10 months ago
PORTSMOUTH, N.H. (AP) -- Two Navy submariners charged with beating a former town councilor from Kittery, Maine, in Portsmouth last spring are planning to argue they acted in self defense. Attorneys for Sandy Portobanco of Inglewood, Calif., and Gerald Smith, of Honolulu, who are both 23, say former councilor Stephen Huntress choked Portobanco, prompting he and Smith to act in self defense. Portobanco and Smith were crew members of the USS Greeneville nuclear submarine. They have been indicted on a number of felony charges and remain jailed pending March trials. Huntress suffered serious brain injuries. The Portsmouth Herald says the May 22 altercation began after someone made what the sailors considered to be derogatory comments about the Navy.
