US Marine indicted over suspected murder, robbery of woman in Okinawa

Japanese prosecutors indicted the U.S. Marine suspected of murdering and robbing a local woman Oct. 4. Lance Cpl. Devin Jacob Ballard, 20, assigned to the III Marine Expeditionary Force headquartered at Camp Courtney in Okinawa, Japan, was indicted on Sunday for the murder and robbery of Anna Yagi, a 39-year-old Naha resident, at a hotel in the city. Earlier this month, local authorities arrested Ballard for allegedly murdering and robbing Yagi at a hotel in the city. Prosecutors allege that Ballard strangled Yagi with a phone cord at the hotel and then stole her backpack with her wallet and other belongings inside, according to a copy of the indictment provided to Japan’s public broadcaster, NHK, by the Naha District Public Prosecutors Office. The Naha District Public Prosecutors Office declined to give Military Times a copy of the indictment, saying only those registered locally with the office could receive one. An investigation of the body found that Yagi died from suffocation. Hotel security footage shows a person with hair and tattoos resembling Ballard’s entering a hotel room with a woman and leaving with items. The murder and subsequent arrest reignited concerns among Okinawa residents over the large American troop presence on the island, causing U.S. officials to implement new restrictions for service members in an effort to show goodwill. Japanese officials have lodged what Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi described as a “strong protest” against the U.S. while demanding full cooperation with local authorities in the investigation. Days after Ballard’s arrest, U.S. officials directed a 48-hour operational pause for all service members on Okinawa for a Period of Training. Commanders and senior enlisted leaders trained all service members on standards, discipline and troops’ responsibilities as members of the local community. Directly after the training, personnel transitioned to a 30-day Period of Reflection, which is slated to end on Nov. 8, to implement restrictions on liberty, such as enhanced supervision at installations’ gates and new curfews. More recently, Kadena Air Base instructed junior enlisted personnel from E-1 to E-4 to cease alcohol consumption for the rest of the Period of Reflection, as well as adhere to a curfew from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. The new restrictions on Kadena follow the base implementing an Emergency Off-Limits Order of a local establishment that was found to be serving alcohol to military personnel during curfew hours and allowing them to stay past curfew, in violation of the Period of Reflection directive. “The demonstration of this establishment to allow members to openly violate the 30-Day Period of Reflection endangers the already strained relationship between the people of Okinawa and U.S. military personnel,” the off-limits order reads.