The petty officer charged with attempted murder and two counts of aggravated assault with a dangerous weapon in the 2014 stabbing of a fellow sailor will appear at an Article 32 preliminary hearing Aug. 31 aboard Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia.
Electronics Technician 3rd Class Wilbur Harwell is accused of stabbing Master at Arms 2nd Class Justin Powell eight times in the barracks adjacent to the Navy Exchange at Naval Support Activity Hampton Roads, Portsmouth Annex. The medical center was placed in locked down for more than eight hours as Navy, local, state and federal law enforcement agencies huntedsearched for Harwell in June 2014. He was arrested without incident at a Virginia Beach hotel. Harwell was later transferred to Navy custody and detained at Naval Consolidated Brig Chesapeake to await prosecution.
Powell, an eight-year vet and native of Sarver, Pennsylvania, sustained knife wounds to the chest and neck. He underwent emergency surgery at Naval Medical Center Portsmouth. His last duty station was Navy Operational Support Center in Pittsburgh, where he was assigned during recovery, said David Todd, spokesman for Navy Region Mid-Atlantic Region.
Much like a civilian preliminary hearing, Harwell's Aug. 31 appearance at the Article 32 will allow preliminary hearing officer Lt. Cmdr. Paige Ormiston to consider the form of charges and make a recommendation to the convening authority, Rear Adm. Rick Williamson, commander of Navy Region Mid-Atlantic, who will decide whether to take the case to court-martial. Harwell's defense team is comprised of Coast Guard Lt. Nicholas Smith, and civilian counselor Greg McCormack, who was hired by the defendant. Trial counsel is Lt. Cmdr. Courtney Lewis, judge advocate general's corps.
Harwell served aboard the frigate Elrod from July 2011 to November 2013, when he reported to Naval Medical Center Navy Hospital Portsmouth. The Alabama native was assigned to Norfolk's Transient Personnel Unit on Feb. 5, 2014.
Powell was assigned to Assault Craft 4 Shore Detachment, Norfolk, at the time of the stabbing. He previously served with Coastal Riverine Squadron 4, in Virginia Beach, from March 2012 to June 2013; Construction Battalion Maintenance Unit 202, in Norfolk, for one year starting in December 2010; and Strike Fighter Squadron 32, in Virginia Beach, from March 2008 to September 2010.
Federal agents approach the Navy Exchange at Naval Support Activity Hampton Roads, Portsmouth Annex, in Portsmouth, Va., during a manhunt following a stabbing at the Exchange last year.
Photo Credit: Martin Smith-Rodden/AP
