Decorated War Veteran Charged With Attempted Murder of Wife

By Alicia Cruz

Senior writer

Theblackurbantimes

His military occupational specialty i nthe U.S. Army was Medic. To servicemembers, he was better known as "Doc" or Corpsman.

On the front lines in Iraq he saved lives and tended to the wounded. His last stint in Iraq earned him a Purple Heart after a bomb hit the vehicle he was traveling in. Now, he's home in Colorado Springs fighting for his life and freedom in a court of law.

In the 1980's hit song "19," by Paul Hardcastle, the songs lyrics describe the reality Vietnam Veterans faced upon coming home from the war. Those words are now the daily mantra many Iraq war veterans live.

"According to a Veteran's Administration study, half of the Vietnam combat veterans suffered from what Psychiatrists call Post-Traumatic-Stress-Disorder. Many vets complain of alienation, rage, or guilt Some succumb to suicidal thoughts. Eight to Ten years after coming home almost eight-hundred-thousand men are still fighting the Vietnam War"

Almost immediately following his return from Iraq in December 2005, Delgado realized he was suffering from post-traumatic stress and needed help. He complained of "fear of losing self control," "feelings of hopelessness" and "paranoia," his medical records show.

In addition to Delgado's worsening PTSD, he was dealing with the fact that his mother was dying. In March 2008, the Army relocated Delgado to Fort Carson so he could be near his mother's side. He worked at the emergency room of Evans Army Community Hospital on base, and spent his time off with his ailing mother.

She died in June 2008, and according to his wife, that's when her husband's emotional state began deteriorating. Yet this decorated war veteran did not give up. He forged ahead and sought help at the behavioral health unit at the base hospital. Delgado's medical records reveal that in the nearly three months between his mother's death he sought help at least four times. Each time, he was referred to a civilian doctor. He saw the off-base doctor twice, and was prescribed anti-depressants, sleeping pills and anti-anxiety drugs."

Three months later, he was arrested.

It scared me, because I didn't know what was really happening," his wife said of his troubled state. "I didn't know what was going on."Shayla Delgado believes the treatment her husband received was inadequate. Unfortunately, she says, it took his arrest to get him the care he needed: in-patient treatment at civilian facilities specializing in PTSD. While her husband tries to heal from his invisible war wounds, she's trying to clear his name."It's just so sad because, you know, my husband's a really good person," she said, weeping. "He deserves to be treated better."

Shayla Delgado is standing by her man.

She says prosecutors are wrong about her husband trying to kill her. It all began on the evening of September 24, 2008. The Delgado's were celebrating their fifth wedding anniversary. There was alcohol, food and fun. At some point an argument began and it all went downhill from there. Shayla Delgado says her husband grabbed a gun and rattled off suicidal thoughts. "I've been thinking about how I'm going to do it," she recalled him saying. "I just can't live like this any more. I can't do it, I can't do it.""He was telling me, 'Take our son and leave because you don't want to be here for this,'" she said, breaking down in tears. "I was really, really scared."

Shayla says she begged her husband to speak with his father by telephone in order to calm down. While father and son spoke, Shayla says she seized the opportunity to get her sleeping 1-year-old son out of the home. She left him with a neighbor and headed back to the apartment.

Shayla headed straight for the bathroom where she knew her husband was with a gun where she proceeded to kick the door in. "I see him with the gun in his mouth and I just ripped the gun from his arms and I ran."

The police report states that Shayla Delgado was treated for a broken nose at a hospital, but she had no "visible marks on her neck at that time." The police report says she told authorities her husband wrapped his arm around her neck in the fight for the gun. "Ms. Delgado stated that she was in fear that he was going to kill her or hurt her very badly."

"She then got away and he pursued her." The affidavit goes on to say, "He followed her into the bedroom and again attempted to choke her once more. Ms. Delgado stated she stopped fighting in belief that he would let her go and after a few moments he did."

In a CNN interview, Shayla Delgado said that her nose was broken as a result of the struggle for the gun -- not from a malicious, intentional blow from her husband. Her husband was in crisis, she says, and she saved him from suicide in a violent scuffle. Prosecutors say otherwise. It appears they believe that Shayla is a battered woman too confused or afraid to tell the "truth"

They have charged Thomas Delgado with one count of first-degree attempted murder and a bevy of other charges. Outside of this arrest, Delgado's only other run-in with the law was a minor traffic violation.

Delgado's case could become one of the first to be heard at a soon-to-be-opened special veterans' trauma court in Colorado, if the family gets its way. Prosecutors have so far refused the family's request. This special court was created to get professional medical care for military veterans suffering from trauma-related disorders who are accused of crimes. An estimated 20 percent of Iraq war veterans suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder.

Delgado medically retired from the Army last week and appeared at his court hearing where he was released into the care of his father and will be monitored by an ankle bracelet while awaiting trial in November.
"I feel like it was 100 percent preventable," Shayla Delgado told CNN. "All we've really wanted this whole time was someone to help us, someone to give him treatment." The district attorney's office, which covers El Paso and Teller Counties, declined to comment for the CNN story and theblackurbantimes was unsuccessful at attempts to speak with the District Attorney on Friday. They have offered Delgado a plea bargain of 5 to 15 years in prison, but the Delgado's are standing firm and have rejected the plea bargain.

Delgado has sang his wife's praises since the beginning of this nightmare. "I would definitely be another one of the lost causes if I didn't have her backing me up in my corner. She's just been amazing, doing amazing things on my behalf," he told CNN. "It's unfortunate that it took an incident like this to get proper treatment." He said his lawyer advised him not to talk about the night in question. "I'm hoping to stay out of jail," he added.