NORFOLK
A Virginia Beach man was arrested Thursday on murder charges stemming from an incident last year in Afghanistan, where he was working for a subsidiary of Xe, the private military company formerly known as Blackwater.
Christopher Drotleff, 29, is one of two former Xe contractors charged in the May 5 incident, in which two Afghans were killed and a third was wounded. The other former contractor, Justin Cannon, 27, was arrested in Corpus Christi, Texas, where he lives.
The murder charges come a week after a federal judge in Washington tossed out manslaughter charges against five other former Blackwater contractors who were involved in a 2007 shooting incident in Iraq.
Drotleff and Cannon are charged with second-degree murder, attempted murder and firearms offenses in the 2009 incident, which occurred while they were working for Paravant, a subsidiary of Moyock, N.C.-based Xe.
If convicted, they could be sentenced to life in prison or death.
According to the indictment, they were providing weapons training to the Afghan National Army. Paravant was working for the U.S. Defense Department as a subcontractor to Waltham, Mass.-based Raytheon Co.
According to news reports at the time, Drotleff, Cannon and two other Xe contractors were off-duty when they became involved in a traffic accident with a civilian vehicle in Kabul, the Afghan capital.
Perceiving the other vehicle as a threat, the contractors fired on it, the U.S. military said.. The Wall Street Journal quoted a person familiar with the incident as saying that at least some of the men had been drinking.
Paravant fired the men for failure to comply with the terms of their contract.
The contractors were not authorized to carry weapons, the U.S. military said.
In an interview with The Associated Press two weeks after the incident, Cannon said Xe issued them weapons despite U.S. military rules prohibiting it. The company declined to comment on the accusation.
Both men have said they were justified in opening fire on the Afghan vehicle, which they said turned and sped toward them after the accident.
"I feel comfortable firing my weapon any time I feel my life is in danger," Drotleff said in a recent interview with the AP. "That night, my life was 100 percent in danger."
Steve McClain, 25, another contractor involved in the incident, told the AP he wasn't drinking and didn't witness any of his colleagues drinking that day.
In a brief appearance in Norfolk federal court Thursday, Drotleff was ordered held without bail by Magistrate Judge F. Bradford Stillman. He asked for a court-appointed attorney.
After answering "Yes, sir" and "No, sir" to a series of questions from Stillman, he was led out in handcuffs and shackles. Stillman scheduled a detention hearing for Tuesday.
Drotleff was a mortarman in the Marine Corps from 1998 to 2001. He was discharged as a private from his last duty station with the 3rd Marine Division in Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii.
Over the past 10 years, Drotleff has had more than a dozen run-ins with Virginia Beach police, both on land and water. He apparently has no felonies on his record but has been arrested 18 times on misdemeanors, including disturbing the peace, resisting arrest, assault and battery, and twice for driving under the influence, according to Beach court records.
He spent 10 days in jail after a 2002 arrest and conviction for disturbing the peace, the court records say. A 2008 charge of disturbing the peace was dismissed.
John Hartle, who lives next door to Drotleff, said Thursday that his neighbor was known for throwing raucous parties when he and his wife first moved in.
Hartle's son, John Hartle Jr., pointed to the street where black rings had marked up the pavement. A few years ago one of the parties spilled into the street, where Drotleff and his friends did "doughnuts" on motorcycles, he said.
The parties stopped after Drotleff and his wife had two children, Hartle Sr. said.
Besides Paravant, Hartle Jr. said Drotleff had worked for a power-washing company.
The elder Hartle said he remembered Drotleff returning from Afghanistan in the spring and talking about how something had happened with another man. He didn't know any details.
Hartle Jr. said he typically discounted Drotleff's stories because he was "a bit of a yarn spinner."
Pilot writers Tim McGlone and Lauren King and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Bill Sizemore, (757) 446-2276, bill.sizemore@pilotonline.com
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Race
Why bash white guys? Why does his race even matter? Why would you bring that up? Is XE strictly staffed by white guys? I doubt it. I'd wager they have plenty black, hispanic and asian employees. It's easy to judge from your safe home on a computer the decisions others make in split seconds. Maybe it would be better if he'd let himself be butchered and hung from a bridge like those four other Blackwater operators? He's an American and since he's been accused of something many of you are assuming that he did something wrong. I guess innocent until proven guilty only applies if you are the one who got arrested.
War
In ancient times war was waged completely and totally. You kill your enemies until they submit or no longer exist. War should not be legislated, i.e. criminal prosecution and civil lawsuits, ridiculous. No one that we fight follows the rules of the Geneva Convention and should not be protected by laws of the U.S.. Our enemies in the Middle East abduct, blow up, butcher, murder and mutilate American troops, citizens and even their own people. Our enemies give no quarter and if the roles were reversed and they were the superpower they would slaughter us without a thought. They are ruthless, remorseless and without mercy. Why then should we take a different approach to fighting them than they do us? In war the more ruthless and efficient killer wins. If we withdrew from Afghanistan and Iraq and gave the insurgents, etc whatever they wanted we would still have to fight them somewhere. God Bless America and our troops.
18 arrests?
This guy has been arrested 18 times? Discharged as a private? Why was he even hired in the first place? Blackwater seems to be the affirmative action club for unqualified white guys. I just hate that my tax dollars are financing this band of rogue mercenaries.
Race?
What does that have to do with it? Would have been ok if he was nor white?
I hold my head high too americanamerican; however,
I do not like how these civilians are making the United States look bad. No matter what happens, evil will infiltrate good. Bad soldiers will misrepresent good intentions - like this backstory! Having the government switch to these paramilitary groups to the amount of population they consist of has been a huge mistake.
Allowing Americans to run amuck with no association to the uniformed military though acting in their name is a worse perception on the nation than a uniformed soldier doing the same thing (criminal acts). Though this is only my opinion, it's hard to think anything else while more Iraq civilians die at the hands of over-zealous, unofficial American troops.
Agreed, but.
If our military were allowed to do what is needed without the ROE's that hinder and get them killed then perhaps 90% of these guys would still be enlisted and this quagmire would never have happened.
The reality is we could end this quagmire in 2 weeks but we would have to upset some people, perhaps lose face but instill such fear peace would be plentiful for a long time.
The Soviet Union maintained peace in the Balkans with what?
Saddam controlled Iraq with what?
Iran controls it's people with what?
China controls it's country with what?
N Korea controls it's people with what?
95% of Africa is controlled with what?
Hard to gain control and respect with something totally alien in a culture thousands of years older than the USA.
Talk to your dog about pooping on the rug and he will keep pooping on the rug.
merkinmerkin
Hey, Bungalow Bill
What did you kill
Bungalow Bill?
He went out tiger hunting with his elephant and gun
In case of accidents he always took his mom
He's the all American bullet-headed saxon mother's son.
All the children sing
Hey Bungalow Bill
What did you kill
Deep in the jungle where the mighty tiger lies
Bill and his elephants were taken by surprise
So Captain Marvel zapped in right between the eyes
All the children sing
Hey, Bungalow Bill
What did you kill
Bungalow Bill?
The children asked him if to kill was not a sin
Not when he looked so fierce, his mother butted in
If looks could kill it would have been us instead of him
All the children sing
Hey, Bungalow Bill
What did you kill
Bungalow Bill?
ah the 60's mentality!
Let's all smoke some grass and be happy and the rest will fall into place man! Gimme a break, wake up and smell the roses.
ah
I do love me some White Album.
Go live someplace else for a while so you can appreciate this.
If tomorrow all the things were gone,
I’d worked for all my life.
And I had to start again,
with just my children and my wife.
I’d thank my lucky stars,
to be livin here today.
‘ Cause the flag still stands for freedom,
and they can’t take that away.
And I’m proud to be an American,
where at least I know I’m free.
And I wont forget the men who died,
who gave that right to me.
And I gladly stand up,
next to you and defend her still today.
‘ Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land,
God bless the USA.
From the lakes of Minnesota,
to the hills of Tennessee.
Across the plains of Texas,
From sea to shining sea.
From Detroit down to Houston,
and New York to L.A.
Well there's pride in every American heart,
and its time we stand and say.
That I’m proud to be an American,
where at least I know I’m free.
And I wont forget the men who died,
who gave that right to me.
And I gladly stand up,
next to you and defend her still today.
‘ Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land,
God bless the USA.
And I’m proud to be and American,
where at least I know I’m free.
And I wont forget the men who died,
who gave that righ
The rest.................
And I’m proud to be and American,
where at least I know I’m free.
And I wont forget the men who died,
who gave that right to me.
And I gladly stand up,
next to you and defend her still today.
‘ Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land,
God bless the USA.
Bow to your partner. Bow to the corner
There's a tear in my beer . . .
He fits the requirments
Reviewing this guys record, makes him a ideal candidate for this so called missionary group of thugs. More like a terrorist group if anything. What a pathetic group of disgusting thugs that make a great recruitment poster for Al-Qaeda. Shame on all of us for allowing these monsters to operate anywhere.
no weapon
I am not even going to comment on this particular situation but what I am going to say is it is amazing that any man would go into a war region and not be armed. I wouldn't.
Oh and by the way......
.....in war you kill your enemy. Innocent people get hurt, like in New York during 911, any of you pacifists remember that? They committed an act of war against us, delibertely targeted innocent people and now we are killing them like we are supposed to. The only people who matter over there are the Americans who risk their lives every day(and our allies). Now our govt allows criminal prosecution and civil suits from the very countries we are fighting wars in, bet the taxpayer is paying for that too.
Second Guessing
Our country has become rife with second guessers and so called experts. We expect our "civilized" way of thinking and subsequent actions to apply universally and in any situation. It is easy to sit back and question the acts of these Americans except that they were in a completely different environment than our soft society when this occurred. Prosecuting American combat troops and contractors for making split second decisions in volatile combat situations where seconds are the difference between life and death is ridiculous.
turn the military loose
to WIN these wars! We don't need another Vietnam. Our "so called cinc" either needs to lead our warriors to victory or get out of the way and do so now! And I am a Nam era vet.
really?
Then you should know better than to make such a silly comment!
I was really surprised while
I was really surprised while reading this news.I hope it will not happen to others.If I were in that situation,I really don’t know what are the instances and conditions that I will be put into.Anyway,on the other hand,here are news that some fans will be dismayed and be distraught of,The Simpsons nears its 450th episode, after 20 years on the air,not many want to acknowledge how good it was.Though its satire may not be as biting as South Park, everything about the show has been amazing since the get go. Certainly, few can really put forth that it isn't the most realistic depiction of what family life is really like.The length of programming exemplify the talent of Matt Groening, the voice actors, and also perhaps the greatest writing staff on television – though no one from the show will need a cash advance again thanks to syndication.
SO, JUST WHAT IS A MERCENARY ANYWAY?
MERCENARY defined: A hired soldier serving a C-O-U-N-T-R-Y other than his own, for profit. Since when did Xe clientele become NATIONS? Who do they protect? 18 billion gallons of toxic waste dumped by CHEVRON in Ecuador in an area the size of Rhode Island in 1993 threatens 30,000 indigenous peoples of 5 different tribes in an environmental disaster far worse than the Exxon Valdez. Nigeria supplies the U.S. with more oil than the Middle East yet CHEVRON's oil ops decimated former fishing communites and now bribes armed rebels to ensure the oil gets to market while 20,000 Nigerian villagers displaced in 2009 got no humanitarian aid and no journalists or human rights observers allowed. CHEVRON's CEO got $50 million in bonuses in 2008, boasting profits of $24 billion. CHEVRON in Burma funds a brutal military junta siphoning oil revenues & being stashed in Singapore as $4.8 billion diverted to a military regime (also in 2 banks in Singapore) with no economic benefit filtering down to the people - while also enduring violent acts of social injustice.