Estimated read time: Less than a minute
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 Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information.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.
FORT BRAGG, N.C. (AP) — A former Fort Bragg soldier has been sentenced to 30 years in military prison for the 2014 killing of his Panamanian girlfriend.
News outlets report that 37-year-old Master Sgt. Omar Velez-Pagan was sentenced at his court-martial Tuesday by a jury of five military officers. The day before, the jury had found Velez-Pagan guilty of unpremeditated murder in the death of 25-year-old Vanesa Rodriguez.
Velez-Pagan, who had been stationed in Panama to train Panamanian police, ran Rodriguez over with a truck in June 2014 and then hid her body.
Velez-Pagan will also to be reduced in rank to private, dishonorably discharged and ordered to forfeit pay and allowances.
The jury's sentencing decision is subject to the approval of Fort Bragg's commander, Lt. Gen. Stephen Townsend.
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
