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A US soldier was sentenced on Monday to more than 11 years in prison for manufacturing and detonating a chemical weapon near a military facility in Louisiana.
Ryan Keith Taylor, 24, of New Llano, Louisiana, was sentenced to 135 months in jail for setting off an explosive device containing chlorine gas in the Kisatchie National Forest on April 12. last year.
Two investigators who inhaled the chlorine gas saw their military career end "effectively" after receiving several medical treatments, the federal authorities said. The reason for the detonation remains uncertain. Taylor pleaded guilty in court on June 11 earlier this year.
"Taylor produced and detonated a chemical bomb near Fort Polk, causing injuries to his comrades who reacted and investigated the incident," said Deputy Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers on Monday. . "Today's punishment holds Taylor responsible for his crime and makes it clear that we will not tolerate such conduct," he added.
The Fort Polk military police were called to investigate after three US Army soldiers who were training nearby heard the explosion and saw white smoke. Approaching the area, they found Taylor near his vehicle recording the detonation using a mobile phone. He claimed at the time that he was lighting firecrackers, the Associated Press (AP) reported Monday.
The main investigator at the scene filled a plastic bag with a rock covered with an unknown substance. But the bag jumped, leaving his gloves and boots melt. The person then began to have trouble breathing and burning their skin. A second investigator was also hospitalized after coming into contact with chlorine residues found during a search of Taylor's vehicle.
In a recent investigation, law enforcement officers discovered "notes, materials and chemical residues to make bombs" in the vehicle and Taylor's apartment, said on Monday. DoJ.
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Military investigator Joshua Farbro told Louisiana The American press (via NBC News) that the injuries he had suffered in the course of the case had ended his military career.
"In one day, I went from optimal fitness to 20% lung capacity at the age of 25," Farbro told the newspaper last month. "My military career was over and now I am told that I am too responsible from a medical point of view to be hired in any capacity. Everything for which I had worked so hard, for which I was given, was ripped off.
Farbro was forced to retire medically, The Washington Post reported.
David Joseph, a lawyer for the Western District of Louisiana, said, "Those who serve our country risk their lives every day to protect us. They must not be endangered unnecessarily.
"The chemical weapon created by the accused in this case is prohibited by international and national laws because of its terrible effects on the human body.I would like to thank our US, federal and local armed forces for their efforts at the justice ". The sentence Monday was released by District Judge Jay Zainey.
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