California ? A Marine accused of masterminding a plot to kidnap and kill an Iraqi man fired three rounds into the victim’s head, then told his squad, “Gents, we just got away with murder,” a prosecutor said Tuesday in closing arguments of a court-martial.

Sgt. Lawrence G. Hutchins III was the leader of a squad of seven Marines and one Navy corpsman charged in the April 2006 slaying.

Prosecutors have singled him out as the ringleader – charging him with murder, kidnapping, conspiracy and other offenses – saying his frustration that a suspected insurgent kept evading criminal prosecution led him to dream up a plot to kidnap and kill the man.

In the defense argument, attorney Richard Brannon denied Hutchins, 23, ever said that, and he attributed Hutchins’ participation in the killing to pressure from his commanding officers.

A trial wrapped up Tuesday for Cpl. Marshall Magincalda, the other man still facing charges in the case, and the jury began deliberations. Magincalda, 24, is not accused of firing any shots.

Both Hutchins and Magincalda face mandatory life sentences if convicted of premeditated murder.