Marine Corps sergeant pleads guilty to conspiracy

WASHINGTON (AP) — Authorities say a Marine Corps gunnery sergeant has pleaded guilty to conspiring to steal more than 70 electrical generators from two Marine bases in Iraq in 2008.

The U.S. Department of Justice said Wednesday that 40-year-old Eric Scott Hamilton of Pelzer, S.C., pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to two counts of conspiracy to steal public property.

Court documents say Hamilton admitted that while he was in charge of a military storage yard at Camp Fallujah in 2008, he conspired with a Marine Corps officer to steal electrical generators.

Hamilton faces up to five years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. As part of his guilty plea, Hamilton agreed to pay $124,944 in restitution to the United States. A sentencing date has not been set.