US

US sgt. convicted of hazing in private's suicide

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (AP) — The seventh of eight courts-martial in the case of a soldier allegedly driven to suicide after being hazed has ended with a mixed verdict.

The Fayetteville Observer reports (http://bit.ly/TWXSEy ) a jury found 27-year-old Staff Sgt. Andrew J. Van Bockel guilty of hazing Pvt. Danny Chen, of New York. The jury also found three specifications of dereliction of duty and two specifications of maltreatment, specifically related to racist nicknames for Chen and for having Chen speak Chinese to his fellow soldiers. The paper reports that Van Bockel was acquitted of two specifications of maltreatment.

Van Bockel, of Aberdeen, S.D., faces a maximum sentence of four years and nine months. Authorities say the 19-year-old Chen shot himself last year in Afghanistan after being hazed over his ethnicity.

Related Headlines

  • Gabrielle Ludwig

    10 Things to Know for Today

    Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and stories that will be talked about today: 1. U.S. TO SEND MISSILES, TROOPS TO TURKEY The Pentagon says it will send ... 

  • Jacob Tyler Roberts

    Injury dashed mall shooter's hope of being Marine

    His mother died before he was 3 years old, and he was estranged from the aunt who raised him. His dream of becoming a Marine was dashed by a broken foot, he hadn't yet settled ... 

  • John Boehner

    10 Things to Know for Friday

    Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and stories that will be talked about Friday: 1. RICE WITHDRAWS AS SEC'Y OF STATE CANDIDATE Her decision means Sen. 

  • Texas boy with pentagram carved back discharged

    A 6-year-old Texas boy whose father allegedly carved a pentagram on the child's back is out of the hospital and doing well given the circumstances, police said Thursday. 

Find your future job here

What

Where

Service