WEBVTT - The Trials [13] 0:00:00.200 --> 0:00:03.320 Welcome to Monster d C Sniper, a production of I 0:00:03.440 --> 0:00:07.520 Heart Radio and Tenderfoot TV. The views and opinions expressed 0:00:07.520 --> 0:00:10.480 in this podcast are solely those of the podcast author 0:00:10.640 --> 0:00:13.920 or individuals participating in the podcast, and do not represent 0:00:13.960 --> 0:00:17.440 those of I Heart Media, Tenderfoot TV, or their employees. 0:00:18.079 --> 0:00:22.160 This episode includes testimony and argument from court trial transcripts 0:00:22.200 --> 0:00:26.040 read by voice actors. Portions of these transcripts are excerpted 0:00:26.079 --> 0:00:30.360 for the purposes of this podcast. Listener discretion is advised. 0:00:31.600 --> 0:00:34.280 Good evening. One of the most terrifying crimes in recent 0:00:34.360 --> 0:00:37.240 years left ten people dead the nation's capital and two 0:00:37.240 --> 0:00:40.320 neighboring states, and a frenzy of fear for three weeks. 0:00:40.800 --> 0:00:43.239 The Sniper case a year ago today, the first of 0:00:43.280 --> 0:00:45.960 two suspects in the case went on trial, and the 0:00:46.040 --> 0:00:50.680 opening day was surreal. I remember feeling very nervous prior 0:00:50.720 --> 0:00:55.000 to both trials. Prior to the trial, we're told we 0:00:55.000 --> 0:00:58.920 weren't allowed to speak to other witnesses. But then afterwards, 0:00:59.280 --> 0:01:01.880 I remember being in the room with family members who 0:01:01.880 --> 0:01:08.840 had lost people. That was so sad, so horrific. I 0:01:08.880 --> 0:01:13.520 remember speaking to I believe Laurie, with us husband. I 0:01:13.640 --> 0:01:15.560 was just still angry, you know, I just you know, 0:01:16.000 --> 0:01:18.120 I don't know. I just want to do something, you know, 0:01:18.240 --> 0:01:21.200 and and be over with and make them pay for 0:01:21.280 --> 0:01:25.280 what they did, to go and testify it was not 0:01:25.520 --> 0:01:30.120 the problem. The real problem was just to go and 0:01:30.160 --> 0:01:33.440 see them right in front of you. That was the 0:01:33.520 --> 0:01:36.360 hard part. It was hard to be there in the 0:01:36.400 --> 0:01:38.840 same room with them. It's was hard to see them 0:01:38.880 --> 0:01:43.119 over there. It was hard to see their faces. They 0:01:43.120 --> 0:01:46.959 don't have no remorse at all, both of them, not 0:01:47.080 --> 0:01:50.600 at all, like it was normal for them. And that's 0:01:50.600 --> 0:01:54.480 where you know, get me, you know, for people like that. 0:01:55.600 --> 0:01:58.160 You know, I always say, these those those kind of people, 0:01:58.200 --> 0:02:02.040 they don't deserve to be here. This is so horrific 0:02:02.720 --> 0:02:06.560 to realize that these people is so impacted by the 0:02:06.600 --> 0:02:09.160 actions of these two cruel people, and their lives will 0:02:09.200 --> 0:02:12.640 never ever be the same. You know, I'm lucky merely 0:02:12.680 --> 0:02:15.840 go along. You know, in my life, I do thank 0:02:15.880 --> 0:02:18.720 God that it wasn't me. But you know, it's difficult 0:02:18.720 --> 0:02:21.520 to remember that on an everyday basis because humans are 0:02:21.520 --> 0:02:23.680 not like that. We just get on with our lives. 0:02:24.919 --> 0:02:28.520 But these people, they think about it every day that 0:02:28.600 --> 0:02:32.200 they lost a family member because of this totally senseless, 0:02:32.919 --> 0:02:38.079 horrific act. There is a ruthless person on the loose. 0:02:38.600 --> 0:02:41.600 What I nerves this community the most is the randomness 0:02:41.639 --> 0:02:45.400 of the murders. Ordinary people doing ordinary things. All that 0:02:45.480 --> 0:02:48.079 the victims appear to have had in common. Each was 0:02:48.120 --> 0:02:51.160 shot to death by a single bullet. Be careful, these 0:02:51.160 --> 0:02:53.320 guys are using weapons that are going to go right 0:02:53.360 --> 0:02:56.919 straight through our bullet proof ess. The massive man odd continues, 0:02:56.960 --> 0:02:59.280 but police admit they don't know who are, what they're 0:02:59.280 --> 0:03:05.280 dealing with, or what their motive might be. From my 0:03:05.440 --> 0:03:09.280 Heart Radio and tender Foot TIV, this is monster d 0:03:09.360 --> 0:03:17.800 C sniper. The trials of John Mohammed and Lee Boyd 0:03:17.840 --> 0:03:21.480 Malvo were scheduled to begin in October of two thousand three. 0:03:22.280 --> 0:03:25.000 After they were caught, it was decided that the two 0:03:25.040 --> 0:03:28.880 would be tried in Virginia. At the time, Virginia permitted 0:03:28.880 --> 0:03:32.960 the death penalty for sixteen and seventeen year olds. Prosecutors 0:03:32.960 --> 0:03:36.400 were hoping to convict both Malbo and Mohammed and sentenced 0:03:36.440 --> 0:03:41.200 them to the ultimate punishment. Prince William County would prosecute 0:03:41.240 --> 0:03:44.480 Mohammed for the murder of Dean Harold Myers, led by 0:03:44.480 --> 0:03:48.600 Attorney Paul Ebert and Fairfax County would prosecute Malvo for 0:03:48.640 --> 0:03:52.120 the murder of Linda Franklin, led by attorney Robert Horran, 0:03:53.080 --> 0:03:56.840 but attorneys from Malvo and Mohammed made an early trial 0:03:56.960 --> 0:04:00.680 motion to move the cases from those counties. Everybody who 0:04:00.720 --> 0:04:03.640 lived in this area, in the Washington, d C. Area, 0:04:03.720 --> 0:04:07.240 was essentially a victim. This is Mark Petrovitch, one of 0:04:07.240 --> 0:04:11.560 the lawyers from Malvo's defense team. We all were afraid 0:04:11.640 --> 0:04:14.040 to be shot at any given time. We all pumped 0:04:14.040 --> 0:04:16.360 our gas and moved around as we pumped our gas. 0:04:16.520 --> 0:04:20.920 We all dealt with the fear, the anger, the frustration, 0:04:21.240 --> 0:04:25.200 just the outrage of the situation. And so anyone who 0:04:25.240 --> 0:04:28.080 dealt with that would hold a grudge against anyone who's 0:04:28.360 --> 0:04:31.560 accused of being involved in it. So we wanted jurors 0:04:31.560 --> 0:04:34.479 who hadn't been in the middle and essentially this big 0:04:34.560 --> 0:04:39.160 ground zero. We wanted jurors from outside that area to objectively, 0:04:39.320 --> 0:04:42.760 in an unbiased way, determine what should happened with the case. 0:04:43.279 --> 0:04:48.039 Petrovitch says. Transferring jurisdiction in capital cases is very uncommon, 0:04:48.560 --> 0:04:51.320 but in this case, it was clear that Mohammed and 0:04:51.400 --> 0:04:54.760 Malvo would not get an impartial jury anywhere near the 0:04:54.839 --> 0:04:58.080 d C area. And so the motion was approved and 0:04:58.120 --> 0:05:01.440 the trials were moved to Virginia b in Chesapeake Bay 0:05:01.480 --> 0:05:06.960 in southeast Virginia. But Prince William County and Fairfax County 0:05:07.040 --> 0:05:10.520 we're still in charge of putting together the prosecution and 0:05:10.640 --> 0:05:14.599 Fairfax Police Lieutenant Bruce Gooth was in charge of assembling 0:05:14.680 --> 0:05:19.400 the prosecution task force. We now have Malvo and Prince 0:05:19.400 --> 0:05:22.280 William has Mohammed. Our jurisdictions are right next to each other. 0:05:23.000 --> 0:05:25.279 I called a meeting with the A T F D 0:05:25.360 --> 0:05:31.400 FBI Secret Service to discuss prosecution task force. We would 0:05:31.440 --> 0:05:35.560 put all the evidence together in one packet, if you will, 0:05:35.960 --> 0:05:39.479 for both trials. So if Mr Eber needed for Mohammed, 0:05:39.680 --> 0:05:42.679 he could grab it. If Mr Harran needed it for Malvo, 0:05:42.960 --> 0:05:45.279 he could grab it. You know, it's hard enough work 0:05:45.320 --> 0:05:49.120 in one murder, and to have these thirteen shootings just 0:05:49.240 --> 0:05:52.320 in our area, let alone what else went around the country. 0:05:52.800 --> 0:05:54.080 You know, we knew it was going to be a 0:05:54.120 --> 0:05:58.520 monumental task. Gooth says. They found an empty office building. 0:05:59.040 --> 0:06:02.360 Within a week, they had filled the entire space with 0:06:02.480 --> 0:06:06.880 dozens of desks, interview rooms, and computers. For over fifty 0:06:06.960 --> 0:06:10.640 Task Force members. They quickly pulled a massive team together 0:06:11.040 --> 0:06:15.960 and started preparations in Fairfax. Anything in a blue binder 0:06:16.120 --> 0:06:19.960 is a murder file. So the blue file thing popped 0:06:20.040 --> 0:06:23.320 up in my head that for each major thing we need, 0:06:23.400 --> 0:06:26.440 we're going to make a blue file. For instance, the 0:06:26.520 --> 0:06:30.080 Bushmaster to two three rifle, we had a book that 0:06:30.200 --> 0:06:33.680 had everything you could want about the rifle. There was 0:06:33.720 --> 0:06:36.839 a blue book made on the Caprice, where they got 0:06:36.880 --> 0:06:40.120 the caprice, the history of the caprice, the interview of 0:06:40.160 --> 0:06:42.640 the guy who sold them the caprice up in New Jersey. 0:06:43.000 --> 0:06:45.880 And that guy was a great witness because Mohammed climbed 0:06:45.880 --> 0:06:47.719 into the trunk of the car and he thought that 0:06:47.800 --> 0:06:50.599 was weird. So I really liked this car. You mind 0:06:50.600 --> 0:06:52.880 if I climb in the trunk and it goes yeah, 0:06:52.960 --> 0:06:54.280 you know, you can climb in wherever you want the 0:06:54.320 --> 0:06:57.200 car six bucks, I don't care. So we ended up 0:06:57.240 --> 0:07:00.320 in this fire room with about eighty blue books. We 0:07:00.360 --> 0:07:05.480 had a file cabinet probably on thirty yards long. Over 0:07:05.560 --> 0:07:09.560 the course of a year, prosecutors collected information and prepared 0:07:09.560 --> 0:07:13.600 their case. Then, come the fall of two thousand three, 0:07:14.000 --> 0:07:17.440 the task Force moved to southeast Virginia, where the trials 0:07:17.440 --> 0:07:22.440 were about to begin. We basically rented out a whole 0:07:22.680 --> 0:07:26.160 half side of this hotel had a big task force room. 0:07:26.200 --> 0:07:29.680 They wired for computers and phone lines and now we 0:07:29.760 --> 0:07:32.560 have to fly everybody in from all over the country 0:07:32.680 --> 0:07:36.600 into Virginia Beach instead of the dollies. It was a 0:07:36.720 --> 0:07:40.520 monumental task. We had two trials with hundred and fifty 0:07:40.520 --> 0:07:45.360 witnesses in each trial. After m court, we'd meet in 0:07:45.960 --> 0:07:49.560 Mr Harand's suite or Mr. Ebert Suite and we talked 0:07:49.560 --> 0:07:52.239 about who they want the next two or three days. 0:07:52.560 --> 0:07:55.680 And then we'd call these witnesses and get them lined 0:07:55.760 --> 0:07:58.640 up with airplane reservations and tell them where to come, 0:07:58.640 --> 0:08:01.120 and then we have rooms at Stout for them, and 0:08:01.120 --> 0:08:02.960 then we had to get back to the airport to 0:08:03.000 --> 0:08:05.640 send them back home. And I was just it worked 0:08:05.640 --> 0:08:09.280 out really well, amazingly. We didn't lose anybody, and everybody 0:08:09.280 --> 0:08:13.280 showed up. John Mohammed's trial was scheduled to begin first. 0:08:14.040 --> 0:08:16.920 He was being tried on four counts, two of which 0:08:16.920 --> 0:08:20.840 were for capital murder. Prosecutors were hoping Virginia Long would 0:08:20.840 --> 0:08:23.560 provide a path to the death sentence for John Mohammed. 0:08:24.280 --> 0:08:28.280 Here's Virginia. Prosecutor Paul Ebert in Virginia, is our call, 0:08:28.480 --> 0:08:33.160 like sixteen different categories that they can mount to capital punishment, 0:08:33.720 --> 0:08:37.679 killing them, a minor robbery, rape, a number of thing 0:08:37.720 --> 0:08:40.240 which it has to be an underlying predicate before you 0:08:40.280 --> 0:08:44.040 can get to death penalty or even charged the death 0:08:44.040 --> 0:08:47.679 penalty with any success. Strangely enough, Virginia, for kilmore than 0:08:47.720 --> 0:08:50.920 one person in three years, that's a capital case. We 0:08:51.000 --> 0:08:53.000 had the opportunity to bring in every one of those 0:08:53.080 --> 0:08:57.520 murders to prove that. Aspect of the trial. Mohammed was 0:08:57.559 --> 0:09:00.280 being tried for one count of capital murder in the 0:09:00.320 --> 0:09:04.319 shooting of Dean Harold Myers on October nine, two two. 0:09:05.120 --> 0:09:08.120 The second capital murder charge came from a new anti 0:09:08.280 --> 0:09:12.280 terrorism law implemented in Virginia after the events of nine eleven. 0:09:13.160 --> 0:09:16.360 Under that statute, a jury would not have to conclude 0:09:16.360 --> 0:09:20.000 that Mohammed had actually pulled the trigger to be found guilty, 0:09:20.280 --> 0:09:24.160 only that he had intentionally terrorized a large population of 0:09:24.200 --> 0:09:27.800 American people. This case would be the first use of 0:09:27.840 --> 0:09:31.240 the law in a criminal trial. Because it was so new, 0:09:31.720 --> 0:09:34.800 it was possible for the statute to be challenged and 0:09:34.960 --> 0:09:39.080 potentially overturned. But it found guilty on either count of 0:09:39.120 --> 0:09:43.000 capital murder, Mohammed would be eligible for the death penalty. 0:09:43.480 --> 0:09:46.120 The third and fourth counts were for conspiracy to commit 0:09:46.200 --> 0:09:51.640 murder and illegal use of a firearm, respectively. On October 0:09:52.360 --> 0:09:57.600 two thousand three, Mohammed's trial began in Virginia Beach. So 0:09:57.800 --> 0:10:00.640 the Mohammed trial starts, and they pick a jury and 0:10:00.720 --> 0:10:03.760 it turns into a zoo. The first trial for the 0:10:03.800 --> 0:10:07.000 sniper attacks that left the Washington d C. Area traumatized 0:10:07.040 --> 0:10:10.240 a year ago began with a stunning development. Sniper defendant 0:10:10.320 --> 0:10:13.880 John Mohammed suddenly asked to represent himself, but judge said 0:10:13.920 --> 0:10:16.199 he thought Mohammed was making a mistake, but granted the 0:10:16.240 --> 0:10:19.839 request anyway, ordering the defense lawyers to stay on as advisors. 0:10:20.600 --> 0:10:25.079 One of the really most alarming moments was when Mohammed 0:10:25.120 --> 0:10:29.520 stood to represent himself. This is Washington Post journalist Josh White. 0:10:29.960 --> 0:10:34.640 He had two of the best lawyers possible. Johnathan Shapiro 0:10:34.640 --> 0:10:38.040 and Peter Greenspun are two of the most experienced trial 0:10:38.080 --> 0:10:41.960 attorneys in Virginia. They're the people you want representing you 0:10:42.000 --> 0:10:44.920 in a capital case. They have an immense amount of 0:10:44.960 --> 0:10:49.560 experience and had been making the right constitutional arguments and 0:10:49.720 --> 0:10:52.160 had been preparing for it for a very long time, 0:10:52.360 --> 0:10:55.559 and he rested the case away from them. We had 0:10:55.600 --> 0:10:58.520 never heard from Mohammed at that point, and he stood 0:10:58.600 --> 0:11:03.160 up in court and presenting a case. Here's an excerpt 0:11:03.160 --> 0:11:06.280 from John Mohammed's opening statement, read by a voice actor. 0:11:08.559 --> 0:11:11.640 Good evening. I would like to thank the judge for 0:11:11.679 --> 0:11:16.000 giving me the opportunity to speak. I like reading and 0:11:16.120 --> 0:11:19.719 learning about words. One of the things I was fascinated 0:11:19.760 --> 0:11:25.480 by coming into this strange world. It's three truths, the truth, 0:11:26.280 --> 0:11:30.280 the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. I always 0:11:30.320 --> 0:11:34.920 thought it was just the truth. Apparently I was wrong. 0:11:35.920 --> 0:11:39.960 So I did some checking to find out what is 0:11:40.000 --> 0:11:46.000 it about these three truths? Same thing, but yet they 0:11:46.040 --> 0:11:49.640 are different in an interesting way. It gave you a 0:11:49.679 --> 0:11:53.400 little bit of insight into how he was thinking. What 0:11:53.559 --> 0:11:58.160 he essentially presented was logical. He made the argument that 0:11:58.280 --> 0:12:01.720 no one had seen him do anything, which was true. 0:12:02.360 --> 0:12:04.760 No one had seen him do anything. No one saw 0:12:04.840 --> 0:12:07.160 him with the gun except when he was arrested with 0:12:07.160 --> 0:12:11.080 it in his car. His argument was he told him 0:12:11.200 --> 0:12:16.480 an allegory about how his daughter had reached into a 0:12:16.520 --> 0:12:21.400 cookie jar, or so he thought. I remember an incident 0:12:21.720 --> 0:12:25.600 when I was in the Caribbean. My favorite daughter, believe, 0:12:25.679 --> 0:12:30.320 but she loves chocolate cookies. As I was leaving one day, 0:12:30.440 --> 0:12:35.360 she said, Daddy, can I have some chocolate cookies? And 0:12:35.400 --> 0:12:38.720 I said, sure, I'll come back. We'll go to the 0:12:38.760 --> 0:12:42.760 store and we'll get some chocolate cookies, but don't go 0:12:43.160 --> 0:12:46.720 in the cookie jar and get no chocolate cookies until 0:12:46.760 --> 0:12:51.240 I come back. She said, I won't, Daddy, I won't. 0:12:52.120 --> 0:12:56.760 So I leave. I come back an hour later. I 0:12:56.840 --> 0:13:00.880 see my baby daughter out in the yard like the 0:13:01.040 --> 0:13:05.840 cookies in her head. I am upset now because from 0:13:05.880 --> 0:13:10.640 what I seen, she disobeyed. I got the evidence in 0:13:10.720 --> 0:13:14.800 her hands. I got her eating cookies. I even got 0:13:14.840 --> 0:13:18.200 her sister saying she saw her going in the cookie job. 0:13:19.040 --> 0:13:23.439 So I'm very upset now because my baby daughter lied 0:13:23.480 --> 0:13:27.800 to and he blamed her for taking the cookies. But 0:13:27.880 --> 0:13:30.199 he had not seen it, and it turned out that 0:13:30.320 --> 0:13:32.080 he was wrong to have blamed her, that she didn't 0:13:32.080 --> 0:13:36.080 take the cookies. She was actually putting cookies in the 0:13:36.200 --> 0:13:39.760 job and I didn't know. I thought to leave, but 0:13:39.920 --> 0:13:44.400 had disobeyed me. But she really, she really hadn't disobeyed me. 0:13:45.000 --> 0:13:49.200 She actually got cookies from the store and not out 0:13:49.280 --> 0:13:52.320 of the cookie job. I asked her not to take 0:13:52.360 --> 0:13:55.600 cookies out of the cookie job, and she didn't. But 0:13:55.720 --> 0:13:59.000 I was basing that on what I saw. I was 0:13:59.080 --> 0:14:03.640 basing that or what I guessed at what happened. But 0:14:03.760 --> 0:14:08.760 I didn't know that what happened. And his explanation to 0:14:08.760 --> 0:14:11.680 the jury was, how can you hold me responsible for 0:14:11.800 --> 0:14:17.440 something that no one saw me? Do you know? I think, 0:14:17.480 --> 0:14:21.880 like in any criminal case, when a defendant starts representing themselves, 0:14:22.280 --> 0:14:26.440 it's something that their lawyers really don't want to see. 0:14:26.640 --> 0:14:29.840 And he stepped into a number of problems for himself. 0:14:31.200 --> 0:14:35.280 Bruce Scooth says Mohammed's decision to represent himself was more 0:14:35.320 --> 0:14:38.480 of a stunt than anything, and that stunt cost him 0:14:38.520 --> 0:14:41.320 any amount of pity he might have gotten from the jury. 0:14:41.680 --> 0:14:45.200 This is him. He's cocky, and he's making a complete 0:14:45.400 --> 0:14:49.680 joke out of the judicial system. The court room has 0:14:50.000 --> 0:14:53.080 family members in her of these victims, and he's basically 0:14:53.120 --> 0:14:55.840 making fun of them. It is how cold this guy was. 0:14:56.400 --> 0:14:59.120 He's trying to cross examine people. Oh, it was just 0:14:59.560 --> 0:15:02.000 a complete zoo and a judge kept saying, you know, 0:15:02.360 --> 0:15:04.520 use your lawyers, and the lawyers are mad and they 0:15:04.560 --> 0:15:09.960 wanted a mistrial. After making his opening statement, Mohammed began 0:15:10.000 --> 0:15:16.560 to question witnesses. So talk about crazy circumstances and weird 0:15:16.680 --> 0:15:19.880 events in your life. I was being questioned by the 0:15:19.920 --> 0:15:22.560 guy who tried to kill me. He wasn't the guy 0:15:22.560 --> 0:15:25.320 that pulled the trigger, but he was the brains behind it. 0:15:26.160 --> 0:15:29.560 This is Paul Larufa, the victims shot on September five, 0:15:29.600 --> 0:15:33.320 two thousand two, in Clinton, Maryland. Larufa was sitting in 0:15:33.320 --> 0:15:36.400 his car that night, about to leave his restaurant when 0:15:36.440 --> 0:15:39.800 five shots rang out from the driver's side, shattering the 0:15:39.800 --> 0:15:44.240 window and badly injuring his left arm and torso. It 0:15:44.320 --> 0:15:46.720 had been just over a year since that traumatic event. 0:15:47.560 --> 0:15:51.000 Larufa was dealing with PTSD and was still wearing a 0:15:51.040 --> 0:15:53.560 brace on his arm. Since he was one of the 0:15:53.560 --> 0:15:56.400 initial victims in the d C sniper case, he was 0:15:56.440 --> 0:15:59.920 one of the first witnesses to testify. My fear was 0:16:00.040 --> 0:16:02.880 is that, like you see on TV, the lawyer comes 0:16:03.000 --> 0:16:06.320 right up to the witness box and gets pretty close 0:16:06.360 --> 0:16:09.360 to you. And I said, that's gonna make me feel 0:16:09.520 --> 0:16:14.000 really weird. And they said, now you'll be okay because 0:16:14.040 --> 0:16:16.640 the judge made a ruling that he can't do that. 0:16:16.760 --> 0:16:20.000 He can't get close to you. He was fifteen feet away, 0:16:20.200 --> 0:16:23.560 and that made me feel better. It was still hard testifying. 0:16:24.480 --> 0:16:27.360 I had told the story many many times, and it 0:16:27.400 --> 0:16:30.400 was different telling it in the courtroom. When they called me, 0:16:30.440 --> 0:16:32.560 I was waiting outside and they call you in and 0:16:32.560 --> 0:16:36.240 you walk in. Talk about all eyes being on you. 0:16:36.720 --> 0:16:40.120 A couple of hundred people are there, and it is 0:16:40.320 --> 0:16:44.040 quieter than a church. You could hear a pin drop, 0:16:44.760 --> 0:16:46.840 and you make the walk from the back door to 0:16:46.920 --> 0:16:50.280 the front of the courtroom and they swear you in 0:16:50.360 --> 0:16:53.400 and they asked me questions. You know, I broke down 0:16:53.440 --> 0:16:56.560 a little bit when they asked me about being shot. 0:16:57.280 --> 0:16:59.680 It was a lot more emotional for me than I thought. 0:17:00.280 --> 0:17:03.080 And that was from the prosecution side asking me all 0:17:03.120 --> 0:17:07.359 those questions. They're on my side now. Mohammed, acting in 0:17:07.400 --> 0:17:12.520 his own defense, he said something initially that was crazy, 0:17:12.600 --> 0:17:15.119 and the judge told him he couldn't say stuff like that. 0:17:15.240 --> 0:17:19.399 He said, I know what it's like to have my 0:17:19.520 --> 0:17:23.280 life on the line, or something like that, and what 0:17:23.320 --> 0:17:27.280 he was implying was that me being shot and him 0:17:27.359 --> 0:17:32.040 facing the death penalty was somehow the same. We were 0:17:32.080 --> 0:17:36.640 both facing death. I didn't say anything. I probably could 0:17:36.680 --> 0:17:40.560 have said, what are you talking about? You're crazy? And 0:17:40.600 --> 0:17:43.320 then he asked me something simple. He asked me if 0:17:43.359 --> 0:17:46.240 I saw the person's face who shot me. I said no, 0:17:46.359 --> 0:17:49.280 I didn't. I didn't see his face. And that was it. 0:17:50.119 --> 0:17:54.080 To this day, it's just crazily ironic that. I don't 0:17:54.119 --> 0:17:57.760 know how many people have that experience of being questioned 0:17:58.119 --> 0:18:01.080 in court by the person who tried to kill you. 0:18:02.800 --> 0:18:07.720 The same day that Larufa testified, prosecutors also called forensic 0:18:07.800 --> 0:18:12.480 experts to the stand. The firearms examiner named Walter Dandridge. 0:18:12.520 --> 0:18:14.760 He was the one guy that examined all the bullet 0:18:14.800 --> 0:18:17.800 fragments and the gun. He's the one that made all 0:18:17.840 --> 0:18:21.560 the matches taller cases. He was so good. The whole 0:18:21.560 --> 0:18:25.000 world was watching, and so there was a lot of pressure. 0:18:25.800 --> 0:18:30.160 Dandridge presented his findings from the investigation. Forensics had linked 0:18:30.200 --> 0:18:32.560 all of the bullets from the DC shootings to the 0:18:32.640 --> 0:18:36.720 same gun. Those bullets also matched the ammunition used by 0:18:36.720 --> 0:18:40.919 the Bushmaster found in the Blue Caprice. Work in the 0:18:40.960 --> 0:18:46.359 evidence and then testifying it was much more stressful because 0:18:46.359 --> 0:18:50.840 of the visibility. I was cross examined by Mohammad when 0:18:50.880 --> 0:18:56.240 he was acting as his own defense attorney, and he 0:18:56.359 --> 0:18:58.439 didn't think I knew what I was talking about as 0:18:58.440 --> 0:19:00.560 far as the handling of the fire arm, and he 0:19:00.960 --> 0:19:03.960 was kind of lecturing me on how this firearm work. 0:19:05.040 --> 0:19:09.800 Mohammed only represented himself for one full day. Eventually Mohammed 0:19:09.960 --> 0:19:13.199 relented and gave the case back to his attorneys. He 0:19:13.280 --> 0:19:16.520 claimed he had a toothache and could no longer represent himself. 0:19:16.720 --> 0:19:19.400 But we did get some really amazing moments of hearing 0:19:19.480 --> 0:19:23.000 him speak and question witnesses. And you know, one of 0:19:23.080 --> 0:19:26.560 his most effective questions was did you see me do anything? 0:19:26.840 --> 0:19:30.560 And the answer was no. The basis of his argument 0:19:30.560 --> 0:19:34.760 would ultimately be his official legal defense that there was 0:19:34.840 --> 0:19:39.119 no direct evidence linking Mohammed to the crimes without a 0:19:39.119 --> 0:19:41.919 confession or witness who saw him at a crime scene. 0:19:42.560 --> 0:19:47.760 All the prosecution had was circumstantial evidence. The problem, I 0:19:47.800 --> 0:19:52.160 think ultimately was it was a very strong circumstantial case 0:19:52.520 --> 0:19:56.600 against him. All of the evidence was in his car, 0:19:57.480 --> 0:20:01.720 was on the gun, but still no one has ever 0:20:01.800 --> 0:20:05.480 proven who he killed or didn't kill. The argument prosecutors 0:20:05.520 --> 0:20:09.719 made was it didn't matter who fired the gun. It 0:20:09.760 --> 0:20:13.159 didn't matter whose finger was on that trigger. They used 0:20:13.359 --> 0:20:17.640 some novel legal arguments to show that it was essentially 0:20:17.760 --> 0:20:22.080 one system that killed the vehicle, was the weapon just 0:20:22.160 --> 0:20:24.639 as much as the gun was, and that it was 0:20:24.680 --> 0:20:28.480 a team that carried out these crimes. Records show that 0:20:28.480 --> 0:20:31.480 the blue Caprice had been seen or identified at a 0:20:31.600 --> 0:20:35.640 number of the crime scenes. Although neither Malvo nor Mohammad 0:20:35.680 --> 0:20:38.639 were spotted at those scenes, both of them were found 0:20:38.640 --> 0:20:41.560 in the car and that implicated them in the murders. 0:20:42.359 --> 0:20:47.160 Here's Virginia Prosecutor Paul Ebert. Again, snipers are not solitary. 0:20:47.600 --> 0:20:50.280 They have two or three mallion teams typically, and I 0:20:50.320 --> 0:20:53.040 wanted you to know that right off the bat. The 0:20:53.080 --> 0:20:57.080 most important part the sniper team is a spotter. They 0:20:57.160 --> 0:20:59.600 look to make sure no cars were coming. A lot 0:20:59.600 --> 0:21:03.000 of things into spotder, to do aid and a bed. 0:21:03.000 --> 0:21:07.280 The actual shooter, an actual shooter, really had an as 0:21:07.280 --> 0:21:11.240 your job allow export shot. Question is when do you 0:21:11.240 --> 0:21:13.800 do it and how do you do it? To demonstrate 0:21:13.800 --> 0:21:17.560 how the pair operated, prosecutors made a full size model 0:21:17.720 --> 0:21:20.879 of the back half of the Caprice. They showed how 0:21:20.920 --> 0:21:23.680 the car had been altered and likely utilized to make 0:21:23.680 --> 0:21:28.520 shooting easier. Here's Bruce Gooth. We reenacted getting in the 0:21:28.600 --> 0:21:30.960 back of that caprice with the back seat in it. 0:21:31.320 --> 0:21:34.440 We used swat guys the same size, and we had 0:21:34.640 --> 0:21:37.119 them crawl into the back trunk and how would you 0:21:37.160 --> 0:21:39.719 position yourself and you know, pop the trunk open and 0:21:39.720 --> 0:21:41.560 put the barrel out through the hole they cut in 0:21:41.560 --> 0:21:45.280 the car and blah blah blah. Mohammed's trial in Virginia 0:21:45.400 --> 0:21:50.560 lasted just over a month. On November two, three closing 0:21:50.640 --> 0:21:55.000 arguments were made by both sides. Attorney Peter Greenspun gave 0:21:55.040 --> 0:21:58.520 the defenses closing argument. Here's an excerpt read by a 0:21:58.600 --> 0:22:04.040 voice actor. You may convict John Alan Mohammed uncircumstantial evidence alone, 0:22:04.720 --> 0:22:07.920 which is what prosecutors have sought to do here effectively. 0:22:08.840 --> 0:22:14.000 When the Commonwealth relies upon circumstantial evidence, the circumstances must 0:22:14.040 --> 0:22:18.879 be consistent with guilt and inconsistent with innocence. It is 0:22:18.920 --> 0:22:22.720 not sufficient that the circumstances proved create a suspicion of guilt, 0:22:22.960 --> 0:22:27.280 however strong, or even a probability of guilt. The evidence 0:22:27.280 --> 0:22:31.480 as a whole must exclude every reasonable theory of innocence. 0:22:32.840 --> 0:22:34.960 So that's where you get into what I call the 0:22:35.040 --> 0:22:39.560 gut feelings. I know it, but can't explain it. This 0:22:39.640 --> 0:22:42.639 instruction tells you that that is not sufficient to find 0:22:42.680 --> 0:22:46.320 anyone guilty in a trespass case, but most importantly in 0:22:46.359 --> 0:22:50.080 a capital murder prosecution, you're going to have to find 0:22:50.119 --> 0:22:52.600 your own sense of comfort as far as what that is. 0:22:53.800 --> 0:22:58.720 Then Attorney Richard Conway gave the prosecutions closing argument. Here's 0:22:58.720 --> 0:23:02.480 an excerpt of that, read by a voice actor. He's 0:23:02.560 --> 0:23:05.960 charged with the two offenses of capital murder. He's charged 0:23:06.000 --> 0:23:09.280 with conspiracy to commit murder, and he's charged with using 0:23:09.280 --> 0:23:12.960 a firearm during the commission of a murder. Yes, in 0:23:13.040 --> 0:23:16.240 order to convict Mr Mohammed of capital murder of killing 0:23:16.280 --> 0:23:19.119 more than one person in three years, you have to 0:23:19.160 --> 0:23:22.600 find he was a principal in the first degree. But 0:23:23.080 --> 0:23:25.960 for the capital murder during an act of terrorism, you 0:23:26.040 --> 0:23:29.359 don't have to find that. We have the same first 0:23:29.359 --> 0:23:33.200 two elements. That Mr Dean Myers was killed, no question 0:23:33.640 --> 0:23:38.320 that the killing was willful, deliberate, and premeditated. No question 0:23:38.760 --> 0:23:41.959 that the killing occurred during the commission of or attempted 0:23:42.040 --> 0:23:45.400 commission of an act of terrorism, and that either he 0:23:45.480 --> 0:23:48.520 was the principle in the first degree or someone else 0:23:48.600 --> 0:23:50.760 was a principle in the first degree acting at his 0:23:50.840 --> 0:23:55.040 direction or order. So either way, and I suggest to 0:23:55.080 --> 0:23:59.880 you that these two, him and Malvo are both principle 0:24:00.200 --> 0:24:04.200 in the first degree. Over the course of two days, 0:24:04.680 --> 0:24:08.520 the jury deliberated for six and a half hours. Judge 0:24:08.600 --> 0:24:11.520 LeRoi Mollett Jr. Told jurors that they did not have 0:24:11.720 --> 0:24:15.240 to find that Mohammed actually fired the gun in any 0:24:15.280 --> 0:24:19.360 of the killings. He instructed them that Mohammed merely had 0:24:19.400 --> 0:24:38.439 to be a joint participant to be found guilty. On 0:24:38.520 --> 0:24:43.959 novem the verdict came back. John Mohammed was found guilty 0:24:44.040 --> 0:24:47.760 on all counts in the DC sniper shootings. He was 0:24:47.800 --> 0:24:51.320 also found guilty of carrying out the attacks to terrorize 0:24:51.359 --> 0:24:56.040 the population. Here's Virginia Police Lieutenant Bruce Gooth. I mean, 0:24:56.119 --> 0:24:58.960 it was pretty clear that there's no way that jury 0:24:59.080 --> 0:25:02.639 was not going to convict him. The evidence was so 0:25:02.720 --> 0:25:06.399 overwhelming and it was pretty clear that you know, he 0:25:06.440 --> 0:25:10.720 was directing the orchestra with him in Malbow. Prosecutors were 0:25:10.720 --> 0:25:14.840 confident that John Mohammed would be found guilty, but their 0:25:14.880 --> 0:25:18.439 primary goal was to get the death penalty. His actual 0:25:18.520 --> 0:25:21.280 sentencing would be decided in the next phase of the trial. 0:25:22.200 --> 0:25:25.960 For this phase, prosecutors had to call new witnesses who 0:25:26.000 --> 0:25:29.920