Japan Press Weekly

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2012 November 21 - 27 [US FORCES]

String of US servicemen’s arrests shows ineffectiveness of curfew

Three U.S. personnel were arrested in just two days despite a curfew imposed on all U.S. servicemen in Japan, showing that the U.S. curfew is ineffective.

On November 23, Okinawa Police arrested Luis Fernandez, a 27-year-old marine assigned to the U.S. Futenma base in Okinawa, for drunk driving.

He rear-ended a car of a Japanese woman at around 7:30 a.m. Receiving an emergency call, police officers rushed to the scene and detected alcohol in the 3rd class sergeant’s breath exceeding standard levels.

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Kanagawa Police on November 23 arrested a 23-year-old crewmember of the U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier George Washington at around 3:15a.m. on suspicion of public indecency.

Allegedly, Oscar Hayes Wiygul, a 2nd class petty officer stationed at the U.S. Yokosuka base in Kanagawa, was walking around completely naked inside a comic cafe in Yokohama City.

Police said he was drunk at the time of the arrest. Wiygul admitted urinated in the shop but denied being naked.

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A 20-year-old marine was arrested on November 22 at around 2:15p.m. for trespassing at a building in Uruma City in Okinawa.

Camp Courtney-affiliated Gregory Carson, private 1st class of the U.S. Marine Corps, admitted to entering the building just for fun, police said.

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The Okinawa prefectural government on November 22 announced that one U.S. soldier deserted from the U.S. Futenma base.

An official of the Okinawa authorities said that they obtained the information through the foreign ministry. According to the official, the deserter reportedly ran away in early November and seven servicemen have already gone over the hill since July 2008. The whereabouts of three deserters are still unknown.

The official exhibited a sense of distrust in the U.S. military by saying, “I cannot help questioning the degree of supervision over and discipline among U.S. military men.”

Related past articles
>Another drunken US marine arrested [November 19, 2012]