THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, July 16, 1994 TAG: 9407160281
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY KERRY DEROCHI, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 62 lines
After four days of technical testimony on propulsion systems and engineering logs, the saga of who tampered with the destroyer Comte de Grasse ended Friday with an emotional plea from the sailor found guilty of the crime.
With his mother sitting behind him, petty officer Mark T. Jones begged a court-martial panel to spare him from the maximum 12-year sentence and give him a chance to start again.
``I just want to go home,'' the 23-year-old said, sobbing. ``I just want to start a new life. I want to be a part of my family.''
Jones got his wish.
After deliberating for 90 minutes, the panel sentenced Jones to 30 months in prison and gave him a dishonorable discharge.
``I think we are sending the correct signal to seaman Jones and the Navy,'' explained Capt. Richard E. O'Neal, the senior member of the panel. ``The bottom line is we looked at all the factors and came up with what we believed was fair.''
Jones, a gas turbine mechanic third class from Detroit, was convicted Thursday of dumping steel bolts, shackles and chains into the reduction gear of the Comte de Grasse, delaying the destroyer from deploying to the Mediterranean.
The sentence, announced at noon Friday, stunned Jones, the prosecutor and the defense attorney, who were expecting a much stiffer penalty. The sentence means Jones will likely stay in a Navy brig, rather than be transferred to a prison.
``I didn't think I'd be walking out with a smile on my face,'' said defense attorney Greg D. McCormack. ``I expected 10 years. I would not have been surprised if he had gotten 12.''
During a hearing Friday morning at the Norfolk Naval Base, McCormack urged the panel of eight enlisted men and officers to spare his client, saying he already had served six months while awaiting trial.
McCormack portrayed Jones' upbringing as turbulent and rife with family problems. His father died in a car crash when he was 1 year old. He was abused repeatedly by relatives.
``What good is it going to do to put this man in confinement for another day?'' McCormack asked. ``What's it going to accomplish? Your conviction is something he will die with. He will never evade it. He has one hell of a long road ahead of him and he needs help.''
But prosecutor Damian Hansen asked the panel to give Jones the maximum sentence, to send a message to enlisted sailors throughout the fleet. He said Jones had violated the trust essential to serving in the military.
``He betrayed his captain, his chief engineer, his chief, and, more importantly, the trust of his fellow junior enlisted,'' Hansen said. ``That trust has been shattered by this one man who tampered with the very equipment he was entrusted to maintain.
``This man has dishonored himself, he has dishonored his family, he has dishonored his rating, his ship and his Navy.''
KEYWORDS: COURT MARTIAL SENTENCE COMPTE DE GRASSE, U.S.S. by CNB