Two airmen at a Wyoming U.S. Air Force base have pleaded guilty to making false statements about the deadly shooting of a third airman. The incident prompted the suspension of Sig Sauer M18 pistol use at nuclear weapons sites for a month, the Air Force said in a statement Friday. Officials also revealed new details about the fatal shooting.
The gun pause by the Air Force Global Strike Command followed the death of Brayden Lovan, 21, in late July. The suspension was lifted in late August after Air Force officials determined the M18 pistol was safe to carry.
Lovan was an airman with the 90th Security Forces Squadron, 90th Missile Wing at F. E. Warren Air Force Base, located outside Cheyenne. Details about his death were released for the first time on Friday. According to the statement, the alleged shooter, Marcus White-Allen, had pointed the gun at Lovan’s chest in a “joking manner.”
After the shooting, White-Allen allegedly urged the other two surviving airmen to lie about what happened. White-Allen, who was arrested on suspicion of involuntary manslaughter and making a false statement, was found dead on the base on the morning of October 8. Air Force officials have not disclosed details surrounding White-Allen’s death, stating that it is still under investigation.
White-Allen served as a security forces member assigned to the squadron, CBS affiliate KGWN-TV reported. Efforts to obtain information from Laramie County Coroner Rebecca Reid were unsuccessful, with the coroner’s office declining to comment.
Airmen Sarbjot Badesha and Matthew Rodriguez each pleaded guilty this week to making false official statements related to Lovan’s death on July 20, according to the Air Force statement. Badesha was sentenced to 30 days in confinement and a forfeiture of $1,545. Rodriguez received 10 days in confinement, 15 days restriction to base, and a forfeiture of $500. Both also faced administrative demotions.
The two airmen initially reported hearing White-Allen’s gun discharge and then seeing Lovan on the ground. White-Allen allegedly told Badesha, “Here’s the story. Tell them that I slammed my duty belt on the desk and it went off.” He also allegedly instructed Rodriguez to tell emergency responders that his “holster went off.” Neither airman reported these statements at first, leading investigators to initially believe that White-Allen’s M18 had accidentally discharged.
While the Air Force Global Strike Command temporarily suspended the use of the M18, other U.S. service branches continued to use the pistol. The suspension coincided with ongoing lawsuits against Sig Sauer alleging that its P320 pistol can discharge without the trigger being pulled. The New Hampshire–based gunmaker denies these claims, maintaining that the pistol is safe and that any issues are due to user error. Sig Sauer has prevailed in some of these legal cases.
In a separate incident at the Wyoming base, another deadly shooting occurred weeks after Lovan’s death. In August, Airman First Class Jadan Orr allegedly shot a man inside a Cheyenne apartment, according to police and sheriff’s officials.
Orr, 20, and several friends had been drinking at the apartment for most of the night. Police reports state that Orr and two others went into another room where Orr began handling an AK-47 rifle. “While manipulating the firearm, Orr charged it and fired it through the wall into the living room, striking the victim in the torso,” police said.
Officers arriving on the scene found several people outside attempting to assist the 23-year-old victim, who died at the scene.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/airman-wyoming-death-alleged-shooter-pointed-gun-joking-manner-officials/