JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash., Dec. 1 (UPI) -- A court-martial awaits U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Robert Stevens, one of 12 soldiers charged in a war crimes investigation into the shootings of Afghan civilians.
The court-martial was scheduled for Wednesday at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state after Stevens, of Portland, Ore., waived his right to a preliminary Article 32 hearing, The Seattle Times reported.
Stevens is accused of joining other U.S. soldiers to shot at three Afghan men March 1, then falsely claimed the men posed a threat. Stevens also is accused of throwing a grenade outside his vehicle, then claiming it was tossed by the enemy.
Stevens is one of seven troops from the 5th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division facing charges of serious misconduct while deployed to Afghanistan, the newspaper said. Five other soldiers from the brigade are charged with killing Afghan civilians earlier this year.
A soldier in the larger criminal investigation also indicated he would waive his right to a pretrial hearing, The (Tacoma, Wash.) News Tribune said. Spc. Adam Winfield is accused of killing a civilian, shooting at farmers and smoking hashish during his brigade's deployment. Winfield's attorney said he was negotiating a plea agreement in which Winfield would testify against his co-defendants.
