Trial to begin for ex-Marine in Fallujah case

[David]

AP


RIVERSIDE, Calif. - For more than a year, Jose Luis Nazario Jr. has waited for his day in federal court to face allegations he killed unarmed detainees in Iraq — the first time such charges have been brought under a federal law that allows the prosecution of former military service members for war crimes.

Nazario, 28, was to get his chance Thursday when prosecutors and defense attorneys begin opening statements before a federal civilian jury of three men and nine women.

It's a case that has drawn national attention with the prosecution's use of the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act, a law written in 2000 and amended in 2004 primarily to allow the prosecution of civilian contractors who commit crimes while working for the U.S. overseas.

But it also allows for military dependents and those no longer in the military who commit crimes outside the United States to be brought to trial. Since Nazario was charged after leaving the Marines, the case is being handled by federal rather than military prosecutors.

Nazario, of Riverside, has been charged with one count of voluntary manslaughter on suspicion of killing or causing others to kill four unarmed detainees in November 2004 in Fallujah, during some of the fiercest fighting of the war. He also faces one count of assault with a deadly weapon and one count of discharging a firearm during a crime of violence.

He has pleaded innocent. If convicted of all charges, he could face more than 10 years in prison.

The case came to light in 2006, when Nazario's former squadmate, Sgt. Ryan Weemer, volunteered details to a U.S. Secret Service job interviewer during a lie-detector screening that included a question about the most serious crime he ever committed. Weemer, of Hindsboro, Ill., was ordered this month to stand trial in military court on charges of unpremeditated murder and dereliction of duty in the killing of an unarmed detainee in Fallujah. He has pleaded not guilty.

According to a Naval Criminal Investigative Service criminal complaint, several Marines allege Nazario shot two Iraqi men who had been detained while his squad searched a house. The complaint claims four Iraqi men were killed during the action.

It is unclear what, if anything, Marines being subpoenaed to testify will say about the events in the house in Fallujah.

Another Marine, Sgt. Jermaine Nelson, 26, of New York, is slated to be court-martialed in December on charges of unpremeditated murder and dereliction of duty for his alleged role in the deaths.

Although he has not entered a plea in military court, Nelson's attorney has said his client is innocent.

Nelson and Weemer were jailed in June for contempt of court for refusing to testify against Nazario before a federal grand jury believed to be investigating the case. Both were released July 3 and returned to Camp Pendleton.