Fort Jackson’s Brig Gen. Mildord Beagle Jr. has ordered disgraced army drill sergeant Jonathan Pentland to face a civilian court instead of a military court.
Pentland was captured on video shoving a Black man inside his South Carolina gated community.
The commander said he trusted the justice system would bring a “fair resolution” and will leave his case to the civilian criminal court system because he does not want to “interfere” with the matter, the Daily Mail reported.
Pentland faces a third-degree assault and battery charge from the incident in which he told the young Black man who was walking past his house, “You came to the wrong neighborhood mother****r.”
If the sergeant is found guilty, he faces up to 30 days in prison/jail and up to a $500 fine.
Pentland, who is also white, was suspended from his duties as an instructor at the Fort Jackson base and was assigned to administrative duties as he awaits the fate of the criminal case.
“While I have the authority to take action under the Uniform Code of Military Justice or take other administrative actions, I have the utmost confidence in our civilian criminal system and trust that it will reach a fair and just resolution of this case,” Beagle said.
‘I do not want to take any actions now that could interfere with the fair resolution of civilian criminal charges,’ he added. The commander also slammed Pentland’s behavior last week, saying, ‘Soldier conduct on and off duty must be exemplary to retain the trust of our communities and our nation.’
Twitter, I’m told this super douche lives in The Summit in Columbia, South Carolina. If you recognize him, please DM me — I want to make sure the name I have is accurate before I blast it all over social media. pic.twitter.com/LYAVzL2FaE
— Angry Staffer 🌻 (@Angry_Staffer) April 13, 2021
