From the Los Angeles Times

3rd Marine charged in alleged prisoner killings in Iraq

In a Secret Service job interview, sergeant allegedly mentioned the incident in 2004 Fallouja battle.

By Tony Perry
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

8:25 AM PDT, March 19, 2008

CAMP PENDLETON — A Marine sergeant has become the third person charged in the alleged killing of prisoners during the battle in Fallouja in late 2004.

Sgt. Ryan G. Weemer, called back to active duty to face the charges, was charged Tuesday by the military with murder and dereliction of duty in the killing of a prisoner on Nov. 9, 2004. Sgt. Jermaine Nelson was charged by the military in December with murder in the same case; former Marine Jose Nazario faces manslaughter charges in federal court in Riverside.

The three are charged with killing prisoners after the Marines received an urgent call to rush to the aid of other Marines pinned down in a firefight. All were with the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, one of the lead units in the battle to rid Fallouja of insurgents who had captured the city and sought to install a Taliban-like rule.

Nazario, the squad leader during the alleged incident, was a probationary police officer in Riverside when charged last year by federal authorities. He was fired by the Riverside department; he has denied the charges.

The case began when Weemer, as part of an interview for a Secret Service job, allegedly mentioned killing prisoners in Fallouja.

Under military law, murder carries a maximum penalty of life in prison and a dishonorable discharge.

Nazario is charged with killing two prisoners and ordering the killing of others. In court documents, federal prosecutors allege that when Marines asked superiors over the radio what to do with the prisoners, they received the reply, "They're still alive?"

The house-to-house fighting in Fallouja was considered the most intense urban battle the Marines have engaged in since the battle for the city of Hue during the Vietnam War.