2nd Marine pleads guilty in Iraqi death
A third U.S. serviceman pleaded guilty Monday in the killing of a suspected insurgent in the Iraqi town of Hamandiya in April.
Marine Lance Cpl. Tyler A. Jackson, 23, of Tracy in Northern California pleaded guilty to aggravated assault in the shooting of Hashim Ibrahim Awad, 52, and to obstruction of justice for lying to investigators about the killing.
Marine Pfc. John J. Jodka III, 20, of Encinitas had pleaded guilty last month to similar charges. Both men reached sentencing agreements with Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis Jr., the convening authority in the case. Those agreements will be revealed in court next week.
Navy corpsman Melson Bacos, 21, has been sentenced to a year in the brig after pleading guilty in the killing.
Jackson testified that he knew the plan by the squad leader, Sgt. Lawrence G. Hutchins III, to kidnap an Iraqi and kill him was illegal but he did not resist. He told the court-martial judge, Lt. Col. Joseph Lisiecki, that he aimed his M-16 over Awad’s head.
“I knew he was going to be shot, but I didn’t want to be the one to do it,” Jackson said.
One more defendant, Lance Cpl. Jerry Shumate Jr., is also negotiating a plea, attorneys said.
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