Itchy-fingered prosecutors in three states and the District of Columbia have Beltway Sniper suspect John Muhammad in their sights – but it was Montgomery County, Md., that took the first shot.
Authorities in the county where the killings began charged both John Muhammad and his teenage Jamaican sidekick John Lee Malvo with six counts of first-degree murder. The brief warrants accuse the men, who are being held in federal custody, of “premeditated malice.”
County prosecutors have said they will seek the death penalty for Muhammad – and for Malvo as well, if it turns out he’s 18, rather than 17, as he claims. In any event, prosecutors say, Malvo will be tried as an adult.
A second Maryland county, four Virginia counties, the District of Columbia, and the federal government are also expected to charge the pair – and seek the death penalty.
The two suspects also face murder charges – and the death penalty – in Montgomery, Ala., for a fatal liquor store holdup.
The Justice Department, which has custody of the pair, has until Tuesday to decide whether to prosecute or turn them over to another jurisdiction. The overriding concern among federal officials is to ensure their legal options include the death penalty.
Meanwhile, The Post learned Malvo tried to escape shortly after being taken into custody.
The teen, who had been left alone in an FBI interview room, handcuffed to a table, broke off a table leg and tried to climb through an opening in the drop ceiling, sources said.
Investigators also revealed Muhammad and Malvo had several close calls with cops during the killing spree.
On Oct. 2, the day of the first shooting, Muhammad was pulled over in his blue Caprice for a traffic violation in Montgomery County. When his New Jersey license plates came up clean, he was given a ticket and released.
On Oct. 3, the day the sniper killed five people, he was stopped in Washington, D.C. He was released after a routine check. That same night his plates were photographed when he ran a red light in Fairfax, Va.
Early on Oct. 8 – the day after a 13-year-old boy was shot – a Baltimore cop questioned Muhammad after spotting him napping in his Caprice.
And on the morning of Oct. 21, when cops in suburban Richmond, Va., detained two illegal aliens in a white van at a gas station pay phone, Muhammad and Malvo were at another pay phone in the station.
Additional reporting by Marsha Kranes