Lt. Col. Christopher Wood will not be tried by the State of Alabama for electronic solicitation of a child, however, he will still have his day in court.
Per Dale County District Attorney Kirke Adams, the state has dismissed all charges against Wood per the request of prosecutors for the United States Army. A jury of fellow Army servicemen will now try Wood against the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
“He was charged with 19 violations of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, including two charges that are identical to our present case,” Adams said. “They (the Army) asked us to dismiss our case to clear the way for their prosecution. Yes, the state charges have been dismissed. However, he is in serious business with the U.S. Army.”
The state charges against Wood have been “dismissed without prejudice” meaning the district attorney can bring them back in the future within the statute of limitations.
If convicted, Wood faces a minimum of 15 years in prison at the United States Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth, Kan.
Adams said the Army was very proactive in wanting to take over the case.
“We let them have it,” said Adams. “They are not usually overly aggressive, but they worked hard to get their ducks in a row. Because he is such a high-ranking member of the Army, they want the opportunity to prosecute.”
Attempts to reach Wood’s attorney for comment, Michael Fayard, were not returned.
Wood was arrested July 3, 2014 in an undercover operation conducted by the Daleville Police Department. Wood was reportedly exchanging sex-related text messages with whom he believed was a 15-year-old girl.
The undercover agent set up a meeting, and Wood was arrested by the DPD at the pre-arranged location in Clayhatchee.
During a grand jury hearing, Stephen Etheridge, Wood’s attorney at the time, stated the suspect had been reassigned to Fort Rucker from Maxwell Air Force Base for the duration of the case, and is currently residing on the installation.
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1 comment:
Philip Cave posted at 6:32 pm on Wed, Jun 10, 2015.
Small correction. The military does not have minimum sentences to confinement. The military has a sentence range from zero to a certain number of years. The military uses a unified sentence process, so it does not assign a number of years per offense. It would be accurate (although without seeing the charge sheet I haven't calculated it) to say that he is exposed to a sentence of zero up to a maximum of x years. He might get two or three, or around 10--it depends.