From the Associated Press:
SAN DIEGO -- A dispute over stolen drug money appears to be the motive for the murder of a Camp Pendleton Marine allegedly committed by two comrades, prosecutors said.
The announcement Thursday came a day before Lance Cpl. Christian William Carney and Pfc. Alvin Reed Lovely were scheduled to be arraigned in Orange County Superior Court on charges related to the murder of Pfc. Stephen Serrano, whose body -- in desert fatigues and boots -- was found in a ditch in San Clemente.
Carney, 21, and Lovely, 20, were indicted this month on one count each of murder and making a criminal threat. They also face a sentencing enhancement for the personal discharge of a firearm.
Carney also faces a charge of attempting to dissuade a witness.
Both men have pleaded innocent.
Carney, of Suffolk, N.Y., was put in the brig at Camp Pendleton on unrelated drug-dealing charges after posting $1 million bond for his release from the Orange County jail, said Marine spokesman 1st Lt. Curtis Williamson. Carney, an Iraq war veteran, was to be transferred to Orange County for arraignment.
Lovely, of Dallas, is being held at the Orange County jail in lieu of $1 million bail. At the time of his arrest, he was listed by the Marines as being on unauthorized absence, a step before being declared a deserter, Williamson said.
The body of Serrano, 21, of Sacramento, was found May 15 by a jogger.
It was not clear whether Carney and Lovely had been assigned defense attorneys in advance of their pending arraignment. A message left with the Orange County public defenders office was not immediately returned, and the Marine Corps did not make Carney available for comment.
Prosecutors say events that led to the murder began to unfold on May 9 when Carney drove from Camp Pendleton to Texas to pick up Lovely, who had gone home to visit family. While he was gone, Serrano and an unidentified Marine allegedly broke into Carney's room and stole drug money, according to a written statement by the district attorney's office.
On May 13, when Carney and Lovely returned to the base, Carney was told by an unidentified Marine who claimed to have witnessed a mutual friend and another man breaking into his room. Later that day, Carney and Lovely allegedly met the friend, identified in court papers only as John Doe, and drove him from base to a secluded location in San Clemente. According to prosecutors, the two Marines put a gun to the man's head and threatened to shoot him, if he did not identify his alleged accomplice in the burglary.
Prosecutors say the man identified Serrano.
They returned to the base and then allegedly asked Serrano to meet them. Prosecutors say they then drove Serrano to San Clemente, shot him once in the head and three times in the back.
Prosecutors say after the murder Carney told the friend he had threatened to not say anything about Serrano's murder.
All three Marines were assigned to the 1st Marine Division.
About Comments
Reader comments on Sacbee.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Sacramento Bee. If you see an objectionable comment, click the "report abuse" button below it. We will delete comments containing inappropriate links, obscenities, hate speech, and personal attacks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. See more about comments here.