csua.org/u/8e0 -> story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=519&e=23&u=/ap/20040730/ap_on_re_us/soldier_carjacking_charge_17
Eight jurors, all members of the military, recommended that Williams not be sentenced to prison but instead be demoted to private and receive a bad conduct discharge. The sentence must be approved by his commanding general, Maj Gen. He has 17 years' Army experience, including combat duty in the first Iraq war. Throughout the three-day trial, Williams maintained that he took the SUV only because he was ordered to by his lieutenant and because he did not think it was a criminal act. "In his mind there was nothing wrong with doing it," Williams' civilian defense attorney, Bernard Casey, said in closing arguments Thursday. Howard Hoege, an Army prosecutor, said Thursday in closing arguments that Williams helped take the SUV at gunpoint from the sheik's son, who was driving the vehicle. He then participated in orchestrating a cover-up story that the vehicle was found abandoned, Hoege said. "The accused had a criminal mind through every stage of the crime," Hoege said. With tears rolling down his face when the sentence was read, Williams put his chin down. "We're lucky that he got this sentence," said Williams' wife, Kim Williams. Early in the war, soldiers were allowed to "commandeer" a civilian vehicle for military purposes under the rules of engagement. They were instructed to leave a receipt so the vehicle could be returned to the owner or money could be given to them. But Hoege said Williams and the other soldiers with him just wanted a "sweet ride" and didn't leave a receipt with the sheik's son. Bradley Pavlik threw a tantrum because two of the platoon's four vehicles -- including Pavlik's -- were broken down, and he told squad leaders to find him another one. The opportunity arose later that day during a trip to the market when the SUV cut off another Humvee in a two-vehicle convoy Williams was in, he said. After about a five-minute chase, the SUV stopped, and the SUV was taken without force, Williams said. Casey said the men did not leave a receipt because they felt the area was hostile, and they needed to leave in a hurry. Another soldier, Alberto Lozano, was convicted earlier in the case and sentenced to 30 months in prison, but the sentence was reduced to one year because he testified against Williams. He was released recently after serving about nine months at Fort Knox, with time off for good conduct. Pavlik, the lieutenant, faces a court-martial starting Aug.
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