Third soldier found guilty in stolen bank card case at Yongsan

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Third soldier found guilty in stolen bank card case at Yongsan
By Jimmy Norris, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Friday, January 18, 2008

YONGSAN GARRISON, South Korea — A third soldier accused in connection with a scheme to use stolen banking cards was found guilty of conspiracy to commit larceny during a court-martial Wednesday.

But the seven-member jury acquitted Spc. Cristobal Paulos, who had been assigned as a postal worker with the 19th Adjutant General Company, of 15 counts of larceny and two counts of stealing mail.

Paulos pleaded guilty to unrelated charges of distribution of a controlled substance and two counts of possession. The drug charges were in connection with smoking marijuana and using cocaine.

Both the defense and prosecution centered their cases on the testimony of Pfc. Jerriett Hand, who agreed to testify against Paulos and Pvt. Adrian Lyles in exchange for a pre-trial agreement in his own Jan. 14 court-martial. Hand was sentenced Monday to a bad-conduct discharge, five months in prison and demotion to E-1.

Prosecutor Capt. Blake Williams argued that Hand had no reason to lie during testimony at the other two courts-martial, and that Hand didn’t come to prosecutors seeking a deal.


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=51714