JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A retired Navy captain convicted of lying and obstructing justice in the investigation into a 2015 death at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay reported to federal prison this week.
Capt. John R. Nettleton was previously sentenced to two years in federal prison followed by a year of supervised release after he was found guilty of obstruction of justice, making false statements and other charges linked to an investigation into the death of Christopher Tur.
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Nettleton, 54, was originally scheduled to report to Edgefield FCI, a medium-security prison in South Carolina, in January, but his deadline to surrender was extended to Monday while the correctional facility dealt with a COVID-19 lockdown barring new admissions.
As of Tuesday, the Bureau of Prisons website showed that Nettleton is located at Edgefield FCI. It shows his release date as Nov. 11, 2022.
Nettleton’s convictions stem from an investigation into a cover-up of the 2015 death of Tur, a civilian security manager for the Naval Exchange at Guantanamo Bay, the base Nettleton commanded. A jury convicted Nettleton in January 2020 on six of eight counts, including obstruction of justice, concealment of material facts, falsification of records and making false statements.
Nettleton and Tur, 42, had a fight two nights before the Coast Guard recovered Tur’s body. The fight is believed to have stemmed from a drunken confrontation during a party at the officers’ club, where Tur accused Nettleton of having an affair with his wife. Prosecutors believe the fight spilled over into Nettleton’s home, where Tur’s blood was found in the living room.
Nettleton was never charged directly in Tur’s death, though prosecutors contended that evidence suggested Tur was involved in a much more violent fight with Nettleton than the retired captain described. An autopsy found that Tur drowned, though a manner of death was not determined.
Federal prisoners typically only serve about 85% of their sentences in prison.