MILITARY: 'Debate' preceded Fallujah killings
Weemer and two others charged in 2004 deaths of detainees
By TERI FIGUEROA - Staff Writer | ∞
Marine Sgt. Ryan Weemer, right, heads to a Camp Pendleton courtroom Thursday with his lead attorney, Paul Hackett, center.Weemer is accused of murder in the death of an insurgent detainee in Iraq in 2004. (Photo by Jamie Scott Lytle -- staff photographer) 
Marine Sgt. Ryan Weemer (Courtesy photo) 
Former Marine Sgt. Jose L. Nazario Jr. (Courtesy photo) CAMP PENDLETON ---- A veteran of a legendary battle in Iraq told a Secret Service agent that he and fellow Marines "really debated" before following what they took as a suggestion to kill four detainees, according to a recording played in a Camp Pendleton courtroom Thursday.
"It's not something anybody wants to do," Sgt. Ryan Weemer told the agent on the recording, which came during a 2006 job interview. "We ended up shooting them."
On Thursday, military prosecutors played the recording that landed Weemer in court, charged with murder and dereliction of duty in the death of one of the captured and disarmed enemy fighters.
On the recording, Weemer told a Secret Service agent that he took part in unlawful killings during house-to-house fighting in the 2004 battle for the Iraqi city of Fallujah.
U.S. forces were fighting for control of the city, which was then said to be an insurgent stronghold in Iraq's Anbar province.
His alleged admissions to the agent during the two-hour, recorded interview led to a probe by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.
On the tape, Weemer says he killed one of the captives.
"I took one guy," Weemer is heard saying. "Told my team I couldn't have anything to do with this anymore. I left."
Weemer, of Hindsboro, Ill., appeared to have little reaction as he listened to the recording.
The 25-year-old Marine faces a life sentence in military prison and dishonorable discharge if he is convicted of murder.
Weemer had left the Marine Corps before the Secret Service job interview, and was recalled to military duty to face the charges. He was in court for a hearing to determine whether there is sufficient cause to order him to court-martial.
Three men from the base's 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, including Weemer, face homicide charges arising out of actions by their squad in Fallujah on Nov. 9, 2004.
Weemer and another Marine, Sgt. Jermaine Nelson, are charged with the unlawful killing of one insurgent each. Nelson's court-martial is set for Dec. 8.
Former Marine Jose Nazario is charged with two counts of voluntary manslaughter in the incident. Nazario was ineligible for recall into the service. His case is being handled in federal court and his trial is set for Aug. 19 in Riverside.
Nazario shot two detainees in the head and directed Weemer and Nelson to shoot the others, according to a court document filed in the case.
Weemer's statement during the job interview came not long after the Secret Service agent asked him about his most serious crime.
Weemer soon turned the topic to the war, saying, "I was justified," in all that happened during battle.
The agent mentioned that self-defense was justified, for the police, for members of the armed services, but that it is not OK to shoot a man unprovoked, "even if he is a scumbag."
"That actually did happen, to be honest," Weemer responded, and then began to tell his story about Fallujah.
The alleged killings came shortly after Weemer says he helped try to save his gravely wounded best friend.
"I was taking it really hard," Weemer said on the recording. "I had his blood all over me."
He said that he and other Marines were ordered to clear a house. There, they found men and a cache of weapons. Weemer said Nazario called in to report what they had found.
"The response we got was 'Are they dead yet?' " Weemer told the agent, adding that they didn't want to take any prisoners.
"We argued about it and argued about it," Weemer said of the discussion among the Marines in the house about whether the comment on the radio was an indication that they should shoot their prisoners.
Weemer also said the purported slayings were "a survival thing," otherwise a prisoner "would run down the street" and pick up an AK-47.
The agent quickly asked if others taken prisoner during the days of the Fallujah battle had been detained and shipped off to jail.
"Yes," Weemer said. He later added, "The way I see it, it was a situation where we couldn't take these guys. We called and asked what to do, they said we couldn't take them, we're moving."
Prosecutors also played a recording of an interview with federal agents in which Nelson admitted he committed one of the killings.
Naval Criminal Investigative Service Special Agent Mark Fox took the stand Thursday afternoon and, on cross-examination, said that investigators questioned the resident whose home may have been the alleged crime scene.
Fox said the man, who, with his family, heeded U.S. military warnings for innocents to flee the city before the battle, told investigators no bodies or blood were found in the home when they returned.
Weemer's hearing will continue Friday.
Contact staff writer Teri Figueroa at (760) 740-5442 or tfigueroa@nctimes.com.
More Stories
Advertisement
esteban wrote on Jul 11, 2008 7:32 AM:Things happen in the fog of war. It is wrong to charge these Marines with any wrong doing when clearly if they were to let the prisoners go they would have turned on them. they saved lives by taking terrorists off the street. Isn't that what they were sent there for to fight terrorism??
SHiloh wrote on Jul 11, 2008 8:33 AM:Well said ESTEBAN i totally agree no way in he** these Marines should be charged with anything. They served their commitment by going over there. kill or be killed is the mind frame you had to be in, people that havent been there need to realize that.
Pamela wrote on Jul 11, 2008 8:43 AM:This witch hunt has just got to stop. I just can't understand why we would treat our young heroes this way. I fell they are the victims of our political system. I think it is a real shame when our leaders of this nation allow this to happen, and, worse yet, use these young heroes to further their carreers. You would think that they along with all of us would never forget 911. You would think that while they are doing their stupid things and causing fellow American so much pain, they would take the time to remember that these people hate us and would love for all of us to be gone. What is so wrong in this country and we seem to take up for our enemines at the expense of innocent men. War is war and things happen. Things that should not ever be in our newspapers! I think between the media and our own politicians they are making America a big joke and are also putting the citizens in great danger.
My support goes to these young men that are being put on trial for doing their jobs. I hate to think what it would be like if they didn't! Eventually young people will not want to join. This is a voluntary choice right now and they have the best of the best. When we have to draft again because of stupid things like these trials, it won't be because someone loves their country enough to fight for her; it will be people that are forced to be in the military. There will definitely be a difference.
I pray and think of each and every one of these young heroes that we have treated so poorly. I back our Marines 100% and hope that all turns out well for all of them. I thank them for their service and I am sorry for what they and their families are having to go through.
Tawni wrote on Jul 11, 2008 9:14 AM:Pamela, very, very, very well said. I couldn't agree more that all these guys were doing was their job. Kill or be killed. So what if they had let them go? And they did run down the street and pick up a gun and kill ANOTHER one of our soldiers? Is it then okay for our soldiers to kill them? I think all these guys were doing was NOT prolonging the inevitable. Especially since all residents of that area were told "If you're innocent- get out of here." These guys who got killed stayed in town- basically telling the soldiers, "we arent up to any good". These marines should NOT be punished for this. This is ridiculous.
jon wrote on Jul 11, 2008 9:40 AM:To Pamela:
what makes America a 'big joke' are debacles like Vietnam and Iraq. You spend almost as much as the rest of the world combined on war and weapons and you still keep losing.
Once an army abandons the rules of warfare and executes unarmed prisoners, it loses its discipline and ability to prevail.
Maybe the US should draft its Army-as just about every other country in the world does; that way you might get a more balanced and disciplined element in uniform.
You never know you might win a war once in a while!
Paco wrote on Jul 11, 2008 11:05 AM:Jon,
What makes America a joke is people like you who fail to realize that we don't lose wars through the actions of the military members We lose wars due to political defeatism and the attitudes of those who fail to support those who are making the split second decisions. Your ignorance regarding the draft highlights exactly what I am saying. The military is made up of ALL aspects of society: rich, poor, black, white, citizens and those who are here on resident green cards. But I want to be fair here. Are you saying that the reason we lost Vietnam (political defeat) is because we abandoned the rule of war?
DESERT BUG wrote on Jul 11, 2008 11:22 AM:Now we have another individual [Jon] who hates our country and passes judgment on accused Marines. Oh, absolutely let's have the draft again. After all, China, Iran, Sudan, Syria and many other wonderful countries do. Every respected and well credentialed military expert in the WORLD considers the Armed Forces of the United States to be the best of all. Why do you think they send their officers here to study in our military schools and with the USMC for that matter?! Our military is the best of the best. As to whether the war in Iraq or Vietnam or wherever was or is wise is a political decision and has NOTHING to do with the guilt or innocence of these young Marines. What they did was simply the collateral consequence of close and heavy combat, PERIOD. Superficially and without knowing the true and real circumstances, the allegation that unarmed detainees were killed sounds wrong, but study the circumstances CAREFULLY and see that those detainees were in fact ARMED, A THREAT, DANGEROUS and would have WITHOUT A DOUBT killed those Marines if they had been released. That was the judgment call of those Marines in combat and I accept it without reservation. The Hearing Officer should recommend that all charges be DISMISSED.
AWcryinoutloud wrote on Jul 11, 2008 12:33 PM:To esteban, SHiloh, Pamela, and Tawni: I'm right there with you guys and everything you said. It just seems that whoever is pulling the strings could care less. You'll have to excuse Jon; he must have forgotten to check the oxygen level in his space helmet....again.
Who wrote on Jul 11, 2008 7:41 PM:Who is censoring everyone except esteban, SHiloh, Pamela, and Tawni? jon must have gotten luckey.
First name only. Comments including last names, contact addresses, e-mail addresses or phone numbers will be deleted. Attempts to misrepresent your identity or impersonate any person will not be approved. All comments are screened before they appear online, so please keep them brief. Comments reflect the views of those commenting and not necessarily those of the North County Times or its staff writers. Click here to view additional comment policies.
Today's Stories
Advertisement