Soldier held in Afghan rampage moved to Wash.

October 15, 2012 @ 7:14 pm

AP: 2ae1af4e-d738-4ef0-9d31-311d53622df4
Attorney John Henry Browne, right, and co-counsel Emily Gause, left, and Colleen Hartl, center, talk to reporters, March 30, 2012, in Seattle. Browne is the attorney for U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Robert Bales, who is now accused of gunning down 16 civilians _ instead of 17 _ in a pre-dawn raid on two Afghan villages in March. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren) | Zoom

JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. (AP) - The U.S. soldier accused of killing 16 Afghan civilians in March was transferred Monday to an Army base in Washington state, where he faces a pretrial hearing Nov. 5.

Staff Sgt. Robert Bales arrived late Monday afternoon at Joint Base Lewis-McChord and was being held in pretrial confinement, Lt. Col. Gary Dangerfield confirmed. Bales was transferred from a military prison at Fort Leavenworth, Kan.

Bales faces 16 counts of premeditated murder; six counts of attempted murder; seven counts of assault; and one count each of possessing steroids, using steroids, destroying a laptop, burning bodies and using alcohol.

His civilian lawyer, John Henry Browne, said a defense request for a delay in the pretrial hearing was denied Monday.

The defense sought the delay because it has been told it won't receive forensic evidence until Oct. 26. Browne said that will leave insufficient time to evaluate it.

"That's what, 10 days before the hearing? But the judge says it's going forward no matter what," Browne said.

The pretrial hearing is expected to last two weeks.

Browne said he will travel to Afghanistan soon to question witnesses.

During the hearing, villagers are expected to testify by video from Kandahar Air Field in Afghanistan. The second week of the proceeding will be held in the evening so villagers can testify during daylight hours in Afghanistan.

The hearing under Article 32 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice will determine whether Bales, of Lake Tapps, will face a court-martial.

Investigators say Bales was armed with a 9 mm pistol and M4 rifle outfitted with a grenade launcher when he walked off his base in southern Afghanistan March 11 and went on a nighttime killing spree.

Bales could face the death penalty if convicted.


(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
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Comments (28)


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  • Bucket Dad wrote...
    This is going to be a PR issue with the Afghan villagers
    March 13, 2012 8:20 am
    The American way (which I fully am behind) requires a careful investigation, a legal process, proper defense representation, and a trial to protect the rights of all that are involved, including the accused. The Afghan villagers won't understand that. They wanted the guy's head (literally) yesterday. Even if they do buy into our process, they are going to want to see the execution be painful and bloody, not some lethal injection.

    Take a look at the Fort Hood shooter. His crime was committed in 2009. He faces the death penalty. And his case has been delayed to June so his defense can prepare properly. Does anyone think some illiterate Afghan is going to understand that process? He is going to go to the Taliban ask for an AK-47 and begin taking potshots at anyone in an American uniform.

    Mr. Obama, get our people out now. We can't even protect our people in a restricted area in the Afghan Defense Ministry, what pipe dream are you living that you think that we can accomplish a mission with such solidly defined goals as "getting Afghanistan secure ENOUGH to exit."

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  • ron prevost wrote...
    foreign crimes
    March 17, 2012 5:04 am
    But, if the Fort Hood shooter had been a French soldier, say at Ft. Hood for training, how happy would WE be to see him sent to Paris for trial ? .............His crimes were against Afghan civilians - not his fellow soldiers. Or do American troops somehow have diplomatic immunity ?
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • HPD 5-0 wrote...
    "was"?
    March 17, 2012 5:33 am
    He's still a father and will always be.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • itiswhatitis wrote...
    Dont think it wont happen here?
    March 17, 2012 5:49 am
    I'm sorry. We have sent many brave men and women over to a foreign country to fight two wars. Many have gone several times and have been forever changed. I've seen people about ready to deploy drink themselves into a drunk rage. This is going to be a bigger problem not only in Afghanastan but here too. The armed services need to figure out a heck of a better way to handle PTSD and other mental/physical evaluations of everyone that has served many tours to save a bunch of families back here too. Horrible crime. I always feel for the family because they are suffering for his actions.
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  • ron prevost wrote...
    Afghan families
    March 17, 2012 8:41 am
    Oh, by the way, I would suppose that the 9 murdered Afghan children ALSO had playtime and their families also greated their neighbors warmly.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Howard goldman wrote...
    Where are the atheists now?
    March 17, 2012 8:49 am
    The person has no mention of being a Christian. No word of church or religious upbringing are in the body of this article. Where are the atheists and secularists who should be defending this person for being one of them as it would appear after reading this article? I am not saying a religious person could not do what this person did. But whenever you hear about a religous person doing something bad, Bill Maher and all of his secular cronies are trashing all religons and so forth. They never bring up Tim McVeigh who was a devout atheist, instead because he is white and look hillbilly he was labled Christian. Personally Afghanistan was lost before it was even fought because there were really no clear objectives other than getting the Taliban out, which took what like maybe a week? You think Jeffersonian Democracy translates well in Farsi or Pashtu? We should have made Afchanistan a prison colony, after all Australia turned out well, and our prisons are overcrowded so breathing would be a plus.
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  • Drool wrote...
    Mcveigh?
    March 28, 2012 8:44 pm
    He was raised Catholic and had a Catholic chaplain with him when he went to his death,
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • oldreliable wrote...
    what do we expect ....
    March 17, 2012 5:18 pm
    4th deployment .... wounded ... a war too long...no clear objective from either Bush or Obama... no clear way to get out ... nothing but a sink hole for money .... ITS TIME TO FORGET ABOUT THIS BACK WATER DUMP AND GET OUT .... and leave the Taliban swinging from a tree with a Montana necktie and a strip of bacon in thier mouth ... the defense of this trooper is something that Grisham should have written ... I dont condone what he did but does it really surprise anyone it took this long ......
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  • Forrest wrote...
    I say
    March 17, 2012 10:20 pm
    we bomb them with pig guts and Howard Goldman.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • C"mon Man wrote...
    Navy Vet wonders;
    March 18, 2012 11:12 pm
    When did the DoD decide to allow civilian legal type's to represent military types? From my day's in uniform, it was all UCMJ,Jag,court martial and Captain's Mast, like in the movie:" A Few Good Men"(and one hot woman). I did not now the Heady JHB was a expert in UCMJ cases, and his soon to be exposure to post tramatic stress syndrome. The Ft. Hood shooting was equally as tramatic, but downplayed. As a vet, I am fully aware that if I stepped in it overseas, I was accountable, and should be punished.
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  • ron prevost wrote...
    Biden, watch out
    March 19, 2012 6:46 am
    John Henry Browne is NOT an expert in UCMJ cases (although, please explain) why this is strictly a military matter). He is a spin master. ..........And with all the other comments and reports that Bales was such a good guy, the way things are going Obama might bump Biden off the ticket for him.
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  • ottmilkr wrote...
    This is part of the true cost
    March 19, 2012 4:35 pm
    of petroleum... When the Middle east countries have so much of the world's oil, the US military will be over there, and things will happen...
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • ron prevost wrote...
    oil ???
    March 19, 2012 5:13 pm
    Afghanistan HAS no oil. .....so, unless this is all some kind of out-flanking Iran......
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • fartforce1 wrote...
    Afghanistan has no oil, true
    April 15, 2012 7:42 am
    it does have the worlds largest supply of uranium. Does that mean anything to you?
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • ron prevost wrote...
    fart ..
    April 15, 2012 7:59 am
    please re read carefully and look at my last word. .. Hint - it is a bordering country.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • tlmbrt wrote...
    Hey, ottmilkr!
    April 13, 2012 11:40 pm
    Where is this oil we supposedly (according to you) got from Iraq and Afghanistan? It certainly isn't reflected by the prices at the pump!
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Bucket Dad wrote...
    Here's an idea...
    March 20, 2012 1:50 pm
    What if we hand over the lawyer Browne to the villagers? They get some blood lust satisfied, and we get one less lawyer. Seems to be a win-win.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
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