Hearing set for men in soldier's death

FORT BRAGG According to the 82nd Airborne Division, the hearing, known as an Article 32 proceeding, is scheduled to start Friday.

Five soldiers are scheduled to appear in connection to the death of 27-year-old Pfc. Luke Brown of Fredericksburg, Va.

Two other soldiers will face a similar hearing Feb. 27.

Brown was an intelligence analyst who was found unresponsive July 20 in a car on Bragg. Investigators haven't released any details surrounding his death.

The seven soldiers were charged with involuntary manslaughter, which has a maximum 10-year sentence.

Division commander Maj. Gen. Curtis M. Scaparrotti will decide whether to convene a formal trial, or court-martial, for any or all of the soldiers after he receives the hearing officer's recommendation.

Division spokesman Master Sgt. Thomas Clementson said the hearing was expected to last several days.

The hearing, which is the military equivalent of a civilian grand jury.

The soldiers also face charges of conspiracy to commit battery.

The division identified the soldiers charged as Sgt. Christopher Mignocchi, 22, of Hollywood, Fla.; Sgt. Kyle G. Saltz, 25, of Richland, Wash.; Sgt. Justin A. Boyle, 28, of Rocky Point, N.Y.; Spc. Ryan Sullivan, 23, of Mount Laurel, N.J.; Spc. Joseph A. Misuraca, 22, of Harper Woods, Mich.; Spc. Charles B. DeLong, 24, of Dade City, Fla., and Pfc. Andrey Udalov, 21, of Brooklyn, N.Y.

The seven men are assigned to the division's Headquarters and Headquarters Company, as was Brown.

Boyle and Sullivan also are charged with communicating a threat, and Mignocchi and Udalov are charged with obstructing justice, the division said.

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