FORT COLLINS, COLORADO — Two airmen at a U.S. Air Force base in Wyoming have pleaded guilty to making false statements about the fatal shooting of a third, prompting a month-long suspension of the use of the Sig Sauer M18 pistol at nuclear weapons sites, the Air Force said in a statement Friday.
The ceasefire was lifted by the Air Force’s Global Strike Command following the death of Brayden Lovan, 21, in late July in late August after Air Force officials determined the M18 was safe to carry.
Lovan was a pilot with the 90th Security Forces Squadron, 90th Missile Wing at F.E. Warren Air Force Base outside Cheyenne.
Details surrounding his death were made public for the first time on Friday, including that the alleged shooter, Marcus White Allen, pointed the gun at Lovan’s chest “in a joking manner.” After the shooting, White Allen urged the other surviving pilots to lie about what happened, according to the statement.
Wyatt Allen, who was arrested on suspicion of manslaughter and making false statements, was found dead at the base on the morning of October 8. Air Force officials have not released details surrounding Wyatt-Allen’s death, saying they remain under investigation.
Laramie County Coroner Rebecca Reed did not return phone messages requesting information about Wyatt-Allen’s death. The person who answered the coroner’s office’s phone on Friday said Reed had no comment.
Airmen Sarbjot Badisha and Matthew Rodriguez both pleaded guilty this week to making false official statements related to Louvain’s death on July 20, according to an Air Force statement.
Badisha was sentenced to 30 days in jail and forfeiture of $1,545, while Rodriguez was sentenced to 10 days in jail, 15 days on base restriction and forfeiture of $500. Both also received administrative cuts.
The two reported that they heard a gunshot from White Allen’s gun and then saw Lovan on the ground, according to the statement.
“Here’s the story. Tell them I hit my work belt on the desk and it exploded,” White Allen allegedly told Badisha. White-Allen allegedly asked Rodriguez to tell emergency responders that “White-Allen’s wallet exploded,” according to the statement.
Neither pilot initially reported this information, leading investigators to initially believe the White-Allen M18 had exploded accidentally, according to the statement.
Other US service branches continued to use the M18 while Global Strike Command suspended its use. The suspension occurred as lawsuits filed against Sig Sauer claim that its P320 pistol can go off without pulling the trigger.
The New Hampshire-based gun maker denies the allegations, saying the gun is safe and the problem is user error. It has prevailed in some cases.