Joseph Hunter: Former sniper pleads guilty to New York murder plot

Feb 14, 2015

Former soldier Joseph Hunter, who allegedly formed an international band of snipers as mercenaries, has confessed to a murder plot in New York.

Joseph Hunter, nicknamed Rambo after the hero of the 1980s action films, pleaded guilty to conspiring to kill a federal agent and an informant.

The 49-year-old former sniper faces up to 10 years in prison.

Joseph Hunter believed he had been working for drug traffickers who were actually working for the US anti-drugs agency.

He is accused of recruiting ex-military snipers with the aim of carrying out murders on behalf of drug organizations.

The band was secretly recorded agreeing to kill an agent for the US Drug Enforcement Administration and an informant for a total of $800,000, prosecutors say.

Photo Reuters

The murders were never carried out.

The former soldier was arrested in September 2013 along with four other men, three of them snipers, who had served in military forces around the world.

Joseph Hunter – thinking of his family – decided to avoid a trial which had been set for March 9, defense lawyer Marlon Kirton was quoted as saying by Reuters news agency.

He pleaded guilty despite believing the government had unlawfully entrapped him, the lawyer added.

The former soldier’s judgment had been “severely affected” by post-traumatic stress and depression after two decades in the US army, the lawyer said. He is expected to be sentenced in May.

Joseph Hunter became a “soldier of misfortune who recruited and led an international band of criminal mercenaries,” said US Attorney Preet Bharara.

“This global gun for hire will now be confined stateside in federal prison.”

Three others charged in the case have pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing. Another defendant is awaiting a trial scheduled to start next month.

Chris Kyle shot dead on a Texas shooting range

Feb 3, 2013

Chris Kyle, the Iraq veteran and ex-US Navy Seal known as the deadliest sniper in US history, has been shot dead on a Texas shooting range, reports say.

His body was found at Rough Creek Lodge range on Saturday with that of another man. A suspect was arrested.

Chris Kyle, 38, wrote the 2012 bestseller American Sniper, about the psychology of a sniper, in which he said that he had killed more than 250 people.

He served four tours of duty in Iraq and was decorated for bravery.

The gunman opened fire at about 15:30 local time then fled in a pick-up truck belonging to one of the victims, local media reported.

Erath County Sheriff Tommy Bryant said the motive for the killings was unclear, and was unable to explain how the two men were shot.

But he said a 25-year-old suspect was detained five hours later more than 70 miles (110 km) from the scene.

Chris Kyle, the Iraq veteran and ex-US Navy Seal known as the deadliest sniper in US history, has been shot dead on a Texas shooting range

Scott McEwen, who co-authored the book with Chris Kyle, said: “It just comes as a shock and it’s staggering to think that after all Chris has been through, that this is how he meets his end, because there are so many ways he could have been killed.”

Chris Kyle, a former cowboy, is regarded as the most prolific sniper the US has ever seen.

Official Pentagon figures say he killed 160 people, but he estimated the total was 255.

According to army intelligence, he was nicknamed “The Devil” by Iraqi insurgents, who put a $20,000 bounty on his head.

He appeared to show little remorse for his victims.

“Every person I killed I strongly believe that they were bad,” he said in an interview in 2012.

“When I do go face God there is going to be lots of things I will have to account for but killing any of those people is not one of them.”

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