A Fort Hood soldier was arraigned Wednesday for a second time on charges related to his role following the 2023 death of his sergeant after a night of heavy drinking in on-post housing. (Rose L. Thayer/Stars and Stripes)
A Fort Hood soldier was arraigned Wednesday for a second time on charges related to his role following the 2023 death of his sergeant after a night of heavy drinking in on-post housing.
Spc. Rene Heber, 25, is charged with accessory to murder after the fact, accessory to manslaughter after the fact and obstructing justice in the death of Sgt. Alfredo Martinez, according to charging documents. He pleaded not guilty.
Spc. Nicholas Lowery was charged with murder and obstructing justice for Martinez’s death, according to court records. He pleaded not guilty, and his jury trial begins Jan. 5, according to the Army’s online court docket.
Martinez died from a gunshot wound in the early morning hours of Aug. 27, 2023, according to court records. The two soldiers initially told criminal investigators that Martinez shot himself. As investigators gathered evidence, they became skeptical and brought both soldiers in for questioning.
Lowery changed his story and told investigators that he shot Martinez. Heber told them this was not true and stuck with his original assertion that Martinez was responsible for his own death, according to court documents.
All three soldiers were assigned to the 1st Cavalry Division’s Sustainment Support Brigade.
At a preliminary hearing in August to determine whether Heber should face charges at a court-martial, Maj. John Architzel, the prosecutor, said the evidence in the case included an expert’s report stating the firing range of the weapon was too far to be self-inflicted. The expert believed the gun was fired from at least 3 feet away, he said.
Maj. ReAnne Wentz, Heber’s attorney, said at the August hearing that Heber’s story had never changed about what happened that night, and the prosecution had decided on a narrative and was now working to make the evidence fit.
The court-martial process has been complicated for both soldiers. Lowery’s case has gone twice to the Army Court of Criminal Appeals for the higher court to rule on decisions made on pretrial motions.
In the latest decision, released Oct. 10, the appeals court agreed with military judge Col. Joseph Venghaus that Heber’s statement contradicting Lowery’s can be used during the court-martial.
The first set of charges against Heber were withdrawn May 20, 2024, according to the online court docket. The new round included an additional assault charge for unlawfully pushing another soldier, a corporal, while detained in the Bell County Jail in February 2024. The corporal’s name is redacted from the charge sheet.
Heber is no longer in pretrial confinement. The 1st Cavalry Division, which prosecuted his case the first time, did not provide comment on why the charges were withdrawn. The Army’s Office of Special Trial Counsel is now prosecuting the case against Heber.
