I will keep fighting to put my life back together. His dad and I divorced when he was not even a year old so he kind of stepped into those shoes as the protector. Around the same time, he went on a cross-country ride with the Coast x Coast motorcycle club, starting out of Los Angeles and bound for Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. Master Sergeant. First Class Mark. from 67] house in Fayetteville, he had shot and killed his closest friend, a Green Beret named Mark Leshikar, with whom he had been drinking and doing drugs for days on end during a family vacation to Disney World. He was not a quiet professional, she says, using a term that special-operations generals came up with in the 1980s to describe themselves, and since repeated endlessly in the news media. William Lavigne and Timothy Dumas were found dead at a training site on Fort Bragg, North Carolina. The Army missed another chance to rein in rogue elements in Delta Forces enlisted ranks in 2018, after Lavigne killed Leshikar in a drug-fueled altercation that was proof positive of something rotten in the state of Special Forces. More than she questions Vallejos acquittal or the jurys decision, Scanlon simply wants to know what happened at the court-martial. Its possible that it was expunged, a clerk tells me. Why didnt you tell anyone about the witness that came around the corner? she remembers him asking. William J. Lavigne II and Timothy Dumas, a veteran previously stationed at the post, were found dead at a training site on the base Wednesday afternoon. She felt the implication was clear: Obviously youre a liar.. He spent 20 years in the most secretive and elite unit in the U.S. military, the U.S. Army's Delta Force. Special Forces soldier found dead next to Army vet at Fort Bragg The main one came back and said, Because it occurred in Fayetteville, we cant help you.. Tom Satterly Click hereto sign up for our weekly newsletter. Sometimes it happens and sometimes it doesn't happen. This is not how I wanted my time. As Jane puts it, They did what they wanted when they wanted, and wouldnt take no for an answer.. Now, he is telling his stories to help other veterans. The death certificate lists LaVignes cause of death as multiple gunshot wounds. Ms. She still didnt know that Vallejo was an active-duty soldier, much less that he was on Delta Force. The warehouse is three blocks from police headquarters, but a spokesman for the Fayetteville PD denies knowing anything about the place, and had no relevant incident reports pertaining to the address. Im not doing this., She remembers being pinned against the grille of a vehicle, Vallejo putting his hands up her dress, into her underwear, and penetrating her with his fingers. I only recently learned about Lavignes July 2020 arrest from a police report that the sheriffs office initially withheld. Part of Audacy. USASOC declined to comment based on concerns about privacy, but pointed out that a police investigation and a line of duty report have different burdens of proof. Maybe I wasnt clear enough, she texted a girlfriend at 8:59 a.m. on Sept. 12. Guys like Vallejo and Lavigne are constantly told that theyre the elite, the best of the best, the ultimate badasses, and when it comes to killing and capturing people overseas, they are. Timothy Dumas, Sr. and Master Sergeant William Lavigne Iii Nances legal reasoning may have been sound, but it still resulted in a rape counselor providing testimony against her own client at trial, a result that another judge might have bent over backward to avoid. Leshikar's family alleged that Lavigne was never administered a toxicology screen to test him for alcohol or narcotics in his system following the shooting. Special Forces soldier found dead at Fort Bragg killed a Green Beret Law enforcement later told Leshikar's family that they had found a screw driver, not at the scene of his death, but outside near his car where he had been removing the battery. Seven soldiers face charges after Fort Bragg trooper's - Reddit On March 21, 2018, at his Anhinga Drive home, LaVigne shot to death his friend, Army Sgt. Court documents state that Dumas broke into an apartment in Walkertown with the intent to terrorize and injure an occupant of the building, on April 11, 2020. Soldier and veteran found dead at Fort Bragg had longtime ties to the Ultimately, both CID and the sheriffs office determined there was no criminal culpability.. Sometimes it only happens because someone with a dog in the fight gets involved. She only met him and Vallejo that one night in her life. Fort Bragg deaths of Special Forces soldier, veteran remain unsolved My (biased) experience, too. Connecting Vets is not naming the Delta Force operator as attempts to contact him were unsuccessful, and he may still work on sensitive assignments. William F. Garrison: Retired Major General. I was too scared to go to stores, the gym, and other crowded places. In September 2021, almost 20 years to the day that he joined the Army, he held a retirement party in Colorado, where he now lives, not far from where he began his military career, at Fort Carson. William told me that my brother had a screw driver but nothing was found at the scene, Leshikar's sister told Connecting Vets. At the time the body was rolled no screw driver was found, the Medical Examiner's report states. He was charged with a felony for allegedly harboring an escapee. Joseph Morman, Scanlon says. William Billy Lavigne II, whose violent life and cryptic death in the woods outside of Fort Bragg I wrote about for Rolling Stone last year. That is not accurate, a spokesman for Army CID, Jeffrey Castro, writes in a statement. A news release from the FBI in February stated that the bodies of the men were found near a Fort Bragg training area. He returned the phone to his wife Laura days later saying he found it between the driver's seat and center console of Leshikar's car. For good reason: The person or persons who killed Lavigne and Dumas remain at large. On the back patio, they are standing around a red tent with the Coast x Coast logo, drinking beer, chatting at the bar, and smoking cigarettes. Years of proximity to military violence, as well as a culture of functional alcoholism and casual sex, left Jane feeling unworthy, damaged, and lost. Jane has dated multiple men on Delta Force at various times in her life. First Class Mark Leshikar . PART OF AUDACY NEWS. He was addicted to Tramadol and self-medicated with . That August, two investigators, Maj. Brent Goodwin and Arthur Chancellor from CID, paid a visit to the Leshikar family. But neither ABC News nor the Observer named Vallejo, and ABC only mentioned in passing that the alleged rapist was a member of Delta Force. However, documents say that Leshikar's wife Laura spoke with him that day and he sounded lucid to her. It turned into some sort of wrestling match, but what the argument was about remains unclear. The special operations community was rocked this week when the bodies of MSG Lavigne, a decorated Special Operator and Delta Force member, and Timothy Dumas an Army veteran were found in a . It seems he crashed there from time to time. Its unclear if he ever returned to Delta Force or what he did for his last three years in the military. If you felt that 1LT Scanlon was sexually assaulted, why was she not taken to the hospital as soon as possible? another asked the staff sergeant. !For Educational Purposes Only! The 100 Greatest TV Shows of All Time, Vallejo, dressed in camouflage cargo shorts and a T-shirt, was tall, lean, strong, and fiercely handsome, with a black beard and shaggy brown hair much longer than most soldiers get to wear. She filed a FOIA request for the transcript in 2019, and the Army gave her the trial record instead. He started kissing me, and I was pushing him away. 1st Class Mark Leshikar. You get everyone in for a forensic interview, get emails, social media and everything else in the next 48 hours. In addition, according to USASOC, the court reporter deleted the audio. Most Delta Force soldiers keep a very low profile. William J. Lavigne II and Timothy Dumas, a veteran previously stationed at the post, were found dead at a training site on the base Wednesday afternoon. I was with them for years, constantly, she says. DELTA FORCE' S DIRTY SECRET - PressReader I knew him, Joe says of Lavigne. Since learning of Lavigne's death, Leshikar's daughter has opened up about it, saying she was previously afraid Lavigne would kill her mother if she spoke of it, Rick told Connecting Vets. Hes at home, doing work shit. Thats all hell say about Coast x Coasts founder and CEO. William Lavigne was the sixth witness for the defense, the trial rec-ord shows. He literally picked me up off the ground, and my shoes fell off., He set her on the flaking hood of a defunct Saab convertible that was sunk in tall weeds. But he couldnt really explain why the Army waited 16 months to intervene on the eve of the trial, rather than let civilian justice take its course. I would refer you to CID for anything having to do with any of their investigations. LaVigne and Dumas were each scheduled to appear in court on unrelated cases in December and January, according to court records. The 37 year old deployed 14 times and was a member of the Delta Squad, an elite special operations force which of course necessitates a wide variety of skills and training to join. I dont see how anyone could have believed that consensual sex occurred there., When she finished using the toilet and opened the door, she was startled to find Vallejo standing right there. Each year, they hold a string of events in California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, North Carolina, and Virginia, where they sell merchandise, take donations, and raffle off items such as bottles of wine printed with portraits of fallen Delta Force soldiers, concealed-carry holsters, and pistols painted in the colors of the American flag. As I wrote in The Fort Bragg Murders, Lavignes dozen-plus deployments to Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, and elsewhere had left him addled with trauma and addicted to hard drugs and alcohol. According to Vallejos enlistment-record brief, obtained by Rolling Stone, he was born in California and joined the Army shortly before 9/11, when he was 19. Its like someone didnt want him to talk. She adds, Im scared to say words like this out loud.. He was a really good mentor that I looked up to, she tells me recently. A Defense Department memorandum based on the Cumberland County Sheriff's report revealed additional inconsistencies. His truck, a black quad-cab Dodge Ram, was found some 40 miles away, in Scotland County, burned to a fucking crisp, according to his 24-year-old son. Anything other than you saying yes or asking for it is not consent, her friend replied. Scanlons SVC her fifth discouraged her from attending, she says. First Class Mark Leshikar were best friends. A news release from the FBI said investigators are looking to create a timeline of the locations and activities of Timothy Dumas Sr., 44, and Master Sgt. Billys about to be questioned, or face some sort of retribution. Vallejo didnt use any form of contraceptive. There is no screw driver here, that is enough to go DEFCON 4 on this. They lived like there was no tomorrow., The relentless physical drive that she describes is part of what made these men the very best at what they did. LaVigne also was involved in other Cumberland County cases that never resulted in charges, records show. There is zero respect for women in that community, she says. She Asked the Army to Investigate a Rape Trial. They Fired Her She described Scanlons general demeanor as tearful.. It was a fundraiser to honor five slain Green Berets, hosted by some SF guys, Tina texted. He was fatally shot in March 2018 by Army Delta Force member William J. Lavigne, his best friend, who was known as "Billy" to Leshikar's family. Soldier and veteran found dead at Fort Bragg were BOTH 'being Scanlon was not excluded from the proceeding, a spokesman wrote in a statement. The jury would have been able to see from her dress blues that, in stark contrast with Vallejo, she was a rookie officer in a conventional unit. Do Delta Force operators have a license to kill? Green Beret - Reddit Im not a police officer. Army records show Dumas served in the Army as a property accounting technician from November 1996 to March 2016, separating as a chief warrant officer 3. For her part, Scanlon tried hard not to show any emotion in public, and accepted the jurys July 2018 decision with stoicism. He learned to read and understand Arabic, but could not speak it. Between the summer of 2018 and the fall of 2020, Lavignes behavior became increasingly erratic and dangerous. Going around chatting with people like a politician.. He was brought down to the sheriff's office the day he killed Leshikar, and a Delta Force member came to pick him up, according to Leshikar's family. Erin Scanlon wants to go on the record again so that her alleged attacker is identified as Delta Force. An Uber driver started toward the warehouse at 2:50 a.m., according to screen shots of the app that Scanlon gave police. St. Louis man telling stories of his thousands of 'capture or kill Investigators ask that anyone with information about the deaths of LaVigne and Dumas call the FBI Charlotte office at 704-672-6100 or Army CID at 910-396-8777. the deaths of Master Sgt. He was host of the event at Macs that night. Connecting Vets was provided screen shots of those charges and the court date. On March 17, Leshikar called his sister, Nicole Rick, to wish her a happy Saint Patrick's Day. They only stayed that long because Tina was famished and there was a Crock-Pot of food on a folding table.