A Virginia Beach-based petty officer will spend nearly four years in confinement after pleading guilty late last month to negligent homicide and other charges in connection to the death of a shipmate, according to Navy officials and court records.
Prosecutors charged Aviation Electronics Technician 3rd Class Kyle A. Osborne with several offenses last year related to the October 2018 death of Aviation Machinist’s Mate Airman Apprentice Trevor A. Bailey.
Bailey fell from a moving pickup truck driven by Osborne at about 1 a.m. on Oct. 28, 2018, after leaving an apartment complex near Naval Air Station Oceana, officials said.
The 20-year-old died at the scene.
Virginia Beach Police Department spokeswoman Linda Kuehn told Navy Times after the incident that Bailey had jumped into the bed of the pickup and was on its roof when the truck started moving.
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“The driver of the vehicle slowed to a stop as it came to an intersection, causing Mr. Bailey to be thrown from where he was sitting, ultimately landing on the pavement,” Kuehn said.
Both men were assigned to the Fleet Readiness Center Mid-Atlantic at the time.
Osborne pleaded guilty on July 28 to negligent homicide, drunk driving and obstruction of justice charges as part of a pre-trial agreement, according to Navy spokesman William Vergakis.
The petty officer’s negligent homicide charge involved him unlawfully killing Bailey “by driving a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol and in a negligent manner,” according to his charge sheet.
An obstruction of justice charge to which Osborne pleaded guilty involved him telling police that “my wife left our apartment in my truck to get cigarettes, and when I came outside I saw the truck stopped and my friend on the ground and ran to him and my wife,” the charge sheet states.
Under the pre-trial agreement, Osborne pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter, drunk and disorderly conduct and adultery charges, Vergakis said.
In addition to 45 months’ confinement, Osborne was sentenced to a dishonorable discharge and reduction in rank to E-1.
Osborne’s civilian attorney, Eric Leckie, did not respond to requests for comment.
Geoff is the managing editor of Military Times, but he still loves writing stories. He covered Iraq and Afghanistan extensively and was a reporter at the Chicago Tribune. He welcomes any and all kinds of tips at geoffz@militarytimes.com.
