NEW YORK – A former Navy corporal has been convicted in a criminal trial in a New York civil court of making false statements about the accidental shooting of a fellow U.S. serviceman.
Wilfredo Santiago was convicted Wednesday by a federal court jury in Manhattan on one count but was exonerated on another false-statements count.
Both charges stemmed from the January 2008 accidental shooting of a Navy medic serving in the same fighting unit at Camp Echo in Iraq. Prosecutors said Santiago lied about his gun going off in the windowless room where five men lived but later told the truth.
Defense lawyers said his words were true.
Santiago faces up to five years in prison at an Oct. 9 sentencing. The victim lost an eye but survived.
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