Soldier back from Iraq held in W. Side murder

A soldier who recently returned from duty in Iraq is being held in the killing of a West Side store owner -- the seventh GI from Fort Riley, Kan., accused of murder in about a month, authorities said Monday.

Spec. Pierre E. Cole, 22, was on leave from his unit at Fort Riley when he and his uncle, 37-year-old Lee McGee, shot James Jung to death Thursday night in a holdup of the Best Fit clothing store in the 4000 block of West Madison, police said. snip

Cole was a mechanic on Bradley armored vehicles with the 1st Battalion, 34th Armor at Fort Riley. The Chicago native joined the Army in January 2002. He was stationed in Iraq from September 2003 until last month, an Army spokesman said. Cole recently signed up for another tour with the Army, Pallohusky said.

On Sept. 15, two Fort Riley soldiers were charged with murder in the killings of two soldiers in Kansas. On Sept. 22, two more Fort Riley soldiers were charged with murder in the killings of three civilians in Iraq. Then, on Sept. 26, two other Fort Riley soldiers were charged with murder in an unrelated killing of an Iraqi civilian.

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