Marine Jailed for Refusing to TestifyMay 23, 2008
Associated Press
SAN DIEGO - A Marine charged with killing an unarmed detainee in Fallujah, Iraq, has been jailed by a federal judge for refusing to testify before a grand jury investigating a former comrade.
Sgt. Jermaine A. Nelson, 26, was jailed May 21, but military prosecutors didn't find out until May 22, when the New York man was to have been arraigned at Camp Pendleton on charges of unpremeditated murder and dereliction of duty.
When Nelson failed to appear in court, his attorney told a military judge that a federal judge ordered Nelson jailed for refusing to testify before a grand jury about Jose Nazario, a former Marine charged in the killings of two captured insurgents.
U.S. District Judge Percy Anderson issued the order after Nelson told him he would not testify as a prosecution witness against Nazario, said Nelson's attorney, Joseph Low.
"Judge Anderson found Mr. Nelson in contempt of court and ordered him jailed," said Thom Mrozek, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office.
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