TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. (KGTV) - A fifth U.S. Navy corpsman could face charges in connection to the death of another corpsman in a shooting that happened on a SoCal marine base.
A corpsman is a type of medic.
In a major development, the military confirmed that the fifth Navy corpsman could be charged in connection to the death of fellow corpsman HM3 Michael Vincent De Leon in a shooting at the Twentynine Palms Marine Corps base, located northeast of San Diego.
The fifth corpsman's name will not be released until his preliminary hearing which is when the court will decide whether to charge him.
In March, ABC 10News reported that four other corpsmen were officially charged in connection to the death, including HM1 Ryan Dini, HM2 Sterling Wold, HM2 Jesse Humes and HM3 Mason Williams who is the youngest of the group at 23-years-old. He had a motions hearing on Friday.
The victim's family has said that their son captured Snapchat video about an hour before he was shot to death during a going-away party with other corpsmen at a house on the base.
The prosecution has said that the corpsmen were drinking and dry-firing guns before a fatal round was fired.
The victim's family alleged a coverup after ABC 10News confirmed through sources with close military ties that their son's death was being investigated as a homicide, not a suicide, like they said they were first led to believe.
The preliminary hearing for the fifth corpsman was supposed to happen next Monday. On Friday, it was pushed back to June.
