Free Republic

I was in DC with my 10 year old daughter, during this rampage. To say that DC residents were scared doesn’t quite describe the climate. . . .

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - Sniper suspect John Allen Muhammad on Wednesday fired himself as his own counsel after two days. Standby lawyers Jonathan Shapiro and Peter Greenspun once again took over as his attorneys. Circuit Judge LeRoy F. Millette Jr. informed the jury of Muhammad's decision after a half-hour conference at the judge's bench.

Michael Clarke, a nephew of Una James, the mother of Jamaican sniper suspect Lee Boyd Malvo, speaks with reporters in Brinkley district, St Elizabeth, Sunday. UNA James, the mother of Jamaican sniper suspect, Lee Boyd Malvo, remained underground yesterday, frustrating attempts by local and foreign journalists to interview her. At the same time, James, who was deported from the United States last Saturday, was reported by a relative to be worried about her son who she feels was indoctrinated by his stepfather, John Allen Muhammad, the other sniper suspect. Una James' unfinished house in Brinkley district, St Elizabeth which her...

Last month's sniper slayings may have given a temporary boost to support for the death penalty, but long-term public opinion on the issue has remained relatively unchanged, experts on both sides of the debate say. Seventy percent of Americans surveyed during the height of three weeks of sniper terror that riveted national attention said they support the death penalty, according to the Gallup Organization.

The District yesterday joined a growing list of jurisdictions to charge sniper suspects John Allen Muhammad and John Lee Malvo. The U.S. attorney's office in the District, the last of the Washington area jurisdictions with a confirmed shooting to file charges, named Muhammad and Malvo in a criminal complaint charging them with the first-degree murder of Pascal Charlot, 72, on a Northwest street corner Oct. 3. A seven-page affidavit filed in D.C. Superior Court reiterates and in some cases illuminates information that has come out about the suspects. For example, the affidavit says that Malvo, 17, recently told investigators in...

The Maryland Attorney Grievance Commission has charged Montgomery County State's Attorney Douglas F. Gansler with violating the rules of professional conduct, citing his proclivity to "entertain press conferences" that run afoul of pretrial publicity standards. The media-friendly Gansler yesterday denied any wrongdoing, calling the charges "ridiculous" and "a waste of time." The case, filed this week, will be heard by a Circuit Court judge. The Court of Appeals will then review the lower court's findings and has the ultimate say over whether to punish a lawyer.

Attorney John Fuller has said that anyone who is connected with US sniper John Allen Muhammad will not leave the country. The head of the task force looking into the activities of US Sniper John Allen Muhammad has confirmed that one of Muhammad’s acquaintances in Antigua, Peter John Gianquinto jr. has been arrested in New York by federal authorities. The FBI is investigating connections between Muhummad and Gianquinto. According to an article in the Washington Post, Gianquinto left Antigua on 27 May, 2001, four days before Muhammad and John Lee Mavlo. He is now part of the broader inquiry into...

NEW YORK (AP)--A man wanted for questioning about the Washington-area sniper suspects is being held in a New York jail on passport fraud charges. Peter John Gianquinto Jr., a 53-year-old felon who has used several aliases, was arrested Nov. 4 as he left his doctor's office in Manhattan. He appeared in federal court the following day on charges he submitted a bogus Rutgers University ID card to obtain a passport. Authorities in the Caribbean island of Antigua have linked Gianquinto to sniper suspect John Muhammad, saying that the two men were seen there together several times. ``They purchased things together...

A number of steps are being taken to beef up security in the country. This follows information coming out of the preliminary report of the task force put in place to look into the circumstances of US sniper suspect, John Allen Williams-Muhammad, being able to obtain an Antigua & Barbuda passport. According to sources close to the investigation, indications are that Mohammad was able to slip forged documents past officials at the passport office. It was also revealed that Muhammad was part of a plan to kidnap Prime Minister Lester Bird for a ransom, as well as plans to rob...

The task force looking into the activities of US sniper suspect John Allen Muhammad is awaiting a report from the Commissioner of Police Truehart Smith as to whether any police officers aided Muhammad to escape from the St. John’s Police Station last March. Muhammad was detained by the police on 13 March, 2001 for attempting to check in someone under the name of Dwight Russell at the V.C. Bird International Airport, but later walked out of the Newgate Street police station. According to head of the task force Attorney John Fuller, based on the entry in the station’s diary, the...

Law enforcement officials are looking into a possible link between an unsolved Denton County slaying and the Washington-area, sniper suspects. Billy Gene Dillon, 37, was shot in the head May 27 while doing lawn work on Blagg Road. Investigators had said at the time they believed he had been killed with a high-velocity rifle at short range. The death was ruled a homicide, but no leads surfaced. Denton County sheriff's spokesman Kevin Patton said Friday that investigators last week sent handed over bullet fragments from Mr. Dillon's death to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms for comparisons with bullets...

Nathaniel Osbourne, the Jamaican man living in New Jersey who was detained as a material witness in the Washington-area sniper attacks, has been released by the authorities after nearly two weeks in custody, the New York Times reported yesterday. Osbourne, 26, an aspiring reggae singer, was the subject of an intensive manhunt last month after it emerged that he co-owned the 1990 Chevrolet Caprice that sniper suspects, John Muhammad and Lee Malvo, used during the interstate killing spree. According to the Times, law enforcement officials have not charged Osbourne with any crime, and released him last Friday on the condition...

Airlines were unable to refuel at the V.C Bird International Airport yesterday. This is because line staff at Texaco West Indies Ltd., did not show up to work opting instead to take part in the civil disobedience, “down tools protest” called by the opposition United Progressive Party. The UPP is calling for a full probe in the passport scam. This forced the Gas Company, which is responsible for refuelling a number of airlines to make alternative arrangements. Area manager Ralphine Jackson confirmed to the SUN that a number of workers did not show up to work and as a result...

Protesters and supporters of the Opposition United Progressive Party (UPP) marched through the streets of St. John’s yesterday calling for a “ down tools protest” from businesses. The protest march caused a bottleneck of traffic in the City resulting in police re-routting traffic to ease the congestion. Chanting “We shall overcome” and “Lester you got to go” the protestors led by opposition leader, Baldwin Spencer headed up Market Street, down High Street, across Thames Street, up St. Mary’s Street, across Temple Street, down High Street up Long Street. They eventually wound their way down Corn Alley before making their way...

The task force set up to investigate allegations of passport racketeering is looking for two persons. This is in connection with the alleged kidnapping plot of Prime Minister Lester Bird, plans to bomb a commercial bank in St. John’s and the fraudulently acquisition of an Antigua & Barbuda passport. Attorney John Fuller, head of the task force looking into U.S sniper John Allen Muhammad activities while in Antigua, reported yesterday that another witness, Keithly Nedd, has come forward corroborating earlier evidence given to the task force about a plot by Muhammad to kidnapped the country’s prime minister. “This witness has...

ST JOHN'S, Antigua: Protesters march in St John's, Antigua, yesterday. The march was called to pressure the government into setting up an independent probe into an alleged passport racket which came in the wake of revelations that US sniper suspect, John Allen Muhammad, fraudulently obtained an Antiguan passport. (Photo: AP) ST JOHN'S, Antigua (AP) -- Hundreds of people held a protest march yesterday over the government's stalled investigation into an alleged scam that allegedly awarded a passport to the US sniper suspect. Some 500 protesters chanted "We are not afraid of (Prime Minister) Lester Bird" and hoisted anti-government placards. Some...

FOX: John Mohammed & Lee Melvo wanted for question in Sniper Case