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Marine Gets 12 Years for Manslaughter
newsday ^ | 6/10/2005 | ap

Posted on 06/10/2005 4:47:52 PM PDT by armymarinemom

CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. -- A Marine whose gun went off while he was cleaning it, killing a comrade in Afghanistan, was sentenced in absentia Friday to 12 years in prison.

Lance Cpl. Frederico Pimienta, 23, was convicted Thursday of involuntary manslaughter in the death of Lance Cpl. Russell White, who was shot in the head last year.

(Excerpt) Read more at newsday.com ...


TOPICS: Front Page News; News/Current Events; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: marine; pimienta
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1 posted on 06/10/2005 4:47:52 PM PDT by armymarinemom
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To: armymarinemom

Jury convicts fugitive Marine
June 10,2005
ROSELEE PAPANDREA
DAILY NEWS STAFF

http://www.jdnews.com/SiteProcessor.cfm?Template=/GlobalTemplates/Details.cfm&StoryID=32452&Section=News

It took a military jury almost two and a half hours at a Camp Lejeune court-martial Thursday to find Marine Lance Cpl. Frederico Pimienta guilty of involuntary manslaughter and giving a false report.

The jury will sentence Pimienta today for shooting and killing 19-year-old Lance Cpl. Russell White on June 20, 2004, in Afghanistan. He could face up to 15 years in prison and dishonorable discharge from the Marine Corps.

Pimienta, who was last seen Monday, wasn't present for the court-martial or the verdict. Military judge Col. Stephen Day considered Pimienta's absence voluntary and continued the trial without him, despite objections from Capt. Brandon Bolling, the defense counsel.

A federal warrant was issued for his arrest, and authorities continue to search for Pimienta, who is from New Jersey.

Pimienta was also found not guilty of assault with a deadly weapon and reckless endangerment for allegedly pointing his loaded 9 mm Beretta in another Marine's face. The incident allegedly occurred a few weeks prior to the killing, in which White was shot in the head.

In closing arguments Thursday morning, prosecutor Maj. Stephen Keane said Pimienta violated the four safety rules in handling his weapon: treat every gun as if it is loaded, never point it, keep your finger off the trigger and keep it safe until you intend to shoot.

"Four simple rules," Keane said. "Elementary. If the accused had followed just one of them, Lance Cpl. White's life wouldn't have been erased. Instead, Lance Cpl. White's life has been robbed from him."

Pimienta, White and Lance Cpl. Stephen Groover, machine gunners in 3rd Battalion, 6th Marines, were all good friends while deployed to Afghanistan last year.

On the day of the shooting, they spent 12 hours on guard duty. Following that shift, the squad gathered to get their mail - White received a care package from home - and several Marines hurried to use the few phones available to call home because it was Father's Day.

White, Groover and Pimienta then guarded the weapons in their hut while the rest of their squad showered. Groover and Pimienta were cleaning their guns on their cots and talking to White, who was tossing the Nerf football he received in the package. Shortly after, White was struck in the head by a bullet from Pimienta's 9 mm Beretta, according to testimony.

Several corpsmen were called immediately. Pimienta and Groover left the hut, and Pimienta asked Groover to lie for him because he didn't want to go to jail. Groover said he couldn't do that. Prior to the shooting, Pimienta had been counseled by supervisors to quit playing with the 9 mm Beretta, which he twirled around his finger, pulled out of his holster cowboy-style, and loaded and unloaded constantly, according to testimony.

"If he had only treated his weapon as if it was loaded like each and every one of us is trained to do over and over," Keane said in his closing argument. "â?¦ This was no mistake - no accident. He knew the rules. He was put on notice: Stop doing that. You will hurt somebody."

Bolling recognized that White's death was tragic but didn't consider Pimienta's actions to be criminal.

"Lance Cpl. White unfortunately was killed by a gunshot wound," Bolling said. "The pistol that killed him was assigned to Lance Cpl. Pimienta. We know the pistol was functioning. That's all we know."

Groover testified that while he was in the hut, he didn't look up until after the shot was fired. He didn't see what happened.

There just wasn't enough evidence to convict Pimienta, Bolling said.

"There can be no justice in convicting someone of a crime without sufficient proof a crime has been committed," Bolling said. "Lance Cpl. Pimienta is not guilty."


2 posted on 06/10/2005 4:53:17 PM PDT by Valin (The right to do something does not mean that doing it is right.)
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To: armymarinemom

What a tragic situatation.. two lives destroyed.


3 posted on 06/10/2005 4:58:15 PM PDT by somniferum (All warfare is deception - Sun Tzu)
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To: somniferum
What a tragic situatation.. two lives destroyed.

It sure is. The whole incident was tragic .

4 posted on 06/10/2005 5:00:18 PM PDT by armymarinemom (My sons freed Iraqi and Afghanistan Honor Roll students.And we're unlikely to get a look into this t)
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To: armymarinemom

That's tragic but why was he cleaning a loaded gun to begin with?


5 posted on 06/10/2005 5:02:29 PM PDT by angelr1076
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To: Valin

agh..all this writer had to do was look at Maj. Keane's quotes in this article, to realize that Marines have weapons, rifles, pistols...but not guns.


6 posted on 06/10/2005 5:06:05 PM PDT by stylin19a ( Social Security...neither social nor secure.)
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To: armymarinemom

I am confident there is a standing order prohibiting the keeping of a chambered round.


7 posted on 06/10/2005 5:09:06 PM PDT by ConorMacNessa
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To: stylin19a

This is my rifle
This is my gun
This is for fightin
This is for fun

In tech school (I was a Security Policeman) I had to repeat that for 10 mins. while running in front of my training flight.


Never made THAT mistake again!


8 posted on 06/10/2005 5:14:48 PM PDT by Valin (The right to do something does not mean that doing it is right.)
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To: stylin19a

Are rifles and pistols not guns?


9 posted on 06/10/2005 5:17:07 PM PDT by cubram
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To: Warthogtjm
What a tragic situatation.. two lives destroyed.

I have been told that is the case. The newsday story states that testimony was given that the Marine had been counseled for playing quick draw.

10 posted on 06/10/2005 5:19:55 PM PDT by armymarinemom (My sons freed Iraqi and Afghanistan Honor Roll students.And we're unlikely to get a look into this t)
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To: Valin

Hah! That very thought, the rhyme, has been running through my mind ALL DAY! I learned it in boot, way long time ago!


11 posted on 06/10/2005 5:21:59 PM PDT by selucreh (Act of Faith: To believe the end is a beginning.)
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To: cubram
Are rifles and pistols not guns? Yes, to normal people, but in the military a gun is a large weapon, like artillery or the big guns on a ship.
12 posted on 06/10/2005 5:24:33 PM PDT by digitalbrownshirt (Mostly harmless.)
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Forgot to say the convicted Marine was an idiot. He'd been warned repeatedly about his not using proper safety precautions and it finally ended in the needless death of his fellow Marine. He's no better than a drunk driver who kills an innocent person.


13 posted on 06/10/2005 5:27:04 PM PDT by digitalbrownshirt (Mostly harmless.)
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To: angelr1076

One of my old firearms safety instructors almost died from a simple, stupid mistake. He ejected the round from the chamber, then removed the magazine, completely forgetting that he'd chambered a new round. He then proceeded to clean the weapon and ended up putting a bullet through his own abdomen. Fortunately, he was able to receive prompt medical attention and survived.


14 posted on 06/10/2005 5:34:20 PM PDT by Stonewall Jackson (Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. - John Adams)
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To: armymarinemom
Accidental Discharges (AD's) = Death
15 posted on 06/10/2005 5:34:25 PM PDT by 2banana (My common ground with terrorists - They want to die for Islam, and we want to kill them.)
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To: cubram
Are rifles and pistols not guns?

No, in the military, rifles and pistols are never called guns -- they're called rifles, pistols, or (more commonly) weapons.

"Gun" strictly refers to a crew-served weapon like a machine gun or a hozitzer, and new recruits are mocked heavily if they screw up and refer to their personal weapon as a gun.

(You learn this the first day at basic training -- and reporters are constantly giving away their lack of military knowledge by making this very common mistake.)

16 posted on 06/10/2005 5:53:30 PM PDT by 68skylark
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To: Valin

Pimienta sounds pretty pathetic as a Marine. I wonder how many times along the way he should have been screened out and sent home for good. A time or two described here suggests he went through every aspect of firearms training completely unscathed by additional knowledge.


17 posted on 06/10/2005 6:10:53 PM PDT by stevem
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To: 68skylark
...reporters don't even seem to go to the movies much. It must be a very sad life they live.

Sgt. Hartman: "This is my rifle! This is my gun!"

18 posted on 06/10/2005 6:13:24 PM PDT by Sooth2222
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To: digitalbrownshirt
He's no better than a drunk driver who kills an innocent person.

I'd have to agree with you on that one. He knew the rules. He'd been warned before. He callously disregarded them and another human life.

19 posted on 06/10/2005 6:15:30 PM PDT by GVnana
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To: angelr1076

All guns are loaded all the time.


20 posted on 06/10/2005 6:21:41 PM PDT by Big Horn (We need more Tom DeLay's)
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