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Witness says accused Marine warned victims
A Marine charged with murder in the shooting deaths of two Iraqis twice ordered the men, in Arabic, to stop before opening fire, a witness testified. The testimony corroborates claims by Marine Corps 2nd Lt. Ilario Pantano that he fired at the Iraqis after they walked toward him and refused to stop, the Washington Times said Friday.His platoon had stopped the Iraqis as they left a house where insurgents were making bombs. "While I took my security post, I heard Lt. Pantano yell stop (in Arabic) directed toward the two Iraqi men searching the vehicle. He yelled stop. Lt. Pantano yelled stop, and then, I heard shots fired," a Navy corpsman in Pantano's platoon said in a sworn statement. The sworn statements provided the first inside look at a case that has drawn national attention because of Pantano's stellar record and the nature of the enemy he faced in Iraq. Pantano has made no public comment since Feb. 1, when the Marine Corps charged him with two counts of premeditated murder. If convicted at a court-martial, he faces the death penalty. Posted by: Steve 2005-02-25 |
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