12 Lewis-McChord soldiers face 74 charges [The News Tribune, Tacoma, Wash.]

Aug. 26--A total of 12 soldiers from Joint Base Lewis-McChord face charges in a widening web of alleged misdeeds and conspiracy from their yearlong deployment to Afghanistan.

The soldiers from the 5th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division have been charged with 74 crimes between them, ranging from drug use to the beating of a fellow Stryker soldier to the murder of Afghan civilians.

Five of the men, who were charged earlier this year with premeditated murder in the death of three civilians, now face 30 more charges, including conspiracy to commit murder and assault.

The investigation also led to charges filed this month against seven other 5th Brigade soldiers who returned this summer from a yearlong combat tour. Though none of the seven is charged with murder, their fates are bound up with the other five men.

"All of their charges derived from the murder investigation and are connected to the original five charged and their offenses," Maj. Jenny Willis, a spokeswoman for I Corps, said Wednesday.

Willis wouldn't say whether charges may be brought against additional soldiers, only that the investigative process continues.

She provided The News Tribune with a summary of charges against the 12 alleged conspirators. She said redacted copies of the actual charge sheets, which contain some details of the purported crimes, will be released later.

Even more details will likely come out at pretrial hearings to be held at Lewis-McChord, which Willis said have been postponed until at least September.

These proceedings, known as Article 32 hearings, could tie up military judges and officers for many weeks -- longer if a commanding general decides there's enough evidence to proceed to a full court-martial.

"Each case is handled separately and will occur on a unique timeline not linked to the others," Willis said.

Eleven of the 12 soldiers are from B Company, 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment. The other was a member of Headquarters and Headquarters Company of the brigade's Special Troops Battalion, and supported B Company. They are all part of the Stryker brigade formerly known as the 5th Brigade, but recently reflagged the 2nd Brigade.

The five soldiers charged with murder have been in custody since June; the other seven are not in pretrial confinement, base officials said Wednesday.

In May, the Pentagon announced an investigation of allegations that a group of Stryker soldiers from Lewis-McChord had deliberately killed three civilians in a series of shootings.

The allegations centered on soldiers at Forward Operating Base Ramrod, a remote outpost west of Kandahar city. The soldiers initially were under investigation for drug charges, officials said, but that led to information that they also had taken part in unprovoked killings.

According to documents filed in early June, the five original defendants are charged in the deaths of Gull Mudin on Jan. 15, Marach Agha on Feb. 22 and Mullah Adahdad on May 2. In all three cases, the Army alleges a grenade was thrown at them and they were shot with a rifle. Including the new charges filed Aug. 13, the five men together now face 41 charges, including conspiracy to commit premeditated murder for each of them.

The seven new defendants were charged this month with 33 charges, with the common thread being conspiracy to commit assault. It was not clear Wednesday who was the target of their alleged assault, although five of them are also charged with striking a fellow soldier.

In a story Wednesday in The Seattle Times, which cited statements made to military investigators by members of the platoon and court documents filed in the case, a "kill team" was formed by a group of soldiers to carry out random executions of Afghans. The ringleader was alleged to be Staff Sgt. Calvin Gibbs, according to the Times.

Spc. Jeremy Morlock has helped the Army unravel the alleged conspiracy by detailing his involvement and that of others in the killings, The Times reported.

Morlock's attorney, Michael Waddington, a lawyer who defends military personnel worldwide, told the Times he will try to have his client's statements withdrawn because he was under the influence of prescription drugs he was taking for battlefield injuries.

Defense attorneys interviewed by the Times said their clients were not part of the inner circle that plotted the crimes. Daniel Conway, attorney for Pfc. Andrew H. Holmes, described his client as "a good 19-year-old kid with a big heart that was fighting a difficult war." Colby Vokey, attorney for Spc. Michael S. Wagnon II, said his client has no knowledge of any murders.

Holmes, Wagnon and Spc. Adam C. Winfield are in custody at Lewis-McChord, said Willis.

The Seattle Times reported that Gibbs and Morlock were originally in separate cells at Lewis-McChord and not allowed to talk to the others. But several weeks ago, the Army discovered the two had been exchanging notes. Willis said Wednesday that Morlock was transferred to the Bangor Naval Brig in Kitsap County and Gibbs is at the city jail in Buckley.

Waddington told the Times that Morlock's notes were innocent and focused on jail life and the difficulty of reaching his attorney.

"He said, 'Maybe we should go down fighting like soldiers,'" Waddington said.

Mike Archbold: 253-597-8692

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THE FIVE ORIGINAL SOLDIERS

Additional charges have been filed against the five 5th Brigade soldiers previously accused of premeditated murder in the death of three Afghan civilians and other offenses, including an assault of a fellow soldier.

--Spc. Jeremy N. Morlock: conspiracy to commit premeditated murder; conspiracy to commit assault and battery; wrongfully endeavoring to impede an investigation; violating a lawful general order; wrongfully using a controlled substance.

--Staff Sgt. Calvin E. Gibbs: conspiracy to commit premeditated murder; conspiracy to commit assault and battery; conspiracy to commit aggravated assault with a dangerous weapon; conduct prejudicial to good order and discipline (two charges); wrongfully endeavoring to impede an investigation (two charges); communicating a threat to injure; unlawfully striking another soldier; committing an assault with a dangerous weapon; dereliction of duty (two charges); violating a general order.

--Spc. Michael S. Wagnon II: conspiracy to commit premeditated murder; conspiracy to commit aggravated assault with a dangerous weapon; assault with a dangerous weapon; conduct prejudicial to good order and discipline.

--Pfc. Andrew H. Holmes: conspiracy to commit premeditated murder; conduct prejudicial to good order and discipline; violating a lawful general order; wrongfully using a controlled substance.

--Spc. Adam C. Winfield: conspiracy to commit premeditated murder; conspiracy to commit aggravated assault with a dangerous weapon; committing an assault with a dangerous weapon; wrongfully using a controlled substance.

THE SEVEN ADDITIONAL SOLDIERS

Charges have been filed against seven more 5th Brigade soldiers in connection with the case.

--Staff Sgt. Robert G. Stevens: conspiracy to commit aggravated assault with a dangerous weapon; making a false official statement (two charges); aggravated assault with a dangerous weapon; wrongfully and wantonly engaging in conduct likely to cause death or bodily harm to other soldiers; dereliction of duty.

--Sgt. Darren N. Jones: conspiracy to commit assault and battery; conspiracy to commit aggravated assault with a dangerous weapon; unlawfully striking another soldier; committing assault with a dangerous weapon; wrongfully endeavoring to impede an investigation; wrongfully using a controlled substance.

--Cpl. Emmitt R. Quintal: conspiracy to commit assault and battery; wrongfully endeavoring to impede an investigation; unlawfully striking another soldier; wrongfully using a controlled substance; violating a lawful general order.

--Staff Sgt. David D. Bram: conspiracy to commit assault and battery; wrongfully endeavoring to impede an investigation; unlawfully striking another soldier; violating a lawful general order; dereliction of duty.

--Pfc. Ashton A. Moore: conspiracy to commit aggravated assault with a dangerous weapon; assault with a dangerous weapon; wrongfully using a controlled substance.

--Spc. Adam W. Kelly: conspiracy to commit assault and battery; unlawfully striking another soldier; wrongfully using a controlled substance; wrongfully endeavoring to impede an investigation.

--Spc. Corey A. Moore: conspiracy to commit assault and battery; wrongfully endeavoring to impede an investigation; conduct prejudicial to good order and discipline; unlawfully striking another soldier; wrongfully using a controlled substance.

Source: I Corps

Editor's note: This story was edited to add the recent name change of the 5th Brigade to the 2nd Brigade.

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