Alaska News

Soldier pleads guilty in Afghan war-crimes case

SEATTLE -- One of 12 Joint Base Lewis-McChord soldiers accused of war crimes while in Afghanistan pleaded guilty Wednesday after reaching a plea deal with prosecutors.

Staff Sgt. Robert Stevens pleaded guilty to an aggravated assault for firing in the direction of two Afghan farmers, and reckless endangerment for throwing a grenade off a Stryker. He also pleaded guilty to two counts of making false statements by lying to cover up the crimes, and to dereliction of duty.

Stevens' plea deal calls for him to cooperate fully with prosecutors and testify against other soldiers accused of crimes ranging from murder to possession of human body parts. A soldier from Wasilla, 22-year-old Jeremy Morlock, is among those charged with murder and conspiracy in connection with the deaths of three Afghan civilians.

As part of Stevens' deal, prosecutors agreed to drop an additional charge of conspiracy to commit aggravated assault. There have been no plea agreements announced for any of the 11 other soldiers.

Prosecutors also are expected to recommend a substantial reduction of his maximum prison sentence, which under military law could exceed 19 years and a dishonorable discharge had he been convicted of all counts. The sentence prosecutors now are seeking wasn't disclosed Wednesday morning.

Lt. Col. Kwasi Hawks, an Army judge, will decide -- after questioning Stevens and likely hearing from witnesses -- whether to accept Stevens' pleas, and also whether to accept the punishment recommended by prosecutors. Stevens served as a medic with the 5th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, and is one of a dozen soldiers accused of war crimes in an investigation the Army began in May in Kandahar Province.

One of the central figures in that investigation is Staff Sgt. Calvin Gibbs, a squad leader accused of some of the most serious crimes, including the murder of three unarmed Afghans whose deaths were staged to appear as if they were insurgent fighters.

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Under questioning Wednesday morning by the judge, Stevens described how he was given an off-the-books grenade by Gibbs in December, and then became paranoid about having it in his possession. So in March, Stevens got rid of the grenade by throwing it into a field, and after it exploded he fired several rounds.

In court Wednesday, he said he later lied about what happened to make it appear that he and other soldiers came under attack, an account that later earned Stevens and other soldiers Combat Action Badges.

He said his action set a bad example for other soldiers, and ended up being a blow to unit morale. But Stevens said he threw the grenade in an area where he didn't think it would cause any harm.

"I was pretty sure that I was not going to hit anybody. If I felt there was anyone in the area, I would not have thrown it," Stevens said.

That comment drew scrutiny from the judge. "If you are sure nobody was there, then you probably didn't violate the law."

Stevens then consulted with his defense counsel, and indicated that he did put people at risk since he might have mishandled the grenade. Stevens said he also could not have been absolutely certain no injuries would result from the explosion in the field.

In court Wednesday, Stevens also recounted what happened during a spring patrol with Gibbs in southern Afghanistan.

During the patrol, the soldiers approached a field and spotted two Afghan men.

Stevens said the men posed no threat but Gibbs gave an order to fire.

Stevens told the judge that he did not want to hit the Afghan men, and purposefully fired some 75 yards away from them. He said that other soldiers who fired also did not hit the men.

"I did not intend to scare anybody, but I did," Stevens said. "Once I stopped firing, Sgt. Gibbs mentioned that we needed to work on our accuracy because it did not appear that anyone was hurt."

In an initial meeting with an Army investigator, Stevens said that he lied about the incident by claiming that the two Afghans had something that resembled a rocket-propelled grenade.

By HAL BERNTON

Seattle Times

Hal Bernton, The Seattle Times

Hal Bernton is a former reporter for The Seattle Times and the Anchorage Daily News.

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