Sgt. says soldier’s dad reported plot

SEATTLE (AP) — An Army staff sergeant says he confirmed to investigators that he received a phone call from a worried father last year warning that soldiers in his son’s platoon were murdering Afghan civilians.

A copy of Staff Sgt. James Beck’s statement was obtained today by The Associated Press. Beck said he didn’t report the call to higher-ups because there was no standard operating procedure for doing so.

Beck was working at Joint Base Lewis-McChord south of Seattle in February 2010 when he received the call from Christopher Winfield of Cape Coral, Fla.

Beck said he urged Winfield to have his son report the allegations through his chain of command.

Spc. Adam Winfield did not take that advice, later saying he feared reprisals, and two more civilians were killed. Spc. Winfield is one of five soldiers charged in the murder plot.