Court-Martial Trial Practice Blog
Court-martial witness says Brown choked soldier who pursued him, by John Ramsey
Staff writer with Fayetteville Observer.com.
Minutes after Pfc. Luke Brown scurried under a fence into the woods, he started choking the first soldier who went in after him.
Sgt. Christopher Mignocchi, the first witness called by prosecutors in the court-martial against Justin A. Boyle, described Tuesday the events leading up to Brown’s death last summer. Boyle is one of seven soldiers accused of involuntary manslaughter for Brown’s death.
Mignocchi and Sgt. Mitchell Lafortune, another soldier who was there the night Brown died, testified for 31/2hours combined on Tuesday at the Fort Bragg Courthouse. Their testimonies sketched a picture of a soldier, Brown, who was out of control and who was choked by Boyle into an unconsciousness that prosecutors say later proved fatal.