E-3 faces drug-related manslaughter charge - Navy News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Navy Times

E-3 faces drug-related manslaughter charge

A sailor accused in connection with the drug-related death of a recruit last summer is facing a court-martial this week on manslaughter charges.

The death was one of three heroin-related deaths among sailors or recruits near Naval Station Great Lakes, Ill., last year.

Gas Turbine Systems Technician (Mechanical) Fireman Justin McMurrin, 26, is charged with manslaughter, wrongful use of drugs, conspiracy, obstruction of justice and failure to obey an order, said Ken Cronk, a spokesman at Great Lakes.

McMurrin is accused in connection with the death of 20-year-old Machinist’s Mate Fireman Recruit James Stephens of Weatherford, Texas. Stevens was found dead outside a motel July 20, 2008, near Great Lakes, Cronk said.

Autopsy reports showed Stephens consumed a lethal combination of heroin, cocaine and anti-anxiety medication.

The trial at Great Lakes began Monday.

McMurrin and Stephens graduated from boot camp together in April 2008, Navy records show.

McMurrin is assigned to the Center for Naval Excellence Learning Site at Great Lakes. He advanced to E-3 in December, Navy records show.

Navy officials have declined to provide further information about McMurrin’s case.

Richard Keller, the coroner for Lake County, Ill., said the area surrounding Naval Station Great Lakes, about one hour north of Chicago, saw a spike in heroin-related overdoses last year, probably due to increasingly high-quality heroin that appeared on the black market.

Other heroin-related deaths from Naval Station Great Lakes included Seaman Recruit Owen Martinez, 18, who died March 3, 2008.

In Martinez’s death, local prosecutors in Illinois have charged 24-year-old Kelton Lewis with drug-induced homicide and the case is pending in state court, according to Lake County prosecutor Stephen Derue.

Damage Controlman Fireman Apprentice Michael Falzone, 24, died June 7, 2008, in a heroin-related incident, according to the Naval Station Great Lakes base newspaper.

Heroin is not a major drug among sailors. Opiates, which includes heroin, account for less than 7 percent of drug tests that turn up positive, according to Navy officials.