Posted on 09/19/2022 8:26:27 AM PDT by BenLurkin
According to prosecutors, Ryan Sawyer Mays was a young, arrogant sailor angry about being assigned to deck duty after failing to become a Navy SEAL — and he made the Navy pay in a big way.
But the prosecution has presented no physical evidence proving that Mays, 21, set the USS Bonhomme Richard on fire, a fact defense lawyers plan to highlight at the sailor’s court martial that is scheduled to start Monday at Naval Base San Diego.
The July 2020 blaze burned for nearly five days and sent an acrid smoke over San Diego, damaging the amphibious assault ship so badly that it had to be scuttled. It marked one of the worst noncombat warship disasters in recent memory.
Mays is charged with aggravated arson and the willful hazarding of a vessel. He has denied any wrongdoing.
(Excerpt) Read more at ktla.com ...
You could ask Lee Harvey Oswald about that if he were available to comment.
How do you set steel on fire?
Not being familiar with the rules of evidence and discovery in military trials, but wouldn’t the prosecution be required to turn over any evidence they have so the defense attorneys can prepare a proper defense for their client?
Served for twenty years, never saw a camera. Lots of voice recordings between engineering spaces, the CIC and Bridge, but no video except on the missile and gun decks. Maybe couple in the turbine rooms. Might have changed since I retired, so not one hundred percent sure.
I'll wager most, if not all, of those posting have never set foot on a warship, let alone one going through a major yard overhaul. He may be guilty as sin but I have no idea, and neither do you. Nor do I expect you know how easily a fire can start in the yards.
My favorite is probably the person who said the Navy wouldn't prosecute without evidence. Did you read the article? The recommendation was to not go forward with prosecution; an admiral with the final say reversed it. Do I really need to remind everyone here that Mark Milley was a four star general?
Well said. Thank you.
Apparently you have never used a cutting torch.
You want to be a millionaire?
Find a metal that will not burn.
Truth, you can’t handle the truth!!!
Sabotage =/= Negligence
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9865717/Female-sailor-center-USS-Bonhomme-fire-report.html
Female sailor at center of USS Bonhomme fire report: Seaman who ‘torched’ Navy ship told investigators they were engaged until he dumped her for getting pregnant by another man - but she says it’s all ‘bipolar lies’
Seaman Apprentice Ryan Sawyer Mays, 20, has been charged with setting the fire on board the Bonhomme last Jul
In a 10 hour interview last August, he told investigators he was newly single
He said he’d been engaged to Petty Officer Armelle Ane, who he proposed to at a French restaurant
Mays said she was then deployed to the USNS Mercy, the L.A. Covid ship, and during her deployment she became pregnant by another men
When Ane was interviewed she said all of his claims were ‘bipolar lies’
She said she’d never been engaged to him and was never pregnant - she says she took a pregnancy test to prove it after he’d spread the lie among their friends
She told the investigators he was ‘volatile and bipolar’
The Navy suggested in its report Mays was embittered against it after dropping out of the SEAL training because it was too hard
They say he was seen carrying two buckets below deck seconds before the fire started
His lawyer says he did not start the fire onboard the ship and is innocent
Ozzy Rabbit got his ticket punched right quick, didn’t he? How very convenient ...
put a half inch coat of paint on it.
Ping
Furthermore, the judge at the preliminary (Art. 32) hearing recommended against a court-martial but was overruled by the (then) Fleet Commander.
NEVER a good sign. The Art 32 standard is probable cause, and if the Art 32 IO (I’ve been one on a number of occasions) recommended against, the Fleet Commander is likely exercising undue command influence, which may result in a mistrial or overturning a conviction on appeal.
Colonel, USAF JAGCR (Ret)
EXACTLY!
From the article I read a fire suppression system was in place and a button had to be pushed but the training was so lacking no one did so and some just didn’t know to do so and we lost a carrier to an arsonist and incompetent officers and sorry training.
Unsupervised, of course.
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