Tim Debusk
aka
Timothy Allen DeBusk
http://formerspook.blogspot.com/2007/08/latest-military-fraud.html
Marine admits to semper lie
By Steve Fry
THE CAPITAL-JOURNAL
A line of combat-wounded veterans glared at a young veteran as he walked into the Shawnee County Courthouse on Friday to face criminal charges that he fraudulently obtained a Purple Heart license tag for his car.
Timothy Allen DeBusk, 27, who wasn't wounded while serving as a Marine in Iraq, unexpectedly pleaded guilty while 20 veterans, one wounded at Iwo Jima during World War II, others in the Vietnam War and at least one in the current war in Iraq, watched.
The Purple Heart is awarded to those in the military who are wounded or killed in battle. A veteran can get the Purple Heart license tag by showing proof of his or her wounding, including discharge records, a newspaper clipping or a certificate issued by the Department of Defense.
When veterans, some wearing overseas caps and uniforms of the veterans' groups they represented, saw DeBusk approaching the courthouse, they formed a line, became silent and eyed him as he entered.
DeBusk originally was to appear at a preliminary hearing in the case, and District Judge Nancy Parrish and assistant district attorney Kim Knoll were surprised when defense attorney Don Hoffman said his client intended to make a plea.
DeBusk subsequently pleaded guilty to dealing in false identification documents and making false information. The felony convictions each have a potential sentence of seven to nine months in prison.
The convictions carry "presumptive probation."
After the hearing, DeBusk expressed remorse.
"I want to make things right by my community, my family and my God," he said in an interview. "I want my conscience clear."
Hoffman said his client, who had a good experience during his service as a Marine and who served in combat in Iraq, recognized his mistake early on.
"This was just one of those stupid mistakes," the defense attorney said.
Knoll said DeBusk used a certificate showing he had received the Purple Heart and showed his discharge papers to officials at the Shawnee County Treasurer's Office to get the Purple Heart tag in October 2005.
The certificate was forged, Knoll said.
DeBusk surrendered the tag on Feb. 1, 2007, after he learned he was being investigated by the military, Knoll said.
As they waited for DeBusk to arrive, several veterans talked about the case.
"We are here in support of all veterans who earned the Purple Heart honestly, especially who gave their lives earning it," said Topekan Harvey Harris, state commandant for the Marine Corps League. The Marine Corps League is seeking to flush out the "phonies" and "wannabes," Harris said.
Jefferson Lawson, of Topeka, said the three core values of the Marine Corps are courage, honor and commitment.
"He stained all three," Lawson said.
Lawson, a Marine gunnery sergeant, suffered gunshot and shrapnel wounds at the battle of Khe Sanh in the Vietnam War.
Topekan Harry Bryant, another Vietnam War veteran, said DeBusk claimed the Purple Heart "dishonestly. As a Purple Heart recipient, that set really sour with me."
Bryant spent the last two years of his five years in the Marines recovering from wounds caused by four rounds of small arms fire. Bryant, a machine gunner, was shot in the left arm, left foot and twice in the right hand.
Former Topeka Police Chief Jim Freel, 84, was a 19-year-old Marine corporal when he was wounded on the first day during the battle of Iwo Jima on Feb. 19, 1945.
Freel feels disdain for those "who falsely claim unearned honors," noting there are Purple Heart recipients "scattered in military cemeteries around the world."
Freel's brother, Pfc. Billy Bob Freel, celebrated his 21st birthday three days before he was killed May 7, 1945, in fighting during the battle of Okinawa.
Lt. Col. Ray Rhodd, a Topeka resident and department commander for the Kansas Military Order of the Purple Heart, on Friday remembered his friend and high school classmate, Lt. Michael Gandy.
In 1968, Gandy was on patrol in Vietnam when three members of his platoon were wounded, then pinned down. Gandy, who was killed when he tried to rescue the three, received the Purple Heart and the Distinguished Service Cross, Rhodd said. Gandy's name is listed at the East Topeka Service Area on the Purple Heart Trail along the interstates in Kansas.
Steve Fry can be reached
at (785) 295-1206
or steve.fry@cjonline com.
Copyright 2007
Submitted
The charges allege DeBusk used a false certificate showing he had received a Purple Heart in order to get the Purple Heart license plate.
Why would anyone claim to have the Purple Heart when he didn't?
The "Disabled Veteran" tag is the only tag that does that. A disabled veteran with the tag doesn't have to pay the $35 registration fee for a truck or a $45 registration fee for a car, Wilson said.
Conviction of the offense would have carried a maximum $500 fine and up to 30 days in jail.
Steve Fry can be reached at (785) 295-1206 or steve.fry@cjonline com.
2007 The Topeka Capital-Journal
http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2007/08/marine_debusk_purpleheart_070817/
Former sgt. accused of fake Purple Heart claimPosted : Friday Aug 17, 2007 18:39:10 EDT.
Topeka, Kan., police captain Ron Brown earned a Purple Heart after he lost a portion of his hearing in both ears when a rocket-propelled grenade exploded next to the Marine reservist’s head outside Fallujah in 2004. So he made sure he was there when former Sgt. Tim Debusk was arrested and charged with forging a Purple Heart citation on May 25.
“I just told him that I thought what he did was despicable, and that I hoped he thought about the guys he disrespected who died for this country over Memorial Day,” Brown said.
Debusk’s trial is set to begin Sept. 7 with a preliminary hearing in Shawnee County District Court, where he is charged with “dealing in false identification documents” and “making a false writing.” If convicted, he could face up to six months in jail and a $5,000 fine under the Stolen Valor Act that penalizes those who claim military awards they didn’t earn.
Marine Corps records show Debusk did not earn a Purple Heart, according to Marine Corps headquarters spokesman Maj. Jay Delarosa. Multiple calls were made to Debusk and his attorney, but neither could be reached by press time. The U.S. Attorney’s office handling the case also did not return calls regarding the case.
Records show Debusk entered the Corps in 1998 as a supply administration and operations clerk and separated from active duty in 2002. He was recalled at the end of 2004.
Debusk’s last duty station was Marine Corps Systems Command in Quantico, Va., where he served until transferring back to the Individual Ready Reserve in October 2005, according to records.
He did earn an Iraq Campaign Medal, although it was unclear from the records when he deployed. Debusk was discharged from the Corps on Jan. 7, 2007, under honorable conditions, according to records.
Retired 1st Sgt. Earl McIntosh, a member of the Topeka Marine Corps League, first reported the forged citation to the Marine Corps Reserve Center in Topeka and local police officials after he received a tip from a source he wants to keep anonymous.
McIntosh said the source handed over the allegedly forged citation to him after it was used to apply for a Purple Heart license plate.
McIntosh sent the Purple Heart citation to Maj. J.D. Lerom, who handles awards for Marine Corps Forces-Central Command’s adjutant. Lerom returned a memorandum to McIntosh stating they had no record of Debusk earning a Purple Heart, according to the document dated March 1 and obtained by Marine Corps Times.
Debusk was also arrested and charged in May 2006 for impersonating a police officer after he pulled over a vehicle and identified himself as a federal officer after flashing a Marine Corps Military Police Badge, Topeka police officials said. Marine Corps records do not show Debusk ever serving as a Marine Corps military police officer.
Debusk avoided jail time for impersonating a police officer and was issued a warning, according to Topeka city court documents.
Vets tag Marine as liar
Man sentenced for false Purple Heart claim
A Marine who falsely claimed he received the Purple Heart for service in Iraq faced a verbal barrage in court Tuesday from combat-wounded veterans.
Over and over, the veterans stood to blast Timothy Allen DeBusk for his lies and for staining the military award reserved for those wounded by the enemy or killed in action.
Timothy Allen DeBusk, right, and defense attorney Don Hoffman listen Tuesday at the Shawnee County Courthouse as DeBusk is sentenced for fraudulently trying to obtain a Purple Heart license plate for his car. DeBusk is a Marine veteran but wasn't wounded.
MEDAL
• The Purple Heart is awarded to those in the military who are wounded or killed in battle.
• The Purple Heart license tag in Kansas is obtained when a veteran shows proof he or she was wounded.
DeBusk, 27, who wasn't wounded while serving in Iraq, pleaded guilty Sept. 7 to dealing in false identification documents and making false information. The felony convictions are tied to making a forged document saying he had been wounded during the Iraq War to obtain a Purple Heart license tag for his car. DeBusk was a sergeant when he was an active-duty Marine.
Shawnee County District Court Chief Judge Nancy Parrish sentenced DeBusk to two consecutive eight-month jail terms, ordered him to undergo a mental health evaluation and said he must perform 200 hours of community service.
Assistant District Attorney Kim Knoll said DeBusk shouldn't be assigned to perform community service at a veterans hospital.
"It has been requested that he not be placed with the Veterans Administration because of the nature and the emotions connected to this case," Knoll said.
By law, Parrish had to suspend the jail terms and place DeBusk on 18 months of probation.
"You very much violated the honor that (these combat-wounded veterans) have received and the honor that others wounded in combat have received," Parrish said.
DeBusk, who appeared in court with his wife, apologized.
"I am very sorry for what I did," DeBusk said.
Upon his return from Iraq, DeBusk thought he was a deep disappointment to his father, who he said was a Purple Heart recipient.
"I didn't have the Lord at the time," DeBusk said, adding he did now.
Veterans noted DeBusk's sentencing occurred on the 25th birthday of The Wall, the Vietnam Memorial, and two days after Veterans Day and three days after the 232nd birthday of the Marine Corps.
George McKnight, who was a master sergeant who suffered burns and shrapnel wounds when two rocket-propelled grenades struck his tank during fighting in Vietnam during the 1968 Tet offensive, was terse and pointed.
"You are a despicable person," McKnight said, then sat down. McKnight retired in 1985 after serving 21 years in the Army.
Russ Estes opened and closed his hand on his own Purple Heart as he spoke on behalf of the more than 58,000 American service members killed in Vietnam.
Estes noted many Purple Heart recipients suffer guilt, asking themselves why they survived when their buddies were killed.
"Mr. DeBusk, I am embarrassed for you that you would cheapen the symbol of veterans who have earned the Purple Heart from a grateful nation for the giving of their blood or their lives," Estes said.
Another veteran, Jim Freel, was a 19-year-old Marine corporal when he was wounded on the first day during the battle of Iwo Jima on Feb. 19, 1945.
His brother, Pfc. Billy Bob Freel, was killed May 7, 1945, in fighting in the battle of Okinawa.
"I personally feel the actions of this young man are an insult to the Corps and to those of us who have earned the right and the honor to wear the Purple Heart," Freel said.
Another veteran was Harry Bryant, who served in the Vietnam War and was hospitalized for two years while recovering from gunshot wounds.
Bryant, a machine gunner, was shot in the left arm, left foot and twice in the right hand.
Bryant, a retired Marine sergeant, spoke of another Purple Heart recipient, Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Bienvenido Geniza Dona, more commonly known as "Doc."
After Bryant was shot on March 23, 1966, Dona was treating his arm wound when a sniper shot Bryant in the hand and fatally wounded Dona.
"No one remembers HM3 Dona, our corpsman, who died at my feet as he was giving me medical attention that life-changing evening," Bryant said. "Yet, there are some who want to steal his glory. These people should be held accountable for their charades."
Steve Fry can be reached at (785) 295-1206 or steve.fry@cjonline com.