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CNN Live At Daybreak
Sniper Trials: Day Two Testimony
Aired October 22, 2003 - 06:09 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: A strange and awkward moment in a Virginia Beach courtroom, perhaps the first of many. Suspected sniper John Allen Muhammad questions a man he is accused of shooting.
Live to Washington now and Jennifer Coggiola.
Good morning -- Jennifer.
JENNIFER COGGIOLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
Strange and awkward indeed, if not tense. Day three will continue today, but after that day yesterday, where John Allen Muhammad, the suspect who is representing himself, came face to face with some of his accusers for the first time.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COGGIOLA (voice-over): Dramatic testimony on day two of John Allen Muhammad's trial.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're getting there.
COGGIOLA: Fifteen witnesses took the stand to testify in the state's behalf, and for the first time the suspect, representing himself, questioned one of his alleged victims.
Paul LaRuffa, owner of an Italian restaurant in Maryland who prosecutors say was robbed by the suspect and his alleged accomplice, Lee Malvo, gave an emotional account of the night he was shot September 5 of last year as he got in his car to go home. Prosecutors displayed LaRuffa's bloody T-shirt and played a 911 tape to jurors, on which LaRuffa was heard yelling, "I don't want to die right here."
Muhammad, in his cross-examination, told LaRuffa -- quote -- "I understand how you feel when your life is on the line." This comment drew objections from the prosecution, who argued that Muhammad was trying to curry favor with the jury.
Another witness Tuesday described an encounter with a man he says was Muhammad. Police officer Steven Bailey testified that he spoke with Muhammad in a parking lot across the street immediately following the shooting death of Dean Harold Meyers.
Bailey also testified that Muhammad that day told him that police had diverted him there, though at the time police were actually diverting traffic away from that area. Bailey said he missed the inconsistency -- quote -- "I didn't catch on, I wish I had," and let Muhammad go.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
For a second day, prosecutors contended that Muhammad's former defense team was still playing too large a role. The prosecutor complained -- quote: "This is not what you ordered. This is not what the law requires."
So, Muhammad is now sitting further away, because the judge ordered the lawyers to move farther away, and he rarely confers with his attorneys any longer -- Carol.
COSTELLO: All right, Jennifer Coggiola reporting live from Washington, D.C. this morning.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Aired October 22, 2003 - 06:09 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: A strange and awkward moment in a Virginia Beach courtroom, perhaps the first of many. Suspected sniper John Allen Muhammad questions a man he is accused of shooting.
Live to Washington now and Jennifer Coggiola.
Good morning -- Jennifer.
JENNIFER COGGIOLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
Strange and awkward indeed, if not tense. Day three will continue today, but after that day yesterday, where John Allen Muhammad, the suspect who is representing himself, came face to face with some of his accusers for the first time.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COGGIOLA (voice-over): Dramatic testimony on day two of John Allen Muhammad's trial.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're getting there.
COGGIOLA: Fifteen witnesses took the stand to testify in the state's behalf, and for the first time the suspect, representing himself, questioned one of his alleged victims.
Paul LaRuffa, owner of an Italian restaurant in Maryland who prosecutors say was robbed by the suspect and his alleged accomplice, Lee Malvo, gave an emotional account of the night he was shot September 5 of last year as he got in his car to go home. Prosecutors displayed LaRuffa's bloody T-shirt and played a 911 tape to jurors, on which LaRuffa was heard yelling, "I don't want to die right here."
Muhammad, in his cross-examination, told LaRuffa -- quote -- "I understand how you feel when your life is on the line." This comment drew objections from the prosecution, who argued that Muhammad was trying to curry favor with the jury.
Another witness Tuesday described an encounter with a man he says was Muhammad. Police officer Steven Bailey testified that he spoke with Muhammad in a parking lot across the street immediately following the shooting death of Dean Harold Meyers.
Bailey also testified that Muhammad that day told him that police had diverted him there, though at the time police were actually diverting traffic away from that area. Bailey said he missed the inconsistency -- quote -- "I didn't catch on, I wish I had," and let Muhammad go.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
For a second day, prosecutors contended that Muhammad's former defense team was still playing too large a role. The prosecutor complained -- quote: "This is not what you ordered. This is not what the law requires."
So, Muhammad is now sitting further away, because the judge ordered the lawyers to move farther away, and he rarely confers with his attorneys any longer -- Carol.
COSTELLO: All right, Jennifer Coggiola reporting live from Washington, D.C. this morning.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
