify the threat before shooting back. They performed just as they were supposed to, Wuterich says. His remark hangs in the air.

Wuterich is under investigation for what happened on another day, just two months after his arrival in Iraq. On the morning of Nov. 19, 2005, Wuterich's squad, on patrol in Haditha, was hit by an improvised explosive device that killed one of his men. Iraqi witnesses and sources familiar with the two Pentagon investigations under way claim that several of the squad's 12 Marines then went on a rampage of killing in the town, leaving 24 Iraqis dead, including five women and six children. Wuterich's lawyer Neal Puckett would not permit Wuterich to talk about those events. Puckett has said publicly that Wuterich felt his unit was under attack in Haditha and acted appropriately under the rules of engagement that allow Marines to defend themselves if they are in reasonable fear for their lives. According to sources familiar with the Haditha inquiries, six to eight Marines will probably be charged in the episode as early as next week. Wuterich is expected to be among those charged with the most serious crimes, which could include murder, for which he could face the death penalty.

"I'm mystified by a lot of this," he says. He wonders, for instance, why the investigators have not pushed harder to speak to him. But it was his lawyer who did not allow him to talk to them, as is common practice among defense attorneys. Wuterich was scheduled for retirement three months ago, but is being involuntarily held in the corps while the probes continue. Transferred to Pendleton with the rest of his unit in April, he is officially on duty, but he is not a full member of his platoon. When it goes on a training exercise soon, he is not likely to participate; the corps doesn't want to train him and then lose him if he goes on trial. Wuterich says he occasionally sees members of his Kilo Company squad at Pendleton, but they keep their distance. "It is sort of uncomfortable," he says.

There are small, subtle signs of Wuterich's detaching himself from his military life: his boots are too scuffed and worn for a Marine. And he hasn't updated his old dress uniform by sewing on the chevron that shows his higher rank. His superiors put in for his promotion to staff sergeant last October, and it came through on Jan. 1—six weeks after Haditha. He says the jacket's too tight, anyway.

Ellie

[GunnyL]

Quote Taken from a Letter written by Chesty Puller to his friend Tom Pullen from Haiti:
" You may rest assured I was relieved when I found out that I had been ordered in to Port-au-Prince to be decorated for killing Cacos, and not to be court-martialed for the same. It's funny as hell to me; every once in a while some misguided fool up in the States, who knows nothing of the trouble here, sets up howl over a few black bandits being knocked off.
Well, someone has to be the goat, and it is generally a Gendarmerie officer...."
Taken from the book Marine! The life of Chesty Puller.
Point I'm making is that some things never change, politicians want to score some points with their Liberal Buddies, they just crucifiy some good Marines. Problem today is that a good amount of our Officer Corps is made up of bleeding heart Liberals and by these two cases, it appears that they've infiltrated the General Officer Corps as well. I find it truly disturbing that General Mattis is buying into this ****! I expected a lot better of him out of all the Generals out there.

[redneck13]

As I hear bits and pieces on the news of this "fiascal", to me?, it is a total embarrassment to not only the Marine's who are now charged, will be charged, but also to All of us Marines, and especially to the General in charge of making these decision's, and like Gunny L said, I too can't believe he is buying into all of this b.s. I know in my heart of hearts that these Marines, and Doc, did what they were trained to do, and the best they could do with so damn many restriction's on them. If any are found guilty, it'll be a tremendous Embarrassment. I can see how it will play out. The Prosecutor's won't have enough "proof" of any "wrong doing's" to lead to a conviction of the highest charge. However to save face....the Corp's Courts, will find a lessor charge, and give them possibly jail time, dishonorable discharges. I would hope this wouldn't be the case. This General got the real story from the reporter who sent the letter. So what is really behind the whole entire fiascal? Politic's, CYA, from the highest rank at the scene, Officer's, up the chain of command? Every war, no matter what, there has been incident's where Marine's, other's have had to defend themselves with civilian's being a part of it, without their knowledge. I feel very strongly, and I hope and pray, that the truth will be allowed to come out in the Military courts. This is one big Sorry Ace Thorn in my side, and I think it's an outrage!!!

[thedrifter]

Midwest Marine one of several investigated in Haditha incident

By: TERI FIGUEROA - Staff Writer

NORTH COUNTY -- One of the Camp Pendleton Marines under investigation for the shooting deaths of two dozen Iraqis in the town of Haditha last fall is a 25-year-old lance corporal from Oklahoma, the man's attorney said Wednesday.

His client, Lance Cpl. Stephen B. Tatum, was about two months into his second tour of the Iraq war and was in Haditha when a roadside bomb killed a fellow Marine on Nov. 19. In the aftermath, the squad of Marines to which Tatum belongs is alleged to have shot and killed 24 civilians in four homes in the neighborhood.

The Haditha killings are one of two unrelated incidents involving Camp Pendleton Marines under scrutiny for possible war crimes. It is separate from the Hamdania case, in which seven Marines and a Navy corpsman stand accused of kidnapping and killing an Iraqi man on April 26, then allegedly staging the scene to make it appear he was an insurgent.

No charges have been filed in the Haditha case, but the incident, in which five women and six children died, is the subject of two separate military investigations: a look into any possible criminal conduct by members of the squad and a probe of the handling of the incident by the chain of command.

Sources close to the criminal probe told the North County Times that the investigative report has been sent to the three-star general in charge of the squad. It's now up to Marine Corps officials to decide if the squad members will be charged with criminal wrongdoing.

Iraqis have said that the Haditha killings were unwarranted. The man in charge of the squad in the Haditha incident has said in court papers that the Marines were chasing insurgents who shot at them after the explosion.

Tatum and the other men under investigation in the Haditha deaths are members of Kilo Company from the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment based at Camp Pendleton. None of them are jailed or under restriction.

The identities of the men involved in the Haditha incident have generally been kept under wraps during the investigations. Tatum's attorney, reached Wednesday, confirmed his client is one of the men under scrutiny.

Earlier this year, squad leader Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich went public with his name and his concerns that he and his squad were being wrongly accused.

And in a libel suit he filed against U.S. Rep John Murtha, D-Pa., after the congressman said the squad had killed "in cold blood," Wuterich said that the accusations they unnecessarily killed civilians were either "a horrendous misunderstanding or intentional lie."

On Wednesday, Tatum's attorney, Jack B. Zimmerman, said he is concerned that his client and the other men in the squad may not get a fair shake because of "outside pressure from congressmen and others." Zimmerman declined to elaborate as to specifically where the pressure was from or what it may be.

The attorney said he believes there was "no criminal intent" involved in the shootings.

"I believe that if the military justice system is allowed to function the way it is designed, Lance Cpl. Tatum is going to be cleared of any criminal wrongdoing."

Zimmerman declined to discuss details of the case or Wuterich's version of the events, in which Wuterich has said that his squad was ambushed by gunfire after the fatal explosion, and the Marines went house to house chasing the suspected gunmen.

"Lance Cpl. Tatum was doing the job he was trained to do, the way he was trained to do it," Zimmerman said in a phone interview from his Houston law office. "And unless someone has had shots fired (at them) in anger, you should not jump to conclusions until they know all the facts."

Zimmerman said that Tatum is a bachelor from a town outside Oklahoma City, "a good Marine" who "comes from a good family."

Tatum joined the Marines in October 2003 and is a veteran of the fierce battles in the Iraqi city of Fallujah in 2004, the attorney said.

A former prosecutor and military judge who spent 20 years in the Marines on active duty and the reserves, Zimmerman said he cut his usual fees in half to take Tatum's case.

A second Houston attorney, Christopher Odell, is acting as the trustee for fundraising efforts for Tatum's defense. Odell said Wednesday that the fund is only about two weeks old, and that the amount raised thus far is "very low, far, far below what has already been incurred" in legal fees, which he said is about $15,000.

Odell said he anticipates that, if the case goes past the initial investigation, the legal fees will "easily exceed the six-figure mark."

-- Contact staff writer Teri Figueroa at (760) 631-6624 or tfigueroa@nctimes.com.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Marines mulled bombing Haditha home: officer

By Dan Whitcomb
Fri Sep 22, 3:37 PM ET

U.S. Marines were so locked in battle with Iraqi insurgents on the day 24 civilians were killed in Haditha that a U.S. Marine officer considered bombing a house where the insurgents took refuge, he told investigators.

Maj. Sam Carrasco, who was overseeing troop movements in the area when two dozen men, women and children were shot in Haditha, said he believed at the time the civilians died in cross-fire between Marines and insurgents.

Carrasco was not at the scene of what Iraqi witnesses say was a massacre by U.S. troops, but was questioned by military investigators over his report of the November 2005 killings.

Reuters obtained a transcript of an interview Carrasco gave two investigators in March. Reached on Thursday, Carrasco declined to comment, citing the investigation.

"We saw insurgents go into a house, and we did not drop bombs on that house because we did not have (positive identification)," Carrasco told investigators. "They had engaged a previous unit and had run into a house with weapons."

"We vectored the (Marine) squad and they got shot up. I watched the whole thing happen as they got shot up ... And now I'm kicking myself in the ass because we didn't drop the bomb and we didn't lead with appropriate force because we didn't have positive identification."

Iraqi witnesses say Marines shot civilians in their homes to retaliate for the death of a comrade, Lance Cpl. Miguel Terrazas, in a roadside bomb. Investigators are weighing charges.

There were multiple firefights around the city that day and Carrasco was questioned over why his report was not more thorough.

'THIS HAS BEEN A BAD DAY'

Carrasco told investigators that he was not aware of serious fighting in Haditha until more than 90 minutes after the bomb went off that morning and because of the ensuing chaos learned of the civilian deaths only hours later.

"I have got units all over the battle space," he said. "I have got a company on the east side of the river, we got a company on the south side of the river; both are reporting explosions.

"The enemy situation at the time was one where we were expecting a coordinated complex attack throughout the triad city. This is what we were afraid of. This is what is developing."

Carrasco said after he learned of the civilian casualties he reported them to a superior. There were U.S. troops and insurgent troops and Iraqi troops, he said, "And there was civilians caught in the middle."'

"I said, 'I do not know if they were killed by the (bomb) blast, how many got killed by the (bomb) blast. I do not know how many were killed in the cross-fire, but it is fair to assume that this has been a bad day if there is dead civilians in the battle space."'

Carrasco told investigators he had never considered the possibility that war crimes could have taken place in Haditha until a Time magazine article months later.

"At that point, at the end of November ... I just, Roger that, next operation," he said. "Let's talk about the memorial service for Terrazas. Let's try to keep our boys alive. Let's try to do our jobs to the best of our ability and focus on the next operation."

(Additional reporting by Adam Tanner)

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Article 32 date set for accused Hamdaniya corpsman

By Gidget Fuentes
Staff writer

OCEANSIDE, Calif. — A hospital corpsman charged along with seven Marines in the alleged shooting death of an Iraqi man will be in court next week.

An Article 32 preliminary hearing for Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Melson J. Bacos will be held Sept. 27 at Camp Pendleton, base officials said Friday.

An investigative officer, Marine Col. Paul Pugliese, will oversee the hearing and will make a recommendation to senior commanders whether the charges against the sailor should be heard at court-martial or be reduced or dismissed.

Bacos, 20, remains confined at the base brig along with seven members of his Marine infantry squad, part of Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines.

They are charged with premeditated murder, kidnapping, conspiracy and other charges in the death of Hashim Ibrahim Awad, a resident of Hamdaniya. Military investigators believe that the men deliberately shot and killed Awad.

Ellie

[booksbenji]

Updated:2006-09-25 18:28:18
3 Marines Face Courts-Martial in Iraqi's Death
By THOMAS WATKINS
AP
SAN DIEGO (Sept. 25) - Three Marines from Camp Pendleton will face courts-martial on murder charges in the death of an Iraqi man in the town of Hamdania, the Marine Corps said Monday.

Gen. James Mattis, the commanding general in the case, said he would not seek the death penalty.

The three were among seven Marines and one Navy corpsman charged with kidnapping and murdering 52-year-old Hashim Ibrahim Awad last April. The other five face preliminary hearings in coming weeks.

Pfc. John J. Jodka, 20, Cpl. Marshall L. Magincalda, 23, and Lance Cpl. Jerry E. Shumate, 21, will also face charges including conspiracy, housebreaking and wrongfully seizing and holding a victim against his will.

The Marines Corps dropped some charges against the three, including an assault charge against Magincalda and Shumate. Jodka had charges of making a false official statement, larceny and wrongfully endeavoring to impede an investigation dropped.

Joseph Casas, an attorney for Jodka, said he was pleased.

"(Jodka) is looking forward to getting a fair court martial and moving this forward as expeditiously as possible," Casas said. "Every day he sits in there in limbo is a day behind bars that he doesn't spend with his family."

Attorneys for Magincalda and Shumate did not immediately return phone messages seeking comment.

According to prosecutors, the Marines and sailor kidnapped Awad on April 26, bound his feet, dragged him from his home and shot him to death in a roadside hole.

Jodka is accused of firing on Awad. Magincalda is suspected of binding Awad's feet and kidnapping him. Shumate is suspected of firing his M-16 at Awad, then lying to investigators about what had happened.


Source: http://news.aol.com/topnews/articles...00010000000001

[thedrifter]

Haditha case set to unfold

By: MARK WALKER - Staff Writer

NORTH COUNTY ---- As the prosecutions of seven Camp Pendleton Marines and a Navy corpsman for the alleged murder of an Iraqi in April continue, a second and potentially far larger war crime case is about to unfold.

That case centers on the slaying of 24 civilians in the Iraqi city of Haditha on Nov. 19, killings that spawned international condemnation of the U.S. when the story first surfaced in a report in Time magazine in March.

A massive, detailed investigation of what happened that day conducted by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service has been sent to Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis, commander of Marine forces in Iraq and head of the Camp Pendleton-based I Marine Expeditionary Force.

Mattis will soon decide if any of the Marines in Haditha on Nov. 19 will be charged with criminal acts.

The general, sources with intimate knowledge of the case say, probably won't make that decision for at least a couple of weeks. He has asked investigators to "go deeper" into a handful of issues in the report before he will decide whether to bring criminal charges against any of the Camp Pendleton Marines alleged to have been involved in the case, the sources said.

Unlike the Hamdania case, in which the eight troops were jailed within weeks of the report of the slaying and one month before they were charged with any crimes, none of the Marines in the Haditha case have been incarcerated.

A second investigation into how Marine commanders in Iraq responded to the first reports of civilian deaths in Haditha also has been completed; it was sent to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld last week, a spokesman for the U.S. Central Command said Tuesday from its headquarters in Tampa, Fla.

"I can confirm (we) forwarded a copy to the office of the secretary of defense," Maj. Matthew McLaughlin said in a telephone interview. "It is part and parcel of the broader investigation and we are not going to talk any further about it."

That report, prepared under the direction of U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Eldon Bargewell, is expected to lead to administrative actions against some Marine officers for dereliction of duty for failing to fully investigate the Haditha killings when they were first reported.

The criminal probe

The far greater jeopardy is for the Marines from the 1st squad, 3rd platoon of Kilo Company from Camp Pendleton's 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment.

At issue is the way the Marines reacted after losing one of their own when a roadside bomb explosion triggered as their convoy of four Humvees moved through the city shortly after 7 a.m.

The Marines have told investigators that they were reacting to AK-47 shots from homes a short time after the bomb explosion claimed the life of 20-year-old Lance Cpl. Miguel Terrazas of El Paso, Texas.

But Iraqi civilians who were present contend that the squad overreacted and stormed through four homes in search of insurgents after first killing four "military-aged men" who happened upon the scene in a taxi. After spotting the Marines, the men fled and were shot as they ran, it has been alleged.

That account of the first shootings by the Marines that day was written by Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich's attorneys in a court pleading filed with his libel suit against U.S. Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., who claimed the Marines were out of control and killed "in cold blood." Murtha has refused to back down from that statement and declined an offer to have the libel suit withdrawn in exchange for a public apology.

Mattis received the sixth iteration of the criminal investigation a couple of weeks ago. A Marine spokesman at Camp Pendleton confirmed Tuesday that the voluminous document is in the general's hands.

"Lt. Gen. Mattis is provided information about the investigation as it develops in order to make informed decisions," Lt. Col. Sean Gibson said, adding that the investigation is not considered closed until any possible legal or administrative actions are completed.

The latter is in fact the case with any Naval Criminal Investigative Service probe, including the work the agency did in the Hamdania homicide case arising out of the slaying of a single Iraqi in April. Until all of the troops charged in that case have had their cases resolved through such actions as a dismissal, acquittal or conviction, the investigation is considered open.

Mattis was in Washington, D.C., this week for meetings said to be unrelated to the Haditha investigation. When he will make his decision, and when the report of the actions of Marine commanders prepared under the direction of the Army's Gen. Bargewell, will be made public is uncertain, although there clearly is little work remaining on the criminal probe.

Simultaneous war crime prosecutions?

Several of the Marines at the center of the Haditha probe have retained civilian attorneys in anticipation of criminal charges being lodged. If that occurs, Camp Pendleton will have two war crime cases being prosecuted simultaneously.

The Naval Criminal Investigative Service was brought into the case by Marine Maj. Gen. Richard Zilmer on March 16. Zilmer is the Marine's commanding general in Iraq and reports to Mattis.

The agency dispatched three agents from Fallujah immediately to Haditha, and on March 18, another five agents were dispatched from Washington.

To date, 65 agents and a full forensic reconstruction team have worked on the investigation, according to agency officials, who added that 25,000 man-hours have been spent on the case and have taken more than 850 "investigative actions."

"It's the biggest, or as big, an investigation that I can recall," said an agency official in Washington, who asked that his name not be used, last week.

'Rules of engagement'

Sources say the investigation suggests that the initial return of fire after the explosion that killed Lance Cpl. Terrazas was a justifiably "good shoot," as was the subsequent raid on two homes in which several of the civilians were killed.

The Marines entered two other homes and killed several more civilians, and those actions, along with the slaying of the men from the taxi, are said to constitute the bulk of the questions about whether the Marines were honoring the rules of engagement.

Those rules essentially allow a combat operation against any source of fire or suspected insurgent stronghold, but are clear in directing that lethal force not be used against children or apparent civilians unless absolutely necessary. Five women and six children were among those killed in Haditha.

The sources with intimate knowledge of the investigation say that they fully expect criminal charges will be brought against some of the Marines, suggesting the information in the report clearly indicates that some of the actions taken that day crossed the line between self-preservation and unwarranted killing.

The sources also say that Staff Sgt. Wuterich's version of events as portrayed by his attorneys in his complaint against Rep. Murtha is "far from fully complete or accurate."

The investigation itself does not recommend charges, but instead presents the findings of the investigators with dozens of attached interviews and interrogations, as well as physical evidence collected at the scene and a reconstruction performed by a forensic team.

Base ready for media crush

Camp Pendleton appeared to be contemplating how it would handle media attention when it built a $760,000 media center this summer.

The center features rows of workstations where reporters can plug in laptop computers and video screens showing proceedings from the base courtroom.

To date, that center has been used for reporters covering the unrelated Hamdania case. Three pretrial hearings have been conducted in that incident, leading to Mattis' decision, announced Monday, that he has ordered they stand trial in courts-martial.

Pretrial hearings for the other five defendants in that case are scheduled for mid-October.

-- Contact staff writer Mark Walker at (760) 740-3529 or mlwalker@nctimes.com.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

September 26, 2006
Corpsman’s hearing postponed

By Gidget Fuentes
Staff writer

OCEANSIDE, Calif. — The preliminary hearing for a Navy hospital corpsman charged with seven Marines in the shooting death of an Iraqi man will be heard next month, Marine Corps officials said Tuesday.

The Article 32 hearing for Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Melson J. Bacos that was scheduled for Wednesday at Camp Pendleton instead will be Oct. 19, said Maj. Jeffrey Nyhart, a base spokesman.


Bacos, 21, remains confined at the base brig along with seven members of his Marine infantry squad with Kilo Company of 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines.

An investigative officer, Col. Paul Pugliese, will oversee the hearing and will make a recommendation to Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis, who commands Marine Corps Forces-Central Command, whether the charges against the sailor should be heard at a court-martial or be reduced or dismissed.

Bacos and the Marines are charged with premeditated murder, kidnapping and conspiracy, plus several other charges in the death of Hashim Ibrahim Awad, a resident of Hamdaniya. Military investigators believe that the men deliberately shot and killed Awad.

Three of the Marines will be tried at general courts-martial, officials announced Monday, but no dateshave been set yet. The preliminary hearings for the remaining four men are tentatively scheduled for Oct. 16.

Ellie

[NCPATRIOT]

Greetings Marines of Leatherneck.com!

During a search I ran across your site and noticed your extensive coverage of the Pendleton 8. I am webmaster for the Jodka family on behalf of PFC John J. Jodka III, one of the Marines in the brig.

We have recently updated our site with some information you may find helpful. I invite you to visit at http://www.innocentmarine.com/2news.html

We're excited about our most recent addition, in that we have finally found a way to legally publish what actually happened that early morning in Hamdaniya.

The Prosecutor's story is bogus. Here's what really happened:

From their ambush position, THESE MARINES caught an insurgent digging a hole by the side of the road at 3 o'clock in the morning. Pretty clear what happened next -- 1 against 8.

As usual in Iraq, the alleged family somehow got their hands on the Marines' report from the incident, and created an accusation that fit the report in order to get money from the military – they had to find a way to explain why their alleged relative was out by the side of the road at 3 in the morning with a shovel and a rifle and spent shell casings in order to get the money – if he was an insurgent, they wouldn’t be paid anything.

There are extensive details and a link to a comprehensive timeline on the site -- of course you are welcome to cut and paste to get the word out.

These 8 warfighters are completely innocent, and there is no evidence against them. The alleged family eye-witnesses have disappeared (can we all sing, take the money and run?), including the translator who worked with the NCIS investigators to get their story on videotape.

The prosecution is going to trial based solely on alleged incriminating statements, statements most lawyers consider "icing on the cake." Our question is, since there is no evidence that a crime occurred, there is no cake -- and what are we doing here???

Dianne Thomas
diannethomasmin@aol.com

Semper fi

"Justice delayed is Justice denied." William Gladstone

[outlaw3179]

NCPatriot thanks for the link ...please know that there are still Marines who care about each other and will have a Marines back. Please relay to the family that there is nothing but support on Leatherneck for those Warriors . Semper Fi.

[NCPATRIOT]

NCPatriot thanks for the link ...please know that there are still Marines who care about each other and will have a Marines back. Please relay to the family that there is nothing but support on Leatherneck for those Warriors . Semper Fi.

I will certainly pass that along -- the guys know they will be exonerated, but they are at the mercy of the giant machine now and -- well -- being Marines -- you know how hard it is to not be able to get the job done yourself. But they are tough and treating this as an extension of the front lines -- they are still at the tip of the spear, and they know that there are many, many Marines, active and former, who are doing everything they know to do to rectify this situation.

Semper fi

Dianne

[thedrifter]

Wednesday, October 4, 2006
Two Marines to be arraigned

Eight members of Kilo Company are being held at Camp Pendleton, accused of murdering an Iraqi civilian in April.
By JOHN McDONALD
The Orange County Register

CAMP PENDLETON – Two members of an infantry squad implicated in the suspected slaying of an Iraqi civilian are scheduled to appear before a military judge today for arraignment on charges of premeditated murder, the Marines reported.

Cpl. Marshall L. Magincalda, 23, and Pfc. John J. Jodka, 20, are accused of participating in the April 26 death of Hashim Ibrahim Awad. Investigators allege that the squad was looking for a terrorist in the vicinity of Hamdania and when the team was unsuccessful, members killed Awad and set up the scene to make it appear he was a terrorist.

The two men, and six other members of the squad of Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines, have been held in the Camp Pendleton brig since their return from Iraq in June. The two are accused of conspiracy, murder and housebreaking. Jodka is also accused of assault, and Magincalda with giving a false statement and larceny.

It is the first arraignment in the case, and both men are expected to enter pleas.

Prosecutors have said they will not seek the death penalty in the case.

CONTACT US: 949-465-5424 or jmcdonald@ocregister.com

Ellie