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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