Stars & Stripes

4 December 1993

By Craig Martin

Staff writer

Darmstadt, Germany - A Darmstadt soldier accused of stealing mail was acquitted in a two-day general court-martial that ended Thursday night.

A jury of two officers and five noncommissioned officers, including two first sergeants, found Spec. Edward C. Knight of the 40th Postal Co not guilty of stealing baseball hats, clothing, gloves, boots and a Nintendo video game from the Cambrai-Fritsch Casern mail room.

The items were all bound for the Army and Air Force Exchange Service main exchange, sight and sound center, and military clothing sales store in Darmstadt.

Knight also was scheduled to be tried on charges of attempting to steal cigarettes from the Nathan Hale Depot commissary and the AAFES Shopette on Kelley Barracks, and unlawfully entering those buildings sometime in March and April.

However, acting on a motion from the defense team - DAVID COURT, Knight's civilian attorney, and Capt. Mike Mulligan, his military attorney - presiding Judge (Lt. Col.) Larry Vick decided Tuesday to try Knight in separate courts-martial.

The government decided to try him on the mail charges first because it felt that was its strongest case, said a source familiar with the case.

No date has been set for the trial on the cigarette theft charges.

The prosecution's case relied heavily on testimony of Pvt. James Johnson, who was convicted last summer of receiving stolen property - six pairs of boots - from Knight. Johnson, who served time in the Army confinement facility in Mannheim, is awaiting a bad-conduct discharge.

However, when chief prosecutor Capt. Jeannine Butts questioned Johnson about his involvement with Knight, including questions about stolen boots, Johnson testified, "I don't remember."

Johnson also testified that he did not remember ever meeting with Butts or with COURT over the past several months and that he could not remember meeting with Butts the day before he testified.

Johnson also testified that reviewing the sworn statements he gave to investigators when he was arrested in December 1992 did not refresh his memory.

At the end of the trial, the defense asked the judge to strike Johnson's testimony.

COURT said the defense was not given the chance to cross-examine Johnson because Johnson would not answer questions.

Vick ordered the jury to disregard Johnson's testimony.

During the prosecution's case, a witness testified finding parcels of mail addressed to the exchange facilities in the attic of the mail room.

Other witnesses testified that those items were found in boxes that were addressed to the exchange.

Special Agent Ken Zawodny of the Darmstadt office of the Army's Criminal Investigation Comd testified that, although his office had identified the items found in the attic as being stolen from the mail room, he did not perform any fingerprint tests on the evidence.

At no time did the prosecution offer testimony linking the items found in the attic to Knight.

The prosecution wanted to call a soldier identified only as Spec. Washington to the witness stand to testify against Knight under an offer of immunity from prosecution.

Washington was convicted earlier this year for stealing mail from the Darmstadt mail room.

However, COURT objected to Washington testifying because he had not been given the opportunity to interview Washington. Vick upheld COURT'S objection.

Knight did not testify.