CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. - A military jury sentenced a Marine to 39 months in prison yesterday, a day after acquitting him of parachute tampering charges.
The jury also sentenced Cpl. Clayton A. Chaffin, 28, of Columbus, Ohio, to a bad conduct discharge, reduced his rank to private and ordered him to give up all pay and allowances.
The same jury convicted him Wednesday of drug charges but acquitted him of charges that he tampered with parachutes used by three servicemen injured during a 2002 jump at Camp Lejeune.
Chaffin was convicted of five charges of soliciting to buy and use drugs, two counts of distributing cocaine, one count of distributing marijuana and one count of using marijuana. He faced a maximum sentence of 51 years in prison.
The parachute-tampering charges stemmed from a conversation between Chaffin and Pvt. Antoine Boykins, who pleaded guilty last August to tampering with the parachutes and was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Boykins, of Baltimore, said Chaffin told him to cut the suspension lines on the parachutes in retaliation for a punishment by a superior officer.
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