Animal group wants Marine inquiry into shooting of wild horses

RENO, Nev. -- Animal rights activists want the U.S. Marine Corps to launch its own prosecution of two Marines accused of slaughtering 34 wild horses with high-powered rifles in Nevada.

"The crimes are reprehensible because of their sheer savagery," said Priscilla Feral, president of Friends of Animals, in a letter to the Marine Corps commandant. "There should be no place for such malicious cruelty in the United States Marine Corps."

The two Marines and a high-school friend face up to 15 years in prison if convicted in civilian court of theft, larceny and killing another person's animal. They were arrested earlier this month in the Dec. 27 slayings just east of Reno.

Friends of Animals, a group based in Darien, Conn., that helped raise a $35,000 reward for the killers' capture, wants the Marines prosecuted under the Uniform Code of Military Justice as well, and drummed out of the Corps if convicted.

"The Marine Corps is esteemed for its extremely high degree of discipline," Feral said in a letter this week to Gen. C.C. Krulak. "If the inquiry finds evidence that the two Marines were indeed involved in the massacre, they should be prosecuted by Court Martial."

Krulak had no immediate response at Marine Corps headquarters in Quantico, Va. But a Corps official at Camp Pendleton, Calif., said Wednesday there were no immediate plans for an independent inquiry.

"Until the investigation is complete on that end, it would be premature to talk about anything that might occur on this end," Staff Sgt. Lesli Coakley said from Camp Pendleton, where one of the Marines is based.

"They have been turned over to civilian authorities. We will continue to cooperate fully," she said.

Lance Cpl. Scott Brendle, 21, based at Camp Pendleton, and Lance Cpl. Darien Brock, 20, based at Twenty Nine Palms, went to high school in Reno with the third suspect, Anthony Merlino, 20, a Reno construction worker.

Merlino was arraigned Jan. 15 and is free on $65,000 bond.

Brock was being held Wednesday at the San Diego County Jail and Brendle at the Morongo Basin Jail in San Bernardino, each in lieu of $65,000 bail. Both remain on active duty.

Brock and Brendle have waived extradition and are expected back in Nevada for their arraignments Monday in Virginia City. Storey County District Attorney Janet Hess said she's confident neither will be allowed to return to their bases until the civilian investigation is complete.

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