Posted on 10/26/2002 12:11:48 PM PDT by hispanarepublicana
John Allen Muhammad registered the car believed used in the sniper killings at a Motor Vehicle Services office here on the one-year anniversary of 9/11 - just minutes after a caller told police a bomb had been placed in the building.
Employees Thursday could not remember seeing Muhammad that morning but found the timing of the bomb scare suspicious.
A police report shows the bomb threat was made at 8:52 a. m.
Register tapes showed Muhammad's paperwork was rung up at 8:59 a.m., said Darlene Bonnette, an agent in charge of the office. Police arrived at 9:01 a.m., according to the dispatch report, and an evacuation began.
"Maybe he didn't want to wait in line at Motor Vehicles," Bonnette said.
The bomb scare was the first at the offices in eight years, said her husband, Edmond Bonnette, also a branch agent.
"It was the first anniversary of 9/11 and we thought it was some crackpot," he said. "I think this guy was a nut, that 9/11 meant something to him and that he just wanted to shake somebody up on the anniversary."
No one remembered seeing Muhammad, Edmond Bonnette said.
Employees also could not remember if the person who registered the 1990 Chevrolet Caprice was accompanied by John Lee Malvo, 17, the other suspect in the serial killings, or Nathanel Osbourne, 26, of Camden, the co-owner of the vehicle.
Muhammad's name was written in cursive on the registration application while Osbourne's was printed, officials said.
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Both Muhammad and Osbourne listed 1400 Sheridan St. in Camden as their address, though only Osbourne had lived there, and only very briefly, the building's owner said. The FBI was seeking Osbourne late Thursday for questioning as a possible witness.
The Division of Motor Vehicle Services office at 2600 Mount Ephraim Ave. in Camden handles 800 to 900 transactions a day, the Bonnettes said.
Muhammad, also known as John Williams, registered under the name Muhammad, the Bonnettes said. He did not have a a driver's license, which is not required in New Jersey to register a vehicle.
Muhammad filled out a standard vehicle registration application and was issued a 15-digit user number, the Bonnettes said. A user number contains all the information found on a driver's license. It is issued to New Jersey residents and nonresidents who want to register motor vehicles in New Jersey but don't have licenses bearing personal data.
Applicants must show either a birth certificate, passport or "green card" to qualify for such a number, Edmond Bonnette said.
State Motor Vehicle officials said Osbourne did have a valid license.
Office employees and customers spent the day talking about the local connection to the sniper case.
"Our customers say they can't believe the tags were issued here. They're pretty overwhelmed, pretty shocked - they can't believe it," said Lisa DeFord, a 32-year-old clerk from Mount Ephraim.
No arrest was made in the bomb scare, which was called in from an outdoor pay phone in the area of 1200 Louis St., police said.
After a search, the office was reopened to workers at 9: 45 a.m. and to the public at 10 a.m.
The register tape for Sept. 11 shows that Muhammad handed the clerk $60 in cash and received $3.50 in change.
They must not have taken the call seriously as it appears they did not evacuate the building.
Also a former employee of the Camden Courier-Post newspaper, it seems... But they didn't keep him long. After all, he was a veteran....
Sounds right. This HAS been planned for a while. Makes you wonder how many others are involved...
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