Soldier to face trial for Afghan killings

WASILLA — A Wasilla soldier accused of participating in premeditated killings of Afghan civilians earlier this year will face a general court martial.

A decision to set a trial for Morlock follows an Article 32 hearing, which is the military equivalent of a grand jury. After reviewing the charges and evidence against Jeremy Morlock, 22, the Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., staff judge advocate has ruled the Houston High School graduate will stand trial on all six charges brought against him, according to a statement released Friday by the base.

Morlock is one of five soldiers from the base accused of killing three Afghan civilians with grenades and machine guns. Charges he will face in the general court martial 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.

If convicted, Morlock faces a maximum penalty of life imprisonment without parole, said Maj. Kathleen Turner, a public information specialist with the base.

Morlock is the first of the five soldiers charged to have an Article 32 hearing or be referred to a general court martial, Turner said. A trial date has not been set.

“We’re still far from that,” she said. “This (court martial decision) is pretty much another step in the process.”

During his Article 32 hearing last month, it was revealed Morlock has admitted to playing a part in the killings. Morlock’s defense maintains he was under the influence of medications when he made that admission.

In a video interview with Morlock obtained by ABC News, the soldier describes how another soldier, Sgt. Calvin Gibbs, allegedly was the ringleader for the group.

“’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 man was not armed, Morlock says in the video.

He 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.’”

Seven other soldiers were charged in August in relation to the killings and assault Morlock is accused of participating in, Turner has said.

“It’s not really clear what their roles were,” she said.

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