CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa — A Marine charged by Okinawa police with trespassing and theft has been turned over to U.S. military custody, according to a Marine spokeswoman.

Sgt. Paul E. Woodman, 30, assigned to Headquarters and Service Battalion, Marine Corps Base Camp Butler, was arrested last Saturday in Naha by Okinawa police on suspicion he walked into a Ginowan home Oct. 23 and stole a set of keys.

At the time, Marine officials said Woodman was listed under deserter status for an unauthorized absence that exceeded 30 days, according to Staff Sgt. Suki Forbes of the Marines’ Consolidated Public Affairs.

He was released by Okinawa police after they forwarded the charges to the Naha Public Prosecutor’s Office. Japanese court indictment on the charges is pending.

Okinawa police routinely return American servicemembers charged with minor offenses to military custody pending trial. Woodman, who faces military charges, is being held in the Joint Services Brig on Camp Hansen, Forbes said.

South Korean commanders punished

SEOUL — The South Korean military has relieved the commanders of the platoon, company and battalion responsible for patrolling a section of the Demilitarized Zone where holes were discovered in the fenceline last week.

According to the Ministry of National Defense, division and regimental commanders responsible for the area were referred to a disciplinary board.An investigation team which recommended the punishments said it found “loopholes” in the patrolling of the area, but would not elaborate, citing national security.

FED mourns longtime employee

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Far East District is mourning the loss of a longtime employee whose military and government service spanned more than 40 years.

Thomas L. Knipper, 62, died Oct. 27 of a heart attack, officials said, and was memorialized Wednesday at South Post Chapel.

According to FED officials, Knipper served 23 years in the Army, retiring as a master sergeant in 1982. The next year, he returned to South Korea as a civilian employee. He began working for FED in 1984.