In fact, studies show that the conviction rate on penetrative-rape and forcible-sodomy charges is generally lower in military courts than civilian ones. During this time, and the months to come, Scanlon was represented by an SVC, or special-victims counsel, a military-appointed attorney. Ciolino said he feels the daughter's statement is an accurate reflection of what appears in the medical examiner's report. That was a crazy ethical mistake.. The death certificates say the two men were found about 3:30 p.m. Dec. 2, in the woods on Fort Bragg. Lavigne was due in Cumberland County District Court next week in connection with a hit-and-run charge from last February, the newspaper reported. . He maintains that Scanlon and Vallejo were witnessed in the act by people at the warehouse that night. On Sept. 30, he arrested Vallejo on a felony warrant for second-degree rape, second-degree sex offense, and sexual battery. Dumas was an Army veteran who previously served as the property . None are able to say why the shooting took place, but they all remember Lavigne. Vallejo didnt use any form of contraceptive. The Cumberland County Sheriff's Office told Connecting Vets that it will not release the police report itself, which was written by police Sgt. The body of Master Sgt. At the time the body was rolled no screw driver was found, the Medical Examiner's report states. We drank so much, she says. But the warehouse had no plumbing; there was only a portable toilet out back. It was standard practice at the time, Col. Kazin says. A news release from the FBI said investigators are looking to create a timeline of the locations and activities of Timothy Dumas Sr., 44, and Master Sgt. Most Delta Force soldiers keep a very low profile. Leshikar and Lavigne were also known to use cocaine, Leshikar's family said. Subsequently, the Army swapped out her SVC four separate times. Death certificates for Dumas and LaVigne state each died from gunshot wounds and were shot by an unknown assailant.. He was charged with a felony for allegedly harboring an escapee. Investigators ask that anyone with information about the deaths of LaVigne and Dumas call the FBI Charlotte office at 704-672-6100 or Army CID at 910-396-8777. the deaths of Master Sgt. After that, she put up no more physical resistance. His first deployment was to Mali, in 2007. It was very frustrating, Scanlon says, that all these people had waited till the last minute, then were trying to put the decision on me, when Im not a lawyer. Scanlon agreed to go on the record again, in greater detail, if you would be willing to reiterate that my perpetrator was Delta Force. His death certificate states his last place of residence was in Hope Mills. She filed a FOIA request for the transcript in 2019, and the Army gave her the trial record instead. Then, on Sept. 1, 2018, Lavigne was charged with felony harboring an escapee and maintaining a vehicle or dwelling to manufacture a controlled substance. This is a very secluded parcel, the fire marshal wrote in an email to the zoning department. She yelled something unintelligible before disappearing. But I have accepted this new path. Why they didn't do anything is because someone shit canned this whole thing very high up. Which is all I wanted to do: deploy with my soldiers. Out of fear that Vallejo [would try to] come looking for me, she wrote, she moved from Fayetteville to another small town nearby. A Defense Department memorandum based on the Cumberland County Sheriff's report revealed additional inconsistencies. The adjacent alley was full of junked cars. Scanlon realized that this was not going to stop, Matrafailo wrote, and gave up fighting back in the hopes that it would end quickly.. It was their annual Ride for the Fallen, a coast-to-coast convoy of ex-military bikers to raise money for wounded special operators, and the families of those slain in battle. It seems he crashed there from time to time. An Army memorandum states that Lavigne first alleged that Leshikar had killed himself, but then changed his account of what happened. Though attorney-client privilege normally protects the SVC-client relationship, Judge Nance found that Scanlon had waived the privilege by including the prosecution in the supposed conversation with her SVC. This is why people don't have any faith in the justice system, Ciolino continued. The trial record shows that the prosecution called only four more witnesses, half as many as the defense. According to a source who spoke to SOFREP on the condition of anonymity, Army investigators discovered that the truck belonged to 37-year-old William J. Lavigne II, an Army Master Sergeant. A toxicology report revealed trace amounts of Tramadol and Valium in Leshikar's system. A CID investigation reached the same conclusions as the sheriff's office, that Leshikar's killing was deemed justifiable. But the instructions to the jury show that the judge, Col. Jeffrey Nance, allowed the panel to consider Scanlons relationship with the staff sergeant insofar as it was probative of her motive, if any, to fabricate her allegations against the accused. The judge cautioned the panel that they were forbidden to conclude that Scanlon, having willingly slept with one enlisted man, was likely to do it again; but to use an old legal clich, that was a bit like throwing a skunk into the jury box and instructing the jurors not to smell it. Connecting Vets was provided screen shots of those charges and the court date. Fort Bragg officials announced that the Master Sgt. William J. Lavigne II, 37, and Army veteran Timothy Dumas deepens with the revelation that Lavigne was also involved in the death of Sgt. But Castro cant say when that investigation began, why Scanlon felt that her initial complaint had been dismissed, or whether the recordings she mentioned still exist. As soon as it concluded with an acquittal, the Army deleted the audio recordings. When Jane read that Lavigne had killed a man with impunity, only to be murdered in turn, I was trembling, she says, sitting out in the cold, chain-smoking. Just three months before he was called to the stand, in March 2018, at Lavignes house in Fayetteville, he had shot and killed his closest friend, a Green Beret named Mark Leshikar, with whom he had been drinking and doing drugs for days on end during a family vacation to Disney World. The trial began on a Monday morning. He took that and he always was the one who would protect people who were being bullied in school because he was a big man.. They even took his license plates off., Billy, we love you and will miss you, the Coast x Coast club posted to its Instagram page two days later. Lavigne and Vallejo were on an altogether different level, one rarely touched by scandal. Scanlon was not excluded from the proceeding, a spokesman wrote in a statement. Poppe does not find it remarkable, he says, that he simultaneously represented two members of the most elite military unit in the United States, one suspected of murder, the other accused of rape. Connecting Vets reached out to members of Lavigne's family for comment, but did not receive a reply by the time of publication. Lavigne and Sgt. This would have been in violation of regulations that prevent the military from excluding crime victims from the trials of their alleged perpetrators, and USASOC says it didnt happen. In his heart, he was all for defending people who could not defend themselves, his mother said about her late son. What the defense has to say, you dont want to hear. I was resolved to be stoic no matter what, because I knew I had stood up for myself as much as possible. Then, just before the opening arguments were scheduled to take place, military lawyers from Fort Bragg intervened. The wars that Delta Force had been on the bleeding edge of since 2001 had deteriorated into lost causes, but the special-operations forces had completed their takeover-from-within of the military, becoming the paramount force in the Pentagon, with the most political clout in Washington. Vallejo is a notable exception. Ms. Scanlon claims that Vallejo raped her that night, and says that the trauma still haunts her to this day. Its the first time during many hours of interviews that she has lost her composure, and I can understand why. There have not been any arrest(s) and we are not releasing any additional details at this time, Shelly Lynch, a spokeswoman for the FBI in Charlotte, said in an email this week. I know this was specifically Delta Force, but its like this across the whole of USASOC, using an acronym for the U.S. Armys Special Operations Command. At the time Lavignes path crossed Scanlons, his cocaine habit was firmly established, but he remained a team member in good standing on Delta Force, and still had a clean arrest record in Cumberland County. With Leshikar and Lavigne dead, there remains only one witness to the killing: Leshikar's daughter. The Coast x Coast Foundation raised $450,943 in tax-free contributions from 2016 to 2020, according to IRS records. All of his questions were directed at Scanlons honesty and candor, he says. Among some operators, the result can be an unhealthy sense of entitlement, in the words of a Special Operations Command internal ethics review made public in 2020. I dont see how anyone could have believed that consensual sex occurred there., When she finished using the toilet and opened the door, she was startled to find Vallejo standing right there. "The shooter's own words bury his ass because there is no screw driver. The trial record shows that Vallejos defense called eight additional witnesses. A Defense Department memorandum noted that Lavigne wasn't credible but Leshikar's death was in the line of duty, while the Cumberland County Sheriff's Office described it as "justifiable homicide." Leshikar's family has alleged evidence was tampered with and that Lavigne called another Delta Force Operator to come to the scene. He started kissing me, and I was pushing him away. The next morning, she told the guy she was dating at the time that his buddy had raped her, but he didnt believe her, she says. The three Delta operators who had been at the warehouse that night took the stand, as did the retired bomb technician, the two civil-affairs officers, and the dancing bartender, as well as the red-haired widow. The bullet fragments under the carpet tell you this guy was shot while he was laying on the carpet incapacitated, he said. The charges were dropped when authorities determined he was not involved in the criminal activity, Cumberland County District Attorney Billy West told The Fayetteville Observer at the time. Now she demands answers, Illustration by Mike McQuade for Rolling Stone, Former Army Capt. That would have been enough, Poppe argues, to spook Scanlon into making a false accusation of rape, lest word get out and she be reprimanded for fraternization. In a motion dated June 12, the defense stated that one of the civil-affairs officers was expected to testify that she had observed close, friendly, and flirtatious interaction between Vallejo and Scanlon all night. Next came back-to-back tours in Iraq. Poppe says he cant recall the substance of Lavignes testimony, but discloses that after the court-martial concluded, he took him on as a client, too. What happened next remains disputed by the family members of both men, but the medical examiner's report reveals some details. Only afterwards did I realize I didnt stand a chance.. So Leshikar's death remains in conflict. The military had kept it quiet, though. William LaVigne II, 37, and Army veteran Timothy Dumas, 44. Youre lucky Im the Army, she told him jokingly, setting her phone and purse on the folding table. First Class Mark. As a result, she says, she had to retell her ordeal to five different SVCs, some of whom were unprepared or missed meetings. Spouses, children, grandchildren, and on and on.. But he was in JAG for 20 years and has represented such high-profile military clients as Maj. Nidal Hasan, the Fort Hood shooter, and is unable to recall another time when a JSOC operator was arrested for a violent felony against a fellow soldier on U.S. soil, as was the case for both Lavigne and Vallejo. Created in the late 1970s in the image of the British Special Air Service (SAS), Delta Force has been at . In the event of a terrorist strike, international hostage situation, or loose nuclear weapon, its Delta or Team 6 that the president will call on to respond. The Army never made a transcript of the court-martial, and destroyed the audio recordings as soon as it concluded, leaving no record of the testimony the witnesses gave, the arguments the lawyers made, or the judges oral rulings. Werent there plenty of people you could have called out to? Scanlon and Vallejo both continued to live in Fayetteville and work on Fort Bragg. Leshikar's daughter said that William or Uncle Billy was scaring her, and unlocked the door for her father to enter, Leshikar's family said. Rolling Stone is a part of Penske Media Corporation. The nurse took swabs from Scanlons vagina and cervix, and collected as evidence her soiled underwear. As to any potential discharge, were not able to comment due to Privacy Act protections., When Connecting Vets reached out to CID on Fort Bragg regarding the deaths of Leshikar, Lavigne and Dumas, spokesperson Christopher Grey said: All I am releasing is it is a homicide investigation. When Scanlon learns that the audio was destroyed, she unexpectedly breaks down in tears. Efforts to reach these people by phone were unsuccessful. She passed a covered motorcycle trailer with a looming portrait of a slain Delta Force soldier printed on the side. She was the first witness called to the stand, on day one. Do Delta Force operators have a license to kill? The prosecution did not call Matrafailo, the Fayetteville detective who had investigated Scanlons claim, interviewed witnesses while their memories were fresh, collected evidence before it disappeared, and concluded by arresting Vallejo for second-degree rape. (U.S. Army) Dumas was scheduled to appear in Forsyth County District Court on Dec. 17 for charges of breaking and entering, communicating threats and impersonating a law enforcement officer, according to court records. After speaking with a chaplain, she met with her units SARC, or sexual-assault response coordinator, who took her to meet with agents from the bases Criminal Investigation Division. In 2018, after a drug- and booze-filled bender, Lavigne (left) shot and killed his best friend, Leshikar (right), in front of their two young daughters. Besides Scanlon, the only people who testified for the government were Tina, the staff sergeant, the nurse who did the rape kit, and the friend who encouraged Scanlon to go to the police. Leshikar's family allege evidence was tampered with and that Lavigne called another Delta Force Operator to come to the scene Credit: Facebook. It is a lot for a jury to make a decision like that, she says. The staff sergeant had invited her over to his house earlier in the evening, but she and Tina hadnt wanted to leave the party. Because of societal prejudices toward womens sexuality, and the potential for abuse, rape shield laws, including Military Rule of Evidence 412, generally block defense attorneys from bringing up an accusers sexual history at trial. On Dec. 2, 2020, Master Sgt. William J. Lavigne II, 37, was one of two men found dead Dec. 2, in a training area on Fort Bragg, N.C., the Army said. The Special Forces of the U.S. Army are based out of Fort Bragg, as is the powerful and secretive Joint Special Operations Command, making this spot, inland of the Eastern Seaboard, the central node in the United States global special-operations complex. Delta Force, and deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq. The Cumberland County Sheriffs Office investigated and declared the death justifiable homicide.. She said that this friend got in his vehicle and was driving to Lavigne's house to help sort things out when he allegedly got a second, frantic phone call from Lavigne saying he had killed Leshikar. In February 2019, Lavigne had another brush with the law. Its possible that it was expunged, a clerk tells me. He spent 20 years in the most secretive and elite unit in the U.S. military, the U.S. Army's Delta Force. Jane was once deployed to a country in Southwest Asia and was stationed on the same base as a contingent from Delta Force. Which is why he became a Green Beret and why 'De Oppresso Liber' meant everything to him because that was who he was to his core.. He literally picked me up off the ground, and my shoes fell off., He set her on the flaking hood of a defunct Saab convertible that was sunk in tall weeds. She lives a very different life and has no contact with the elite soldiers who had been her colleagues, friends, and lovers for the better part of a decade. Training program helps transitioning service members build their VA careers, 2 US Army helicopters crash in Alaska, killing 3 soldiers, Japanese Breakfast's Michelle Zauner tells Glennon Doyle she is 'afraid of her mental health', Half million PACT Act claims have been filed at VA as budget battle looms, Honoring survivors of military sexual trauma. He was investigated in 2018 after fatally shooting his friend, Sgt. As a criminal profiler, Ciolino has investigated and exonerated death row inmates. William Billy Lavigne II, whose violent life and cryptic death in the woods outside of Fort Bragg I wrote about for Rolling Stone last year. According to the Leshikar family, the investigators said they had no real jurisdiction over Lavigne since Leshikar was killed off post. They said Lavigne's harboring a fugitive felony charge could be used to kick him out of Special Forces and discharge him from the military. William J. Lavigne Wiki - William J. Lavigne Biography. Investigators are seeking to create a timeline of. Nances legal reasoning may have been sound, but it still resulted in a rape counselor providing testimony against her own client at trial, a result that another judge might have bent over backward to avoid. He denies that Lavigne was ever into dealing any sort of narcotics. LaVigne also was involved in other Cumberland County cases that never resulted in charges, records show. Over those five years, it paid out grants totaling $187,143. Additional abrasions were found on his left hand and both knees. Calls to Cumberland Country Sheriff's Office detectives to ask specific questions about the investigation went unanswered and the Sheriff's Office did not respond to requests for further comment. Because I had been in for 18 months. . Poppe says there was no connection between the two cases. This was 37-year-old William Lavigne III, a Master Sergeant and former 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta (aka Delta Force) soldier. Over the course of 18 months between 2020 and 2021, more than 80 military members stationed at the base died from "sudden" and. What the prosecution has to say, you already know, she remembers the SVC telling her. Someone tampered with the crime scene or he's lying," said Paul Ciolino, president of the International Association of Forensic Criminologists, after reviewing documents from the case. The girl then mimicking how her father collapsed to the floor. Anything other than you saying yes or asking for it is not consent, her friend replied. They belonged to members of the Coast x Coast motorcycle club, made up of active-duty soldiers on Delta Force, a classified manhunting unit that is the Army component of JSOC. It had been, in retrospect, a dark period in her life, she says, a damaging, booze-soaked run of years in her twenties. Theres no doubt that he was charged in Cumberland County, yet strangely, there is no trace of his arraignment or indictment in a publicly accessible database of North Carolina court records. !For Educational Purposes Only! Both Vallejo and Lavigne were exonerated. Anecdote, family member was [redacted] group, got recruited to Delta, turned them down. My (biased) experience, too. The offense was aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, a class E felony that could have landed Lavigne in prison for years, but as usual, he wasnt charged with a crime. Mr. His truck, a black quad-cab Dodge Ram, was found some 40 miles away, in Scotland County, burned to a fucking crisp, according to his 24-year-old son. (U.S. Army) Like Lavigne, Dumas had ties to the Special. It is the last house in a quiet cul-de-sac on the backside of a neighborhood about 20 minutes away from Fort Bragg. Though open to the public, no reporters were in the courtroom. It was on a public docket, so people can go look it up, says Col. Kazin; however, it was not necessarily on everyones radar.. She only met him and Vallejo that one night in her life. The warehouse is three blocks from police headquarters, but a spokesman for the Fayetteville PD denies knowing anything about the place, and had no relevant incident reports pertaining to the address. A review of his uniform and decorations shows he was likely assigned to. The case is being investigated as a homicide, a spokesperson for Army Criminal Investigations Division told Connecting Vets. The second man, whose name was not disclosed, was an army veteran previously stationed at the North Carolina military base. Did it disappear or melt? When questioned about the apparent inconsistencies in the Army's investigation and the Cumberland County Sheriff's investigation, USASOC spokesmen Col. Tage Rainsford said: It is my understanding that the CID investigation of MSG Lavigne came to the same conclusion as the Cumberland County Sherriffs Office in that it was justifiable and no charges were filed. Right as Scanlon and Tina walked into the crowded barbecue joint and beer hall, Vallejo stopped them, tried to flex, laughed, and walked away, Tina would later recall to a Fayetteville detective. The Armys destruction of records means that she will never know what was said in her absence at trial.
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