Witness: Sailor was in area where fire started on US warship

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SAN DIEGO – A cardinal witnesser successful the Navy's lawsuit against a inferior sailor accused of mounting the occurrence that destroyed a U.S. warship past twelvemonth testified Tuesday that helium is definite that helium saw the fishy successful the country wherever the flames ignited, but acknowledged changing the relationship helium initially told investigators.

Petty Officer 3rd Class Kenji Velasco blamed his nervousness for the changes to his communicative and said successful subject tribunal during a preliminary proceeding that helium was present “100 percent" definite that helium saw the suspect, Ryan Sawyer Mays, descend to the ship’s little conveyance retention country connected the time of the fire. Mays, 20, was a seaman apprentice astatine the clip and has since been promoted to seaman.

Another sailor, Carissa Tubman, who was assigned to escorting Mays to the brig connected Aug. 20, 2020, testified that she heard a stunned Mays mumble to himself: “I'm guilty, I guess. I did it." Then she said helium mumbled immoderate much earlier she heard him say: “It had to beryllium done."

Defense attorneys said helium was joking and speaking sarcastically aft being amazed that helium was being locked up.

Mays has denied igniting the blaze that burned for astir 5 days connected the USS Bonhomme Richard successful July 2020, injuring dozens of unit aboard and sending acrid fume wafting implicit San Diego. It marked 1 of the worst noncombat warship disasters successful caller memory. The amphibious battle vessel was damaged truthful severely that it had to beryllium scuttled.

Mays is charged with aggravated arson and the willful hazarding of a vessel. The proceeding that started Monday is expected to wrapper up Wednesday erstwhile the defence is expected to telephone its witnesses to the stand. The proceeding volition find whether determination is capable grounds for the lawsuit to proceed to a subject trial.

Defense attorneys challenged respective of the government's witnesses astir their accounts fixed to investigators a twelvemonth ago, aft respective of them recalled details otherwise oregon not astatine each during the hearing.

About 160 sailors and officers were connected committee erstwhile the occurrence started connected the 840-foot (256-meter) vessel, which had been docked astatine Naval Base San Diego portion undergoing a two-year, $250 cardinal upgrade.

Investigators concluded that cardboard boxes successful the little conveyance retention were ignited, and the blaze rapidly dispersed successful the country cluttered with forklifts, hoses, pallets, and different instrumentality utilized by contractors.

Officials assessing the ship’s harm recovered 3 of 4 occurrence stations connected the vessel had grounds of tampering: Fire hoses had been disconnected and 1 was cut, according to tribunal documents.

Defense lawyer Gary Barthel said thousands of contractors were coming and going from the vessel astatine the time. Some were caught smoking connected committee successful usurpation of the rules, and determination was a occupation with brass parts being stolen, and contractors cutting hoses.

Barthel said determination was a roster with 12,000 contractors but “there was nary mode to show who went connected and disconnected the ship."

Navy prosecutors person alleged that Mays did it due to the fact that helium was “disgruntled” aft dropping retired of Navy SEAL grooming connected the 5th time and being assigned to the ship's platform duty, which mostly progressive cleaning the vessel.

Velasco and 2 different sailors, including his superior, testified Tuesday that Mays was combative, disrespectful and had a mediocre attitude.

Mays' lawyers grilled Velasco astir not naming Mays arsenic the idiosyncratic helium saw until much than a week aft the fire. Initially, Velasco told investigators helium did not admit the idiosyncratic helium saw that greeting and said whoever did it did not beryllium to his platform department, which Mays did.

Velasco besides contradicted himself astir whether helium saw Mays straight oregon from the broadside and astir what clip helium saw Mays descend to the area.

He agreed with a defence lawyer that helium was told by investigators astatine 1 constituent “you conscionable support flip flopping around" truthful they did not cognize what had happened.

But Velasco said things became much wide successful his caput aft helium thought astir them more.

“I conscionable wanted to marque definite it was him that I saw," Velasco said.

Mays has insisted helium was connected the ship’s hangar bay erstwhile the occurrence started. Mays attorneys said nary carnal grounds ties Mays to the crime, and they said astatine slightest 1 different sailor saw different idiosyncratic tally retired of the little country that morning.

Investigators said they looked into him and were capable to verify that helium had near basal earlier the occurrence started. They said they besides did inheritance checks and interviewed scores of contractors.

Federal researcher Al Porter said Mays stood retired for his hatred of the fleet and his tendency to get backmost to SEAL training.

“I was benignant of shocked astatine however descriptive helium was astir his disdain for it (the Navy),” helium said.

Porter, a erstwhile SEAL, said helium caught Mays successful lies portion interviewing him Aug. 20, including exaggerating his SEAL grooming experience.

Mays told him the ramp was the lone mode retired of the little area, though aboriginal erstwhile helium toured the charred vessel with Porter and different researcher helium admitted helium had utilized a ladder successful a good to get retired of the area. The investigators had recovered the hatch to the good had been near unfastened aft the fire, indicating idiosyncratic had gone done determination to flight unnoticed.

After Mays was interviewed by investigators, the bid ordered him to the brig.

More than 60 sailors and civilians were treated for insignificant injuries, vigor exhaustion and fume inhalation.

Dozens of Navy officials, including respective admirals, look disciplinary enactment for systematic failures that investigators said prevented the blaze from being enactment retired sooner, according to investigators.

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