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Only teen's prints were on sniper rifle
( 2002-11-09 15:22 ) (7 )

Teenager John Lee Malvo's fingerprints were the only ones found on the rifle used in the Washington area sniper attacks in October, a prosecutor said on Friday as the authorities try to prove who pulled the trigger.

The prosecutor would not discuss evidence in detail, but said after the hearing that only Malvo's fingerprints were found on the .223-calibre Bushmaster XM15 semi-automatic rifle the authorities believe was used in the killing spree.

At Malvo's initial court appearance in Virginia, Fairfax County prosecutor Robert F. Horan Jr said eyewitnesses had spotted the 17-year-old at three of the fatal crime scenes.

He added that Malvo had tried to escape shortly after being arrested by crawling up into the ceiling at a Baltimore lockup. His escape was foiled when he fell through the ceiling tiles into a nearby office. He will be held without bail at an adult jail until a Dec 5 hearing.

Meanwhile, a few kilometers away, the other suspected gunman, John Allen Muhammad, 41, made his first appearance in a Virginia court and a judge said he would appoint a lawyer for him.

Federal authorities have given Virginia prosecutors the first trial against the sniper suspects, saying the state has the best chance of obtaining the death penalty. No trial has been scheduled.

The two were arrested on Oct 24 after a three-week spree of killings in Washington, D.C., and its suburbs in Virginia and Maryland. They have also been linked to earlier shootings.

The two have been accused of shooting 18 people, killing 13 of them, in Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C. Two other shootings, in Washington state, are under investigation.

The rifle was found in the men's car after their arrest.

Malvo's court-appointed attorney Michael Arif dismissed the importance of the fingerprints. He said Malvo, who faces two counts of capital murder and a firearms charge, would plead innocent.

In adjacent Prince William County, Muhammad was formally charged with killing Dean Meyers as he pumped gas at a gas station in Manassas Oct 9. Judge Herman A. Whisenant Jr said he would appoint a lawyer and set another hearing for Wednesday.