XPost: Veterans decry treatment of soldier charged with desertion

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He is charged with desertion, but a veterans group says he was denied his rights.

MIAMI - A soldier with post-traumatic stress disorder is being jailed on a desertion charge without seeing a judge since his arrest earlier this month, leading a veterans group to criticize the Army for not acting fast enough to transfer the man.

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Army officials said a soldier deemed to be a deserter can be held for up to 30 days before being taken into military custody, but Veterans for America spokeswoman Adrienne Willis said Lotero should have been transferred within 72 hours.

"He hasn't seen a lawyer; he hasn't had any of his medication; he hasn't had any of the rights of an American citizen; so it's a little concerning," Willis said Wednesday. Her group is investigating mental-health care at Fort Carson.

"It's very odd that he can be sitting there without representation, without seeing a judge for 30 days," she said.

Orlando Sentinel