Navy SEAL Team 6 member to plead guilty in Green Beret’s death
A Navy SEAL charged with killing a U.S. soldier while both were serving in Africa will plead guilty to at least some of the charges filed against him, his attorney said.
The agreement will end the contested charges against Chief Special Warfare Operator Tony E. DeDolph, his attorney, Philip Stackhouse, said.
DeDolph was charged with murder, accused of strangling Army Staff Sgt. Logan Melgar with a chokehold in 2017 while they served in Bamako, Mali. He faced a series of other charges including involuntary manslaughter, hazing and obstruction of justice.
“The agreement recognizes that SOC DeDolph never intended to injure SSG Logan Melgar, USA, but also recognizes the fact that SSG Melgar died as a result of actions that went tragically wrong on June 4, 2017,” Stackhouse said.
Stackhouse said he could not confirm the charges on which DeDolph might plead guilty. He is due to come to trial later this month.
This will allow DeDolph “to accept responsibility for those offenses he can, his and mitigate most of the concerns over classified material present in the case,” Stackhouse said.
DeDolph was assigned to Naval Special Warfare Development Group, more commonly known as SEAL Team 6.
Melgar died after special warfare operators broke into his room while he was sleeping, binding him
with duct tape and placing him in a chokehold, according to testimony in earlier court proceedings.
The idea was to embarrass the Green Beret, getting back for leaving other Marines behind when he went to an embassy party.
Former Navy Chief Special Operator Adam Matthews, and former Marine Staff Sgt. Kevin Maxwell Jr. have pleaded guilty in the case.
Matthews was sentenced to a year in confinement, a reduction in rank and a bad conduct discharge. Maxwell was sentenced in June to four years confinement, a bad conduct discharge and a reduction in rank to private.
Gunnery Sgt. Mario Madera-Rodriguez has also been charged with murder, with a trial set for later this year.
In their trials, Matthews and Maxwell testified that they and several others came up with the plan, which they described as a joke that got out of hand, when they gathered at a club that evening.
They testified that DeDolph was the driving force behind the plan.
In addition to the charge of murder, DeDolph is charged with involuntary manslaughter, hazing, burglary and obstruction of justice.
The obstruction charge includes an allegation that DeDolph, a medic, performed a medical procedure on Melgar’s neck to open an airway to hide evidence of his injuries.