CAMP PENDLETON, Calif.-
A Navy corpsman pleaded guilty Friday to kidnapping and conspiracy under a plea deal in which he agreed to testify about the death of an Iraqi civilian.
Seven Marines are accused of murdering the Iraqi on April 26 in the town of Hamdania, where they were searching for an insurgent.
Petty Officer 3rd Class Melson J. Bacos, 21, entered the plea at his court martial and agreed to testify about the Marines’ role and give his account of the death of 52-year-old Hashim Ibrahim Awad.
In return for that testimony, other counts against Bacos of murder, kidnapping and conspiracy were to be dropped, his civilian lawyer said before Friday’s proceedings.
Bacos said “yes sir” when asked by Col. Steven Folsom, who presided over the hearing, if he agreed with the pleas.
According to charging documents, the troops had entered Hamdania searching for an insurgent and, failing to find him, grabbed Awad from his home and shot him. An AK-47 and a shovel were left by Awad’s body, apparently to make it look like the man had been digging a hole for a roadside bomb and was killed in an exchange of gunfire.
Bacos, a medic on patrol with the Marines, was accused of firing the AK-47 into the air as part of the cover-up.
Military prosecutors had charged him under the theory that he did nothing to stop the alleged crime.
Bacos’ testimony would mark a sudden change in the case, but not necessarily a surprise.
All eight were charged with crimes including murder and kidnapping. Bacos is the first to have a general court-martial. He was recently transferred from Camp Pendleton, where the Marines have been held, to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar for his own safety.
David Brahms, a defense attorney for one of the accused Marines, said Bacos will be subjected to intense cross-examination should he be called as a government witness against his client.
“This is just one guy who is going to tell the story as he sees it,” Brahms said.
Former Army prosecutor Tom Umberg suggested that others might follow Bacos’ lead and strike similar plea deals.
“You don’t want to be the last guy standing. The first guy gets the best deal,” he said.
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