Photo Credit: Scott T. Sturkol, Army
An Army Specialist stationed close to Fort Carson, Colorado was found guilty of stealing a $70,000 recreational camper from their company’s First Sergeant.
The Specialist, according to court records and testimony, partnered up with another Fort Carson Soldier, a Private First Class, to steal a Keystone 358 Camper which belonged to their company’s top ranking Noncommissioned Officer.
The trying judge on the case ruled that the pair of lower enlisted service members were guilty under Article 121 (larceny and wrongful appropriation) of the Uniform Code of Military.
According to redacted documentation obtained by Army Times, the Specialist did “at or near Fort Carson, Colorado, on or about 25 March 2021, conspire with Private First Class [redacted] to commit an offense under the Uniform Code of Justice to wit: larceny of a Keystone 358 Camper.”
Although he was found guilty, the Specialist plead not guilty to the larceny charge. The judge who presided of the military court martial, Col. Jacqueline Emanuel, offered the following suggestion:
“I recommend that the convening authority suspend the sentence of a bad conduct discharge and consider administrative separation of the accused in lieu of allowing felony conviction to stand. Based on the evidence presented during the trial, I conclude that SPC [redacted] is a young Soldier who was otherwise a good duty performer and made an incredibly poor decision without full[y] appreciating the negative repercussions that could follow for the rest of his life.”
None of the court documents list the defendants’ motivation for the crime, but the separated Soldier was sparred from a dishonorable discharge and the addition of civilian felony charges based on his performance in the service to date.
