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Schofield GI charged with killing contractor

A Multi-National Division-North soldier has been charged in the shooting death of a civilian contractor in Iraq, officials announced Tuesday.

Spc. Beyshee O. Velez, 31, a medic, is accused of shooting Lucas Vinson on Sept. 13 at Contingency Operating Base Speicher near Tikrit. KBR officials have confirmed that Vinson, 27, was one of its employees, said Maj. Derrick Cheng, a spokesman for MND-North.

Cheng declined to provide any details or speculate on the events leading up to or during the shooting because of the ongoing investigation. Velez, of 3rd Battalion, 7th Field Artillery Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, was charged Monday. He faces two counts of murder, three counts of assault and one count of fleeing apprehension.

According to the charges against him, Velez is accused of shooting Vinson with an M4 carbine “with the intent to kill or inflict great bodily harm.” The second count of murder against Velez states that he, “while engaging in an act that was inherently dangerous to another,” pointed at Vinson a loaded M4, which discharged and resulted in death. As the case proceeds, the investigating officer will review the evidence against Velez and make recommendations on the proper disposition of the charges, Cheng said.

If found guilty, Velez may be convicted of only one of the two counts of murder, he said. Velez, who has been in the Army for 10 years, was on his third deployment to Iraq, Cheng said. His last Iraq tour, also with the 25th Infantry Division, was from August 2006 to October 2007. Velez currently is under confinement on Ford Island, Hawaii, pending the outcome of his case. His unit, 3rd Battalion, 7th Field Artillery, is scheduled to complete its deployment and return from Iraq in early October, Cheng said. The unit has been in theater since mid-October, he said.

Special agents with Army Criminal Investigation Command continue to investigate the shooting, Cheng said. An Article 32 hearing, during which the investigating officer will recommend if Velez should go to court-martial, has not been scheduled, Cheng said.

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