Accused Marine arraigned in Hamdania killing

By: MARK WALKER - Staff Writer | Thursday, March 1, 2007 12:32 PM PST ∞

CAMP PENDLETON -- A Marine corporal who withdrew guilty pleas entered in January in the killing of an Iraqi civilianwas arraigned Thursday on a new set of charges that include premeditated murder.

Cpl. Trent Thomas appeared in a base courtroom before Lt. Col. David Jones. He reserved his right to enter a plea until a later date, and also reserved declaring whether he wants his case tried before a panel of military jurors that could include up to one-third enlisted personnel.

The 25-year-old St. Louis area native pleaded guilty on Jan. 18 to murder, conspiracy, kidnapping and related offenses in the death of Hashim Ibrahim Awad last year, but was allowed to withdraw those pleas after he told his attorneys he had changed his mind and now believed he was acting at his sergeant's direction and therefore is not guilty of any crimes.

He was back in court this morning for the arraignment and motions that included his attorneys asking for a full pre-trial investigation, a hearing that he had waived last October.

Defense attorney Maj. Dale Saran said the refiled charges against Thomas, who was on his third deployment to Iraq when the killing occurred, mandate that a full Article 32 hearing be conducted. An Article 32 hearing is used to determine whether an accused service member should be order to trial.

"We're back at the beginning," Saran told Jones. "We're back at square one."

But the lead prosecutor, Lt. Col. John Baker, argued the refiled charges do not constitute any real new allegations and that Thomas' waiver of the pretrial hearing last year should still apply.

The morning ended with a federal agent testifying that Thomas acknowledged his role in the April 26 slaying of retired Iraqi policeman Hashim Ibrahim when confronted during an interview on May 16 in Iraq.

Toward the end of that session, Naval Criminal Investigative Service Agent James Connolly said Thomas made a statement acknowledging his role in the killing. Thomas' attorney are seeking to have that statement barred from evidence.

Thomas is one of eight men from a 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment platoon based at Camp Pendleton charged in the slaying. Five of the accused have pleaded guilty in negotiated deals with prosecutors that saw them sentenced to jail terms ranging from 12 months to eight years.

The men who have pleaded guilty said the slaying was carried out to send a message to Iraqis in and around the Anbar province village of Hamdania that the Marines were tired of being attacked. A similar statement was made by Thomas when he pleaded guilty in January.

Military law experts say that Thomas' decision on Feb. 8 to withdraw the guilty pleas and admissions is a highly unusual development in a homicide case where no new major facts have emerged.

Thomas' attorneys have said they will argue at trial that the married father of a young daughter will contend that because he was following the order of his sergeant, he should not be convicted of a crime.

That sergeant, Lawrence Hutchins III, is set to go to trial next month. His attorneys contend he is innocent and spent Tuesday and Wednesday of this week attempting to have a military judge suppress statements he made to investigators. Hutchins' attorneys also want a judge to order a second trip to Iraq so they can attempt to interview witnesses they contend could help his case.

Testimony in Thomas' hearing continues this afternoon.

His wife, Erica, attended the morning session and frequently conferred with her husband during breaks and often exchanged smiles as testimony was taking place.

See Friday's North County Times for a complete account of Thursday's hearing.

-- Contact staff writer Mark Walker at (760) 740-3529 or mlwalker@nctimes.com.