Soldier Convicted Of Beating Iraqi Detainee With Baseball Bat

FORT LEE, Va. (AP) _ A soldier charged with beating an Iraqi detainee with a baseball bat and trying to cover it up was convicted Tuesday, one day after his court-martial began. <br/><br/>A six-person

Tuesday, August 14th 2007, 8:24 pm

By: News On 6

FORT LEE, Va. (AP) _ A soldier charged with beating an Iraqi detainee with a baseball bat and trying to cover it up was convicted Tuesday, one day after his court-martial began.

A six-person military jury convicted Sgt. 1st Class Timothy L. Drake, 40, of assault and making false statements but acquitted him of impeding the investigation and encouraging a fellow soldier to beat a detainee.

Drake, 40, was accused of striking the detainee in December 2003 at Forward Operating Base Mercury, near the Iraqi town of Fallujah.

The defense rested its case Tuesday after putting only one witness on the stand _ an Army physician whose testimony defense attorney Michael Waddington said supported claims of no medical evidence of abuse at the base.

Spc. Angel M. Bonilla testified Monday that he saw Drake strike a detainee with an aluminum bat. Afterward, he said Drake told him, ``B, come get a piece of this.''

Bonilla said he grabbed a bat from outside the tent and struck a second detainee. He said that he regretted it but that he had felt pressured to do it.

Drake, a senior food-service sergeant at that time, did not testify.

The military judge on Monday had dismissed a charge of bodily injury against Drake, one of the most serious counts. The dismissal reduced Drake's maximum possible punishment from 21 1/2 years to 16 1/2 years. He also could get a reduction in rank, a dishonorable discharge and total forfeiture of pay and allowance, the Army said.

Drake is to be sentenced Wednesday.