Sniper Suspects Linked to La. Slaying

Oct. 31, 2002 -- Arrest warrants were issued in Louisiana for the two suspects in the Washington, D.C.-area serial sniper shootings after ballistics tests linked the pair to a fatal shooting in Baton Rouge, investigators said today.

Ballistics tests linked the Sept. 23 shooting of a woman outside a beauty salon in Baton Rouge to the same Bushmaster .223-caliber rifle used in the sniper attacks that terrorized Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia. Louisiana investigators said today they have issued warrants for the two suspects, John Allen Muhammad and John Lee Malvo.

"The Baton Rouge police department today issued warrants for the arrests of John Allen Muhammad, 41, and John Lee Malvo, 17, for the first-degree murder in connection with the robbery and shooting death of Hom Im Ballenger, 45," said Baton Rouge Police Chief Pat Englade.

Investigators said other evidence found with suspects when they were caught sleeping in their car last week shows they were in Baton Rouge at the time of the slaying there. Louisiana investigators said Ballenger was robbed and killed with a single gunshot to the head as she was leaving her job that night. Witnesses described the shooter to police as a young black man who fled into a park. However, according to the arrest warrant, police believe Muhammad shot the woman and Malvo stole her purse and fled.

Louisiana authorities said they are also investigating other unsolved crimes in the area to see if there are any more links to Muhammad and Malvo, who remain in custody in Maryland. Attorney General John Ashcroft said investigators were continuing to explore the possibility that other people may be involved or that the two suspects have committed more crimes in other states.

"The investigation into the recent serial killings in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia is active and ongoing and continues to span into new jurisdictions across the country," Ashcroft said in a statement. "We continue to work with federal, state and local officials to gather evidence and follow leads in an effort to determine the full extent of criminal activity. We are not ruling out the possibility that other individuals may be involved or that the individuals currently in custody may have committed other criminal acts."

Muhammad grew up in Baton Rouge and still has friends and relatives there. One of his ex-wives also lives there. Friends and acquaintances have reportedly said he visited the area during the summer.

‘We are the People Causing the Killing’

Muhammad and Malvo are already facing numerous charges in the serial sniper attacks that left 10 people dead and three wounded in Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C. They did not only allegedly terrorize residents with their killings, but they also taunted police with phone calls and messages.

ABCNEWS has obtained an exclusive copy of one of the recorded phone calls the suspects allegedly made when they tried to negotiate an end to the slayings with police.

"Good morning. … Don't say anything, just listen," the call said. "We are the people that are causing the killing in your area. Look on the tarot card. It says, 'Call me God.' Do not release the threat."

"We have called you three times before trying to set up negotiations," the caller continued. "We've gotten no response. People have died."

However, a police operator at Rockville City, Md., did not try to negotiate with the caller but instead referred him to another phone number.

"Sir, I need to refer you to the Montgomery County police hotline. We are not investigating the crime," the operator said. "Would you like the number?"

Sources told ABCNEWS that they believe the caller on the tape was Malvo because the person had a Jamaican accent. Malvo is a citizen of Jamaica.

New Maryland Charges Join a Mounting List

Earlier today, charges continued to mount against Muhammad and Malvo as Maryland prosecutors filed still more charges against them. The latest charges — attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder — were filed by prosecutors in Prince George's County, Md. They stem from the Oct. 7 shooting of a 13-year-old boy outside his school in Bowie, Md. The boy, whose name has been withheld, has been hospitalized since the shooting.

Muhammad, a Gulf War veteran, and Malvo have already been hit with murder and other charges in Montgomery County, Md., and in three counties in Virginia. Federal authorities have also charged Muhammad with illegal use of a firearm that resulted in the deaths of seven people and extortion charges. Malvo was not named in the federal indictment because he is a minor and he must be certified in court as an adult before any federal charges against him are made public.

The pair also face prosecution in Alabama, where they are charged with capital murder in a fatal shooting outside a liquor store in Montgomery in September. Ballistics tests linked the Bushmaster XM-15 .223-caliber rifle used in the Washington, D.C.-area shootings to the Sept. 21 shooting where one woman was killed and another was wounded.

However, witnesses to that Alabama shooting described seeing Muhammad with a pistol, not a rifle, and those who said they saw Malvo said he only had a magazine, police have said.

These eyewitness accounts have made Montgomery, Ala., Police Chief John Wilson suspect in media reports that there may have been a third person working with Muhammad and Malvo and that he may still be on the loose.

However, Montgomery County, Md., State's Attorney Douglas Gansler said there is no evidence that a third person was involved in the shootings in the Washington area.

"Law enforcement is confident that we have in custody the two people directly involved in the sniper shootings here," he told The Washington Post.

Muhammad and Malvo also face possible charges in Tacoma, Wash. Two other weapons recovered in the suspects' car have been positively linked with other shootings in Tacoma, where Muhammad was known to have lived.

One of the weapons, a .45-caliber handgun, was used in the February slaying of Keenya Cook, the niece of a former employee at Muhammad's auto repair shop, authorities said. Police also believe Muhammad and Malvo are linked to a shooting last spring at a Tacoma synagogue in which no one was injured.

ABCNEWS' Pierre Thomas contributed to this report.