Marine Captain Is Found Guilty in Reservist’s Death

A Marine captain charged in the heatstroke death of a reservist was found guilty Saturday of dereliction of duty and failure to obey an order.

Lt. Col. Ralph Kohlman, the military judge hearing the case, said Capt. Victor Arana was guilty of both charges but removed language in one charge that contended Arana failed to stay with his unit after a grueling July 7 hike that led to Lance Cpl. Giuseppe “Joey” Leto’s death.

Arana showed no emotion as the verdict was read.

He faces a maximum sentence of nine months in prison and dismissal from the Marines. Following the verdict Saturday, the sentencing phase of the court-martial began and was scheduled to resume today.

Leto’s cousin, Annamaria Des Biens, testified during sentencing, describing Leto’s dedication to the Marine Corps.

“When he joined the Marines, that was when he felt his life was fully satisfied,” she said, crying. “He was the few, the proud. He was the epitome of the Marines.”

Leto’s mother, Domenica Leto, said her son’s death convinced the family that Leto’s younger brother Vincent should not join the Marines as he had hoped.

“The Marine Corps lost two soldiers, not one,” she said.

Prosecutors had said in closing arguments Saturday that Arana, 28, of Chicago, had violated standard operating procedures for conditioning hikes and that he showed a disregard for his men.

“He was like a horse with blinders on,” Maj. Chris Hamilton told the judge. “He was head down, focused forward. There was absolutely no supervision of that conditioning hike.”

Arana’s attorneys argued that he was a rookie company commander in charge of the unit for only 16 days when he led the 180 Marines, all carrying weapons and packs, on the eight-mile night march in 80-degree heat.

Mark Stevens said Arana did not receive proper instructions from his superiors and delegated authority to his noncommissioned officers as allowed in standard operating procedures.

“There is no doubt that there were some judgment and leadership errors made on this hike,” Stevens said.

Arana testified Thursday that he didn’t realize there were so many stragglers until the hike was more than half completed. He said he considered calling in trucks to take the Marines the rest of the way but instead decided to slow down.

Hamilton said Arana could not blame his subordinates for his own failing. “He chose to ignore the signs of an unsafe march at every step of the way,” he said.