Accused soldiers’ fate in hands of general
The commanding general at Schofield Barracks isn't expected to decide until the middle of next month whether two soldiers will face courts-martial in the shooting death of an unarmed Iraqi civilian.
The Army reported yesterday that Maj. Gen. Benjamin Mixon received the investigative reports and recommendations stemming from the pretrial, or Article 32, hearing in October for Sgt. 1st Class Trey Corrales and Spc. Christopher Shore.
Both soldiers were assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 35th Infantry, 3rd Brigade Combat Team.
It will be up to Mixon to determine whether the two will be court-martialed on premeditated murder charges in the death of an Iraqi following a June 23 midnight raid near Kirkuk, or some lesser charge. If convicted of murder, they could face the death penalty.
Last month, Lt. Col. Raul Gonzalez, who presided over Shore's Article 32 hearing, recommended that Shore be court-martialed on aggravated assault charges rather than murder charges.
In his report to Mixon, Gonzalez said there was "overwhelming evidence" that Corrales, 34, shot at the victim multiple times with the intention of killing him.
Shore, 25, testified that he faked shooting the Iraqi man because he was afraid of openly disobeying an order by Corrales, his platoon sergeant, to "finish him."
The Kirkuk incident occurred after their platoon raided a house in northern Iraq in search of men they believed were planting roadside bombs.