Lesser Plea In Soldier Murder

Army Spc. Justin R. Fisher, charged as an accessory to murder in the beating death of a barracks mate rumored to be gay, pleaded guilty to lesser charges Saturday.

Fisher, 26, admitted he lied to Army investigators and obstructed the investigation when he wiped blood from a baseball bat used by Pvt. Calvin Glover to kill Pfc. Barry Winchell.

Under the plea agreement, the Army dropped other charges, including participating as a principal to premeditated murder and acting as an accessory after the fact.

Fisher, of Lincoln, Neb., was expected to be sentenced Saturday, and he could face 20 years in prison.

Last month, Glover, 19, was convicted in a court-martial of premeditated murder and sentenced to life in prison.

Glover killed Winchell as he slept in his cot at Fort Campbell. There had been a swirl of rumors on the post that Winchell, 21, of Kansas City, Mo., was gay, and prosecutors said Glover was driven by hatred of homosexuals.

Glover, of Sulphur, Okla., never addressed the allegation that he despised homosexuals. His attorneys argued that Fisher goaded Glover into the attack.