Defense for alleged fragger asks for more time

http://www.armytimes.com/news/2007/04/army_fragger_Martinez_070418w/

Posted : Wednesday Apr 18, 2007 18:54:24 EDT

Attorneys for Staff Sgt. Alberto Martinez, who is accused of fragging two officers in Iraq, are asking for more time and resources to prepare his defense.

A military judge heard six pre-trial motions Tuesday at Fort Bragg, N.C., in the capital case against Martinez, according to a press release. snip

Martinez, 39, is charged with two counts of premeditated murder in the deaths of Capt. Phillip T. Esposito, 30, and 1st Lt. Louis E. Allen, 34, of the New York National Guard’s 42nd Infantry Division. He also is charged with one count each of wrongful possession of a privately owned firearm, unexploded ordnance and alcohol. The other charge against him is for wrongfully giving government property, in this case printers and copiers, to an Iraqi national.

Martinez is accused of killing the two officers during a June 7, 2005, attack at Forward Operating Base Danger in Tikrit, Iraq. Officials originally thought Esposito and Allen were wounded by indirect enemy fire. The men died June 8, 2005, at FOB Speicher, where they were taken for medical care.