The death of an American soldier: our violent culture
July 16th, 2007 | by PBS | Published in Iraq War | 27 Comments
He survived Iraq, met death in Duluth
Alcohol and a gun proved a deadly combination in a fight between men described as “good people.”
By Larry Oakes, Star Tribune
Last update: July 05, 2007 - 9:54 PM
Top:Staff Sgt. Adam Michael Sheda
Bottom:Luis Mark Hogan
Internet link: Adam Michael Sheda’s MySpace page
DULUTH - While serving an 18-month tour of duty in Iraq, Staff Sgt. Adam Sheda started a MySpace page that revealed interests from the unusual — Russian language and literature — to the more typical daydreams of a young, homesick soldier: women, cars and beer.
“All my friends better throw me one hell of a party when I get home,” wrote Sheda, 26, of Cloquet, Minn. “My plans when I get back are to drink until my heart stops.”
Early Saturday, less than a week after returning from Iraq, Sheda was fatally shot with his own pistol in Duluth after he crashed a backyard party of strangers while apparently intoxicated, according to court papers filed Thursday.
Police said that Sheda’s unwanted presence at the drinking party escalated to a fight, a struggle for the gun he was carrying and his death from a single shot to the head.
“We’re devastated,” said his father, Tony Sheda, of Wrenshall, Minn., where Adam grew up, the youngest of six children. He said that while his son was “no saint,” he was gregarious and big-hearted, which showed when he arranged for his siblings to send toys and candy for him to distribute to poor Iraqi children.
While Sheda’s family held a large funeral with military honors for him Thursday morning at a church in Duluth, authorities at the St. Louis County Courthouse filed second-degree murder charges against 25-year-old Luis Mark Hogan.
The complaint alleges that Hogan, a lumberyard laborer from Duluth who has no serious criminal record, severely beat Sheda, wrestled away his pistol, and shot him in the head while yelling “187″ followed by an expletive.
He later told police that the number 187 is a reference in certain rap music to the California penal-code number for murder, the complaint said.
A handcuffed and shackled Hogan appeared to be choking back tears during his brief court appearance, at which District Judge Gerald Martin ordered Hogan held in lieu of $300,000 bail. A large contingent of Hogan’s family members tearfully watched the hearing and afterward hugged and consoled one another.
Duluth Police Sgt. Bob Shene, the lead investigator of what is Duluth’s first homicide this year, called it a senseless death “involving good people who got wrapped-up in something that got out of hand.” Of Hogan, Shene said: “This isn’t a hardened criminal.”
Shene said he won’t comment on what role alcohol might have played until toxicology test results are available from samples taken during Sheda’s autopsy. Hogan wasn’t tested because he wasn’t immediately identified as a suspect and wasn’t under arrest after the shooting, Shene said. “It took some time to sort out the stories of the people who were there,” Shene said.
A pistol and a wad of cash: the story
According to a criminal complaint citing Hogan’s eventual confession and witness accounts: Carrying a pistol and about $2,000, Sheda took a cab last Friday from his home in Cloquet to the nearby Black Bear Casino, then to a bar in Duluth.
His dad speculated that his son went out alone because a friend who normally would have gone wasn’t available. He said he didn’t know beforehand that his son was carrying a gun or why he would do so.
Tony Sheda said that since returning from Iraq his son had seemed “happy-go-lucky” and was looking forward to another trip to Russia and to continue adding to his collection of World War II memorabilia.
According to the complaint: At about 1:15 a.m. Saturday, Adam Sheda left the Duluth bar and tried to enter Fond du Luth Casino in downtown Duluth but was turned away, apparently because he was obviously intoxicated.
At 3:30 a.m., Sheda asked a group of strangers several blocks from the casino if he could join their backyard drinking party. Hogan, who lived in the upper duplex there, told him no and asked him to leave.
Sheda pulled out a $100 bill and said he had money. When another man at the party snatched it —jokingly, he said later — Sheda punched a third party guest in the nose.
Hogan knocked Sheda down and beat him, the complaint stated. Hogan later resumed the beating when Sheda complained that his wallet containing $1,600 was gone, and he wasn’t leaving until it was returned.
Fight continues, gun pulled
The wallet was later found and returned to Sheda, but he made a derogatory comment and scuffled with Hogan’s brother, prompting Hogan to attack Sheda again.
According to the complaint, Hogan was straddling Sheda on the ground when Sheda apparently pulled out the pistol. Hogan wrestled it away, put the barrel under Sheda’s chin and shot him while yelling the rap-slang epithet.
“[Hogan] admitted to [having] the better of Sheda and that Sheda was intoxicated and probably took out his pistol because [Hogan] was hurting him,” the complaint said.
Judge Martin scheduled a pre-trial hearing for 1:30 p.m. on July 23.
One of Sheda’s brothers used Adam’s MySpace page to tell friends about his death, and to tell them of a celebration of his life Sunday at the Tap Room in Duluth.
Tony Sheda said the family will honor his son’s wishes, recorded in the will he was required to arrange before leaving for Iraq: “He left a large amount from his life insurance to some orphanages, including one in Russia.”
As of noon today there has been an official request to have the Patriot Guard attend the ceremony of fallen soldier SSG Adam Sheda. This mission is for a soldier that just arrived home from Iraq after being deployed on an extended 18 month tour. SSG Adam Sheda was part of Company C we escorted to Grand Rapids one short week ago. Please consider your support for this mission.
Staging 8:00am at Stowe Elementary School Parking lot across the
street from the church
Briefing at 8:30
8:45 am establish flag lines
9am Visitation
11:00 am Service starts
12:00 noon approx Dismissal
Please remember to bring 3×5 flags ,and drinking water,as it will get
warm We will need to be self sufficient .
With heavy hearts, we have been informed that one of our returning
soldiers, SSG Adam Sheda, died on Saturday, June 30, 2007 after being welcomed home from Iraq in Grand Rapids on June 23rd.
Soldiers who would like to volunteer for funeral detail should call the
Grand Rapids TACC at 218-327-4498.
Duluth News Tribune
Published Sunday, July 01, 2007
A 25-year-old Duluth man was arrested by Duluth police Sunday in
connection with the shooting death of a 26-year-old Cloquet man early Saturday morning in the East Hillside neighborhood. Police identified the shooting victim as Adam Michael Sheda. He was killed by a single gunshot to the head at about 3:40 a.m. Saturday. Investigators at the scene recovered a small-caliber handgun, which is believed to be the weapon used in the shooting. The St. Louis County medical examiner and the Duluth Police Department both have deemed the death a homicide. The suspect lived at the address where the shooting occurred and was arrested there without incident at about 6:50 p.m. Sunday. He remained in custody Sunday night, and police planned to hold him at the St. Louis County Jail.
SSG Adam Michael Sheda, 26, of Cloquet died Saturday June 30, 2007, in Duluth. Adam was born June 6, 1981, in Duluth to Tony A. and Paulette (Beaupre) Sheda. Adam was a 1999 graduate of Wrenshall High School where he played basketball and football. After high school, Adam served in the United States Army and was stationed in Schweinfurt, Germany, for three years. He returned home and attended Lake Superior College and joined the Army National Guard in 2004, serving in Iraq with Charlie Company 136th Infantry. He was deployed for 22 months, returning home on June 23. Adam was a world traveler and he loved animals, especially rabbits and dogs. Adam also loved his ‘70 Mustang, although he spent more time fixing it than driving it. He was an avid collector of military memorabilia. He was a talented artist who enjoyed painting and drawing. He will be remembered for his loving heart and sense of humor.
Above are the media articles about Adam Sheda. The rumors have been flying around town. I have heard a lot of them, since the sister of his brother’s girlfriend (got that?) works with me. She had some added perspective on the situation. They believe that the “party people” were trying to rob Adam after he waved the $100 bill at them-admittedly not a smart thing to do, but Adam had had too much to drink. One of them took Adam’s wallet and went upstairs into the apartment with it, Adam went up the stairs after it, and him and was pushed down the stairs and was knocked unconscious for a time. At the funeral the undertaker could not hide the evidence of a severe beating, including a broken nose. Of course that “inside” information is biased, the family of the accused would have another version.
I heard this situation on my police radio that day, Hogan’s name was mentioned and I heard them go to take him in. The police talk in code, so it wasn’t clear to me exactly what was going on until I heard it on the news.
And Adam got his wish to “…drink until my heart stops.” It’s just too bad that it wasn’t with his friends. Or maybe it would have been worse, who knows?
Your take on this sad event may be different but I think it’s indicative of our very violent culture-the war is only a symptom of it. I think treating the symptom would be a good start, but only a start. The Iraq war is just one of many spots on our globe that are suffering from aggression and violence.
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July 16th, 2007at 12:49 am(#)
Well…that’s just a sad state of affairs. It’s so unfortunate that he came home alive from war…and then got drunk and uncontrollable and ended up dead. Poor guy. It’s terrible that the other young man reacted the way he did…it almost seems as if a scenario of destiny was in play here. Things were leading up to this moment…the drinking set this in motion.
July 16th, 2007at 4:48 am(#)
It really comes down, to me, is whether the use of force in the circumstances was “reasonable,” & I think it was not. The white guy was sitting on the kid & had him pinned & immobile, while apparently the others were robbing him. It also has racial overtones. Alcohol, unfortunately, played a role, but I also think the case warrants a closer investigation, which from the sounds of it, doesn’t seem to be forthcoming. Sounds uncomfortably like the old Emmett Till case in Missippi, where a brash young black man had visiting from out of town had the nerve *supposedly* to whistle at a white woman & was later murdered & horribly mutilated for it–a “punishment” all out of proportion to the supposed crime. Sounds like the community there is in denial, & the police would rather not have to acknowledge & deal with it.
July 16th, 2007at 5:24 am(#)
Postscript: Why did the police not test the kid who did the shooting for alchohol consumption? If they’re going to bandy the “alchohol” issue about as an explanation for the dead kid’s “out of control” behavior, hardly seems fair to have completely let the oppportunity to test the other who did the shooting, whose behavior was equally out of control, resulting in a DEATH, go by. It WAS an after-hours backyard DRINKING party, yes? *oh ooops* Sloppy, unprofessional police work, at the very least. Perhaps even intentional.
July 16th, 2007at 6:57 am(#)
too many questions and sadly too many unresolved questions that may never ever make sense to those that witnessed the event, but more to the point to those that were not there…the families and friends…So my other point is that if you know Someone Returning do not let them be alone too much or drink alone…I also think PTSD might be involved here, many that are returning have no radar for their limits because they are trying to drown out memories and the noise in their heads….
But Demon raised alot of really good points also….and SUMO is also on an interesting thought, what lead these two to meet in this collision of events- that became a Rube Goldberg castrophic incident of timing and destiny that they were bound to meet and have their fates tied to each other ?
July 16th, 2007at 9:02 am(#)
“All my friends better throw me one hell of a party when I get home,” wrote Sheda, 26, of Cloquet, Minn. “My plans when I get back are to drink until my heart stops.”
Sheda’s statement tells me a lot: He intended to drink until his heart stopped. Did he create circumstances for suicide at someone else’s hand? Was his tour of duty in Iraq so much that he intended to drink until his heart stopped?
This is a tragedy for all concerned; the young man who shot him had no other tools in a violent society. Sheda had no other tools than to get so drunk he would die. Our nation spends $400T on an illegal war, but cannot address violence at home; cannot address health care at home; cannot cure Social Security; the list of ills at home that cannot be cured because of war is endless.
Tragic.
July 16th, 2007at 9:33 am(#)
What a sad story! Alcohol and guns never mix!
I like your blog and have added you to my blogroll.
July 16th, 2007at 1:26 pm(#)
Thank You Suzie-Q..we have added you prior to today, your a good read as well.
July 16th, 2007at 2:51 pm(#)
Sad ,very sad.The list of why’s is an endless one,the possibilities as to why not?, is also endless.All one can hope for is that one individual out there,see this ,reads this and makes a change in their own life.Violence begets violence.
July 16th, 2007at 9:20 pm(#)
I think Sheda’s statement of “drinking til my heart stops” was not to be taken literally. He was just anxious to get with friends and have a good time. He was trying to buy himself into a party when his friends were unavaliable. Someone snatched his money, stole his wallet and took advantage of him. It was just a series of misfortunant events that should not have led to a murder. But a murder it was. Hogan murdered Sheda plan and simple. But I have to disagree that race was an issue.
July 18th, 2007at 5:57 pm(#)
What WAS the expletive that Hogan used as he shot? If it was “nigger” would that make a difference? Interesting that the press accounts don’t say…& that’s why I say the incident has racial overtones.
Of course, we as a country are beyond that now, aren’t we? Nobody wants to deal with it. (I speak as a white person, BTW). It’s all too easy to shrug & say “unfortunate accident, too much alcohol, violent society, etc.” In other words, tsk, tsk, but nothing to see here, really.
The other guy DID have an option which didn’t involve shooting. He could have simply disarmed the kid. Sitting on top of him, having him pinned, seems like Hogan could easily have thrown the gun out of reach, or given it to someone else to hide.
It stinks to high heaven. Surely we pay our public servants to do better than this.
July 22nd, 2007at 5:39 pm(#)
Sheda was white…Hogan is originally from Columbia. Race was not an issue. There were no racial comments. The expletive that Hogan used as he shot was “187 Mother F***er” which is a police code for homicide. This was murder pure and simple. Hogan had time to beat Sheda up until he was senseless, then say what he did, and then murder an unconscious man.
July 23rd, 2007at 3:04 pm(#)
Thanks for that. The photos accompanying the article aren’t exactly clearly labelled. Obviously, I thought the lower one was Sheda. Also for clearing up the matter of what the expletive was. Still think Hogan should have undergone a blood alcohol test, whatever his color.
January 8th, 2008at 11:12 am(#)
pointersister, how could an unconscious man pull a gun out of his pocket?
January 31st, 2008at 7:06 am(#)
Adam was a good person. I spent the 18 months with him in Iraq and although he wasn’t perfect no one deserves that. Hogan murdered him. He already had him beat. He didn’t need to kill him. No matter the crime no one on this Earth has the power to, in a single moment, become judge, jury and executioner. What made this man think that he could do such a thing? The culture developing in our Nation makes me sick when someone spits out some form of disgusting slang from a rap song before killing a man in cold blood. It almost makes me embarrassed that I spent so much time fighting for our country when I have to come home to a place that I feel less safe then when I was in combat. It’s just sickening.
February 6th, 2008at 11:44 am(#)
I wish that soldiers wouldn’t come home and run around the US with guns in thier pockets - jumping fences as if they were still at war. it is such a sad story with many viewpoints - most stemming from 9-11
February 9th, 2008at 6:55 pm(#)
how scared would you be if someone
February 14th, 2008at 5:03 am(#)
I have been silent on this issue for too long. Adam, my girlfriend, and I shared an apartment at the time of his death. I spent more time with him than anyone after his return from Iraq. I know his mindset at the time. “Drinking until my heart stops,” was just an over-dramatic, Patton-esque statement. He had been gone for 22 months. He was ready for a welcome home party! And he deserved one. He chattered on constantly about his trip to Russia this winter, his plans for this coming summer, and on and on. Does this sound like a suicidal person!!!? NO! This Hogan character murdered him in cold blood, screaming 187 motherf—-r. All this for trying to meet some of his “fellow countrymen” that he would have traded his life for in our military. And when questioned this Hogan tried to claim that he committed suicide. A sick attempt to get around his own guilt, and a (2nd) personal insult to anyone who knew Adam, especially Adam’s family. Suicide? NO. Unfortunately my friend was MURDERED by an overgrown, tempermental child.
February 14th, 2008at 11:58 am(#)
i am sorry for the loss of your friend, however i also wish he and all other vets would put their guns down when they come home from iraq. he put himself and all those around him in a very dangerous situation. did he intend to bring a gun out with him NOT to use? well, he decided to use it and he ended up on the other side of it. lucky for the other person to still be alive, but unluckily Sheda has completely messed with countless numbers of peoples lives by choosing 1- to take a gun out with him that night 2- jumping a fence into private property 3- throwing the first punch 4- pulling his gun out
i wish the military would come up with a way to catch these crazies before they let them loose in our backyards.
February 25th, 2008at 5:50 am(#)
In reply to “End the War.” I do not pretend that Adam was blameless in all of this. I also do not agree with your interpretation of the ”facts.” (According to the police report #3 came before #2.) What provoked Sheda? (Give back my wallet!?) What provoked Hogan? (Who is this guy!?) Will anyone who wasn’t there ever know for sure? Here’s what we do know. Autopsy showed that Adam was beaten to the point of possible brain damage. (If you had the means wouldn’t you defend yourself?) And he was murdered. His life was taken FOREVER. Nothing justified that. By the way, one-third of the soldiers returning from Iraq are treated for a mental health problem. Does that make them crazy??? Or only human? I’m sure all of our vets, from any conflict, would have something to say to you about that… I’ll bet most own guns too! They surely must be crazy!
March 2nd, 2008at 2:16 pm(#)
I met Adam the first day of kindergarten and spent the next thirteen years going to school with him. The Adam I knew was always trying to get a reaction out of people. He was fun loving and all about World War ll. It was no surprise when he went military. The thing I KNOW about Adam is that ultimately he wouldn’t hurt anybody. It is our constitutional right to own a fire arm and I think many criminals could be stopped if more law abiding citizens had conceal to carry licenses. Adam was never a danger to those at that party that night. I remember how comfortable Adam could be with someone he had never met before. I can’t help but think how different things could have been if he was allowed to come to that party. He would have been a fun addition. If the party goers were really that frightened by Adam, they could have just simply held him down and called the police. Adam pulled his gun because he was afraid for his life. He had already been robbed and beaten. I’m thankful for Adam’s service in our military. I think “end the war is the crazy. My classmate Adam is gone but I will remember him for his love of life and sometimes unconventional ways:) I prayer is that others will have a respect for the dead and a family still grieving.
April 4th, 2008at 9:11 pm(#)
Dear End the War,
Obviously you don’t have a veteran in your family. You certainly have no experience yourself you might have a glimmer of a clue what it might be like to live in war. Can you for a second put yourself in the shoes of a human being having to exist in a war? I’ve listened to the experiences and the silences from my grandfather (WWII), father in law/uncle in law, uncle (Vietnam), husband (Desert Shield), and brother (Iraq) and I know how much those wars changed them, affected them and stole at least a little bit of their lives. Until you have been a vet or even loved one, please don’t pass judgement. You literally have no clue. Your comments spit on their service and sacrifice. They put their lives on the line for you and your way of life and a governement that really doesn’t give a shit. Didn’t your mother ever teach you to say thank you.
April 5th, 2008at 10:42 am(#)
I appreciate all of the soldiers, their families, and their sacrifices. What I do not appreciate is the fact that the government, especially the national guard, has not figured out a way to prevent horrible crimes like this from happening. The fact that many soldiers (particularily in nat. guard) have been involved in gun crimes, including many suicides and murders, in the first few months upon return from war. I do not blame the soldiers, in fact, I feel bad for them. They are not getting the help they need and are waltzing through the “beyond the yellow ribbon program” which (first and foremost) successfully prompts the soldiers to make sure their drivers’ licenses are valid upon return from service. please refer to the new york times article which did a great job of highlighting this problem.
http//query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B07E7DF153AF930A25752C0A96E9C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=3
It is truly a shame that the government has not done a better job to take care of our soldiers.
April 5th, 2008at 11:01 am(#)
sorry, that link isn’t working, the article is called
“War Torn; Across America; Deadly Echoes of Foriegn Battles”
January 13, 2008 New York Times
April 5th, 2008at 1:41 pm(#)
Here is the link you put up End the War:
http://tinyurl.com/54n96h
We can support our Soldiers and also be against the war..if people don’t understand that..they are stupid.
Dusterella’s last blog post..Is the dumb bastard going to pull these outta his bunghole or what?
April 16th, 2008at 8:09 am(#)
you people sit here and pass judgement on someone you dont even know. I didnt know Adam very well but he was a good man who was willing to sacrifice his life for our freedom and cared deeply for people, even people he didnt know. Many people carry guns. It is a dangerous world and we have right to defend ourselves. This vile person who killed Adam should be in jail for life. Take a life, forfiet yours. But you people here forget that he will get out of jail and go on to live his life and Adam will still be gone. What a shame that a good man should lose his life and we sit and talk about he shouldnt have had a gun. WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE??!?!?! Instead of making un-informed comments about a man you didnt know, be grateful to a man who made his life defending our freedom and who was taken from us far too soon because of something so dumb! Rest in Peace, Adam dear! We miss you!
April 16th, 2008at 10:06 am(#)
Everyone is making this personal. If commenters do not calm down and quit going after each other..I will close the post to comments.
People are allowed their points of view as long as they do not make a personal attack on other commenter’s. Rules of the site.
May 20th, 2008at 4:11 pm(#)
Hogan is my heroe. What if this Sheda who intentionally went out to get drunk with a gun raped a woman instead?And perhaps if he lived,continue to go out all the time drinking and carrying a gun terrorizing people. Stop using being a vet as a reason and excuse for military men who do these actions.I’ve heard too many White veterans who have nothing better to do than make racist and sexist comments-that has nothing to do with war,if anything it humiliates our country.Why honor or feel sorry for someone who chose to party and terrorize when there are military men who would have loved to come back to their families and cant because they died in action.