Charging documents: Grenades, rifles used to kill Afghans

MAT-SU — A soldier from Wasilla allegedly used grenades and a rifle to kill three Afghan civilians on separate occasions dating back to Jan. 1, according to charging documents released by the U.S. military.

Jeremy N. Morlock, 22, is charged with premeditated murder and is one of five soldiers from B Company, 2nd Battalion, 5th Stryker Brigade Combat Team based out of Lewis-McChord, Wash., to be charged in the incidents. Morlock, a former Houston High School student, is also one of two soldiers suspected of participating in the killing of all three civilians, said Lt. Col. Tamara Parker, spokeswoman for Joint Base Lewis-McChord.

Parker calls the charges “absolute serious allegations that are being investigated thoroughly in accordance with the law. The circumstances (of the crimes) will be revealed as the case moves forward, but the evidence points toward premeditation.”

In the charging documentation, Morlock is accused of murdering Gul Mudin, a civilian, “by means of throwing a fragmentary grenade at him and shooting him with a rifle” between Jan. 1 and Jan. 31.

The second charge alleges that on or about Feb. 22, Morlock, “with premeditation,” killed Marach Agha “by means of shooting him with a rifle.” The third murder charge says that on or about May 2, he killed Mullah Adahdad, also by throwing a grenade and shooting him with a rifle.

Another charge of assault stems from another incident on or about May 5 when Morlock allegedly beat an unidentified civilian “on the body with feet and hands,” the document says. He also spit in the person’s face.

On June 4, Morlock was the first soldier charged in relation to the killings. A second soldier, Staff Sgt. Calvin Gibbs, was charged in Kuwait on June 8 and is expected to return to the U.S. “within days,” according to a statement from Joint Base Lewis-McChord. Three others were charged on Tuesday.

“Now all five soldiers have been charged,” said Parker, adding that no additional soldiers are believed involved. “The evidence has pointed to these five, even though the investigation is continuing.”

The details surrounding the allegations against the soldiers are shocking and make it more challenging for those who remain in Afghanistan in support of U.S. operations, Parker said.

“Tens of thousands of soldiers have deployed and a small handful have dishonored both themselves and their unit,” she said. “Obviously, it’s a very serious case and we hope it will not cause problems with the good work the soldiers are trying to do to bring peace there.”

Col. Brian Pugmire, Task Force Stryker commander, has already directed an Article 32 investigation for Morlock, which is the military’s equivalent of convening a grand jury, Parker said. A date for that hearing has not been set. The five soldiers are expected to have their cases tried individually, she said.

Others charged include:

• Gibbs, 25, an infantryman from Billings, Mont. He’s charged with the premeditated murder of Mudin with a fragmentary grenade and rifle, killing of Agha by shooting him and the murder of Adahdad, also by grenade and rifle. He’s also charged in the May 5 assault of an Afghan civilian.

• Andrew H. Holmes, 19, an infantryman from Boise, Idaho. He’s charged with murder for the killing of Mudin with a grenade and rifle.

• Michael S. Wagnon II, 29, an infantryman from Las Vegas. He’s charged in the February killing of Agha “by means of shooting him with a rifle,” according to his charge sheet. He’s also accused of attempting to impede a criminal investigation. According to his charge sheet, Wagnon is accused of trying to obtain a hard drive “which contained evidence of murders and asking another soldier to erase said hard drive.”

• Adam C. Winfield, 21, an infantryman from Cape Coral, Fla. He’s also charged in the killing of Adahdad with a fragmentary grenade and a rifle.

Contact Greg Johnson at greg.johnson@frontiersman.com or 352-2269.