Posted on 03/20/2005 12:07:36 AM PST by Mom of 2 Marines
Hearing set for Marine accused of murder
By John DeSantis Staff Writer john.desantis@starnewsonline.com
Charges against 2nd Lt. Ilario Pantano, the Wilmington Marine accused of murdering two alleged insurgents last year outside an Iraqi house where weapons were found, will be reviewed by military authorities April 25 during a public hearing at Camp Lejeune.
The 33-year-old New York City native says he was acting in self-defense when he shot the two men April 15, 2004, but military authorities have suggested the shooting was instead an "execution" during interviews with the Star-News earlier this month.
A statement given to investigators by Lt. Pantano last year says he ordered the two men to search their automobile for explosives after they were detained while trying to flee.
The search was conducted after a Navy Corpsman, under Lt. Pantano’s order, had already searched the car while the men were in custody and handcuffed. According to his statement, Lt. Pantano ordered that the men be uncuffed so that they could conduct the search.
Documents filed at Camp Lejeune allege that Lt. Pantano shot the men in the back, which his civilian attorney, Charles Gittins, denies.
Mr. Gittins said Friday in an interview that the Iraqis moved as if to attack and did not stop when Lt. Pantano told them to. It is possible, Mr. Gittins said, that some bullets struck them in the back as they spun or fell, but that they were facing Lt. Pantano when he began firing.
"These were bad guys," Mr. Gittins said. "They didn’t have much to lose. They were going to prison."
The bodies were buried immediately, as dictated by Islamic custom. There were no autopsies. Mr. Gittins declined to discuss this potential hurdle for the prosecution.
"What they think they know and what they can prove, there is a huge gap there," he said. "The best it ever gets for the government is what’s on the charge sheet."
Military authorities charged his client, Mr. Gittins said, fearing that if they did not they would be accused of a cover-up.
Marine Corps officials have refused to discuss details of the case on the record.
The top charge the hearing officer will consider is premeditated murder. He will have the authority to dismiss all accusations or to change the charges to lesser offenses.
In addition to Mr. Gittins, who has established a strong reputation as a "pit-bull defense lawyer" in military cases, Lt. Pantano will be represented by Maj. Phil Stackhouse, senior defense counsel at Camp Lejeune.
The prosecutor in the case is Maj. Stephen Keane, a combat veteran ranking officers have described as "an exceptional Marine Corps leader who is incredibly knowledgeable about the issues and law involved in such cases."
If murder charges against Lt. Pantano stand following the hearing, he will face a court martial where a jury of Marine officers will judge the evidence.
Hmmm...no responses?
This marine and his family have become targets of islamofascist psychopaths as a result of this display of "even handedness" and "political correctness". They should now receive the same secret service protection as the insufferables clinton, carter, gore and probably even "pants wetter" mondale are receiving. In fact I would favor removing SS details from any or all the above and reassigning them to the Pantano family. This one marine family is more worthy than any dozen former demo presidents and vpresidents.
Whaddayathink Mama??
I think where there's smoke there's fire. If you read Pantano's own report you will see that he screwed up.
How did he screw up? Two terrorists are dead and his marines are alive. Is that what you call a screw up? Is that what the mom of 2 marines calls a screwup. Will it make you feel good if your marine sons die in Iraq as long as they were following some "brainless" set of regulations drawn up by some pentagon idiot?
How did he screw up??? He had the two Iraqis in custody so all he had to do was take them in for questioning. Instead, Pantano ordered them uncuffed and that is where the trouble started. He turned a controlled situation into chaos by his decision.
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