Home » Archives » "Ft. Lewis soldier gets 28 months in shooting death of sergeant"

Ft. Lewis soldier gets 28 months in shooting death of sergeant

Apr-17-2008 » Filed Under: 4/2 SBCT

MICHAEL GILBERT, The News Tribune

It wasn’t the first time he’d pointed his pistol at a fellow soldier, Cpl. Timothy Ayers told the judge Wednesday at his court-martial.

But this time, he said, he pulled the trigger, and this time the gun was loaded.

The Fort Lewis soldier was sentenced to 28 months in prison after he pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in the shooting death of his platoon sergeant at their forward operating base in Baghdad.

Army prosecutors originally charged Ayers, 21, with murder in the killing of Sgt. 1st Class David Cooper Jr., last Sept. 5 at FOB Falcon.

But they accepted the soldier’s guilty plea to the reduced charge in exchange for his agreement to serve whichever was less: six years in prison, or a term that a judge would hand down after a sentencing hearing.

The maximum penalty for the crime under military law is 10 years in prison.

Wednesday’s hearing at Fort Lewis stretched from 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Ayers could offer little explanation when the judge asked why he pointed his loaded pistol at Cooper – a man he said he looked up to as a mentor and second father – and fired. They were just inches from each other in their tent.

“I don’t know,” Ayers replied when the judge, Col. John Head, asked why he fired. “I guess I felt so comfortable pulling the trigger when it wasn’t loaded before, that I just did it.”

But later he made a tearful apology to Cooper’s family and friends.

[...]


Comments For "Ft. Lewis soldier gets 28 months in shooting death of sergeant":

I am a personal friend of CPL Ayers nad he is a good man, and soldier accidents happen yes ... and god is forgiving ... we all know that life has many unexpected turns weather for the good or the bad, it is what we do with the the turns that decide how we are as a person litterally and spiritually... ayes we all love you and miss you a ton! SFC cooper same to you.. you were a great leader and knew ayers for who he is and always will be... thats why you sent him tot he board... cooper miss you to esspecially your heartfelt day of playing Axis and Allies and getting your butt whooped!

Posted by: SPC Maxville | May 2, 2008 6:51 PM

Post a comment

(If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by a site administrator before your comment will appear. We appreciate your patience.)

Advertisements