Marine Guilty of Iraq Murder Conspiracy

AP via SFGate ^ | 8/1/7 | THOMAS WATKINS, Associated Press Writer

[SmithL]

CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. (AP) -- A Marine was found guilty Wednesday of conspiracy to murder an Iraqi man, but acquitted of premeditated murder and kidnapping in a bungled attempt to kill a suspected insurgent last year.

Cpl. Marshall Magincalda also was found guilty of larceny and housebreaking, and cleared of making a false official statement. He stood rigidly alongside his two attorneys as sighs and gasps filled the packed courtroom.

A separate jury continued to deliberate in the case of his squad leader, Sgt. Lawrence G. Hutchins III, who faces the same charges.

Prosecutors said that during a nighttime patrol in Hamdania, Iraq, in April 2006, the Marines' squad hatched a plan to kidnap and kill a suspected insurgent from his house. When they couldn't find him, they instead kidnapped a man from a neighboring house, dragged him to a hole and shot him.

Prosecutors said squad members tried to cover up the killing of Hashim Ibrahim Awad by planting a shovel and AK-47 by his body to make it look like he was an insurgent planting a bomb.

Magincalda, 24, of Manteca, would have received a mandatory life sentence had he been convicted of premeditated murder. The murder conspiracy count carries a maximum sentence of life in prison, but a squad mate convicted of the same charge last month did not get any prison time from a different military jury.

Magincalda was accused of being part of the four-man "snatch team" that seized the victim from his home, but was not accused of firing any shots. His defense attorneys argued that the Marine is a religious man who wanted no part in the conspiracy and told his squad mates he would not shoot anyone.

The verdict was rendered by a jury of five enlisted men and one officer.

[rineaux]

Horrible story. Just seems like it’s negative news day on the board.

Reads like wrong place wrong time for this Marine.

Marine Corp and Army Recruitment should go way up after this. /s

[Girlene]

Here's more info from an article in North County Times

Jury acquits Marine of murder

By: TERI FIGUEROA staff writer Serviceman guilty of conspiracy, lesser charges in civilian death

CAMP PENDLETON ---- A jury of combat veterans on Wednesday acquitted a Marine corporal of murder and kidnapping in the death of an Iraqi man in on April 26, 2006.

Cpl. Marshall Magincalda was found guilty of three lesser charges: conspiracy to commit murder, larceny and housebreaking. He faces a maximum of life in prison, but there is no minimum sentence for the crimes. A Marine convicted of the same conspiracy charge was sentenced to a bad-conduct discharge last month and escaped jail.

Magincalda was stoic as the verdict was read in a cramped and crowded-to-capacity courtroom at Camp Pendleton. His father and stepmother hugged after the verdict was read. His stepmother broke down in tears.

A sentencing hearing for Magincalda was set to begin at 4 p.m. Wednesday.

A separate jury is still deliberating the fate of his squad leader, Sgt. Lawrence Hutchins, who was also accused in the plot to snatch and kill a man suspected as a key insurgent responsible for roadside bombs attacks on U.S. troops in the area of Hamdania, a rural Iraqi village. When their attempt to grab that man fizzled, they kidnapped and killed his neighbor instead, Marines testified.

Marines say the squad then covered up the slaying by reporting that they killed the man after spotting him planting a roadside bomb.

Defense attorneys in both Hutchins' and Magincalda's cases did not deny that their clients played a role in the plot. But they argued that violence toward Iraqi detainees was encouraged by the men's superiors.

Jurors heard testimony that the eight-man squad watched and heard about Marine Corps superiors in their company beating Iraqi suspects during questioning, as well as shoving guns in or near their mouths.

The cases against Hutchins, Magincalda and their six squad mates offered a glimpse into the frustration and fears facing Marines who spent their tours traveling bomb-laced streets, often living off the base and never more than grabbing distance from their gun.

In court, some of the accused troops testified that their squad agreed to the killing as part of an effort to send a message to insurgents operating in the Hamdania area.

Although first deemed a legitimate and lawful killing by the Marine Corps, complaints from the victim's family prompted an investigation.

The Marine Corps charged the Camp Pendleton-based squad of seven Marines and Navy corpsman with the death of the Iraqi man, who they forced out of bed, marched to a dirt hole a mile or so down the road, and shot to death.

Less then two months after the killing of Hashim Ibrahim Awad, the military charged the eight troops with murder, kidnapping, conspiracy, larceny, housebreaking and making false official statements.

The sergeant and two corporals in charge of the squad opted for trial. Two weeks ago, a military jury acquitted one of them men, Cpl. Trent Thomas, of murder, but found him guilty of kidnapping and conspiracy.

The jurors rejected giving Thomas a jail sentence, but did vote to reduce his rank to private and kick him out of the Marine Corps. Approval of that sentence is pending.

The other five men ---- the Navy corpsman and four of the most junior Marines ---- agreed to plead guilty to reduced charges in exchange for testifying against their squad mates. Most of them received jail sentences of less than two years.

In court, each of the five men testified that Hutchins was the architect of the plan. But Hutchins' attorney argued that the directive to kill the man known as the area's main insurgent came from higher up the chain of command.

[SunkenCiv]

better headline:

Jury acquits Marine of murder
NCTimes.com | 1 August, 2007 | TERI FIGUEROA staff writer
Posted on 08/01/2007 4:29:54 PM PDT by brityank
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1874951/posts

[SmithL]

That headline doesn’t serve the AssPress agenda as well as this one.

[M. Espinola]

We have to wonder how many Iranian & Syrian terrorist infiltrators should be placed on trail for ‘conspiracy to murder American Marines, British troops and Iraqi civilians’?

[rineaux]

Don’t forget our friends the Saudis’ who seem to have more fighters in Iraq (45%) than any other country.

[KantianBurke]

“The verdict was rendered by a jury of five enlisted men and one officer. All have served at least one combat tour in Iraq.”

I am satisfied that justice was done. This punk doesn’t deserve the title of Marine any more. Good riddance.

[M. Espinola]

That’s right, ‘our good friends’ from the House of the Wahhabists, which supplied 15 out of the 19 September 11th killers.

[jazusamo]

Typical AP headline, they make the positve seem as negative as they can. Good for the NC Times!

Thanks for the ping, Girlene. Hopefully he’ll get no additional jail time.

[Eagles6]

Too bad the jury wasn’t allowed to hear the possible true identity of the dead guy.

[RedRover]

This punk doesn’t deserve the title of Marine any more.

This Marine fought in Fallujah II. Who the hell are you to judge who deserves the title of Marine?

[freema]

A Marine was found guilty Wednesday of conspiracy to murder an Iraqi man

snip

Prosecutors said squad members tried to cover up the killing of Hashim Ibrahim Awad

Iamnauseatedenoughtovomitping

GUILTY OF MURDER. AND NO ONE EVEN KNOWS WHO'S DEAD.

[freema]

GUILTY OF MURDER CONSPIRACY.

Sorry.

[KantianBurke]

One would think its a safe bet that those who are convicted by an impartial military jury of conspiracy to murder, larceny and housebreaking forfeit the right to be called a Marine. He’s shed that title for another: common criminal.

Our fighting men and women are better off with his removal from their ranks.

[kellynla]

Please feel free to correct me, because of a death in my family, I haven’t been able to follow this case lately; but the last I heard there was no autopsy.
So if there was no autopsy, I don’t know how they can convict any Marine of anything to do with the death of this Iraqi??

Semper Fi,
Kelly

[RedRover]

He’s shed that title for another: common criminal.

That's just idiotic. There's nothing common about the situation in Iraq, and nothing common about this whole case.

Cpl Thomas was not given a dishonorable discharge by the jury in his case. We'll see what kind of discharge is given Cpl Magincalda.

Anyway, I'm a little disappointed in you. You've been saying the Hamdania and Haditha Marines were all murderers from Day One. You've been abusive toward their supporters. I think you'd be at least reluctant to make yet more pronouncements considering how wrong you've been so far. Cpl Magincalda was, in case you missed it, acquited of murder charges.

[Marine_Uncle]

This really has been a sad case to have to follow. I cannot help but wonder if these Marines where officially working in a Counter Intellegience capacity, e.g. CL operation patrols, if the outcome would even have been brought up. This sort of thing must be going on in both Iraq and Afghanistan by special operation groups.

[freema]

My sympathies, kelly.

You are quite correct. There was no autopsy. There is no positive ID. There is no head. There were no links whatsoever to prove the identity except... precisely that.
The body is alleged not to even be Awad because early on there was something missing-apart from the head. And that’s why he is identified an ‘an Iraqi’.

But those are just little inconsequential details that matter naught to some. /sarc

[freema]

Bump