Court-Martial Trial Practice Blog
Marine sentenced to eight years for death in ‘trust me’ game
September 10, 2009 7:49 PM, by Amanda Hickey, of JDNews.com
(Photo: Don Bryan) A Camp Lejeune Marine pleaded guilty Thursday to pointing a weapon at seven Marines and one sailor in a deadly game that left one Marine dead.
Cpl. Mathew R. Nelson pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and seven counts of reckless endangerment during court martial proceedings aboard Camp Lejeune for shooting Lance Cpl. Patrick Malone in the forehead with a 9mm pistol and pointing a 9mm pistol at six additional Marines and a sailor as part of the “trust game” while deployed to Iraq between Oct. 18, 2008, and March 13. The other service men involved according to court testimony were Lance Cpl. Justin D. Brown, Lance Cpl. Christopher K. Motley, Lance Cpl. David W. Bills, Lance Cpl. Emanuel A. Pacheco, Lance Cpl. Carlos F. Sanchez, Lance Cpl. Emerson E. Boutin and then-Petty Officer 3rd Class Spencer H. Hamer.
Nelson was sentenced to eight years of confinement at the Camp Lejeune Brig, a rank reduction to E-1, forfeiture of all pay and allowances for the total time of confinement and given a bad conduct discharge. Sentencing was handed down by Col. Daniel Daugherty.
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