Jury will not hear of short sentences in Hamdania case

By: TERI FIGUEROA --- Staff Writer | Wednesday, May 30, 2007 1:53 PM PDT ∞

CAMP PENDLETON ---- Jurors will not learn about the short jail sentences handed to codefendants of a Camp Pendleton Marine corporal accused of a plot that led to the kidnapping and killing of an Iraqi man last year, a judge ruled Wednesday.

The ruling from the military judge, Lt.Col. Eugene Robinson, was one of a few blows delivered to the defense in the case of Cpl. Marshall Magincalda, who is set to go to court-martial on June 11.

The central California native is one of eight Camp Pendleton troops accused of snatching retired Iraqi police officer Hashim Ibrahim Awad from his home in Hamdania on April 26, 2006, then marching him a mile or so down the road, where he was shot to death.

Magincalda has pleaded not guilty, as has codefendant Cpl. Trent Thomas. A third co-defendant, Sgt. Lawrence Hutchins, has not yet entered a plea.

Five of the troops have pleaded guilty to reduced charges in the matter; all were sentenced to jail or prison time ranging from as short as a year to as long as eight years in exchange for pleading guilty and testifying against the other men accused in Awad's death.

Robinson's ruling is the opposite ruling made by the judge overseeing the case of one of Magincalda's codefendants, Cpl. Trent Thomas. In the Thomas case, the military jury will be allowed to hear about the short sentences given to the five men who pleaded guilty.

Robinson's rulings, which came at the start of what is scheduled to be a three-day pretrial hearing for Magincalda, included the rejection of a request from the defense that the jury know the minimum sentence faced Magincalda is life in prison if he is convicted of premeditated murder.

Robinson also denied Magincalda's defense team a second visit to Hamdania to conduct their own investigation.

"The defense has failed to establish that there is a reasonable likelihood that a second visit would benefit them," Robinson said.

Members of his defense team went to Iraq in January, but security concerns hamstrung them from spending much time in Hamdania. Also hampering their investigation at the time was the refusal of Awad's family members and other witnesses to speak with them or to travel to the United States to testify.

In denying the second visit to Iraq, Robinson also said the situation in the rural village of Hamdania has "deteriorated significantly" in the 13 months since Awad's slaying, and that the area is now "considered to be hostile territory."

Magincalda's hearing is continuing today, but portions of it are closed because the discussion centers on admissibility of classified information.