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Sailor, a Camden County native, held in Mexico for prostitute murders

As a Navy SEAL trainee, Joshua Dockery already was facing mental and physical hardships. But now, as a prisoner in Tijuana's notorious La Mesa Penitentiary, the Camden County native could be facing much worse.

As a Navy SEAL trainee, Joshua Dockery already was facing mental and physical hardships. But now, as a prisoner in Tijuana's notorious La Mesa Penitentiary, the Camden County native could be facing much worse.

Dockery, 27, a Navy information-systems technician, and Jarrett Monzingo, 22, a fellow SEAL trainee from Missouri, are charged with murdering a prostitute and the attempted murders of two others in a hotel.

On Feb. 4, police in Tijuana allegedly found the men, both petty officers, in a bloodstained hotel room with a prostitute and a hotel employee, both of whom had stab wounds. Another prostitute had been choked, authorities said.

The two were charged with another murder after the arrest, when a witness and hotel cameras placed both at the scene of the Jan. 17 suffocation of a 19-year-old prostitute.

Dockery's mother, Debra, said that she learned of his arrest while she was out of the country on vacation and was still shocked.

"At this point we haven't heard anything," she said yesterday.

"I have spoken to the U.S. Navy and U.S. Consulate to try and get updates." Dockery's father told CBS 3 that his son had never been in trouble and had maintained his innocence in a phone conversation. Doug Sayers, a Navy spokesman, said that the Navy has hired Mexican attorneys for both men. Sayers said that Navy representatives also have visited the prison to check on the men.

Dockery, a graduate of Triton Regional High School, in Runnemede, was a student in the Basic Underwater Demolition Seals (BUDS) training at Naval Base Coronado, in San Diego, where he and Monzingo were stationed, Sayers said. The Mexican border is about 20 minutes from the base, Sayers said.

Neither Dockery nor Monzingo had permission from their commanding unit to cross the border, Sayers added.

Missouri state Rep. Don Wells, a friend of Monzingo's family, said the extent of police corruption in Mexico casts suspicion on the charges. "I think we need to bring them back home, where we believe in justice," he told the Daily News.

He said it was unclear if the men could post bail or when they would have a hearing.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.