USAupdated 43m ago2 min read
MapU.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Devin Jacob Ballard Indicted Over Okinawa Robbery And Murder
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Devin Ballard, 20, Marine at Futenma Base, indicted on robbery and murder charges in Okinawa. Authorities allege a woman was strangled with a telephone cord in Naha hotel Oct 3.
9 outlets told this the same way.
Ballard indicted in Okinawa
Public prosecutors in Okinawa Prefecture indicted U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Devin Jacob Ballard, 20, on robbery and murder charges after a 39-year-old woman was found dead in the prefecture earlier this month.
“In the trial, we want to do our best to make accurate arguments and prove the case based on the law and evidence.”
The indictment and other sources said Ballard allegedly strangled the woman with a telephone cord in a hotel room in Naha, approximately between 2:10 a.m. and 4:15 a.m. on Oct. 3, and took a backpack containing her wallet and other belongings.
Public prosecutors said the Naha District Public Prosecutors Office indicted Ballard on Sunday, and the Naha District Public Prosecutors Office has not disclosed whether Ballard admitted to the charges.
Okinawa Prefectural Police found Ballard walking on a street in the city of Okinawa around 11:30 a.m. the same day and arrested him on suspicion of robbery and murder.
Hiroya Ishii, deputy chief of the Naha District Public Prosecutors Office, said in a statement, “In the trial, we want to do our best to make accurate arguments and prove the case based on the law and evidence.”
Protests, protest note, curfew
Okinawa Governor Genta Koja renewed calls for the Japanese central government to take preventive measures after the case renewed public anger over crimes involving U.S. military personnel.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi described the case as a “heinous crime,” while Tokyo urged Washington to “fully” cooperate with the investigation and enforce strict discipline among U.S. military personnel stationed in Japan.
The Japanese government lodged a strong protest with Washington over the incident, and the US military in Okinawa imposed a 30-day curfew on Oct. 9.
The curfew restricted personnel from leaving their bases between midnight and 5 am, according to the reports.
The US military and Japanese authorities also began discussions on preventive measures, including a review of the effectiveness of the US military’s “liberty policy,” which governs off-base conduct in Japan, and joint patrols involving American forces and Japanese police.
Scale of concern in Okinawa
The case renewed concerns among Okinawa residents about the presence of U.S. military installations, with residents citing past crimes involving U.S. service members, including offenses against women and girls, as well as noise and pollution linked to military installations.
“Under Japanese law, conviction can carry the death penalty or life imprisonment.”
PressTV said the United States has around 54,000 military personnel stationed in Japan, most of them on the subtropical southern island of Okinawa, and it said police handled 4,998 criminal cases involving US military personnel and their family members between 1989 and May 2026.
PressTV added that 2,447 of those cases occurred in Okinawa Prefecture, accounting for nearly half of the total, and it said the incident renewed public anger over crimes involving American service members.
The Independent said under Japanese law, conviction can carry the death penalty or life imprisonment, and it described Ballard as denying the allegations.
The Japan Times reported that Ballard was stationed at the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in the city of Ginowan, and it placed the case in the context of a woman found dead in the prefecture earlier this month.