Fmr. Top Soldier Given Jail Time for Slugging Incident

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by ARLnow.com December 13, 2011 at 9:30 am 4,393 27 Comments

Gene C. McKinney, who served as Sergeant Major of the U.S. Army from 1995 to 1997, spent this past weekend in jail after pleading guilty to disorderly conduct and reckless driving, according to WTOP.

Last fall, McKinney was accused of hitting a man with his car along S. Eads Street in Pentagon City, following an argument. Police say the man, whom McKinney had picked up in a slug line, demanded to be let out of the car after McKinney started speeding and driving erratically on the highway. McKinney pulled off at Pentagon City and let the man out, but then struck him with his car, police said.

WTOP reports that an Arlington County Circuit Court judge sentenced McKinney to a year in prison on each charge, but suspended most of the sentence and credited McKinney for time served.

Steamboat Willie

Support the Troops!
Buck private

Likely he had the entire cell block fall in for calisthenics at dawn. Could be good for the health of our local criminals.
Clarendon Cruiser

This guy is an embarrassment to The Army Non-Commissioned Officer Corps. I think his ‘good buddy’ ticket has just run out.

How he was nominated to the top NCO position in the Army is beyond me.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gene_McKinney
- Ben
  
  Is it ironic that he was awarded a “Good Conduct” medal?
- KalashniKEV
  
  “How he was nominated to the top NCO position in the Army is beyond me.”
  
  Not touching that one…
  
  Everyone used to say that it was his brother that should have been SMA, and it was a clerical error. I guess he really was the evil twin…
CrystalMikey

About time this got resolved.
OX4

I’m pretty surprised we don’t hear more of these “slugs gone bad” stories.
- charlie
  
  i had a slug experience. guy said he would drop me at my office at 18/K. As we got to 18/Constitution he told me to get out. I protested that we weren’t any where near 18/K. He said that was it was just a few blocks. I got out. Always saw him looking for slugs and gradually no one would take him up on it. For months I told him where to stick his head.
Disgusted Vet

Run down a pedestrian? Get a suspended sentence.
Commit mortgage fraud? Get a bailout.
Serial marriages? Campaign on the sanctity of marriage.

And we wonder why the country is going to hell in a handbasket.
- Bluemontsince1961
  
  Ain’t that the truth, Disgusted Vet!
- Skeptical
  
  Apparently, once you reach a certain exalted station no one dares punish you for much of anything.
  - Bill Clinton
    
    Really?? You’re not married to my wife. But I do have to admit I skated pretty much on that whole perjury thing.
- BlueLoom
  
  +1
- drax
  
  “They gave me a medal for killing two men and a discharge for loving one.”
  - AllenB
    
    Great quote.
Rosemary Ciotti

Perhaps he would benefit from a thorough evaluation for PTSD
KalashniKEV

He would have gotten off if he was wearing his PT belt…
Mr. Clarendon

Honestly, slugging seems like a series of horror stories waiting to happen. Supersketch, to say the least. I’m surprised this is as bad of news I’ve heard about it to-date.
TGEoA

That’s All-State’s stand.
- CrystalMikey
  
  Don’t insult Dennis Hasbert.
Stillwell87

This disgusts me. Arlington seems to vary greatly in their sentencing. I hit a parked car, left a note, and after not hearing anything, notified the police. I was convicted of a hit and run for not staying at the scene. For that I was given 5 days in Arlington’s detention center. I did what many people consider to be the correct thing. And I certainly didn’t hurt anyone. Here is someone who obviously broke the law in several ways, caused someone bodily harm, and was, in general, aggressive. Yet, he serves a weekend, I serve 5 days.

I suppose those are the inequalities of our legal system.
- OX4
  
  It’s America’s famous two-tiered justice system. If you are “successful” and can afford the right lawyer, you are absolutely not subject to the same laws as the common folk.
  - Hattie McDaniel
    
    +1
- john
  
  that just sucks! You got penalized for doing the right thing. And … five days. My neighbor in Alexandria didn’t spend that much time for a DUI.
- CourthouseChris
  
  Wait, there’s got to be more to that. How long are you expected to stay “at the scene” of hitting a parked, unoccupied car?
  - Stillwell87
    
    I don’t know how long you’re supposed to stay at the scene of an unoccupied car, but yes, that’s it. It was an unoccupied car, and I have no criminal record. The main motivation for the prosecution going after a harsh sentence was the assumption that alcohol was involved. While that cannot be added to the charge, a hit and run to unattended property can be punished by up to one year in jail, as long as the damage surpasses $500. And hitting a BMW, even small dents can run up to that amount. While I wasn’t drinking, and could even prove that through witnesses who saw me around that time, Arlington goes after hit and runs of parked cars rather aggressively. I believe that’s probably because there are a lot of drunks who do hit cars and leave, and are never caught, especially around the Clarendon area.
- SouthArl JD
  
  The story said he got time served, not that he did no time. What people are forgetting is that they didn’t have access to all information about this case. There may have been mitigation such as mental health or medication issues or other factors. There may have been a monetary settlement with the slug. We don’t have all the facts here.

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