Timothy S. Duncan Private First Class U.S. Marine Corp and PFC Glenis Gambles Convicted Sex Offender Rape Sodomy Attempted Murder

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Name: Timothy S. Duncan

Case: United States v. Duncan No. 99-0109

Date Of Appeal: December 8, 1999

Plea: Not Guilty

Charges: Rape. Sodomy, Attempted Murder, et all

Military Branch: U.S. Marine Corp

Listed In National Sex Offenders Registry? NO

Judge SULLIVAN delivered the opinion of the Court.

Appellant was tried on various dates between November 4, 1994, and May 8, 1995, by a general court-martial composed of officer members at Camp Pendleton, California. Contrary to his pleas, he was found guilty of 3 specifications of attempted murder; attempted robbery; attempted forcible sodomy; 3 specifications each of conspiracy and of rape; larceny; 6 specifications of forcible sodomy; 2 specifications of kidnapping; carrying a concealed weapon; and communicating a threat, in violation of Articles 80, 81, 120, 121, 125, and 134, Uniform Code of Military Justice, 10 USC §§ 880, 881, 920, 921, 925, and 934, respectively.

He was sentenced to a dishonorable discharge, confinement for life, total forfeitures, a fine of $200, and reduction to E-1. On March 29, 1996, the convening authority approved the sentence as adjudged. The United States Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the findings and sentence as approved on review below.

The evidence establishes that on 17 June 1994, the appellant and PFC Glenis Gambles rented a small, white, two-door Mazda 323. With Gambles driving, they picked up [Ms. DR] who was hitchhiking in Oceanside. She immediately announced to them that she was not a prostitute. She had become concerned upon realizing that the driver of the car was a Black man, since she had experienced some troubles before with Black men. After they refused to stop and let her out where she asked, she became panicked and begged them to let her out.

She was being told that they were going to kill her. She tried to kick out the window of the back seat where she was riding. Eventually, the appellant and Gambles stopped in a remote area. Both the appellant and Gambles struck [Ms. DR] several times with their fists and kicked her. She was forced to remove her clothes, except for her underpants. The appellant forced her to orally copulate him while simultaneously Gambles raped her from the rear and attempted to anally sodomize her, after ripping off her underpants. After Gambles got menstrual fluid on his clothing, he became enraged, pulled her from the car and beat her. Gambles then forced her back into the car, drove to another area, parked and beat her some more. She went limp and "played dead."

They got into the car and started as if they were driving away, then turned and drove toward where she was lying on the ground. She jumped up and ran away. All of her possessions that she was carrying were taken away in the car. The appellant later gave her pager to his aunt and asked her to change the number. The appellant also bragged to some of his fellow Marines about having robbed and raped a girl whom he and Gambles had picked up.

The evening of 24 July 1994, the appellant, PFC Miller, and PFC Gambles agreed to go out and rob someone of their money. They set out on this expedition with Miller driving his pickup truck. After driving around, they spotted two females at a phone booth and approached them to rob them, but the females got into a car and left before the robbery could be completed. Apparently frustrated, the trio drove to Buccaneer Beach in Oceanside. There [Ms. AM] and her friend, Jordan McLean, were sitting on the beach. Richard Schnittger and his eight months-pregnant wife were sitting in a car nearby, but not close enough for Schnittger to recognize [Ms. AM] whose family he’d known for 8 years. The appellant and Gambles walked past [Ms. AM] and McLean with the appellant carrying a 40-ounce bottle of St. Ides beer. They turned and approached the couple and the appellant struck McLean on the head with the bottle with sufficient force to break it. While the appellant beat up McLean, Gambles forced [Ms. AM] along the beach and forced her to strip off her clothing, threatening her with the .380 Colt handgun which he had thoughtfully brought along. Schnittger saw the appellant beating McLean and got out of his car to try to intervene. Gambles, who was dragging a naked [Ms. AM] along the beach, saw him approaching and fired the gun in his direction, motivating Schnittger to return to his car and depart the area. After patting down McLean’s pockets, the appellant joined Gambles and struck [Ms. AM] with his fist. He then forced [Ms. AM] to orally copulate him while Gambles raped her from the rear. They then forced [Ms. AM] into Miller’s truck and drove her to another area, beating, raping and sodomizing her repeatedly along the way. They told her that they were going to kill her. They parked in a dark place, forced [Ms. AM] out of the truck, and repeatedly raped and sodomized her. After they completed their sexual degradation of [Ms. AM], the appellant lined her up and kicked her off a cliff.

About 5 days later the appellant learned that Miller was an unauthorized absentee. The appellant told Corporal Swenson that Miller had been messed up by them having hit a guy over the head with a bottle and raped a girl the previous week. He said that if Miller went to the police he would kill him.