Confession of Iraqi's killing admissible, military judge finds
SIGNONSANDIEGO NEWS SERVICES
3:46 p.m. March 14, 2007
CAMP PENDLETON - A Marine sergeant's self-typed confession regarding
his involvement in the fatal shooting of an Iraqi civilian near Hamdania is
admissible at trial, a military judge announced Wednesday.
Lt. Col Jeffrey Meeks made the ruling in the case against Sgt.
Lawrence Hutchins III, one of eight servicemen accused in the April 26,
2006, death of Hashim Ibrahim Awad.
Prosecutor Lt. Col. John Baker told the judge last month that
Hutchins, who is charged with murder and other offenses, lied when he
voluntarily spoke to agents from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service
weeks after Awad's death.
Baker said Hutchins spoke to agents on May 11, then voluntarily
decided to speak with them again on May 19.
The prosecutor said the agents gave Hutchins "time to sleep on his
statement. It was his decision to talk to them."
Baker said Hutchins "typed his own five-page, single-spaced statement
and initialed all the paragraphs."
NCIS Special Agent James Connolly testified Feb. 27 that Hutchins came
up to him near the spot where the 52-year-old Iraqi was killed and told the
agent that his squad "got in a firefight with the guy, he was gurgling for
breath and they did a 'dead check' on him."
The NCIS agent said the sergeant also told him "he put three rounds in
the guy's head."
However, Baker said Hutchins was "caught in a lie by the agents" who
told him five of his squad members said the incident happened differently.
Hutchins, 22, is charged with murder, kidnapping and conspiracy for
allegedly hatching and carrying out a plan to kidnap and kill Awad.
Hutchins also faces counts of assault, housebreaking, larceny and
making false official statements in connection with a separate incident in
which he is accused of assaulting three Iraqi men.
Trial is scheduled for April 23.
Hutchins claimed that 2nd Lt. Nathan Pham had him put Awad's
fingerprints on an AK-47 found next to the victim's body, Connolly
testified.
Connolly said his NCIS superiors originally thought Awad's death was
"a good shoot," but changed their minds after hearing eyewitness testimony
from other Marines.
Connolly said he wanted to believe the Marines involved in Awad's
death.
"I couldn't fathom that the Marines did what was alleged about them,"
he said.
Five other Marines have pleaded guilty to charges stemming from Awad's
slaying. The latest to plead guilty, Lance Cpl. Robert Pennington, was
sentenced to eight years in prison. The others have been given terms ranging
from one year to 21 months in custody.
Testimony from the defendants has differed slightly.
Navy Corpsman Melson Bacos has said the squad went to the area to find
an insurgent named Saleh Gowad, but when his family foiled their plans, they
targeted Awad, who lived next door.
Lance Cpl. Tyler A. Jackson testified that Hutchins believed Awad set
up an explosive device that killed several members of their platoon and
wanted to get back at him.
Everyone in the squad agreed, so Awad was taken to a crater where
there had been an explosion, then was shot, Jackson said. Hutchins radioed
to his patrol base that the Marines fired on a man who they spotted digging
a hole to plant a bomb, the lance corporal testified.
Pfc. John Jodka and Lance Cpl. Jerry Shumate Jr. have also pleaded
guilty.
Cpl. Trent D. Thomas recently withdrew guilty pleas to murder,
kidnapping and other charges and his trial is set for mid-June.
Cpl. Marshall Magincalda is another Marine charged in the case.