Washington sniper guilty on all counts
Washington sniper guilty on all counts
John Allen Muhammad, who already has a death sentence for a sniper shooting, was convicted for six more murders.

Rockville, Maryland: John Allen Muhammad's conviction for six more murders in the spree of sniper shootings in Washington, DC, leaves him with little chance of leaving the prison alive.

Muhammad, 45, was convicted on Tuesday after a month-long trial in which he acted as his own attorney.

The verdict adds to the death sentence Muhammad previously received for a sniper shooting in Manassas, Virginia.

He faces a likely term of life in prison without parole when he is sentenced on Thursday.

The trial also gave family members an explanation, for the 2002 rampage in which Muhammad and his one-time protege, Lee Boyd Malvo, took aim at random people.

Malvo, testifying for the first time against Muhammad, told jurors that Muhammad's original plan included far more bloodshed and plans to bomb children.

''We may never know the whole truth, but we do know without a doubt, that Lee Boyd Malvo and John Allen Muhammad are the ones who committed the murders,'' said Vicki Snider, whose brother, James L. 'Sonny' Buchanan, was killed while mowing grass near a suburban mall.

The jury took roughly four and a half hours to reach a verdict about the murders of James Martin, Premkumar Walekar, James 'Sonny' Buchanan, Sarah Ramos, Lori Lewis Rivera and Conrad Johnson.

In all, 10 people died and three were wounded during the three-week spree.

The Maryland trial featured a showdown between Muhammad and Malvo, who said Muhammad treated him like a son but molded him into a killer.

Malvo's testimony came after he agreed to plead guilty in the Maryland killings.

Muhammad planned a first wave of violence to include six shootings a day for 30 days, Malvo said. In Phase Two, school buses and children's hospitals were to be bombed.

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One of the attorneys who helped Muhammad with his defense said Muhammad was disappointed but not surprised by the verdict.

Muhammad felt he did not get a fair trial because he was blocked from presenting evidence that he thought would prove he was set up.

Prosecutors told jurors in the second trial that Muhammad and Malvo roamed the area in a beat-up Chevrolet Caprice, firing .223-caliber bullets from inside its trunk at people at gas stations, parking lots and a school.

Prosecutors presented evidence that tied the bullets used in the shootings to the Bushmaster rifle found in the car when Muhammad and Malvo were arrested.

Muhammad claimed he and Malvo were simply searching the Washington region for his children, who had been taken away from him in a custody battle with his ex-wife.

He implied that authorities framed him, planting items such as DNA and gun evidence to convict him.

He struggled to mount a defense, hampered by his failure to meet deadlines on calling witnesses.

He originally wanted to call hundreds of people to the stand, but the judge limited him to just a few dozen because he failed to follow proper courtroom procedure.

Following his sentencing on Thursday, Muhammad is scheduled to return to Virginia.

He still faces possible prosecution for earlier shootings in Alabama and Louisiana, and he and Malvo are linked to other shootings in Maryland, Arizona, Georgia and Washington state.

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