Marine Raider is found guilty of manslaughter and conspiracy to commit assault in the 2017 hazing death of Green Beret in Mali

A US Marine has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in connection with the 2017 hazing death of a Green Beret in Africa.

A military jury returned the verdict on Thursday night after a three-week trial, finding Gunnery Sgt Mario Madera-Rodriguez guilty of manslaughter, hazing, false official statements, conspiracy to commit assault and housebreaking.

Jurors at Norfolk Naval Station in Virginia cleared Madera-Rodriguez of felony murder and burglary stemming from the strangulation death of Army Green Beret Staff Sgt Logan Melgar.

Melgar, 34, had been placed in a chokehold and duct-taped as part of a prank that was meant to teach him a lesson over some perceived slights while he and his attackers served in Mali in June 2017. He lost consciousness and never woke up. 

Gunnery Sgt Mario Madera-Rodriguez has found guilty of manslaughter, hazing, false official statements and conspiracy to commit assault for the strangulation death of Staff Sgt Logan Melgar in June 2017 

Madera-Rodriguez, who was the last of the four servicemen to be convicted in this case, could face up to 10 years when he is sentenced later this month, reported Marine Corps Times.

Had he been convicted of murder, Madera-Rodriguez could have been looking at 20 years behind bars. 

The Marine's three co-conspirators have all accepted plea deals. He was the only person charged in Melgar's death to have gone to trial. 

Madera-Rodriguez's defense attorney argued during the trial that his client played a minor role in the hazing and should be acquitted. 

In May 2019, Adam Matthews, a US Navy SEAL, who was the first of the four servicemen to face a court-martial in this case, was sentenced to one year in military prison

Addressing the jury during closing arguments on Wednesday, Marine Lt. Col. Timothy Kuhn said that the Marine Raider never touched Melgar during the hazing incident in Mali until he tried to help revive him.

'Facts have been manipulated and moved around like a puzzle to fit the government’s theory,' Kuhn said. 

Madera-Rodriguez, who belongs to a special operations group in the Marines known as the Raiders, was the only one of the four accused men to plead not guilty. 

The others, who include another Marine and two Navy SEALS, have already made plea deals with military prosecutors.

Military prosecutors have said the men were angry over Melgar’s perceived slights during their time in Mali. In particular, some were upset that they missed a party at the French embassy in the capital city of Bamako because Melgar and the others got separated in traffic.

Their plan was to choke Melgar into unconsciousness and then humiliate him while filming it on a phone camera, prosecutors said

Despite the 'text-book' risks and known dangers of such chokeholds, 'they do it anyway,' military prosecutor Benjamin Garcia said Wednesday during his closing argument.

Navy Cmdr. Garcia told the jurors that Madera-Rodriguez chose to get some duct tape to help tie up the Green Beret. And Garcia said Madera-Rodriguez chose to help restrain him while a Navy SEAL applied the chokehold. Melgar died of strangulation.

'They tied him up, and he could not tap out,' Garcia said.

Much of the closing argument from Madera-Rodriguez’s defense attorneys was held in closed session because classified information was discussed. But in open court, his attorneys disputed much of the government’s case.

Kuhn said that Madera-Rodriguez’s task was limited to breaking down Melgar’s door with a sledge hammer, putting on some music and bringing in two Malian guards who were part of the joke.

Melgar, 34, died in June 2017 in Mali after being placed in a chokehold and duct-taped as part of a prank-gone-wrong meant to punish him for perceived slights

Madera-Rodriguez did not restrain Melgar, Kuhn said.

Kuhn also said that the government’s case against Madera-Rodriguez was like 'a house of cards' based on a flawed application of the law.

For instance, Kuhn said that Madera-Rodriguez can only be found guilty of felony murder if he’s found guilty of burglary, a charge related to the accusation that the men broke into Melgar’s room. 

But Kuhn said the burglary charge depends on the alleged crime happening at night, which he said it no longer was.

'You don’t have night time, you don’t have burglary,' Kuhn said. 'You don’t have burglary, you don’t have felony murder.'

Madera-Rodriguez's conviction comes five months after Chief Petty Officer Tony DeDolph, a member of the elite SEAL Team 6, pleaded guilty to some of the same charges and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

At a plea hearing on January 14, DeDolph offered a detailed account of the night in which he and other servicemembers initiated the prank known as a 'tape job' on Melgar.

DeDolph said said his role in the prank was to cause Melgar to temporarily lose consciousness by placing him in a martial-arts-style chokehold. He said the 'rear naked choke' restricts blood flow in the neck and is used in the military.

'I effectively applied the chokehold as I have done numerous times in training, in combatives, and has been done to me,' DeDolph said.

Melgar lost consciousness in about 10 seconds, but failed to wake up after the typical 30 seconds, the SEAL said.

'Usually by that time, the individual has gotten up,' he said. 'And he did not.'

In May 2019, Adam Matthews, a US Navy SEAL, who was the first of the four servicemen to face a court-martial in this case, was sentenced to one year in military prison after pleading guilty to hazing and assault charges as well as attempts to cover up the crime. 

Melgar was described by his colleagues as fearless and 'unflappable' under enemy fire

During his sentencing, Matthews apologized, saying: 'I’ve carried the weight of Staff Sgt. Melgar’s death every minute of every day since that night in Mali.' 

Melgar was fearless and 'unflappable' under enemy fire, his colleagues said. He was meticulous when it came to his job, which included finding explosives in Afghanistan at night while bullets struck the trees above him.

His wife, Michelle Melgar, testified that her husband told her about the 'immature' SEALs that he was having trouble with. 

In June 2019, Army Staff Sergeant Kevin Maxwell Jr. pleaded guilty to charges including negligent homicide, hazing and making false official statements.

He was sentenced to four years at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina.