John Allen Muhammad gave his teen sidekick, Lee Malvo, the nickname “Sniper” months before they began their killing spree, court papers charged yesterday.
An affidavit filed with the federal complaint against Muhammad quotes an associate as saying he called Malvo “Sniper.”
The associate, who knew Muhammad in Tacoma, Wash., was not identified, but also said the suspects indicated they were going to take a weapon to a firing range and “zero in.”
The 20-count complaint, filed in federal court in Greenbelt, Md., includes charges of discharging a firearm as part of an extortion scheme in seven fatal sniper attacks in Montgomery County, Md., and one in Washington, D.C.
Muhammad, 41, is also charged with three nonfatal attacks.
Under federal law, if a firearm is used to commit violence as part of an extortion plot, the crime is punishable by death.
Because he left notes at two scenes threatening more murders unless he was paid $10 million, the alleged sniper is subject to capital punishment, prosecutors say.
The complaint also provides an inventory of the items found in Muhammad’s 1990 blue Chevrolet Caprice when he and Malvo were arrested – including a global-positioning system cops believe helped them make quick back-road escapes from crime scenes.
Malvo, 17, was not named in the complaint. As a juvenile, he can be charged with a federal capital offense, but cannot be executed.
Officials stressed that the new charges do not necessarily mean Muhammad will be tried first in federal court. The move is designed to allow the government to keep him in custody until it’s decided which jurisdiction has the best chance of getting a death-penalty conviction.
According to the FBI affidavit, the items seized from Muhammad’s car include a brown, cotton glove that matches a glove found near the scene of the last attack, which killed bus driver Conrad Johnson, and bolt cutters that cops believe were used to cut through a fence after that murder.
Police also found a wallet containing drivers’ licenses with different names, all with Muhammad’s photo, and, on the ground outside the car, a paper towel covering a .223-caliber bullet.
Meanwhile, federal investigators, unhappy at the length of time it took them to crack the case, say the tip line hurt as much as it helped.
What threw investigators most, said FBI Special Agent Larry Foust, was the huge number of tips about white vans – to the exclusion of almost all other information.
Additional reporting by Brian Blomquist in Washington and Sam Smith in Fredericksburg, Va.