A former Marine sergeant, who until last week was serving as a Riverside police officer, pleaded not guilty Thursday to voluntary manslaughter charges in the killing of unarmed prisoners in Iraq in 2004.
Jose Luis Nazario Jr., 27, who appeared Thursday in a U.S. District Court in Riverside, is accused of killing two unarmed men in Fallouja on Nov. 9, 2004, during a battle to clear the city of insurgents.
Flanked by his lawyers, Nazario, in a stiff black suit, appeared somber as he spoke briefly to reporters outside the federal courthouse.
Ex-Marine's trial: An article in Friday's Section A about former Marine Sgt. Jose Luis Nazario Jr. pleading not guilty in the 2004 killing of prisoners in Iraq identified a military investigator as Rear Adm. Mark Fox of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service. He is Mark O. Fox, a special agent of the NCIS.
"I'd just like to say that I'm a United States Marine who fought honorably for my country and I'm innocent of these charges," Nazario said.
The criminal complaint against him states, "Defendant Jose Luis Nazario Jr., in the heat of passion caused by adequate provocation, unlawfully and intentionally killed two unarmed male human beings, without malice."
One of Nazario's attorneys, Kevin McDermott, said he suspected the charges were a strong-arm tactic by the government to get Nazario to talk to military investigators.
"They're looking to intimidate this kid into somehow cooperating with their investigation," he said. "There's no bodies, no forensic evidence, and no names of any decedents. This is strictly some guy and somebody else saying 'Hey, we think this guy did this.' "
The Naval Criminal Investigative Service is looking into allegations against other members of Nazario's squad, who are still in the Marine Corps. Nazario's case was referred to the U.S. attorney's office in Los Angeles because he has left the military.
The investigation involves the Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 1st Regiment, 1st Marine Division, the same company at the center of what is considered the worst alleged atrocity in Iraq: the killing of 24 civilians in Haditha on Nov. 19, 2005.
Military investigators first became aware of the Fallouja incident when a former member of the squad, Cpl. Ryan Weemer, spoke of the killings during a polygraph examination he took when applying to join the Secret Service. His answer came in response to a routine question -- whether he had been involved in an unjustified killing.
Rear Adm. Mark Fox of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service said he interviewed three Marines -- two of whom were colleagues of Nazario in the 3rd Squad, 3rd Platoon, Kilo Company -- who substantiated the allegations, according to an affidavit he filed in federal court.
