ROCKVILLE -- John Allen Muhammad was convicted yesterday of murder in the 2002 sniper rampage that killed six people in Montgomery County, ending a trial in which his claim of being framed was eclipsed by his protege's riveting portrayal of Muhammad as the creator of a scheme to terrorize the nation.
The verdict gave victims' families a sense of justice they have sought since Muhammad, 45, and his admitted acolyte Lee Boyd Malvo, 21, were arrested 3 1/2 years ago - even though the decision to try a man already on Virginia's death row remained controversial. The multiple life sentences prosecutors say they will request tomorrow would all but ensure that Muhammad would spend the rest of his life in prison in the event the Virginia conviction is overturned on appeal.
Jurors deliberated for 4 1/2 hours yesterday before facing Muhammad, who gazed stone-faced at them, arms folded over his chest, as the verdicts were read shortly after 2 p.m.
Vickie Snider, whose brother James "Sonny" Buchanan Jr. was killed as he cut the grass at an auto dealership, sucked in her lower lip as the jury foreperson replied "guilty" six times.
Vijay Walekar, whose brother, Premkumar Walekar, was killed as he pumped gas into his cab, said "I only wish he got another death penalty."
But Maryland prosecutors had decided against seeking a death sentence because they were not confident the crimes would meet the language of the state's capital punishment statute, and the appeals would be costly and time-consuming. Instead, they said they would request Judge James L. Ryan to order six consecutive life terms in prison without the possibility of parole.
Prosecutors had said the appearance of Malvo on the stand was not essential to their case. One juror agreed but said the testimony of Malvo played a key role in the swift verdict by permitting jurors to pull together elements of the case against Muhammad. "Are you kidding?" said juror Scott Stearns. "Muhammad closed all of his examinations of witnesses by asking, `Do you have personal knowledge, by that I mean seeing me, of these crimes?' There was one person who did have personal knowledge of what went on in the trunk of that car: Malvo. He didn't ask him. When Malvo finally got around to testifying, that was blown out of the water."
Also, Stearns said, Muhammad's decision to represent himself worked against him in at least one respect. The voice recorder police said they removed from Muhammad's car when he was arrested and which had a recording of Muhammad and Malvo's threatening message to police, did Muhammad in.
