Sailor Accused of Spying to Enter Plea of Guilty on Lesser Charge
A sailor accused of espionage will plead guilty to the lesser charge of delivering a document to an unauthorized person, his attorney said Wednesday.
Petty Officer 3rd Class Robert Dean Haguewood was to enter the plea at his court-martial later Wednesday, said William Dougherty, a civilian attorney.
The agreement, reached with military prosecutors, calls for Haguewood, 24, to receive a maximum sentence of 18 months, Dougherty said. The original espionage charges against Haguewood carried a maximum penalty of life in prison.
Navy officials had characterized the weapons-loading manual that Haguewood was accused of selling as a confidential document, the lowest level of classified material.
But Lt. Graeme Currie, Haguewood’s military lawyer, said the manual was declassified by a presidential order in 1981.
Haguewood, a native of Springfield, Mo., had worked since November, 1984, at a missile test center at Point Mugu Naval Air Station. He was arrested March 4 after he allegedly sold half the weapons-loading manual to an undercover civilian police officer for $400. Investigators believe Haguewood thought he was turning secrets over to a foreign government, Lewis said.
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