InChiefsHeaven
04-14-2010, 05:53 AM
http://www.omaha.com/article/20100414/NEWS01/704149871/0#what-did-i-do-shooter-blurted
What the hell...I mean, I really thought that Military people would be the last ones to screw around with weapons like that...
By Joe Dejka
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER
An intoxicated Air Force airman stared down the barrel of a handgun and told a fellow airman holding the weapon to “pull it, shoot me,” according to testimony Tuesday in a military courtroom at Offutt Air Force Base.
He did, and the gun fired, striking Senior Airman Michael Garcia, 23, in the left eye, killing him.
The shooter, Airman 1st Class Corey D. Hernandez, looked shocked and blurted: “What happened? I don't know what happened? What did I do?” testified Senior Airman Dustin Dieter.
Dieter, who testified he was drunk when he witnessed the Dec. 11 shooting, was one of three airmen questioned in a three-hour preliminary hearing about that night and the so-called “trust me” game the young men had been playing with Garcia's laser-sighted handgun.
In the game, the shooter apparently uses sleight of hand to make the gun appear loaded, but partially inserts the ammunition clip or a dummy round so the gun won't fire. Other military deaths have been linked to the game.
Military prosecutors have charged Hernandez, 21, of Walnut, Calif., with unpremeditated murder while engaged in an inherently dangerous act and two lesser charges. If convicted, he faces up to life in prison.
Defense attorneys want the charge reduced to manslaughter, punishable by 10 to 15 years. Hernandez had faced a manslaughter charge in Sarpy County Court before the case was transferred to a military court.
An Air Force investigator who presided over Tuesday's hearing will report his findings to Offutt's 55th Wing commander, who will decide whether the evidence is sufficient for the case to proceed to a general court-martial.
Dieter testified that Garcia, of San Benito, Texas, had learned the game while deployed. He said Garcia told him the Marines play the game, pushing the bullet magazine in, but not all the way, so the gun won't fire.
Dieter, 23, said he had once seen Garcia point the gun at his own head and pull the trigger. He said Garcia sometimes used a dummy round, but he wasn't sure if he had been using it that night.
He said Garcia brought his gun to Dieter's apartment about 9:30 p.m., where the airmen were drinking beer, rum and mixed drinks, before they went to another Bellevue apartment where the shooting occurred.
Dr. David Jaskierny Jr., who performed the autopsy on Garcia, testified that his blood alcohol level was .219, nearly three times the legal limit.
Airman Robert Castillon, 21, testified that Garcia had put the gun under Castillon's chin, asked him to trust him and then pulled the trigger.
Defense attorney James Martin Davis asked why Castillon let Garcia do it.
“I trusted him,” Castillon said. “I believed he was a good person.”
Airman 1st Class Jason Mulherin, 25, said Garcia had pointed the gun at several of the airmen's heads and one's chest, asking if they trusted him. He said Garcia had pointed the gun at Hernandez's head and pulled the trigger.
Mulherin said he had heard of the game before that night but had not seen it played.
“It's common for people in the military to play dangerous games,” he said.
Contact the writer:
444-1077, joe.dejka@owh.com
What the hell...I mean, I really thought that Military people would be the last ones to screw around with weapons like that...
By Joe Dejka
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER
An intoxicated Air Force airman stared down the barrel of a handgun and told a fellow airman holding the weapon to “pull it, shoot me,” according to testimony Tuesday in a military courtroom at Offutt Air Force Base.
He did, and the gun fired, striking Senior Airman Michael Garcia, 23, in the left eye, killing him.
The shooter, Airman 1st Class Corey D. Hernandez, looked shocked and blurted: “What happened? I don't know what happened? What did I do?” testified Senior Airman Dustin Dieter.
Dieter, who testified he was drunk when he witnessed the Dec. 11 shooting, was one of three airmen questioned in a three-hour preliminary hearing about that night and the so-called “trust me” game the young men had been playing with Garcia's laser-sighted handgun.
In the game, the shooter apparently uses sleight of hand to make the gun appear loaded, but partially inserts the ammunition clip or a dummy round so the gun won't fire. Other military deaths have been linked to the game.
Military prosecutors have charged Hernandez, 21, of Walnut, Calif., with unpremeditated murder while engaged in an inherently dangerous act and two lesser charges. If convicted, he faces up to life in prison.
Defense attorneys want the charge reduced to manslaughter, punishable by 10 to 15 years. Hernandez had faced a manslaughter charge in Sarpy County Court before the case was transferred to a military court.
An Air Force investigator who presided over Tuesday's hearing will report his findings to Offutt's 55th Wing commander, who will decide whether the evidence is sufficient for the case to proceed to a general court-martial.
Dieter testified that Garcia, of San Benito, Texas, had learned the game while deployed. He said Garcia told him the Marines play the game, pushing the bullet magazine in, but not all the way, so the gun won't fire.
Dieter, 23, said he had once seen Garcia point the gun at his own head and pull the trigger. He said Garcia sometimes used a dummy round, but he wasn't sure if he had been using it that night.
He said Garcia brought his gun to Dieter's apartment about 9:30 p.m., where the airmen were drinking beer, rum and mixed drinks, before they went to another Bellevue apartment where the shooting occurred.
Dr. David Jaskierny Jr., who performed the autopsy on Garcia, testified that his blood alcohol level was .219, nearly three times the legal limit.
Airman Robert Castillon, 21, testified that Garcia had put the gun under Castillon's chin, asked him to trust him and then pulled the trigger.
Defense attorney James Martin Davis asked why Castillon let Garcia do it.
“I trusted him,” Castillon said. “I believed he was a good person.”
Airman 1st Class Jason Mulherin, 25, said Garcia had pointed the gun at several of the airmen's heads and one's chest, asking if they trusted him. He said Garcia had pointed the gun at Hernandez's head and pulled the trigger.
Mulherin said he had heard of the game before that night but had not seen it played.
“It's common for people in the military to play dangerous games,” he said.
Contact the writer:
444-1077, joe.dejka@owh.com