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American Morning
Prosecutors Jockeying for Position to Try Sniper Suspects
Aired October 28, 2002 - 09:03 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.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Prosecutors in Virginia are expected to charge sniper suspects John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo, that should be John Lee Malvo, with murder today. The two have already been charged in Montgomery County, Maryland and could also face prosecution in Alabama.
Joining us now from Montgomery County, Maryland with the latest on the investigation is Patty Davis, who's pretty much lived there around the clock for the last three or four weeks.
Good morning -- Patty.
PATTY DAVIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, but we're happy that they found these two sniper suspects so far.
Paula, more charges expected today. In fact, murder charges in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, that is where Philadelphia businessman Kenneth Bridges was gunned down and slain on October 11 at a gas station off of I-95. Now aggravated, malicious wounding charges also expected for a -- the shooting of a woman outside of a Michaels Store. That was on October 4, and she survived. Prosecutors believe Malvo was the shooter in at least one of these shootings.
Meanwhile, investigators appear to be -- they were very cooperative effort, unlike what we're seeing now from prosecutors.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DOUGLAS GANSLER, STATE ATTORNEY, MONTGOMERY COUNTY, MARYLAND: The Virginia jurisdictions can only do one of the cases at a time. So we're actually in a better position to seek and get the death penalty against Mr. Muhammad.
As for Mr. Malvo, he would be, after we do our prosecution, we would send them to Virginia, they would do their prosecution and they can carry out the punishment that they feel as a community is appropriate in this case.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DAVIS: Now Virginia, on the other hand, says that it has a better track record with the death penalty, having used it more times than Maryland, and Maryland has a moratorium right now. Plus, Virginia says that it can seek the death penalty against 17-year-old John Lee Malvo. He is considered a juvenile in Maryland.
Now sources say that these two men are not being very cooperative. But there is someone who is being cooperative, that is 26-year-old Nathaniel Osbourne. He was taken into custody over the weekend in Michigan, to be extradited to Montgomery County, Maryland in the next several days. A material witness in this case. The authorities say that they do want to know what Osbourne knows. He owned the car, this 1990 blue Chevy Caprice, along with John Muhammad -- Paula.
ZAHN: All right. Patty, I know that there seems to be some confusion on how old John Lee Malvo is and now I'm being told that he was charged under a different name. Is that how we're supposed to refer to him from now on Lee Boyd Malvo?
DAVIS: Right. Well apparently on his Jamaican birth certificate it's Lee Boyd Malvo, so that's where the confusion comes in. But, yes, there is some confusion now, is he 17, is he 18, and that's something that authorities very much want to get a handle on. If he is indeed 18 years old, at least in the state of Maryland a much stronger case then because they can go after the death penalty in Maryland as well.
But Virginia still wanting to go ahead first with those cases, because either way, they can press ahead with the death penalty and shown that they have -- they have used it in the past, 86 times, in fact since 1976 when that death penalty was reinstated -- Paula.
ZAHN: I know everybody is trying to make nice at this, but you're really looking at a major turf battle there, aren't you, when you look at all these jurisdictions trying to figure out who should get this case first?
DAVIS: It is. And there's charges of political positioning. Some Republicans saying that Democrat Doug Gansler, the Montgomery County states attorney, a Democrat, they're saying, well, he's trying to position himself politically. He's not up for office right now, but has made very clear that he wants to run for Maryland attorney general at some point. There's definitely political jockeying being alleged here. And the hope here, among people who live in the area, that the prosecutors can get above that and just work to get a conviction in these cases -- Paula.
ZAHN: Patty Davis, thanks so much. Appreciate it.
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 28, 2002 - 09:03 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Prosecutors in Virginia are expected to charge sniper suspects John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo, that should be John Lee Malvo, with murder today. The two have already been charged in Montgomery County, Maryland and could also face prosecution in Alabama.
Joining us now from Montgomery County, Maryland with the latest on the investigation is Patty Davis, who's pretty much lived there around the clock for the last three or four weeks.
Good morning -- Patty.
PATTY DAVIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, but we're happy that they found these two sniper suspects so far.
Paula, more charges expected today. In fact, murder charges in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, that is where Philadelphia businessman Kenneth Bridges was gunned down and slain on October 11 at a gas station off of I-95. Now aggravated, malicious wounding charges also expected for a -- the shooting of a woman outside of a Michaels Store. That was on October 4, and she survived. Prosecutors believe Malvo was the shooter in at least one of these shootings.
Meanwhile, investigators appear to be -- they were very cooperative effort, unlike what we're seeing now from prosecutors.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DOUGLAS GANSLER, STATE ATTORNEY, MONTGOMERY COUNTY, MARYLAND: The Virginia jurisdictions can only do one of the cases at a time. So we're actually in a better position to seek and get the death penalty against Mr. Muhammad.
As for Mr. Malvo, he would be, after we do our prosecution, we would send them to Virginia, they would do their prosecution and they can carry out the punishment that they feel as a community is appropriate in this case.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DAVIS: Now Virginia, on the other hand, says that it has a better track record with the death penalty, having used it more times than Maryland, and Maryland has a moratorium right now. Plus, Virginia says that it can seek the death penalty against 17-year-old John Lee Malvo. He is considered a juvenile in Maryland.
Now sources say that these two men are not being very cooperative. But there is someone who is being cooperative, that is 26-year-old Nathaniel Osbourne. He was taken into custody over the weekend in Michigan, to be extradited to Montgomery County, Maryland in the next several days. A material witness in this case. The authorities say that they do want to know what Osbourne knows. He owned the car, this 1990 blue Chevy Caprice, along with John Muhammad -- Paula.
ZAHN: All right. Patty, I know that there seems to be some confusion on how old John Lee Malvo is and now I'm being told that he was charged under a different name. Is that how we're supposed to refer to him from now on Lee Boyd Malvo?
DAVIS: Right. Well apparently on his Jamaican birth certificate it's Lee Boyd Malvo, so that's where the confusion comes in. But, yes, there is some confusion now, is he 17, is he 18, and that's something that authorities very much want to get a handle on. If he is indeed 18 years old, at least in the state of Maryland a much stronger case then because they can go after the death penalty in Maryland as well.
But Virginia still wanting to go ahead first with those cases, because either way, they can press ahead with the death penalty and shown that they have -- they have used it in the past, 86 times, in fact since 1976 when that death penalty was reinstated -- Paula.
ZAHN: I know everybody is trying to make nice at this, but you're really looking at a major turf battle there, aren't you, when you look at all these jurisdictions trying to figure out who should get this case first?
DAVIS: It is. And there's charges of political positioning. Some Republicans saying that Democrat Doug Gansler, the Montgomery County states attorney, a Democrat, they're saying, well, he's trying to position himself politically. He's not up for office right now, but has made very clear that he wants to run for Maryland attorney general at some point. There's definitely political jockeying being alleged here. And the hope here, among people who live in the area, that the prosecutors can get above that and just work to get a conviction in these cases -- Paula.
ZAHN: Patty Davis, thanks so much. Appreciate it.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
