# Marines Arrested for Selling Body Armor Online



## MikeL (23 Feb 2006)

http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/IraqCoverage/story?id=1651227&page=1

Feb. 22, 2006 — Several Marines from Camp Pendleton have been arrested in San Diego on charges of providing stolen body armor — intended for troops in Iraq — that was later sold on the Internet.

U.S. Customs officials teamed with the Navy's Criminal Investigative Service to break the ring.

Nine people have been arrested, including several Marines; additional arrests are expected. The ongoing investigation has identified 12 other Marines and several civilians as suspects. Sources told ABC News that several of those Marines suspected are currently serving duty in Iraq.

Among those arrested was Erika Jardine, who was sentenced today to six months in prison by a federal judge in Philadelphia. Jardine had pleaded guilty in November to one count of arms exportation and another count of selling stolen government property.

EBay Sales Exposed Them

Jardine first drew the attention of investigators in June 2004 after they discovered she had been selling the vests on the Internet auction site eBay. Customs investigators said Jardine sold 18 of the vests to customs agents posing as international arms dealers.

Jardine's arrest led investigators to several U.S. Marines based at Camp Pendleton in California who had previously sold her the vests and their highly protective ceramic inserts.

The vests are the best protection available to U.S. troops in Iraq. The outer tactical vest provides protection from shrapnel, and the ceramic plates, known as small arms protective inserts are what actually protect troops from bullets. A main concern of investigators was to protect the technology involved in making the lifesaving vests.

As a result of the investigation, $63,000 worth of stolen gear has been recovered, including 104 protective ceramic plates, 14 outer tactical vests, seven Kevlar helmets, two gas masks and M-16 ammunition.

This is not the first time that federal officials have broken up the sale of body armor destined for Iraq. In April, 2004 federal prosecutors announced "Operation High Bidder," an undercover investigation targeting eBay sales of body armor.


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## geo (23 Feb 2006)

Hang em high!!
Don't have much use for thieves


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## Guy. E (23 Feb 2006)

Naaaa, Send them to Iraq or Afghanistan without they're armour for six months. see if they still want to sell it afterwards.


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## Colin Parkinson (21 Mar 2006)

and make them do mine clearing and IED removal while they are there.  ;D


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## GAP (21 Mar 2006)

I don't envy them...If they get "Hard Labor", it literally is breaking big rocks to little bitty rocks. If they don't, it's still far from a picnic. Military Jails in the US tend to be a law onto themselves. If they don't get jail time, I am sure BUPERS is cutting wonderful orders for them at this moment.


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## tomahawk6 (24 Mar 2006)

Ten soldiers at Ft Lewis are charged with stealing more than $235,000 in military property and selling it to a civilian who ran a military surplus store. The items included "The stolen items include Gore-Tex jackets and pants, light sticks, GPS devices, knife and tool sets, CamelBak hydration systems, Meals, Ready to Eat, 30-round M16 or M4 magazines, rifle slings, blank ammunition, a smoke grenade, parachute cord, Wiley-X goggles and lithium batteries."

MRE's accounted for $120,000 of the total stolen.
One of the accused is a SSG who is a student at the NCO Academy. The other 9 are assigned to the 3d brigade, 2ID. The others are:

• Sgt. 1st Class James E. Postell, charged with two counts of conspiracy to wrongfully sell military property.

• Sgt. 1st Class Robert G. Stevens, charged with conspiracy to steal military property and wrongfully selling military property.

• Staff Sgt. Matias C. Inocentes, charged with conspiracy to steal military property and two counts of wrongfully selling military property.

• Staff Sgt. James R. Pennington, charged with conspiracy to steal military property and two counts of wrongfully selling military property.

• Sgt. Mario R. Huerta-Morales, charged with conspiracy to steal military property.

• Sgt. Steven E. Mauzy, charged with conspiracy to steal military property.

• Sgt. Stanley D. Morris, charged with attempting to sell military property, seven counts of wrongfully selling military property, stealing government property and disobeying orders by contacting Loftus by phone.

• Sgt. Davin D. Woolridge, charged with three counts of larceny, four counts of conspiracy to steal military property and 28 counts of wrongfully selling military property. Woolridge’s wife, Melissa, has been charged in federal court with threatening and causing bodily harm to Smith.

• Spc. Jeffrey N. Blanchard, charged with conspiracy to steal military property.


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## McAllister (26 Mar 2006)

Buncha lousy cheatin POGs.


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## geo (29 Mar 2006)

best thing to do with em is..............
ship em off to an operational unit in Iraq so they can "try out" the protection capacity of the body armour..... save the public a bundle and just give em a "career move" that no one will ever forget (or forgive)


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## CAL (19 Apr 2006)

Good!


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## Centurian1985 (19 Apr 2006)

Theres always somebody looking to make a quick buck!


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## Colin Parkinson (20 Apr 2006)

Like those wankers that were stealing and selling hardrives and flashdrives in Afghanistan.


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## Hot Lips (20 Apr 2006)

There is no honour amongst thieves...no honour in thievery period!!!!!

It outrages me to see these individuals screwing over their own military...send them to a country where freedom comes @ a price, maybe then they would appreciate what it is they have...


HL


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## geo (20 Apr 2006)

I hear the weather is dandy in Kandahar & Baghdad.
Am certain the troops will give em a warm welcome if they know in advance that these guys are a comming.

(Mods - think we're done here).


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