An Army judge has scheduled Sgt. Quornelius Radford to face a court-martial June 15 after Radford pleaded guilty to some charges stemming from shootings at Fort Stewart, Georgia, last summer, according to an Associated Press report. Radford’s plea hearing took place last week, and the judge then set the date for trial this summer on the remaining charges. The case centers on an incident at Fort Stewart on Aug. 6, when five co-workers were shot and wounded.
At the plea hearing, Radford told the judge that he used a personal handgun to shoot four fellow soldiers in his supply unit at Fort Stewart on Aug. 6, following an argument with his romantic partner, a civilian who was among the victims. The report said bystanders disarmed and restrained Radford before police arrived, and that the judge proceeded after Radford’s plea to schedule the court-martial for June 15.
The Associated Press report said Radford pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and domestic violence, with WTOC-TV reporting the terms of the plea. After the judge accepted the guilty pleas to those charges, the judge scheduled Radford to stand trial this summer on the remaining charges of attempted murder. The report described the remaining counts as awaiting adjudication at the court-martial set for June 15.
The report also said defense attorneys had previously told the judge that Radford planned to plead guilty to two counts of attempted murder. Instead, Radford disputed that portion of the case during an earlier proceeding on March 31, telling the judge he was not guilty of the attempted-murder charges and saying he had no intent to kill anyone.
In testimony described by the report, Radford said he fired at his co-workers hoping he would be killed in a shootout with military police. The report did not say the court accepted that account for the attempted-murder charges that remain scheduled for trial.
Fort Stewart, located about 40 miles (64 kilometers) southwest of Savannah, is the largest Army post east of the Mississippi River and is home to thousands of soldiers assigned to the 3rd Infantry Division. According to the report, Radford served as a supply sergeant in the division’s 2nd Armored Brigade, and Army records show he enlisted in 2018.