CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. – Lance Cpl. Brandon Little will spend two years behind bars for inadvertently shooting and killing a fellow Marine outside the main gate here six months ago.
Little, 22, was sentenced Wednesday morning following about 90 minutes of deliberation for inadvertently shooting and killing Lance Cpl. Mark Boterf, 21, while the two completed shifts as gate sentries on April 8.
Little pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter as part of a plea agreement. Lesser charges of negligent homicide and dereliction of duty were withdrawn as part of that agreement. Col. Deborah McConnell, the military judge, sentenced Little to three years in confinement, but he will only serve 24 months in keeping with the pretrial agreement.
His rank and pay were also reduced to E-1, and he will receive a dishonorable discharge.
While making his plea to McConnell on Tuesday, Little said he had been absent-mindedly flicking the safety switch on his M4 service rifle from "safe" to "semi" while he directed traffic at the end of a 12-hour shift on that day. Returning to the gate house, Little said he had planned to unload his still-slung weapon from a seated position, but didn't check to make sure the safety was on first.
With the magazine still in, he pulled back the charging handle, inadvertently chambering a round, he said. When that happened, he stood up to try to do the job properly, but pulled the trigger in the process, shooting Boterf, who happened to be in front of him in the guard house, in the chest.
"I wasn't paying enough attention," Little said.
In a somber and emotional court-martial that stretched a little past a day, both the prosecution and defense focused on the characters of the Marines in question. Boterf was described as a promising and motivated 21-year-old from a big and loving family whose dream of being a career Marine was tragically cut short. Little, who joined the Marine Corps to make his grandmother proud, is now wracked with guilt and remorse for carelessness that took the life of a colleague and friend.
Capt. Andrew Lewis, lead attorney for the government, argued that Little should receive a five-year sentence with forfeiture of all pay and rank and a dishonorable discharge for behavior that violated all four of the Marines' cardinal firearms safety rules.
"A significant sentence will send a message … Marines all throughout the Marine Corps will hear this," Lewis said. "This was not an accident. This was a gross departure from the standards Marines hold ourselves to."
Speaking in Little's defense, military attorney Capt. Tyler Brummond asked for mercy for Little, saying he had taken full responsibility for his actions and met with Boterf's family to ask for their forgiveness. He would be haunted by his actions for the rest of his life, Brummond said.
"He knew he was guilty the second that gun went off," Brummond said. "… The sentence in this case is a lifetime of guilt, of remorse, and of torment."
Just before sentencing arguments, Little took the stand, expressing his regret for his actions and saying he was seeking psychological and spiritual help to grapple with the guilt.
He thanked the Boterf family, including Mark's parents Amy and Aubrey and his twin brother Mike, for meeting with him prior to the court-martial and telling him they forgave him.
"That was the most important day of my life, looking at each and every one of you and hearing your forgiveness," Little said. "I truly am sorry."
The location where Little will serve his sentence won't be determined until a pretrial agreement is finalized. Until then, he'll be held at the brig here.
