Posted on 02/10/2005 5:50:53 PM PST by TexKat
MIAMI (Reuters) - A U.S. Marine has been charged with premeditated murder and could face the death penalty for shooting two Iraqi men during a vehicle search near a weapons cache in Iraq last year, the Marine's attorney said on Thursday.
The Marine Corps released a statement saying 2nd Lt. Ilario G. Pantano was charged on Feb. 1 for his involvement in the shooting deaths of two Iraqi men on April 15, 2004, during combat operations in Iraq.
The release said the commanding general of the 2nd Marine Division, Maj. Gen. Richard Huck, had convened an investigation to determine if Pantano should stand trial, and details of the charges would not be released. A spokesman at Camp Lejuene, the North Carolina base where Pantano is stationed, did not return calls seeking comment,
Pantano's civilian attorney, Charles Gittens, said the 33-year-old Marine was charged with premeditated murder and "he's made it pretty firmly clear that he is not guilty." The crime carries the death penalty but the Marines have not said whether they will seek that punishment if he is convicted, Gittens said.
Pantano was the commander of a Marine platoon sent to search a suspected insurgent hide-out in an area south of Baghdad on April 15. The Marines found weapons, ammunition and bomb-making material in the building, and saw two men fleeing in a sport utility vehicle, Gittens said.
The Marines shot out the vehicle's tires to force it to a halt, took the two men into custody and ordered them to rip out the seats and the interior of the vehicle during a search for booby traps and secret compartments, Gittens said.
One of the men turned suddenly toward Pantano "as if to attack," and the pair kept moving when Pantano ordered them to stop, Gittens said.
"He (Pantano) thought he was in danger and he fired and he killed them and that's what we do to terrorists who don't listen to orders. ... It's a combat situation, kill or be killed," the attorney said.
Pantano feared the men may have been trying to detonate explosives remotely, Gittens said.
"What's he supposed to do, wait until he's standing in the inferno?" the attorney added.
Pantano served three more months in Iraq after the shooting and returned to Camp Lejeune when his tour of duty ended. The former commodities trader is from New York City and also fought during the first Gulf War, Gittens said.
He had not been placed in confinement or otherwise restricted at Camp Lejeune, the Marines said in their statement.
The investigators could recommend Pantano face court-martial, receive administrative discipline or that the charges be dropped altogether, the Marines said.
Pantano's mother, Merry Pantano, has established a Web site (http://www.defendthedefenders.org/pages/1/index.htm) to raise money and awareness for the defense of her son and other soldiers and Marines facing combat-related charges.
"I won't sit idly by while his reputation, honor and sacrifices are diminished by bureaucrats squeamish with the sight of blood while our country is at war," she says on the site.
Geez, I can't stand how some of our own countrymen would sit there and try to fry our own guys. War is war, no matter what rules you put on it. Survival is goal, you can't survive a war with handling enemy with kiddie glove hands.
Absolutely right. Where's the crime?
Oh..I hate this..He would have not shot them if he were not feeling threatened..IMHO.
I don't know if there is more to this story, but it has to be. However I do like his mother's attitude.
That's all I need to know.
what is it about combat that we do not understand????
release the warrior NOW!!!!!
Tonk, please spread the word.
Yea we could leave it to Reuters to leave out information huh?
There's gotta be more to the story than this.
it really irks me when I see civvie gits trying to apply cozy legal conditions like "premeditation" on events transpiring in a hot CZ
From what I read it sounds like a totally bonified kill.
Hats off to the Lt.
"civ bites mil" ping!
Mega outrage ping request. Please alert your lists.
I understand the shooting incident, but when did a murder happen?
"I'd say what we have here is a series of victimless crimes..." - Walter Sobchak
Correct. The info. we get here makes it a legit kill.
With the info supplied, I don't see how they can claim premeditated murder.
Who in the F*#% charged them???
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