Marine trial set in death of Iraqi grandfather

CAMP PENDLETON, Calif., (Reuters)

A Marine charged in the April death of an Iraqi man will face a premeditated murder charge during a general court-martial trial starting on Feb. 12, military officials said on Friday.

Lance Cpl. Jerry Shumate is one of eight U.S. servicemen charged in the case that includes allegations of conspiracy, kidnapping, assault, housebreaking and larceny in the April 25 death of Hashim Ibrahim Awad.

At his arraignment at Camp Pendleton near San Diego on Friday, he reserved his plea for another date. At the hearing, the military judge, Marine Lt. Col. Jeffrey Meeks, denied a defense motion to release him from a military prison, saying “my concern in this particular case is flight.”

Last week, a U.S. medic who helped kidnap the Iraqi grandfather agreed to a plea deal under which he will serve a year in prison rather than 10 years set by a military judge. As part of the deal, Petty Officer Melson Bacos said he would testify against others involved in the incident.

Bacos testified his patrol leader’s anger at the release of a suspected “terrorist” from Baghdad’s Abu Ghraib prison prompted the murder of the man’s neighbour.

The incident was one of a series of incidents in which the conduct of American troops in Iraq has hurt the country’s image abroad. Other Camp Pendleton-based Marines are under investigation in a separate incident in November 2005 in which 24 civilians were killed in the Iraqi town of Haditha.