editorial comment Just a bad apple, surely....

An Army soldier has pleaded guilty to being a part of a plan to smuggle cocaine on military planes.

Army Staff Sgt. Kelvin Irizarry-Melendez has pleaded guilty in Texas to conspiracy, wrongful importation of cocaine, and a money charge. He'd been stationed in Colombia as part of the U.S. war on drugs.

The judge has accepted his plea. Sentencing is still to come.

Irizarry-Melendez is one of four soldiers who have been jailed since their arrests in the case earlier this year.

Irizarry-Melendez apologized to his family, the court and the Army in a brief statement. He said he joined in the drug ring in part to help support his family and pay for costly medical treatments to help correct his daughter's debilitating foot problem.

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