Monroe Marine expelled for puppy incident

HONOLULU — The Marine Corps on Wednesday said it was expelling a Monroe Marine for his role in a video showing a Marine throwing a puppy off a cliff while on patrol in Iraq.

The 17-second video posted on YouTube.com drew sharp condemnation from animal-rights groups when it came to light in March.

The clip shows two Marines joking before one hurls the puppy into a rocky gully. A yelping sound is heard as it flips through the air.

"That's mean. That's mean, Motari," an off-camera Marine is heard telling the Marine who tossed the black-and-white dog. The off-camera Marine snickered slightly afterward.

Lance Cpl. David Motari of Monroe, assigned to the 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment at Kaneohe Bay, is "being processed for separation" from the Marine Corps, the Corps said in a news release. He also received unspecified "nonjudicial punishment."

The Corps didn't specify what role Motari played in the clip.

The video was viewed tens of thousands of times before YouTube.com took it down due to a violation of the site's terms of use.

"The actions seen in the Internet video are contrary to the high standards we expect of every Marine and will not be tolerated," Marine Corps Base Hawaii said in a news release. "The vast majority of Marines conduct their duties with honor and compassion that makes American people proud."

Motari's family received threatening phone calls in the week after the video appeared online and gained widespread attention. A Snohomish County Sheriff's Office official said at the time that deputies periodically checked on the family.

Neither Motari nor his family could be reached for comment Wednesday.

A second Marine, Sgt. Crismarvin Banez Encarnacion, also received unspecified "nonjudicial" punishment.

Encarnacion is assigned to the Weapons and Field Training Battalion, Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego.

It wasn't clear what role Encarnacion played in the video. Marine Corps Base Hawaii declined to answer a telephone inquiry about its news release and directed all questions to be submitted by e-mail.

Information from The Seattle Times archives is included in this report.