Marine: 'We Didn't Take Any Prisoners'

CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. - A Marine sergeant accused of murdering an unarmed Iraqi captive during heavy fighting in Fallujah in 2004 was heard on tape July 10 telling how his squad argued over what to do with their prisoners and saying he "did one guy" as they sought to keep up with their unit.

The recording was made when Sgt. Ryan Weemer, 25, was applying for a job with the Secret Service. It was played by military prosecutors at the start of an Article 32 hearing in which investigating officer Maj. Glen Hines will determine whether there is enough evidence to support a court-martial.

In the interview, Weemer said he and other squad members killed four unarmed Iraqis they were holding in a boarded-up house because they didn't have time to take the men to a jail.

"We called up to the platoon leader and the response was, 'Are they dead yet?'" Weemer said on the tape.

"We didn't take any prisoners. ... They didn't have weapons. They were just sitting there," Weemer went on. "We argued about it, but we had to move, we had to get out, our unit's moving down the street. I did one guy and then ... I just left, went out to my team."

Weemer is charged with one count of murder and six counts of dereliction of duty encompassing failure to follow the rules of engagement in Fallujah and failing to follow procedures for apprehending or treating detainees or civilian prisoners of war.

Weemer, of Hindsboro, Ill., faces a life sentence in military prison and dishonorable discharge if he is convicted of murder and up to six months' imprisonment for each dereliction count.

The 2006 interview, during which Weemer was given a lie-detector test and asked whether he had participated in a serious crime, was the first time the Nov. 9, 2004, incident came to light. The interviewer suggested it would be a crime to shoot an unarmed person in the back "even if the guy is a scumbag."

"That actually did happen, to be honest," Weemer replied.

Weemer told his interviewer that the death came shortly after his best friend was killed by snipers and his squad was given orders to clear an apparently empty house. Instead, the Marines found four or five men inside and subdued them behind the house while they blew up a safe.

Weemer said that he was aware of instances in which Iraqis had been taken to jails, but that at the time he believed if the men were released they might go and get assault rifles.

"The way I see it, it was a situation where we couldn't take these guys," Weemer said. "We called and asked what to do; they said we couldn't take them, we're moving."

Defense attorney Paul Hackett spent several hours fiercely cross-examining the first prosecution witness, Naval Criminal Investigative Service agent Mark Fox.

Fox said no physical evidence of any shooting was found when investigators returned to what is believed to be the same house in Fallujah more than two years later.

Fox said he didn't pursue the possibility that Weemer shot in self-defense because the Marine never indicated in interviews that he felt threatened.

Another Marine in the fire team told investigators that Weemer initially blocked his squad leader, Jose Nazario Jr., from shooting after platoon leaders radioed asking whether the captives were dead.

Nazario, 27, of Riverside, Calif., has been charged with two counts of voluntary manslaughter in the killing of two captives "upon a sudden quarrel and a heat of passion." Because he has already completed his military service, the former sergeant is scheduled to be tried in August in federal court.

Another Marine, 26-year-old Sgt. Jermaine Nelson of New York, is slated to be court-martialed in December on charges of unpremeditated murder and dereliction of duty.

Last month, Nelson and Weemer were jailed for refusing to testify against Nazario before a federal grand jury believed to be investigating the case. Both were released July 3 and returned to Camp Pendleton.