A Soldiers Blog

From: spliffslips

war blog update

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Ex-U.S. Navy Seaman Sentenced in San Juan
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By Associated Press

June 4, 2003, 11:29 PM EDT

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- A former U.S. Navy seaman was sentenced Wednesday to two years of probation for reckless driving in a traffic accident that killed two children.

Michael S. Partlow, of Rushville, Ind., was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in February. He had pleaded innocent.

Partlow was accused of causing the Feb. 1, 2002, accident at an intersection in the San Juan suburb of Carolina, killing brothers Derek Lee Cosme Rivera, 11, and Jose Roberto Cosme Rivera, 6. Their parents survived the crash.

Superior Court Judge Angel Ramirez also ruled that Partlow pay $4,050 in fines and the parents' medical bills not covered by health insurance. The judge revoked Partlow's driver's license for five years and ordered him to seek therapy to avoid alcohol abuse.

Partlow did not speak with reporters after the sentencing, but defense lawyer Felix Velez Alejandro said the light sentence showed "that he did not cause the accident." He faced up to six years in prison for his conviction and prosecutors requested the maximum term.

Partlow, now 21, had been based at Roosevelt Roads Naval Station in the U.S. Caribbean territory. He was discharged in April 2002, the Navy said, but officials did not give a reason and would not comment on the case.

Copyright (c) 2003, The Associated Press

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This article originally appeared at:
http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/world/wire/sns-ap-puerto-rico-sailor-trial,0,1270872.story

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