Jury finds Robins airman guilty of striking retired technical sergeant

A military jury found a Robins Air Force Base airman guilty Friday of striking a retired technical sergeant, who was his girlfriend at the time.

Jurors also found Charles Amos Wilson III, 28, not guilty of the other charges against him in the July 20, 2012, incident.

Wilson, a support member of the 461st Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, was convicted of striking retired Tech. Sgt. Denise Forrest with his hands when he became angry during an argument about a phone.

Forrest told jurors during a sentencing hearing that the incident had caused her fear, anxiety, nightmares and loss of sleep. In a military trial, the jury determines the sentence.

“I was robbed of my freedom, free will and peace of mind,” she said.

Forrest asked for justice in order to find closure and to help her transition from being a victim to a survivor.

Maj. Matthew Neil argued for the maximum penalty of a bad conduct discharge from the Air Force to send message that such conduct won’t be tolerated.

But Capt. Christine E. Kugele argued that the military has “already gotten their pound of flesh” because Wilson has been held in pretrial confinement for about 2 1/2 years. The maximum confinement sentence Wilson was facing was six months.

The jury, which in military terms is a court-martial panel, sentenced Wilson to six months of confinement and a reduction in rank from senior airman. Wilson received credit for time served.

Lt. Gen. Lee K. Levy II, the general court-martial convening authority in this case, is expected to review the verdict and sentence. He is the Air Force Sustainment Center commander at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma.

The weeklong military trial was the second of three courts-martial proceedings against Wilson.

In the first, a military jury found Wilson not guilty June 2 of felony murder and aggravated arson in the death of a friend in an alleged insurance fraud scheme. The jury also found Wilson not guilty of conspiracy, burning with intent to defraud and obstruction of justice.

A date for the third court-martial proceeding has not yet been set, said Roland Leach, base spokesman.

In the third court-martial proceeding, Wilson is charged with the premeditated murder in the fatal shooting of his fiancee, Tameda Ferguson, and her unborn child at her Dawson home in August 2013. He is accused of killing her for $1 million in insurance money.

Wilson may face the death penalty if convicted of premeditated murder.

This story was originally published June 10, 2016 at 7:22 PM with the headline "Jury finds Robins airman guilty of striking retired technical sergeant."