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Hamdania defendants' families continue push to raise funds - Pendleton 8
North County Times ^
| 10/5/06
| Teri Figueroa
Posted on 10/05/2006 10:23:30 AM PDT by NormsRevenge
NORTH COUNTY ---- The families of eight Camp Pendleton men accused of kidnapping and killing an Iraqi man continue their push to raise money to pay for the men's defense.
Donations for the group some have dubbed the "Pendleton 8" have come in from all over the country, sometimes in $10 trickles and other times in heavier outpourings, the families and others say.
But the pace of the donations is slowing.
Thus far, donations for the legal defense of the men appear to have reached at least $100,000, although that amount is not divided equally among the men. The number may be higher; some of the families declined to say what they have raised.
The eight men are jailed in the Camp Pendleton brig on charges that they kidnapped and killed an Iraqi, then covered it up.
Each man gets military defense attorneys appointed by the Marine Corps at no cost; each has also hired civilian counsel.
Their families have taken on fundraising for their loved ones' individual defense ---- legal bills which many of them say will top six figures for each defendant. There are also organizations collecting money for the group of accused men as a whole.
This week, the board of a Carlsbad-based organization ---- the Marine Defense Fund, formed to collect money for all of the accused in the Hamdania case ---- voted to cut a check for $5,000 each to six of the men. The other two defendants have not yet applied for a cut of the $40,000 the group has raised thus far for the men.
Fund board member Rickard Borg said this week that amount includes thousands donated by talk radio host Michael Savage.
A member of a second group, the United American Patriots, a North Carolina-based nonprofit organization, said his group has raised more than $20,000 to help pay the defense bills.
"But when you think of the bills these parents have got, that's a drop in the bucket," said Patriots group member Don Greenlaw, a retired Marine officer and Carlsbad resident.
Still, every little bit matters, the families say, especially as they face unpaid legal bills.
"It's going to help," said Diann Shumate, whose son, Lance Cpl. Jerry Shumate, is among the accused. "People have been really generous, that's for sure."
Shumate's family is more than $3,000 behind on its legal bills, she said, adding that the tab has already eaten up the $13,000 they have raised thus far.
According to the Marine Corps, the eight men each played a role in allegedly snatching 52-year-old Hashim Ibrahim Awad from his home in the rural village of Hamdania on April 26.
Prosecutors allege the squad carried Awad away, then shot him and staged the scene to make it appear he was a insurgent who fired at them first.
The menís families and attorneys have long denied any wrongdoing by the accused. Only two of the men ---- Encinitas native Pfc. John Jodka III and Cpl. Marshall Magincalda Jr. of Manteca ---- have had the chance to formally enter pleas. On Wednesday, Jodka and Magincalda pleaded not guilty.
The other accused men are Sgt. Lawrence Hutchins III, Cpl. Trent Thomas, and Lance Cpls. Tyler Jackson and Robert Pennington and Navy Corpsman Melson Bacos, who is reportedly in talks to make a plea deal.
The families have set up individual Web sites and pushed fundraising efforts ---- community barbecues, raffles, and the like ---- to pay the legal bills.
The sites have varied in their levels of fundraising success. The fiancee of squad leader Hutchins, Reyna Griffin, said this week an event at the American Legion in Hutchinsí hometown of Plymouth, Mass., in August brought in $20,000.
Defense attorney Victor Kelley, who is representing Thomas, said his clientís fundraising efforts have been far less successful, raising only about $5,000.
Kelley, of the National Military Justice Group, said he is not taking any payment for the case but money is still needed to cover expenses and experts and the like.
Terry Pennington, the father of accused Lance Cpl. Pennington, declined to say how much money his efforts have raised, saying instead that it's about 15 percent of what his family will need.
The elder Pennington said the biggest boost comes when he makes appearances on local and national media, including talk radio.
"I've been very fortunate because I have been very noisy," Terry Pennington said.
Lance Cpl. Jacksonís mother, Terri, declined Tuesday to say how much the familyís efforts have brought.
"Itís going pretty well, but itís not nearly what we need," Terri Jackson said. "Itís pretty horrendous."
Jodka's father, who lives in Encinitas, said fundraising has "slowed down quite a bit," although he said he's hoping to get some private events in the works.
John Jodka Jr. also said his son's family has cashed in insurance policies and taken on debt to pay the bills.
"All of which still is probably only 10 percent of what will be needed eventually," he said.
TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Foreign Affairs; Government; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; US: California; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: california; families; hamdania; pendleton8
To: All
2
posted on
10/05/2006 10:23:54 AM PDT
by
NormsRevenge
(Semper Fi ......Help the "Pendleton 8' and families -- http://www.freerepublic.com/~normsrevenge/)
3
posted on
10/05/2006 10:29:04 AM PDT
by
NormsRevenge
(Semper Fi ......Help the "Pendleton 8' and families -- http://www.freerepublic.com/~normsrevenge/)
To: NormsRevenge
4
posted on
10/05/2006 10:29:49 AM PDT
by
NormsRevenge
(Semper Fi ......Help the "Pendleton 8' and families -- http://www.freerepublic.com/~normsrevenge/)
To: NormsRevenge
BTTT
Support the Pendleton 8.
5
posted on
10/05/2006 10:52:22 AM PDT
by
jazusamo
(DIANA IREY for Congress, PA 12th District: Retire murtha.)
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