ABC News: FBI: Computer Maps Found in Sniper's Car

ABC News: FBI: Computer Maps Found in Sniper's Car

FBI Expert Says Computer in Sniper's Car Had Maps to Shootings
By STEPHEN MANNING
The Associated Press
ROCKVILLE, Md. - A laptop computer found in convicted sniper John Allen Muhammad's car held maps plotting routes to the scenes of shootings that were marked by skull-and-crossbones symbols, including one with the comment "good one," an FBI computer analyst said Monday.

John Hair testified before jurors who are hearing six murder charges against Muhammad, already on death row in Virginia for a sniper shooting there.


Hair said the digital maps had marks for locations ranging from Maryland to North Carolina. Some had notations such as "good spot" and "possible hit."


The "good one" skull and crossbones marked the Home Depot in Fairfax County, Va., where FBI analyst Linda Franklin was shot in the head on Oct. 14, 2002. The .223-caliber bullet used in that shooting was linked to the rifle found in Muhammad's car when he and Lee Boyd Malvo were arrested Oct. 24, 2002.


Prosecutors are nearing the end of their case against Muhammad for six of the 13 Washington-area sniper shootings in October 2002.


Hair testified as prosecutors presented evidence from the laptop, an electronic organizer and a voice recorder that were in the car.


The organizer held a file that listed "People to die later," which included names from two radio stations, an FBI tip line staffer and people at CNN. It also listed a Montgomery County police officer who had answered a cryptic call from the snipers, calling him the "first resipiant of the Muhamma.ad negotiations." During the three-week-long series of attacks, police received several calls and found notes at shooting scenes demanding money in return for ending the killings.


Muhammad, 45, who is acting as his own attorney, challenged the validity of the records, implying they may have been planted or altered by authorities to implicate him.


Malvo, who was 18 when the two were arrested, was sentenced to life in prison in Virginia. The two also are linked to shootings in Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland and Washington state.


Malvo is expected to testify against Muhammad and could take the stand as early as Tuesday, according to a person close to the case who spoke on condition of anonymity because the trial is still underway. Malvo is likely to plead guilty to the same six murders Muhammad faces.


Muhammad steadfastly maintains his innocence, saying he will prove that he and Malvo had no role in the sniper killings. His defense strategy has revolved around showing that no one actually saw him or Malvo fire the fatal shots.


He also claims he is not getting a fair trial, and on Monday he complained to Circuit Judge James Ryan that prosecutors were trying to limit his defense by quashing his subpoena of a witness.


If the state continues interfering with his defense, Muhammad told Ryan: "You don't need me. You can send me the verdict in the mail. The way it's going, that might as well happen."