Court-martial advised for Marine

A hearing officer has recommended that a Marine staff sergeant be tried on negligent homicide charges in the deaths of five women and two children in Iraq, but predicted that the prosecution would fail.

Lt. Col. Paul Ware, in a report to a top general, recommended that murder charges against the sergeant be dropped in the deaths of 12 other civilians in November 2005 in the Iraqi town of Haditha.

The case against Staff Sgt. Frank D. Wuterich is riddled with contradictory evidence, untrustworthy witnesses and poor forensics, Ware wrote to Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis.

Ware said that in his judgment Wuterich is guilty of dereliction of duty for not adequately supervising the Marines in his squad.

Wuterich “failed to exercise due care in his own actions or in supervising his Marines,” Ware wrote in recommendations that were first reported Thursday in the North [San Diego] County Times.

Until Mattis makes a decision otherwise, Wuterich, 27, of Meriden, Conn., is charged with 12 counts of unpremeditated murder in the deaths of 17 Iraqis on Nov. 19, 2005. In all, Marines shot to death 24 Iraqi civilians that day in Haditha after a roadside bombing in which one Marine was killed.

Wuterich is charged with killing five Iraqis near the scene of the roadside bombing as well as 12 more Iraqis in two houses while leading his squad in a search for insurgents.

Ware’s report is strictly an advisory to Mattis, commanding general of the Marine Forces Central Command. Negligent homicide carries a maximum three-year prison sentence; unpremeditated murder carries a maximum life sentence.

Mattis has already dismissed charges against two officers, Marine Capt. Lucas M. McConnell and Capt. Randy Stone.

They had been charged with dereliction of duty for allegedly not investigating the Haditha shootings as a possible war crime.

He also has dropped murder charges against Lance Cpl. Justin L. Sharratt and Sgt. Sanick P. Dela Cruz. He has yet to issue a decision about charges faced by Lance Cpl. Stephen B. Tatum, battalion commander Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani and an intelligence officer, Lt. Andrew A. Grayson.

At his preliminary hearing, Wuterich, in an unsworn statement, told Ware that he ordered Marines in his squad to be aggressive in “clearing” houses near the bomb site.

“The four of us aggressively advanced on the house and on approach, I advised the team something like ‘shoot first and ask questions later’ or ‘don’t hesitate to shoot,’ ” he said.

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tony.perry@latimes.com