JOHN ALLEN MUHAMMAD:
How decorated Gulf War veteran became subject of manhunt
LEE BOYD MALVO:
Mother tried to break son from grip of influential mentor (DC Sniper Youth)
Posted on 10/25/2002 1:42:18 PM PDT by ex-Texan
Sniper Suspect and Moose in Oregon Guard
In a bizarre twist to sniper case, the two served at the same time in different units near PDX
BY BEN JACKLET
The suspected serial sniper and the cop who has been hunting him in the Maryland-Washington, D.C., area for three deadly weeks may have crossed paths in Portland years before the murders occurred.
John Allen Muhammad, the former soldier arrested Thursday in connection with the serial sniper attacks around Washington, D.C., trained in the Oregon National Guard near Portland International Airport during the same time as former Portland Police Chief Charles Moose served at the airport with the Air National Guard.
Muhammad was known as John Williams at the time of his military service in Oregon and later changed his name after converting to Islam. He did not receive any special training and was honorably discharged as a sergeant in April 1995, said Maj. Arnold Strong, a Guard spokesman.
Muhammad trained as a combat engineer at the 141st Support Battalion at PDX, studying water treatment and sheet metal construction.
The 49-year-old Moose served 24 years with the Portland Police Bureau, the last six as chief. From 1987 to 1998, he also served as a major in the Oregon Air National Guard base, which is located about a mile from the Oregon National Guard base. He was hired in August 1999 as police chief in Montgomery County, Md.
“There is a very slim chance that these guys ever even saw each other,” Strong said. “Be that as it may, it would be safe to assume that they were in different departments of the Oregon National Guard simultaneously.’’
Staff Sgt. Leisha Leyson of the Guard’s 41st Brigade trained with Muhammad at the 141st Battalion, or Bravo Company. She remembers him as a serious, “military-minded” loner who proved himself an “exceptional shot” with an M-16.
“He didn’t have a lot of friends in the unit, and he wasn’t there very long,” Leyson said.
Muhammad, 41, was arrested Thursday morning at a rest stop near Frederick, Md. Also arrested was John Lee Malvo, 17.
Law enforcement officials were expected to charge Muhammad and Malvo with the attacks that killed 10 people.
Moose has led the task force investigation of the sniper deaths since five people were killed in his district Oct. 2 and 3. The 10th killing on Tuesday also took place in his district.
Muhammad was stationed at the Fort Lewis Army base south of Tacoma before joining the Oregon National Guard. His service lasted from 1985 to 1994. He appears to have served with the Oregon Guard without ever residing in Oregon.
A public records search showed an address for Muhammad in Lakewood, Wash., in May 1994 and another in Tacoma in June 1994.
Preliminary news reports described Muhammad as a fit, former soldier, 6-foot-1 and 185 pounds, who fought in the Persian Gulf War and was stationed at Fort Lewis during the 1980s. He has been married and divorced twice and has four children. He grew up in Louisiana and attended high school in New Orleans.
He officially changed his name from John Williams to John Muhammad in April 2001.
What? They changed it? I thought he got out either Admin or "Other-Than-Honorable".
JOHN ALLEN MUHAMMAD:
How decorated Gulf War veteran became subject of manhunt
LEE BOYD MALVO:
Mother tried to break son from grip of influential mentor (DC Sniper Youth)
Just what you want. An Islamakazi from the Nation of Islam studying water treatment. Hell he could kill entire cities with that knowledge.
Notice although John Williams Mohammad practiced his muslim religion for some years, he did not change his name until last year when he was suppose to be out of the country in Antiqua.
Ar you sure it's only two hours? Seemed longer than that one Christmans time when I found myslef in SeaTac due to Portland being fogged in, of course that was on a Bus with poorly functioning heaters and in the middle of the ngiht.
Possibly because of openning available in the one, but not the other. It's not always easy to get a guard slot, they may not have the training $ and/or slots to train someone into a new career field and may not have an opening in the person's previous field. This is especially true with someone with more than a single active duty enlistment, or no enlistment at all, IOW, an experienced person with some "rank".
Or maybe he didn't live in Washington state at that time? Joining a Guard unit not in one's state of residence isn't unheard of. I did it myself, after grad school and a stint in the Reserve, which in turn was after my active duty service.
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