Pvt. Abdul N. Latifu was 21 years old when he was killed by a fellow soldier over three years ago in Army barracks. Last week, the soldier who admitted to the crime was sentenced to more than 20 years in prison.
Army Pvt. Brian Jones Jr., 24, pleaded guilty to the unpremeditated murder of Latifu in a court-martial that came to an end on Jan. 29, according to an Army press release.
Jones was training to be an air traffic control operator in Alabama, when he killed Latifu, a fellow trainee, in the Fort Rucker barracks right before 11:40 a.m. on Jan. 10, 2023.
According to previous reporting by Army Times, a source with knowledge of the incident said Jones attacked Latifu with an Army-issued enriching tool, which is a small, collapsible steel shovel.
The court-martial sentenced Jones to 247 months of confinement, reduction in rank, a dishonorable discharge and complete forfeiture of pay and allowances. He will be imprisoned in the U.S. Army Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, for the duration of his sentence.
Both soldiers were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 13th Aviation Regiment, 1st Aviation Brigade, U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence.
Latifu hailed from the Bronx and Lt. Col. William Wicks, a prosecutor with the Army Office of Special Trial Counsel, said the New Yorker was “not only a soldier; he was also a beloved son, uncle and brother.”
“The murder occurred just over three years ago, and it has been a long road to justice, but today is the day that Pvt. Jones is finally held accountable for taking the life of PV2 Latifu,” Wicks said in the Army’s statement.
“While the conviction and sentence cannot reverse the tragic loss of PV2 Latifu, we can only hope that today’s outcome is the first step in allowing PV2 Latifu’s family to begin to heal,” he said.
Eve Sampson is a reporter and former Army officer. She has covered conflict across the world, writing for The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Associated Press.