Random Article Summary #135

Phillip Esposito and Louis Allen were killed on June 7, 2005, at Forward Operating Base Danger in Tikrit, Iraq. Captain Phillip Esposito and First Lieutenant Louis Allen of a New York Army National Guard unit were fatally wounded in Esposito’s office by a Claymore mine. Investigators concluded the mine was deliberately placed in a window and detonated to kill them, and Staff Sergeant Alberto B. Martinez was charged with two counts of premeditated murder. In 2006, Martinez offered to plead guilty in exchange for a life sentence with parole, but the Army rejected the plea deal. In the court martial held in December 2008 at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, Martinez was acquitted. The killing was one of only two publicly known “fragging” incidents involving U.S. forces during the Iraq War, with the other case involving Sergeant Hasan Karim Akbar, who was convicted and sentenced to death in April 2005 for an earlier incident in Kuwait in March 2003. On the evening of June 7, 2005, Captain Phillip Esposito and First Lieutenant Louis Allen were in Esposito’s office at FOB Danger in Tikrit, Iraq, playing the board game Risk. Around 10 p.m., an M18A1 Claymore mine near the window exploded, killing both men and injuring them severely, and a few seconds later more grenades went off nearby. They were taken to FOB Speicher but died early on June 8, 2005, from injuries caused by the first blast. Philip Esposito, a project manager for Smith Barney in Manhattan who lived in Suffern, New York, lived with his wife and 18-month-old daughter. After his death, his body was returned home and a funeral attended by more than 500 people was held on June 16, 2005. Louis Allen, a high-school physics and earth sciences teacher from Tuxedo, New York, lived in Milford, Pennsylvania, with his wife and four young sons. Investigators first believed Phillip Esposito and Louis Allen were killed by an insurgent mortar or rocket, but they later concluded the blast was caused by a hand-placed explosive device. They investigated Staff Sergeant Alberto B. Martinez, who had made repeated threats against Esposito, and arrested him and charged him with two counts of premeditated murder the same week the men were buried. Martinez, a supply sergeant in the unit led by Esposito and Allen, had a history of conflict with Esposito, including discipline issues and missing equipment. Witnesses testified that Martinez threatened to kill Esposito and was seen near the Water Palace shortly after the attack, with Esposito believed to be the main target. In late 2005, the U.S. Army held an Article 32 hearing in Kuwait so the wives could attend and also sent an audio link to family members in the U.S. Nine witnesses testified, and Colonel Patrick Reinert recommended that Martinez face a general court-martial for murder. In 2006 Martinez learned of more allegations and tried to plead guilty for a life sentence, but the plea was rejected and he was sent to court-martial on premeditated murder charges. The defense later sought delays and moved to dismiss the charges, but the judge refused, and the trial took place at Fort Bragg in October 2008 with Colonel Stephen Henley presiding. The prosecution argued Martinez threatened Esposito and referenced “fragging,” while the defense said the evidence was circumstantial and inconsistent. After two days of deliberations, the jury acquitted Martinez on December 4, 2008, and the prosecutor suggested that some jurors’ opposition to the death penalty may have affected their vote.