Self-defense plea dropped; soldier gets jail for fight near Camp Casey

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Self-defense plea dropped; soldier gets jail for fight near Camp Casey
By Erik Slavin, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Thursday, January 17, 2008

CAMP CASEY, South Korea — The first punch was self-defense. The next five were not.

For a moment, it seemed Spc. Milton Bermudez II’s guilty plea to an assault charge might be rejected by military judge Col. Donna Wright at the Camp Casey courtroom Tuesday.

Pvt. Ramon L. Torres-Santiago struck first with a glancing blow on Aug. 5. Bermudez told Wright that he punched back in self-defense.

“Was it self-defense?” Wright asked.

“It was very quick, your honor,” Bermudez replied.


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=51681