Soldier Charged With Having Himself Shot

[AnIndependentTexan]

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=337934

PHILADELPHIA Dec 16, 2004 — Police have arrested a soldier they say had his cousin shoot him so he wouldn't have to return to Iraq.

Army Spc. Marquise J. Roberts, of Hinesville, Ga., suffered a minor wound Tuesday to his left leg from a .22-caliber pistol, police said. He was treated at a hospital, then arrested after he and his cousin allegedly admitted making up a story about the shooting.

After giving differing accounts of the incident, "they just broke down and confessed that they concocted the whole story so he didn't have to go back to the war," Philadelphia police Lt. James Clark said Thursday.

Police charged Roberts with filing a false report and charged his cousin, Ronald Fuller, with aggravated assault and other charges.


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Roberts, who was visiting family in Philadelphia, initially claimed he was shot during an attempted robbery, but Fuller had said the incident occurred at another location during an argument, according to Clark.

Roberts, 23, was on a two-week leave from the Army's 3rd Infantry Division, which led the assault on Baghdad in 2003. He is scheduled to return to Iraq within the next few months. The division has been home since the summer of 2003.

Police said Roberts, a supply specialist who had spent seven months in Iraq, was distraught about having to return to combat duty and wanted to stay with his family.

[Geek_Girl]

1. Is there anything that anyone can do

for these soldiers who do not want to go back? Is there some kind of legal fund we can donate to? This is just way to sad especially around the holidays.

[vpigrad]

2. It takes guts to do something like that!

Those guys in Iraq must be forced to do horrible things in order for something as horrible as shooting yourself to be a better option.