Sgt. Faces Court Martial In Iraq Killing

A U.S. Army sergeant faces a hearing Wednesday to determine whether there is enough evidence to court-martial him on charges of murder in the deaths of four Iraqis who were bound, blindfolded, shot and dumped in a Baghdad canal.

Sgt. 1st Class Joseph P. Mayo, 27, is charged with one count each of premeditated murder, conspiracy to commit premeditated murder, and obstruction of justice in the spring 2007 incident.

He is the sixth of seven soldiers implicated in the case to face a judge since August and faces a possible life sentence without parole if convicted at trial.

The Article 32 hearing Wednesday, the military equivalent of a civilian grand jury, will assess the charges against Mayo and decide whether to refer him for a court-martial.

Mayo has already been implicated by other soldiers who were on the patrol. All soldiers involved were with the 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade of the 1st Infantry Division in Iraq, which is now part of the Germany-based 172nd Infantry Brigade.

According to testimony, four Iraqis - likely Sunnis - were taken into custody after a shootout with insurgents and taken to the unit's operating base near Baghdad. Later that night, according to testimony, members of the patrol took the four men to a remote location and killed them in retribution for attacks against the soldiers' unit.

The U.S. military did not give a specific date, saying only that the killings occurred between March 10 and April 16, 2007.

Spc. Steven Ribordy, 25, of Salina, Kansas, testified at his court-martial in October that he saw three members of his patrol - Mayo, Sgt. Michael P. Leahy Jr. 26, of Lockport, Illinois, as well as Sgt. John E. Hatley, 40 - at the scene of the killings and smelled gunpowder in the air.

The U.S. military could not immediately provide details of Mayo's hometown.

Ribordy pleaded guilty to accessory to murder at his court-martial and was sentenced to eight months in prison. He received a bad conduct discharge from the Army as part of a plea deal.

In September, Spc. Belmor Ramos, 23, of Clearfield, Utah, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to murder and was sentenced to seven months in prison and given a dishonorable discharge.

Ramos and Ribordy were in the same Humvee on the patrol when the killings took place - Ramos manning the machine-gun turret and Ribordy at the wheel, Ribordy testified. Both have agreed to testify for the prosecution at upcoming trials, as part of their plea bargains.

In August, the Army held Article 32 hearings investigating the involvement of Staff Sgt. Jess Cunningham, 27, of Bakersfield, California, and Sgt. Charles Quigley, 28 of Providence, Rhode Island, in the incident.

The Army said Nov. 17 it had found enough evidence to take those men to a court-martial on charges of conspiracy to commit premeditated murder, though it hasn't announced a date for the trials. Cunningham and Quigley could face possible life sentences without parole if convicted.

In November, Leahy waived his right to an Article 32 hearing. No immediate date was set for his court-martial on charges of murder, conspiracy to commit murder and obstruction of justice stemming from the killings in spring 2007. He faces a possible life sentence without parole if convicted.

The last of the seven soldiers, Hatley, faces charges of murder, conspiracy to commit murder and obstruction of justice. Hatley waived his right to an Article 32 hearing, and no date has been announced for his trial either. He also faces a possible life sentence without parole if convicted.

Leahy will also have to answer to additional charges of murder, conspiracy to commit murder and accessory to murder after the fact for a separate incident in January 2007. The Army has not provided further details on the January incident.

Hatley also faces another murder and conspiracy to commit murder charge stemming from the same January 2007 incident.