themadcowtipper
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Army sergeant convicted of killing 2 soldiers
FORT RILEY, Kansas (AP) -- A military jury found an Army sergeant guilty Friday of premeditated murder in the shootings of two fellow soldiers last year.
Sgt. Aaron Stanley, 23, of Bismarck, North Dakota, faces a sentence of life in prison. An eight-member court martial panel began hearing testimony in the sentencing phase after returning the verdict.
Stanley was convicted of killing Staff Sgt. Matthew Werner, 30, of Oxnard, California, and Spc. Christopher D. Hymer, 23, of Nevada, Missouri, at his rural farmhouse near Fort Riley in September.
Stanley argued he acted in self-defense and to protect another soldier who was there, but prosecutors said he shot the two men to keep hidden an illegal drug trafficking operation, believing the victims to be informants for Fort Riley police.
Stanley and the other soldier, Sgt. Eric Colvin, 23, of Papillion, Nebraska, had acknowledged manufacturing methamphetamine and growing marijuana at the farmhouse.
Stanley testified Thursday that Werner had accused him of having an affair with his wife and threatened to "cut a chunk out" of his face.
Stanley said he shot Hymer after the soldier opened fire on him first. He said he shot Werner after finding him and Colvin wrestling in the kitchen, with Werner trying to stab Colvin. But Colvin, a key prosecution witness, testified he watched Stanley stand over the two victims and shoot.
At the start of his court martial, Stanley pleaded guilty to drug use, drug possession, being absent without leave and adultery. The adultery charge did not involve Werner's wife. Stanley faces up to 37 years in prison on those charges.
The jurors found Stanley not guilty on a final charge of conspiracy to commit murder.
All four soldiers were part of the 1st Battalion of the 41st Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 1st Armored Division based at Fort Riley. Both Stanley and Colvin were with Bravo Company and had served in Iraq.
http://www.cnn.com/2005/LAW/06/10/soldier.verdict.ap/index.html
FORT RILEY, Kansas (AP) -- A military jury found an Army sergeant guilty Friday of premeditated murder in the shootings of two fellow soldiers last year.
Sgt. Aaron Stanley, 23, of Bismarck, North Dakota, faces a sentence of life in prison. An eight-member court martial panel began hearing testimony in the sentencing phase after returning the verdict.
Stanley was convicted of killing Staff Sgt. Matthew Werner, 30, of Oxnard, California, and Spc. Christopher D. Hymer, 23, of Nevada, Missouri, at his rural farmhouse near Fort Riley in September.
Stanley argued he acted in self-defense and to protect another soldier who was there, but prosecutors said he shot the two men to keep hidden an illegal drug trafficking operation, believing the victims to be informants for Fort Riley police.
Stanley and the other soldier, Sgt. Eric Colvin, 23, of Papillion, Nebraska, had acknowledged manufacturing methamphetamine and growing marijuana at the farmhouse.
Stanley testified Thursday that Werner had accused him of having an affair with his wife and threatened to "cut a chunk out" of his face.
Stanley said he shot Hymer after the soldier opened fire on him first. He said he shot Werner after finding him and Colvin wrestling in the kitchen, with Werner trying to stab Colvin. But Colvin, a key prosecution witness, testified he watched Stanley stand over the two victims and shoot.
At the start of his court martial, Stanley pleaded guilty to drug use, drug possession, being absent without leave and adultery. The adultery charge did not involve Werner's wife. Stanley faces up to 37 years in prison on those charges.
The jurors found Stanley not guilty on a final charge of conspiracy to commit murder.
All four soldiers were part of the 1st Battalion of the 41st Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 1st Armored Division based at Fort Riley. Both Stanley and Colvin were with Bravo Company and had served in Iraq.
http://www.cnn.com/2005/LAW/06/10/soldier.verdict.ap/index.html