Army Sgt. 1st Class Trey Corrales, a Schofield Barracks soldiers charged with premeditated murder in the shooting death of an unarmed Iraqi last June, was acquitted today of all charges, officials said.

"They (the jury) did not find guilty on anything," said Maj. Gary Johnson, the judge advocate for the 3rd Brigade at Schofield Barracks.

The military panel of five enlisted soldiers and four officers deliberated for just under seven hours at Wheeler Army Airfield.

The prosecution, which made its closing arguments this morning, said Corrales planned the shooting, carried it out and then tried to cover it up.

Prosecutor Capt. Laura O'Donnell said Corrales, 35, took an Iraqi detainee into the backyard of a house near Kirkuk and shot him. She said it was premeditated murder.

Corrales' defense attorney, Frank Spinner, challenged the credibility of the government's witnesses.

A conviction of premeditated murder carries a maximum penalty of life in prison without parole.

Although Corrales was charged with premeditated murder, military Judge Col. Donna Wright instructed the jury that the range of offenses Corrales could be judged on were premeditated murder, unpremeditated murder, or aggravated assault, an official said.

Additionally, Corrales was judged on charges of wrongfully soliciting another soldier to murder an unarmed wounded Iraqi who previously had been shot by Corrales; and wrongfully impeding an investigation by causing an AK-47 rifle to be placed near the victim after he had been shot.

A second defendant in the shooting, Pvt. Christopher Shore, 26, was tried on a charge of third-degree murder — equivalent to a civilian manslaughter charge — but was found guilty in February of aggravated assault and sentenced to 120 days confinement.

Shore, of Winder, Ga., also was given a reprimand and reduction in rank.

Schofield soldiers had raided a house in the village of al Saheed outside Kirkuk on June 23 after U.S. forces saw insurgents planting a roadside bomb and then enter the house.

The house was secured and no weapons were found. Fellow soldiers in Corrales' platoon testified that Corrales said he was going to kill the next detainee who turned up positive on an explosives residue test, and he marched an unarmed Iraqi outside and shot him.

Corrales said on the witness stand yesterday that he made the statement that he was going to kill a detainee only as a scare tactic to get information.

The San Antonio man said he subsequently shot an Iraqi in the backyard after suddenly coming upon the man. Corrales denied escorting the man outside.

Corrales said he subsequently realized the man he shot had been in the house earlier. He could not explain how the man got past the 16 to 18 Schofield soldiers who had secured the interior of the house.

Shore had said Corrales ordered him to "finish" the Iraqi after Corrales shot the man. Corrales denied giving Shore the order, and said Shore fired two shots of his own volition.

Corrales also said he was not sure how an AK-47 rifle ended up near the Iraqi, who received five gunshots and died about two days later.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. Reach William Cole at wcole@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-5459.