Court Martial Lawyer – Soldier: Bennitt said just a little bit of drugs would be OK
by KOMO Staff & News Services
FORT LEWIS, Wash. (AP) – Three Fort Lewis soldiers testifying in a military hearing have implicated a fellow soldier in providing marijuana and other drugs.
Pvt. Timothy Bennitt is charged with involuntary manslaughter in the drug overdose death of a 16-year-old girl who was found in his barracks.
Spc. Brandon Savoy testified Wednesday that he was nervous about snorting the pain killer percocet, but that Bennitt told him it was safe if he didn’t use too much.
Savoy was testifying on the third day of Bennitt’s Article 32 hearing, the military equivalent of a grand-jury proceeding.
It will resume June 2, when the defense can begin its case for the 19-year-old Bennitt, from Rolling Prairie, Ind.
The hearing will determine whether there’s enough evidence to court martial Bennitt, who also faces drug charges.
Bennitt is accused of bringing 16-year-old Leah King to his barracks on Feb. 14 and giving her what turned out to be a lethal dose of prescription drugs. Officials are trying to determine if Bennitt is to blame for what happened, or if King brought trouble upon herself.
But the Army claims Bennitt is responsible due to negligence. Army officials said he got the drugs from King’s neighbor, brought her to his barracks, providing her a place where she could take the drugs even though he knew she had taken drugs earlier in the day.
On Feb. 15, medics found two teens, both 16, unresponsive in the barracks around 3:30 a.m. King was pronounced dead at the scene, and the other was rushed to Madigan Army Medical Center. The surviving teen was treated and discharged a few days later. She has not been identified.
Investigators said Bennitt, of Rolling Prairie, Ind., had been dating King, a high school sophomore from Lakewood, for about a month.
They said he provided King with the prescription pain killer Opana and anti-depressant Xanax. The pills were crushed, mixed together, and snorted with a dollar bill, investigators said. The lead Army investigator said Bennitt admits to obtaining drugs, but said he didn’t personally give the 16 year old the prescription drugs that eventually led to her death.
The investigating officer will make a recommendation to the post commanding general on whether to proceed to a general court martial.
If convicted on all counts, Bennitt would be dishonorably discharged and could be sentenced to up to 82 years in a military prison.
Bennitt is a heavy construction equipment operator who entered the military in June 2007. He deployed to Afghanistan from December 2007 through mid-May 2008.
Michael Waddington is a court martial lawyer – court martial attorney that defends military personnel worldwide as well as deployed civilian contractors subject to the UCMJ. He defends Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine, Coast Guard, and civilian contractor court martial cases. He has successfully defended military personnel as a court martial lawyer Army Navy Marine & Air Force court martials in Germany, England, Italy, Iraq, Kuwait, Korea, Okinawa, Japan, Yokota, and throughout the United States. military-defense-lawyer-recentcases.htm.
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