Latest news with #ChristopherMeeker
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- Yahoo
Former Wright-Patt commander is now confined on base
Apr. 16—Col. Christopher Meeker has started the confinement portion of his sentence on Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, the base he once led as installation commander. "He is at the confinement facility on base," Derek Kaufman, spokesman for the Air Force Materiel Command, said Wednesday. In a one-day court-martial at the base Tuesday, Meeker, the former commander of the 88th Air Base Wing, pled guilty to willfully disobeying a superior commissioned officer and fraternization. During the trial, Meeker acknowledged having a personal and sexual relationship with a non-commissioned officer at Wright-Patterson, a staff sergeant, after Lt. Gen. Donna Shipton, commander of the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center at the base, ordered him not to have contact with the NCO. As part of a plea agreement revealed during the trial, prosecutors asked a judge to dismiss a specification of extramarital sexual conduct against Meeker. He was sentenced to 21 days confinement, a reprimand, and forfeiture of $14,000, or $7,000 of pay a month for two months. In military courts-martial, the sentencing phase immediately follows the findings phase, which determines guilt or innocence, Air Force Materiel Command said in a statement. "Absent restrictions imposed by terms of the plea agreement, the maximum punishment was dismissal, reprimand, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and confinement for seven years," AFMC said. Meeker told a judge that he "willfully disobeyed" the no-contact order, that his behavior demonstrated a lack of personal and professional discipline, and he acted "selfishly, for my own personal happiness." Prosecutors argued that Meeker's contact with the staff sergeant took place well after Shipton had extended the original no-contact order in March last year. In an interview with Air Force investigators, the NCO painted a portrait of nearly daily contact with Meeker, electronic conversations wiped away by the Signal app and meetings for sex "four to five times a week," at a time when the no-contact order was in place. The staff sergeant has since left the Air Force Force. "Col. Meeker has been full of apologies and devoid of resolution," a prosecutor, Capt. Connor McAfee, said in a closing argument during the trial at the headquarters of the 88th Air Base Wing.
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- Yahoo
NEW DETAILS: Former Wright-Patt commander is now confined on base
Apr. 16—Col. Christopher Meeker has started the confinement portion of his sentence on Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, the base he once led as installation commander. "He is at the confinement facility on base," Derek Kaufman, spokesman for the Air Force Materiel Command, said Wednesday. In a one-day court-martial at the base Tuesday, Meeker, the former commander of the 88th Air Base Wing, pled guilty to willfully disobeying a superior commissioned officer and fraternization. During the trial, Meeker acknowledged having a personal and sexual relationship with a non-commissioned officer at Wright-Patterson, a staff sergeant, after Lt. Gen. Donna Shipton, commander of the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center at the base, ordered him not to have contact with the NCO. As part of a plea agreement revealed during the trial, prosecutors asked a judge to dismiss a specification of extramarital sexual conduct against Meeker. He was sentenced to to 21 days confinement, a reprimand, and forfeiture of $14,000, or $7,000 of pay a month for two months. In military courts-martial, the sentencing phase immediately follows the findings phase, which determines guilt or innocence, Air Force Materiel Command said in a statement. "Absent restrictions imposed by terms of the plea agreement, the maximum punishment was dismissal, reprimand, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and confinement for seven years," AFMC said. Meeker told a judge that he "willfully disobeyed" the in-person and electronic no-contact order, that his behavior demonstrated a lack of personal and professional discipline, and he acted "selfishly, for my own personal happiness." Prosecutors argued that Meeker's contact with the staff sergeant took place well after Shipton had extended an original no-contact order in March last year. In an interview with Air Force investigators, the NCO painted a portrait of nearly daily contact with Meeker, electronic conversations wiped away by the Signal app and meetings for sex "four to five times a week," at a time when the no-contact order was in place. The staff sergeant has since left the Air Force Force. "Col. Meeker has been full of apologies and devoid of resolution," a prosecutor, Capt. Connor McAfee, said in a closing argument during the trial at the headquarters of the 88th Air Base Wing.
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Yahoo
Former base commander set for court-martial next week at WPFAB
The former commander of the 88th Air Base Wing at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (WPAFB) is set to face a general court-martial next week. [DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] The court-martial for Col. Christopher Meeker is set to take place Tuesday at WPAFB, according to the Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC). As previously reported by News Center 7, Meeker was removed on Dec. 29, 2023, 'due to a loss of confidence in his ability to lead.' Meeker was charged in October 2024 with three violations of 'Articles of the Uniform Code of Military Justice' after an investigation. TRENDING STORIES: Cicada infestation: Where will Brood XIV emerge? Man charged in shooting that seriously injured 46-year-old Popular coffee shop to open new location in Huber Heights According to the AFMC, Meeker is facing one charge and one specification under Article 90, willfully disobeying a superior commissioned officer; and one charge and two specifications under Article 134, extramarital sexual conduct and fraternization. Meeker waived his Article 32 preliminary hearing. Lt. Gen. Donna D. Shipton, commander of the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, relieved Meeker of his command. Shipton may be a material witness in the case, therefore she transferred it to Maj. Gen. Charles D. Bolton of the 18th Air Force Commander at Scott Air Force Base in Illinois, according to AFMC. Bolton referred his charges to a general court-martial. Previously, his trial was scheduled to begin in June. 'The date was moved by mutual agreement of the parties involved and with the concurrence of the convening authority and presiding military judge. Venue was returned to Wright-Patterson for convenience, as trial participants and potential witnesses are local to Wright-Patterson AFB,' a spokesperson for AFMC s. [SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
