CAMP PENDLETON –
A Camp Pendleton sniper should not be tried for killing two men and seriously injuring at least one other last year in Iraq, the officer who presided over a fact-finding hearing said.
Marine Capt. Jeffrey King issued his report about Sgt. John Winnick after hearing testimony concerning service members' struggles to interpret the military's rules of engagement on the battlefield.
King sent his recommendation, made public yesterday, to Lt. Gen. Samuel Helland, who has final say on whether Winnick will be court-martialed. Helland has not announced his decision.
Prosecutors have charged Winnick, 24, of San Diego, with dereliction of duty, involuntary manslaughter and aggravated assault. If tried and convicted, he could be imprisoned for 40 years and receive a dishonorable discharge.
The shootings took place June 17, 2007, near Lake Tharthar in western Iraq. Winnick said during the hearing that he had to protect his sniper team from men thought to be planting a roadside bomb, though no bomb-making materials or weapons were found.
Prosecutors said Winnick violated the rules of engagement by shooting in haste. They accuse him of failing to identify a hostile act or intent before using deadly force.
King suggests withdrawing the charges and handling the case through nonjudicial punishment, a process used in relatively minor offenses.
Under that option, Winnick's punishment, if he's found at fault, could include a reduction in rank, forfeiture of some pay, extra duty, time in the brig and a reprimand.
Four members of Winnick's sniper group have received formal reprimands for their roles in the Lake Tharthar incident.
“We're pleased with (King's) recommendation after carefully reviewing all of the evidence,” said Daniel Conway, an attorney for Winnick. “Our Marines deserve the benefit of the doubt when they make good-faith decisions to use force in self-defense during combat. Sgt. Winnick is a stand-up Marine, and he's eager to get back to work.”
Winnick is a 2002 graduate from The Winston School in Del Mar. He was on his fourth combat tour at the time of the shootings.
According to testimony during the fact-finding hearing, called an Article 32 hearing, Winnick and five other members of the sniper team staked out a highway intersection where insurgents were known to plant roadside bombs.
At one point, a car stopped and a man got out and did something in the ground before leaving. A short time later, another vehicle stopped near the same spot.
After the second vehicle departed, a big rig reached the location. A man climbed out of the cab and appeared to take a satchel from a compartment.
Winnick shot the man with his sniper rifle, then grabbed a shotgun and led an assault on the big rig.
One man died instantly. Winnick fired more bullets into another man as he crawled toward what witnesses said during the Article 32 hearing was a cell phone, which is commonly used to detonate roadside bombs.
Also during the hearing, an officer in Winnick's platoon testified that rules of engagement were a challenge for the Marines, in part because officers disagreed on when lethal force could or should be used.
Rick Rogers: (760) 476-8212; rick.rogers@uniontrib.com
