Marine accused of parachute tampering makes plea deal, avoids court martial

[thedrifter]

Marine accused of parachute tampering makes plea deal, avoids court martial


ASSOCIATED PRESS
8:24 a.m., July 25, 2003

CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. ? A Marine facing court-martial next week in a parachute sabotage that injured three Marines reached a plea agreement with prosecutors, a Marine Corps spokeswoman said Friday.

No details on the deal were provided, but a court martial scheduled Tuesday for Lance Cpl. Antoine D. Boykins was canceled, said Camp Lejeune spokeswoman 2nd Lt. Kate Vandenbossche.

Boykins, 21, was charged with attempted premeditated murder in February after the three Marines' parachutes failed to open when they jumped from about 1,250 feet in September; their reserve chutes deployed safely. Other jumps for that day's exercise were canceled, and investigators later found that 13 of the 22 parachutes had been sabotaged.

At a hearing in March, a military prosecutor said Boykins and Lance Cpl. Julian C. Ramirez had cut parachute suspension lines because they had been disciplined and were angry with their platoon commander.

Plea agreement terms for the Baltimore serviceman will be discussed in a hearing Aug. 6, Vandenbossche said.

Charges against Ramirez, 25, of Los Angeles, were dismissed in April. His attorneys argued that no forensic evidence linked him to the crime.

A third Marine is in custody at Camp Lejeune but hasn't been charged. Cpl. Clayton A. Chaffin, 28, of Franklin, Ohio, was held in the parachute case and a narcotics investigation.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/m...stigation.html


Sempers,

Roger