Army Drops Murder Charge Against Last Soldier Tied To “Kill Team” Cases

The Army today dropped its case against the fifth soldier it accused of murdering Afghan civilians during a 2010 deployment with a Joint Base Lewis-McChord Stryker brigade, his attorney said.

The decision ends a 19-month ordeal for Spc. Michael Wagnon, 31, who came home early from his deployment in June 2010 facing charges that he murdered a noncombatant and tried to obstruct an investigation into wrongdoing among his platoon mates.

He was one of 12 soldiers from the 5th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division who were charged with misdeeds during their deployment to Southern Afghanistan. The Army has convicted the other 11, including sending four to jail in connection with three civilian killings.
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Neal A. Puckett, Esq.
The Law Firm Of Puckett And Faraj, PC
1800 Diagonal Road, Suite 210
Alexandria, VA 22314

United American Patriots Inc.
7800 Airport Center Drive, Suite 401
Greensboro, NC 27409

January 29, 2012

Re: Final Monthly case report in the matter of U.S. v. SSgt Frank D. Wuterich, USMC

Dear United American Patriots:

1. Case number and client’s full name: FDW-3221 Frank D. Wuterich

2. Date of this report: 1/30/2012

3. Date of last report: 12/27/2011

4. Current status for the case being reported on: Case complete.

5. All activities since last monthly report: Nearly four weeks of trial brought the prosecution to its knees. Prosecution witnesses admitted to so many lies that there was nothing left to believe. Recognizing failure, the lead prosecutor offered SSgt Wuterich a pretrial agreement that had been authorized by the Deputy Staff Judge Advocate for MARCENT. This case began with 18 counts of murder on a charge sheet announced just before Christmas in 2006. It ended with a plea to one count of negligent dereliction of duty. The maximum punishment authorized for that offense was 3 months in confinement, forfeiture of 2/3 of base pay per month for 3 months and reduction to pay grade E-1. The offense does not authorize punitive discharge. The military judge sentenced SSgt Wuterich to the maximum 3 months in confinement and reduction to pay grade E-1. The pretrial agreement provided that the convening authority would disapprove all confinement. We believe he will also defer approval of the reduction in rank until he takes final action on the case. We will be asking him to disapprove that punishment, as well.

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This case is no longer about manslaughter or assault.

It is no longer about the government’s false theory of SSgt Wuterich’s direct action against any of the victims in Houses 1 and 2.

The Convening Authority withdrew those charges because he discovered, with the rest of the world, that the prosecution’s evidence was false. Prosecutors discovered that Sgt Dela Cruz lied about the entire story he told in court. And they knew that Mr. Tatum’s testimony and Sgt Mendoza’s testimony were irreconcilable. Neither could be believed individually AND each contradicted the other.

It is critical for this court to recognize and acknowledge that the Convening Authority, LtGen Waldhauser, does not believe SSgt Wuterich killed anyone in Houses 1 and 2 or he would not have withdrawn all of those charges. That, Your Honor, is true justice borne of moral courage and integrity.

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Plea Ends Haditha War Crimes Trial

Press Release, Aexandria VA January 23, 2012/12:45PM:

“No one denies that the consequences of November 19, 2005 were tragic, least of all SSgt Frank Wuterich. But the fact of the matter is that he has now been totally exonerated of the homicide charges brought against him by the government and the media. For six years, he’s had his name dragged through the mud. Today, we hope, is the beginning of his redemption. He has always publicly taken responsibility for the lawful actions of his squad that day, as portrayed in his interview with CBS 60 Minutes. Today’s agreement is completely consistent with everything he has always said. Which is that the decisions he made that day led to an outcome that was tragic and regrettable and he takes responsibility for them, but they were not criminal.” [Read more... ]

Marine Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich agreed to plead guilty Monday to one count of negligent dereliction of duty, ending his trial on manslaughter and related charges for his role in the deaths of 24 Iraqi civilians in 2005.

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To the thousands of supporters of 1Lt Michael Behenna,

Great news as the Court of Appeals of the Armed Forces (CAAF) has agreed to hear issues in Michael’s case. Specifically the CAAF will be reviewing the Brady Violation (prosecutors non-disclosure of favorable evidence) and the Military Judge’s faulty self-defense instruction to the jury. Your many prayers of discernment have been answered and we are so grateful because the CAAF was our last chance to have Michael’s conviction overturned. It is important to note that the CAAF hears very few cases each year and fortunately Michael’s case will be one of them.

The time line for the appellate process begins with Michael’s attorney filing a brief on the two focused issues within 30-60 days and then the Military will respond in roughly the same amount of time. The CAAF can then set oral argument in Washington, DC and a decision thereafter. It is our hope that we could get a favorable decision by late summer. That seems like a long time, but it is a relatively compact time frame for an appellate process. I’ve included some media links below if you would like to learn more about the CAAF acceptance of Michael’s case:

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