October 09, 2002
PageA2
P olice
Sniper Attacks Terrorize Maryland Suburb
String of mystery murders investigated by former Portland Police Chief
(A P) — A 13-year-old boy was
shot and critically w ounded as his
aunt dropped him o ff at school
Monday, bringing fresh terror to the
W ashington, D.C. area w here a
sniper killed six people last week.
Another shooting M onday in the
District o f Colum bia also was being
investigated.
M o n tg o m ery C o u n ty P o lice
C h ie f C h arles M o o se said a m an
sittin g in a v eh icle in W a sh in g
to n had also been sh o t, but the
c a s e ’s re la tio n sh ip to the o th ers
w as u n know n.
T he boy w as sh o t o n ce, in the
ch est, an d w as in c ritical but
stab le co n d itio n an d b reath in g
on a ven tilato r follow ing surgery,
said Dr. M artin E ic h e lb e rg e r o f
C h ild re n ’s H ospital.
E ich elb erg er said he w as o p ti
m istic ab o u t th e c h ild ’s ch an ces
fo r su rv iv al, th o u g h the boy has
a “sig n ific a n t in ju ry ” to a lung.
T h e d o c to r a lso said the su r
g ery team m ade a sp ecial effo rt
to fin d a p o rtio n o f the b u llet,
w h ich th ey g av e to p o lice.
T h e sh o o tin g h ap p en ed w ell
b efo re c la sse s w ere sch ed u led
to b e g in , so th ere w ere n o t a lot
o f w itn e sse s. P rin ce G e o rg e ’s
C o u n ty P o lice C h ie f G erald W il
son said. A g u n sh o t w as h eard ,
and the boy slu m p ed o v e r and
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to ld h is au n t he th o u g h t he had
b een sh ot, W ilson said.
L ast W ed n esd ay and T h u rs
d ay , fiv e p eo p le w ere shot to
d e a th by a sn ip er in a 16-hour
sp an in M o n tg o m ery C o u n ty . A
six th victim w as k illed T hu rsd ay
in W a sh in g to n , D .C . O n F rid ay ,
a w o m an w as sh o t an d w ounded
in V irginia.
“All o f our victims have been
innocent and defenseless, but now
w e’ re stepping over the line,' ’ Moose
said. “Shooting a kid — it’s getting
to be really, really personal now.” At
one point, tears stream ed down his
face.
B ut he stressed that it w as too
early to know w h eth er th e sh o o t
ing o f th e boy w as re la te d to the
sn ip er slay in g s.
BANFIlLOtONLOOATiON
MUR0E" SPREE MYSTER
Former Portland Police Chief Charles Moose gives frequent
updates to the national media as the top law enforcement
officer in Montgomery County, Md., where a string o f deadly
sniper shootings goes unsolved.
Local Residents Accused of Plotting War
One suspect worked in mayor’s office as college intern
A Portland and FBI
investigation led to the
arrest of Jeffery Leon
Battle (froth left),
Patrice Lumumba Ford,
October Martinique
Lewis and Muhammad
Ibrahim Bilal on charges
of conspiracy to wage
war on the U.S.
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(A P )— A ttorney G eneral John
A shcroft announced the arrests o f
four people in O regon on Friday on
charges o f conspiring to wage w ar
on the U nited States and support
al-Qaida.
A fifth suspect in the case w as
arrested M onday in M alaysia, with
another person still being sought
oversees.
Five o f the six defendants are
U.S. citizens. A ccording to pros
ecutors, som e o f them took w eap
ons training and then tried to travel
to A fghanistan to jo in up with al-
Q aida and the T aliban, but could
not get into the country.
A shcroft said one o f those a r
rested, Jeffrey L eon B attle, joined
the U.S. Army R eserves to obtain
training in U.S. tactics and w eap
ons. A shcroft said Battle, who was
discharged last January w hile in
B angladesh, intended to use that
experience against A m erican so l
diers in A fghanistan.
C ourt papers identified the six
as Battle, 32; Patrice Lumumba Ford,
31; A hm ed Ibrahim Bilal, 24; his
brother M uham m ad Ibrahim Bilal,
22; H abis A bdullah al Saoub, 37;
and O ctober M artinique Lewis, 25,
the ex-w ife o f Battle.
A il but L ew is, set out fo r A f
g h a n ista n in O c to b e r 2001 and
tried to e n te r the c o u n try by w ay
o f C h in a but failed , A sh cro ft
said.
L ew is stayed behind and w ired
m oney to Battle eight tim es “with
the know ledge the m oney w ould
be used to support his attem pt to
reach A fghanistan" to help al-
Q aida and the T aliban, according
to the attorney general.
P atrice Ford w as raised in P ort
land and graduated from L incoln
High School.
Portland M ayor V era K atz said
he w orked in her office for tw o
m onths in 1998 and again in S ep
tem ber 1999. H e also w orked as an
intern for Portland M ayorB ud Clark
in 1986.
Katz said Ford raised suspicions
tw o years ago w hen he renew ed
interactions w ith her office staff,
but w ould not discuss details on
the m atter because o f a request by
the FBI
Weaver Charged in Oregon Murders
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O 2002
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safety matters
m » amlam com
A Clackam as County Grand Jury
has filed a crim inal indictm ent
against W ard W eaver in the case
o f tw o m urdered O regon City girls.
The 17-count indictm ent alleges
that on Jan. 9, W eaver com m itted
aggravated m urder by intention
ally causing the death o f A shley
Pond w hile also com m itting the
crim e o f sexual abuse. H e’s also
accu sed o f a g g ra
vated m urder for in
tentionally causing
th e
d e a th
of
M iranda G addis on
M arch 8, w hile also
committing the crime
o f sexual abuse.
In addition, the
indictm ent accuses
F
W eav ero f sexually
a b u s in g a n d a t
tem p tin g to rape
»
1
P ond prior to her
death. H e’sal so ac
«
cused o f attem pted
aggravated m urder
and rape o f R andi
O neida on A ug. 13
K
J
a n d th e s e x u a l
Ward Weaver
abuse o f a 15-year-
old fem ale victim on July 17.
The ultim ate punishm ent for the
crim e o f aggravated m urder is death
by legal injection. H ow ever, under
O regon Law , that will be decided
by a jury.
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>
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