PORT ANGELES — Lance Cpl. Lance Hering, who staged his death two years ago to avoid military service, arrived at a California brig Saturday evening after being escorted by Marines from the Clallam County jail earlier in the day.
Marines picked Hering up at the jail at 9:15 a.m., according to Clallam County Sheriff Bill Benedict.
He had arrived in Camp Pendleton in San Diego County, Calif., by 7:30 p.m., said Maj. Kristen Lasica, base spokeswoman.
At that time, a confinement order had been signed, and he was on the way to the brig, she said.
She added that he may face desertion charges.
Hering, 23, was arrested by Port Angeles police — on a tip from the Boulder County, Colo., Sheriff’s Office — last Sunday at William R. Fairchild International Airport.
He was boarding a rented Cessna plane with his father, Lloyd Hering, 60, who is charged with misdemeanor aiding and abetting a criminal.
Lloyd Hering was released and is scheduled to appear in Clallam County District Court on Dec. 2.
His son served one tour in Iraq assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment in Camp Pendleton as an infantryman before he disappeared in Colorado in 2006. He spent 26 months in hiding.
Charges against Hering will be determined by Col. Philip Betz of Camp Pendleton, Lasica said Friday.
The maximum punishment for desertion is five years of imprisonment with a forfeiture of all pay and allowance, a reduction in rank to private and a dishonorable discharge.
Hering’s parents posted on Thursday a $5,000 bond in Clallam County on a charge of being a fugitive from another state.
He remained in jail on a hold from the military until he was picked up and transported by Marines on Saturday.
His bail was exonerated in Clallam County Superior Court on Friday, meaning the $5,000 will be returned to Hering’s parents.
The fugitive charge stems from a Boulder, Colo. a warrant for Hering for a probation violation in a 2004 attempted-burglary case.
Lasica said it also has not been determined if Hering will face a military tribunal before he makes a court appearance in Colorado for the parole violation.
Hering will be presumed innocent until proven guilty, she added.
“As always, regardless of what decisions were made, Lance Cpl. Hering is entitled to fair treatment and presumption of innocence,” Lasica said.
Planning to surrender
Port Angeles police on Tuesday released a statement from Hering that said he was planning to turn himself in when he was arrested with his father, who is a private pilot.
Hering said was on his way to see a psychiatrist in Virginia and an attorney in Texas before returning to Camp Pendleton.
His disappearance on Aug. 30, 2006 in Eldorado Canyon State Park in Boulder County, Colo. — while on leave between scheduled duty in Iraq — prompted a massive search involving more than 600 people over five days.
It was the largest search in that county’s history.
Hering’s friend Steve Powers told investigators that Hering had hit his head while they were rock climbing, a story he later admitted was a hoax.
A security camera video from a Denver Greyhound station showed a man matching Hering’s description buying a ticket about the same time of his disappearance.
Powers had told authorities in Boulder that Hering feared for his life because some members of his unit were facing trial for killing an Iraqi woman.
If Hering broke a code of silence, he feared that other members of his unit would kill him, according to the Rocky Mountain News, which the Marine Corps has referred to as unfounded.
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Reporter Tom Callis can be reached at 360-417-3532 or tom.callis@peninsuladailynews.com.
