Green Beret wants murder case dropped after investigator found guilty of stolen valor

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Photo credit Photo courtesy of Staff Sgt. Brian Ragin

An investigator on Green Beret Maj. Matt Golsteyn's murder case has been charged with stolen valor — so Golsteyn wants the case dropped. 

Army Sgt. 1st Class Mark Delacruz, an Army Criminal Investigation Command agent on Golsteyn's murder case has been charged with "intent to deceive" — he claimed he earned a Purple Heart and falsely wore a Combat Action Badge. Now, Golsteyn's lawyer has filed a memo that demands the murder case go straight to trial or that the charges be dismissed. 

RELATED: Retired JAG: "Massive distortion" in Green Beret murder case narrative

"Ironically, [Delacruz] bragged about losing his Special Forces Tab for an alleged bad shoot in combat," Golsteyn's lawyer Phil Stackhouse wrote in the memo. This is the same allegation made against Golsteyn. 

Golsteyn is facing murder charges after killing an alleged Taliban bomb maker in Afghanistan in Feb. 2010. He recently defended his actions and sharply criticized Army investigators for how they portrayed his case in a two-hour interview with  The Washington Post. 

RELATED: Green Beret facing murder charge defends action, criticizes Army

The case originally came to light when Golsteyn disclosed in a 2011 polygraph test that he shot the Afghan man — and then an Army Criminal Investigation Command investigation was launched in 2011. Golsteyn was charged by the U.S. military with premeditated murder in December 2018.  

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