Army private who fled to North Korea will plead guilty to desertion

[Eugene]

Source: Associated Press

Army private who fled to North Korea will plead guilty to desertion

By ERIC TUCKER and LOLITA C. BALDOR
Updated 9:39 PM EDT, August 26, 2024

WASHINGTON (AP) — An Army private who fled to North Korea just over a year ago will plead guilty to desertion and four other charges and take responsibility for his conduct, his lawyer said Monday.

Travis King’s attorney, Franklin D. Rosenblatt, told The Associated Press that King intends to admit guilt to a total of five military offenses, including desertion and assaulting an officer. Nine other offenses, including possession of sexual images of a child, will be withdrawn and dismissed under the terms of the deal.

King will be given an opportunity at a Sept. 20 hearing at Fort Bliss, Texas, to discuss his actions and explain what he did.

“He wants to take responsibility for the things that he did,” Rosenblatt said.

-snip-

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/travis-king-army-north-korea-desertion-506d085782ca3611bf11ec254e799321

[OAITW r.2.0]

1. Why would he do that?

How mentally competent was he at the time of his actions?

[Irish_Dem]

2. Because he was being sent to Ft. Bliss to face court marital.

He had been involved in a drunken bar fight and had served two months in a South Korean jail for assault.
He had also assaulted an Army NCO. There were a raft of other charges against him.

So when at the airport to send him to Fort Bliss, he took off with a tourist group to get into NK.

This shows mental competence. If you can plan a desertion and figure out how to pull it off,
then this is not someone who is mentally incompetent.

[OAITW r.2.0]

3. Thanks for the context.

Sad...he went from being a fuck up, to being really fucked.

[Irish_Dem]

4. Yes this would be the summary of his case.