FORT CAVAZOS, Texas — A Fort Cavazos soldier who was charged in connection to the murder of a sergeant last year will face a trial by jury in May.
According to a charge sheet obtained by 6 News, Spc. Rene D. Heber, part of the 1st Calvary Division Sustainment Brigade, is charged with accessory to murder after the fact, accessory to involuntary manslaughter after the fact, and obstructing justice in violation of the Uniform Code of Military Justice Articles 78 and 131b.
Though Heber did not commit the murder, Heber reportedly knew that a fellow specialist shot a sergeant in the head on post on Aug. 27, 2023, resulting in the sergeant's death, according to the document. It continues to state that he tampered with physical evidence at the crime scene.
The document also states that Heber lied to law enforcement around Aug. 27, 2023 and again on Sept. 7, 2023 "in order to prevent punishment of the said Specialist."
The name of the specialist and the victim were redacted in the document.
According to an Army online docket, Spc. Nicholas Lowery was charged with murder and two counts of obstructing justice. Army officials did not release his charge sheet, but will once approved for release, according to Chief of Public Relations Lt. Col. Charles Patterson.
Per Univision in Austin, Fort Cavazos officials told the family of Sgt. Alfredo Martinez, part of the 1st Calvary Division Sustainment Brigade, that he died on post by a gunshot wound on the morning of Aug. 27, 2023. However, Martinez's family does not believe the way he died, according to Univision.
"All the information they have told us so far is that there were two soldiers and a female soldier with him when supposedly my brother, alone, shot himself," Martinez's sister, Pricilla, told Univision.
Fort Cavazos did not identify Martinez as the victim.
Heber enlisted in the Army in 2019.