View Full Version : Murder of Green Beret by Navy Seal’s
angus mac
11-13-2017, 12:45
U.S.Army S/Sgt.Logan Melgar possibly murdered by two U.S.Navy SEAL’s. I just read about this and decided to post it. This happened in Mali. The murder is still under investigation.
Guymullins
11-13-2017, 14:12
Looks very "fishy" to me.
U.S.Army S/Sgt.Logan Melgar possibly murdered by two U.S.Navy SEAL’s. I just read about this and decided to post it. This happened in Mali. The murder is still under investigation.
CloseDanger
11-13-2017, 22:55
Green Beret Discovered SEALs’ Illicit Cash. Then He Was Killed. (https://www.thedailybeast.com/green-beret-discovered-seals-illicit-cash-then-he-was-killed)
Slingstone
11-15-2018, 13:03
2 SEALs and 2 Raiders have been charged with Melgar's murder and lying to investigators.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/seals-marines-charged-with-green-beret-logan-melgars-murder
DD-458 published at the bottom of the article.
tom kelly
11-16-2018, 16:08
4 individuals involved in crime.....Which one will make a deal to save himself????
4 individuals involved in crime.....Which one will make a deal to save himself????
One of'em will turn. May they rot in hell...bastards...:mad:
One of'em will turn. May they rot in hell...bastards...:mad:
This, you can count on.
Basenshukai
11-17-2018, 19:59
This, you can count on.
I'm guessing one of the Marines will.
I'm guessing one of the Marines will.
They all took part in this crime, none is any less guiltier than the other. I hope to hell the prosecution does not need one of them to roll.
I'm guessing one of the Marines will.
I am guessing that they should have paid attention to the block of instruction in SERE on gay roommates. It might help them in prison...
Predict less than 30-days before at least one turns.
WarriorDiplomat
04-16-2019, 15:37
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/sex-alcohol-and-violence-collided-in-murder-case-ensnaring-seals-and-marines/ar-BBVZWhx?ocid=spartanntp
After a long night of drinking in Mali’s capital, two Navy SEALs and two Marine Raiders smashed their way into Army Staff Sgt. Logan J. Melgar’s room with a sledgehammer.
Armed with duct tape, they had a goal, two of the alleged assailants recalled: Teach the Green Beret soldier a lesson for leaving them behind in traffic on the way to a party at the French Embassy. It was the latest chapter in a feud between Melgar and the SEALs, who had traded accusations about careless behavior that could threaten their mission.
One of the SEALs, Petty Officer 1st Class Anthony E. DeDolph, a former professional mixed-martial arts fighter and Purple Heart recipient, jumped on Melgar and put him in a chokehold on his bed sometime after 5 a.m., two of the men later told authorities. The other SEAL, Chief Petty Officer Adam C. Matthews, grabbed Melgar’s legs, while the two Marines sought to duct-tape them.
They moved on to Melgar’s wrists, but realized he had stopped breathing.
“At this point, we immediately began attempts to revive SSGT Melgar,” Matthews recalled in a written description of that night’s events that he recently signed and submitted to the military. “He remained unresponsive, so we laid him back down and I began rescue breaths while the tape was cut off of him.” “His chest rose and fell from my rescue breaths, and during one of the breaths, I saw red-tinted spittle come out of his mouth and hit me in the face.”
All four men face the same raft of charges, including felony murder, obstruction of justice and hazing, according to U.S. military documents, in the June 4, 2017, death of Melgar, a member of 3rd Special Forces Group who had served two previous deployments in Afghanistan.
The case drew attention to criminal misconduct allegedly committed by elite U.S. troops deployed to several countries to carry out secretive campaigns against Islamist militant groups, including some affiliated with al-Qaeda.
DeDolph and Matthews, another Purple Heart recipient, were members of the counterterrorism unit commonly known as SEAL Team 6. The other two men, Gunnery Sgt. Mario Madera-Rodriguez and Staff Sgt. Kevin Maxwell, were assigned to Marine Corps Special Operations Command.
Some aspects of the case, including the names of the accused and allegations of a coverup, have been reported previously. But hundreds of pages of legal filings obtained by The Washington Post provide new details about the events surrounding the deadly assault.
The documents throw back a veil of secrecy on a culture in which womanizing and heavy drinking were said to be commonplace in the city of Bamako, despite alcohol restrictions and warnings about kidnappings and terrorist threats.
In “stipulations of fact” — effectively, accounts of what occurred submitted to authorities, and not previously reported by the news media — Matthews and Maxwell acknowledge their roles in Melgar’s death. Attorneys for both men said plea-deal discussions for their clients are underway, as reported by the Daily Beast in March, but declined to discuss most of the specifics.
Brian Bouffard, an attorney for Maxwell, said the men never intended to harm Melgar.
Grover Baxley, Matthews’s attorney, confirmed that his client has reached a pretrial agreement with the government in which his client will plead guilty to lesser charges that include hazing and assault. His case will be referred to a special court-martial , Baxley said. It is considered less serious than a general court-martial and limits the punishment to no more than a year of imprisonment.
Attorneys for DeDolph and Madera-Rodriguez did not respond to requests for comment.
No one else has been charged in the case, said Elizabeth Baker, a U.S. military spokeswoman. She declined to comment on many of the details in the documents, citing the open court cases. A hearing in the case was scheduled in December and March and postponed both times. No additional dates have been scheduled, she said.
The documents leave some questions raised in earlier news reports unanswered, including what else might have caused friction among the men.
“It’s still a tragic situation, but the motivations behind what happened that night are nothing like what was reported,” Baxley said.
Accusations and anger
The documents describe months of tension between Melgar and DeDolph and another SEAL who was not charged. Melgar and the SEALs lived in the same house, while the Marines lived a few blocks away.
To limit their interactions, the SEALs banned Melgar and another Special Forces soldier from their operations center, another soldier who also lived there later told Naval Criminal Investigative Service agents, according to U.S. military documents.
In the weeks leading up to assault, Melgar brought foreigners to the residence, the other soldier said. He added that Melgar had engaged in “frat-like” behavior and had acted in ways that got them both “uninvited” from events at the U.S. Embassy. The Washington Post is not naming several other Americans who have not been charged with a crime at the request of military officials due to security concerns.
“Logan, Tony, everyone had a turn at it,” the other soldier said of excessive drinking, acknowledging that he also consumed alcohol on occasion.
Earlier media reports said that Melgar did not drink.
Melgar, for his part, had accused the SEALs of bringing prostitutes to the house, a detail that was first reported by the Daily Beast last year. The other soldier living in the house, asked by investigators about the prostitution allegation, declined to answer directly but said infidelity occurred among some people living there, the documents said. Melgar vented about the men to his wife, Michelle, in a series of messages that she turned over to authorities. “I freaking hate them,” Melgar told her. She has asked not to be contacted by reporters, U.S. military officials said.
A plan takes shape over beers and whiskey at the western-themed Appaloosa bar and a nightclub called Byblos, the men discussed hazing Melgar, service members involved and witnesses told investigators.
Some of the service members visited the Byblos nightclub in Bamako on the night of the fatal assault, witnesses told investigators. Melgar returned home a few hours after leaving the other service members behind on the way to the French Embassy party, and said he had made the right decision because it was a “high-class” event, the other soldier told NCIS agents a few months later, according to NCIS documents. Melgar said he had two or three beers there, the other soldier reported to investigators. Matthews, in his stipulation of facts, said he and the other three men who were charged agreed to tape him up when they returned to the shared Navy-Army residence. The Marines brought more duct tape and a sledgehammer from their residence nearby. “The sledgehammer was not required for us to gain entrance to SSGT Melgar’s room, but we used it because we thought that the noise associated with it would further surprise him,” wrote Matthews, who was visiting Bamako for a few days. Within minutes, the situation had spiraled out of control.
The service members attempted CPR on Melgar, and then retrieved a defibrillator and equipment to open an airway with an emergency procedure on his throat. They considered calling an ambulance, but determined it would take too long and took him to a nearby clinic. Melgar was declared dead there.
In the following hours, the men hatched a plan in which the SEALs would take the blame and say that the Marines had not been in the room when DeDolph put Melgar in a chokehold, the stipulations of fact said.
The men also sought to cover their tracks in other ways. The other soldier deployed with Melgar told NCIS agents that he directed one of the Marines to throw away the alcohol in the house because any service member subject to General Order No. 1 — which restricts alcohol consumption while deployed — would “get smoked” by authorities, according to an NCIS report in court filings.
In the chaos, the crime scene was not fully sealed for hours, the documents allege. Scott Patterson, an assistant regional security officer with the State Department, entered Melgar’s room with Madera-Rodriguez serving as a witness. Patterson was unaware that the Marine would later be accused of being involved in the death.
Jason Willis, the regional security officer in Mali, told investigators that when he arrived at the clinic, Matthews was shirtless and had“blood all over his hands.” DeDolph initially said the men had been wrestling, Willis told investigators, but he was “pacing, in a state of shock, repeating himself and ‘not lucid.’ ” DeDolph also had blood on his hands, Patterson told investigators.
A State Department spokesman declined to comment, citing the open cases.
In text messages included in the investigative files obtained by The Post, Madera-Rodriguez told an American woman who had been out drinking with them that night that he thinks “about Logan’s family all the time.” DeDolph was “out of his mind” after Melgar's death, he said.
The woman, who was working in Mali with the U.S. government, recalled speaking with DeDolph that morning several hours after the assault.
“I had a moment alone with him at the table,” she wrote. “He said he kills people for a living, but not Americans.”
dan.lamothe@washpost.com
Wow, such tangled webs.. I hope they get what's coming to them
DeDolph and Matthews, another Purple Heart recipient, were members of the counterterrorism unit commonly known as SEAL Team 6. The other two men, Gunnery Sgt. Mario Madera-Rodriguez and Staff Sgt. Kevin Maxwell, were assigned to Marine Corps Special Operations Command.
Accusations and anger
The documents describe months of tension between Melgar and DeDolph and another SEAL who was not charged. Melgar and the SEALs lived in the same house, while the Marines lived a few blocks away.
To limit their interactions, the SEALs banned Melgar and another Special Forces soldier from their operations center, another soldier who also lived there later told Naval Criminal Investigative Service agents, according to U.S. military documents.
In the weeks leading up to assault, Melgar brought foreigners to the residence, the other soldier said. He added that Melgar had engaged in “frat-like” behavior and had acted in ways that got them both “uninvited” from events at the U.S. Embassy.
“Logan, Tony, everyone had a turn at it,” the other soldier said of excessive drinking, acknowledging that he also consumed alcohol on occasion.
Earlier media reports said that Melgar did not drink.
Melgar, for his part, had accused the SEALs of bringing prostitutes to the house, a detail that was first reported by the Daily Beast last year.
The other soldier living in the house, asked by investigators about the prostitution allegation, declined to answer directly but said infidelity occurred among some people living there, the documents said.
Melgar vented about the men to his wife, Michelle, in a series of messages that she turned over to authorities. “I freaking hate them,” Melgar told her. She has asked not to be contacted by reporters, U.S. military officials said.
Looks like someone is dumping on Melgar :mad::mad::mad:
Old Dog New Trick
04-17-2019, 08:58
Looks like someone is dumping on Melgar :mad::mad::mad:
To paraphrase the article above...[He was “uninvited” from and before the “very high profile” Embassy party at which he was “attending” the night before his murder]
What part of that and the other ‘deflections of blame’ sound inconsistent with the witnesses statements that are already based on lies?
Matthews statement I began to perform CPR and rescue breathing on him and his “chest rose and fell” with each breath...but we decided to perform a botched cricothyrotomy because... because we know that DeDolph a MMA fighter crushed his larynx/trachea and he knew it!
But that’s not what killed him it’s more likely than not (according to my medical background and I have not seen an autopsy) that DeDolph broke his neck at C1-C2 and severed the nerves controlling life below that. JMO
And WTF does their award of a PH have to do with their actions in Mali? Am I supposed be more sympathetic to them? fu*k’em!
I wouldn't say that some folks are "above" the law - but they certainly do look down on it....
WarriorDiplomat
04-17-2019, 18:43
The update reads IMO like a college age group that got drunk and out of hand....wasn't Melgar with another GB? was this guy disloyal to his partner?
Gotta make sure to mention who was PH recipients to somehow try to soften the narrative.
Does Leavenworth have a good gym and tanning facility?
Fuck the squeals and the rubber duck they rode in on :mad::mad:
The squeals Chain of Command have been dragging their flippers in the hopes the public will lose interest and this murder will all disappear on the outgoing tide.
These four AH's MURDERED SSG Melgar and their COC has tried to cover it up, FOR TWO(2) YEARS :mad::mad:
Well, it isn't and it won't.
Post to your social media of choice
Post to your swamp critters
Post to any & all
Two U.S. Navy SEALs and two Marines are charged in the death of Army Staff Sergeant Logan Melgar, who was killed in Mali in 2017. (Reuters)
By Dan Lamothe
June 5 at 2:11 PM
Four elite U.S. Special Operations troops charged in the death of a Green Beret soldier in Mali plotted to record him being sexually assaulted as part of a plan to embarrass him through hazing, according to one of the accused service members.
Marine Staff Sgt. Kevin Maxwell said in a written stipulation of facts submitted for the case that the plan included bursting into Army Staff Sgt. Logan Melgar’s bedroom in the capital city of Bamako with a sledgehammer, choking him until he fell unconscious, tying him up and recording the sexual assault on video. The service members involved had just returned from a night of drinking, he said.
Those statements in part match the testimony of Chief Special Warfare Operator Adam C. Matthews, a former member of the Navy’s SEAL Team 6, who pleaded guilty in the case last month.
But Maxwell, a Marine Raider who was in Bamako to assist the SEALs, also told authorities about the sexual assault plan, according to the stipulation. A copy of it was obtained by The Washington Post and verified with two sources who are familiar with the investigation. They did so on the condition of anonymity, citing the sensitivity of the matter.
The four service members charged in the case were joined in the room by a Malian security guard and a British man who had befriended the Americans, Maxwell told authorities. The security guard was to carry out the sexual assault, while the British national planned to record it on a cellphone, Maxwell wrote. Those accusations have not previously been disclosed.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2019/06/05/troops-charged-green-berets-death-mali-planned-record-him-being-sexually-assaulted-marine-says/?utm_term=.f77fbe51db46
The update reads IMO like a college age group that got drunk and out of hand....wasn't Melgar with another GB? was this guy disloyal to his partner?
The part of this that makes me the maddest is the fact that it almost appears that they had to "get drunk" in order to carry out something they had planned. For some reason -- and it may just be me -- there seems to be more to this story than what they are admitting to. People get drunk all the time, but they don't do things like this. I've been wrong plenty of times before, and may be in this case as well, but it just seems like more than a "drunken accident."
The part of this that makes me the maddest is the fact that it almost appears that they had to "get drunk" in order to carry out something they had planned. For some reason -- and it may just be me -- there seems to be more to this story than what they are admitting to. People get drunk all the time, but they don't do things like this. I've been wrong plenty of times before, and may be in this case as well, but it just seems like more than a "drunken accident."
More than one news source has published that there were funds stolen and SSG Melgar was about to report it.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/seals-marines-charged-with-green-beret-logan-melgars-murder
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/15/us/politics/green-beret-navy-seals-mali-melgar.html
This was not a drunken ACCIDENT that went South. :mad:
More than one news source has published that there were funds stolen and SSG Melgar was about to report it.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/seals-marines-charged-with-green-beret-logan-melgars-murder
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/15/us/politics/green-beret-navy-seals-mali-melgar.html
This was not a drunken ACCIDENT that went South. :mad:
Yes sir, I remember those allegations being shown early on during the investigation. It's as though those have taken a back seat currently and more emphasis is being placed on their being drunk and things getting out of hand. If the claims concerning the money were true, it needs to be known and shown that these guys are more than drunken idiots and are criminals who executed a plan to take care of the person they felt was going to reveal their crimes. For all we know, their drunk story is simply their conceived "alibi". I tend to overthink these things, but that comes after investigating homicides for 30 years.
If the claims concerning the money were true,
Where is Julian Assange?
Where is Julian Assange?
That one is too far off for me these days....:D
Yes sir, I remember those allegations being shown early on during the investigation. It's as though those have taken a back seat currently and more emphasis is being placed on their being drunk and things getting out of hand. If the claims concerning the money were true, it needs to be known and shown that these guys are more than drunken idiots and are criminals who executed a plan to take care of the person they felt was going to reveal their crimes. For all we know, their drunk story is simply their conceived "alibi". I tend to overthink these things, but that comes after investigating homicides for 30 years.
Yes... all these guys are guilty. The "drunk prank" story is likely damage control.. and takes decades off of prison sentences. Whether they intended to kill or not.. .they killed. IF for the purpose of intimidation to cover up a crime then that is a whole different ballgame.
Basenshukai
06-06-2019, 18:22
This is my theory:
The SEALs and their Marine buddies knew they'd be totally screwed (UCMJ and more) once Melgar came out with the disclosure of the stolen OPFUND.
They needed something to put over his head to blackmail him into not reporting their illegal acts. So, they decide to choke him into unconsciousness, have those dirt bags film that video of him, and then present this to him as a quid-pro-quo (i.e., you don't tell on us and this video does not get out).
This is the reason they had to involve two others who were not going to be identifiable to any one in any of the units. The logic behind this is easy. Once Melgar was shown the sexual assault video, if the offenders in the assault were the SEALs or the Marines, they'd be implicated and just as guilty. But, if the video just showed some random guy no one has ever seen, then Melgar would have to consider the embarrassment the video would bring him, and only him.
This is how the OPFUND allegation, and the frat-boy night time stunt fit in together in this arc of a story. They were covering up a criminal act (trying to) and it went way wrong and now, they are facing murder charges, plus they stole one of our best brothers in the process. So yeah, fuck them. Those units need a definite overhaul.
doctom54
06-06-2019, 18:43
This is my theory:
The SEALs and their Marine buddies knew they'd be totally screwed (UCMJ and more) once Melgar came out with the disclosure of the stolen OPFUND.
They needed something to put over his head to blackmail him into not reporting their illegal acts. So, they decide to choke him into unconsciousness, have those dirt bags film that video of him, and then present this to him as a quid-pro-quo (i.e., you don't tell on us and this video does not get out).
This is the reason they had to involve two others who were not going to be identifiable to any one in any of the units. The logic behind this is easy. Once Melgar was shown the sexual assault video, if the offenders in the assault were the SEALs or the Marines, they'd be implicated and just as guilty. But, if the video just showed some random guy no one has ever seen, then Melgar would have to consider the embarrassment the video would bring him, and only him.
This is how the OPFUND allegation, and the frat-boy night time stunt fit in together in this arc of a story. They were covering up a criminal act (trying to) and it went way wrong and now, they are facing murder charges, plus they stole one of our best brothers in the process. So yeah, fuck them. Those units need a definite overhaul.
That's what I have thought also about this murder of a brother.
Combat Diver
06-07-2019, 00:26
SOCOM is dragging their ass on this and also on the murder of retired SF Rick Rodriguez in Erbil on New Years day this year by MARSOC and a SEAL. :mad:
CD
This is my theory:
The SEALs and their Marine buddies knew they'd be totally screwed (UCMJ and more) once Melgar came out with the disclosure of the stolen OPFUND.
They needed something to put over his head to blackmail him into not reporting their illegal acts. So, they decide to choke him into unconsciousness, have those dirt bags film that video of him, and then present this to him as a quid-pro-quo (i.e., you don't tell on us and this video does not get out).
This is the reason they had to involve two others who were not going to be identifiable to any one in any of the units. The logic behind this is easy. Once Melgar was shown the sexual assault video, if the offenders in the assault were the SEALs or the Marines, they'd be implicated and just as guilty. But, if the video just showed some random guy no one has ever seen, then Melgar would have to consider the embarrassment the video would bring him, and only him.
This is how the OPFUND allegation, and the frat-boy night time stunt fit in together in this arc of a story. They were covering up a criminal act (trying to) and it went way wrong and now, they are facing murder charges, plus they stole one of our best brothers in the process. So yeah, fuck them. Those units need a definite overhaul.
That may be true, but IF the video did get out, don't ya think they would track down who made it. Hopefully it would've led to the dirtbags who were conspiring
Just my .02 worth. However, it would still be greatly embarrassing to SSG Melgar.
Basenshukai
06-10-2019, 10:56
That may be true, but IF the video did get out, don't ya think they would track down who made it. Hopefully it would've led to the dirtbags who were conspiring
Just my .02 worth. However, it would still be greatly embarrassing to SSG Melgar.
Sure. But, the video was to be made as leverage. Think of it as a bluff in a poker game. And, don't forget, criminals may be imaginative but they are rarely intellectual giants.
This circus just gets stranger by the hour.
:mad::mad::mad::mad:
NCIS agent taken off Green Beret murder investigation for reportedly being romantically involved with a witness, Jeff Schogol, August 05, 2019 at 12:49 PM
An NCIS agent was removed from the investigation into the June 2017 hazing death of Special Forces Staff Sgt. Logan Melgar for reportedly having a romantic relationship with a witness.
The Daily Beast reporter Kevin Maurer first reported that defense attorneys for two of the special operators charged with murder and other offenses in connection with Melgar's death will argue that the NCIS agent became romantically involved with the witness, who worked in the intelligence community.
NCIS spokesman Jeff Houston confirmed to Task & Purpose that an agent had been removed from the case but he declined to say why.
"Upon receipt of a credible misconduct allegation, NCIS immediately removed the agent from the investigation and referred the matter for appropriate action, consistent with applicable Human Resources guidelines and policies," Houston said in a statement.
https://taskandpurpose.com/ncis-romantic-witness?xrs=RebelMouse_fb&ts=1565028334&fbclid=IwAR3wIeGhqohBbhNnFjuo4n9YO45BT40ubdtP62Bkg nqaFMMQ8dxBXErMjQc
I wish "they" would cease and desist with this silly bullshit about "the hazing death" of a Soldier.
He was choked out with the admitted intent of sexually assaulting him and then using video of the event to blackmail him.
"hazing death" is some of the most infuriating shit that I can imagine
The Navy investigators are showing the same incompetence that they used to fake prosecute the Fat Leonard scandal and the same incompetence that they used in the Gallagher case
Go Navy
Ret10Echo
01-24-2021, 07:17
Navy SEAL Who Choked Green Beret to Death Sentenced to 10 Years
DeDolph gets 10 years
Echo, got a link? What'd he plead to? 10 years ain't much. Must have been a hell of a deal.
Ret10Echo
01-24-2021, 07:51
Echo, got a link? What'd he plead to? 10 years ain't much. Must have been a hell of a deal.
Daily Beast (https://www.thedailybeast.com/tony-dedolph-navy-seal-promoted-after-killing-green-beret-sentenced-to-10-years)
Yeah, plea deal - 10 isn't much for taking a man's life with malice.
Probably more butt-hurt that there is a "no book, no movie, no financial gain" from time on the teams
That's a GD tragedy...I was never a fan of plea deals.
I guess I could understand his widows wishes to get it over with (read from previously from somewhere else).
It has been a long time..Still, I don't think it's justice by any means....:mad:
At least they busted him down to E-1 and giving him a Dishonorable also.
That's a GD tragedy...I was never a fan of plea deals.
I guess I could understand his widows wishes to get it over with (read from previously from somewhere else).
It has been a long time..Still, I don't think it's justice by any means....:mad:
No, it is not..... this is what you get when the selection course is simply physical....strong/stupid.
Great combo and has been demonstrated up/down that chain of command.... Operation Red Wings for example.....
1stindoor
01-25-2021, 06:59
...
Probably more butt-hurt that there is a "no book, no movie, no financial gain" from time on the teams
My son said, "At least the judge knew where to hurt 'em."
It would be interesting to see if the family could go after that shit sack in civil court.
LongWire
01-26-2021, 09:30
10 yrs is better than 1.... and at least he won’t get a pardon!
Shit bag
Now trying to get a new trial with trump lawyer
https://www.thedailybeast.com/ex-navy-seal-tony-dedolph-hires-trump-lawyer-to-reduce-his-jail-time-for-killing-green-beret-logan-melgar?source=articles&via=rss
The Navy SEAL who admitted to killing a Green Beret in Mali in 2017 has hired one of former President Donald Trump’s lawyers to help reduce his 10-year prison sentence.
Navy SEAL Tony DeDolph pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in the strangulation death of Army Staff Sgt. Logan Melgar, a Special Forces soldier assigned to the 3rd Special Forces Group. DeDolph also pleaded guilty to hazing, conspiracy, and obstruction of justice for trying to cover up the cause of Melgar's death.
A military jury sentenced DeDolph, a member of the elite SEAL Team 6, to 10 years in prison, and he was also hit with a reduction in rank to E-1, forfeiture of his pay and allowances, and will be dishonorably discharged.
But an appeals court overturned the sentence in 2022 after it came to light his defense team didn’t know one of the witnesses asked for clemency as part of his deal to testify against DeDolph. In anticipation of a new sentencing hearing, DeDolph has called in high-profile defense attorney Tim Parlatore to help with his case.
Navy SEAL Who Choked Green Beret to Death Gets 10 Years
FINAL CHAPTER
A white-collar defense attorney, Parlatore represents former President Trump in the special counsel investigation into his handling of classified material and the investigation into the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. He has also represented organized crime figures, Bernard Kerik—the former New York City police commissioner who plead guilty to tax fraud—and two daredevils who parachuted from the World Trade Center. But his most high-profile military client was Navy SEAL Edward Gallagher, who was accused of war crimes. Gallagher, a former member of SEAL Team 7, faced a court martial for war crimes charges including murder but was only convicted of posing for a picture with a dead body.
“Obviously I've built a reputation within the special operations community of winning,” said Parlatore, a graduate of the Naval Academy who served in the Navy before earning his law degree from Brooklyn Law School.
Parlatore confirmed DeDolph is out of prison while awaiting a new sentencing but would not disclose his location. It is unclear how DeDolph, who was reduced to the Navy’s lowest rank when he pleaded guilty and has already served some of his sentence, has the money to pay for a New York criminal defense attorney. When asked, Parlatore declined to “discuss finances” but confirmed he is working at a discounted rate.
“Am I getting paid full freight? Absolutely not,” Parlatore said. “Am I in this to make money? No. This is not the case that is going to pay my rent.”
DeDolph was part of the Naval Special Warfare Development Group, commonly known as Seal Team 6. He and Melgar were part of an intelligence operation in Mali supporting counterterrorism efforts against al Qaeda’s local affiliate, known as al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, in 2017.
DeDolph told a military judge he and the other men were avenging a “perceived slight” after Melgar left them to attend a party at the French Embassy in Mali’s capital city of Bamako. DeDolph’s job during the hazing incident was to place Melgar in a “rear naked choke” that restricts blood flow in the neck.
DeDolph said the attack was intended to be a joke and the severity escalated during a night of drinking. But Michelle, Melgar’s widow, was one of the first to alert authorities about inconsistencies in the SEAL's statements, including lying about her husband being drunk.
Slain Green Beret’s Widow Speaks: ‘I Knew They Were Lying’
‘THEY DON’T GET TO DO THAT’
DeDolph was the third of four defendants to plead guilty in the case. Navy SEAL Adam Matthews, 33, pleaded guilty to hazing and assault charges and attempts to cover up what happened to Melgar. Before he was sentenced, Matthews hit on Melgar's widow at a Las Vegas gun show. He was sentenced in May 2019 to one year in military prison. Marine Raider Kevin Maxwell, 29, was sentenced to four years of confinement after pleading guilty to negligent homicide, hazing, and making false official statements in June 2019. The fourth defendant—Marine Raider Mario Madera-Rodriguez—was convicted and sentenced in 2021 to six months in confinement, hard labor, and a reduction in rank.
But a military appeals court last year overturned DeDolph’s 10-year sentence after Navy prosecutors failed to disclose that Maxwell, who took part in the hazing and later testified against DeDolph, had asked for clemency in exchange for his testimony.
Specifically, Maxwell asked for two years instead of the four he got. The SEAL’s defense attorneys missed the chance to question Maxwell about a “potential motive to misrepresent events,” according to the appeals court. His sentence was later reduced from four years to three years. “The fact that (Maxwell) sought additional clemency... in exchange for his testimony is clearly information that tended to demonstrate (his) bias, and bore on his credibility,” the appeals court wrote. ″(T)here is a reasonable possibility that the outcome of the trial would have been affected by the disclosure of the clemency request.”
Parlatore is focused on reducing DeDolph’s sentence.
“This case at this stage is all about making sure that he gets an appropriate sentence,” he said. “There was no intent to kill. This was unfortunately an incident that went badly. So, what is there to win? Making sure that a good man who is involved in a mistake doesn't lose the rest of his life by spending 10 years in jail. Getting him back with his family and getting him back to a position where he could be a good contributing member of society.”
The re-sentencing is currently docketed for the first week of June, according to a Navy spokesperson, but Parlatore says it is unlikely to be held that quickly. He is still working to gain a security clearance that will allow him to review court records and evidence.
“There are complicating factors,” Parlatore said. “We're of course negotiating to see if we can work out a deal to do it in a much simpler manner. But to the extent that it's going to be a full contested hearing before Christmas, maybe.”
Melgar’s widow, Michelle, rejected the idea that DeDolph should get a lesser sentence, arguing in a statement to The Daily Beast that it is her husband who suffered an injustice.
“Tony and his wife will have a chance to live life together again, while Logan’s life and our time together, on Earth, was cut short,” Michelle Melgar said. “Tony’s situation is temporary. Our situation is permanent.”
Here is the Lawyer if anyone wants to contact him
https://www.parlatorelawgroup.com/content/timothy-c-parlatore
Look at this crap from CID putting people in the FBI data base with no charge.
https://www.foxnews.com/us/looking-scalps-green-beret-never-charged-crime-ends-murder-background-check
Roll up but more in article.
"I think the rot is at the top," Addicott said. "The CID is out to justify their existence, and therefore in many cases, they’re not concerned with providing justice. They’re concerned with titling people."
The sensationalism of the crime likely played a role, Addicott added. America’s most elite warriors, hazing and killing one of their own.
"This was a high-profile news story," he said. "The CID goes to a five-alarm fire."
Just an ‘administrative function’
Tears started to form in Kim Morris’ eyes when she considered all her husband has been through. She thought she knew what their family signed up for when he enlisted in the military. During their first year of marriage, Morris wrote his will and chose the songs he wanted played at his funeral.
"I knew every time he left, I may never see him again," Kim said. "I wasn't okay with it, but I had to be okay with it."
But she didn’t expect her husband to be betrayed by his own government.
"The worst part is, we signed up for a unit that was gonna protect him and they didn't," she said. "Where is the brotherhood? Where is the accountability?"
Morris tried fruitlessly to convince his chain of command and CID that the titling had given him a false criminal record. It looked like he was walking around awaiting trial for murder. He was afraid to volunteer at his church or chaperon his daughter’s school field trips because the required background checks would slap him with a "scarlet letter."
They didn’t listen.
"You were a subject of an investigation," he remembered his chain of command saying. "Titling is just an administrative action."
"They just keep telling you these things don’t get held against you," Morris said. "They do. They most certainly do."
Kim Morris said the CID investigation and her husband's titling have been like a "black cloud" over their family. (Courtesy Jamie Morris)
ARMY INJUSTICE: THOUSANDS OF SOLDIERS, VETERANS SLAPPED WITH MISLEADING CRIMINAL RECORD
"Every facet of [the Uniform Code of Military Justice] will hide behind ‘it’s an administrative action,’ but I can administratively freeze your checking accounts and it’s just an administrative action," he added. "But you can’t buy food. I can effectively starve you to death. To say that it’s just an administrative action doesn’t do it any justice at all."
Last November, Morris filed a complaint with the Defense Department’s inspector general. At some point between then and June, the murder charge and negligent homicide charges were inexplicably scrubbed from his record. But a slew of other charges remain, including attempted aggravated sexual contact, soliciting another to commit aggravated assault and obstruction of justice.
Despite a judge advocate issuing a memo in June finding no probable cause that Morris committed the offenses, CID refuses to untitle Morris.
In an Aug. 15 email reviewed by Fox News, a CID agent said the allegations against Morris were changed to "no probable cause" and that his fingerprints were removed from the database. But the agent wrote that DoD rules prohibit individuals from being untitled unless there is a case of mistaken identity or an error was made in applying the "credible information standard."
"Mr. Morris will remain titled," the agent wrote. "Titling is an administrative function and NOT indicative of a criminal determination."
background check shows arrest, charges
A June 2023 background check on James Morris makes it seem as though he was arrested for numerous charges. (Fox News Digital)
But when it comes to a background check, that "administrative function" looks a lot like criminal wrongdoing. The flag on his record stopped Morris from progressing in the Army.
"I was at the prime of my career to be able to move forward, to do what every young Green Beret joins to do and become a team sergeant or a team leader and lead those guys and show them what you’ve learned from all your years," he said.
Instead, his career stalled out in 2019. In May of this year, Morris said he was pressured to leave the Army after 18 years and 10 months. He was just over a year away from obtaining the coveted military pension.
"He didn't want to get out of the military," Addicott, Morris' lawyer, said. "He lost hundreds of thousands of dollars" by retiring before the 20-year mark.
And getting a job — or a concealed carry permit — is no easy feat when it looks like you’ve been arrested for murder or attempted sex crimes. Morris said he applied to 80-some jobs over the course of a year. He got two interviews.
"You'll never know how many jobs you didn't get because of a background check," he said. "However, it does leave you with this stigma. I know that this is out there."
May 27 was Green Beret Jamie Morris' last day in the Army. He left just over one year shy of being able to collect his military retirement. (Courtesy Jamie Morris)
THE ARMY GAVE THIS OFFICER A FALSE CRIMINAL RECORD, STUNTING HIS CAREER. NOW HE’S GETTING BACKPAY
There is a precedent for removing titles, though it took years of fighting by a few vocal soldiers and lawyers, including Addicott. Last fall, the Army announced its intent to correct the records of around 2,000 troops whose records were tarnished for years after a sloppy CID investigation into a recruiting program known as G-RAP.
While the Army primarily focused on removing the soldiers’ names from criminal databases, officials said they would also review whether individuals should have been titled and expunge any that did not meet the "appropriate standard."
In August, a CID spokesman told Fox News that the review found 2,071 erroneously titled individuals and 1,454 people requiring corrective action for indexing (the process of sending the information to the FBI). Corrections are complete, the spokesman said, and a report on titling and indexing practices was sent to Congress in July.
"As a result of the G-RAP review, CID took immediate action and conducted all-hands training regarding proper titling and indexing," the spokesperson wrote in an email to Fox News.
A CID spokesman declined to answer questions about Morris' case or comment on his titling, telling Fox News only that the agency follows procedures as outlined by the Defense Department. Army public affairs did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
"The CID could untitle [Morris] if they wanted to," Addicott said. "They did it for the G-RAP cases. They just won’t do it for this particular case."