Shannon L. Wilkerson, 42, was booked February 24 into Santa Rosa County Jail on charges related to the murder of a pregnant soldier on a U.S. Army base in Germany 21 years ago.
According to court documents, Shannon L. Wilkerson, 42, is allegedly responsible for the death of Amanda Gonzales on Nov. 3, 2001. The murder occurred at Fliegerhorst Kaserne, then a U.S. Army base in Hanau, Germany. Wilkerson was a member of the Armed Forces at the time of the alleged offense but was later discharged from the Army.
Wilkerson is charged under the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act, which gives the U.S. federal courts jurisdiction over crimes committed outside the United States by, among others, former members of the Armed Forces who are no longer subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
Wilkerson is charged with one count of first-degree murder. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of life in prison.
Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Jason R. Coody for the Northern District of Florida, Assistant Director in Charge Michael J. Driscoll of the FBI New York Field Office, and Special Agent in Charge Lisa Yockel of the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division’s Europe Field Office made the announcement.
The FBI is investigating the case. The FBI Jacksonville Field Office, the Air Force’s Office of Special Investigations, and Army’s Criminal Investigative Division, which originally investigated the case, provided valuable assistance with the arrest.
Trial Attorney Patrick Jasperse of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney David L. Goldberg for the Northern District of Florida are prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
