Haditha case set to unfold starting May 8

By: MARK WALKER - Staff Writer | Friday, April 27, 2007 9:50 PM PDT ∞

NORTH COUNTY -- The first criminal case to be heard in the killing of two dozen Iraqi civilians in Haditha in 2005 will unfold one week from Tuesday when Marine Capt. Randy W. Stone appears in a Camp Pendleton courtroom.

Stone is accused of two counts of dereliction of duty and violation of a lawful order for allegedly failing to accurately report and investigate a suspected violation of the law of war, according to the charges against him filed by the Marine Corps on Dec. 21.

The 34-year-old New York native was the staff legal adviser of Camp Pendleton's 3rd Battalion when the Haditha killings took place in the aftermath of a roadside bombing that destroyed a Humvee and killed a lance corporal on Nov. 19, 2005.

Stone continued to hold the battalion's top legal position until shortly before the charges against him and similar accusations against three other officers were filed. Four enlisted men also were charged with unpremeditated murder and negligent homicide as a result of the civilian deaths.

Military law experts and historians have said the charges against Stone represent the first time a legal officer has been accused of criminal conduct arising out of a wartime setting.

During what is known as an Article 32 hearing, Stone's attorneys and Marine Corps prosecutors will present their cases.

At the conclusion, the hearing officer will recommend whether he believes Stone should be ordered to court-martial. That decision will be made by Lt. Gen. James Mattis, the convening authority over the case as head of Marine Corps forces in the Middle East.

Several sources with intimate knowledge of the case have told the North County Times that they believe Stone stands the best chance of seeing charges dropped.

He is essentially accused of not ordering his own investigation, instead relying on written reports from the Marines who were there and after-action reports filed by other officers.

Efforts to reach Stone's lead attorney, Charles Gittins of Middletown, Va., were unsuccessful. Military prosecutors are forbidden from discussing pending cases.

The Haditha killings occurred on a day when there were four insurgent attacks in the city, part of what defense attorneys say was a day of coordinated attacks against U.S. forces in the Anbar province west of Baghdad.

The violence was so intense that Marine commanders dispatched two quick-reaction forces, ordered one airstrike and had two helicopter gunships respond to the attacks.

The civilian deaths the Marines are accused of came in the wake of the Humvee attack. The killings started with the slaying of five men who emerged from a car that drove up shortly after the Humvee was blown up, and the killing of 19 others in an attack on four nearby homes where the Marines say they were under attack by small-arms fire.

Defense attorneys contend the men charged with murder properly responded to being attacked. Attorneys for the officers contend their clients accurately reported what they knew and also are not guilty of any wrongdoing.

No Iraqi witnesses are expected to appear at any of the hearings, and there were no forensic tests on any victims because family members refused requests to allow exhumations.

The Marine Corps in recent days has granted immunity to at least eight of the men who were at Haditha. A sergeant who was accused of five counts of murder saw charges dismissed after prosecutors said his testimony at upcoming hearings outweighed his involvement. A lieutenant who was part of a reaction force and allegedly ordered the Marines to assault the homes also has been granted immunity.

As the first case to reach court, Stone's hearing is expected to draw dozens of reporters to a media center the Marine Corps has established deep inside Camp Pendleton. The center features large television screens to view proceedings broadcast from a nearby courtroom that has limited seating.

Less than three months before the Haditha killings, President Bush had praised Stone during a 2005 visit to San Diego for a rally to "stay the course" in Iraq.

During his speech, Bush noted that Stone's grandfather, Leon Stone, fought as a Navy sailor supporting the Marines in the battle of Iwo Jima during World War II.

"And today ... Captain Randy Stone carries on a proud family tradition," Bush said. "Captain Stone is a Marine officer now serving in Iraq. He knows that he and his generation are doing the same vital work in this war on terror that his grandparents did in World War II. He also knows how this struggle will end."

If Stone is ultimately ordered to trial and convicted of all the counts against him, the maximum punishment he could face would be two years in jail and a dismissal from the service.

An Article 32 hearing for the highest-ranking officer charged in the case, Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani, is scheduled to begin the last week in May.

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

First name only. Comments including last names, contact addresses, e-mail addresses or phone numbers will be deleted. Attempts to misrepresent your identity or impersonate any person will not be approved. All comments are screened before they appear online, so please keep them brief. Comments reflect the views of those commenting and not necessarily those of the North County Times or its staff writers. Click here to view additional comment policies.