Army Cook Cleared of Assault Charges

According to a recent press release, an Army Cook who had faced many charges has been clear of all of his aggravated assault charges and has been convicted of a much lesser charge.

The court case, marked as U.S. v. SFC Timothy Drake took place on August 13, 2007 at the U.S. Army's 1st Judicial Circuit at Fort Lee, VA. ended up with the cook, known as Sergeant First Class Timothy Drake being sentenced to receive a Letter of Reprimand. He would not receive any jail time and he would still remain in the Army.

What was Drake accused of? Drake, who was at the Forward Operating Base (FOB) Mercury in 2003 was accused by the army of beating several Iraqi detainees with a baseball bate at the FOB Base, which was outside of a city, Fallujah, known for two very important battles during the Iraq War. Among accusations by the Army, they claimed Drake beat a detainee with a bat, tried to cover up all of the armies claims about him, made false official statements when questions by the Army Investigators, kicked a detainee, and most outraging, hit an Iraqi detainee with a baseball bat, fracturing the detainee's skull. Was it all a lie and Drake was innocent?

Apparently, we will never know but Drake did plead not guilty to his charges. All Drake was convicted of was making a false statement and a misdemeanor level assault after two days of reviewing court material. All of his other charges were cleared. Drake was sentenced to no prison time and be reprimanded, which is the lightest sentence allowed at a court martial and is a written censure. What about the army? Drake would go back to serving in the Army and would remain at his current rank.

Drake was very satisfied with the out coming of his court case, thanking his lawyer, Michael Waddington, of Evans, Georgia for the support

"Considering the fact that he was facing over 20 years and he was charged with fracturing somebody's skull with a ball bat. ... He was happy with the result," Waddington told the Associated Press. "As a it is extremely rewarding to walk out of the courtroom with your client a free man following a felony court martial" Waddington explained.

Though most people would question if Drake is actually innocent or if this Army Sargent is just another left off the hook, much talk about Drake is actually good. Part of Drake's own defense came from top enlisted soldiers including Command Sgt. Maj. Thomas . Capel. who claimed Drake was an "outstanding non-commissioned officer."

"He was a role model. He was a motivator," said Capel, serving with Drake in Afghanistan. "I'd take him back with me now."

This case is one of many ongoing accusations as this war progresses.

SOURCE

PRweb