JOINT BASE LEWIS-McCHORD, Wash. - The staff sergeant accused of killing 16 Afghan villagers during nighttime raids last year is due to be arraigned Thursday at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.
Staff Sgt. Robert Bales could face the death penalty if he is convicted in the massacre last March. He faces premeditated murder and other charges in the attack on two villages.
Prosecutors say Bales left his remote base, attacked one village and then returned to the base before sneaking away again to attack another nearby compound. Of the 16 people killed, nine were children.
Bales, an Ohio native who later moved to Washington state, is being detained at Lewis-McChord.
