Sergeant's carjacking court martial begins
FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. --An Army sergeant accused of carjacking a sheik's sports utility vehicle in Iraq orchestrated a cover-up with other soldiers, the prosecution argued Tuesday in the first day of his court-martial.
Sgt. 1st Class James Williams, 37, is charged with armed robbery and willful dereliction of duty. If convicted, he faces up to 15 years in prison.
"This is a case about a noncommissioned officer that decided in Iraq that the law no longer applied to him," said Capt. Howard Hoege, an Army prosecutor.
Bernard Casey, Williams' civilian attorney, argued the SUV was taken properly in April 2003 under rules of engagement allowing personal property to be seized for military use.
Casey said the vehicle was taken only after Williams' lieutenant instructed soldiers to find him a vehicle, and that it was the lieutenant, Bradley Havlik, who came up with the cover story that the SUV was found abandoned.
Hoege said Williams pointed a handgun at the driver of the SUV, as another soldier, Staff Sgt. Alberto Lozano, pointed his rifle at the driver and told him to raise his hands. Williams later cleaned papers written in Arabic out of the SUV and another soldier pulled off the license plate, Hoege said.
Lozano testified Tuesday that at the time he believed he was following the rules of engagement, but now believes they used excessive force.
Casey said the cover story was made up by the lieutenant after the men returned with the SUV and said they had left no receipt at the scene. Early in the war, soliders had been instructed to leave a receipt if they took a civilian vehicle for military purposes.
Lozano was found guilty in October of robbery and making a false statement. He was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison but recently released in a pretrial agreement to testify in the case.
Two other soldiers who agreed to testify in the case received immunity from prosecution. A court martial for Havlik is scheduled Aug. 9 on charges including being an accessory to robbery. 