A Schofield Barracks soldier accused of shooting an unarmed Iraqi man on a recent deployment will be tried at court-martial on a lesser charge than the premeditated murder charge he originally faced, the Army said yesterday.

Spc. Christopher Shore, 25, of Winder, Ga., will face a charge of third-degree murder, defined as an "act inherently dangerous to another," according to the Army.

Maj. Gen. Benjamin R. Mixon, commander of the 25th Infantry Division, made the decision "based on all the evidence from the investigation" and a preliminary hearing in October, according to a release.

Maj. Gary Johnson, the 3rd brigade command judge advocate at Schofield, said the charge Shore will be court-martialed on is roughly equivalent to a civilian manslaughter charge.

"The difference is, you've got premeditation that was originally charged," Johnson said. Under the new charge, he said, "there's generally no premeditation involved. It's more of a reckless or wanton standard."

If convicted, Shore faces up to life in prison, but there is no mandatory minimum term.

The decision went against the recommendation of Lt. Col. Raul Gonzalez, the officer who presided over the Article 32 hearing, which determined whether Shore should be tried.

Gonzalez had said that Shore should not be tried for murder, but that he should be court-martialed for aggravated assault.

Shore could not be reached for comment yesterday, but he told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, "I guess they're playing hardball."

Shore and Sgt. 1st Class Trey Corrales, 35, of San Antonio, are accused of shooting an unarmed Iraqi man on June 23 after a raid in the village of al Saheed outside Kirkuk looking for insurgents planting roadside bombs.

The Army accused Shore of shooting the Iraqi after being ordered to do so by Corrales. Both faced premeditated murder charges. The soldiers were with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 35th Infantry Regiment.

Gonzalez said there was "overwhelming evidence" showing Corrales shot at the man multiple times with the intention of killing him. Corrales waived his right to a hearing prior to a decision on whether he should be court-martialed for the Iraqi's killing.

"Reasonable grounds do not exist to believe that the accused committed premeditated murder," Gonzalez wrote of Shore.

Shore's arraignment and trial are expected to take place at Wheeler Army Airfield in January or February.

The Army also said that an additional charge with two specifications was brought on Dec. 11 against Corrales.

MORE CHARGES

Corrales now also is accused of "wrongfully soliciting another soldier to shoot an unarmed, wounded Iraqi who had previously been shot" by Corrales, the Army said.

Additionally, Corrales is charged with "wrongfully impeding an investigation into the incident by causing an AK-47 rifle to be placed near the victim after he had been shot," according to an Army release.

Corrales also waived his right to a preliminary hearing on those charges, the Army said.

Trey Corrales' wife, Lily, last night referred questions about the new charges to attorney Frank Spinner. The premeditated murder charge carries the possibility of the death penalty.

The couple, who have three children, said on a MySpace page that they are faced with "mortgaging all that we have worked so hard for throughout our life" to pay for an attorney.

"Our faith in each other and in God has not faltered at all," Lily Corrales said by phone. "We're just happy to have him home and we're going to celebrate this just like any other Christmas. We're together, he's home, we're all healthy, and we have tons of family and friends who support us."

SHOOTING DESCRIBED

At the Article 32 preliminary hearing for Shore in October, a fellow soldier testified that Corrales pulled the Iraqi man out of a house that had been secured and told him to run.

As the confused Iraqi started backing up, the soldier said, he saw Corrales start to raise his weapon. The soldier said he turned, not wanting to see what came next, and heard up to five shots.

After being ordered to "finish" the wounded Iraqi by Corrales, Shore said, "I had to act. I had to do something."

He said he fired two shots off to the side of the Iraqi's head in the dirt without Corrales seeing that he did not shoot the man. But he also acknowledged that he previously had said he had shot at the Iraqi.

Several soldiers testified that Corrales was a mercurial and tyrannical platoon sergeant who told them to "kill all military-age males" encountered in the village and in the target house.

Michael Waddington, Shore's civilian attorney, had said that days before, U.S. service members who were friends of Corrales were killed by a roadside bomb in the same sector, and Corrales wanted revenge.

The soldiers said they did not want to get on Corrales' bad side because he wielded the power to kick them off the tight-knit and prestigious scouts platoon, but a handful of soldiers decided shortly after to report to higher-ups what had happened.

There also was testimony that Corrales tried to get the Iraqi man to hold an AK-47 rifle, and that it was planted near him after he had been shot.

Both Corrales and Shore appeared in uniform at a recent remembrance ceremony at Scho-field for 41 soldiers who were killed during the 15-month deployment that ended in October. Ten of those soldiers were killed in an Aug. 22 helicopter crash, and some were expected to be witnesses in the cases against Shore and Corrales.

Reach William Cole at wcole@honoluluadvertiser.com.

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