Service, freedom will end for convicted SEAL
Former Navy SEAL Nicholas Bickle’s days of freedom are numbered. So are his days as an active-duty member of the U.S. military.
When a Las Vegas jury convicted Bickle last month in an arms trafficking case, Senior U.S. District Judge Roger Hunt allowed him to remain free — against the wishes of prosecutors — while awaiting his sentencing hearing. But the judge ruled that Bickle, 34, would be confined to the Naval Amphibious Base near San Diego.
On Friday, after learning that the Navy has begun separation proceedings against Bickle, Hunt ordered the former SEAL to surrender to the U.S. Marshals Service in Nevada within 24 hours of his separation and remain in custody until sentencing.
Hunt said Bickle’s confinement to the naval base "was a major part of the reason" he allowed the defendant to remain free pending sentencing, which is scheduled for Feb. 3.
The judge conducted Friday’s hearing after his San Diego defense attorney, James Pokorny, filed a motion to change the conditions of Bickle’s release.
"On October 19, 2011, Mr. Bickle was notified of the Navy’s intent to separate him," the attorney wrote. "Once he is separated from the Navy, he will no longer be allowed to reside on base."
Pokorny told the judge Bickle had found a job in the Los Angeles area and planned to live there until his sentencing.
During Bickle’s three-week trial, prosecutors called him the ringleader of a conspiracy to deal unlawfully in firearms. They accused him of bringing machine guns and other weapons into the country from Iraq for his own profit.
Jurors convicted the petty officer first class of 13 of the 15 counts he faced, including four counts of possession and transfer of machine guns. Prosecutors argued on the day of the verdicts, and again Friday, that the crime is considered a crime of violence under federal law and requires mandatory detention upon conviction.
Prosecutors also argued that Bickle’s crimes prove he is a danger to the community and that his military training makes him a flight risk .
Reno attorney John Arrascada, who has joined the defense since the trial, argued Friday that Hunt must consider the elements of the offense in determining whether it was violent.
"You have to look at was there violence in committing the offense, and in this case, there was not," Arrascada said.
Defense lawyers have argued that Bickle complied with all conditions of his release and made every court appearance, establishing that he is neither a flight risk nor a danger to the community.
Hunt declined to rule on whether possession and transfer of machine guns constitutes a crime of violence. Instead he focused on Bickle’s upcoming separation from the Navy. The judge said his prior ruling that Bickle was neither a flight risk nor a danger was based on the defendant’s confinement to the naval base.
Arrascada said he assumes the separation would occur before Dec. 28, when the former SEAL’s contract with the Navy expires.
Bickle wore a Navy uniform to court Friday, as he has throughout the criminal proceedings. Assistant U.S. Attorney Phillip Smith revealed during the hearing that Bickle is no longer a SEAL.
Hunt and Smith both said they knew nothing about Arrascada’s claims that Bickle is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and a traumatic brain injury. The judge said he was "compelled to disregard" the information.
Smith said prosecutors plan to seek prison time for Bickle. The prosecutor noted that co-defendant Omar Aguirre, who benefited from his cooperation with investigators, received a five-year prison term.
The investigation began in June 2010 when an informant told authorities that Aguirre, a Las Vegas resident with a prior felony conviction, was arms trafficking. About two months later, after an undercover detective bought machine guns from Aguirre, investigators confronted the suspect and persuaded him to cooperate in the investigation.
Aguirre and two other men later accepted plea bargains and admitted selling weapons for Bickle, the only military member charged in the case.
Contact reporter Carri Geer Thevenot at cgeer@reviewjournal.com or 702-384-8710.
