Navy SEAL to plead guilty in death of Green Beret
SSG Logan Melgar
The KoB sends in this breaking news from Military.com;
A member of the Navy’s elite SEAL Team 6 has accepted a plea agreement in connection with an Army Green Beret’s 2017 death, his lawyer said.
Chief Special Warfare Operator Anthony DeDolph, one of four special operators charged in the death of Army Staff Sgt. Logan Melgar, will plead guilty Jan. 14 to involuntary manslaughter, obstruction of justice and hazing, The Daily Beast reported Monday.
Phil Stackhouse, DeDolph’s lawyer, declined to confirm the charges to which DeDolph may plead guilty, but said the SEAL entered an agreement “to resolve his pending charges.”
“This agreement will end the contested charges, allowing … DeDolph to accept responsibility for those offenses he can, and mitigate most of the concerns over classified material present in the case,” Stackhouse said.
DeDolph faces a general court-martial on Jan. 14, officials with Navy Region Mid-Atlantic announced Tuesday. The SEAL faces charges under the Uniform Code of Military Justice of felony murder; involuntary manslaughter; hazing; conspiracy to commit assault; conspiracy to commit obstruction of justice; burglary; and obstruction of justice, according to a news release.
If found guilty of felony murder, DeDolph could face life in federal prison without parole, reduction in rank to E-1, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and either a dishonorable or bad conduct discharge.
“The military justice system, like the civilian justice system, follows the principle of innocent until proven guilty,” Navy officials said in the release.
Melgar, a 34-year-old Green Beret, died June 4, 2017, in Mali, where he lived with DeDolph and another SEAL, Chief Special Warfare Operator Adam Matthews. The SEALs and two Marine Raiders who lived nearby, Staff Sgt. Kevin Maxwell and Gunnery Sgt. Mario Madero-Rodriguez, were all charged in connection with Melgar’s death.
DeDolph pleaded not guilty to murder and other charges in January 2020. Matthews and Maxwell both pleaded guilty to their roles in 2019. Matthews was sentenced to a year in prison and Maxwell to four years.
Madera-Rodriguez’s general court-martial is scheduled for Feb. 1. He faces charges of felony murder; involuntary manslaughter; hazing; conspiracy to commit assault; conspiracy to commit obstruction of justice; burglary; and making false official statements.
Like DeDolph, if Madera-Rodriguez is found guilty of felony murder, he could face life in federal prison without parole, reduction in rank to E-1, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and either a dishonorable or bad conduct discharge.
Melgar died after the SEALs and Raiders allegedly burst into his room with a sledgehammer and put him in a chokehold. One Marine said they planned to restrain Melgar while a Malian security guard sexually assaulted him, The Washington Post reported in 2019.
Stackhouse previously denied those claims. Maxwell’s civilian defense attorney called the incident a prank gone bad.
Stackhouse said DeDolph’s agreement recognizes that the SEAL never intended to injure Melgar, “but also recognizes the fact that [Staff Sgt.] Melgar died as a result of actions that went tragically wrong on June 4, 2017.”
“The fact that … Melgar’s death was not intentional may not lessen the righteous feelings of grief by family and friends, but perhaps the resolution of this case will further help them find closure and peace,” Stackhouse added.
The agreement also includes language that says DeDolph won’t profit from any publication or dissemination of information during confinement, if any confinement is handed down or served, the attorney said.
“Not that he intended to or intends to,” Stackhouse said, “but it was part of the offer.”
Category: Army, Army News, Breaking News, Navy
And video tape it to use as blackmail…
“One Marine said they planned to restrain Melgar while a Malian security guard sexually assaulted him, The Washington Post reported in 2019.”
The squids and the jarheads need to be gelded and experience anal rape with a dry baseball bat.
I hope somebody keeps track of where all four of those … individuals … wind up and at the appropriate time, pay them a visit.
These former SEALs and Marine Raiders are sick f%cks and need to spend a very long time in prison thinking of how assaulting someone and raping them is planning on not doing them harm!
The least they should get is life in prison.
So this guy is/was an E-7 and he pulls some shit that a Lance Corporal would consider juvenile? Hack was under the impression that judgment rose with rank. Of course, there probably is a lot more to this story that will never see the light. If they did indeed conspire to have him raped, they better have killed him, because if they didn’t, he would certainly exact his vengeance.
What you said… plus, the man was already a Green Beret. What hazing could he have possibly deserved in ANY form at that point in his career?
Melgar supposedly was a forensic auditor, the original story mentioned something about him possibly having evidence the SEALs were involved in some other nefarious criminal acts, which is why they also took his laptop.
My guess is the act was the junior folks but the reason was the senior person. He may later face some other more serious charges as the CID folks finally find the evidence Melgar collected.
I hope they all get EXACTLY what is coming to them.
Correction, none of these jack@$$es were junior. They just all acted like it!
The Gunney got off easy with only a year in confinement and BCD. Hopefully his plea was full of detailed explanation of the plan and how they tied to cover it up so DeDolph will eventually swing (and I don’t mean his sexual orientation).
“…elite SEAL Team 6…” “…restrain Melgar…sexually assault him.””…a prank gone bad.” “…died as a result…”
Smooth move exlax, way to flush your career/life away. Now you’ll be a member of Meal Team 6 at the Leavenworth Chapter, BTJ&T Deli. The menu will consist of man meat sammiches, cream of sumyunguy soup, and tossed salads. Oh, and you’ll be the one tossing the salads.
Instead of restraining someone to be sexually assaulted, YOU will be the one restrained and sexually assaulted. And it won’t be a prank or just poking fun at you. And yepper, good chance that you will die as a result.
Yeah, luckily the soon to be former chief will avoid those unpleasantries at a Marine consolidated brig. He’s got bigger worries like no longer having a career, no paychecks for his family, no chance of a pension, and his trident is probably bye bye as well.
So DeDolph is prohibited from writing a book?
Wow, that’s like the worst punishment a Navy SEAL could ever receive.
There’s definitely some weird shit going on here. I wonder if we’ll ever find out exactly what kind.
On a side note if you are in Kenosha,,, GET OUT!
^this!
I’d say the THREATCON for any area within 20 minutes of a sh*thole should be bumped at least one position.
I’m staying in with the blinds drawn, and sober.
Painfully sober.
Yeah, fortunately, I hadn’t planned on visiting any location that has a group of BLM/AntiFa chapter. That said, if I can recover any of my firearms from the lake where I lost them, I will clean and load them.
And if you cannot get out, load all firearms to max capacity, load all magazines, harden your position as best you can, and if the boss tells you he wants you to come to work tell him if and only if he provides 24-hr armed security to you and yours for the duration.
It’s takes 3 1/2 years to say “Ok, I did it”?
Even when 2 of your gang of four already pled guilty?
Oh no, a trial date is set.
But not for long.
https://www.armytimes.com/news/your-army/2021/01/03/new-in-2021-murder-trials-set-for-navy-seal-and-marine-raider-in-death-of-green-beret/
On what planet was this “prank” even remotely appropriate?
Even back in the 80s this type of BS was understood to be an absolute no go.
This is why we have sports, beer, and plastic spiders…
These fools need to go to prison for abject stupidity in what should have been a no stupid zone.
Even shower mold knows better.
It is also important to add this observation: bored soldiers do stupid things. Good leadership keeps them busy doing something that they can all bitch about, but keeps them too busy and tired to play retard games.
Ronald Gray needs a roommate.
Let me start this by saying I’m an outsider looking in (conventional guy who was occasionally on the periphery of SOF stuff in theater).
It seems to me this is emblematic of a problem within the SOF community as a whole. Writing books, providing “technical guidance” for video games, and in general glamorizing cowboy behavior. I’ve had task force guys drop JDAMs in our AO while we had patrols out without telling us and know of at least 1 instance where guys from the 160th conducting operations OFP damn near caused a mid air collision because they didn’t feel the need to coordinate air movements with adjacent units.
The SOF community, while more than capable, appears to have bought off on their own hype IMHO.
Look at this case. I bet dollars to donuts the DEVGRU guys and Raiders were using CERP funds (which had poor accountability) for their own shenanigans. Green Beanie finds out and calls them on it. They intend to blackmail him and he puts up too much of a fight for them. So they kill him.
They’ve grown too big too fast. Too many turds have managed to squeeze through selection.
I will agree with you Penguinman000. On all of your statements. Having been on both sides of the coin, and worked to smooth out that coordination in some cases.
Yes your statement about the CERP funds is what I heard in the initial release of the story as well!
Shaking my head in abject dismay…
What a complete and utter waste of lives.
No book deal,its a hard day to be a SEAL.