A Marine corporal faces murder and manslaughter charges in the barracks shooting death of a fellow Marine in October 2023.
Cpl. Jesse Thomas Bopp faces a general court-martial trial on charges under Articles 92, 118 and 119, under the Uniform Code of Military Justice on Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, currently scheduled for Nov. 4–Nov. 18, according to a statement from 2nd Marine Division shared with Marine Corps Times.
Those charges include dereliction of duty, manslaughter and murder. The maximum penalty for murder under the UCMJ is a death sentence, the minimum is life imprisonment with the possibility of parole. Manslaughter penalties vary depending upon the circumstances ― maximum prison terms range from 10 years to 20 years.
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Authorities arrested Bopp on Oct. 18, 2023, the same day they allege he fatally shot Lance Cpl. Austin B. Schwenk, 19, in a barracks room on the base.
Both Schwenk and Bopp were assigned to 2nd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, at the time of the incident.
Schwenk served as an electro-optical ordnance repairer and had enlisted in June 2022, attending recruit training at Parris Island, South Carolina.
His awards included the National Defense Service Medal. He was born in Onslow County, North Carolina, home of Camp Lejeune, but graduated in 2022 from Riverside High School in Painesville, Ohio, according to local news outlets.
In a 2022 interview with The News-Herald newspaper, Schwenk said he enlisted in the Marines to follow in his father’s footsteps.
“He’s always given me a reason to look up to him,” Schwenk said, adding the Corps “will give me the discipline and leadership that I believe I will be able to use later in my life.”
In April, the Ohio House of Representatives Transportation Committee passed a bill to name State Route 44 between Mentor Avenue and Prouty Road “Lance Corporal Austin B. Schwenk Memorial Highway.”
“Lance Corporal Schwenk was a proud son of Lake County who stepped up to answer the call of his country,” said State Rep. Jamie Callender. “Dedicating part of State Route 44 is a fitting memorial to his courage and commitment to serve others.”
Bopp also served as an electro-optical ordnance repairer.
He enlisted in January 2019 attending recruit training in San Diego. He was promoted to corporal in March 2022. His awards include the National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Medal, Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal, Certificate of Commendation and Sea Service Deployment Ribbon, according to Marine records.
The corporal is being held beyond his current enlistment contract in pretrial confinement at the East Regional Brig at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, as he awaits his trial, officials said.
Todd South has written about crime, courts, government and the military for multiple publications since 2004 and was named a 2014 Pulitzer finalist for a co-written project on witness intimidation. Todd is a Marine veteran of the Iraq War.
