Airman convicted of drugs, forgery

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KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. (AFPN) --  An airman received a bad conduct discharge, 20 months confinement and forfeit of all pay and allowances after being convicted of several crimes in a general court-martial here.

Airman Basic Joseph J. Loehr, of the 377th Medical Support Squadron, pleaded guilty to willfully disobeying a superior commissioned officer, wrongfully using cocaine, larceny and forgery. Loehr chose to be tried by a military judge alone, and Col. Timothy Wilson found him guilty of all charges, according to 1st Lt. Jeremie Lipton, of the base’s staff judge advocate office.

Loehr was originally investigated concerning his drug use after testing positive for cocaine during a unit sweep in September, Lipton said. While under investigation on that charge, government investigators uncovered evidence of Loehr's involvement in a larceny and forgery scheme involving another Kirtland airman.

Investigators discovered that after Loehr learned that a civilian female friend, whom he had sponsored onto base, had stolen a book of checks from his dormitory suitemate, Loehr helped her cover up the crime.

Loehr then forged his suitemate's signature on 18 checks and cashed or deposited those in various bank accounts in the Albuquerque, N.M., area. Court records showed that during the course of a month, Loehr stole more than $7,800 with the forged checks.

During the period Loehr stole this money, he purchased a television for his car, expensive clothes, a gold watch and made a $200 down payment on a set of rims and tires for his car, Lipton said. He was eventually caught when his suitemate noticed unusual activity on his bank account.

After Loehr's squadron commander ordered him to remain restricted to base, Loehr left several times, Lipton said.

During the sentencing argument, defense attorneys portrayed Loehr as a young, immature airman unable to make the right choices partly because of his desire to please the woman he was dating. They asked the military judge to forego a dishonorable discharge and lengthy confinement, arguing instead that Loehr should be sent home to his family to foster his rehabilitation, Lipton said.

Government attorneys focused on Loehr's unwillingness to put anything above his own wants and desires, Lipton said. Emphasizing the calculated and deliberate nature of Loehr's crimes against another airman, the prosecution recommended a dishonorable discharge, between 24 and 30 months confinement and total forfeiture of pay and allowances, to which Wilson agreed.

Because Loehr had been in pretrial confinement since January, he was credited with 159 days toward any approved sentence of confinement.

Before the trial, in exchange for Loehr’s guilty plea and because of his pretrial confinement, the convening authority agreed not to approve a sentence in excess of 20 months of confinement, Lipton said.

Capt. Steve Kelso served as the case's circuit trial counsel. Capt. Tiffany Dawson served as assistant trial counsel.

"Loehr's actions strike at the very heart of good order and discipline. He violated the trust of another airman, his own suitemate, by forging checks and stealing money from his account,” Dawson said.

"His actions showed that he put his own wants above everything and everyone else. The court's sentence shows the Air Force has no tolerance for individuals who violate the trust inherent in military service," she said. (Courtesy of Air Force Materiel Command News Service)