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LOONIE TUNES



This should be aired on Warner Brothers Loonie Toones... what a cast of characters:

CHERRY POINT â A former Cherry Point air station commander will face trial by court martial, Lt. Gen. Dennis J. Hejlik, commander of Marine Corps Bases Atlantic in Norfolk, announced Wednesday.

Col. Douglas A. Denn was relieved of command in October 2010 after he was arrested and charged with DWI.
âDenn is accused of violating an order, dereliction of duty, false official statements, driving while impaired, conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman, and conduct prejudicial to the good order and discipline of the Armed Forces," Hejlik said in a prepared release.
No date has been set for the proceedings.

Denn, 47, is a Marine pilot and was commander at Cherry Point from August 2009 until relieved of duty by Maj. Gen. Carl Jensen, commander of Marine Corps Installations East, the day after his Oct. 25, 2010, arrest by Newport Police for drunk driving and speeding.

Denn pleaded guilty to those charges in Carteret County District Court in and quickly faced an Article 32 hearing at Cherry Point Joint Law Center to hear evidence on whether he would face a court martial.
The hearing in front of Investigating Officer Col. Christopher Miner began with more than the original charges, however, prompting one of his two civilian and one Marine Corps defense attorneys to call the hearing âan ambushâ that âfundamentally denies his 6th Amendment right to counsel.â

New charges included wrongful use of government resources, making false statements, a continued improper relationship with a civilian employee after being warned, and wrongfully attempting to impede justice.
Miner listened to three witnesses and recessed to receive additional information electronically to allow Dennâs response to the additional charges.

Most of the testimony from three government witnesses â Maj. Todd Yates, Col. Joseph E. George, and Col. Robert Clinton â was evidence that Marine Corps trial counsel Lt. Col. Valerie Danyluk said showed Denn violated the Navyâs flight rules by flying less than 12 hours after consuming alcohol and not telling the truth when he said he got eight hours crew rest.

Witness testimony revealed that about 7:30 a.m. following his civilian arrest about 12:30 a.m. Oct. 25, Denn was briefed as scheduled for multi-leg C-130 flight from Cherry Point to New York and that he flew the homebound leg back to the base.

The news media was allowed into the high security hearing but not shown written evidence. No oral defense evidence was presented then, with Dennâs attorneys, Col. John G. Baker, Douglas Cody and Phillip Haward, submitting defense evidence electronically.

Following the hearing, Denn declined comment to the press.
Marine Corps lawyers said that without Minerâs recommendation to submit the case to Hejlik, it would have stopped at Cherry Point, where Denn had been reassigned to other duties. With a recommendation to refer for court martial,

Hejlik could have acted to move forward to trial or not.

The former commander of Cherry Point will have a court martial, military officials announced Wednesday.
Lt. Gen. Dennis J. Hejlik, Commander of Marine Corps Bases Atlantic, referred charges against Col. Douglas A. Denn to trial by court-martial on Wednesday, according to a press release from U.S. Marine Corps Forces Command.
Charges to be considered by the court include violations of Articles 92, 107, 111, 133 and 134 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, according to the release. Denn is accused of violating an order, dereliction of duty, false official statements, driving while impaired, conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman, and conduct prejudicial to the good order and discipline of the Armed Forces.
No date has been set for the proceedings



Carolyn Martin                                        
Military Criminal Defense &
Federal Contract Investigator
Ph: 760-445-0711  /  Fax: 760-730-3611
             

"Congressmen who willfully take action during wartime that damages morale and undermine the military are saboteurs and should be arrested, exiled, or hung." ~ Abraham Lincoln
 
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