Deseret Morning News (Salt Lake City)
Copyright 2007 The Deseret News Publishing Co.
FORT BENNING, Ga. — An Army medic pleaded guilty Tuesday to the shooting death of a fellow soldier in Iraq during a night of heavy drinking.
Spc. Chris Rolan, 23, initially was charged with premeditated murder in the Nov. 16, 2005, death of Pvt. Dylan Paytas, 20, while the two were serving with Fort Benning’s 3rd Infantry Brigade in Iraq. He pleaded guilty to unpremeditated murder and other charges under a deal with prosecutors.
The two soldiers had been arguing at Camp Warhorse in Baqouba, Iraq, when Rolan shot Paytas four times with his Army-issue 9 mm pistol, according to witness testimony.
Both were assigned to a combat team that helped lead the 2003 charge to Baghdad. Rolan, of Albuquerque, was in the 18th month of his second tour in Iraq at the time.