Justice Department Expected to Join in Sniper Case Today
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: The Justice Department is expected to join in the sniper case today. Convictions on federal charges would subject John Allen Muhammad and John Lee Malvo to the death penalty. Let's get the latest on the case now from Patty Davis, who joins us from our investigation desk in D.C. -- good morning, Patty.</s>PATTY DAVIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Paula. Sources do tell CNN, in fact, the Justice Department is expected to file federal charges today against John Muhammad and John Lee Malvo. Meanwhile, police in Tacoma, Washington have named the two men as suspects in a murder there. That involved 21-year-old Keenya Cook. She was murdered at her aunt's home in February, shot once in the head. The woman's aunt says Cook once sided with Muhammad's ex-wife in a dispute. Now, Tacoma police say they believe Muhammad and Malvo borrowed a .45 caliber weapon used in the killing, borrowed that from a friend.</s>CHIEF DAVID BRAME, TACOMA POLICE: The Tacoma Police Department now consider John Allen Muhammad and John Lee Malvo as suspects in the Keenya Cook homicide. I have directed that the Keenya Cook homicide receive our highest priority.</s>DAVIS: Tacoma police also believe that the two men were involved with using another weapon to vandalize a synagogue in Tacoma. Now, yesterday three Virginia counties filed murder charges against Muhammad and Malvo for the string of sniper killings. Virginia is using a new anti-terrorism law, one that could bring the death penalty in this case. Now, just who gets to try this case, though, still undecided -- Paula.</s>ZAHN: Let's talk about how complicated this could all get. If the Feds' trial charges, as are fully expected today, according to your sources, what does that do to the Virginia charges and the Montgomery County charges?</s>DAVIS: Well, we're told that it doesn't do anything in this case. The federal government being very careful not to step on the toes of the Virginia prosecutors. The majority of the Virginia prosecutors have gone ahead and brought their charges already and they would not necessarily face any double jeopardy issues, we're told, in the string of killings. The federal government charges would likely involve extortion involving the money that was asked for or demanded in the letters that were left tacked on tress at two of the sites. So that's what we're told at this point -- Paula.</s>ZAHN: And I guess what your team has learned, it is the combination of charges, then, upon conviction would absolutely bring the death penalty?</s>DAVIS: Well, they're hoping at least in one of these states. Obviously in Maryland you don't have the death penalty for minors. In Virginia, you do have the death penalty for minors. So they would be going for it in that state. The federal government has the death penalty, as well, involved in these charges, but they don't, that does not apply to minors, as well. So Virginia at this point, if you're going for the death penalty, it looks like the strongest place to try this first so far -- Paula.</s>ZAHN: Yes, most, I guess most analysis would suggest, and you hate to use this word, but it's been in a lot of the newspapers this morning, that they clearly have the upper hand to go first. So keep us posted. I know it's all very complicated. A lot to plow through there. Patty Davis, thanks so much for the live update.