Ga. soldier gets life without parole in slaying he claimed was triggered by crash diet

FORT STEWART, Ga. (AP) A Georgia soldier who claimed a crash diet drove him to kill a superior has been sentenced by a court-martial to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

A military jury sentenced Staff Sgt. Rashad Valmont on Friday, a day after convicting him of premeditated murder in the June 2010 slaying of Master Sgt. Pedro Mercado at Fort Gillem outside Atlanta.

Valmont's attorneys say they'll appeal his conviction.

Valmont and Mercado both served in a medical administration unit of the Army Reserve stationed at Fort Gillem outside Atlanta.

After four days of testimony, jurors ultimately rejected Valmont's defense that he was dehydrated and delirious after a different supervisor ordered him to shed 3 percent of his body fat in a dangerously short period. His fiancée testified he skipped meals and put in extra hours at the gym and sauna, pushing his body to exhaustion.

"This case was a tragedy because it was completely preventable," said Tim Bilecki, one of Valmont's civilian attorneys. "We believe the command really broke this soldier."

Two days after receiving written orders to drop the weight, Valmont left his work cubicle to retrieve a Glock handgun he kept in his car. He walked into Mercado's office and shot him six times as a coworker watched in horror.

The coworker, Anthony Williams, testified that he asked Valmont why he'd shot Mercado. He said Valmont replied: "I'm tired of him. (Expletive) him."

Prosecutors did not immediately reply to an email seeking comment. During the trial, they argued that Valmont was exacting revenge for poor performance reviews by his supervisors. Coworkers testified he'd been working earlier in the week on a rebuttal of his most recent evaluation. Mercado had also recently denied his requests for leave and vacation time.

After the shooting, Valmont left the building without harming anyone else and drove to a nearby police station. Prosecutors said he told officers while turning himself in: "I just shot someone at Fort Gillem."

Mercado, 47, was slain as he planned to retire after 30 years in the military, including deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. His family says he had made arrangements to begin work as a consultant.

This story was originally published July 29, 2011 at 6:29 PM with the headline "Ga. soldier gets life without parole in slaying he claimed was triggered by crash diet."