A U.S. Navy SEAL was sentenced to 10 years in prison over the weekend after pleading guilty to involuntary manslaughter for his role in the hazing death of a U.S. Army Green Beret, the Navy announced in a statement Monday, The Guardian reported.
A jury of fellow service members at a Navy base in Norfolk, Virginia handed Tony DeDolph the sentence for placing Army staff Sgt. Logan Melgar into a chokehold in 2017 to try to make him temporarily lose consciousness during what DeDolph said was a prank gone wrong while the men served together in Mali.
Melgar died of strangulation. DeDolph's attorney said he plans to appeal the punishment.
A total of four people – two SEALs and two Marines – were charged in Melgar's death. DeDolph's sentence was the longest received by any of the men involved in the incident, according to the Daily Beast.
DeDolph told his court-martial they were attempting to get back at Melgar for perceived slights through a "tape job" prank, which was to include binding Melgar with duct tape, applying the choke hold to temporarily knock him out, and then showing him a video of the incident at a later time, The Guardian reported.
In addition to his prison time, DeDolph's sentence strips him of his pay and his rank of chief petty officer, and he will receive a dishonorable discharge.
An admiral must still give official approval to the punishment.
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.