First Of Accused Pendleton 8 Goes Free
SAN DIEGO, March 8, 2007 (www.nbcsandiego.com)

SAN DIEGO, Calif. — The first of eight Camp Pendleton squad members accused of kidnapping and murdering an Iraqi man was released from the brig Thursday.

The lawyer for Navy medic Melson J. Bacos, 21, said his client was happy to be free again and was looking forward to hugging his wife and his daughter.

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Attorney: Corpsman out of brig next month
SAN DIEGO, Feb. 7, 2007 (www.navytimes.com)

OCEANSIDE, Calif. — The hospital corpsman who pleaded guilty last year in a murder plot with members of his Marine Corps infantry squad will be released from a military brig next month, his attorney confirmed Wednesday.

Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Melson J. Bacos will be released from custody in the Camp Pendleton brig sometime between March 7 and March 12, said Jeremiah J. Sullivan III, a San Diego attorney.

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Navy medic who helped kill Iraqi in Hamdania set for release from prison

Feb. 6, 2007 (www.signonsandiego.com)

CAMP PENDLETON – A Navy corpsman who was sentenced to a year in military prison for his role in the killing of an Iraqi man will be released from the brig two months early, his attorney said Tuesday.

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Haditha prosecutors may not need to name all dead Iraqis

SAN DIEGO, Jan. 2, 2007 (NC Times)

SAN DIEGO – The fact that four of the 24 Iraqi civilians allegedly killed by a group of Marines in Haditha, Iraq, in 2005 have not been identified by prosecutors may mean that there isn't a solid enough case to tie those victims to the accused, a military law expert said Tuesday.

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Saturday, October 7, 2006

Plot detailed at court-martial

Frustrated by the repeated release of a suspected terrorist in Iraq, a Camp Pendleton unit decided to enforce its own brand of justice with an execution. So said Petty Officer 3rd Class Melson J. Bacos during his court-martial yesterday at Camp Pendleton.

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Thursday, October 5, 2006; 7:31 PM

Navy medic makes plea deal in Iraq killing

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A U.S. Navy medic charged in the murder of an Iraqi man in the town of Hamdania will plead guilty to lesser charges in return for testifying about his own role and that of seven Marines in the killing, his lawyer said on Thursday.

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Still not charged with crime, sailor wears shackles

Lawyer says ‘cruel and unusual’ treatment is worse than what some alleged terrorists receive

June 7, 2006 • SAN DIEGO — The attorney for a 20-year-old corpsman — one of a dozen in an infantry company suspected in the April shooting death of an Iraqi man — criticized his treatment at the Camp Pendleton brig, where he’s shackled at the hands and feet and held in solitary confinement for all but one hour a day.

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Attorney: Leaks Jeopardize Fair Trial In Iraqi Civilian Killing

Navy Corpsman, 7 Marines Allegedly Kidnapped, Killed Iraqi Man

June 7, 2006 • SAN DIEGO — An attorney for a Navy corpsman arrested with seven Marines in connection with an Iraqi man's slaying said Wednesday that evidence from the investigation was leaked to the media, jeopardizing his client's chance for a fair trial.

Jeremiah J. Sullivan III said a member of the media last night e-mailed his office a document from the investigation that had been scanned.

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7 Marines, sailor charged in Iraqi's death

June 21, 2006 • CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. —
even Marines and a Navy corpsman were charged Wednesday with premeditated murder in the shooting death of an Iraqi man who was pulled from his home and shot while U.S. troops hunted for insurgents. They could face the death penalty if convicted.

All eight also were charged with kidnapping. Other charges include conspiracy, larceny and providing false official statements.

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Navy corpsman will be exonerated, lawyer says

June 6, 2006SAN DIEGO – A decorated Navy corpsman arrested with seven Marines in connection with the fatal shooting of an Iraqi man in April is innocent of criminal wrongdoing and ultimately will be exonerated, his lawyer said Tuesday.

Jeremiah J. Sullivan III told reporters that murder, conspiracy to commit murder, kidnapping and conspiracy to commit kidnapping charges likely will be filed against his client and others this week.

Sullivan said his client was awarded the Purple Heart and was on his second combat mission to Iraq when...

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• Defending the accused:
Many attorneys in Hamdania case practiced law while serving in military
NORTH COUNTRY- July 1, 2006 (NC Times)
Civilian attorneys hired by eight Camp Pendleton men accused of murdering an Iraqi civilian in Hamdania have years of legal experience, including many gained during long stints in the military.

• Defendants’ lawyers:
Iraqi families want money
CAMP PENDLETON, Calif, June 27, 2006
(AP/Navy Times)
Lawyers for some of the seven Marines and a Navy hospital corpsman charged with murdering an Iraqi man are questioning the credibility of their Iraqi accusers...

• 8 U.S. Troops Face Murder Charges
SAN DIEGO, June 2, 2006 (CBS/AP)
Seven Marines and a Navy corpsman could face murder, kidnapping and conspiracy charges as early as Friday...

• US troops to face Iraq murder charges
June 2, 2006 (Aljazeera)
The eight men are being held at Camp Pendleton Marine Corps base north of San Diego, Jeremiah Sullivan III, who represents one of the men, said on Thursday.

• Marines will be charged with murder
SAN DIEGO, June 2, 2006 (AP/Wire Service)
A sailor will also be charged, according to a defense lawyer, in an Iraqi death unrelated to a more famous case in Haditha.

• Attorney: 7 Marines, sailor face murder charges
SAN DIEGO, June 1, 2006 (MSNBC/AP)
Military prosecutors plan to file murder, kidnapping and conspiracy charges against seven Marines and a Navy corpsman in the shooting death of an Iraqi man in April, a defense lawyer said Thursday.

• Marine not guilty of attack on baby      SAN DIEGO, Mar. 15, 2005 (SD Union-Tribune)

A Camp Pendleton-based Marine was acquitted Thursday of charges that he tried to kill a baby nearly two years ago.

Lance Cpl. John Aguilar was found not guilty of assault against the 3 1⁄2-month-old daughter of a woman with whom he was having an affair. A conviction could have put the 26-year-old New York City native in military prison for life.

• One SEAL cleared of detainee-abuse charges
SAN DIEGO, Dec. 21, 2004 (AP/Navy Times)
A Navy SEAL has been acquitted of charges of beating a handcuffed and hooded terrorist suspect who died a short while later at the Abu Ghraib prison, while a second commando received probation...

• FBI Memos Describe Prison Abuses
WASHINGTON, Dec. 21, 2004 (AP/CBS)
Pentagon officials are investigating new allegations by a civil liberties group that military interrogators at the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay used abusive tactics to question detainees...

• SEAL Acquitted in Prisoner's Death
SAN DIEGO, Dec. 20, 2004 (AP/Wash. Post)
A Navy SEAL was acquitted of charges that he beat a handcuffed and hooded terrorism suspect who later died, and a second U.S. commando received probation for assaulting another prisoner, attorneys for the men said Monday.

• SEALs Face Abu Ghraib Court-Martial Hearing
SAN DIEGO, Oct. 27, 2004 (AP/Fox)
Two Navy SEALs (search) will face court-martial proceedings for allegedly assaulting a detainee who died at the Abu Ghraib (search) prison in Iraq, the Navy said Wednesday.

• San Diego 'Real World' Member Faces Judge
SAN DIEGO, Nov. 20, 2003 (10 News)
A female cast member of MTV's "Real World" pleaded no contest Thursday to misdemeanor fighting in public for assaulting a 29-year-old Marine at a Pacific Beach bar last summer.

• 'Real World San Diego' Cast Member Arrested
SAN DIEGO, Sept. 5, 2003 (10 News)
A cast member of MTV's "Real World San Diego" was arrested early Wednesday morning outside of a Pacific Beach bar.