WHEELER ARMY AIRFIELD — A Schofield Barracks platoon leader charged with the June 2007 premeditated murder of an unarmed Iraqi admitted yesterday that he told investigators he shot the man.

"They said, 'Did you shoot the guy?' and I said, 'Yes, I did,' " Sgt. 1st Class Trey Corrales said on the witness stand yesterday.

Yet Corrales yesterday pleaded not guilty to the charges against him, including premeditated murder; wrongfully soliciting another soldier to murder the unarmed, wounded Iraqi; and wrongfully impeding an investigation by causing an AK-47 rifle to be placed near the victim.

A military court yesterday heard pretrial motions, with Corrales' jury trial expected to start tomorrow morning. The San Antonio man faces a maximum sentence of life without parole if he is convicted of the murder charge.

Corrales yesterday wore his green "Class A" uniform in court, snapped his right arm up to swear the oath to tell the truth, and answered questions readily. His wife, Lily, sat behind him in the spectator gallery.

The shooting came in a year of increased casualties for U.S. forces. An attorney for another Schofield soldier accused in the case had said Corrales wanted revenge that night because a buddy had burned to death in an attack shortly before the mission.

Corrales, 35, yesterday was called as a witness as part of a defense motion to restrict the testimony of two agents from the Army's Criminal Investigation Command. The agents interviewed Corrales at Kirkuk Air Base in Iraq.

Defense attorney Frank Spinner questioned the recollections of the two CID agents, who did not videotape or audiotape their interview with Corrales.

"It's pretty much standard," Spinner said later. "I've been practicing 30 years, and unfortunately, the military just doesn't seem to want to record interviews of subjects."

The judge in the case, Col. Donna Wright, had not decided as of last night whether to restrict the two agents' testimony.

Corrales, who was questioned for about seven hours in Kirkuk, said Special Agent Mark Dunham "was in my face, about six inches," and was yelling.

"He said, 'I know what you f---ing did. You gave the guy (the Iraqi) the weapon, and you took him out back and shot him,' " Corrales said. "I said that's not the way it went down."

Corrales, a 14-year Army veteran and father of three, did not elaborate.

Corrales said Dunham engaged in "word trickery," and mixed up and rearranged facts as he interviewed Corrales. On the stand yesterday, Corrales gave an example of Dunham's questioning, and his answer.

"The (Iraqi) man told you, 'No mister, no mister, no mister.' Did he not?" Corrales quoted Dunham as saying. Corrales finished the exchange by saying the Iraqi had uttered those words.

Corrales and Spc. Christopher Shore, 26, were accused of shooting the Iraqi on June 23, 2007, after a raid outside Kirkuk. The Army accused Shore of shooting the Iraqi after being ordered to do so by Corrales.

Shore was convicted of aggravated assault and was sentenced in February to 120 days confinement, and was given a reprimand and reduction in rank.

A Schofield official said that time may be reduced to about 75 days with good behavior. Shore, who is finishing up his sentence in the brig at Ford Island, is on the witness list to testify at Corrales' trial.

Army CID Special Agent Jesse Whaley, who also interviewed Corrales in Iraq, yesterday said Corrales initially was cooperative, but then became apprehensive and cried.

Corrales yesterday said he cooperated because "I wanted to clear my name, and I wanted to get things done as quickly as possible."

Corrales subsequently said he asked to speak to a lawyer, and Dunham told him, "The only attorneys that are here are the prosecutors, and I don't think you want to f---ing talk to them, do you?"

Corrales said he persisted in asking for an attorney as the interview continued. Whaley, the special agent, said Corrales did not ask about legal representation until after seven hours, at which time he said he ended the interview.

At hearings and at trial for Shore, fellow soldiers described Corrales as mercurial and out of control.

Shore's defense attorney, Michael Waddington, had said Corrales told his soldiers to shoot anyone in the village on the night of June 23 as they looked for insurgents.

Schofield soldiers quickly secured a target house, and said there were no gunshots, and no weapons were found. Tests were administered to check for explosives residue. Corrales tried to get the Iraqi man to take an AK-47 rifle, Waddington said.

Spc. Franklin Hambrick testified at Shore's trial that the Iraqi had his hands up as Corrales ordered him to run.

Hambrick thought it was a scare tactic, but as Corrales raised his rifle, he thought, "This is really going to happen," and as he turned away he heard shots fired.

A military official said the Iraqi man had five gunshot wounds: one in each arm, one in the back and two in the face.

Shore said Corrales ordered him to "finish" the wounded Iraqi, but instead fired two shots next to the detainee's head.

Shore previously said Corrales had a close relationship with the battalion commander, Lt. Col. Michael Browder, and Shore thought the shooting would be swept under the rug.

Browder was relieved of command in Iraq. He was assigned as deputy commander for a basic training brigade at Fort Benning, Ga., officials said, and testified at Shore's trial under a grant of immunity.

Browder is expected to testify at Corrales' trial under similar immunity.

Maj. Gary Johnson, the judge advocate for the 3rd Brigade at Schofield, said Browder was investigated in the June 23 shooting in Iraq, but there was insufficient evidence to charge him under military law.