The sailor accused of beginning the hearth that destroyed the amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard is headed for court-martial, the Navy introduced Friday. The sailor’s lawyer, nonetheless, was fast to notice that the transfer goes in opposition to the advice of the authorized officer in his first listening to.
“After cautious evaluation of the preliminary listening to report, Vice Adm. Steve Koehler, commander, U.S. third Fleet, referred costs in opposition to Seaman Recruit Ryan Sawyer Mays to basic courtroom martial,” Cmdr. Sean Robertson, a Third Fleet spokesperson, stated in an emailed assertion.
Mays faces costs of “willful hazarding of a vessel” and “aggravated arson” after his fellow sailors informed investigators and the courtroom that they noticed him within the space the place the hearth began on the ship on July 12, 2020.
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Mays’ lawyer, Gary Barthel, famous in a cellphone interview with Army.com that “the preliminary listening to officer, that was appointed by the command, did not imagine that the proof warranted going to a court-martial.”
Capt. Angela Tang, the authorized officer talked about by Barthel, presided over a three-day preliminary continuing, often known as an Article 32 listening to, in mid-December that included testimony from each the prosecution and protection.
When requested about Tang’s suggestion, Robertson famous that Koehler made his resolution after contemplating the whole thing of the preliminary listening to report. He wouldn’t elaborate additional, provided that the case is ongoing.
Barthel acknowledged that “the command is able the place they’ll disregard that [recommendation].”
“It is our place that the Navy’s not searching for justice, on this case,” Barthel stated. “What they’re making an attempt to do is make Mays a scapegoat for a billion-dollar ship that ended up burning on account of different folks’s negligence,” he added, alluding to a Navy report that discovered main failures by commanders and crew that fueled the catastrophic blaze.
That investigation named 36 folks — together with a number of admirals — as accountable within the blaze. Seventeen sailors had been cited for failures that “instantly” led to the lack of the ship, whereas others “contributed” to the loss. Two sailors had been named as a result of they weren’t efficient in responding to the hearth as soon as it began.
Adm. Sam Paparo, head of U.S. Pacific Command, is accountable for deciding additional punishments for these named within the investigation, however the Navy has but to announce any disciplinary actions.
Barthel says that Mays “adamantly denies any involvement in beginning any hearth” and identified that “there was no bodily proof linking our shopper to the hearth.”
The Navy’s case revolves round eyewitness testimony that positioned Mays within the space of the ship the place the hearth started.
Early courtroom data confirmed that the service noticed Mays as a disgruntled sailor, despatched to the Bonhomme Richard after failing Navy SEAL coaching, who expressed disdain towards leaders aboard the ship and hated the service.
Mays is just not below confinement and is presently assigned to a squadron at Third Fleet. Robertson stated that no trial date has been set.
The dismantling of the Bonhomme Richard started on April 15, 2021, after the Navy determined it will take not less than 5 years and $2.5 billion to repair the ship.
— Konstantin Toropin could be reached at konstantin.toropin@navy.com. Observe him on Twitter @ktoropin.
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