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CAMP PENDLETON — A Marine who told authorities he shot an unarmed detainee in Iraq was acquitted of murder by a military jury Thursday, marking the government's second loss in its case against members of the squad.
The jury also acquitted Sgt. Ryan Weemer of dereliction of duty in the Nov. 9, 2004, killing at a house in Fallujah on the first day of a battle that included some of the Iraq war's heaviest combat. The jury of eight Marines, all of whom served in Iraq or Afghanistan, got the case Wednesday afternoon and returned the verdict Thursday morning.
Weemer, 26, of Hindsboro, Ill., briefly embraced his attorney after the verdict was read, then looked straight ahead and showed no emotion. His wife, sister and high school English teacher wept in the front row.
Paul Hackett, one of Weemer's attorneys, said jurors told him that they considered the difficult circumstances of the shooting and that they believed the four men Weemer's squad killed in the house were insurgents.
"My interpretation was that they appreciated the chaos and kinetics of the environment," Hackett told reporters. "In real simple terms, they believed Sgt. Weemer was justified in shooting in self-defense."
During the one-week court-martial, the defense argued that the government could not prove Weemer was guilty of murder because there were no bodies, no relatives complaining of a lost loved one and no forensic evidence.
Gary Solis, a former Marine Corps prosecutor and judge who teaches law of war at Georgetown University Law Center, said the government's bigger problem was that the shooting occurred during battle.
"When you're in the heat of combat, you often don't have the luxury of making judgments based on all the evidence," said Solis, a Vietnam War veteran. "You must act, and you must act instantly."
Weemer's squad leader, former Sgt. Jose Luis Nazario, was acquitted in August in federal court in Riverside, Calif., on counts that included voluntary manslaughter. Nazario was beyond the reach of a court-martial because he had completed his military obligations.
Another sergeant, Jermaine Nelson, has pleaded not guilty to charges of unpremeditated murder and dereliction of duty. His court-martial has been indefinitely postponed because of motions filed by his attorney.
It was Weemer's own words that largely formed prosecutors' case.
In 2006, after he left the Marine Corps, Weemer applied for a job in the Secret Service. During a background interview before a polygraph test as part of the application, he was asked about the most serious crime he ever committed.
"We went into this house, there happened to be four or five guys in the house," Weemer said in a recording of the interview played during the court-martial. "We ended up shooting them, we had to."
He also discussed the shootings in a later recorded interview with two Naval Criminal Investigative Service agents.
A military prosecutor, Capt. Nicholas Gannon, said in his closing argument Wednesday that the captives should have been ordered outside to the street instead of being shot. He said Weemer failed to follow his training on rules of engagement.
Weemer could have faced a maximum sentence of life in prison and dishonorable discharge if convicted of murder. The maximum penalty for dereliction was six months in prison and a bad conduct discharge.
The squad had been ordered to clear the house immediately after one of its members, Lance Cpl. Juan Segura, was killed by a sniper.
Inside the home, the Marines found three young men and one older man, who were unarmed and had their hands in the air, prosecutors said. Hackett said a sweep of the property turned up at least two AK-47s with hot barrels as well as spent ammunition cartridges.
"I can't bring you an autopsy report," Gannon said. "I don't have one, but we have a lot of evidence that shows you beyond a reasonable doubt that the accused shot an individual in the chest twice.... The killing was unlawful."
Weemer told NCIS agents that he was covered with the blood of Segura, his best friend, just before Nazario ordered him to kill the prisoner, according to a tape recording played at the court-martial. He said he argued with his squad leader before complying.
Weemer told reporters after the verdict that he couldn't wait to return to Kentucky, where he had been studying toward a bachelor's degree at the University of Louisville before being recalled to active duty in March 2008 to face charges. He said he may work toward an advanced degree in clinical psychology or continue in the Marines.
"It's been tough, but I can't be angry with the Marine Corps," he said. "I love the Marine Corps too much."
