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;• April 1, 1997VTHE STARS AND STRIPES.Page 5... iftDUI18-yeardischarge► ...guiBy CARLOS BONGIOANNI jV -SigohcIIa bureau .V. dNAS -SIGONELLA, Sicily —*. After having;much oft heir evid e n ce. th rown ou t of cou r t,. Navy off icia is he reare now taking administrative action against a sailor ac-: cused of drunken driving^ ^ A/ • \But Petty Officer 1st Glass Thomas Bennett says he didn’t do it and. says his wife', Stacie, was behind the wheel of a rental car when it crashed last August a few miles from Sigo riel la’s support,base in Sicily;:Although the Navy rarely refers drunken-drivingcases to administrative boards, it has done so with Bennett because he refusedv norijudicial punishment. — called a Captain’s -Mast — and because the governmenthad4a good chance of losing its case in court, according to a military official familiar with the investigation who , asked riot to be identified; /:TyAii: administrative.; board determines whether .misconduct occur red and whether a servicemember is su it-able: for /furthermilitary service, If if finds;a member not su it a ble;. t he board a Iso d e term i n es the type; of d is- ’■ charge a seryicemember will receive;;'.'-:;. /fvT-:/In Bennett’s- case, he could receive an dther-than-honorabie discharge after nearly 18 years of service in the Navy; He also could face a reduction in pay grade.;::from E-6 to/E-3. ; • ; ^; •;:;./;-\i :'Ty/-;/../;- ■-: ;Lt, Barbara Burfeind, Sigonella’s public affairs officer, said base personnel charged whh driving under the ;; influence of alcohol typically opt for a Captain’s Mast.; .That’s, because such nonjudicial punishments can beless severe than courts-martial and do not bear the stig- ,: v ma of a federal conviction, • ;. , r . . *«* •. t .* * • . . . 4 I . • . t •• . •Bennett said he refused Captain’s Mast becaiise hev felt his command, already..'had determined he was guilty ;of drinking and driving and would not give'him a “fair. shake.: .When Bennett refused the Captain’s Mast, he was c referred to a court-martial After,a military judge then ruled that certain evidence against Bennett would not ;vbe\;admissi.bleiVCaptv.vWilliam:-.^s6n, Sigoneila’s; com-; manding officer-, withdrew charges against Bennett.. Tyson subsequently referred Bennett’s case to an ad-: // iriinistrative board, where the evidence.that the . judge ruled inadmissible will be admissible.; /.//Y• *• ' , 1 ..•* ,* •- * * _ - m 4 m ' • .* *•1‘The command - believes Petty Officer Bennett got Y ; off on a technicality,” said Lt. Jarries Walsh, Bennett’s defense lawyer. “But that technicality is the Constitution, the very document we (the military) have all committed ourselves to defend and uphold.’5 .„ The!technicality Walshpreferred to concerned proce- Y dura! errors by security person net at Sigonella,v At a pretrial hearing in . November, the judge, Ctridr. ^Gerald T; Hatch, ruled that llt;aw enforcement/personnel had violated Bennett’s due process rights as guaranteed by the Cons ti tuti on by failing jo read Ben net this rights , to rem a in silent and• to have an attorney.;The patrolmen also coerced him to give blood to de- v ; terrnirie its^ alcohol content,, accordmg to the judge’s ■'• ruling. / •;/.•//’Y • •'.,;:.•• 'j.. Y-Y-?tent at almost twice the.legal Mmit Were jnadmissibJe incou r I;. ...■ ; /':.'.-;, - • _;. '; *; !V ' ■ A ; ■/’' . ?•/i ■ ’1 * ■ . . . 1 ■Hatch also ruled that an alleged verbal admission by.. Bennett that he was driving the vehicle was inadmissible in coiirt.; Bennett, however, denies ever making;, such an admission. - /,lt; ■ . • . i . ■ • f . ’r4 1 ■ ‘ * ,A military official who asked not to be identified saidthe procedural errors were unfortunate mistakes;ihat;should not preclude .Bennett from entering a “forum” that, would fairly determine his guilt or innocence,“With the majority of. the' evidence ruled inadmissible, there was no choice but to withdraw the charges,’.’ the official said. “You don’t; take cases to court whereyou do not feel you can prove your case -- -whether atr-'guing for guilt or innocence beyond a reasonable doubt. ‘V .O-% '■ '■v-';. j .j h ; ■’; ,'v.“Therefore^ ;the only fair recourse to. hold this indi-,; vidual accountable for his actions is an administrative; board where they will examine the preponderance of. evidence;to determine if misconduct occurred, and if’ . so, his suitability for future service.” . . vBurfein d said the admin istrative board is not a pu ni-; ■ ti.ve rrieasurC, blit Bennett believes it k. If he is aarriin-7 : istratively discharged from the Navy; he could: lose all , his veteran: benefits, arid; thri integrity of his military serv.ice cou 1 d be rharred, by an other-than-honorable discharge.:;;'./ 'j:.;.- v -''A::;“The technical-legal definition of Admin Board is it : is not punitive,” said -the military official “But there’sno question that the consequences of arv Admin Bpard' could be perceived as punitive;” V-.\.•Bennett has filed an official complaint against Tyson,Based dn those determinations, the judge said tjle;T : ; the commander at Sigonella, for referring the; case to test results that showed Beririe.tt’s^ blood-alcohol co ri - an a dm i n i s t rri t ive b b a r d. ~j, *.
Newspaper Details
European Stars and Stripes
Darmstadt, Hesse, DE
Tue, Apr 01, 1997
Page 19
Full Page
Clipped by
Tyson M.
IL, USA 24 Dec 2021
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Allgemeine Kirchen Zeitung
European Stars and Stripes
