A Mississippi-based Navy senior chief was convicted last week for being absent without authorization from his unit for nearly two weeks.
A military judge sentenced Senior Chief Construction Mechanic Luis H. Garcia to a letter of reprimand and a fine of $2,000 after a court-martial panel found him guilty of leaving the Seventh Naval Construction Regiment from Sept. 27 to Oct. 9, according to court records.
His Navy attorney, Lt. Cmdr. Michael Collett, declined comment.
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Garcia was acquitted of several other charges at trial, including allegations of sexual assault and disobeying superiors, according to court records.
Before the Sept. 8 sentencing, Garcia had been held in pretrial confinement for 335 days.
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.
