Hearing Set For Marine Officer Charged In Investigation Of Killings

Monday, May 7th 2007, 7:57 pm

By: News On 6

SAN DIEGO (AP) -- The biggest U.S. criminal case involving civilian deaths in the Iraq war is heading to court with a hearing set tomorrow for a Marine officer charged with failing to properly investigate the killings of 24 Iraqis in November 2005.

Thirty-four-year-old Captain Randy W. Stone is one of four officers accused of failing to report and investigate the killings. All four are charged with dereliction of duty.

Three enlisted Camp Pendleton-based Marines, including 25-year-old Lance Corporal Stephen B. Tatum of Edmond, Oklahoma, are charged with unpremeditated murder in the case.

They deny any wrongdoing, saying they responded properly to a perceived threat during a highly chaotic time.

Tomorrow's hearing for Stone and other hearings planned for his co-defendants will investigate whether the officers failed in their duties by not launching an investigation sooner.

At the Article 32 hearing, the military's equivalent of a grand jury proceeding, an officer will hear evidence and recommend whether the charges should go to trial.