SEATTLE – Staff. Sgt. Calvin Gibbs, a central figure in the Afghanistan war crimes case against Western Washington-based soldiers, boasted about murdering a family while he served in Iraq, according to a sworn statement from a fellow soldier obtained by the Seattle Times.

When Gibbs first arrived in Afghanistan, he began talking to other soldiers about “getting away with some of these things,” according to Spc. Jeremy Morlock, a 22-year-old soldier who is now accused of helping Gibbs murder three civilians in Afghanistan.

Morlock told Army investigators that Gibbs told some platoon members he had developed a plan to kill Iraqis driving in a car, and looked for a chance to carry it out. The opportunity arrived one day while he was crossing a road carrying a squad automatic weapon – a powerful machine gun, according to Morlock.

Gibbs told the soldiers he “turned around and sprayed down the vehicle” that carried the family – then covered up the murders by telling his commanders that the car had failed to stop, according to Morlock’s statement.

The Army has charged Gibbs with committing three murders of civilians in Afghanistan, possessing body parts and other crimes while serving in the southern province of Kandahar. He is currently being held at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.

Other soldiers, in statements to Army criminal investigators, have portrayed Gibbs as the ringleader of the group that carried out the killings and other crimes, including beating one fellow soldier believed to be a drug informant.

The investigation has resulted in charges against a dozen soldiers from the 5th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division at Lewis-McChord.

Gibbs, 25, who is from Billings, has denied involvement in any illegal activity.

Maj. Katherine Turner, a public affairs officer at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, said she could not comment about Gibbs’ conduct in Iraq.

The Washington Post, citing Army investigative reports, reported Wednesday that the Army would re-examine the killing of the family in Iraq.

U.S. soldiers deployed to southern Afghanistan have been told that a crucial goal of the campaign is to win the confidence of the Afghan population, so they will become allies in the war against the Taliban insurgency.

But Morlock, in his statement, said that Gibbs displayed “pure hatred for all Afghanis and constantly referred to them as savages.”