Jury deciding fate of Hamdania defendant

By: MARK WALKER - Staff Writer | Tuesday, July 17, 2007 9:18 PM PDT ∞

CAMP PENDLETON -- Three officers and six enlisted men are scheduled this morning to begin deliberating the fate of a Marine corporal accused of playing a key role in the kidnapping and slaying of a retired Iraqi policeman last year.

Testimony in the case against Cpl. Trent Thomas ended late Tuesday afternoon with the lead prosecutor, Lt. Col. John Baker, saying Thomas should be convicted of premeditated murder in the death of Hashim Ibrahim Awad in Hamdania.

"The government has proven over the course of the last week that Cpl. Trent D. Thomas is a murderer," Baker told the panel members during his final argument. "This was a plan to kidnap and kill somebody in cold blood."

But Thomas' lead attorney, Victor Kelley, contended that the government had failed to present sufficient evidence to warrant a conviction.

"There was no murder that night," Kelley maintained. "There's no evidence that Cpl. Thomas killed anybody that night."

At issue for the jury is whether Thomas should be convicted of the most serious charge of murder as well as kidnapping, conspiracy, larceny, housebreaking and making a false official statement. Thomas faces life in prison if convicted of premeditated murder.

Thomas, a 25-year-old St. Louis-area native who was on his third tour of duty in Iraq when the killing occurred, did not take the stand during the eight-day trial.

Instead of hearing directly from Thomas, the jury heard testimony from two doctors who testified he was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and was not thinking clearly when the incident occurred.

Kelley maintained the disorder led Thomas to follow whatever his leaders did.

Thomas, six other Marines and a Navy corpsman from Camp Pendleton's 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment were charged in June 2006 with the killing.

The corpsman and four Marines subsequently reached plea agreements with prosecutors and were sentenced to jail terms ranging from 12 months to eight years. Each testified that the architect of the plan to kidnap and kill was Sgt. Lawrence Hutchins III, the squad leader.

Each also testified that the squad agreed to find an Iraqi male and kill him as part of an effort to send a message to insurgents operating in the Hamdania area.

Thomas pleaded guilty earlier this year only to withdraw the plea three days into his sentencing hearing, saying he decided to do so because at the time of the incident, he was following the orders of Hutchins, his platoon leader.

During his closing arguments, Baker said the slightly built Thomas led the "snatch" team that took a sleeping Awad from his home and that he also helped steal an AK-47 assault rifle and a shovel. Those items were planted next to the dead man after he was shot to make it appear he was an insurgent planting a roadside bomb, the men who have pleaded guilty testified.

As Thomas' wife, Erica, and other family members watched, Baker pointed directly at Thomas and said he was the first man in the squad to fire at Awad and later approached the dying man and shot him three more times in the chest.

The slain Iraqi had never presented a threat to the Marines, Baker stressed.

"This is not a rule of engagement case," he said. "This is not one of those gray areas."

Kelley said that Thomas is a "wounded warrior" whose obedience to orders resulted in his participation. But Kelley contended the prosecution never proved that the slain man was in fact Awad, nor did it prove that he was an Iraqi. The jury should acquit Thomas on that basis alone, Kelley said.

He also implored the jury to stand by the accused corporal.

"When a Marine goes to combat, what is his greatest fear? His greatest fear is that he is going to let his brothers down. Please don't let this Marine down."

The panel members were directed by the military judge, Lt. Col. David Jones, to return to the base courtroom at 8 a.m. to begin their deliberations. Under the military justice system, two-thirds of the members need to agree in order to reach a verdict, unlike the civilian court system that requires a unanimous decision. All the members have at least one tour in Iraq and one has a Navy Cross award, the second-highest medal a Marine can be awarded for valor in combat.

The case against Hutchins is scheduled to begin on Tuesday. The trial for the remaining defendant, Cpl. Marshall Magincalda, is slated to start Friday.

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