SAN DIEGO - A sailor accused of murdering a fellow seaman on duty at Camp Pendleton committed suicide in the base brig.
Jonathan Campos, 32, of Lancaster, was found unresponsive in his cell at about 12:20 p.m., taken to the base hospital and declared dead about 1:15 p.m.,the Los Angeles Times reported.
Campos, a petty officer 2nd class, apparently asphyxiated himself with toilet paper. He had been on suicide watch in the brig and was last checked at 11:45 a.m., according to a Navy written statement.
Campos was charged with murdering 29-year-old August Provost on June 30 at about 2 a.m. while Provost was in the sentry station outside the landing craft facility at Camp Pendleton.
Campos was charged with murder, drug possession, burglary and several other crimes. He allegedly shot Provost several times as he was trying to get onto the base to destroy property and attack other sailors.
Provost was gay but, at the time Campos was charged, Navy officials said there was no evidence the killing was a hate crime.
Navy's written statement on Campos' death
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JULY 31, 2009
NAVY: JONATHAN CAMPOS FOUND DEAD
Petty Officer Jonathan Campos was found unresponsive on his cot at the Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton brig by staff personnel at approximately 12:21 p.m. PDT, Friday. Campos had previously been checked at 11:45 a.m. in satisfactory condition. Brig staff immediately started CPR, and Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton emergency crews transported Campos to the base hospital. He was pronounced dead at 1:15 p.m. The apparent cause was self-inflicted asphyxiation. Campos was incarcerated at the brig on suspicion of the murder of Seaman August Provost on June 30 at Camp Pendleton. Both Campos and Provost were assigned to Assault Craft Unit 5. Campos had been charged with murder and a series of other crimes, including illicit drug use, larceny, burglary, and theft, arson, and unlawful handling of a deceased individual.
-- CNRSW --
Public Affairs Office
Navy Region Southwest
937 N. Harbor Drive
San Diego, CA 92132
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The Navy formally charged Campos in the death of Seaman August Provost on July 23, one week after Provost was found shot to death and his body burned at his guard post on Camp Pendleton.
Many thought his death was a hate crime, but the Navy had a different story.
The Navy said Seaman Provost was killed, not because he was gay, but because he happened to be in the way of a man on crime spree.
32-year-old Petty Officer Jonathan Campos of Lancaster was facing 16 criminal counts and since June 30th, had been sitting in a Navy brig at Miramar.
"The evidence that the investigators have collected to date does not indicate -- does not lead to the commission of a hate crime," said Capt. Matt Brown with the Navy Southwest Region at the time the charges were filed.
There had been a lot of speculation that Seamen Provost was murdered because he was gay, but the Navy portrayed Petty Officer Campos as a sailor on a crime spree.
Here's a time line:
The Navy says it all started in early May when Campos used hallucinogenic mushrooms.
On June 13th, the petty officer broke into another sailor's home, stealing a .45 caliber pistol and Xbox.
On June 20th, he was pulled over in Imperial Beach and found to be driving while intoxicated.
On the night Provost was killed, Navy officials say Campos set fire to a Navy landing aircraft.
"Seamen Provost died standing his watch in his appointed place of duty," said Capt. Brown. "He was conducting his responsibilities in a matter befitting of a sentry."
The Navy says Campos came up to Provost's post and shot him to death and burned the sailor. A group protecting the rights of gay and lesbian military members was skeptical.
"Do we suspect that there is a potential link between him being gay and him being dead?" asks Lisa Cove with DOD FED GLOBE. "Well, we have reason to be suspicious but we don't have any facts."
San Diego 6 News contacted August Provost's family in Houston when the charges were filed. They told us, "We have a lot to say but we are not ready to talk right now."
Candlelight Vigil
CAMP PENDLETON - Gay rights supporters held a moving tribute on July 10th for Seaman August Provost.
It had been 11 days since the murder of Provost and members of the gay community both in San Diego and Washington D.C. wanted answers.
"A lot of things have been said in last week that this could be or not could be a hate crime," said Max Disposti of the LGBT Coalition. "Tonight we're here to mourn."
Provost was shot several times while he was guarding his post at Camp Pendleton. The post was then set on fire with him still inside.
Family and friends believe he was murdered because he was an admitted homosexual.
The Navy said even though the killer had admitted his deed, they haven't concluded that this is a hate crime.
Kevin Hicks and his group flew into San Diego from Washington D.C. It included lawyers that planned to ask the Navy tough questions about Don't Ask, Don't Tell policies.
"Right now give them the benefit of the doubt that they're saying it's not a hate crime, but they also need to show it," said Hicks. "We do know he was harassed and could not go to his superiors because he was gay."
While this vigil was held near where Provost died, earlier in the day his family and friends held a funeral in Houston, Texas where he spent most of his life.
