SAN DIEGO — As their families and fellow Marines stood behind them, three Marines who fought in Iraq pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges stemming from a drive-by shooting outside a San Diego taco stand that left one sailor dead and two sailors and a civilian wounded.
Prosecutors allege the shooting followed a confrontation between Marines and sailors at an on-base nightspot that was sparked by rivalry over a woman. The slain sailor also served in the war against Iraq.
San Diego County Superior Court Judge Peter Deddeh declined a request from defense attorneys to allow the three Marines to return to Camp Pendleton, despite a promise by Marine authorities to ensure that they show up at their next court hearing.
Lance Cpl. Myron Thomas, 21, of Fort Bend, Texas, was charged with murder and three counts of assault with a deadly weapon. Lance Cpl. Bernard Jones, 19, of New Orleans was charged with being an accessory after the fact to the murder for allegedly disposing of shell casings from the semiautomatic gun used in the attack. Lance Cpl. Kenneth Hall, 19, of Rankin, Miss., faces the same charges as Thomas for allegedly being the driver.
"My son is a good boy, a baseball player, he’s never been in trouble," said Thomas’ tearful mother, as she left the courthouse. "None of these boys have been in trouble."
All are part of the 1st Battalion, 4th Marines, and were decorated for their service during the offensive to topple the regime of Saddam Hussein.
Hall and Jones received the Combat Action Ribbon, which is given only to Marines who have been under enemy fire. The three returned from Iraq in mid-September.
Prosecutors said after an altercation Nov. 19 at the Club Metro, a nightspot on the 32nd Street Naval Station, Thomas and Hall angrily left the club. After getting a semiautomatic weapon, they drove by a taco stand about 2:30 a.m. and Thomas fired five or six shots, authorities said.
Seaman Roderick Little, 22, of Alabama was struck in the leg and bled to death. Little had served in the Persian Gulf on the aircraft carrier Constellation and was soon to join the amphibious assault ship Boxer.
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