Last phase of pretrial motions in fragging case
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- August
- 19
Maybe this will finally come to an end.
Fort Bragg says tomorrow will start the last phase off pretrial motions in the murder trial of Staff Sgt. Alberto Martinez of Troy who is accused in the 2005 killings of Capt. Phillip Esposito of Suffern and 1st. Lt. Louis Allen of Milford, Penn. Their deaths are considered the first fragging incident since the U.S. invaded Iraq. Pretrials motions started in Oct 2005, four months after their deaths, and they continue three years later.
But the Aug. 20 to Aug. 22 motions, a whopping 49 in all, will be the last phase, Thomas McCollum, a spokesman for Fort Bragg assured me. The actual court-martial is set for Oct. 6 to Dec. 31, and this time JAG will hold to the date, he said. A couple of court-martial dates have been thrown around before, so we’ll keep our fingers crossed.
The families of Esposito and Allen have already left for Fort Bragg, keeping to their 2005 promise of attending every hearing that is held, whether it is in the Middle East or stateside. So far the widows of the two men and their families have made more than 10 trips to the military base. If the military keeps to its word, the next time the families go, it will be for the court-martial. Perhaps that will bring some closure to their pain.
This entry was posted
on Tuesday, August 19th, 2008 at 2:20 pm by Hema Easley. 
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