CAMP PENDLETON - A jury of combat veterans Wednesday acquitted a Marine corporal of murder and kidnapping charges in a death plot that left an Iraqi grandfather riddled with bullets by the side of an Iraqi road 15 months ago.

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In a court-martial that revolved around the frustrations of Marines in combat, Cpl. Marshall Magincalda was found guilty of three lesser charges: conspiracy to commit murder, larceny and housebreaking.

The conspiracy charge brings with it a maximum sentence of life in prison, but there is no minimum sentence for that or either of the other crimes. Last month, a Marine convicted of the conspiracy charge in the same case was sentenced to a bad-conduct discharge and avoided jail.

Magincalda, 24, stood stoically but flinched just slightly as the first of his verdicts was read in a crowded courtroom at Camp Pendleton. One of his supporters gasped. After the jury left the room, his father and stepmother hugged. His stepmother, Leanne Magincalda, broke down in tears.

"It was like I could hear the words but my mind wasn't comprehending them," she said.

The jury also cleared her stepson of making a false official statement.

The verdict was "a blessing," said Joseph Low, Magincalda's civilian attorney. "We got a fair jury, and all we wanted was a fair trial."

A sentencing hearing for Magincalda will begin this morning.

A separate jury is still deliberating the fate of his squad leader, Sgt. Lawrence Hutchins III, who is accused of being the architect of the plot to snatch and kill a man suspected as a key insurgent responsible for roadside bomb attacks on U.S. troops near Hamdania, a rural Iraqi village.

When their attempt to grab that man fizzled, they kidnapped and killed his neighbor instead, Marines testified. Under the plan, the squad members forced their victim out of bed, marched him to a dirt hole a mile or so down the road and shot him to death.

Less than two months after the April 26, 2006, killing, the military charged the Camp Pendleton-based squad of seven Marines and a Navy corpsman with murder, kidnapping, conspiracy and other charges.

In court, some of the accused troops testified they all agreed to carry out the plot to send a message to insurgents operating in the Hamdania area.

The Marines and corpsman said they covered up their plan by reporting that they shot the Iraqi man after spotting him planting a roadside bomb. Although first deemed a lawful killing by the Marine Corps, complaints from the victim's family prompted an investigation.

Testimony in the cases against Hutchins, Magincalda and their six squad mates offered a glimpse into the frustration and fears facing Marines who spent their tours traveling bomb-laced streets, often living off the base and never having their guns out of reach.

Defense attorneys in both Hutchins' and Magincalda's cases did not deny that their clients played a role in the plot. But they argued that violence toward Iraqi detainees was encouraged by the men's superiors.

Jurors heard testimony from Marines that superiors in their company beat Iraqi suspects during questioning, and shoved guns in their faces or mouths. And Lt. Nathan Phan, who was in charge of the platoon, testified last week that he had directed Hutchins to choke another Iraqi detainee until he was unconscious. The Marine Corps reprimanded Phan earlier this year.

Phan also testified that he and the squad had talked about killing local insurgents, and that his attitude may have shaped the kidnapping and slaying plot. But he did not order Marines to do what they did on the night in question, he said.

Magincalda's jury also heard that the squad was frustrated upon learning that the insurgent who was its original target had been questioned but was then allowed to go home.

Marines also testified that the squad had been viewed as weak, and that combat work was often farmed out to another squad in their platoon.

Every juror considering Magincalda's and Hutchins' cases has served a least one tour of duty in Iraq. Some of them have had multiple trips, and some have been awarded medals for valor.

"I think only a combat vet can understand another combat vet," said Low, Magincalda's attorney. "It's an experience you have to go through. You cannot be told about it."

Five enlisted men and one officer make up Magincalda's jury. Hutchins' jury consists of five officers and four enlisted men.

Of the eight-man squad, five members - the Navy corpsman and four of the more junior Marines - agreed to plead guilty to reduced charges in exchange for testifying against their squad mates. Most of them received jail sentences of less than two years.

In court, each of the five men testified that Hutchins was the architect of the plan.

Jurors in Hutchins' case are scheduled to continue deliberating this morning.

- Contact staff writer Teri Figueroa at (760) 631-6624 or tfigueroa@nctimes.com.