Fort Bragg soldier to face court-martial in Panama slaying

FORT BRAGG, N.C. — A Fort Bragg soldier charged in the death of a Panamanian woman last year will face a court-martial on post this fall.

The Fayetteville Observer reports Master Sgt. Omar Antonio Velez-Pagan is accused of killing 25-year-old Vanessa Rodriguez in June 2014. Velez-Pagan was in Panama with the Fort Bragg-based U.S. Army Security Assistance Training Management Organization training Panamanian police.

Fort Bragg leaders say the decision to proceed with the case came from a February hearing where lawyers for Velez-Pagan argued the June 2014 death was an accident. Testimony from the hearing says Rodriguez died after being run over by Velez-Pagan's truck on a roadside in Panama.

Officials say Velez-Pagan is being held in military pre-confinement in North Carolina. Pre-trial hearings are scheduled to start Sept. 28.

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