Ramstein airman to be tried in gang-related beating death of soldier

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Ramstein airman to be tried in gang-related beating death of soldier
By Steve Mraz, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Wednesday, January 16, 2008

KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany — Ramstein Air Base Airman Nicholas A. Sims will face a court-martial for the 2005 gang-related beating death of Army Sgt. Juwan Johnson, a base official said Tuesday.

Sims, of Ramstein’s 86th Maintenance Squadron, will face charges of manslaughter, aggravated assault and failure to obey an order. Since December, Sims has been held in pretrial confinement at the U.S. Army Confinement Facility-Europe in Mannheim.

The date of Sims’ court-martial has not been set, but it could take place around the end of March or early April, said Petra Day, 435th Air Base Wing spokeswoman. A determination has not been made as to whether Sims will face a general court-martial or a special court-martial, Day said.

Sims’ charges stem from his alleged participation in the Gangster Disciples and the July 3, 2005, beating of Johnson. On the morning of July 4, 2005, Johnson was found dead in his barracks room, and his cause of death was later determined to be multiple blunt force injuries.

Sims, who at the time of Johnson’s death was a staff sergeant, is alleged to be one of nine current or former Kaiserslautern- area servicemembers who beat Johnson for six minutes during a Gangster Disciples initiation.


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=51673