THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, July 13, 1994 TAG: 9407130401
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY KERRY DEROCHI, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 56 lines
The night before the destroyer Comte de Grasse was set to deploy, sailor Mark T. Jones walked into a Dunkin' Donuts, hoping to talk to a friend.
He sat at the counter for 30 minutes, as he usually did, chatting about the upcoming six-month deployment.
The friend, a clerk at the store, offered to watch Jones' car while he was gone.
She suggested he leave a key so she could drive the car once in a while.
That won't be necessary, Jones told her. He would be back in a couple of days.
``He told me he had thrown nuts and bolts and chains into the reduction gear of the ship,'' Barbara Tsipliareles testified Tuesday. ``I didn't believe him. It sounded too far-fetched, too risky for somebody to do.''
With those words, Tsipliareles provided prosecutors with their first link between Jones, a gas turbine mechanical specialist, and a tampering scheme that could cost the Navy $2.5 million.
Jones, 23, a petty officer third class from Detroit, is charged with the willful destruction of government property.
If he is convicted by a panel of eight officers and enlisted men, he could be sentenced to 12 years in prison.
The key evidence in the case, a rambling nine-page confession, was introduced by prosecutor Damian Hansen during Tuesday's hearing, the second day of Jones' court-martial at Norfolk Naval Base.
Defense attorney Greg McCormack contended the statement had been made under duress by a sailor who was desperate to get out of the Navy.
Tsipliareles, 19, the second witness called Tuesday, told the panel she had not paid much attention to Jones' tale until a few days later when she got a phone call from him asking her to pick him up at Norfolk Naval Base.
A friend overheard the conversation and told Tsipliareles that the Comte de Grasse had been unable to deploy as scheduled. Tsipliareles figured out what happened and called the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.
Agents acting on her tip arrested Jones on Jan. 18.
At first, Jones denied any involvement. But in an emotional confrontation that evening, Jones detailed how he had jammed plywood and thrown metal debris into the gear.
Jones told the agents he had done it to draw attention to what he saw as problems in the ship's command, and not to hurt anyone. Bolts, shackles and chains were found in the ship's main reduction gear, preventing the transfer of power from the engines to the propeller shafts.
Damage has been estimated at $650,000, which covers the cost of repairs that were made to get the ship running. That figure is expected to rise to $2.5 million if the ship's reduction gear must be replaced. by CNB