Seaman Ryan Sawyer Mays, the person the Navy alleges is answerable for one of many Navy’s largest peacetime disasters, will likely be tried in September, the Navy confirmed Thursday.
Mays faces prices of “willful hazarding of a vessel” and “aggravated arson” after his fellow sailors testified that they noticed him within the space of the usBonhomme Richard the place the fireplace began on July 12, 2020.
Lt. Sam Boyle, a spokesman for the Navy’s Third Fleet, stated that the trial is presently scheduled to run from Sept. 19 to Sept. 30, 2022.
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Mays was charged with beginning the fireplace in July 2021, simply over a 12 months after the days-long fireplace ravaged the Bonhomme Richard, which was nearing the top of a two-year improve in San Diego.
Courtroom data from that point confirmed that the service noticed Mays as a disgruntled sailor, assigned to the Bonhomme Richard after dropping out of Navy SEAL coaching. The ship’s command grasp chief “recognized Mays as an individual who confirmed disdain in the direction of authority and the U.S. Navy,” courtroom data say.
In mid-December of 2021, Mays had his preliminary listening to. Then, in February the Navy’s commander of Third Fleet, Vice Adm. Steve Koehler, despatched the case to a trial, opposite to the advice of his subordinate who oversaw that first listening to.
Mays has maintained his innocence because the prices have been first introduced. Mays’ lawyer, Gary Barthel, beforehand informed Navy.com that their place is “that the Navy’s not searching for justice, on this case.”
“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,” Barthel stated, 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 huge fireplace. Amongst these folks, 17 sailors have been cited for failures that “straight” led to the lack of the ship, whereas others “contributed” to the loss.
Reforms put in place after these experiences elevated the accountability and visibility of the Naval Security Command, however Adm. Invoice Lescher, the Navy’s No. 2 officer, additionally put extra accountability on commanders “to talk with a powerful and brave voice about what they see.”
Mays is just not beneath confinement and is presently assigned to a squadron at Third Fleet.
The dismantling of the Bonhomme Richard started on April 15, 2021, after the Navy determined it might take a minimum of 5 years and $2.5 billion to repair the ship.
— Konstantin Toropin could be reached at konstantin.toropin@army.com. Comply with him on Twitter @ktoropin.
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