But he would be dead before his scheduled court appearance. The Idol: How HBOs Next Euphoria Became Twisted Torture Porn Accidental? And he fell down on the ground and Uncle Billy kept shooting him. There had to have been at least one. Green Beret Mark Leshikar (left, and at right, with tattoos) was shot and killed by his best friend and fellow special-forces soldier Billy Lavigne (far right), in an inexplicable, drug-fueled altercation witnessed by the two mens young daughters. There were a couple others that were with us, she tells me, drinking and partying. Tom Sizemore, Heat and Saving Private Ryan Actor, Dead at 61 The police came and he was arrested in possession of cocaine, a digital scale, a crack pipe, a revolver, a hunting rifle, a snub-nosed pistol, and a pump-action shotgun. On February 9, 2022, Seth reported the death of 83 soldiers at Fort Bragg in the 18 months ending in June 2021. This time he was charged with three felonies: breaking and entering, communicating threats, and impersonating a law-enforcement officer, but all of the charges were dismissed. Leshikar was a native of rural Idaho and had lived in Washington state, near the Canadian border. Leshikars killing was ruled a justifiable homicide, but Swain declines to say on what grounds investigators came to that conclusion. The problems persisted. A Green Beret named Calvin Rockward passed away from a sudden, unexpected medical event. The 38-year-old was in excellent physical condition, too. According to the medical examiner, Roman-Martinez had been decapitated. I thought it was guns because he would talk about all the parts he had access to, and all the guns he could get., At the time, Ballard had recently left the Navy and had yet to join the police or become a detective. He had been shot multiple times in the chest, wrapped in a type of nylon blanket that soldiers call a woobie, and placed in the back of his own truck, the gray Chevrolet. Receive Daily Banned News StoriesTHEY Don't Want You to Know! Explore Life Stories, Offer Condolences & Send Flowers. Other operators that were there. She wipes away tears. It continues, "The deaths and non-fatal overdoses at Fort Bragg, Fort Bliss, West Point, and in states with high military populations like Alaska, . With multiple police pistols pointed at him and officers shouting at him to drop the gun, Lewis raised his weapon and shot himself in the forehead. It makes me feel great, said Carole De Nola, when she learned of the letter. The data was provided to Senator Ron Johnson at a historic round table meeting with doctors and lawyers. Sept. 26, 2022. I hurt Sarah, and my career is ruined. I talked to him for a long time. It was a story he would later repeat to Leshikars mother, sister, and wife. He finally put the gun down. In the aftermath, Lynda says, There were no real repercussions.. The things that have happened with special forces are outside the purview of the Fort Bragg command, he says. Get Awesome Patriot Gear Today! They have a different society, Lavigne would respond, in Nicoles recollection, and while I dont agree with it, we shouldnt be doing what were doing over there. . The recent reports of fatal drug overdoses out of military installations like Fort Bragg are alarming, Sen. Markey said in a statement to Rolling Stone. The Navy SEALs have been seared by repeated scandals in recent years, but until Lavignes mysterious death in December, Delta Force had been spared accusations of drug use in its ranks. He sincerely felt it was the key to mental illness, a cure for depression, PTSD., Roman-Martinez had poor eyesight and wore thick glasses above a friendly smile. Im a monster. She claims to have known Lavigne well, and to have seen him do cocaine, crystal meth, and heroin. Related The discovery of Lavignes and Dumas bodies also raised hard questions for local law enforcement in Fayetteville, which may be home to Fort Bragg, the largest Army base in the U.S., but remains a relatively small Southern town, whose red-brick historical center, built around a white clock tower, quickly gives way to the strip-mall sprawl of discount supermarkets, hamburger drive-throughs, gun stores, and Baptist churches. Only his severed head had been found. After the COVID-19 vaccine protocol was mandated on the military, the number of medical issues spiked to 22 million in the first 10 months of 2021 a 1,000 percent increase! According to officials, 33 of the fatalities are of undetermined causes. . An orange sun is setting behind row upon row of monotonous pines. Over the past 20 years of continuous war, from the snowy passes of the Hindu Kush to the desert scrublands of Somalia, JSOCs budget and autonomy have continuously grown, and so has the scope of its mission. He was trying to get into Buddhism. Samuel Sigoloff, Peter Chambers and Theresa Long. I killed my best friend, he said, according to Patino. These incidents, the letter read, indicate a problem that may be underreported, and are a call for urgent action. That number is significantly more than at any other U.S. military base, despite Fort Hood and Fort Bliss having had freakishly violent years of their own. Fort Bragg stops reporting soldier deaths after dozens found dead in their bunks An investigative reporter for Rolling Stone Magazine, Seth Harp, has been looking into this medical anomaly. When a friend or babysitter could be found to look after the kids, the group of five parents, all in their mid-thirties, went out on the town in Fayetteville. Twitter, Facebook, Reddit, Medium, WordPress, Google, Gmail (literally), Blogspot, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn, PayPal, LiveJournal, Soundcloud, Dailymotion, Vimeo, Tumblr, Flickr & Youtube and probably several others I forgot about. On February 9, 2022, Seth reported the death of 83 soldiers at Fort Bragg in the 18 months ending in June 2021. The Armys Criminal Investigative Command, or CID, also concluded that the homicide was justified, likewise for reasons that it refuses to make public. And I said, Well, no, because its not legal, says Mabey. At age 37, William Billy Lavigne II was a true Tier 1 operator, a master sergeant on the Armys most selective and clandestine task force. Ruth Sparks, a native of San Jose, California, and resident of Fort Bragg, California, passed away on December 1, 2022, surrounded by her family. Her son, Spc. Nicole and her husband also had small children. On several occasions, various people at Fort Bragg have offered to sell him tabs, Romero says, including the soldier from the camping trip. - Page 2 . Hes one of those guys whos into nature. The autopsy showed that he had been shot from multiple angles, including from behind. This video is from theIn Search of Truth channel on Brighteon.com. I dont know any soldier who has done the tours he had done that doesnt., That was certainly the case with Lavigne. Night had fallen, and the suburban cul-de-sac was lit up by emergency lights. All of that has a cumulative effect., A damaged soul plagued by mental torment, and also more thoughtful, more introverted than his Delta Force teammates, is how Nicole describes Lavigne. And Rolling Stone covers a "staggering" number of soldier overdose deaths in Fort Bragg. He was from a suburb of Los Angeles called Chino. Trial dates for the soldiers vary, beginning on May 31 for Becerra and ending with Cochell's trial, which is scheduled for Sept. 26 to 29. A spokesman, Chris Grey, writes in an email that Cumberland County had investigative jurisdiction over the case but that CID thoroughly reviewed all the evidence and interviewed witnesses. Editors picks He expressed political disagreements with Leshikar, who was of the opinion that the United States ought to nuke the Middle East and be done with it. Estella thought he was joking. He was arrested for a final time on September 17th, in Fayetteville, this time on a prostitution charge. To cap off a freakish year at Fort Bragg, just three weeks after Lavigne and Dumas turned up dead, a 31-year-old combat medic assigned to Special Forces named Keith Lewis shot and killed his pregnant wife, Sarah Lewis, an Air Force veteran who was due to give birth at any moment. HomicideTracker (2022) At least 360 people were killed in 2022. in the St. Louis area through Dec. 29. Also, this website is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. To date, the House Armed Services Committee seems not to have noticed the similar pattern at Fort Bragg. Dumas and his dreadlocked sidekick went into the apartment across the corridor, and she went into hers. Could there be a serious drug problem going on at Fort Bragg? The DMED is the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Branchs web-based tool to remotely query de-identified active component personnel and medical event data contained within the Defense Medical Surveillance System (DMSS).. The justification was unconvincing on its face. He was taken home that same night by some of his Delta Force teammates. Fort Bragg Advocate-News obituaries and Death Notices for Fort Bragg California area . We were trying to find the park ranger or their offices, or anything.. He had a strong personality. Uh-huh., CID is aware of the deceaseds alleged drug activities, Grey, the CID spokesman, says. You can clearly see the moment a small black hole appears in the sheetrock, blowing out a cone of gypsum powder. Estella called the Fayetteville police, who filed an incident report. What followed has never been adequately explained. (Video), COVER UP: DOJ Decided Against Having FBI Agents Monitor Search by Bidens Personal Lawyers For Classified Documents, Atty. . Search Fort Bragg obituaries and condolences, hosted by Echovita.com. From March 2021 to March 2022 deaths from drug overdoses fell nearly 4% from the previous year, the CDC says. He was deadly serious., She pretended to laugh it off, and when Dumas left to get a part from the hardware store, she called her neighbors to come over and sit with her. They say get a lawyer., I just dont know whats going on with our military right now, says Mabey. Its known from postmortem toxicology that Leshikar was taking Valium, tramadol, MDMA, and cocaine. One of the military doctors testified:It is my professional opinion that the major increases incidences of the above discussed instances of miscarriages, cancers, and disease were due to COVID-19 vaccinations.. The last time his father spoke to him was Thanksgiving. Army vet Timothy Dumas, 44, was found shot and killed alongside Lavigne. The camera flash has rendered his retinas red. He was never booked, photographed, or taken before a magistrate for a bond hearing. Appropriate adverse action, which was previously initiated in response to substantiated misconduct, was being finalized at the time of Master Sgt. Mertle JR, William Schroeder "Bill" Fort Bragg, CA . They are ghosts. Fentanyl Involvement as a Proportion of Deaths Across Substance Groups, 2017-2021. Out of the 83 sudden and unexpected fatalities, eleven of them were determined to be from natural causes. Could there be a serious drug problem going on at Fort Bragg? Lloyd Austin, citing, Senators Press Pentagon for Answers on Rash of Overdose Deaths, Pentagon Finally Stops Hiding Military Overdose Epidemic, These Kids Are Dying Inside the Overdose Crisis Sweeping Fort Bragg, DeSantis Disney Appointee Said Tap Water Might Be Turning People Gay, He Believes Hitler Went to Heaven and Wants to Take Over the Lutheran Church, Trump, Jan. 6 Prisoners Collaborate on Cringe, Alex Murdaugh Juror Says Cellphone Video, 'Big Liar' Testimony Led to Guilty Verdict, The National Stay Up Late to Perform 'Tropic Morning News' on Fallon, David Lindley, Multi-Instrumentalist Who Shaped the Sound of Soft Rock, Dead at 78, How Deem Spencer Learned to be Vulnerable on His New Album adultSW!M. When they were doing cocaine, Mabey says, he always acted perfectly fine. Its the last thing we spoke about.. As soon as the rockets began to burst, We had to get out of there. Thomas Renz reveals the DoD whistleblowers during a Senate hearing. . There was never no mention of this Dumas. Nicole and Laura say the same. They might have spent a hundred days where they did 40 raids, and in 15 of the raids they were within 10 yards of a breach explosion. Most recent obituaries in Fort Bragg, California. These are highlights of a significantly lengthier list. Jason, Sarah ~ 28 February, 2023. A soldier with the U.S. Army was killed and three others were injured Thursday in a military vehicle accident at Fort Bragg, officials said. She had called his unit because he had been drinking real bad and using steroids, and asked that he be moved back into the barracks, says Phillips. Around 4 p.m., they arrived at Lavignes house, a cookie-cutter tract home at the end of a blank cul-de-sac. The Defense Medical Epidemiology Database (DMED) is used to detect surges of injury and illness in the military to make sure that all individuals are combat ready. The onslaught totaled the neighbors car, which Sarah tried to hide behind. By Seth Harp September 29, 2022 Logan Mock-Bunting/Getty Images Congress has finally taken notice of an unprecedented wave of fatalities at Fort Bragg, some 17 months after Rolling Stone. According to military records obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, a hard-to-believe 105 soldiers assigned to the base died stateside in 2020 and 2021. He fell in love with what he was doing and decided he was going to make a career out of it, says his dad, who still lives in the remote Upper Peninsula of Michigan where Billy grew up skateboarding and riding motocross. The U.S. Army and Fort Bragg refuse to investigate or report on the surge in deaths, disrespecting the soldiers and their families. All Rights reserved. It included Dumas name and the type of handgun he used, but its not clear if he was taken into custody. Grant, Virginia ~ 28 February, 2023. In 2018, Lavigne shot and killed his best friend, a Green Beret named Mark Leshikar, in an inexplicable, drug-fueled altercation that no one witnessed but two little girls. This May will be that investigations one-year mark, and no suspects have been identified. According to Sarahs mother, Rhonda Phillips, on at least two occasions in 2020, the last being December 11th, Sarah reported Lewis to his unit, and informed them that she feared for her safety. They all knew Billy., Laura echoes Nicoles account when I speak to her separately. In 2015, former SEAL James Matthews got pulled over in New Jersey towing a trailer loaded with $1.4 million worth of marijuana. Get service details, leave condolence messages or send flowers in memory of a loved one in Fort Bragg, California. Latner, David Arno Fort Bragg, CA . December 31, 2022 (85 years old) View obituary Wayne Richard Swanson December 25, 2022 (78 years old) View obituary William Schroeder Mertle December 23, 2022 (80 years old) View obituary Patricia Ann Menzies October 26, 2022 (82 years old) View obituary Peter Charles Paskos November 20, 2022 (87 years old) View obituary Norma Edith Wright Greene Ever since he killed Leshikar, he had been in a downward spiral. Somalia, Iraq, Afghanistan, he says, pretty much anywhere the U.S. had anything going on between 2006 and 2018, he was there. By 2012, he had made the ultra-selective cut for Delta Force, which rejects the overwhelming majority of Rangers and Green Berets invited to try out. He is unsmiling, his eyebrows raised, his eyes intently focused on the photographer. He loves views, too. Drugs were in involved in the deaths of Joshua Diamon and Matthew Disney. We dont know where he has gone. He added, When we woke up he was not here. I could never take anything serious.. The FBI is also investigating the deaths of Dumas and Lavigne, and has taken the lead in the case, according to CID. Eleven of the deaths remain. Send us a tip using our anonymous form. Yet there were no firearms to be found at the scene, and no trace of the third man, the surviving shooter. We want to hear it. Im tenderhearted, she says. But neither JSOC nor USASOC responded to repeated requests for comment. His injuries were not done by a shark or boat propeller. In response to these and other embarrassments, including President Trumps pardon of former SEAL Eddie Freaking Evil Gallagher, the commander of all special-operations forces, Gen. Richard Clarke, ordered a comprehensive ethics review in August 2019. According to Seth, nine more young and fit soldiers were found unresponsive in their bunks. Its just wonderful, she said. Crime-scene technicians would have photographed it on December 2nd, when they turned aside the nylon blanket he was wrapped in and saw him barefoot and shirtless, shot multiple times in the chest. Its a lot of TBI, or traumatic brain injury. He was two years younger than Lavigne and had recently completed Special Forces selection, a rugged, punishing Fort Bragg program known as the Q-course.