Hearing held to determine if sailor knew about break-in

NORFOLK

On Valentine's Day, sailors Devin Stoops, Josh Schmitz and Aaron Moore drank whiskey and vodka in the lounge of Landing Craft #1660.

Seaman Recruit Schmitz and Petty Officer 3rd Class Moore were on duty that night at Assault Craft Unit Two. Stoops, also a 3rd class petty officer, drove to Little Creek Naval Amphibious Base to hang out with his shipmates because his girlfriend had kicked him out of the house.

Stoops and Schmitz soon decided to break into the nearby gunner's mate's office and steal whatever weapons they could find, according to the two men's sworn testimony. "We grabbed everything," Stoops said from a witness stand on Friday, "and basically ran out quick."

How much Moore knew about the burglary is unclear. The Navy convened a preliminary hearing on Friday, known as an Article 32, to probe whether Moore conspired with the two sailors in the theft of four M-16s, a 9 mm pistol and ammunition worth up to $5,000.

Moore could face court martial, administrative punishment, or be cleared of charges as a result of the hearing. Moore's defense attorney, Coast Guard Lt. Bryan Blackmore, said Schmitz and Stoops concocted stories to spread blame to Moore.

Lt. Sean Thompson, trial counsel for the government, argued that Moore at least disobeyed orders and stalled the search for the missing weapons. Some of the weapons eventually were recovered in Baltimore and Miami; one automatic rifle remains missing.

Stoops and Schmitz testified that Moore served as a look-out during the theft.

By Stoops' account, sometime between 8 and 10 p.m. he scaled a dividing wall into the gunner's mate's office, unlocked the door and let in Schmitz. They discovered a cache of M-16s and ammunition.

Stoops and Schmitz loaded the loot into his 2001 Ford Expedition, Stoops testified. Stoops drove to the house of a friend, Petty Officer 3rd Class Marques Carter, and stashed the weapons. Carter has been charged with being an accessory to the crime.

Schmitz, who joined the Navy in 2005, said he has been before three captain's masts for alcohol-related infractions. At the time of the break-in, the Navy had begun proceedings to discharge him.

Louis Hansen, (757) 446-2322, louis.hansen@pilotonline.com