The Bernie Beck Gate at Fort Cavazos, Texas, on May 23, 2023. (Rose L. Thayer/Stars and Stripes)
AUSTIN, Texas — A soldier at Fort Cavazos faces charges for painting racist graffiti on walls and setting fire to washing machines in a barracks laundry room at the Texas Army base, as well a charge of possessing child pornography.
Pvt. Javier Pantoja Tinoco pleaded not guilty to the charges on March 21 before military judge Col. Maureen Kohn, according to the Army’s online court docket. His trial with an enlisted jury panel is scheduled for April 9.
Pantoja Tinoco is assigned to the Regimental Engineer Squadron of 3rd Cavalry Regiment and is charged with possession of child pornography, arson, damaging military property, drunk and disorderly conduct, and conduct prejudicial to good order and discipline, according to the 1st Cavalry Division, which is the convening authority of the court-martial.
The arson incident occurred April 22, 2023, in a laundry room of a barracks building and damaged military property valued at more than $1,000, according to the soldier’s charge sheet. He is accused of “willfully and maliciously” setting fire to washing machines.
That same night, he also wrote racial slurs on the walls of the barracks that was specifically derogatory to Black people, according to court documents. He also wrote gang signs, though the court documents do not describe them in detail.
Pantoja Tinoco is also accused of knowingly and wrongfully possessing one or more videos of a minor, or what appears to be a minor, engaging in sexually explicit conduct, according to court documents.
He is not in pretrial confinement, according to court documents.
Officials at Fort Cavazos have said in the days following the incident that two soldiers who had “recently arrived” to the base were in custody. The 1st Cavalry Division said the second soldier is no longer in the military and would not provide further information about him.
