Forgery lands senior airman in jail

  • Published
  • By Capt. Simone Davis
  • 95th Air Base Wing Office of the Staff Judge Advocate
A senior airman with the 412th Operations Support Squadron was sentenced to 20 days confinement during a summary court-martial held here May 22. 

The Airman pled guilty to one charge and specification of forgery, one charge and specification of making a false official statement and one charge and specification of dishonorably failing to pay a debt -- all in violation of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. The offenses stemmed from a past due commercial loan payment the senior airman attempted to cover-up by forging documents purportedly from the lender. In addition to confinement, the senior airman was reduced to the grade of airman and sentenced to 10 days of hard labor without confinement. 

The function of the summary court-martial is for the prosecution of minor offenses against military personnel. The jurisdiction of a summary court is limited to enlisted members. For senior airman and below, the maximum punishment allowed is 30 days confinement, reduction to the lowest enlisted grade and forfeiture of two-thirds pay for one month. 

The sentence will be reviewed by the summary court-martial convening authority before final action is taken in the case. The summary court-martial convening authority has the authority to approve the sentence as adjudged or reduce the severity of any portion of the sentence based upon any pretrial plea agreements in effect, or any other consideration, if deemed appropriate. 

For more information on courts-martial, consult Air Force Instruction 51-201, the Manual for Courts-Martial or call the Legal Office at 277-4310.