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| Malvo Can Be Tried as Adult, Judge Rules |
| By CNN |
| Published: 01/17/2003 |
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A judge ruled Wednesday that 17-year-old sniper suspect John Lee Malvo will be tried as an adult, a decision that will make him eligible for the death penalty if he is convicted. Virginia Juvenile Court Judge Charles Maxfield ordered Malvo to be tried as an adult in the October 14 shooting death of FBI analyst Linda Franklin, one of four sniper shootings prosecutors say Malvo carried out. Based on a substantial amount of circumstantial evidence, Maxfield said, there is probable cause to believe Malvo was involved in the shooting. The suspect will next go before a Fairfax County grand jury February 25, though attorneys on both sides doubted the case would be ready by then. Malvo's defense attorneys made heated closing arguments Wednesday, saying none of the evidence presented actually placed Malvo at any of the four crime scenes. They also said the crimes under consideration did not constitute terrorism. One of the two counts of murder facing Malvo falls under Virginia's anti-terrorism statute, which was enacted after the September 11 terrorist attacks. 'The purpose of the statute is to prevent another terrorist attack within this country,' Michael Arif, Malvo's defense attorney, told reporters Wednesday evening. 'I don't believe that there's any evidence that's been presented that this was in any way terrorism.' Commonwealth Attorney Robert Horan Jr., however, pointed out that the snipers' communications, presented in court, made threats against children and included a demand for $10 million. Horan said these were clearly attempts to intimidate the government. 'I don't know what's plainer than saying if you commit a particular act of violence with intent to intimidate the populace or government, you come within the confines of that statute,' Horan told reporters. Prosecutors also presented extensive evidence dealing with ballistics. A rifle found in the car in which Malvo and the other sniper suspect, John Allen Muhammad, 42, were arrested matched ballistics evidence found at the crime scene, according to experts who testified. Malvo's fingerprints were also on the weapon, the experts said. Authorities accuse Malvo and Muhammad of being behind the series of sniper shootings that killed 10 people and wounded four in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia in October. Investigators also have linked the pair to killings in Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia and Washington state. Muhammad faces trials for separate incidents. |
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