CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa — The court-martial of a sailor who pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges of solicitation and conspiracy to commit murder continued Thursday on Camp Foster.
Petty Officer 2nd Class Sheila Daniels, with White Beach Naval Facility, is accused of asking a Marine she knew to be a gang member to kill her husband’s pregnant girlfriend during the summer of 2005.
Marine Sgt. Michael Avinger testified Thursday that Daniels knew he was a high-ranking Crips gang member and asked him to arrange the death of then Staff Sgt. Christine Miller, who has since moved to North Carolina.
A Naha District Court judge recently sentenced Avinger and Darian Daniels to eight years confinement for robbing and cutting the throat of another American in October 2006, in a case unrelated to the charges against Sheila Daniels.
“She said something along the lines of ‘I want you to have her taken care of — knocked off,’” Avinger told the court Thursday.
Sheila Daniels then took the witness stand in her own defense and said she didn’t know that Avinger or her husband were gang members. Avinger “had a passion for me,” but she was not interested in him, she said.
The defendant said she felt threatened because menacing cards were being mailed to her house and someone was calling her at work and would hang up or a female voice would call her names. Daniels said her husband told her it was probably Miller.
However, Daniels said, she never contacted Miller and said she never asked Avinger to kill or hurt Miller.
The court-martial was to continue Friday.
