Alleged sniper finds jury selection difficult

Stephen Manning

ROCKVILLE, Md. — Convicted sniper John Allen Muhammad grew increasingly frustrated as he and prosecutors questioned potential jurors Monday for his second trial in the sniper shootings that terrorized the Washington area in the fall of 2002.

It was hard to find anyone who didn’t already believe he was responsible for the crimes, and Muhammad, acting as his own attorney, objected to most of them.

About 25 prospective jurors out of a pool of 300 came in front of Montgomery Circuit Court Judge James Ryan on Monday, and almost all said they had formed an opinion about the case.

They had seen it on television, read about in the newspapers, their children had been forced to stay inside at school during the three weeks the snipers were on the lose, and then there was the fear triggered by the random killing spree that picked out strangers as targets. One potential juror has seen images of Muhammad in prison garb from his first sniper trial, in Virginia, which led to a death sentence.

“It happened right around my old job, right around my house,” said Quinn McCreary, 24, who lived across from one of the shooting scenes in Silver Spring and was excused by Ryan. “It was right in my face.”

Muhammad sat at the defense table, staring at each possible juror as they were called for individual questioning.

Each had filled out a form based on 32 questions, including their opinion of the case, if they thought they could still be fair and whether they had experience with guns like the Bushmaster rifle used in the murders.

As more people said they believed he was guilty, Muhammad grew more frustrated. He objected to most, saying they couldn’t be fair to him.

“These people are saying their minds are already made up,” he complained.

The judge pressed prospective jurors about whether they could put those beliefs aside and what they knew from media accounts to weigh evidence presented in court.

“What we are asking people is whether they can be open minded and put all that aside,” he told one person.

Using that benchmark, Ryan agreed to accept about ten people to come back for a second round of selection on Thursday.

Maryland prosecutors say justice demands a trial in the county that suffered the most: Six of the ten sniper slayings in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C., linked to Muhammad and accomplice Lee Boyd Malvo were in Montgomery County. The three-week spree began and ended there, and many people were gripped by fear as people were randomly picked off in public places.

Malvo, 21, is serving life in prison for a shooting in Falls Church, Va. He faces trial in Maryland this fall in the Montgomery County killings.

The morning jury selection for Muhammad’s trial was interrupted at one point by a man in a bright red T-shirt emblazoned with the word “WHY?” who launched an obscenity-laced tirade from the court audience.

“I hope you rot in hell,” said the man, who said he was a cousin of Conrad Johnson, a bus driver who became the last sniper victim on Oct. 22, 2002.

“You see what I was telling you, that is why we have so much security,” Ryan told Muhammad as sheriff deputies dragged the man out of the courtroom. “It’s not just for everybody else, it’s for you too.”

“That’s America, your honor. Freedom of speech,” Muhammad replied.

In a hearing Monday before jury selection began, Muhammad also presented a last-minute handwritten list of more witnesses he wanted to call. Ryan warned him he had missed a deadline to have witnesses subpoenaed, but agreed to review those from Maryland and give Muhammad another chance to say why his out-of-state witnesses were relevant.

Ryan also objected to an attempt by the Montgomery public defender’s office, which previously represented Muhammad, to submit a letter from a psychiatrist that suggested Muhammad is bipolar. Annapolis psychiatrist David Williamson said he believed Muhammad is not competent to stand trial.

Muhammad had claimed in an earlier hearing that Williamson had not found any problems with him. Paul DeWolfe, the Montgomery public defender and Muhammad’s former attorney, said that was further evidence that Ryan should have allowed a competency hearing before allowing Muhammad to represent himself.

“He continues to ignore the mental illness of Mr. Muhammad,” DeWolfe said.

Ryan refused to add the Williamson letter to Muhammad’s case file, saying it was inappropriate for the public defender to send it. (Associated Press)