5 U.S. soldiers charged with murdering Afghans
Sergeant accused of forming 'kill team' to carry out executions
By Hal Bernton
Seattle Times
Posted: 08/26/2010 12:01:00 AM CDT


SEATTLE — Army Staff Sgt. Calvin Gibbs began joking with other soldiers in December about how easy it would be to "toss a grenade" at Afghan civilians and kill them, according to statements made by fellow platoon members to military investigators.

One soldier said it was a stupid idea. Another said Gibbs was "feeling out the platoon."

Others told investigators Gibbs eventually turned the talk into action, forming what one called a "kill team" to carry out random executions of Afghans.

In one of the most serious war crimes cases to emerge from the Afghanistan war, five soldiers from a Stryker infantry brigade based at Joint Base Lewis-McChord are charged with murder in the deaths of three Afghan civilians.

In two of the killings, grenades were thrown at the victims and they were shot, according to charging documents. The third victim also was shot.

The soldiers allegedly killed the Afghans while out on patrol, and anyone who dared to report the events was threatened with violence, investigators said.

The Seattle Times reviewed court documents — filed by a defense attorney with an Army magistrate — that summarize some of the evidence. The Times also interviewed attorneys for three of the defendants. The documents give insight into how the murder plot may have evolved, but they give few clues about motives.

All five soldiers await court-martial proceedings this year. If convicted, they could be sentenced to life imprisonment or


death.
The original murder charges were filed in June. At the request of the Seattle Times, Joint Base Lewis-McChord on Tuesday released additional charges that have been filed against the soldiers. Those include conspiracy to commit murder and, for three of them, use of a controlled substance.

The base also said charges have been filed against seven other soldiers that include impeding an investigation, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, unlawfully striking another soldier and conspiracy to commit assault and battery.

All of the charges made public Tuesday stem from the initial investigation as well as a related assault on a U.S. soldier, an Army official said.

The soldiers served with the 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment, part of the 5th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division that went to Afghanistan in summer 2009. Some 3,700 soldiers in the brigade (recently renamed the 2nd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division) were in southern Afghanistan.

Col. Harry Tunnell, commander of the 5th Brigade, interviewed in July, declined to comment on the criminal case. But he noted the investigation that led to the criminal charges was generated by the brigade itself.

The alleged murder plot came to the attention of the Army in May, according to court documents.

Army officials were initially investigating an assault on an enlisted man who had informed on soldiers smoking hashish. The informant said he had heard other soldiers talk about civilian killings.

Gibbs and Spc. Jeremy Morlock are the central figures in the case. They are charged in all three killings.

Gibbs, 25, has denied involvement. Morlock, 22, of Wasilla, Alaska, has played a major role in helping the Army develop the case. He has given numerous details about his involvement in the killings and implicated others.

Morlock's attorney, Michael Waddington, said he will try to have those statements withdrawn because his client spoke while under the influence of prescription drugs taken for battlefield injuries.

In interviews with Army investigators, soldiers portrayed Gibbs as a ringleader.

Gibbs, of Billings, Mont., is a veteran of two previous war zone tours — one in Afghanistan and a second in Iraq.

He allegedly boasted about "stuff" he had gotten away with in Iraq and discussed plans for killing Afghans with a small circle of soldiers, other soldiers said.

The first murder allegedly occurred during a patrol Jan. 15 in the Afghan village of La Mohammed Kalay.

While some soldiers spoke with village elders, Morlock was assigned to security duty at the edge of a poppy field with Pfc. Andrew Holmes, one of the youngest and least experienced soldiers in the platoon.

Morlock, in his statement cited in court documents, said an Afghan civilian named Gul Mudin emerged from the field and stopped behind a wall separating him from the soldiers. Morlock tossed a grenade given to him by Gibbs over a wall to kill the man, according to Morlock's statement.

In his statement, Holmes said he was then ordered to fire over the wall. He was unsure whether he hit anyone.

Later that day, Morlock told Holmes the killing was staged and unnecessary, Holmes said. He said Morlock threatened his life if he told anyone.

Holmes, of Boise, Idaho, is charged along with Morlock and Gibbs in that killing.

Holmes' attorney, Daniel Conway, said his client was not involved in the killings nor part of the inner circle that plotted crimes.

"We're eager to move forward with this process to show the world that Pfc. Holmes is a good 19-year-old kid with a big heart that was fighting a difficult war," Conway said.

Army prosecutors allege Spc. Michael Wagnon, 29, of Las Vegas was involved with Morlock and Gibbs in the murder of the second Afghan, Marach Agah, in February.

Morlock says Gibbs shot Agah and then placed an AK-47 by the corpse to make it appear to have been an act of self-defense, according to an attorney who has examined his statement.

Morlock alleges Wagnon was an accomplice. But Morlock's statements are contradicted by other soldiers, said Colby Vokey, an attorney for Wagnon. Some have told investigators they heard shots that might have indicated the Afghan fired first.

Vokey said his client is innocent and has no knowledge of any murders.

In the third killing, Morlock and Gibbs are accused of throwing a grenade at an Afghan named Mullah Adahdad and then shooting him. Spc. Adam Winfield, 21, of Cape Coral, Fla., also is charged in that killing.

Morlock's credibility is expected to be a big issue as the government moves forward to prosecute the soldiers.

Waddington, Morlock's attorney, said his client's statements were made under the influence of drugs. Morlock had a brutal year in Afghanistan, where he was exposed to four separate explosions that caused traumatic brain injury, he said.

To help him remain in Afghanistan, he was prescribed a cornucopia of legal prescription drugs.


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