Partial plate being checked in sniper case

CNN.com ^ | 10/16/02

[GeneD]

The sniper task force is running the partial license plate information from witnesses who saw the Chevrolet Astro van through computers at the Maryland Department of Motor Vehicles, a highly placed source very close to the investigation told CNN Wednesday.

In the two weeks since the Washington-area sniper began his shooting spree, he has succeeded in eluding both description and capture in one of the largest manhunts in history.

Hundreds of local, state, and federal agents are working the case, and the Pentagon has authorized the use of Army surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft in the hunt for the killer, who has left nine people dead and two wounded since October 2.

An undetermined number of people are under surveillance as officials try to track possible leads in the sniper investigation, law enforcement sources told CNN Wednesday.

The sources stressed the individuals are not suspects, and that as leads come in, investigators do what they need to do to check them.

Witnesses at the site of the latest attack at the Falls Church mall parking lot Monday said the light-colored van had a Maryland license plate, according to the source. But it's not clear if they were able to give investigators letters or numbers on the plate.

"We received license plate information from several witnesses -- different information on different tags," Fairfax County Police Chief Tom Manger told reporters earlier. "We're following up on all that information. We are not ready to release any tag information about a suspect vehicle."

Depending on how much information the witnesses are able to provide, the computer search for the van's license plate could take some time.

Members of the task force hunting down the culprit say more and better witness descriptions have come with each incident, but they admit their information is still sketchy and lacking crucial details.

One witness reported seeing a man with olive- or darker-colored skin in a white van. And yet another witness saw two men in a van.

"We do have an individual who is causing terror in the hearts of the public, but is his motivation political? Religious? Does he have a message that he's sending that we're not getting yet? We don't know," said Capt. Nancy Demme of the Montgomery County, Maryland Police Department, which is leading the multijurisdictional investigation.

"The common denominator thus far is 'male,'" she said.

Another witness to Monday's deadly shooting told authorities he saw a man shouldering a weapon, and it is believed the fatal shot was fired from 30 yards away, sources said Wednesday.

The sniper's previous victims were all shot from a distance of several hundred yards, authorities have said.

Despite those witness accounts, police said Wednesday they were unable to develop a composite sketch of a suspect.

"There are a couple of people who believe they saw a man shoot. Unfortunately, distance and darkness and, perhaps, adrenaline, have made them unable to give us a clear composite that we can disseminate," said Demme.

(snip)

[cornelis]

Calling Fenton Hardy.

[muawiyah]

Doing the search undoubtedly is more difficult than it need be. That's because of legislation first put forward by Representative James Moran in Northern Virginia a number of years back.

The purpose was to "protect women's right to choose" by making it harder to find out what auto license could be associated with which owners.

Moran gets most of his campaign money from overseas Moslem interests, many with an AlQaida connection.

That's probably why he sponsored that legislation.

[jwalsh07]

Sheesh, I thought the guy left his upper choppers laying on the ground.

[eastforker]

I know there has been plenty said about rifle type and cartridge size,but,IMHO,it is hard for me to believe that a .223 slug would not have completely penetrated a head shot,leaving the slug to be found for examination.Anybody else have thoughts about the loads being hand loaded for sub-sonic flight and therefor not making complete penetration?I have seen a few .223 shots on deer and depending on location,some have left mighty big holes on exit.

[Pure Country]

Sheesh, I thought the guy left his upper choppers laying on the ground.

My thoughts exactly! I figured thats what the recruits found when they were on their hands and knees scouring the area. DIM (Dumb Is Me)

[Dog Gone]

Wow, I WONDERED what the cops would do with the license plate information they received!

Thank goodness that CNN has broken the story!

[2111USMC]

"Sheesh, I thought the guy left his upper choppers laying on the ground."

LOL! I had the very same first impression!

[El Gato]

Sheesh, I thought the guy left his upper choppers laying on the ground.

ROTFLMAO! That was my first thought too! :)

[Semper911]

a highly placed source very close to the investigation told CNN Wednesday.

This is odd, because tonight Fox News reported that the earlier reports of a partial plate number were not true, and that police had no plate numbers to work with. The did, however, say that one witness claimed to be certain that the plate was from Virginia.

This "investigation" is getting very tiresome. I am convinced that the cops have nothing whatsoever, and are just hoping for a break. They need for the guy to strike again so they can get some more witness reports.

(Did you hear our instructions from the cops to carry a pen with us, and to write down information on our hand if we don't have any paper? They are desperate.)

[El Gato]

Sheesh, I thought the guy left his upper choppers laying on the ground.

You gotta admit, that would be one heck of a break in the case. Catch the sucker when he goes to the dentist for a replacement. Or catch him at the airport via a "Smile" test.

[Billthedrill]

Not a bad question - perhaps I can suggest what might be the case here. The AK-74 fires a bullet similar to the stock 55 or 62-gr .223 bullet, but with one added design feature, an air bubble cast into the bullet toward the tip. This causes the bullet to rotate base-forward upon impact, enhancing the tissue damage but reducing overpenetration. In other words, it can rattle around inside the cavity of the skull quite nastily. This is the reason the Afghans nicknamed this the "poison bullet." If this is the rifle seen by witnesses then it might explain why a bullet might be recoverable in this scenario.

[jwalsh07]

Or catch him at the airport via a "Smile" test.

Now I've got decaf on my shirt.

[eastforker]

One more thing that was brought to my attention today.Killing someone is not easy on the psyche,much less 9 in a few days unless 1. you are completely insane or 2.You have been trained and conditioned for it and have done it numerous times in the past,such as in Bosnia or chechnya or even afghanistan.Killing your five kids in one day and admitting to it,insane.killing fourteen from a texas tower in one day,again,insane.Methodicaly,calmly and planned out killing of americans,of a wide diversity IMO points to a killer who is an enemy of America,maybe someone who has fought us,or one of our allies on a battlefield or in a village in the past.

[gusopol3]

But why doesn't each police jurisdiction set up a few sites and ask all vans matching description to come though to get a tag of some sort, then go after any that aren't so tagged by some sort of registration check?

[eastforker]

I understand the dynamics you posted,I am just thinking there would still be enough inertia to produce an exit wound.Come to think of it,didn't one of the earlier victims have an exit wound "the size of a fist".Factory ammo maybe?

[wimpycat]

I'm convinced they have a lot more information than they're making public, and that all this publicity about eyewitnesses and evidence is an orchestrated effort to intimidate the killer(s). Of course I don't think they know who's doing it, but I think they're a lot closer than they were.

[11B3]

Yes, but the boy who was shot had the entrance wound in his upper chest area and the exit was lower abdomen. The AK-74 round has the capability to begin its' tumbling inside your arm even - a hit in the wrist may come out of your shoulder for instance. Finding any projectile after it hits target would be nearly impossible. In the case of a head shot, the entrance side of the skull would have absorbed most of the energy and greatly expanded the bullet into small pieces. These pieces then would have gone their independent ways around the inside of what was left of the woman's head. Exit wound unlikely.

[Yasotay]

So what is really happening? Here is a SWAG....

While government agencies continue downplaying the terrorist link, the president has signed an Executive Order allowing the military to kill the terrorist cells operating inside the US. He did say this was going to be a war like no other war AND MUCH of it would be conducted in secret. The current cell, responsible for the current killing(s) is under observation as Delta rehearses taking them down. If the sniper(s), disappears without "fanfare" then the government got them. As the snipers become more and more brazen in their attacks it is pretty clear that they will blow themselves when they are cornered. Therefore, it is the government's best interests to quickly and quietly kill this cell (and hope there aren't too many more....) AGAIN, this is nothing more then a SWAG.

[Rocksalt]

I think if I lived around there and drove a white van I would keep it off the road if possible.If everyone did this it would be alot easier to catch the person.Obviously there are alot of white commercial vans on the road this would be difficult though.