Rangers suspected in stabbing will not deploy

[unhappycamper]

Rangers suspected in stabbing will not deploy
The Associated Press
Posted : Friday Dec 18, 2009 16:10:50 EST

OLYMPIA, Wash. — The Army has decided two Rangers suspected of involvement in a stabbing outside an Olympia bar last March won’t deploy overseas.

The military initially said Alfred Joseph Sanchez and John Melville could deploy with their unit. But following angry comments from the victim and his mother, an Army Ranger spokeswoman told The Olympian newspaper that the men will remain in the Fort Lewis area.

The stabbing victim, Brad Merten of Olympia, and his mother, Kaye Mayo, both expressed anger last week after hearing that the Rangers’ sergeant had requested a trial continuance so the two soldiers could deploy with their unit. A Thursday County Superior Court judge granted the request.

Mayo said the military’s decision is in the best interest of everyone involved, including the military.

The accused soldiers, Sanchez, 20, and Melville, 22, are members of the 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment. Sanchez is charged with first-degree assault while armed with a deadly weapon and first-degree burglary in connection with the stabbing of Merten outside Charlie’s Bar & Grill in the early morning of March 28. Melville is charged with first-degree burglary.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/12/ap_rangers_stabbing_case_121809/