A Yorktown sailor pleaded guilty to dereliction of duty at a special court martial Monday, marking the end of a tragic saga that left one U.S. Navy service member dead.
Master-at-Arms Second Class Petty Officer Jackson Bower, who was assigned to Naval Weapons Station Yorktown, Virginia, was charged with negligent homicide, making a false official statement and two counts of dereliction of duty in the 2024 death of Master-at-Arms Third Class Lyndon Joel Cosgriff-Flax, 22.
Bower will serve 70 days of confinement in the Navy’s Chesapeake Brig, according to Navy Region Mid-Atlantic.
Bower initially faced a maximum sentence of eight years’ confinement and a dishonorable discharge, according to his attorney, Peter Kageleiry Jr., local media reported.
Cosgriff-Flax — who enlisted in the Navy in 2021 — died during a training exercise on the York River in April 2024 that was conducted as part of security boat training, according to local reports. He went overboard and died as a result of his injuries.
Bower’s charge sheet from November 2024 accused the sailor of “operating a harbor safety boat in a negligent manner.”
Kageleiry said the judgment in the case of his client took longer than it should’ve because the Navy sought to deflect “command systemic accountability,” local media reported.
“After advocating on this case for many months, it is my belief that the Navy could have prevented this tragedy,” Kageleiry said, according to reports. “This is not the first small boat fatality. If reforms are not implemented, I fear it will not be the last.”
Riley Ceder is a reporter at Military Times, where he covers breaking news, criminal justice, investigations, and cyber. He previously worked as an investigative practicum student at The Washington Post, where he contributed to the Abused by the Badge investigation.
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