Boise 'kill team' soldier sentenced to seven years

JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. – A young Army private from Boise has been sentenced to a maximum of seven years in a military prison for murder and other crimes while deployed to Afghanistan. Private First Class Andrew Holmes admitted to shooting an unarmed 15-year-old Afghan boy.

Prosecutors say the killing was staged to make it look like Holmes and his team leader, Jeremy Morlock, were under attack. After the sentencing, Holmes' father Forest said his son has the chance now to rehabilitate himself.

"Andy has a lot of remorse for what he did," he said. "He had a very short amount of time to make a life-changing decision, he regrets the decision he made but he made that decision and he's owned up to his responsibility for that."

The judge in the case at first sentenced Holmes to 15 years, but his time behind bars is capped at seven years because of a deal with prosecutors. Holmes will also get a dishonorable discharge from the Army.

His team leader, Morlock, previously pleaded guilty to three murders. A total of five Washington-based soldiers were charged in connection with killing unarmed civilians while deployed in 2010.

Copyright 2011 Northwest News Network