"Police Arrest Witness Accused Of Lying To Sniper Investigators"

Fairfax County Police have arrested and charged Matthew Dowdy, 37, of Falls Church, Va., for allegedly making false statements to police.

Dowdy was arrested Friday afternoon, one day after police said his account of Monday night's sniper shooting outside the Home Depot store had been discredited.

He is charged with "knowingly and willfully make(ing) a materially false statement or representation to a law enforcement officer who is in the course of conducting an investigation of a crime by another". He faces up to six months in jail.

Dowdy's story began to unravel when police compared it to accounts from others who saw the fatal shooting Monday night of an FBI analyst in a Home Depot store parking garage. Eleven people have been shot in the sniper attacks since Oct. 2, and nine have died.

"He couldn't see what he said he saw," said Robert F. Horan Jr., the prosecutor in Fairfax County, Va.

"It would have been better if it didn't happen, but it didn't cripple the investigation," said Fairfax police Lt. Amy Lubas. She said there were other witnesses to Monday's shooting outside the store in Falls Church, Va.
Montgomery County Police Chief Charles Moose urged people Friday not to let the discredited witness case inhibit them from coming forward with information they think could be useful in the investigation.

"This is not an effort by police to credit or discredit them," Moose said. Investigators are revisiting some of the shooting scenes to see if they yield more clues, Moose said. He said they also are looking at a Sept. 14 shooting at a beer and wine store in Montgomery County's Hillandale section to see if there is any connection.

Police said they don't have a composite sketch of the sniper who has terrorized the Washington, D.C. area. Authorities haven't ruled out the possibility there could be multiple suspects.

U.S. investigators are questioning terrorism suspects at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba over whether they had any information about the sniper attacks, a law enforcement official confirmed Friday, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The official characterized the interviews as an effort to cover all possible investigative avenues, adding that officials do not necessarily believe al-Qaida might be responsible for or even knowledgeable about the shootings.
The only known communication believed to be from the sniper is a tarot death card found at one scene with the words: "Dear Policeman, I am God."

Acting on tips and leads, police have served search warrants, checked motor vehicle records, searched military documents and used other tactics to sift through a constantly changing list of suspects.
Many people own guns that can fire the .223 caliber bullets used in the attacks or drive white vans similar to vehicles seen leaving the shootings.

Police had several people under surveillance Monday night, according to a law enforcement source. They were cleared after the FBI agent was shot in a parking garage around 9 p.m.

That incident initially appeared to give police a big break in the case -- the first witness to see the sniper.
But Moose said Thursday the witness was not credible. He also chastised reporters for running reports about the weapon and descriptions of the suspect as olive-skinned, possibly Hispanic or Middle Eastern.

"We get this noise out there that gives people tunnel vision and makes them focus in on things that are not appropriate," he said.

Moose said the Dowdy's emphatic description of the shooter's AK-74 assault rifle is also bogus. But investigators cautioned that they still believe the sniper is using one of a family of more than 30 similar assault-type weapons capable of firing a .223-caliber bullet.

"The message we're trying to say is please keep an open mind," Moose said. "People saw a description of a weapon over the last day and a half and we're convinced they eliminated people they know because they say, `Their gun is not the weapon I saw in the paper.'"

Police have defended their tight control on information in the case, saying they don't want potential witnesses to be influenced. They have, however, released composite drawings of white box trucks and vans that were reported leaving shooting incidents.

After two massive police dragnets failed to catch the killer, police increased their presence on highways. Virginia State Police spokeswoman Lucy Caldwell said troopers have doubled their patrols outside Washington by pulling in officers from other counties.

Schools in the region continued operating under lockdown restrictions, with outdoor sports and activities postponed. Montgomery County school officials planned a meeting next week to search for ways to salvage shortened fall sports seasons.

Perhaps, my FRiend, but it's also amazing how often FReepers jump to the proper conclusion...MUD

Often? Perhaps, but only because by post 100, those threads have put forth EVERY POSSIBLE theory short of UFO's.

(Although I've seen those blamed too.)

Even though it does describe the classic profile of such a shooter.

Gus - I have been following this quite closely as the first Spotsy shooting occured where we shop and my wife was just a mile away during the Four-Mile-Fork shooting. Our kids have been in "lock down" with no outside events for almost two weeks now. The point being here, again, is that I am following this closely and disagree with your point that the "angry white male" theory is the classic profile of "such a shooter". While not discounting that it could be an angry white male, there is no precedence here. This shooter (possibly accompanied by accomplices) does not fit the profile. So where does that leave us?

by post 100, those threads have put forth EVERY POSSIBLE theory short of UFO's.

This is a discussion board. I would submit that the media is not doing much better - after about a hundred interviews with "had-been experts" and talking heads - they pretty much cover the full spectrum of possibilities. Moreover, as each theory is posted on FR it is open to immediate "peer review and criticism". That would be refreshing to see on the tube. The tin foil theories here are typically shot down fairly quickly or ignored. If ignored - which many often do as it is futile to argue with those types - you get a "silent majority" - thereby negating any "counting of posts" that might reflect on what FReepers at large believe. Just some thoughts...

Dave - The "angry white male" theory or any of the others posted here on FR are NOT mine. I have merely pointed out one of the most common theories that have been discussed all over the media since day one.

However, regarding this particular criminal case, I find it rather amusing that several of those on FR who were so quick to profile men of Middle Eastern descent are now whining about the fact that profiles discussed more similar to their own personal demographics are being used by law enforcement to harass their own, so to speak.

And no, this is not a personal slam against you or any of my other friends here on FR. However, I have noticed that some people here on FR chose to criticize my style or parse my words in order to attempt to debunk any of my postings that they do not have a valid counter-argument to.

I just hate it when conservatives use the same style of discussion that James Carville and Paul Begala do best - that is resort to ad hominems when all else fails. And this has been one my own personal beefs here all along.

I realize these are very tense times we are living in, especially here in the DC area, but, all this scapegoating crap being flung out all over the airwaves and even on FR can be rather annoying, to say the least. And I am NOT talking about you or yours.

Okay, rant off now. Peace.

One more thing before I run off to my son's baeball game (AAU not school - at least some of us are going about our normal routine and not cowering - a goal of terrorism), you have parsed before here on FR. Hey, I have always enjoyed our face-to-face discussions, sometimes you take a different approach when you post here.

"...I have been following this quite closely as the first Spotsy shooting occured where we shop and my wife was just a mile away during the Four-Mile-Fork shooting. Our kids have been in "lock down" with no outside events for almost two weeks now."

As you probably guessed, Dave, the community (especially the school) situations here in MoCo have been quite horrendous since day one of the shootings. As you also know, the many (volunteer) leadership hats I wear in this community has resulted in a lot of tugging from all "sides" in the hate violence, RKBA and political debates. I will continue to maintain a low public profile so as not to compromise any other positive measures that local LEO and others are taking now. However, I will continue to give the highest priority to RKBA, my local community and political committments, over that of all other non-personal agendas.

Please keep up the great work you are doing down there and let's all continue to work together with our local LEOs to help catch these murderer(s) without further contributing to the erosion of our civil and constitutional rights as Americans. Hope to see you out there on the streets again (time allowing)!

As I've made clear in earlier posts, this shooter MAY very well have come from the Middle East originally. He MAY be Arab or even Israeli. However, NONE of the facts so far even point in that direction. Though at this point the probability of some anti-Middle Eastern zealot planting fake evidence pointing to Al Qaeda or any other politically incorrect organization has increased tenfold since the shootings started. And we all know about the bogus blaming of "Muslim terrorists" for last year's anthrax attacks now, too.

I have no underlying cultural or political agenda that would knee-jerk me into any false conclusions here. However, I do honestly believe that the real terrorist doing these dastardly murders is probably some home grown professional, regardless of race, sex, religion or national origin. Isn't that what "equal opportunity" here is all about? /sarcasm off.

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