Lt. col. relieved during probe in Iraqi death - Army News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Army Times

Lt. col. relieved during probe in Iraqi death

Two 25th Infantry Division soldiers have been charged with premeditated murder in the death of an Iraqi man, and their battalion commander has been relieved of command in connection with the incident, the military announced Thursday.

Sgt. 1st Class Trey A. Corrales and Spc. Christopher P. Shore are scouts assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 35th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 25th Infantry Division at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. The soldiers and their unit arrived in Iraq between July and August 2006 and are attached to Multi-National Division-North.

Corrales, of San Antonio, and Shore, of Winder, Ga., are accused of killing an Iraqi on or around June 23 near Kirkuk, about 155 miles north of Baghdad.

Each soldier is charged with one count of premeditated murder. The charge against Corrales was preferred on Tuesday. Shore was charged Wednesday.

The soldiers are on separate forward operating bases in Kirkuk, said Lt. Col. Mike Donnelly, spokesman for MND-North. The soldiers are not confined, but they now have limited duties and they will remain on the FOBs while they’re being investigated, Donnelly said.

Further details of the Iraqi’s death were not immediately available.

The charges stem from reports made by fellow soldiers against Corrales and Shore. An investigation by Army Criminal Investigation Command continues.

The soldiers' battalion commander, Lt. Col. Michael Browder, was relieved of command July 3 by Maj. Gen. Benjamin Mixon, commander of MND-North and Task Force Lightning. Browder is not a suspect in the case and he is not being investigated, Donnelly said.

Mixon's decision to relieve Browder was an administrative action made due to lack of confidence in Browder's ability to command, Donnelly said.

Lt. Col. Samuel Whitehurst is the battalion’s new commander, Donnelly said.

Three other soldiers from the 25th ID face similar charges that were announced in late June.

The soldiers were charged with premeditated murder in the deaths of three Iraqis in three separate incidents between April and June in the vicinity of Iskandariyah, about 25 miles south of Baghdad, the military said.

The soldiers, Staff Sgt. Michael A. Hensley, Sgt. Evan Vela and Spc. Jorge G. Sandoval Jr., are assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 501st Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade, 25th Infantry Division of Fort Richardson, Alaska.

The victims of the alleged crimes were men, and the military believes they are all Iraqi nationals, said Lt. Col. Randy Martin, public affairs officer for Multi-National Division-Center.

Hensley, a squad leader from Candler, N.C., is charged with three counts of premeditated murder, three counts of obstructing justice and three counts of wrongfully placing weapons on the remains of the dead Iraqis. The charges were preferred June 28, the same day Hensley was placed in pretrial confinement in Kuwait.

Vela, of Rigby, Idaho, is charged with one count of each of the same alleged criminal acts. He also is charged with one count of making a false official statement. Vela was put in pretrial confined July 1.

Sandoval, of Laredo, Texas, is charged with one count of premeditated murder and one count of wrongfully placing a weapon on the remains of a dead Iraqi. Sandoval was arrested June 28 while home on leave in Texas. He was transferred to Kuwait the next day for pretrial confinement.

Martin declined to say which incident Vela and Sandoval are accused of being involved in, but he did say each soldier is accused of being involved in separate incidents.

The charges against the soldiers stemmed from reports from fellow soldiers alleging wrongdoing.

An investigation by Army Criminal Investigation Command continues, but officials have said the soldiers are accused of planting either materials used to make improvised explosive devices or a small-arms weapon next to the remains of the dead Iraqis.

The soldiers are innocent until proven guilty, and their fellow soldiers continue to operate in their area of operation, Martin said.

“Their unit has done remarkable, great things, and this is a process that now is required when there is even the possibility that a soldier has acted outside of the norm, outside of the law,” he said.