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 Guards 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 didnt have a lot of friends in the unit, and he wasnt 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.
don't think so....some pilots fly to their weekend assignments well out of state....it just depends where they need you and where you are willing to go....
did anyone catch the part about MO studying "water" systems.....
if he wasn't such a loser he could have done really big damage....
Muhammad joined under a program called the one year trial program. You don't have to serve a 4-6 year enlistment. Serve for a year then get out if you want..which he did. He served time in the Lousiana Guard too and was in deep trouble for striking a superior.
Even though they were part of the same state, they may as well have been stationed a thousand miles apart. It is unlikely they ever came in contact unless they went to the same NAACP meetings.
You can live 2,000 miles from the state you drill in, so him living in Washington is not an issue. I'm willing to bet he skipped several drills in his short time in Oregon.
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