HONOLULU -- The former Maryland police chief who headed the Washington-area sniper ma

[Gary Dee]

HONOLULU -- The former Maryland police chief who headed the Washington-area sniper manhunt three years ago graduated as one of 40 new Honolulu police recruits.

Charles Moose, 53, will hit the streets for patrol duty Monday morning alongside a police veteran. He graduated from the academy on Thursday.
"It's been a long time since I've worked the street ... but it's exactly what I want to do over the next several years," he said.

Moose led the task force that investigated the three-week shooting spree that left 10 people dead and terrorized the Washington area in 2002. John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo were arrested. Muhammad was sentenced to death; Malvo was ordered to serve life in prison.

Moose resigned as Montgomery County police chief in 2003 amid criticism that he was improperly cashing in by writing a book about the sniper case. He now lives in West Oahu.

Everyone entering the Honolulu department must start as a recruit.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/nation...per_Chief.html

[Bailey]

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articl...malvo1003.html

Matthew Barakat
Associated Press
Oct. 3, 2007 12:00 AM

Cheryll Witz was shopping for a birthday cake when her cellphone rang. Waiting to speak to her was one of the nation's most notorious serial killers: the man who says he killed her father five years ago.

"I need to apologize for what I've done to you and your family," Lee Boyd Malvo told her.

Witz stood, "bawling my eyes out," in the aisles of a Costco in Tucson.

In March 2002, Witz's father, Jerry Taylor, was shot and killed from long range as he practiced chip shots on a golf-course practice green in Tucson.

The slaying was a precursor to a sniper spree that terrorized the Washington, D.C., area, in which the teenage Malvo and John Allen Muhammad killed 10 people and wounded three others over a three-week span beginning Oct. 2, 2002.

Malvo placed the phone call to Witz through a third party. He had initially called a producer at ABC News, who then used three-way calling to connect Malvo to Witz after she agreed to take the call. Witz had previously told the producer she would be interested in speaking with Malvo.

Such calls violate prison policy, said Larry Traylor, a Virginia Department of Corrections spokesman. He would not comment, though, on Malvo's specific phone calls or whether he has called relatives of any other victims.

A network representative said the producer did not know three-way calls were prohibited and would not have connected the two had she been aware.

Witz confirmed to the Associated Press that she received the call Sept. 20. She said last week that Malvo broke down at one point as he spoke.


"The first thing he said was, 'I tried to write a letter to you, but I couldn't. I didn't know what to say,' " Witz said.

Witz has tried for years to learn more about the circumstances of her father's death, and at one point even wrote to Malvo urging him to divulge what he knew.

Unfortunately, some of what Witz learned from Malvo in the five-minute call was far from comforting.

For personal reasons, Witz did not want to discuss all the details of the call, particularly those surrounding the exact circumstances of her father's death. But she said some of what Malvo said raised more questions in her mind about exactly what happened and why.

"I would like to know why they picked my father," she said.

For several years after Taylor's murder, Malvo was a suspect, but the case remained open. Last year, after Witz wrote to Malvo, he confessed his involvement to Tucson police, who now consider the matter closed.

Pima County prosecutors do not intend to prosecute Malvo or Muhammad.

Malvo already has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in Virginia and Maryland.

The death penalty is not an option because the U.S. Supreme Court has barred the execution of juvenile criminals, and Malvo had just turned 17 when Taylor was killed.

Muhammad has been sentenced to death in Virginia and to life in prison in Maryland.

Tucson police last year said that they followed up on some of what Malvo said in his confession but that it could not be corroborated.

Malvo told police that Taylor's murder was part of a hired hit, at least according to the information Muhammad gave him. Tucson police have rejected that motive, and Witz said she can't think of anybody who would have had a grudge against her father.

Other facts also don't fit. Malvo told Witz, for instance, that he and Muhammad had photos of Jerry Taylor before the pair ever arrived in Tucson. Witz wonders where those pictures came from.

In transcripts of Malvo's confession to Tucson police, Malvo said he asked where the pictures came from but was told by Muhammad that information was on "a need-to-know basis."

Malvo's attorney from his first trial, Craig Cooley, said Malvo may not be the best source for determining the real reasons behind the killings. Malvo only knew what Muhammad told him, and much of what Muhammad said was plainly ridiculous, Cooley said.

For instance, Malvo believed Muhammad when told that the $10 million ransom sought from the government to stop the sniper killings would be used to establish a utopian society for 140 homeless children on a Canadian compound.

Carmeta Albarus-Lindo, a New York social worker appointed to work with Malvo during his legal process, said Malvo has freed himself from Muhammad's psychological grip.

"He has evolved into a young man who really wants to make amends, who is truly remorseful," Albarus-Lindo said.

Witz remains angry but said it was important to her to hear Malvo's apology directly. She hopes he follows through on a promise he made during the call to write to her.

"I told him that I was glad he didn't get the death penalty. I told him, 'You need to think about what you've done,' " Witz said.

"He said, 'The Lee then and Lee now are two different people.' "

[Bailey]

John Allen Muhammad speaks to the jury during opening arguments of his 2003 capital murder trial.

Published: May 12, 2009

The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments today that 2002 sniper John Allen Muhammad was incompetent to represent himself for two days in his 2003 capital murder trial that resulted in his death sentence.

Muhammad was sentenced to death for the Oct. 9, 2002, slaying of Dean Meyers in Prince William County. Meyers was one of 10 left dead in the shootings by Muhammad and his 17-year-old accomplice, Lee Boyd Malvo, which injured another half-dozen in four states and the District of Columbia.

Malvo, the shooter, was sentenced to life in prison.

In a 90-minute hearing, Jon Sheldon, Muhammad’s attorney, argued that his former counsel had failed by not informing the court that he was incompetent to defend himself, citing evidence that his brain was damaged by childhood beatings.

Sheldon opened by telling the three-judge panel that Muhammad “was seriously paranoid” at the time of trial, making claims that he “might be from another planet and was a prophet.“ Sheldon said this violated his constitutional right to an effective defense, suggesting he should have been offered a competency hearing at the time.

“Counsel was ineffective for failing to alert the court,“ he said, adding that the court “would have had an absolute obligation under Virginia law to hold a competency hearing.“

The defense maintains that such a hearing might have also cast doubt on Muhammad’s competence to stand trial, opening the door for a reversal of the conviction and death sentence or the case being returned to trial court.

The attorney general’s office, represented by Katherine B. Burnett, countered that Muhammad’s legal counsel at the time had no obligation to share that information, noting that he presented himself clearly in court.

“There is not authority anywhere that I am aware of that would support that claim,“ she said, noting that an incompetence claim was never raised at any stage of the Virginia trial.

“It was a very foolish and unwise decision [to represent himself], but he wasn’t incompetent,“ she said.

Sheldon said that if Muhammad hadn’t represented himself he “would not have made those crazy statements to the jury” referencing statements he made that the state’s case against him was made up of “insane lies.“

http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/new...121804/267264/

[lori_miley]

That was such an unbelievable time. They murdered people everywhere my family shopped, lived , and worked. My former husband was in law enforcement in the area and it was just a horror to hear about the victems and the loved ones, I dreaded every hour , day by day, worried "who is next?"

[Bailey]

John Allen Muhammad was sentenced to death for the slaying of Dean Harold Meyers.

* Story Highlights
* Execution date proposed for convicted D.C. sniper John Allen Muhammad
* Police say Muhammad, Lee Boyd Malvo shot 13 people, killing 10
* Muhammad's lawyer says he will seek clemency


updated 1:12 a.m. EDT, Sat September 12, 2009

By Mike M. Ahlers
CNN



WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Virginia prosecutors are asking a state court to set a November 9 execution date for John Allen Muhammad, convicted in a series of sniper-style shootings that terrorized the Washington area in 2002.

In a letter dated Wednesday, Senior Assistant Attorney General Katherine B. Burnett said the November date "has been carefully coordinated with the governor's office to insure his availability for any clemency petition Muhammad may wish to pursue." Burnett enclosed a copy of a proposed execution order "for the court's convenience."

Muhammad's attorney said he will file an appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court, and will ask the governor for clemency.

During a three-week period in October 2002, police say, Muhammad and his young protege, Lee Boyd Malvo, shot 13 people, killing 10. The two also are suspected in other shootings and murders in Tacoma, Washington, Montgomery, Alabama, and the Washington, D.C., area.

Muhammad, now 48, was convicted of murder in the death of Dean Harold Meyers at a Manassas, Virginia, filling station. Meyers was killed by a single bullet, which became the signature of the two-person sniper team.

Ultimately, Muhammad was convicted of the Meyers' killing and of one Maryland murder, which prosecutors there said was "insurance" in case the Virginia conviction was overturned.

Malvo was convicted of one Virginia shooting and was sentenced to life imprisonment.

Muhammad's attorney, Jon Sheldon, released the prosecutor's letter Friday.

The letter, addressed to the chief judge of the Prince William County Circuit Court, says the court must hold a hearing within 10 days of receiving the letter, and must set an execution date no later than 60 days after the hearing.

Since Muhammad is not required to be at the hearing, Burnett asks that the court conduct the hearing by means of a conference call.


http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/09/12/...ion/index.html

[lori_miley]

My God, the horror we all went thru, little children were even very aware of what was happening and talking about it, if ever someone deserves the death penalty he does for the victems as well as for the public and the police working it.

[Bailey]

Originally Posted by lori_miley

My God, the horror we all went thru, little children were even very aware of what was happening and talking about it, if ever someone deserves the death penalty he does for the victems as well as for the public and the police working it.

I also lived in Virginia awhile back. I remember the time myself. Yes the horror everyone went thru. Sad :-)

[Bailey]

Sniper John Allen Muhammad and accomplice Lee Boyd Malvo terrorized the Washington-Maryland-Virginia region in a string of shootings in 2002.

By Staff Reports

Published: September 16, 2009

A Nov. 10 execution date has been set for John Allen Muhammad, one of two snipers whose murder rampage left 10 dead and a half dozen wounded in four states and the District of Columbia.

He was sentenced to death in Virginia in 2004 for the Oct. 9, 2002, capital murder of Dean Meyers in Prince William County.

One of Muhammad’s lawyers and the Virginia attorney general’s office said the execution date was set this morning in Prince William County Circuit Court.

Muhammad’s accomplice, Lee Boyd Malvo, is serving life in prison.

http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/ne...092001/293247/

[Bailey]

* Story Highlights
* John Allen Muhammad is to be executed November 10 for a Virginia slaying
* Police say Muhammad and an accomplice killed 10 people in October 2002
* Gov. Tim Kaine has said he couldn't imagine a circumstance for clemency
* On his firm's Web site, attorney says he will appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court

updated 4 hours, 51 minutes ago

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- An attorney for convicted Washington-area sniper John Allen Muhammad, who is scheduled to be executed November 10, will seek clemency from Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine on October 22.

Jonathan Sheldon said he will also file an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court on November 2. He posted the dates Tuesday on his law firm's Web site.

During a three-week period in October 2002, police say, Muhammad and young accomplice Lee Boyd Malvo shot 13 people, killing 10. Malvo, who was 17 at the time, was convicted in one shooting and was sentenced to life in prison.

Muhammad is to be executed for the murder of Dean Harold Meyers at a Manassas, Virginia, gas station. Meyers was killed by a single bullet, which became the signature of the two-person sniper team.

Kaine told CNN affiliate WTOP Radio during its "Ask the Governor" program last month that he couldn't imagine a circumstance under which he would grant clemency.

"I know of nothing in this case that would suggest that there is any credible claim of innocence or that there was anything procedurally wrong with the prosecution," Kaine said.

Under Virginia law, condemned prisoners can choose to die by electric chair or by lethal injection. If the inmate does not state a preference, he or she is executed by lethal injection.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/10/13/...tml?eref=ib_us

[Bailey]

By Frank Green

Published: October 24, 2009

Lawyers for Beltway sniper John Allen Muhammad have asked Gov. Timothy M. Kaine to spare his life because the Persian Gulf War veteran suffers from mental illness.

In a statement released yesterday afternoon, they contend Muhammad should not be executed because of his "brain damage, brain dysfunction, neurological deficits as well as his psychotic and delusional behavior."

Muhammad, 48, and Lee Boyd Malvo, 24, were convicted in a three-week shooting rampage in October 2002 that killed 10 and wounded three in Virginia, Maryland and Washington.

Muhammad was sentenced to death for the Oct. 9, 2002, slaying of Dean Harold Meyers, 53, who was shot at a Manassas-area service station.

In their statement yesterday, Muhammad's lawyers said they met with Kaine's staff Thursday and presented a compilation of audio interviews with lawyers, mental-health experts and witnesses rather than a traditional written request for executive clemency.

Muhammad's mental illness was exacerbated by Gulf War syndrome, which he suffered from his service as a sergeant during the first Gulf War, the lawyers said. They said a juror in the case would not have sentenced him to death had she known he was severely mentally ill.

They are asking that Kaine commute the death sentence to life in prison without parole.

Though personally opposed to the death penalty, Kaine campaigned on a promise that he would not abuse the power of executive clemency and has let nine executions proceed since taking office in 2006.

Kaine spokesman Gordon Hickey said yesterday that "the governor does not comment on clemency petitions."

http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/ne...223008/301335/

[Bailey]

John Allen Muhammad was convicted in an October 2002 sniper-style shooting.

October 27, 2009 5:39 p.m. EDT

(CNN) -- Convicted Beltway sniper John Allen Muhammad is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection November 10, a Virginia corrections official said Tuesday.

"Inmate John Muhammad was offered a choice in method of execution, and he declined," Larry Traylor said. "Under the code, if the inmate declines to choose, it defaults to lethal injection."

Muhammad was convicted of killing Dean Harold Meyers, one of several victims in a series of sniper-style shootings that terrorized the Washington area in October 2002.

During a three-week period, Muhammad and his young protege, Lee Boyd Malvo, shot 13 people, killing 10 of them, police said. The two also are suspected in other shootings, including in Tacoma, Washington; Montgomery, Alabama; and elsewhere in the Washington metro area.

Attorneys for Muhammad argued last week that he should be given clemency on the grounds that he has a severe mental illness that worsened while he served in the Persian Gulf War.

Attorney Jonathan Sheldon said he and other attorneys presented Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine's representatives with audio interviews with attorneys, mental health experts and witnesses rather than a written document. They said they plan to file an appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court on November 3.

Kaine's office said that any information on the clemency request would come in the form of a news release at a later date.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/10/27/...ion/index.html

[Bailey]

By STEVE SZKOTAK

Associated Press Writer

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) -- Attorneys for John Allen Muhammad released a May 2008 letter on Wednesday in which the mastermind of the deadly 2002 sniper attacks in the Washington, D.C., area proclaims his innocence.

The rambling, handwritten letter was made available because of requests for a statement from Muhammad, his attorneys wrote on the Web page of their law firm. The letter was filed in federal court in connection with Muhammad's unsuccessful attempt to block his execution, the attorneys said.

Muhammad, 48, is scheduled to die by injection on Nov. 10 at a Virginia prison.

In the letter dated May 8, 2008, and rife with misspellings, Muhammad writes of discussions with a new team of attorneys and of assurances that "exculpatory evidence" that he claims was withheld from his trial "will prove my innocent and what really happen ...."

The letter adds: "So all you police and prosecutors can stand-down-'rushing' to murder this innocent black man for something he nor his son (Lee) had nothing to do with ...."

Lee Boyd Malvo was Muhammad's teenage accomplice, who is serving a life sentence. Muhammad fostered a father-son relationship with Malvo but the two were not related.

Jonathan Sheldon, one of Muhammad's attorneys, wrote in an e-mail to The Associated Press that the letter has been filed in U.S. District Court since May 2008. "It just had not come to public attention, like much of our filings," he wrote.

The letter, written under the heading "Attorney Client Privilege," was apparently filed during an attempt by lawyers to spare Muhammad from the death penalty.

In their filing, the lawyers said Muhammad was regularly whipped with hose pipes and electrical cords and beaten with hammers and sticks by family members during a brutal childhood.

Muhammad was convicted of killing Dean Harold Meyers at a Manassas, Va., gas station during a three-week spree that killed 10 in October 2002. The killings happened in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia.

Tuesday, Muhammad's attorneys asked the U.S. Supreme Court to stop his execution.

Muhammad's lawyers also have asked Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine for clemency, saying Muhammad is mentally ill and should not be executed.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories...MPLATE=DEFAULT

[Bailey]

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

* John Allen Muhammad scheduled for execution on Tuesday
* Clemency petition to Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine is only remaining issue
* In 2002, Muhammad and accomplice killed 10 people and wounded three
* Muhammad continues to insist that he is innocent


By Bill Mears, CNN
November 9, 2009 6:26 p.m. EST

Two former wives and a son talk to Larry King about life with John Allen Muhammad tonight at 9 ET.

Washington (CNN) -- The Supreme Court refused Monday to block the execution of John Allen Muhammad, the mastermind of the sniper team that terrified the suburbs of the nation's capital in October 2002.

Known as the D.C. Sniper, Muhammad is scheduled for execution Tuesday evening at a state prison near Jarratt, Virginia.

Muhammad, 48, has continued to profess his innocence during two lengthy trials, including one featuring testimony from young accomplice Lee Boyd Malvo, whom Muhammad referred to as his "son."

With the Supreme Court denying his appeal, Muhammad, 48, is all but sure to die by lethal injection at 9 p.m. ET Tuesday at the Greensville Correctional Center.

The only remaining issue is a clemency petition to Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine, who has indicated that he is not apt to grant it.

Lawyers for Muhammad also could file additional appeals, although it is not clear on what grounds.

Prosecutors say Muhammad, fueled by grudges against the Army and his ex-wife, plotted a cross-country shooting rampage, culminating in a killing spree in Washington.

During three weeks in October 2002, Muhammad and Malvo killed 10 people and wounded three while taunting police with written messages and phoned-in threats and demands. In notes left at shooting scenes, the snipers demanded $10 million to stop the shootings.

Prosecutors say Muhammad intended the killings to provide a smokescreen to cover up his real goal: He hoped to kill his wife, Mildred, and gain custody of his three children.

Defense attorneys and some supporters say Muhammad is mentally ill and suffered post-traumatic stress disorder during his service in the Persian Gulf War.

Muhammad was convicted of capital murder and terrorism charges in Virginia for killing Dean Harold Meyers, a Vietnam veteran cut down by a single bullet as he filled his gas tank at a Manassas, Virginia, service station.

Muhammad also stood trial in Maryland and was convicted of six murders there.

Malvo was tried in Virginia for the October 14, 2002, murder of FBI analyst Linda Franklin, 47, outside a Home Depot in Fairfax County, Virginia. A jury sentenced Malvo to life in prison after defense attorneys said Malvo, who was 17 at the time of the murders, was brainwashed by Muhammad.

Malvo testified against Muhammad at Muhammad's Maryland trial, calling him a "coward."

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/11/09/...per/index.html