Posted on 07/09/2008 5:55:44 PM PDT by RedRover
CAMP PENDLETON ---- The killing of four unarmed detainees during a battle for Fallujah nearly four years ago is the focus of a hearing this week for a Marine sergeant charged with one of the slayings.
Sgt. Ryan Weemer is accused of murder and six counts of dereliction of duty in the incident that authorities say took place during the height of fighting for what was then an insurgent stronghold in Iraq's Anbar province.
The hearing, scheduled to start at 9 a.m. Thursday, is the latest chapter in a series of cases involving Camp Pendleton troops charged with unlawful killings in Iraq.
Weemer and two other men from the base's 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment face homicide charges arising out of actions by their squad on Nov. 9, 2004.
Last year, Weemer allegedly told a Secret Service agent during a job interview that he was aware of unlawful killings occurring during house-to-house fighting. That prompted an investigation by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service and ultimately the filing of charges.
At the conclusion of Weemer's hearing, the presiding military officer will write a report stating whether he believes the case should move forward to court-martial, be dismissed or some form of administrative action taken. A final decision rests with Camp Pendleton's Lt. Gen. Samuel Helland, head of Marine Corps forces throughout the Middle East.
Accused along with Weemer is Sgt. Jermaine Nelson, who also faces one count of murder and six counts of dereliction of duty.
The man who led the squad, former Marine Sgt. Jose L. Nazario Jr., was indicted in federal court in Riverside last year on two counts of voluntary manslaughter. His case is being waged in civilian court because he was out of the Marine Corps and not subject to prosecution under the military justice system.
Efforts to reach Weemer's attorney Paul Hackett were unsuccessful. But on a Web site established to help pay for Weemer's defense, Hackett wrote his client initially cooperated with investigators but is now "forced to rely on his constitutional privilege to remain silent."
Weemer and Nelson were both recently jailed by a federal court judge in Los Angeles for refusing to answer a grand jury's continuing investigation into Nazario's role.
The two continued to refuse to testify before the grand jury, but were released from custody by the judge on Thursday and are now working in non-combat related assignments at Camp Pendleton while their cases are adjudicated.
Nazario's attorney Kevin McDermott said Tuesday that Marine prosecutors have unsuccessfully attempted to force his client to testify at Weemer's hearing.
"We certainly don't intend for him to participate in any way, shape or form for the government," McDermott said. Nazario is slated to go on trial in Riverside on Aug. 19.
A hearing for Nelson that took place at Camp Pendleton earlier this year resulted in him being ordered to court-martial starting on Dec. 8.
Nelson's attorney Joseph Low said that, like Nazario, his client "has no intention of testifying against Sgt. Weemer."
In an affidavit filed by Naval Criminal Investigative Service Special Agent Mark Fox when Nazario was indicted, the agent said his interviews showed the Fallujah killings occurred after Nazario radioed in that his squad had detained four suspected insurgents.
Fox wrote that Nazario shot two detainees in the head and directed Weemer and Nelson to shoot the two others.
"Who else wants to kill these guys, because I don't want to do it all myself?" Nazario is quoted as saying to his Marines, according to the affidavit.
While the military's rules of engagement were loosened during the battle for Fallujah following repeated warnings for noncombatants to leave, the law of armed conflict makes it a crime to kill captured enemy fighters.
Four days after the incident, Weemer was shot three times during fighting in what came to be known as the "Hell House" battle. During that engagement, Weemer and other members of his squad helped save the life of Marine Sgt. Maj. Brad Kasal, who was later awarded a Navy Cross.
Since the start of the Iraq war, 21 Marines and a Navy medical corpsman from Camp Pendleton have been accused of crimes tied to unlawful killings in Iraq.
The most recent case to air in a base courtroom is that of Sgt. John "Johnny" Winnick II of San Diego, a sniper accused of manslaughter in the shooting death last year of two men he believed were planting a roadside bomb.
No bomb or weapons were found, however, and Winnick said during his hearing last week that he sincerely believed the men were planting a bomb and represented a threat. A recommendation on whether he should face court-martial is pending.
One bump only. :)
The fact that the truck was only quickly looked in and later disappeared sort of puts No bomb or weapons were found in a different light. I would put my trust in him rather than the second guessers today.
Prayers for Sgt. Winnick and his loved ones.
Thank you for the ping.
Not looking forward to the quisling pukes of the legal eagles trying to spin cycle this into the same rule set for cops in a domestic neighborhood, here in comments.
And folk wonder why respect for the rule of law is decaying across the board.
Bump to that. The IO's report should out any day now (though it may not be made public for a while).
All: Please visit the Winnick family website HERE.
Also, there's a website for Sgt Ryan Weemer HERE.
Why is it that the North County Times always sounds like it was written by the prosecutor? They don’t even bother to use the word “alledgedly.”
Prayers for the 3 W’s....Wuterich, Winnick, and Weemer...
Hell of a thing. I voted for a President who said that the War on Terror shouldn’t be handled as a law enforcement problem. Now we’re treating Marines who did their bit (and more) as if they were law enforcement officers. I don’t know much about Nelson, but Weemer and Nazario are great kids who got out of the Corps and were trying to start families and civilian lives. Christ, they earned it.
Code Ping beats Code Pink everytime.
Weemer gave a confession, but that confession (when read in full) is plenty hinky. There should be a story about this soon.
Amen to that, Lily. You get three bumps. :)
If you don't talk to the authorities, they can't misconstrue or outright lie about anything you said.
Efforts to reach Weemer's attorney Paul Hackett were unsuccessful. But on a Web site established to help pay for Weemer's defense, Hackett wrote his client initially cooperated with investigators but is now "forced to rely on his constitutional privilege to remain silent."
Should have done that from the very beginning, even if innocent.
The whole thing snowballed. Weemer wanted to join the Secret Service and was given a polygraph test as part of the application process. During the test, Weemer was asked if he ever took part in an unlawful killing in Iraq. He responded, “Well, there was this one time in Fallujah...”
The Secret Service later called NCIS and agents showed up at the coffee shop where Weemer was working. The agents started out as if they were just shooting the breeze, and then things got more serious. Weemer was up to his eyeballs before he ever knew what hit him.
I have to wonder at what point Weemer decides there may have been something wrong with whatever happened in Iraq. Is it much later, say, after he comes home and gets to hear about all the others allegedly involved in similar situations?
The thing that bothers me the most is the POINTED question specifically asking about if he ever took part in an “illegal” killing in Iraq. What is the mindset and the agenda to specifically ask this question?
And from Weemer’s POV he doesn’t think he’s really done anything wrong because he IS one of the good guys trying to join up with another group of ‘good’ guys. So invoking his rights doesn’t (probably) occur to him cause hey, we’re all on the same side, right?
Law enforcement officers never stop by just to "shoot the breeze".
Very well stated, bighead. I’ve interviewed a lot of veterans and have always had to be careful that someone wasn’t just telling me what he heard had happened. Events in combat are so chaotic that most people only remember it as a blur of sensations—not as a clear narrative that is easy to articulate.
And in Weemer’s case, he never imagined that talking about Fallujah would land him in court for murder.
This’ll come up in the A32, but the agents did not immediately identify themselves as NCIS. Whenever they did, though, Weemer should have stopped.
NCIS agents did play the “recall” card though throughout the investigation. If an inactive Marine refused to talk, agents would say they could get him recalled for active duty. A nasty trick that isn’t true. NCIS agents don’t have that power. But it was an effective means of coercion.
I remember the 1st case I had heard of, one of the Hamandia cases, where 3 Marines swore NCIS changed their signed affidavits. I came in when prosecutor Piggot suddenly decided that he was a witness as well as a prosecutor - I don't remember who he had supposedly witnessed making a statement to NCIS or wtf business of his it would have been to be present for an interrogation, I just remember my jaw dropping at the absurdity of the situation.
That sort of crap has just gotten expotentially deeper since.
I think refusing to cooperate is going to be a growing trend unless the Marine Corps changes direction and stop offering up Marines to placate Iraqi and Democrat politicians.
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