Las Vegas Review-Journal August 3, 2005
Arraignment in shooting delayed
Iraq War veteran charged with murder, attempted murder must wait two weeks
By Keith Rogers and Frank Curreri
HAn arraignment for a 20-year-old war veteran charged in a double shooting was postponed Tuesday for two weeks.
Army Spc. Matthew Sepi, charged with murder in the shooting of Sharon Jackson and attempted murder in the shooting of Kevin Ratcliff, is held without bail at the Clark County Detention Center.
Sepi told homicide investigators he fired at the strangers early Sunday after they yelled at him and the man fired a handgun at him in an alley near Las Vegas Boulevard and Sahara Avenue. Ratcliff disputes Sepi's account.
"We did speak with Mr. Ratcliff, and he claims that he was the victim in the whole thing," police Lt. Tom Monahan said.
Police seized an assault rifle from Sepi's vehicle and found a 9mm handgun at the crime scene, as well as three spent casings for a 9mm gun. Police are checking whether the gun belonged to Ratcliff.
Sepi has said in police reports that he was walking through the alley on a beer run, but authorities have not divulged what Jackson and Ratcliff were doing in the alley after 1 a.m. Sunday.
Sepi's military records kept at the Army Human Resources Command in St. Louis show he received eight medals and decorations, including the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Global War On Terrorism Expeditionary and Service medals, the Overseas Service Bar and the National Defense Service Medal. He is listed as a rifle sharpshooter.
Sepi entered the Army on May 15, 2002, and was assigned in October that year to Rifle Company A of the 1st Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team of the 4th Infantry Division.
He served in Kuwait and Iraq from April 2003 to March 2004. According to globalsecurity.org, a defense and intelligence policy organization, about 4,000 members of the 4th Infantry Division's 3rd Brigade Combat Team were spread across nine forward operating bases in a 15,000-square mile area around Balad Air Base, north of Baghdad.
After serving with Rifle Company A, Sepi transferred on Oct. 4, 2004, to the 4th Infantry Division's 1st Battalion, 68th Armor Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team. He was then assigned to garrison support at Fort Carson, Colo., on Feb. 8, 2004, and later transferred to the Individual Ready Reserve following active duty on May 14 this year.
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