Sniper suspects linked to murders in Louisiana, Alabama; authorities re-examine local crimes

<br>BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) _ Two sniper suspects are now charged with a monthlong series of killings from the Gulf Coast to the suburbs of the nation's capital. <br><br>Louisiana officials said Thursday

Friday, November 1st 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) _ Two sniper suspects are now charged with a monthlong series of killings from the Gulf Coast to the suburbs of the nation's capital.

Louisiana officials said Thursday ballistic tests had linked John Allen Muhammad, 41, and John Lee Malvo, 17, to the Sept. 23 murder of a beauty shop worker _ the second state to file murder charges after re-examining a local shooting for possible links to the Washington-area attacks.

Muhammad and Malvo were also tied to an Alabama murder two days before the Louisiana shooting.

The two suspects face multiple state and federal counts in the Alabama and Louisiana cases, as well as the sniper spree that left 10 people dead and three others wounded in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C. They are also suspects in a February killing in Washington state.

Baton Rouge Police Chief Pat Englade issued first-degree murder warrants for Muhammad and Malvo after ballistics tests matched the rifle used in the sniper shootings to the shooting of Hong Im Ballenger, 45.

Ballenger died from a single shot to the head as she left the Beauty Depot. Witnesses said the gunman was a young black man who fled into a nearby park and evaded bloodhounds called in to track him down.

According to the arrest warrant, police believe Muhammad shot the woman and Malvo allegedly stole her purse and fled.

Jim Ballenger, the victim's husband, said his wife was a native of Inchon, South Korea, and the two were married in the Asian nation when he was in the military. The couple moved to Baton Rouge in 1996 with their three sons.

``I know my wife is in heaven,'' he said at a church party Thursday. ``Jesus said to forgive and I am born again. The man who did it needs to do time in jail.''

Earlier Thursday, Alabama authorities said the same rifle used in Ballenger's killing, a .223-caliber Bushmaster, had been linked to the shooting death of a liquor store worker in Montgomery on Sept. 21, two days before the Louisiana slaying and 315 miles away.

In that case, the suspect _ allegedly Malvo _ was seen rifling through one of the victim's purses before he was chased off by a police officer.

The sniper suspects have been in custody in Maryland since they were captured at a highway rest stop Oct. 24. Authorities found the rifle in their car, which they say was modified so someone could fire unseen through a hole in the trunk.

Citing Justice Department officials, The Washington Post reported Friday that in the hours after his capture, Muhammad denied ownership of the car he was arrested in and the Bushmaster rifle inside it.

FBI agents and Montgomery County detectives questioned Muhammad at a secret location over a five-hour period Thursday, looking for information that would help prosecutors build their case against him and Malvo. But he would not answer any questions about the shootings, officials told the Post.

In Washington, Attorney General John Ashcroft said the investigation was continuing into the possibility other people may be involved or that the suspects may have committed more crimes.

``We will proceed deliberatively, cautiously and not jump to any conclusions,'' Ashcroft said. ``The facts ... will determine the final outcome and we intend to follow the facts wherever they may lead.''

A senior Justice Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said there was no specific evidence showing others were involved but authorities would not rule out the possibility.

Police nationwide are checking unsolved crimes for links to the sniper suspects, the official said, with a particular focus on the Gulf Coast and East Coast. Ashcroft is considering whether the federal government will take the lead in prosecuting the two men.

In Alabama, officials said ballistics evidence had linked the rifle to Claudine Parker, 52, who was shot to death during an attack that also wounded her liquor store co-worker, Kellie Adams, 24.

State forensics director Taylor Noggle said the slug taken from Parker's body matched bullets test fired from the Bushmaster. Muhammad and Malvo have already been charged with capital murder in the crime.

Muhammad grew up in Baton Rouge and still has relatives and friends there, including one of his ex-wives. He visited the area this summer, friends said.

Englade said the unusual type of bullet used to kill Ballenger led police to investigate a possible link. Police also said dated receipts from two Baton Rouge stores were found in the suspects' car.

First-degree murder carries a possible death penalty in Louisiana. Doug Moreau, the Baton Rouge district attorney, said he did not know when he would get the case and did not know whether he would push for the death penalty.

A task force working on the serial killings of three Baton Rouge women in the past year is working to obtain DNA evidence from Muhammad and Malvo. However, the two have not been linked to those killings, Englade said.

Also Thursday, officials in Prince Georges County, Md., where a 13-year-old boy was wounded outside his school, charged Muhammad and Malvo with attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder, both of which carry life sentences.