Two Marines suspected in wild horse shootings discharged from Marines

Scott Sonner

Tuesday, Feb. 23, 1999 | 8:21 a.m.

RENO, Nev. - Two Marines accused of shooting 34 wild hores have been given the equivalent of a dishonorable discharge despite protests of one suspect's lawyer that they are innocent until proven guilty.

Lance Cpls. Darien Brock, 20, and Scott Brendle, 21, were discharged last week while awaiting a May 19 preliminary hearing in the criminal case in Nevada, The Associated Press learned Monday.

"The killing of these animals was a despicable act that represents not the Marine Corps, but a complete rejection of our core values of honor, courage and commitment," Maj. H. W. Frank said in a Feb. 16 letter from Marine headquarters in Washington.

"These acts are completely unacceptable and are not tolerated in the Marine Corps," he said in a copy of the letter obtained by the AP.

The discharges - formally listed as "other than honorable" - came as a surprise to both suspects, who maintain their innocence, a lawyer for one said Monday.

"It's unfair because they haven't been tried," said Jerry Polaha, a Reno defense lawyer for Brock.

"Everybody pays lip service to the presumption of innocence, but nobody follows it," he said.

Brock, Brendle and Anthony Merlino, 20, a Reno construction worker who attended a Reno high school with the two Marines, are accused of slaughtering more than 30 horses with high powered rifles just east of Reno on Dec. 27.

Most of the mustangs were shot multiple times. Several tried to limp away from the scene and a few injured horses lived another day or two before authorities discovered them and destroyed them humanely.

The shootings stirred emotions nationwide and animal activists quickly raised a $35,000 reward for the capture and conviction of the horse killers.

Last month, a Connecticut-based group urged the Marines to conduct their own investigation and court-martial Brock and Brendle.

"There should be no place for such malicious cruelty in the United States Marine Corps," said Priscilla Feral, president of Friends of Animals.

Maj. Frank, assistant head of the military law branch of the Marines Corps' Judge Advocate Division, disclosed the discharges in the Feb. 16 letter to Feral that arrived Monday.

"Based upon the available evidence," the former commanding officers for the two Marines recommended they be "administratively separated from the Marine Corps under other than honorable conditions," Frank said.

Maj. Gen. Michael W. Hagee, commanding general of the 1st Marine Division, concurred and discharged both "based upon the commission of a serious offense," Frank said.

The three men face up to 15 years in prison if convicted on charges of theft, larceny and killing another person's animal.

Each is free on $60,000 bail and scheduled to appear at a preliminary hearing in Storey District Court in Virginia City on May 19.

Brock was based at Camp Pendleton, Calif., and Brendle at Twenty-Nine Palms outside Los Angeles. Prosecutors say they were back home in Reno on holiday leave when the horses were shot.

Brock said in an interview with a San Diego TV station last month that he saw his two friends shoot one horse, but he said there were no other shootings while he was present.

John Ohlson, a Reno lawyer representing Brendle, said Monday he was aware that his client had been discharged from the Marines but had no comment.

Polaha said neither Brock nor Brendle admitted any guilt to the Marines. He said neither agreed to the discharges.

"They were just told this was happening to them," Polaha said, adding it's possible Brock will seek an appeal through military channels.

"If we get vindication in the criminal case and he still wants to be a Marine, we'll see what we can do about it," Polaha said.

Except for the fact it is handled administratively, the "other than honorable" discharge is the same as a dishonorable or bad-conduct discharge ordered as a result of a court martial, said 1st Lt. Eric Dent, a spokesman at Camp Pendleton.

"They are equivalent. You rate very little," Dent said. "You don't have to be convicted to be administratively separated.

"We are a very small organization so every Marine who is not in his unit training is a hole we have to fill. ... The bottom line is, it is the commander's decision. He makes the decision with the given information at the time."