U.S. Marine spared from jail time in Iraq killings

CAMP PENDLETON, Calif (Reuters) - A U.S. Marine accused of leading a 2005 massacre of 24 civilians in the Iraqi city of Haditha was spared jail time when he was sentenced on Tuesday for his role in killings that brought international condemnation on U.S. troops.

The harshest penalty Staff Sergeant Frank Wuterich, 31, now faces for his guilty plea on Monday to a single count of dereliction of duty is a demotion to the rank of private, the lowest rank in the service, as recommended by a military judge.

More serious charges of involuntary manslaughter and aggravated assault were dismissed as part of a plea deal that cut short Wuterich's court-martial.

The outcome appeared certain to stoke outrage among Iraqis, adding to anger over other abuses by U.S. soldiers or private security contractors, including the 2004 Abu Ghraib prison scandal, during the more than eight years troops spent in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003.

Even before it became clear that Wuterich would be spared from serving time in jail, relatives of the victims decried the results of his court-martial as a disgrace.

The head of the Iraqi parliament's human rights committee, Saleem al-Jubouri, said terms of the plea deal were "a violation of Iraqis' dignity" and vowed to convene his panel on Wednesday to discuss the matter.

Wuterich, whose guilty plea had carried a maximum possible penalty of three months in jail, showed no emotion as a military judge pronounced his sentence.

But in a pre-sentencing statement he read in court earlier in the day, Wuterich expressed remorse for the slayings and said he realized his name would always be associated with "being a cold-blooded baby-killer, an out of control monster."

As part of his guilty plea, Wuterich accepted responsibility for giving negligent verbal instructions to the Marines under his command when he told them to "shoot first and ask questions later," orders that resulted in the deaths of civilians.

In his court statement on Tuesday, Wuterich added that when he gave that order, "the intent wasn't that they should shoot civilians. It was that they would not hesitate in the face of the enemy."

He said that he and his fellow Marines behaved honorably under extreme circumstances, and that he "never fired my weapon at any women or children that day."

A final decision on a demotion of rank for Wuterich is up to the commander of the Marine Corps Forces Central Command, Lieutenant General Thomas Waldhauser, who had ruled out any confinement as part of the punishment.

Any discharge process faced by Wuterich, a father of three girls, will be separate from his sentencing.

OUTRAGE IN IRAQ

Wuterich was accused of being the ringleader in a series of shootings and grenade attacks on November 19, 2005, that left two dozen civilians dead in Haditha, a city west of Baghdad that was then an insurgent hotspot.

The killings were portrayed by Iraqi witnesses and military prosecutors as a massacre of unarmed civilians -- men, women and children -- carried out by Marines in anger after a member of their unit was killed by a roadside bomb.

Defense lawyers argued the deaths resulted from a chaotic, fast-moving combat situation in which the Marines believed they were under enemy fire.

Jeffrey Dinsmore, an intelligence officer with Wuterich's battalion, testified on Tuesday that insurgent forces "had complete control over the city (of Haditha) at the time" and the unit had received word that an ambush was likely.

He said insurgents were known to commandeer homes as places to launch attacks and to use civilians as human shields.

Six of the seven other Marines originally accused in the case had previously had their charges dismissed by military judges, while another was cleared of criminal wrongdoing.

Even before sentencing, word of a plea deal that carried a jail term of no more than 90 days for Wuterich sparked indignation in Iraq, where Ali Badr, a Haditha resident and relative of one of the victims, called it "solid proof that the Americans don't respect human rights."

"This is not a traffic felony," said Khalid Salman, a lawyer for the Haditha victims' relatives and a cousin of one of those killed, expressing his shock at the plea ahead of sentencing.

Wuterich, in his statement on Tuesday, directed an apology to family members of those killed in Iraq, but said civilians were not singled out for attack.

"Words cannot express my sorrow for the loss of your loved ones," he said. "The truth is, I don't believe anyone in my squad ... behaved in any way that was dishonorable or contrary to the highest ideals that we all live by as Marines."

"But even with the best intentions, sometimes combat actions can cause tragic results," he added, reading calmly and deliberately.

In his own remarks to the judge before sentencing, Wuterich's civilian defense lawyer, Neal Puckett, said his client had unfaltering integrity and was "not evil," but knew that his Marine career was at its end.

After the proceedings, his lawyers said Wuterich planned to pursue a post-military career in information technology.

Wuterich enlisted in the Marines after his 1998 graduation from high school, where he was an athletic honor-roll student and played with the marching band. He was serving his second tour of duty in Iraq when the Haditha incident occurred.

(Writing by Steve Gorman; Editing by Cynthia Johnston)

View the original article here at Yahoo News!

Man charged in New York pharmacy killings to be arraigned

The gunman was seen on surveillance video during the Sunday morning robbery and shootings.Police charge David Laffer in weekend killings at a Long Island pharmacyLeffer's wife is also arrested and charged with robberyTwo pharmacy employees and two customers were shot, police say

New York (CNN) -- A man accused in the shooting death of four people inside a pharmacy in New York will be arraigned Thursday on murder charges.

Long Island resident David Laffer, 33, is accused of shooting two employees at Haven Drugs in Medford as well as two customers before leaving with prescription drugs Sunday morning.

He has been charged with first-degree murder and resisting arrest, Suffolk County police said.

Laffer's wife, Melinda Brady, 29, was also arrested. She was charged with third-degree robbery and obstructing governmental administration, authorities said.

Both Laffer and Brady will be arraigned Thursday at First District Court in Central Islip, Long Island.

Police identified the dead as Raymond Ferguson, 45, and Jennifer Mejia, 17, both pharmacy employees, as well as customers Bryon Sheffield, 71, and Jamie Taccetta, 33.

Mejia's death comes just before her graduation from Bellport High School on Thursday, said school secretary Maryann Malcolm.

CNN's Rachel Garrett, Jason Kessler, Max Markham and Jordana Ossad contributed to this report.

CNN

U.S: Shiite militia likely behind killings

An Iraqi police officer works at a checkpoint in Baghdad, a day after five U.S. soldiers were killed.A Shiite militia is claiming responsibility for the deaths of five soldiers in IraqOfficial: "We have been anticipating that we would see an increase in attacks"U.S. troops in Iraq have increasingly been targeted by roadside bombings and mortar attacksThe U.S. military says it will continue it efforts to find those responsible

(CNN) -- An attack that killed five American soldiers in Iraq is likely the work of a Shiite militia attempting to take credit for driving forces out of the country, the U.S. military said.

The attack was followed by a purported claim of responsibility for the killings by one such group.

The Monday killings were the single largest loss of life among U.S. troops in Iraq since 2009. More on the killings

They come as Iraq debates whether to request American soldiers stay beyond a January 1, 2012, deadline that requires 46,000 forces out of the country.

"We have been anticipating that we would see an increase in attacks as U.S. forces prepare to transition our mission," Army Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Buchanan, spokesman for U.S. Forces-Iraq, told CNN late Saturday in an e-mail.

"Our assessment is that groups like the Iranian-backed militias: Kataib Hezbollah, Asaib al-Haq, and the Promise Day Brigade, are attempting to claim credit for driving US forces out of Iraq to garner prestige by conducting these attacks."

Congressman reportedly asks Iraq to consider repaying U.S.

In a statement posted on one of its websites, Kataib Hezbollah claimed responsibility for the attack at Camp Loyalty, on the outskirts of Baghdad that killed five soldiers and wounded at least five others.

CNN cannot independently verify the legitimacy of the claim.

The U.S. military maintains that Kataib Hezbollah and the other Shiite militias are backed by Iran, a charge it has long denied.

U.S. troops have increasingly been targeted by roadside bombings and mortar attacks, largely in Baghdad and southern Iraq -- a Shiite stronghold.

While al Qaeda in Iraq -- predominantly Iraqi Sunni insurgents -- continue to launch strikes, the U.S. military has said that militia attacks against American troops are designed to flex their strength and take credit for an anticipated U.S. withdrawal at the end of the year.

In the e-mail, Buchanan said the U.S. military would continue to take steps to protect its troops in Iraq.

"We will not tire in our efforts to find the perpetrators and bring them to justice," he said.

Under a U.S.-Iraqi security pact, which set a timetable to withdraw American forces, U.S. troops must be out of Iraq by Jan. 1, 2012.

Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki is consulting with members of his government about whether to ask American troops to stay beyond the deadline, though the U.S. military says there has been no official request by al-Maliki to President Barack Obama about any such extension.

Many in Iraq are vehemently opposed to U.S. troops staying beyond the deadline.

Radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has threatened to end a 2007 cease-fire and "escalate armed resistance" of his militia, if U.S. troops remain beyond the deadline.

CNN

Pakistan: The Killings of a Terrorist and a Journalist (Time.com)

A month after Osama bin Laden's death, one of the men tipped to succeed him as leader of al-Qaeda is believed to have been eliminated by a CIA-operated drone strike on Friday. U.S. and Pakistani officials say that they are increasingly certain that Ilyas Kashmiri, the head of the 313 Brigade affiliated with the global terrorist organization, was slain in South Waziristan. His followers are vowing revenge against the U.S. Full confirmation, officials say, will only come from a DNA test. Caution is a necessity: Kashmiri was reported killed once before, only to resurface.

If he is indeed dead, the killing of Kashmiri will be a major success for the U.S. in its attempts to eliminate senior al-Qaeda and Taliban figures hiding in Pakistan's tribal areas along the Afghan border. Kashmiri rose to prominence as a leader of the Harakat-ul-Jihad al-Islami (HuJI) militant organization that carried out a bombing in the Indian city of Pune. In more recent years, he has grown close to al-Qaeda and is suspected to have played a major role in the Mumbai massacre in November 2008 and a number of attacks within Pakistan. Some suspect he was behind last month's attack on a naval base in Karachi. Parts of Kashmiri's biography remain murky. Former CIA analyst Bruce Riedel wrote that Kashmiri was a former Pakistani army commando - an allegation denied by a senior Pakistani military official. (See what Kashmiri's death means for al-Qaeda's future.)

It is unclear whether Friday's attack received Pakistan's assistance. When Secretary of State Hillary Clinton paid a brief visit to Islamabad on May 27, she carried a list of five top militant leaders Washington would like to pursue with Pakistan's help. Kashmiri was on the list. The others were Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Omar, bin Laden's deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri, the North Waziristan warlord Sirajuddin Haqqani and Atiya Abdul Rahman, the Libyan operational commander of al-Qaeda. Given the bloodshed Kashmiri has caused on its soil, Pakistan has very powerful reasons for wanting him dead: he has allegedly been behind a series of deadly attacks on Pakistani security forces - including the one on a Karachi naval base, according to the journalist Syed Saleem Shahzad, whose body was recently discovered after a controversial disappearance.

The Kashmiri slaying may also boost the CIA's case for maintaining the current, near daily pace of drone strikes within Pakistan's tribal areas. The day before the strike, there was a debate among senior U.S. officials on whether to slow down the covert program, the Wall Street Journal reported. While all officials supported the program, some argued that less frequent strikes would help Washington win greater cooperation with the Pakistanis. Since mid-March, the Pakistani security establishment has been calling for all drone strikes to end.

With Kashmiri's death, that argument will have been weakened. While drone strikes principally target militants fighting across the border in Afghanistan, Kashmiri is the latest in a series of prominent militant leaders who attack Pakistani targets to have been cut down. Baitullah Mehsud was eliminated by a drone strike in August 2009. His chief strategist, Qari Hussain Mehsud, was also killed in a drone strike. Little has been heard from his successor, Hakimullah Mehsud, in several months. (See pictures of al-Qaeda's terrorist attacks across the globe.)

Once described as the "next bin Laden," Kashmiri was first reported to have perished in a drone strike in September 2009. He resurfaced in an interview by Shahzad of Asia Times Online, a journalist whose own body was discovered on May 31. Shahzad was a journalist who covered security issues, regularly traveling to the tribal areas and interviewing militant figures like Haqqani and Kashmiri. He also regularly cited Pakistani intelligence officials in his articles.

Shahzad's last article, published just two days before he went missing, claimed that al-Qaeda had attacked the Karachi naval base after talks had broken down between the Pakistani navy and the global terrorist organization. The journalist wrote that his contacts had confirmed to him that Kashmiri had authored the attack. At the time of his disappearance, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said it had been informed through "reliable interlocutors" that Shahzad was being held by the Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Pakistan's leading military spy agency.

In a rare statement, issued through Pakistan's state press agency, the ISI robustly denied any role in Shahzad's disappearance or murder. The ISI, an unnamed official told the Associated Press of Pakistan, saw Shahzad's death as "unfortunate and tragic" and as a "source of concern for the entire nation." The official quoted from an e-mail that Shahzad passed on to HRW after his last meeting with the ISI but denounced suggestions that it carried "veiled or unveiled threats," saying that such suggestions were the "basis of baseless allegations leveled against the ISI." (See the events that led to Shahzad vanishing.)

But Hameed Haroon, the CEO of Pakistan's Dawn Media Group and the head of the All Pakistan Newspapers Society, countered the ISI officials' remarks. "[T]he allegations leveled by HRW on the ISI are essentially in complete consonance with the contents of the slain journalist's e-mail," Haroon said in a statement. Haroon, a former employer of Shahzad's, added that over the past five years, Shahzad had informed him and several others that he had "received death threats from various officers of the ISI on at least three occasions."

The Pakistani government has called for an inquiry into the circumstances that led to Shahzad's kidnapping and killing. But few are holding out any hope for answers. Similar promises were made eight months ago, when another investigative reporter, Umar Cheema, was abducted and tortured for six hours before being dumped on the side of the road. "Zero work" has been done on his case, says Cheema. Even the report of a judicial commission supposedly looking into it has not been shared with him, the journalist says, let alone made public.

See TIME's special report "The Middle East in Revolt."

See TIME's 140 best Twitter feeds.

View this article on Time.com

Most Popular on Time.com:

Yahoo! News

Mexico charges criminal tied to mass killings (AP)

MEXICO CITY – Mexico has filed charges against the alleged leader of a ruthless cell of the Zetas drug cartel who authorities say masterminded the mass killings of more than 250 people in a northern border state.

The federal Attorney General's Office says Martin Estrada Luna is charged with organized crime, kidnapping, drug trafficking and illegal possession of firearms.

Prosecutors said after Estrada Luna's April arrest that he was responsible for the slayings of 72 migrants last August and 183 people months later in Tamaulipas state, but he has not been charged with the killings.

The 34-year-old high school dropout was born in Mexico and grew up in the U.S., where he had a rap sheet of petty crimes. He was deported to Mexico in 2009.

Yahoo! News

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

10 die as Afghans protest NATO killings

Workers relax in Kabul on Wednesday, the morning after a NATO strike killed four insurgents, including two armed females.NEW: At least 70 are injured in clashes between protesters and police, official saysProtesters say NATO killed civilians in a Tuesday attackThe international alliance says it killed four insurgents

(CNN) -- At least 11 people were killed and 70 injured Wednesday during protests against a NATO raid that killed civilians in northern Afghanistan, local officials said.

Protesters clashed with police during the demonstrations attended by about 4,000, said Gov. Abdul Jabar Taqwa of Takhar province.

They were protesting an attack Tuesday night that NATO said killed four insurgents, including two armed females.

However, a deputy governor said the victims of the attack included a man, his wife and a guest not linked to any insurgent group.

"They were ordinary and innocent residents of the village," said Farid Zaki, the deputy governor. "These night raids are creating mistrust between the people, the Afghan government and international forces."

The combined Afghan and coalition force operation targeted "the facilitator" of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan facilitator in Taloqan district, according to NATO.

"The facilitator acquires, constructs and moves weapons and explosives throughout the province," NATO said in a statement. "He is currently heavily involved in the movement and procurement of weapons for imminent attacks."

CNN's Mohammed Jamjoom and Matiullah Mati contributed to this report

CNN Top Stories

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

Man charged in matching initials killings in Calif.

said New York State Police senior investigator Allan Dombroski, who declined to discuss the probe in detail because of concerns it could jeopardize the California cases.

Officials in Nevada have been tight-lipped, too, but said they believe there are more cold cases connected to Naso, who frequently traveled for work.

Nevada authorities formed a task force to investigate Naso immediately after last year

View the Original article

'Crazy' killings scare beach towns

Police stand near a spot where remains were found Monday in Nassau County on New York's Long Island. STORY HIGHLIGHTSDive teams planned to look in waterways on the north side of the barrier islandOne resident says his wife and daughter are scared to come homeAnother resident: "It kind of creeps me out" to have been driving past bodiesPolice are investigating another possible set of remains in the suspected serial killings (CNN) -- As police on New York's Long Island were sending dive teams to search for clues in a string of suspected serial killings Wednesday, area residents were trying to come to terms with the grisly crimes.

People who live near where bodies have been found said the "eerie" and "frightening" findings have left some families shaken.

"It's just crazy," said Walter Arnold, 65, who -- along with his wife Dolores -- brought up five children in a house on Long Island's West Gilgo Beach. "My wife is scared to come home for the first time. My daughter is frightened. It's just horrible."

But others said that because of what's known about the killings and the victims, they are not afraid of being targeted. The four victims who have been identified thus far were all women who advertised prostitution services on websites such as Craigslist, police have said.

Tourism and real estate professionals on Long Island said the apparent string of killings does not seem to have affected business.

Police said Monday they were examining a skull found on the outskirts of a bird sanctuary in Long Island's Nassau County, potentially the ninth set of remains discovered in the probe. About four hours earlier, a New York state police officer and his cadaver dog spotted another set of remains about a mile and a half away. On Tuesday, police said both the skull and the remains were determined to be human.

View the Original article

Police search for evidence in 8 serial killings on Long Island

By Spencer Platt, Getty Images

Suffolk County Police and police recruits search an area of beach Tuesday near where human remains were found in Babylon, New York.

EnlargeCloseBy Spencer Platt, Getty Images

Suffolk County Police and police recruits search an area of beach Tuesday near where human remains were found in Babylon, New York.

State troopers will join the search Monday on the Babylon, N.Y., barrier island where the remains of eight people have been discovered since December.

LA: Police look for links to 'Grim Sleeper' caseMISSING WOMAN: Not among beach victimsPolice say the victims are the work of a serial killer and were murdered elsewhere and dumped on the beach.

The oldest remains "have been there at least a couple of years" and the newest were of people reported missing last year, Nassau County Police Commissioner Richard Dormer said.

Four of the victims have been identified by police as women who worked as prostitutes and advertised on Craigslist, the online classified ad site.

Prostitutes are common targets for serial sexual killers, because they are easily abducted and often not reported missing right away. The bodies of four women who had worked as escorts were dumped behind an Atlantic City motel in 2006, and four women, three of whom had been prostitutes, have been killed in Daytona Beach, Fla. Both cases remain unsolved.

Nonetheless, such cases are "very, very rare," says Louis Schlesinger, a forensic psychology professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

"Serial sexual murder has been going on since pre-modern times, in different cultures, in different countries, and there's no evidence at all that it's increasing."

Four sets of remains on Gilgo Beach were discovered in December, when police were searching for Shannan Gilbert, who was last seen in a nearby housing development. A fifth body was found March 29, and three other sets of remains were discovered Monday. Gilbert was not found, according to police.

When bodies have been dumped somewhere other than the murder site, there is little evidence to aid investigation, says James Alan Fox, author of Extreme Killing: Understanding Serial and Mass Murder.

"These cases are extremely difficult to solve, one because of the lack of physical evidence, and two because of the lack of potential suspects," Fox says.

In most murder cases, the killer is someone the victim knows.

"In any state you'll find unsolved slayings of prostitutes," Fox says. "Unfortunately it's easy picking for criminals."

The New York City Medical Examiner's office is helping local police identify the most recently discovered remains. "No doubt about it, it's a difficult case. The type of occupation, they're meeting strangers, the connections are very flimsy. It does add to our burden," Dormer says.

Melissa Cann, whose older sister Maureen Brainard-Barnes was among the victims identified, said her sister was 25 and the mother of two. She had been missing since 2007 when her remains were identified. "Every time you think you could heal, everything opens back up," Cann says.

For more information about reprints & permissions, visit our FAQ's. To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to letters

View the Original article

Guilty of school yard execution-style killings

Alexander Alfaro was 16 when he took part in the execution-style shootings of three college students in 2007. STORY HIGHLIGHTSAlexander Alfaro convicted of murder, felony murder, robbery, other chargesAlfaro is the third person found guilty in the killings of three menThree other defendants have yet to go to trialProsecutor: "I hope that this verdict will give some small degree of solace to the families" (CNN) -- Alexander Alfaro was convicted Tuesday on 16 of 17 charges related to the 2007 execution-style killings of three college friends.

Alfaro, 20, was convicted of murder, felony murder, robbery, conspiracy and weapons charges, according to acting Essex County Prosecutor Carolyn Murray. Alfaro was found not guilty of attempted murder of Natasha Aeriel, the sole survivor of the attack.

He is the third person convicted in the killing of Terrance Aeriel, 18; Dashon Harvey, 20; and Lofemi Hightower, 20, by shooting them in the head after forcing them to kneel against a wall on the grounds of an elementary school in Newark, New Jersey.

Alfaro's attorney was not immediately available for comment.

Three other defendants -- Jose Carranza, 32; Gerardo Gomez, 18; and Shahid Baskerville, 19 -- have yet to go to trial.

"We hope that he will join both of his other co-defendants, who are now serving multiple life sentences in state prison,'' said prosecutor Robert Laurino at a news conference announcing the verdict. "As I have sadly said on two prior occasions, I hope that this verdict will give some small degree of solace to the families of Lofemi Hightower, Dashon Harvey, Terrence Aeriel and Natasha Aeriel.''

"Our work did not end today," said Romesh Sukhdeo, a prosecutor who tried the case. "We will now move forward and prepare for the next trial, which will probably take place in the fall.''

Two other men involved in the attack have been sentenced to life in prison.

Melvin Jovel was sentenced to a total of 245 years in November 2010. He received three life sentences for each murder and 20 years for attempted murder, Carter said.

Rodolfo Godinez, the first defendant to be tried for the killings, was found guilty on all 17 counts.

Carter said Godinez was involved in gang recruiting and characterized himself as the ringleader who used a handgun and a machete in the slayings. He was sentenced in May 2010 and is serving 216 years in prison.

Alfaro was 16 at the time of the killing. He will be sentenced on May 19 and faces multiple life sentences, prosecutors said.

View the Original article

L.A.'s 'Westside Rapist' gets life for killings

USA TODAY Digital ServicesMobileE-NewslettersRSSTwitterPodcastsWidgetse-Edition USA TODAY for iPadKindle EditionPrint EditionSubscribe to paperReprints & PermissionsUSA TODAY TopicsReporter IndexCorrections/ClarificationsContact UsArchivesHomeNewsTravelMoneySportsLifeTechWeatherVisit our Partners:USA WEEKENDUSA TODAY LIVESports WeeklyEducationSpace.comTravel TipsContact usAdvertisePressroomMedia LoungeJobsFAQReprints/PermissionsPrivacy Notice/Your California Privacy RightsAd ChoicesTerms of ServiceSite Index© 2011 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.

Latest Photo Galleries:Popular Topics:--

View the Original article

Fla. pastor denies responsibility for Afghan killings

"Last fall interfaith religious leaders such as Cardinal Theodore McCarrick denounced Pastor Terry Jones' plans to burn a Quran. This month, Jones church burned the holy book with no warning and religious and political leaders are horrified."

View the Original article