McKinney’s Alibi Comes Under Prosecution Fire

FT. BELVOIR, Va. —  The prosecution wrapped up its sexual-misconduct case against Army Sgt. Maj. Gene C. McKinney on Friday with testimony suggesting that he doctored a sign-up sheet at a service station to give himself an alibi for the night he allegedly forced himself on a woman.

McKinney’s name appears as the 13th entry on a self-service garage’s sign-in sheet for Oct. 30, 1996, and he has testified that he was there changing the oil in his wife’s car.

But auto shop manager Robert Ege testified Friday that the tally sheet he compiled for the month of October shows only 12 names were recorded that day. Ege said he prepared the monthly tally on Oct. 31.

McKinney’s is also the only name on the sheet that is not accompanied by either a check-mark or a zero, which Ege testified was another employee’s notation for whether a customer had paid.

The paper beneath the tally sheet on the garage’s clipboard also bears indentations for the other 12 names but not for McKinney’s, testified Chief Warrant Officer Farrell Shiver, a forensic documents expert.

“One explanation is that the 13th line could have been added at another time,” Shiver said.

Shiver also said it is possible the sheet was removed from the clipboard and signed elsewhere, or that the bottom sheet was moved or obscured when McKinney signed his name.

McKinney, the Army’s former highest-ranking enlisted man, is accused of groping, propositioning or threatening six military women. He could get up to 55 years in prison if convicted. McKinney has denied all the charges.