Soldier Charged With Having Himself Shot
Friday, December 17, 2004
- Share:
PHILADELPHIA — Police have arrested a soldier they say had his cousin shoot him so he wouldn't have to return to Iraq.
Army Spc. Marquise J. Roberts, of Hinesville, Ga., suffered a minor wound Tuesday to his left leg from a .22-caliber pistol, police said. He was treated at a hospital, then arrested after he and his cousin allegedly admitted making up a story about the shooting.
After giving differing accounts of the incident, "they just broke down and confessed that they concocted the whole story so he didn't have to go back to the war," Philadelphia police Lt. James Clark said Thursday.
Police charged Roberts with filing a false report and charged his cousin, Ronald Fuller, with aggravated assault and other charges.
Roberts, who was visiting family in Philadelphia, initially claimed he was shot during an attempted robbery, but Fuller had said the incident occurred at another location during an argument, according to Clark.
Roberts, 23, was on a two-week leave from the Army's 3rd Infantry Division (search), which led the assault on Baghdad in 2003. He is scheduled to return to Iraq within the next few months. The division has been home since the summer of 2003.
Police said Roberts, a supply specialist who had spent seven months in Iraq, was distraught about having to return to combat duty and wanted to stay with his family.
Lt. Col. Cliff Kent, a 3rd Infantry spokesman, said Roberts had been scheduled to return this week to Fort Stewart, Ga.
Roberts could face military discipline if the charges prove true, Kent said, but the civilian case probably would proceed first.
- Share:
