Fragging trial
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- November
- 8
For all of you who’ve been reading my stories about the court-martial of Staff Sgt. Alberto Martinez in the murder of two officers in Iraq, the trial is expected to run until he end of the year. As you know, the 41-year-old Troy, NY, native is being tried for the premeditated murders of Capt. Phillip Esposito of Suffern and 1st Lt. Louis Allen of Milford, Pa. in 2005. Prosecutors say Martinez planted a claymore mine on the window ledge of Esposito’s office in Saddam Hussein’s Water Palace in Tikrit, Iraq, and also detonated grenades to simulate an enemy mortar attack, which was very common. He has pleaded not guilty.
Several witnesses have testifed that Martinez was openly hostile toward Esposito and had made threats against him. One witness told the jury that Martinez had sought her help in tracking Esposito’s movements and finding a key to his office. So it’s surprising that no one informed the Army top brass that Martinez was talking about fragging Esposito.
This has been a particularly disturbing issue with the family members of the deceased men. One wonders that with the history of fragging during the Vietnam war, the armed forces would have some rules in place that make it mandatory for soldiers to report threats against members of the armed forces.
With so many witnesses testifying that they heard Martinez using expletives against Esposito and making threats, the defense is finding it hard to deny it. It is arguing that Martinez was just venting because he was upset with disciplinary action that Esposito was contemplating against him because of his poor job performance.
Let’s see how it goes. The prosecution has a couple of dozen more witnesses to bring to the stand, and the defense has several dozen. Stay tuned.
P.S. The court-martial is taking place at Fort Bragg, NC. A live video feed has been made available to family members and the media at West Point. The widows and parents of the victims are attending the trial at Fort Bragg.
This entry was posted
on Saturday, November 8th, 2008 at 12:51 pm by Hema Easley. 
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