Morlock may have plea deal

A Wasilla Army specialist accused of taking part in the killing of three Afghan civilians last year is expected to offer to plead guilty to lesser charges in exchange for his testimony against other soldiers.

Citing an anonymous source, The Washington Post reported Thursday that Jeremy Morlock, a Houston High School graduate, would face up to 24 years in prison in exchange for his testimony. Without a deal, a conviction would mean a life sentence. Of 12 soldiers originally charged in the case, two others have already reached plea agreements. A court martial for Morlock is scheduled for next month.

Technically, there is no plea deal, Army spokesman Lt. Col. David Doherty told Hal Bernton, a Seattle Times reporter following the case.

“There is no agreement at this point,” Doherty said. “Everything is still on the table.”

But that doesn’t mean a deal isn’t in the works or agreed upon, said Maj. Kathleen Turner, a public information specialist with Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., where Morlock and others in the Stryker Brigade are based. When reached by the Frontiersman Saturday, Turner said she couldn’t comment specifically on Morlock’s case, but that, in general, there can’t be a plea agreement until the judge sings off on it.

Morlock will still go to his court martial, and then if there is a plea agreement, he’ll plead and will have to explain the crimes, she said.

Morlock’s mother, Audrey Morlock, said the family has had to work to keep in the loop with what’s happening with her son.

“It’s with parents’ persistence, but yes, we’re kept involved,” she said, adding the family did not want to discuss the case against Jeremy. “Right now, I’m not commenting on anything.”

If Morlock does agree to help prosecutors by testifying against others accused in the killings, he would be the third. Two others have already plead and been convicted in exchange for their testimonies as well, Turner said. Morlock and other soldiers from the base are accused of killing three Afghan civilians with grenades and machine guns. His charges include:

• Three counts of premeditated murder.

• Assault.

• Conspiracy to commit premeditated murder and conspiracy to commit assault and battery.

• Wrongfully endeavoring to impede an investigation.

• Violating a lawful general order.

• Wrongfully using a Schedule I controlled substance.

In a video interview with authorities following his arrest, Morlock admitted to playing a role in the killings, an admission his defense attorney argued was influenced by medication he was taking at the time. Morlock and others charged in the murders fingered Sgt. Calvin Gibbs of Billings, Mont., as the ringleader. In the video, Morlock describes how Gibbs allegedly orchestrated the killing of one of the Afghan civilians.

“’Hey, you guys wanna wax this guy or what?’” Morlock states Gibbs said. “And, you know, he set it up. So he grabbed the dude, you know, put him …”

“While he was still alive?” the investigator interrupts.

“Yeah,” Morlock answers. “It set the whole scenario up. … We had the guy by his compound so Gibbs, you know, walked him out and set him in place — ‘OK, stand here.’”

The civilian was not armed, Morlock says in the video.

He was stood “next to a wall,” he says. “It’s where Gibbs could get, like, behind cover after the grenade went off, and then he kind of placed me and (Adam) Winfield off over here to have a clean line of sight for this guy. And, uh, you know, he pulled out one of his grenades, an American grenade, you know, popped it, throws the grenade and then tells me and Winfield, ‘All right dude, wax this guy. Kill this guy, kill this guy.’”

Morlock also told investigators Gibbs expressed a desire for “getting away with some of these things.”

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