Jury Picked in Navy Drowning Case

PENSACOLA, Fla. — Four Navy officers were chosen Friday to sit as a panel of jurors for the court-martial of a lieutenant accused of negligence in the panic-drowning of a recruit at a Navy rescue swimming school.

Lawyers for Lt. Thomas A. Torchia, 32, of Princeton, Ill., submitted their case to the court-martial when a judge threw out a defense motion to dismiss the charge.

The court-martial began with two days of pretrial motions before potential jurors were questioned Friday. Two commanders and two lieutenant commanders will hear testimony from 20 witnesses beginning today.

Torchia faces the loss of two-thirds of his pay for three months, a letter of reprimand, or loss of seniority in promotion if he is convicted of the dereliction of duty charge.

Torchia was among six people initially charged in the March 2 drowning of Airman Recruit Lee Mirecki at Pensacola’s Rescue Swimmers School. Investigators said Mirecki, 19, of Appleton, Wis., panicked, had a heart attack and drowned. Testimony indicated that a month before his death, Mirecki was diagnosed as having a water phobia, but he was returned to class.

Four officers received non-judicial punishment for battery, and another is scheduled for trial Monday.