Sailor who falsely wore ribbons sentenced to 24 months in jail

NORFOLK

A Navy hospital corpsman who claimed he rescued six Marines and recovered the bodies of four others in the early days of the Iraq war was sentenced to two years in prison Thursday for wearing military ribbons he did not earn.

Petty Officer 2nd Class Dontae L. Tazewell also will be demoted to the rate of seaman and given a bad conduct discharge upon his release.

Prosecutors had asked for an 18-month sentence and a bad conduct discharge.

A military judge, Navy Capt. Patricia Battin, found Tazewell, 28, guilty Wednesday on 10 counts of wearing unauthorized ribbons, including the Combat Action Ribbon, Purple Heart and Bronze Star. She had dismissed the more serious charges of forging the documents that led to the awards.

Tazewell was awarded the Purple Heart and Bronze Star in July 2006 after producing paperwork that appeared to document his heroic role in a March 2003 ambush in Iraq.

During the two-day court-martial, a number of Tazewell's supervisors testified that the supposed rescue never happened because Tazewell was stationed at a Kuwaiti airfield during his 2003 deployment and never traveled with Marine foot patrols into Iraq.

They spoke of how their initial pride in Tazewell's heroism and awards later turned to suspicion and, eventually, a criminal investigation. Prosecutors also painted a picture of a sailor with a subpar performance record and medical problems who was so desperate to stay in the Navy that he concocted honors he did not earn to better his chances.

Tazewell's attorney, meanwhile, told of a young man from a broken home who served his country and suffered both physical and mental problems as a result.

Dr. Claudia Gonzalez, a civilian physician who worked with Tazewell at the Navy's Yorktown clinic, testified Thursday to his good work ethic.

However, when questioned by prosecutor Lt. Matthew Wooten, Gonzalez acknowledged Tazewell had been punished in December 2006 for mishandling immunization records.

Lt. Dana Lobraico, a Navy psychiatrist, testified Thursday that she's been treating Tazewell since November and believes he has either anxiety disorder or anxiety spectrum disorder, which leads to excessive worry, intrusive thoughts and difficulty sleeping.

Tazewell testified that after his time in Kuwait, he came down with a gastric illness and received steroid treatments. The treatments caused bone damage that forced him to have a double hip replacement last year.

"Petty Officer Tazewell, in serving his country, will not leave the Navy in the same condition he came in," argued his lawyer, Lt. Matthew Cutchen.

Tazewell also talked of the difficulty of having to explain his conviction to his son. "I feel like I brought shame to the hospital corps, to the Navy, to myself and to my family."

The prosecution focused on Tazewell's duplicity.

"This is about a person who had a plan to con the U.S. Navy," Wooten argued. "He was never in combat, never even scratched."

After the sentencing, a visibly upset Tazewell was comforted by his aunt, who had raised him.

Cutchen said the sentence was "clearly disappointing" but that Tazewell is entitled to an automatic appeal, which he will pursue even as he begins his time in the brig, as well as a clemency request.

"He has gone through a lot in the Navy," Cutchen said. "He hopes that will be considered when the case is reviewed."

Matthew Jones, (757) 446-2949, matthew.jones@pilotonline.com