Replies

washingtonpost.com
The Sniper Investigation? Hold the Applause

By Susan R. Paisner

Sunday, November 24, 2002; Page B03

Is it just me, or does anyone else out there think Montgomery County Police Chief Charles A. Moose and his vaunted task force bungled the sniper investigation?

I realize it might seem churlish to speak ill of Chief Moose when everyone else is showering him with accolades; this is a time when people want heroes. Besides, the good news is that the sniper suspects, John Allen Muhammad and John Lee Malvo, were captured within three weeks of the first killings in Montgomery County. But the bad news is: There was enough information to capture them sooner..."

For full article go to http://www.washingtonpost.com/

Is it just me, or does anyone else out there think Montgomery County Police Chief Charles A. Moose and his vaunted task force bungled the sniper investigation?

From the minute Moose saw the letter on Oct 19, containing the phrases "Call me God" and "Word is Bond", he could not fail to realize that he was dealing with a member of "5% Nation of Islam". But Moose DID NOT WANT to put out that it was a Black Muslim, rather than a disgruntled white guy.

Moose knew.

Item: The Chevrolet Caprice. A witness told police about seeing a dark-colored Chevy Caprice, its lights off, driving away from the scene of the D.C. killing on the night of Oct. 3. That shooting, which took place later on the day that four people were killed in Montgomery County, raises a two-part question: Why was that information buried, and why, subsequently, did the white van/white truck sightings get 100 percent of the attention?
Further, well before Muhammad and Malvo were apprehended, the owners of the Hillandale Beer and Wine store told any reporter who would listen that they were convinced the Sept. 14 wounding of their employee was the work of the sniper. It turned out they were right, but it wasn't until well after the two suspects were arrested that police announced conclusively that the shootings were indeed linked. Surely the task force heard and saw the store owners making the claim. Did its members then read the file on the Hillandale shooting? Did they re-interview the witnesses, including the young man who worked at the adjacent Safeway who told police he had seen a dark-colored Chevy Caprice speed out of the parking lot immediately after the shooting? That would make two sightings of a dark-colored car specifically identified as a Chevy Caprice, but no public mention, because the focus was on white vans.
Item: Son of Sam. In nearly every article written about the sniper and how difficult it was to find the culprit, there was a mention of serial killer David "Son of Sam" Berkowitz, who was eventually caught by police because of a routine parking ticket. Why didn't the task force immediately hear a bell go off and start looking at police traffic procedures, such as vehicle stops and license plate checks?
If they had, they would have found multiple license plate checks of the suspects' Chevy Caprice. In fact, according to newspaper accounts, police from Baltimore to Richmond checked Muhammad's license plates at least 10 times during the time the shootings were taking place. Maybe someone would have concluded: "Hey, let's stop looking for this $*#&% white van and start locating this Chevy Caprice."

I guess for the ComPost, better late than never. Here on FR we've been saying this for nearly a month.