Missouri soldier in military custody on murder charge
He is now at Fort Leavenworth after the state transferred his case to the Army.
BY DONALD BRADLEY
The Kansas City Star
September 7, 2012
When Justin Cannon of Peculiar bonded out of a rural Missouri jail last year on a murder charge, he didn’t report back to the Army on time.
But they have him now. On Friday, the state of Missouri dismissed the charge and the Army filed its own against the 22-year-old soldier.
He is accused of killing a man last summer by smashing a rock against his head during a campout at Truman Lake. According to court documents, Cannon was mad at the victim, Michael Griggs, for having sex with his wife while Cannon was away with the Army.
Cannon’s Facebook page made reference to him having served in Afghanistan.
An Army charge sheet filed Friday shows Cannon faces military charges of murder, failing to report for duty, impeding an investigation and lying to authorities.
He is at Fort Leavenworth, officials said.
read more here
Showing posts with label AWOL. Show all posts
Showing posts with label AWOL. Show all posts
Sunday, September 9, 2012
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Canada orders female US GI who fled war deported
Canada orders female GI who fled war deported
By Charmaine Noronha
The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday Aug 30, 2012
TORONTO — The first female soldier to flee the U.S. military for Canada to avoid the war in Iraq has been ordered deported, a spokeswoman for the War Resisters Support Campaign said Thursday.
Michelle Robidoux said that Citizenship and Immigration Canada has ordered Kimberly Rivera to leave the country by Sept. 20.
Robidoux said Rivera is meeting with her lawyers Thursday to determine her next course of action and was unavailable to comment on the deportation order.
“We are very upset about this decision,” said Robidoux. “The cases of war resisters are not being looked at properly. (Immigration Minister Jason) Kenney continues to intervene by telling immigration officers to red flag U.S. soldiers who are applying for asylum as criminally inadmissible. We think that has tainted the whole process and the government should withdraw that directive.”
read more here
UPDATE August 31, 2012
US Soldier May Appeal Canadian Deportation Order
By CHARMAINE NORONHA
Associated Press
TORONTO August 31, 2012 (AP)
A U.S. soldier facing deportation after fleeing to Canada to avoid the war in Iraq said Friday that her biggest fears are being separated from her children and being sent to prison upon her return to the United States.
Kimberly Rivera, who has lived in Canada for five years with her husband and four children, was issued a deportation order earlier this week. Citizenship and Immigration Canada has given her until Sept. 20 to leave the country.
"I'm just overwhelmed. I don't want to face reality. I respect Canada's laws and I will still proceed with what it is that I have to do, but I'm trying to take it one step at a time so I don't have meltdowns like earlier," said Rivera, who stepped away during a press conference Friday when she became visibly upset.
Rivera's lawyer, Alyssa Manning, said her client is considering appealing the deportation ruling.
read more here
Sunday, August 12, 2012
Troubled veterans left without health-care benefits
Troubled veterans left without health-care benefits
By Hal Bernton
Seattle Times staff reporter
August 11, 2012
A few weeks after Jarrid Starks ended his Army service in May, he went to an office in Albany, Ore., to enroll for veterans health-care benefits.
Starks brought medical records that detailed post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a twisted vertebra and a possible brain injury from concussions. Other records documented his tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, where his bravery fighting the Taliban was recognized with a Bronze Star for Valor.
None of that was enough to qualify him for health care from the Department of Veterans Affairs.
That's because Starks left the military this year with an other-than-honorable discharge — his final year of service scarred by pot smoking and taking absences without leave (AWOL).
He was told to fill out a form, then wait — possibly a year or more — while officials review his military record to determine whether he is eligible for health care.
"I was absolutely livid," Starks, 26, recalls. "This just isn't right."
Starks is among the more than 20,000 men and women who exited the Army and Marines during the past four years with other-than-honorable discharges that hamstring their access to VA health care and may strip them of disability benefits.
read more here
This was news on this blog back in 2007.
More than 20,000 men and women exited the Army and Marines during the past four years with other-than-honorable discharges that can restrict their veterans health-care and disability benefits. Critics says those rules leave some troubled combat veterans struggling to find treatment and support.
By Hal Bernton
Seattle Times staff reporter
August 11, 2012
A few weeks after Jarrid Starks ended his Army service in May, he went to an office in Albany, Ore., to enroll for veterans health-care benefits.
Starks brought medical records that detailed post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a twisted vertebra and a possible brain injury from concussions. Other records documented his tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, where his bravery fighting the Taliban was recognized with a Bronze Star for Valor.
None of that was enough to qualify him for health care from the Department of Veterans Affairs.
That's because Starks left the military this year with an other-than-honorable discharge — his final year of service scarred by pot smoking and taking absences without leave (AWOL).
He was told to fill out a form, then wait — possibly a year or more — while officials review his military record to determine whether he is eligible for health care.
"I was absolutely livid," Starks, 26, recalls. "This just isn't right."
Starks is among the more than 20,000 men and women who exited the Army and Marines during the past four years with other-than-honorable discharges that hamstring their access to VA health care and may strip them of disability benefits.
read more here
This was news on this blog back in 2007.
10 discharges a day for "personality disorder"
Many soldiers get boot for 'pre-existing' mental illness
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
September 29, 2007
By Philip Dine
WASHINGTON -- Thousands of U.S. soldiers in Iraq - as many as 10 a day - are being discharged by the military for mental health reasons. But the Pentagon isn't blaming the war. It says the soldiers had "pre-existing" conditions that disqualify them for treatment by the government.
Many soldiers and Marines being discharged on this basis actually suffer from combat-related problems, experts say. But by classifying them as having a condition unrelated to the war, the Defense Department is able to quickly get rid of troops having trouble doing their work while also saving the expense of caring for them.
The result appears to be that many actually suffering from combat-related problems such as post-traumatic stress disorder or traumatic brain injuries don't get the help they need.
Working behind the scenes, Sens. Christopher "Kit" Bond, R-Mo., and Barack Obama, D-Ill., have written and inserted into the defense authorization bill a provision that would make it harder for the Pentagon to discharge thousands of troops. The Post-Dispatch has learned that the measure has been accepted into the Senate defense bill and will probably become part of the Senate-House bill to be voted on this week.
read more here
Friday, August 10, 2012
AWOL soldier gets life term for Fort Hood plot
AWOL soldier gets life term for Fort Hood plot
By By SARAH KUTA
5 minutes ago
WACO, Texas (AP) — An AWOL soldier convicted of collecting bomb-making materials for what he told authorities would be a "massive attack" on a Texas restaurant full of Fort Hood troops was sentenced Friday to life in prison.
Army Pfc. Naser Jason Abdo, a Muslim, was planning a religious mission to win "justice" for the people of Iraq and Afghanistan, according to a recorded jail conservation with his mother played for jurors at trial.
U.S. District Judge Walter allowed Abdo to represent himself at the sentencing after the 22-year-old told him last month that he and his attorneys weren't communicating effectively.
A federal jury convicted Abdo in May on six charges, including attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction. He was AWOL from Fort Campbell, Ky., when arrested with bomb-making materials last summer at a Fort Hood-area motel.
He also was found guilty of attempted murder of U.S. officers or employees and four counts of possessing a weapon in furtherance of a federal crime of violence.
In a recorded police interview, Abdo said he wanted to carry out the attack "because I don't appreciate what my unit did in Afghanistan." His plan, according to what he told authorities, was to place a bomb in a busy restaurant filled with soldiers, wait outside and shoot anyone who survived — and become a martyr after police killed him.
read more here
By By SARAH KUTA
5 minutes ago
WACO, Texas (AP) — An AWOL soldier convicted of collecting bomb-making materials for what he told authorities would be a "massive attack" on a Texas restaurant full of Fort Hood troops was sentenced Friday to life in prison.
Army Pfc. Naser Jason Abdo, a Muslim, was planning a religious mission to win "justice" for the people of Iraq and Afghanistan, according to a recorded jail conservation with his mother played for jurors at trial.
U.S. District Judge Walter allowed Abdo to represent himself at the sentencing after the 22-year-old told him last month that he and his attorneys weren't communicating effectively.
A federal jury convicted Abdo in May on six charges, including attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction. He was AWOL from Fort Campbell, Ky., when arrested with bomb-making materials last summer at a Fort Hood-area motel.
He also was found guilty of attempted murder of U.S. officers or employees and four counts of possessing a weapon in furtherance of a federal crime of violence.
In a recorded police interview, Abdo said he wanted to carry out the attack "because I don't appreciate what my unit did in Afghanistan." His plan, according to what he told authorities, was to place a bomb in a busy restaurant filled with soldiers, wait outside and shoot anyone who survived — and become a martyr after police killed him.
read more here
Thursday, August 9, 2012
Combat Medic listed as AWOL turned himself in
Army Specialist Catalino Rodriguez of Aberdeen, Md.,Turns Himself In After Being AWOL For Two Years
Written by
Surae Chinn
WUSA9.com
Aug 9, 2012
BETHESDA, Md. (WUSA) -- An Aberdeen, Maryland soldier who went AWOL (Away Without Leave) two years ago has decided to turn himself in.
Army Specialist Catalino Rodriguez says he suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD and major depression. He has emerged from hiding in his mother's basement.
"It's a nightmare. A two year nightmare. I don't want to do this anymore," he said.
He said he fell into a dark place after a 15 month deployment as a combat medic in Iraq.
He further spiraled into mental illness when he learned he would be deployed to Afghanistan.
"I felt the demons that were in my head," he said. "I felt I was not prepared to go to Afghanistan. Being a medic, I was fearful of my personal demons getting in the way in how I would treat a battle buddy."
He sought help, but he says the military's solution only masked the problem.
"The only thing they gave me was medication, medication, medication," Rodriquez said.
read more here
Written by
Surae Chinn
WUSA9.com
Aug 9, 2012
BETHESDA, Md. (WUSA) -- An Aberdeen, Maryland soldier who went AWOL (Away Without Leave) two years ago has decided to turn himself in.
Army Specialist Catalino Rodriguez says he suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD and major depression. He has emerged from hiding in his mother's basement.
"It's a nightmare. A two year nightmare. I don't want to do this anymore," he said.
He said he fell into a dark place after a 15 month deployment as a combat medic in Iraq.
He further spiraled into mental illness when he learned he would be deployed to Afghanistan.
"I felt the demons that were in my head," he said. "I felt I was not prepared to go to Afghanistan. Being a medic, I was fearful of my personal demons getting in the way in how I would treat a battle buddy."
He sought help, but he says the military's solution only masked the problem.
"The only thing they gave me was medication, medication, medication," Rodriquez said.
read more here
Monday, July 30, 2012
Marines Catch ‘Deserter’ … 5 Years After His Honorable Discharge
Marines Catch ‘Deserter’ … 5 Years After His Honorable Discharge
By Dave Maass
July 30, 2012
SAN DIEGO, California — On Jan. 26, 2011, a pair of U.S. Marines put Alan Gourgue in handcuffs and a restraint belt and hauled him across the country to face trial as a deserter. Gourgue was distraught and completely confused; he had been honorably discharged in 2006 and finished his reserve obligation four months earlier.
Gourgue’s ordeal provides a glimpse into a rarely seen, slow-moving, stiflingly bureaucratic world of military desertions, where one administrative mistake can result in a catch-22 that Joseph Heller couldn’t have invented.
In the military, there are two types of unauthorized absence: Absent without leave (AWOL) and desertion. The key difference between them is that AWOL is a misdemeanor, while desertion is a felony that assumes the missing soldier abandoned the service with the intent never to return. To employ a school analogy: AWOL is like cutting classes, while desertion is dropping out altogether. If a soldier is gone for more than 30 days, the charge is automatically converted to deserter status, according to Victor Hansen, a professor specializing in military law at New England Law, Boston. It’s like a teacher striking a missing kid from the rolls after a few absent weeks to make room for another student.
read more here
This is what happened to soldier
9 years after leaving Army, veteran mistakenly declared AWOL is arrested, jailed
By Dave Maass
July 30, 2012
SAN DIEGO, California — On Jan. 26, 2011, a pair of U.S. Marines put Alan Gourgue in handcuffs and a restraint belt and hauled him across the country to face trial as a deserter. Gourgue was distraught and completely confused; he had been honorably discharged in 2006 and finished his reserve obligation four months earlier.
Gourgue’s ordeal provides a glimpse into a rarely seen, slow-moving, stiflingly bureaucratic world of military desertions, where one administrative mistake can result in a catch-22 that Joseph Heller couldn’t have invented.
In the military, there are two types of unauthorized absence: Absent without leave (AWOL) and desertion. The key difference between them is that AWOL is a misdemeanor, while desertion is a felony that assumes the missing soldier abandoned the service with the intent never to return. To employ a school analogy: AWOL is like cutting classes, while desertion is dropping out altogether. If a soldier is gone for more than 30 days, the charge is automatically converted to deserter status, according to Victor Hansen, a professor specializing in military law at New England Law, Boston. It’s like a teacher striking a missing kid from the rolls after a few absent weeks to make room for another student.
read more here
This is what happened to soldier
9 years after leaving Army, veteran mistakenly declared AWOL is arrested, jailed
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Soldier sent back to duty after asking for help
AWOL and Ailing
JBLM soldier Brook Thomas Lindsey says the Army's mental-health system needs help.
By Keegan Hamilton
Seattle Weekly
Wednesday, Jun 27 2012
An Iraq War veteran stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord says struggles with PTSD and a lack of responsiveness to his condition by Army doctors forced him to go AWOL.
The soldier, 26-year-old Sgt. Brook Thomas Lindsey, met with members of the media on Friday, June 22 at Coffee Strong, a nonprofit organization headquartered across the street from JBLM that advocates for military mental-health treatment reform. Lindsey recounted why he decided to leave the base without permission on March 26.
"I'd go over to Madigan [Army Medical Center], right across the street, and I'd tell them, 'I'm having suicidal thoughts,' " Lindsey says. "They would just tell me to breathe. They'd talk me down. The next day I'm still feeling the same way, but they'd return me to duty, tell my leaders everything was fine."
read more here
JBLM soldier Brook Thomas Lindsey says the Army's mental-health system needs help.
By Keegan Hamilton
Seattle Weekly
Wednesday, Jun 27 2012
An Iraq War veteran stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord says struggles with PTSD and a lack of responsiveness to his condition by Army doctors forced him to go AWOL.
The soldier, 26-year-old Sgt. Brook Thomas Lindsey, met with members of the media on Friday, June 22 at Coffee Strong, a nonprofit organization headquartered across the street from JBLM that advocates for military mental-health treatment reform. Lindsey recounted why he decided to leave the base without permission on March 26.
"I'd go over to Madigan [Army Medical Center], right across the street, and I'd tell them, 'I'm having suicidal thoughts,' " Lindsey says. "They would just tell me to breathe. They'd talk me down. The next day I'm still feeling the same way, but they'd return me to duty, tell my leaders everything was fine."
read more here
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Ft. Lewis Soldier Says Poor PTSD Treatment Forced Him AWOL
Brook Thomas Lindsey: Ft. Lewis Soldier Says Poor PTSD Treatment Forced Him AWOL
By Keegan Hamilton
Mon., Jun. 25 2012
Categories: Military
An Iraq War veteran stationed at Ft. Lewis says struggles with PTSD and a lack of responsiveness to his condition by Army doctors forced him to go AWOL.
The soldier, 26-year-old Sgt. Brook Thomas Lindsey, met with members of the media on Friday at Coffee Strong, a non-profit organization, headquartered across the street from Joint Base Lewis-McChord, that advocates for military mental health treatment reform. Lindsey recounted why he decided to leave the base without permission on March 26.
"I'd go over to Madigan (Army Medical Center), right across the street and I'd tell them, 'I'm having suicidal thoughts,"' Lindsey says. "They would just tell me to breathe. They'd talk me down. The next day I'm still feeling the same way, but they'd return me to duty, tell my leaders everything was fine."
Wearing a baseball cap and a grey shirt with the sleeves rolled up to reveal several skeletal, military-themed tattoos on his forearms, Lindsey says he enlisted at age 19 because he felt it was his patriotic duty. He says he was deployed in Iraq for 22 months, and that he was an exemplary soldier prior to his return to the military base just south of Tacoma. Greg Wilson, a member of Iraq Veterans Against the War, says he served in Iraq with Lindsey in 4th Battalion, 9th Infantry, 4th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, and was always impressed with his fellow soldier's resolve.
read more here
By Keegan Hamilton
Mon., Jun. 25 2012
Categories: Military
An Iraq War veteran stationed at Ft. Lewis says struggles with PTSD and a lack of responsiveness to his condition by Army doctors forced him to go AWOL.
The soldier, 26-year-old Sgt. Brook Thomas Lindsey, met with members of the media on Friday at Coffee Strong, a non-profit organization, headquartered across the street from Joint Base Lewis-McChord, that advocates for military mental health treatment reform. Lindsey recounted why he decided to leave the base without permission on March 26.
"I'd go over to Madigan (Army Medical Center), right across the street and I'd tell them, 'I'm having suicidal thoughts,"' Lindsey says. "They would just tell me to breathe. They'd talk me down. The next day I'm still feeling the same way, but they'd return me to duty, tell my leaders everything was fine."
Wearing a baseball cap and a grey shirt with the sleeves rolled up to reveal several skeletal, military-themed tattoos on his forearms, Lindsey says he enlisted at age 19 because he felt it was his patriotic duty. He says he was deployed in Iraq for 22 months, and that he was an exemplary soldier prior to his return to the military base just south of Tacoma. Greg Wilson, a member of Iraq Veterans Against the War, says he served in Iraq with Lindsey in 4th Battalion, 9th Infantry, 4th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, and was always impressed with his fellow soldier's resolve.
read more here
Friday, May 25, 2012
Soldier found guilty of trying to blow up Fort Hood families
It seemed important to add "families" into the title of this report. I've been on Fort Hood, ate in the food court a few times and it is full of families along with soldiers.
AWOL Muslim soldier guilty in plot to blow up eatery full of Fort Hood troops
He was found at motel with numerous bomb-making components
AP
updated 5/24/2012
WACO, Texas — A federal jury on Thursday convicted a Muslim soldier on six charges in connection with a failed plot to blow up a Texas restaurant full of Fort Hood troops, his religious mission to get "justice" for the people of Iraq and Afghanistan.
Jurors in U.S. District Court in Waco deliberated a little more than an hour before finding Pfc. Naser Jason Abdo guilty of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction, attempted murder of U.S. officers or employees, and four counts of possessing a weapon in furtherance of a federal crime of violence — two involving a gun and two involving a destructive device.
read more here
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Schofield 4 tour AWOL soldier promised PTSD help finally
PTSD help for Schofield soldier vowed
Frustration over Army bureaucracy had led the man to go AWOL
By William Cole
Apr 10, 2012
A Schofield Barracks soldier and four-time Iraq War veteran who refused to report for duty because he said he wasn't receiving help for post-traumatic stress has been promised by the Army that he'll get medical treatment and other assistance.
"I feel good about what they said so far," said Sgt. Daniel McCarley, 28. "But until something actually happens, then I'll be good, because I've heard talk the whole time I've been trying to get treatment."
read more here
Frustration over Army bureaucracy had led the man to go AWOL
By William Cole
Apr 10, 2012
A Schofield Barracks soldier and four-time Iraq War veteran who refused to report for duty because he said he wasn't receiving help for post-traumatic stress has been promised by the Army that he'll get medical treatment and other assistance.
"I feel good about what they said so far," said Sgt. Daniel McCarley, 28. "But until something actually happens, then I'll be good, because I've heard talk the whole time I've been trying to get treatment."
read more here
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
FBI says AWOL soldier stole Microsoft Paul Allen's identity
AWOL soldier stole Microsoft co-founder's identity, FBI says
Associated Press
March 27, 2012, 1:26 p.m.
An AWOL soldier's simple scheme to defraud one of the richest men in the world has landed him in federal custody, according to a criminal complaint.
In the complaint unsealed Monday, federal investigators allege Brandon Lee Price changed the address on a bank account held by billionaire Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, then had a debit card sent to his Pittsburgh home so he could use it for payments on a delinquent Armed Forces Bank account and personal expenses.
Price called Citibank in January and changed the address on an account held by Allen from Seattle to Pittsburgh, then called back three days later to say he'd lost his debit card and asked for a new one to be sent to him, an FBI investigator wrote in a criminal complaint filed in February.
read more here
Associated Press
March 27, 2012, 1:26 p.m.
An AWOL soldier's simple scheme to defraud one of the richest men in the world has landed him in federal custody, according to a criminal complaint.
In the complaint unsealed Monday, federal investigators allege Brandon Lee Price changed the address on a bank account held by billionaire Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, then had a debit card sent to his Pittsburgh home so he could use it for payments on a delinquent Armed Forces Bank account and personal expenses.
Price called Citibank in January and changed the address on an account held by Allen from Seattle to Pittsburgh, then called back three days later to say he'd lost his debit card and asked for a new one to be sent to him, an FBI investigator wrote in a criminal complaint filed in February.
read more here
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Oral Stuart Jr., Camp Pendleton Marine, was not AWOL, but died in 1974
Authorities say body found in California in 1974 is Iowa Marine missing from Camp Pendleton
By Associated Press, Published: March 19
LONG BEACH, Calif. — A body found naked in 1974 at a California condominium complex is a U.S. Marine from Iowa who had been listed as a deserter from Camp Pendleton, authorities said Monday.
The man known for more than 37 years as “John Doe (hash)155” is Oral Stuart Jr. of Des Moines, Long Beach police said in a statement.
His cause of death, previously listed as undetermined, has been reclassified as a homicide.
The body of Stewart, who was 18 when he disappeared, was found on Nov. 10, 1974, in the carport area of a complex near Interstate 605, police said. Twelve days later, Marine officials at Camp Pendleton some 50 miles to the south declared him a deserter.
Police looking into cold cases with a grant from the National Institute of Justice came to suspect the body may be a member of the military because of the man’s tattoos and haircut.
read more here
By Associated Press, Published: March 19
LONG BEACH, Calif. — A body found naked in 1974 at a California condominium complex is a U.S. Marine from Iowa who had been listed as a deserter from Camp Pendleton, authorities said Monday.
The man known for more than 37 years as “John Doe (hash)155” is Oral Stuart Jr. of Des Moines, Long Beach police said in a statement.
His cause of death, previously listed as undetermined, has been reclassified as a homicide.
The body of Stewart, who was 18 when he disappeared, was found on Nov. 10, 1974, in the carport area of a complex near Interstate 605, police said. Twelve days later, Marine officials at Camp Pendleton some 50 miles to the south declared him a deserter.
Police looking into cold cases with a grant from the National Institute of Justice came to suspect the body may be a member of the military because of the man’s tattoos and haircut.
read more here
Monday, March 19, 2012
Air Force confirms major's account of '06 kidnapping in Kyrgyzstan
Air Force confirms major's account of '06 kidnapping in Kyrgyzstan
Published: March 19, 2012
The Air Force has confirmed that a major who went missing in Kyrgyzstan six years ago was kidnapped, debunking an online smear campaign that claimed she went AWOL, the Air Force Times reported.
Maj. Jill Metzger disappeared from a department store near Manas Air Base in September 2006. When she surfaced three days later, she said she had been abducted from the store and later escaped from her captors.
read more here
Published: March 19, 2012
The Air Force has confirmed that a major who went missing in Kyrgyzstan six years ago was kidnapped, debunking an online smear campaign that claimed she went AWOL, the Air Force Times reported.
Maj. Jill Metzger disappeared from a department store near Manas Air Base in September 2006. When she surfaced three days later, she said she had been abducted from the store and later escaped from her captors.
read more here
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Alleged AWOL Fort Hood Solider Holds Father Hostage In Oklahoma
Alleged AWOL Fort Hood Solider Holds Father Hostage In Oklahoma
Posted: Feb 24, 2012
(KCEN)- An apparent AWOL soldier from Fort Hood is now wanted in Oklahoma after allegedly holding his father hostage.
NBC affiliate KTEN-TV in Oklahoma tell us that John Daniel Burden, who is believed to be a Fort Hood solider went to his father's home in Lone Grove, Okla. and pulled a gun on him.
read more here
Posted: Feb 24, 2012
(KCEN)- An apparent AWOL soldier from Fort Hood is now wanted in Oklahoma after allegedly holding his father hostage.
NBC affiliate KTEN-TV in Oklahoma tell us that John Daniel Burden, who is believed to be a Fort Hood solider went to his father's home in Lone Grove, Okla. and pulled a gun on him.
read more here
Friday, February 10, 2012
9 years after leaving Army, veteran mistakenly declared AWOL is arrested, jailed
UPDATE
Army finalizes discharge for veteran mistakenly jailed as AWOL
By BILL MURPHY JR.
Stars and Stripes
Published: February 13, 2012
WASHINGTON — The Army will issue a discharge certificate to a former soldier who was arrested and held in Florida jails for 12 days last month because the military considered him absent without leave nine years after he was chaptered out.
Louie Castro, 28, who was to have been given an other-than-honorable discharge in December 2002 and who says he had thought his military service was long behind him, was arrested Jan. 2 as he re-entered the United States after a trip to France. Army officials had demanded that he fly to Fort Carson, Colo. — a base where he had never served, but where the 4th Infantry Division moved in 2009 — as a condition of being let out of jail.
read more here
Army finalizes discharge for veteran mistakenly jailed as AWOL
By BILL MURPHY JR.
Stars and Stripes
Published: February 13, 2012
WASHINGTON — The Army will issue a discharge certificate to a former soldier who was arrested and held in Florida jails for 12 days last month because the military considered him absent without leave nine years after he was chaptered out.
Louie Castro, 28, who was to have been given an other-than-honorable discharge in December 2002 and who says he had thought his military service was long behind him, was arrested Jan. 2 as he re-entered the United States after a trip to France. Army officials had demanded that he fly to Fort Carson, Colo. — a base where he had never served, but where the 4th Infantry Division moved in 2009 — as a condition of being let out of jail.
read more here
9 years after leaving Army, veteran mistakenly declared AWOL is arrested, jailed
By BILL MURPHY JR.
Stars and Stripes
Published: February 10, 2012
WASHINGTON — Louie Castro is a 28-year-old religion major at Florida State University who should have started the final semester of his senior year last month. Instead, he spent 12 days in jail after being arrested at Miami International Airport because of an administrative error the Army apparently made when he left the service more than nine years ago.
The Army considered him absent without leave.
Castro was told he must fly to Fort Carson, Colo. — a base where he never served, but where his old Fort Hood unit, the 4th Infantry Division, relocated in 2009 — to resume his old life as an Army private long enough for military personnel officers to fix his paperwork. In the meantime, he missed the start of classes and was forced to withdraw, costing him his financial aid. He will not graduate on schedule.
read more here
Joint Base Lewis-McChord soldier accused of murder had history of drugs and violence
Soldier accused of murdering Kirkland woman has history of violence, drugs
By MATT PHELPS
Kirkland Reporter Staff Writer
FEBRUARY 9, 2012
He is being held at the base and faces court-martial charges, according to military charging documents obtained by the Reporter.
Joint Base Lewis-McChord Pvt. Dakota Wolf was charged in December with the first-degree murder of Kirkland resident Scarlett Paxton. Wolf is accused of stabbing Paxton to death with a large chef’s knife at her apartment behind the Juanita Albertsons.
Wolf, who was in the second year of a six-year term with the Army, is facing five separate charges from the military in the court martial.
Wolf had a history of disobeying orders, but the biggest issue is an assault charge that he faces. Wolf struck a noncommissioned officer of the United States Army in the right eye with an open hand on Nov. 17, 2011, according to charging documents. The incident took place just 13 days before the murder.
Wolf then went AWOL from Nov. 18-30. During his absence from the military, he stayed in Kirkland at a friend’s house after a falling out with his mother on Nov. 28, according to Kirkland police records.
read more here
By MATT PHELPS
Kirkland Reporter Staff Writer
FEBRUARY 9, 2012
CONTRIBUTEDThe soldier accused of killing a 19-year-old Kirkland woman in Juanita on Nov. 30 has a record of going Absent Without Leave, assaulting a noncommissioned officer and a history of drug use.
Kirkland resident Scarlett Paxton, age 19, was murdered on Nov. 30 outside her apartment.
He is being held at the base and faces court-martial charges, according to military charging documents obtained by the Reporter.
Joint Base Lewis-McChord Pvt. Dakota Wolf was charged in December with the first-degree murder of Kirkland resident Scarlett Paxton. Wolf is accused of stabbing Paxton to death with a large chef’s knife at her apartment behind the Juanita Albertsons.
Wolf, who was in the second year of a six-year term with the Army, is facing five separate charges from the military in the court martial.
Wolf had a history of disobeying orders, but the biggest issue is an assault charge that he faces. Wolf struck a noncommissioned officer of the United States Army in the right eye with an open hand on Nov. 17, 2011, according to charging documents. The incident took place just 13 days before the murder.
Wolf then went AWOL from Nov. 18-30. During his absence from the military, he stayed in Kirkland at a friend’s house after a falling out with his mother on Nov. 28, according to Kirkland police records.
read more here
Saturday, December 17, 2011
AWOL soldier charged in Kirkland knife slaying
AWOL soldier charged in Kirkland knife slaying
A 19-year-old soldier from Joint Base Lewis-McChord was charged Thursday with first-degree murder in connection with the random attack on a Kirkland woman with a butcher knife on Nov. 30.
By Sara Jean Green
Seattle Times staff reporter
DNA evidence, fingerprints, video surveillance footage, bloody clothing and a particular brand of knife helped police connect the slaying of 19-year-old Scarlett Paxton to Dakota Wolf, a soldier who was staying at a friend's house less than 1 ½ miles from Paxton's apartment building, according to the charges filed by King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office.
Wolf was arrested and turned over to the Army for being absent without leave (AWOL) within 24 hours of Paxton's slaying, charging papers say. A $2 million arrest warrant was issued Thursday for Wolf, who was to be transferred from base corrections facility to the King County Jail, said Dan Donohoe, spokesman for Prosecutor Dan Satterberg.
"It appears that this violent, brutal, and protracted attack was unprovoked and random," charging papers say. "It further appears that the defendant, previously having armed himself with a large chef's knife, initially attacked the victim in one location then chased her to her apartment complex where he completed his attack."
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A 19-year-old soldier from Joint Base Lewis-McChord was charged Thursday with first-degree murder in connection with the random attack on a Kirkland woman with a butcher knife on Nov. 30.
By Sara Jean Green
Seattle Times staff reporter
"At the time of Paxton's death, Wolf had been AWOL from his Army unit for about a month, the third time he'd gone AWOL, charging documents say."A 19-year-old soldier from Joint Base Lewis-McChord was charged Thursday with first-degree murder in connection with the random attack on a Kirkland woman with a butcher knife on Nov. 30.
DNA evidence, fingerprints, video surveillance footage, bloody clothing and a particular brand of knife helped police connect the slaying of 19-year-old Scarlett Paxton to Dakota Wolf, a soldier who was staying at a friend's house less than 1 ½ miles from Paxton's apartment building, according to the charges filed by King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office.
Wolf was arrested and turned over to the Army for being absent without leave (AWOL) within 24 hours of Paxton's slaying, charging papers say. A $2 million arrest warrant was issued Thursday for Wolf, who was to be transferred from base corrections facility to the King County Jail, said Dan Donohoe, spokesman for Prosecutor Dan Satterberg.
"It appears that this violent, brutal, and protracted attack was unprovoked and random," charging papers say. "It further appears that the defendant, previously having armed himself with a large chef's knife, initially attacked the victim in one location then chased her to her apartment complex where he completed his attack."
read more here
Monday, November 14, 2011
Another veteran arrested for AWOL while getting help with PTSD
AWOL soldier arrested while seeking help for PTSD
Story Created: Nov 13, 2011 at 10:37 PM America/New_York
LEE COUNTY, Fla. - The family of an Orlando soldier arrested for going "AWOL" is fighting to get him out of jail.
25-year-old Devon Ritchie was getting treatment for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder when he was arrested for not returning to his station.
Family says Ritchie was on emergency leave after his mother, Barbie Boynton, suffered a series of strokes.
He was due to return to his base in Alaska October 11th.
That day, Boynton got a frantic call from Ritchie's wife.
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Story Created: Nov 13, 2011 at 10:37 PM America/New_York
Loved ones immediately brought him to a hospital where he was deemed a danger to himself. For the next few weeks he shuffled between psychiatric facilities, while doctors tried to find him long-term treatment.
LEE COUNTY, Fla. - The family of an Orlando soldier arrested for going "AWOL" is fighting to get him out of jail.
25-year-old Devon Ritchie was getting treatment for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder when he was arrested for not returning to his station.
Family says Ritchie was on emergency leave after his mother, Barbie Boynton, suffered a series of strokes.
He was due to return to his base in Alaska October 11th.
That day, Boynton got a frantic call from Ritchie's wife.
read more here
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
AWOL Soldier Suspected Of Kidnapping Daughter
AWOL Soldier Suspected Of Kidnapping Daughter
LAURIE CIPRIANO
KRDO NewsChannel 13
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- A mom is pleading for her missing daughter to be returned to her. She said the baby’s father, a Fort Carson soldier gone AWOL, kidnapped the infant.
Six-week-old Brooke Hembree has been missing for nearly two weeks. She is believed to be with her father, Derik Hembree.
The state has has custody of Brooke since she was born, but she was living with her father.
“I got a phone call from the DHS caseworker,” said Nicole Brewer, Brooke's mom. “She asked me to sit down. She told me that they went to go do a wellness check."
According to Brewer the caseworker found a note on Hembree's door on Aug. 3. Brewer said the caseworker would not show her the note, but said that Hembree had disappeared with the infant.
“Fort Carson knew that he was AWOL,” said Brewer. “I contacted the NCO (non-commissioned officer) that actually reported him AWOL, so they had a chance to pick him up,” said Brewer. “Renee (Department of Human Services caseworker) had a chance to not do this, to avoid all of this, and she didn't. I basically blame her for putting my daughter in danger.”
Brewer said Hembree is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.
read more here
LAURIE CIPRIANO
KRDO NewsChannel 13
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- A mom is pleading for her missing daughter to be returned to her. She said the baby’s father, a Fort Carson soldier gone AWOL, kidnapped the infant.
Six-week-old Brooke Hembree has been missing for nearly two weeks. She is believed to be with her father, Derik Hembree.
The state has has custody of Brooke since she was born, but she was living with her father.
“I got a phone call from the DHS caseworker,” said Nicole Brewer, Brooke's mom. “She asked me to sit down. She told me that they went to go do a wellness check."
According to Brewer the caseworker found a note on Hembree's door on Aug. 3. Brewer said the caseworker would not show her the note, but said that Hembree had disappeared with the infant.
“Fort Carson knew that he was AWOL,” said Brewer. “I contacted the NCO (non-commissioned officer) that actually reported him AWOL, so they had a chance to pick him up,” said Brewer. “Renee (Department of Human Services caseworker) had a chance to not do this, to avoid all of this, and she didn't. I basically blame her for putting my daughter in danger.”
Brewer said Hembree is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.
read more here
Friday, July 29, 2011
AWOL soldier arrested with bomb items near Ft. Hood
AWOL soldier arrested with bomb items near Ft. Hood
An AWOL soldier from the U.S. Army has been arrested, and bomb-making materials discovered in his motel room, near Fort Hood, Texas.
by KWTX.com, CBS News
Army Pvt. Nasser Jason Abdo, 21, who was AWOL from Fort Campbell, Kentucy, was arrested on Wednesday in Killeen, Texas, on an outstanding child pornography warrant.
Abdo was assigned to the 101st Airborne Division's Company E at the time of his arrest.
Killeen police arrested Abdo Wednesday afternoon at America's Best Value Inn on South Fort Hood Street after responding to a report of a suspicious man.
FBI spokesman Erik Vasys said Thursday that firearms and "items that could be identified as bomb-making components, including gunpowder" were removed from his motel room.
Abdo, who's from Garland, joined the Army in March 2009. He went AWOL on July 4, on the eve of his first deployment to Afghanistan.
A law enforcement official told CBS News that Abdo had asked how to build explosives at a gun store near Fort Hood. His questions about explosives made the gun store worker suspicious and contact police, the official said.
read more here
AWOL soldier arrested with bomb items near Ft. Hood
An AWOL soldier from the U.S. Army has been arrested, and bomb-making materials discovered in his motel room, near Fort Hood, Texas.
by KWTX.com, CBS News
Army Pvt. Nasser Jason Abdo, 21, who was AWOL from Fort Campbell, Kentucy, was arrested on Wednesday in Killeen, Texas, on an outstanding child pornography warrant.
Abdo was assigned to the 101st Airborne Division's Company E at the time of his arrest.
Killeen police arrested Abdo Wednesday afternoon at America's Best Value Inn on South Fort Hood Street after responding to a report of a suspicious man.
FBI spokesman Erik Vasys said Thursday that firearms and "items that could be identified as bomb-making components, including gunpowder" were removed from his motel room.
Abdo, who's from Garland, joined the Army in March 2009. He went AWOL on July 4, on the eve of his first deployment to Afghanistan.
A law enforcement official told CBS News that Abdo had asked how to build explosives at a gun store near Fort Hood. His questions about explosives made the gun store worker suspicious and contact police, the official said.
read more here
AWOL soldier arrested with bomb items near Ft. Hood
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