Former Marine testifies in Iraqi detainee killings

RIVERSIDE, Calif.—A former Marine sergeant testified Tuesday at the civilian trial of a former squad leader accused of manslaughter that he saw the body of an Iraqi man on the floor and his colleague preparing his gun as two Iraqi detainees watched.

"It's something I wouldn't forget, that face, the dread," Cory Carlisle told jurors in the federal trial of squad leader Jose Luis Nazario Jr., who is longer in the military.

Nazario, 28, of Riverside, has pleaded not guilty to voluntary manslaughter on suspicion of killing or causing others to kill four unarmed detainees, assault with a deadly weapon and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence. If convicted of all the charges, he could face more than 10 years in prison.

The trial is the first time in which a civilian jury will decide whether the alleged actions of a former service member in combat violated the rules of engagement. The Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act, written in 2000 and amended in 2004, made that possible.

The case came to light in 2006 when Sgt. Ryan Weemer, Nazario's former squadmate, volunteered details to a U.S. Secret Service job interviewer during a lie-detector screening that included a question about the most serious crime he ever committed.

Several Marines allege Nazario shot two Iraqi men who had been detained while his squad searched a house, according to a Naval Criminal Investigative Service criminal complaint. The complaint claims four Iraqi men were killed on Nov. 9, 2004, in Fallujah.

According to The Press-Enterprise of Riverside, Carlisle told the jury that a few Marines searched a house where they found an older Iraqi man and three younger men in sweat pants sitting along a wall between two bedroom doors.

"Did they put their hands in the air?" asked Assistant U.S. Attorney Jerry Behnke.

"I specifically don't recall," Carlisle said.

Carlisle said he and other Marines searched the home for more people and then again for weapons. He said he heard a gun shot and then saw Weemer with his gun out and the older man on the ground.

He aid he was trying to leave when he heard another gun shot and saw Nazario in a living room with two Iraqi men and another lying on the ground.

"We didn't look too far into it, but you could tell he was dead. Sgt. Nazario was returning his weapon to the ready," Carlisle testified, adding that both Iraqis were staring at Nazario.

Weemer and another Marine, Sgt. Jermaine Nelson, are slated to be court-martialed on charges of unpremeditated murder and dereliction of duty for their roles in the deaths. They were both found in contempt of court last week for refusing to testify against Nazario.

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Information from: The Press-Enterprise of Riverside, http://www.pe.com