Filipino-American leaders in the New York tri-state area are rallying behind a New Jersey Fil-Am soldier who is locked up in a Texas jail after being charged with first degree murder in the death of another man during an Aug. 27 melee.

United States Army Specialist Christian Mariano, 23, who served in Afghanistan in 2003, claimed it was self-defense when he stabbed Khyle Dittrich, a 19-year-old Caucasian from Gatesville, Texas, with a four-inch pocket knife.

Dittrich sustained a stab wound in the right lung and died four days later at a Hamilton, Texas hospital.

Mariano’s Manila-born parents, Nestor and Claire Mariano of Bayonne, N.J., said their son told them he was left with no choice but to defend himself from the 240-pound Dittrich who was choking him.

Mariano, who was born in Amarillo, Texas shortly before the Mariano family moved to New Jersey, is 180 pounds.

His parents, who only learned about their son’s incarceration one week later, had produced the $75,000 bail (10 percent cash option) set by the judge during a Sept. 27 bail hearing.

However, Mariano remained behind bars as of this week, with the money still in the hands of the defense counsel, David Stokes — a highly-regarded Texas lawyer — because of “complications in the case.”

“The judge approved the bail for my son’s temporary release on the condition that the Army will have an administrative hold of him,” Mrs. Mariano told the Filipino Reporter. “But the Army has yet to act and my son is still in Hamilton County Jail. I don’t want to jeopardize anything, but it’s really upsetting.”

The judge’s main concern is that Mariano could be deployed at any given time to Iraq and this could delay the litigation of the case, Mrs. Mariano said.

“The military said if there is an order to deploy, then the military will deploy,” Mrs. Mariano said.

“But the judge would not agree with it until he gets an assurance from the military that it will put my son on administrative hold.

“So it’s like going back and forth, and my son is still in jail,” she said.

The defense lawyer, Mrs. Mariano said, wrote the judge to reconsider his condition for bail, saying Mariano is “not really a flight risk and that he has never gotten into any trouble in the past.”

“This family needs help,” said Ludi de Asis Hughes, the highest ranking Fil-Am government official in New Jersey. “Christian was the only person charged in this unfortunate situation. His parents were not contacted until a week later. I hope this has nothing to do with race.”

Mrs. Mariano said Hughes, assistant director of the NJ Office of Consumer Finance-Department of Banking and Insurance, “connected me with everybody and has been providing us advice and support.” She also mentioned Lino Celle of Radyo Pinoy for his full support.

“We believe the son is being seriously discriminated along with his constitutional rights,” said Sonny Sampayan, a retired Fil-Am U.S. Air Force personnel. “We have to do something to defend our rights.”

“The U.S. Army Area Defense Counsel (or equivalent) at his Army base should be contacted immediately for their assistance too,” Sampayan added.

“This is the best time when PIDCI (Philippine Independence Day Council, Inc.) and NaFFAA (National Federation of Filipino American Associations) can work together,” said Ernesto Gange of Pennsylvania. “We can even form a legal ‘dream team’ to help this family.”

According to Hamilton County Sheriff’s Department, officers were dispatched at 11:34 p.m. on Aug. 27 to the ER of Hamilton General Hospital after being notified that a stabbing victim, Dittrich, was en route to the hospital in a private vehicle.

The victim was transferred by helicopter from HGH to Scott and White Hospital in critical condition. He died Aug. 31 at 4:15 p.m.

Capt. Jim Buster, a County Sheriff’s investigating officer, said two vehicles with passengers met at a parking lot on County Road 507 for a “discussion.”

Buster said those involved told him that the rendezvous turned violent after heated words were exchanged.

The fight was reportedly started by one Marcus Mulkey when he threw the first blow and hit Mariano’s friend, J.D. Cunningham, Buster said in his report. Then Mulkey reportedly hit Clinton Kunze, another friend of Mariano.

Sometime during the altercation, Mariano and Dittrich got involved, with Mariano stabbing Dittrich, the report stated.

Mariano, who was originally from Fort Drum in upstate New York until he was transferred in May to Fort Hood Base in Killeen, Texas, was arrested on Aug. 30 and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, a second-degree felony.

The charges were upgraded to first-degree murder, following Dittrich’s death.

Mrs. Mariano, who had visited her son in jail along with other family members, said Mariano told her the incident started when a roommate and another friend asked him to go with them and pick up a female friend who complained of being beaten up by an ex-boyfriend.

When Mariano and his friends arrived at the meeting place at a “very dark parking lot,” they were surprised to see other men aside from the ex-boyfriend, Mrs. Mariano said.

“Christian said he tried to stop the altercation but someone approached him from behind and put him on a choke hold,” Mrs. Mariano said. “He said he knew his life was in jeopardy and that he had to do what he had to do, otherwise he would have been the one dead.”

The second of four children, Mariano graduated from Marist High School in Bayonne, and had just finished first year of computer engineering when he joined the military nearly four years ago.

“I call him ‘my Dear Abby’ because he likes to tell people how to improve their lives,” said Mrs. Mariano, a registered nurse. “He’s always positive and never negative, no matter how deep the trouble in life is. He always believes that anyone can get up, pick up the pieces and start a new life.”

Mrs. Mariano said her son always helped and volunteered long hours of community service in high school, serving the mentally and physically handicapped children in summer camps. He also received numerous commendations, both for academic and extracurricular activities.

“Our friends and relatives know that my four children are all good and descent and God-fearing,” Mrs. Mariano said. “Many of them cried when they learned about what happened to Christian.”