Troops charged in death

Two 101st Airborne Division soldiers in Iraq are facing premeditated murder charges following the death of a an Iraqi detainee.
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One of the soldiers, Staff Sgt. Hal M. Warner, was scheduled for an Article 32 hearing — the equivalent of a preliminary hearing in civilian court — Aug. 15, but that court appearance was pushed back to Sept. 5. The hearing is scheduled to take place at Contingency Operating Base Speicher, Iraq.

According to an Army news release, Warner and 1st Lt. Michael C. Behenna have both been charged with premeditated murder, assault, making a false official statement and obstruction of justice.

Warner also has been charged with accessory after the fact.

An Article 32 hearing for Behenna has not been set.

Both are assigned to D Company, 1st Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team. Warner and Behenna are accused of killing Ali Mansur Mohamed, a detainee who was believed to be initially released from coalition custody on around May 16.

Charge specifications indicate Warner and Behenna killed Mohamed “by means of shooting him with a pistol” at or near their forward operating base near Bayji and then lying about it, the Associated Press reported.

Warner, from Braggs, Okla., was formally charged on July 13, and Behenna, from Edmond, Okla., on July 31, the military said.

The military said punishment could include the possibility of life imprisonment without parole, depending on the results of the investigation.

An attorney for Behenna, Jack Zimmerman, has said he will fight the charges.

Behenna is the son of a federal prosecutor in Oklahoma City and a retired Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation agent.

His mother, Vicki Behenna, helped convict Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh, and his father, Scott Behenna, was part of the investigation that led to criminal charges against former Gov. David Walters.

Following the 101st Airborne’s last deployment to Iraq in 2006, four Fort Campbell soldiers were charged in the deaths of three Iraqi detainees.

The soldiers received sentences between nine months and 18 years in prison for their roles in the deaths during a May 9, 2006, raid near Samarra, Iraq.

Four other 101st soldiers pleaded guilty or were convicted in 2007 for their roles in raping and killing a 14-year-old Iraqi girl and murdering her and her family from a checkpoint near Mahmoudiya, a village 20 miles south of Baghdad.

A soldier charged as an accessory received five years, while the others’ sentences ranged from 90 to 110 years. Pfc. Steven Green is still awaiting trial in the rape and murder case.

He pleaded not guilty in November 2006 after being indicted on charges that included premeditated murder and aggravated sexual assault.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. Jake Lowary covers military affairs. He can be reached at 245-0719 or at jakelowary@theleafchronicle.com.

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