Soldier found guilty of being drunk on duty

[unhappycamper]

Soldier found guilty of being drunk on duty
By Matt Millham, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Friday, April 4, 2008

WIESBADEN, Germany — Hours after his unit left Wiesbaden Army Airfield for a 15-month tour in Iraq, a military policeman facing court-martial was found guilty Thursday of being drunk on duty.

Pvt. Eric C. Samaniego, a 19-year-old member of the 212th Military Police Company, also faced charges of aggravated sexual assault and a related burglary charge, but was found not guilty on both counts.

“The case before you is truly a tragedy,” Capt. Jocelyn Stewart, Samaniego’s lead defense counsel, said in her closing argument. Regardless of the outcome, she said, Samaniego’s accuser would leave the courtroom believing she’d been the victim of sexual assault.

The accuser, a woman in Samaniego’s unit, testified that on the night of Oct. 5, she drank way past her limit, starting in her barracks room, and continuing at a club in nearby Mainz. Samaniego was at the club when she arrived. He bought her a drink and asked her twice to dance. She declined both times, and asked a mutual friend to tell Samaniego to leave her alone because he was annoying her.

Samaniego took the stand Wednesday and admitted that he’d had a crush on her, and had asked her out in the past. He also acknowledged that she’d made clear to him that their relationship was platonic.


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=53830