3rd AF officer dismissed for drugs

First Lt. Lantz Balthazar was dismissed from the Air Force, will be required to forfeit future pay and allowances and serve five months in confinement, a military judge said Wednesday at Malmstrom Air Force Base.

Balthazar is the third Air Force officer at Malmstrom to be court-martialed and dismissed from the service for drug involvement this year. The case was related to events that occurred between January 2011 and January 2014.

Balthazar pleaded guilty to one specification of conspiracy to possess, use and distribute Ecstasy; and specifications of wrongfully possessing Ecstasy, wrongfully using Ecstasy, wrongfully distributing Ecstasy on multiple occasions and a specifications of wrongfully possessing and wrongfully using cocaine.

Two of the officers Balthazar was convicted of conspiring with to acquire Ecstasy, 2nd Lt. Nicole Dalmazzi and 1st Lt. Michael Alonso, were court-martialed and dismissed earlier this year. Dalmazzi was court-martialed in January and Alonso in June.

All three officers were assigned to the 12th Missile Squadron at Malmstrom.

A charge of using Pentadrone and a specification of distributing cocaine were dropped as part of the pre-trial agreement.

The maximum penalty for the charges Balthazar pleaded guilty to was dismissal, forfeiture of pay and up to 50 years confinement.

The Air Force prosecution requested an 8-month confinement period.

Capt. Kevin Boden, defending Balthazar, said that the officer understood and took responsibility for his actions.

“He blames no one but himself,” Boden said. “He doesn’t need to be locked up to think about his actions.”

In the pre-trial agreement, the convening authority, in this case Maj. Gen. Jack Weinstein, 20th AF commander, set a maximum sentence that the military judge doesn’t see until after reaching his own decision. If the judge’s decision exceeds the maximum, it’s adjusted to the pre-trial limit. If it’s less than that limit, it’s not increased.

The military judge, Col. Vance Spath sentenced Balthazar to 14 months, but the pre-trial agreement limit was five months, which Balthazar will serve on base.

The confinement period starts immediately and after 14 days, the forfeiture of all pay and allowances kicks in.

Balthazar was commissioned into the service from the Air Force Academy and after training at Vandenberg AFB, was assigned to Malmstrom as a missile crew officer.

Balthazar told the court that he “never had any doubt” what he was using Ecstasy, which he said was always in pill form.

When the Air Force Office of Special Investigations searched his home, they found 16 Ecstasy pills in a Flintstones vitamins bottle, according to the prosecution.

He told the court that he ordered cocaine from a website, that was later shut down by the FBI, and it arrived as a white powder in a baggie in late 2013. Balthazar told the court he used the drugs with his civilian girlfriend.

He pleaded guilty to conspiring with Alonso, Dalmazzi and his girlfriend on a plan for Alonso to acquire Ecstasy while he was on an Air Force trip to Vandenberg in California.

Neither the prosecution or defense called witnesses, but the defense submitted 49 pages of character statements on Balthazar’s behalf.

During an unsworn statement, Balthazar said he was raised in a loving, Christian family and was ashamed of his actions.

“There is absolutely no excuse for my actions,” he told the court.

He said that he has spent the time since being caught with drugs getting his life back on the right path and getting involved in the Great Falls community.

Capt. Clayton Cox, prosecuting for the Air Force, said during arguments that despite his solid upbringing, Balthazar should be dismissed and confined because he had not upheld his duties as an officer and influenced other officers.

Cox said that Balthazar had started using Ecstasy shortly after graduating from the Air Force Academy and instructed others on how to avoid detection via text messages.

“He played with fire and he played with other people’s lives, including his own,” Cox said. “Dismissal is wholly appropriate.”