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<h1 class="has-normal-font-size wp-block-heading"><strong>Master Sgt. William Lavigne II&#8217;s body was one of two found on the North Carolina Army base on December 2</strong></h1>



<h1 class="has-normal-font-size wp-block-heading">The<strong> remains of US Army veteran Timothy Dumas, 44, were also recovered nearby </strong></h1>



<h1 class="has-normal-font-size wp-block-heading">The two men were found dead in a remote part of the training area at the Fort Bragg base, as early investigations suggest &#8220;foul play&#8221; </h1>



<h1 class="has-normal-font-size wp-block-heading"><strong>In March 2018, Lavigne, 37, shot and killed a Green Beret and longtime friend, Sgt. Mark Daniel Leshikar, 33, during a fight at Lavigne’s home </strong></h1>



<h1 class="has-normal-font-size wp-block-heading"><strong>The victim&#8217;s 5-year-old daughter was present at the shooting </strong></h1>



<h1 class="has-normal-font-size wp-block-heading"><strong>Lavigne wasn&#8217;t charged after claiming his friend Leshikar, an Afghanistan and Tajikistan vet, attacked him with a screwdriver</strong></h1>



<h1 class="has-normal-font-size wp-block-heading"><strong>Lavigne avoided charges after civilian authorities determined he acted in self-defense</strong></h1>



<h1 class="has-normal-font-size wp-block-heading"><strong>Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office officials ultimately ruled Leshikar’s death a result of justifiable homicide</strong></h1>



<h1 class="has-normal-font-size wp-block-heading"><strong>Mark Leshikar&#8217;s family dispute the ruling, claiming that Lavigne shot Leshikar dead during a heated argument</strong></h1>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/William-J-Lavigne-II-2.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-363346"/><figcaption><strong>William J Lavigne II, [photo], one of two men found dead at a Fort Bragg training area</strong> <strong>last week, shot and killed his friend, a Marine in 2018, during a fight in Lavigne&#8217;s home. It was ruled self-defense</strong></figcaption></figure>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The death of a Special Forces soldier whose body was found next to an Army vet at Fort Bragg last week, &#8220;killed a Green Beret in front of his five-year-old daughter in 2018,&#8221; the victim&#8217;s family says.<br>Master Sgt. <a href="https://www.the-sun.com/news/1906935/veteran-sergeant-fort-bragg-bodies/">William Lavigne II&#8217;s body was found</a> on the North Carolina base on December 2, and the remains of US Army veteran Timothy Dumas, 44, were recovered nearby.<br>The two men were found dead at the Fort Bragg base training area, as early investigations suggest &#8220;foul play&#8221;.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Fort-Bragg-1.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-363343"/><figcaption><strong>Officials identified the remains as Lavigne and Dumas. The two men were found dead at the Fort Bragg base training area on Dec 2</strong></figcaption></figure>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The deaths of Master Sgt. William J. Lavigne II and Army veteran Timothy Dumas of Pinehurst, have stirred up talk of a fatal shooting in March 2018 in which Lavigne shot and killed a Green Beret and longtime friend, Mark Leshikar, during a fight at Lavigne’s home.<br>Sgt. 1st Class Mark Daniel Leshikar, 33, was killed March 21, 2018, in Fayetteville, NC. <br>Leshikar, who was also stationed at Fort Bragg, was a weapons sergeant with the 19th Special Forces Group, Airborne.<br>Lavigne avoided charges after civilian authorities determined he acted in self-defense. Leshikar’s sister, Nicole Rick, <a href="https://www.armytimes.com/news/your-army/2020/12/04/usasoc-master-sergeant-identified-as-one-of-two-found-dead-at-fort-bragg/">told the Army Times</a> that her brother and Lavigne had been close friends since about 2012. Their daughters were best friends.<br>The two families had just returned from a trip to Florida to celebrate Leshikar’s daughter’s birthday when the two men got into a fight.<br>“William shot and killed my brother in front of my niece,” <a href="https://www.armytimes.com/news/your-army/2020/12/04/usasoc-master-sergeant-identified-as-one-of-two-found-dead-at-fort-bragg/">Rick said</a>. “William had called me a month after my brother died to tell me his story, and he said my brother came at him with a screwdriver but there was not one found near my brother’s body or in the house.”<br>Force Operator Lavigne wasn&#8217;t charged after claiming his friend Leshikar, an Afghanistan and Tajikistan vet, attacked him with a screwdriver. Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office officials ultimately ruled Leshikar’s death a result of justifiable homicide. <br>His family disputes that ruling – Mark Leshikar&#8217;s family have now claimed that Lavigne, 37, shot Leshikar dead during a heated argument.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Mark-Leshikar-3.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-363348"/><figcaption><strong>Sgt. First Class Mark Leshikar&#8217;s family dispute the self-defense ruling that got William Lavigne off in his slaying. Lavigne, allegedly shot Leshikar dead during a heated argument, they claim</strong></figcaption></figure>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Fort Bragg confirmed that foul play is suspected and a homicide probe is underway<br>They argued in Lavigne&#8217;s driveway as Leshikar was working on his car and though it&#8217;s not clear what their fight was about, Lavigne recalled how he ran inside, locking in himself and their daughters on March 21, 2018.<br>Leshikar&#8217;s family told <a rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank" href="https://www.radio.com/connectingvets/news/delta-force-operator-kills-a-green-beret-but-was-it-murder">Connecting Vets</a> that his daughter, five, said that when she opened the door, he &#8220;was mad and walking towards uncle Billy and uncle Billy came around and shot him, and then my daddy did this.&#8221;<br>&#8220;He kept shooting. I looked at my daddy&#8217;s face and I knew he was gone,&#8221; she allegedly said – but her relatives revealed that she only began to open up after Lavigne&#8217;s death because she was terrified he would kill her mom.<br>“My granddaughter was so relieved that he was dead that she was crying,” said Leshikar&#8217;s mother, Tammy Mabey.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Timothy-Dumas-1.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-363338"/><figcaption><strong>Army veteran Timothy Dumas, [photo], was the second person found dead near Lavigne&#8217;s remains on Wednesday </strong></figcaption></figure>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Initially, Lavigne told ;<a href="http://the-sun.com/topic/police">police</a> ;Leshikar had killed himself – ;but later, he said he couldn&#8217;t have seen Leshikar&#8217;s hands to see what he was holding, reported ;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.radio.com/connectingvets/news/delta-force-operator-kills-a-green-beret-but-was-it-murder" target="_blank">Connecting Vets</a>.<br>A Defense Department memorandum noted that Lavigne wasn&#8217;t credible but Leshikar&#8217;s death was in the line of duty, while the Cumberland County Sheriff&#8217;s Office described it as &#8220;justifiable homicide.&#8221;<br>Leshikar&#8217;s family has alleged evidence was tampered with and that Lavigne called another Delta Force Operator to come to the scene.<br>The friend allegedly took Leshikar&#8217;s phone but he only returned it to his wife Laura days later and claimed he found it in her husband&#8217;s car.<br>Leshikar&#8217;s sister Nicole Rick said that Lavigne and Leshikar were best friends but would argue and would allegedly take cocaine.<br>At Fort Bragg, Leshikar worked a desk job after a traumatic brain injury, which happened after an improvised explosive device exploded near him.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Mark-Leshikar-4.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-363350"/><figcaption><strong>Mark Leshikar&#8217;s family allege evidence was tampered with and that Lavigne called another</strong> <strong>Delta Force Operator to come to the scene</strong></figcaption></figure>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">He was addicted to Tramadol and self-medicated with Valium, his family said.<br>They had been to Disney World in Florida with their families between March 15 and 19, 2018 – but Lavigne said Leshikar acted strangely during the car ride back to Fayetteville, North Carolina.<br>He told cops his friend was &#8220;paranoid&#8217; they were being followed but his wife Laura said Leshikar appeared was acting normal.<br>Leshikar&#8217;s body was riddled with multiple gunshot wounds to his chest and neck inside Lavigne&#8217;s house and four .45-caliber shell casing were found at the scene.<br>Lavigne said that he shot Leshikar who had come at him with a screwdriver, but the medical examiner&#8217;s report and the memorandum revealed further inconsistencies. <br>&#8220;No screwdriver or any weapon was found near SFC Leshikar&#8217;s body,&#8221; the memo stated. &#8220;[Lavigne] never stated or implied that he moved the screwdriver or any weapon after shooting SFC Leshikar.&#8221;<br>The report further states that Leshikar was &#8220;acting in a menacing manner, but he could not see SFC&#8217;s Leshikar&#8217;s hands&#8221; after cops found the screwdriver outside by Leshikar&#8217;s car.<br>Lavigne&#8217;s career in special operations command continued after cops ruled the death justifiable and a 1st Special Forces Command investigation concluded that Leshikar died in the line of duty.<br>An Army Criminal Investigation Command probe also deemed the death justifiable.<br>The 172,000-acre Fort Bragg base is one of the world&#8217;s largest military complexes with approximately 57,000 military personnel, 11,000 civilian employees and 23,000 family member</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><br></p>

Special Forces soldier, William Lavign, who was found dead next to Army vet at Fort Bragg ‘killed Green Beret in 2018 in front of daughter, 5’ – He shot Mark Daniel Leshikar during a fight at his home, but it was ruled ‘self-defense’
