Posted on 02/02/2008 5:56:56 PM PST by RedRover
FORT HOOD, Texas - An Army sergeant charged with fatally shooting a wounded and unarmed Iraqi insurgent has been released from jail while awaiting trial.
Sgt. Leonardo Trevino is now spending his days working at Fort Hood, after a military judge ruled late Tuesday that pretrial confinement was not warranted.
Trevino, 30, of San Antonio, had been held since he was charged in September, first in Kuwait and then at the Bell County Jail in Belton after his unit returned in November.
"There are no words to describe how overwhelmed I am with happiness," his wife, Veronica Trevino, told the San Antonio Express-News. "It was hard trying to stay strong, not being able to hold my husband."
Trevino faces a maximum of life in military prison and a discharge if convicted. His trial could be held as early as March.
The charges stem from a June night in Muqdadiyah, Iraq, when Trevino's "small kill team" went to a dangerous neighborhood where insurgents were reportedly making improvised explosive devices. After a gun battle with some insurgents, soldiers followed a blood trail and found one of them lying on the floor of a house.
Trevino is charged with attempted premeditated murder for allegedly shooting the insurgent in the abdomen, a nonfatal wound, and with soliciting murder for reportedly telling an Army medic to suffocate the man. Trevino is charged with premeditated murder for the alleged second shot, this time in the insurgent's head.
Trevino also is charged with impeding the investigation. He's accused of telling a soldier to drop a gun by the Iraqi's body, instructing troops to say the man was armed and lying to his superior by saying the man had a gun.
During a December Article 32 hearing, similar to a civilian grand jury, his attorney Richard V. Stevens said other witnesses saw the insurgent reach for weapons and curse the soldiers in a threatening manner.
During the hearing Tuesday, government lawyers argued that if released, Trevino would interfere with witnesses in the case, Stevens said. But the judge ruled that was not likely, Stevens said.
Trevino is no longer in the same unit as soldiers testifying in the case, including two awaiting trial on lesser charges, Stevens said.
For more details about this case, see the previous thread: Sgt. Shot Unarmed Iraqi, Soldier Says [After the insurgent had been shot in a gunbattle]
To help defend this soldier, please go to Support Our Texas Soldier.
My drill sergeant always told us that if we were going to do something wrong, do it right.
Thankfully I always followed his instructions.
NUTS..
Judge must have heard about the Bell county deputies and the local VFW taking Sgt Trevino out for steak and beer every night............:o)
I wish this NCO well.....
My only question is how the FU**! this got made public? How it did should be the crime...
Dunno..........agree with you. Someone needs a little wall to wall.....
The US Army didn't have any place to hold him on base, so they had to put him in a civilian jail in a rural county? The county seat (Belton) has about 15,000 folks.
He should never have been in there to begin with. I wonder what Hillary or Obama would do?
This is good news, Red, thanks for posting.
Ditto and bump.
Ditto and bump.
Twice, apparently.
They would have been killed in the initial firefight.
Which poses the question: Would that count as a victory for the insurgency, or for us?
Thanks for the ping. This is great news. I hope he stays free.
YEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS........................
I didn’t realize it was so small. Sounds screwy.
Ditto that, bighead.
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