Prosecutors said Mays was angry and vengeful about failing to become a Navy SEAL and being assigned to deck duty, prompting him to ignite cardboard boxes on Jin the lower vehicle storage area on the vessel, which was docked in San Diego while undergoing $250 million in maintenance work.ĪP Fire crews spray water from the dock onto the side of the USS Bonhomme Richard, in San Diego, July 12, 2020. Boyle, that it "is committed to upholding the principles of due process and a fair trial." Prosecutors did not comment after the verdict. The ship's lower vehicle storage area "became a junkyard and I believe throughout this entire process the Navy was attempting to clean up their mess by accusing Seaman Mays of these allegations," Barthel told reporters.
Steve Koehler, former commander of the San Diego-based U.S. Barthel has said the judge in the preliminary hearing recommended against a court martial, but Vice Adm. Gary Barthel, a former Marine judge advocate who represented Mays at a preliminary hearing, said undercutting Velasco's credibility was key. Prosecutors presented no physical evidence during the nine-day trial that the sailor set the ship on fire, while the defense chipped away at the credibility of a key witness, Seaman Kenji Velasco, who changed his account over time. I've lost time with family, and my entire Navy career was ruined. "I can say that the past two years have been the hardest two years of my entire life as a young man," he said.
Outside the courtroom building, Mays read a brief statement to reporters and declined to answer questions. Ryan Sawyer Mays, 21, deeply exhaled when the verdict was read, put both hands on the defense table, broke into sobs and hugged supporters in the audience at Naval Base San Diego. SAN DIEGO - A military judge on Friday acquitted a sailor of arson in a fire that destroyed the USS Bonhomme Richard, a blow to the Navy as it faces allegations of improper training and maintenance of the $1.2 billion amphibious assault ship.
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