Court-Martial Delayed Until Nov. 12 : Marine Who Took Jet Must Stay in Brig

An El Toro Marine who allegedly took a Fourth of July joy ride in a jet fighter must remain in custody, a military court judge ruled Monday, although the Marine’s court-martial has been delayed by six weeks.

The ruling by Lt. Col. James P. Gardner means that Lance Cpl. Howard A. Foote Jr. will have spent four months in the brig.

Gardner rejected defense arguments that there is no evidence to show that the 21-year-old Foote, a world-record-holding glider pilot from Los Alamitos, would take another joy ride and that, therefore, he should be released from confinement at Camp Pendleton. He has been jailed at the San Diego County base because there are no prison facilities at El Toro.

At the same time, however, Gardner granted a request that the general court proceedings at the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station be delayed until Nov. 12 so that civilian attorney Michael Naughton of Laguna Hills, who was hired by Foote’s family only last Friday, can prepare for the trial. Foote is also being represented by Capt. Bradley N. Garber.

Broke Glider Records

Before joining the Marine Corps in 1984, Foote had broken several civilian glider altitude records and had enlisted with hopes of being accepted for flight training. Recently, however, he learned that an injury he had suffered during a glider flight probably would disqualify him physically from pilot’s training, according to a Marine spokesman.

About 2 a.m. last July 4, Foote, a mechanic assigned to the base’s operations and maintenance for visiting aircraft, reportedly donned a flight suit, boarded a A-4M Skyhawk from Marine Attack Squadron 214 and took a half-hour flight out over the ocean. He previously had received about 50 hours training in an A-4 simulator, according to Marine authorities.

During Monday’s hearing before Gardner, Foote pleaded not guilty to charges of wrongfully appropriating not only the $14-million aircraft but also the truck he used to drive out to the flight line where the plane was parked. Additionally, he pleaded not guilty to breaking into a building and taking the keys to the truck.

If convicted during the general court-martial--the military equivalent of a civilian felony trial--Foote faces a maximum sentence of nine years at hard labor, forfeiture of all pay, demotion to private and discharge from the Marine Corps.