REUTERS/Maddie McGarvey
Navy SEAL Chief Special Warfare Operator Adam C. Matthews was sentenced to one year in a military prison for his role in the 2017 death of U.S. Army Green Beret Logan Melgar. Matthews pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit assault, unlawful entry, obstruction of justice, and violating a general order by committing hazing, The Washington Post reports. Matthews is the first of four U.S. service members to be sentenced in Melgar’s strangulation death. Matthews will also be demoted to special operator second class and receive a bad-conduct discharge that strips him of his medical benefits. Matthews also agreed to testify against his fellow Navy SEALs. “I am tormented by my complacency at a time when my teammates required my guidance and the situation required bold, corrective action,” he told Melgar’s family, who attended his sentencing. The Daily Beast first reported that Melgar’s fellow SEALs turned on him after he discovered they were pocketing money from an informant fund.