KANEOHE BAY, Hawaii — Three Hawaii-based Marines are in a military court to face accusations of hazing and beating a fellow Marine who later committed suicide in Afghanistan.
Sgt. Benjamin E. Johns, Lance Cpl. Carlos Orozco III and Lance Cpl. Jacob D. Jacoby face an Article 32 hearing, the military justice equivalent of a grand jury proceeding.
The hearing got under way Thursday at Marine Corps Base Hawaii at Kaneohe Bay, where the three are based.
The Marines are charged with "wrongfully humiliating and demeaning" 21-year-old Lance Cpl. Harry Lew, of Santa Clara, Calif., who committed suicide April 3.
Orozco and Jacoby are also charged with assault, for allegedly kicking and punching Lew.
The Marine Corps has said it does not tolerate hazing of any kind.
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