Ex-Marine convicted in New York in Iraq shooting case is fined $10, gets no prison time

Published January 08, 2015

A former Marine corporal convicted of making false statements about the accidental shooting of a fellow U.S. serviceman has been spared prison time and been fined $10.

Federal Judge Colleen McMahon fined Wilfredo Santiago on Thursday.

Santiago was convicted on a false-statements count at a June trial and was acquitted on another count. The trial occurred only after the judge criticized the government for using the civil courts to resolve an "internal military matter."

The charges stemmed from the January 2008 accidental shooting of a Navy medic serving in the same fighting unit at Camp Echo in Diwaniyah, Iraq.

Prosecutors say Santiago lied about his gun going off in the windowless room where five men lived.

Defense lawyers say Santiago is studying to be a teacher.

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