Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
OGDEN, Utah (AP) -- The mother of a soldier killed in Iraq said she hopes to be out of jail in time for his funeral.
Angela Cabral has been jailed since Jan. 4 for possession of methampethamine and driving without a license, the Weber County Sheriff's office said. She claims she borrowed the car in which the drugs were found.
Her son, Army Cpl. Juan Carlos Cabral, a 25-year-old mechanic, was killed Jan. 31 when his vehicle struck a homemade explosive device near the northern Iraq city of Kirkuk.
Cabral's wife, Anita, said the family cannot finalize funeral arrangements until the body is returned from Iraq. Angela Cabral wants to attend the funeral, which is planned in Utah.
"I just do not know how I am going to do it," Angela Cabral told the Standard-Examiner of Ogden.
A Kansas resident, Cabral was staying with another son, Jose Cabral, in Brigham City when she was arrested.
Cabral said she is on disability, cannot afford an attorney and has disagreed with advice from her public defender.
"They told me to plead guilty because they would remove the charges," Cabral said, "but I did not want to because I am innocent. Now, I regret it because the charges are still there."
Cabral said she has had little information about her son's death.
She has not seen him in three years. During his last visit, she said he didn't have enough time to travel to Utah.
Her son was scheduled to return home in about a month, along with about 20,000 troops from Fort Hood, Texas. Cabral had been in Iraq since April 4.
Most of Angela Cabral's family members live in Kansas. She and Juan's father, Angel Cabral, are divorced, and he lives in Ogden.
(Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
