INFAMOUS: D.C. Sniper

[00:00] Hi, Crime Junkies. It's Britt, and I have big news. One of my favorite seasonal shows, CounterClock, is back with a brand new season, and it is wild. Host Delia D'Ambra is digging into the 2008 Lane Bryant murders. I mean, this isn't just a recap. It is a reinvestigation. She's talking to law enforcement, people from the community, even sources who have never spoken publicly until now. And you know I love a show that asks all the questions. Listen to CounterClock Season 8 now wherever you get your podcasts. [00:30] Hi, Crime Junkies. I'm your host, Ashley Flowers. And the story I have for you today is a little different because Britt isn't going to help me tell it. But that's because I have a super special surprise for you. A couple of months ago, I got a call from the FBI. Yeah, like the FBI. It's a Crime Junkies dream, right? They wanted to partner on an extra special episode. And yeah, it feels like a trap, but it was one that I was more than willing to walk into [01:00] go to FBI headquarters and interview one of their agents. So without further ado, I have a special guest, and together we're going to tell you about the biggest case of his career. My name is Kevin Lewis. I was in the FBI for over 25 years. And during that tenure, I had the [01:21] Well, at the time I was the, was called the Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's Baltimore office, Baltimore field office. And with that, within that field office, we had responsibility for the entire state of Maryland and Delaware. And in the course of that, in October of 2019,

[01:39] 2002, we had a, there was a series of shootings that took place over in Montgomery County, Maryland. [01:47] unusual in the sense that the first ones, there was no victims. Then subsequently, in a matter of several hours, there were several victims. Kevin Lewis, of course, is talking about the case that is infamously known as the D.C. Sniper case. And the reason we're talking to retired Special Agent Kevin Lewis and telling you this story now is because there is a very monumentous event coming [02:17] the first African American came in as a special agent with the FBI. Now back in 1919, the [02:24] they weren't called special agents and they weren't called Federal Bureau of Investigation, but that was the basis. [02:30] what brought us here today. And over the years, it became the FBI and we became special agents. James Warmly Jones broke the color barrier for African-Americans at the highest level of American law enforcement and paved the way for generations to come. The FBI is culminating their year-long celebration with a gala this month designed to celebrate the past and embrace a more diverse future. And in doing so, they asked for our help to tell you just one of the many cases that were [03:00] by the African-American agents on the ground. So many times the people we see at the press conferences and on TV don't reflect the true diversity of those who are working behind the scenes to bring justice. Retired Special Agent Kevin Lewis was one of the key personnel responsible for solving the D.C. sniper case. And today, he's going to help me tell you about how.

[03:23] Music playing [03:55] On October 2nd, 2002, in Aspen Hill, Maryland, Anne Chapman is standing at her register at a Michaels Craft store in Montgomery County. It's about 5.20 on a Wednesday afternoon, and she's going about her normal duties, bringing up customers, chatting with her coworkers, when suddenly a bullet comes barreling through the front window right into the store. The shot barely misses hitting her and eventually lodges itself into a picture frame. [04:25] Since no one is hurt, she and her coworkers kind of just thank their lucky stars and pass the whole thing off as a terrifying accident. [04:32] A little over an hour later and just a few miles away from the Michaels, 55-year-old James Martin is on his way to an event at church. He decides to stop off at a grocery store in Wheaton, Maryland to run some errands. Another shot rings out and this time the bullet finds its target, killing James. Now at the time, no one made the connection to the bullet that just missed Anne over at Michaels.

[05:02] breaks loose. At 7.41 a.m., James Buchanan is shot and killed in Rockville while he's out landscaping. [05:10] At first, witnesses thought maybe it's just an accident, like maybe something happened with his equipment that like backfired. But then they see the gunshot wound and realize the horrible truth. At 8.12 a.m., Prem Kumar Wallaker is shot and killed in Aspen Hill while he fills up his taxi at a local gas station. Then at 8.37, Sarah Ramos is shot and killed in Norbeck while she waits for her ride to work. [05:40] They report that to police. At 9.58 a.m., Lori Ann Lewis Rivera is shot and killed in Kensington, [05:48] With all of these shots in quick succession, the small jurisdiction's local law enforcement is overwhelmed as the bodies pile up and their resources are stretched thin. No one knows what's happening or who could be next. In under 24 hours, five ordinary people have been murdered in long-range killings with no obvious links to each other except for how they died. [06:11] Law enforcement suspect a connection, though, and right away they go to work trying to tie the shootings together. [06:18] and then subsequently we realized there was a pattern of activity happening pretty quickly. [06:24] over Montgomery County. Probably within the first five days, they realized there was something that was going on that was unusual. Because again, at the time, they were all isolated to Montgomery County, Maryland. So one of our Department of Justice partners, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosive ATF, they came in and were working in partnership with the

[06:45] with the Montgomery County Police Department. [06:48] And then subsequently I assigned a couple of my guys who had a responsibility for that territory. They went over there to be around and offered assistance when need be. [06:59] Like Lewis said, federal agents from the FBI and ATF are involved from the very beginning on an unofficial level. [07:06] Because it was, again, it was a state and local series of events that we couldn't get involved right away, not officially. [07:13] Panic is starting to seep into the community as the media starts to report on all of the murders. The white box truck reported at the scene of Sarah's murder picks up a life of its own. And according to Lewis, almost every white box truck in the area was stopped at one time or another. [07:31] Local schools, including Kensington Elementary, which was so close to the scene of Laurieann's death, go on lockdown. The Montgomery County School District, which is the eighth largest in the country at the time, issues a code blue for all public schools under its jurisdiction. And the area private schools follow suit. It seems like nowhere is safe. Like kids weren't going out for recess. They weren't allowed to basically leave the school unless their parents were picking them up. [07:56] Now, there's a lull in the killings over the afternoon and evening, but the day's horror isn't over yet. 72-year-old Pascal Charlo, a guy known around his neighborhood for his vegetable garden and his extremely giving nature, is shot and killed at 9.20 p.m. while he's walking in Washington, D.C. Now, in this scene, a witness reported seeing a blue Chevy Caprice in the area driving with its headlights off, which is completely different from this white box van that we've been hearing about.

[08:26] As the chaos is unfolding, the coroner passes bullet fragments from the scene over to ATF for comparison. The results are terrifying. Not only are the bullets all the same caliber, they were also fired from the same gun, which was a rifle. [08:42] The type of bullets that were used were very light and fast. And because they're so light, they're known to shatter on impact, which makes them even more destructive. Now, keep in mind, it's barely a year after September 11th at this time and the anthrax letters that came that fall. Now, all of a sudden, there's these seemingly random shootings that are happening and they're being connected. So the public panic is at an all time high. Now, though the public is fearful at first that this is some kind of terrorist attack, [09:12] classified this as a spree killer. And to be clear, the FBI differentiates between serial killers and spree killers because unlike serial killers who have this like cooling off period between victims, spree killers don't rest and basically they keep going until they're stopped. And true to the spree pattern, this killer in D.C. strikes again the very next day on October 4th, [09:42] who survives her injuries, and the next two days pass in fearful silence as the whole country waits. [09:51] And that was another challenge, keeping the media informed. And then that was just the media. Then you had the FBI director.

[09:58] You know, we had to keep him apprised several times a day. And then the White House, we had to keep the White House apprised. Every morning at, I think it was 6:00 in the morning, we had to get a report [10:09] an update. [10:10] to the FBI director who will go over to the White House [10:13] to brief for then President Bush in terms of what was going on. [10:18] because he wanted to know it. [10:19] The nation was shocked by what was going on. [10:22] But it wasn't just silent waiting for the FBI. They had some serious challenges, even on the days when the shooter wasn't active, one of which was keeping everyone abreast of what was happening. [10:33] As they continued to work the case, no one, not the media, not the police, not even the FBI, was prepared for what happened next. [10:43] you [10:45] You guys, we are finally rolling into summer, and I am ditching the sweaters, packing away the coats, but I am still wearing quince. Because quince is quality I wear all year round, in the field, on stage, at the office, quince, quince, quince. Their clothing and accessories are timeless and long-lasting because they focus on high-quality, beautiful everyday essentials, like 100% European linen pants, dresses, and tops with styles starting at $32. [11:15] 80% less than similar brands. No lie, I have a silk skirt from a big department store, and I have a silk skirt from Quince. And dead serious, my Quince one has held up way better and was way cheaper and machine washable because ain't nobody got time or money for dry cleaning, but I want to look like I do. So elevate your summer wardrobe. Go to Quince.com slash crimejunkie for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns.

[11:45] Crime Junkie for free shipping and 365 day returns. Quince.com slash Crime Junkie. [11:52] But there was a very defining moment in that series of incidents. There was a young kid by the name of Iran Brown who was shot going to middle school. [12:02] Iran is only 13 years old. It's a Monday morning, and while the whole area is on edge with the sniper attacks, he's not worried as he walks up to his middle school in Bowie, Maryland. His mind is focused on the upcoming week. Like, we're all a little guilty at one point or another of thinking that bad things could never happen to us, but I remember being exceptionally oblivious when I was in middle school, just so caught up in my own world. Just 20 feet from his school door, Iran is struck by a bullet. [12:32] He told the Washingtonian a decade later, quote, I got hit right under my left chest. I fell to the ground. A teacher came out to help me. I had my hand over the wound, but it wasn't like in the movies with blood gushing out. I explained that I'd been shot and needed help, but it didn't seem to register in her brain, end quote. [12:51] Iran started fading fast. By the time he was airlifted to the paramedics trauma unit at Children's National Medical Center in D.C., he'd lost 20% of his blood. When they were able to, like, go in in surgery, they found that the bullet damaged his lung, spleen, stomach, pancreas, and diaphragm. So he was rushed in right away. Bullet fragments are recovered from his stomach, sent to ballistics, which, of course, they match.

[13:21] Iran survives. [13:24] Now, this attack in particular didn't quite seem to register anywhere at first because it was almost too horrific to contemplate. The sniper isn't just going after adults. Now there are children involved. [13:36] Iran's shooting galvanized law enforcement. - So now you have a situation where primarily adults were shot. No particular race, no particular gender, just randomly shot. But it was when Iran Brown, who was 13 years old at the time, was shot. [13:51] became a very seminal moment in terms of that investigation. [13:55] The same day, October 7th, Montgomery County Sheriff of Police Charles Moose puts in a formal letter to the Department of Justice seeking federal assistance. Now, the Department of Justice handles federal law enforcement issues and basically is the umbrella agency that oversees the FBI, the ATF, U.S. Marshals and like a ton more. So if you want official involvement from any of them, you have to go through the Department of Justice first. [14:25] were there, but it was at that point [14:27] that we draft this letter and all the resources of the federal government was brought into it. [14:31] While local law enforcement is collaborating with the FBI back at police headquarters, officers are still on the scene in Bowie searching for clues. They traipse carefully through the wooded areas near Iran's middle school, where specially trained explosive sniffer dogs locate a shell casing and a new clue. A strange clue. They found a tarot card. It was the card of death, and inscribed on it were the words,

[15:01] me God. Now, call me God was on the front. The three lines that were written on the back make it clear that this was no accident and that the sniper is actively trying to communicate with law enforcement. So again, on the front is call me God. When you flip it over on the back, it said, for you, Mr. Police. Under that code, call me God. [15:26] Under that, some very specific instructions. Do not release to the press. [15:33] But the press gets a hold of this information anyway, and news of the card and its contents is all over the headlines in less than 24 hours. [15:43] FBI agent Gary Bald told the Washingtonian back in 2012 that there were leaks in the investigation that caused real problems. Now, [15:52] Meanwhile, Chief Moose's request is granted and the Department of Justice approves official federal involvement. [16:00] So one of the first things we did, we set up a command post within the Montgomery County Police Department. [16:06] That first space is too small for all the people in the investigation that are coming and going 24 hours a day, seven days a week. So they quickly relocate to the top floor of a building next door. This is a huge operation at this point with agents, analysts, investigators, a call center, people working in a call center, like you name it, and it was there. And the local media wants a piece of work. [16:30] all of it.

[16:31] The media was, there was a thirst for information, and they got very, very aggressive. We were up on the top level of this building, and there was one circumstance, we had a [16:43] one of the media outlets had one of the people scaling the building to try and get closer to get information. So, but I mean we took care of all this stuff. This type of challenges that we had just trying to, you know, [16:53] keep the media informed of what was going on. Because if you don't tell them something, they'll hear certain things that'll make stuff up. [17:00] because it's their urgency to get the story told. [17:03] As they try to find that balance between keeping people informed but also like warding off the media that's getting in their way, they decide that one of the first things they need to do is like get to work on setting up a profile to help them find the shooter and put a stop to their crimes. [17:18] They're characterized as somebody who probably had a military background. [17:23] Uh... [17:24] somebody who recently had some type of significant change in their life, [17:29] Audible recently released a new exclusive audiobook called Call Me God. And the profilers in that book got a little more in-depth about their initial profile, saying that the suspect was probably a lone white male in his 30s who possesses some kind of God complex that's pretty frequently characteristic of snipers. And this is because basically by being so far away, the sniper gets to play God with their sense of control over their target's life and death. [17:58] And as I was listening, I mean, it's a super interesting listen to hear them go into detail about this profile and how it evolved. So if you want to check it out, you can go to audible.com slash untold story. I highly recommend it. But having the profile is essential. It can get you one step closer, but it doesn't stop the crime in its tracks. And it's not the end all be all. I mean, we'll learn that this profile changes over time.

[18:28] in Prince William County, Virginia. Then, on the morning of October 11th, Kenneth, just like Dean Myers, is shot and killed in Sponsylvania, Virginia, while he's filling up his car. [18:39] These are two more people who were murdered while going about their perfectly ordinary activities. [18:46] Because of this, terrified gas station owners start putting up tarps, like, all around the pump to start protecting their customers. And local newspapers start publishing articles advising citizens to run in basically a zigzag, like, if they have to go out anywhere. Local schools remain under code blue alert. Like, they're canceling, like I said, recess. They're covering windows. Anything to keep the children safe and inside. Exactly. [19:09] Everyone is afraid because anyone could be next at this point. [19:14] The madness continues on October 14th. This is just three days later. There's a woman named Linda Franklin that's murdered. And quickly, the FBI learned that the spree killer has taken one of their own. [19:28] One of the victims was an FBI employee who worked right here in this building. And her and her husband went to a Home Depot over in Fairfax County. [19:37] and they were putting some [19:39] some merchandise into the trunk of the car. So it was heavy and bulky. And she was shot in the head and killed. [19:47] And we didn't know that, and that just happened to be that was one of the few nights I was coming back. I live up in Virginia, and I was coming back from Maryland. We hadn't had a shooting in a couple, three days, and I'd been sleeping over there in a hotel.

[19:59] But I was coming home that night, and as I was coming home, I got the call. [20:02] So, uh... [20:04] Thank you. [20:05] I quickly went to the scene over in Virginia, and I was there when I got the word from Fairfax County Police Department that, "Hey, Agent Lewis, this is an FBI employee who just talked to her husband." And I got to tell you, actually, it was a pretty gruesome scene. [20:22] because she got shot in the head. [20:24] and that it was a gruesome scene. [20:27] Initially, there was an eyewitness at the scene of Linda's murder who was giving police a lot of what seemed like at the time great information. But unfortunately, they quickly realized that he was making a lot of it up and he ends up being arrested for interfering with the investigation. And basically nothing that this man said brought them any closer to the shooters. [20:48] As the days drag on after Linda is killed, the profiler's view of the suspect begins to change. Profiling is interesting because it's adaptable like this. It's this theoretical practice designed to evolve as more and more evidence comes to light. In this case, some of the most critical evidence comes from the sniper themselves when they telephone the police hotline on the 17th. [21:18] carnage. But according to The Guardian, the caller also tells police to check with the people in Montgomery if they don't believe the caller's threat. And initially, police are confused. They're like, we already are well aware of the murders in Montgomery County, Maryland. But they weren't talking about Maryland. There was a crucial tip. We got a telephone call from the subjects in this case. And they asked us for a ransom. And they asked us for a ransom. And they asked us for a

[21:46] You know, give us extra millions of dollars, or else these shootings will continue. And if you don't believe me, [21:53] take a look at what happened down in Alabama. [21:56] Up until now, the police and the FBI had no reason to look beyond the tri-state region of the District of Columbia. Now, they turned to the other Montgomery in Alabama. And it turns out, back in September of 2002, there was an unsolved crime where two women were shot in a liquor store parking lot. One of them died of her injuries while the other survived despite being shot in the neck. At the time, police in Alabama had zero leads to go on. [22:26] What they did have was one tiny piece of evidence that at the time was kind of useless because it was a fingerprint taken off of a magazine dropped at the scene. And yeah, it's great to have fingerprints, but they had no one to match it to. Well, now that the FBI was making this connection, they have their task force back in Maryland run the print through their databases and they come back with a discovery that will change everything. Okay. [22:56] For decades, some cold cases have been reduced to files in a cabinet, but not anymore. I'm Ashley Flowers, and me and my team on the deck have been traveling across the country to report on these forgotten cases. And in some instances, it's resulted in these cases being solved after decades. [23:15] Join me every Wednesday as we revive these stories one card at a time. Listen to the deck now.

[23:22] wherever you get your podcasts. [23:27] The Alabama fingerprint turns up with a match in the vast Immigration and Naturalization Service database. The fingerprint came back to Levoit Malvo, who was a kid who came in from across Canada. And then we subsequently linked him to Jaa Mohammed. [23:44] Again, this changed everything because not only are there now two suspects in the sniper killings, but one of them is a teenage boy. And at the same time the task force is learning these names for the first time, a call comes in on the tip line. Simultaneous with that, we had, because of the tremendous media coverage, we had a concerned person called in and said, "Hey, look, this sounds like [24:07] somebody that I know. [24:09] And in fact, [24:10] you know I [24:11] the weapon that was used, they were actually shooting it at a stump in the back of my house. And as it all happened, that place was out in Washington State. [24:20] So what we did, we had the FBI lab [24:23] fly an aircraft. [24:25] out to Washington State, and we didn't just pull things out of the stump. We took the whole stump and flew it back here to Washington, D.C. It was huge. It was huge. But they can do their best analysis out there, so we removed the whole stump and brought it up. [24:40] Now, when they get this entire stump back to headquarters for testing, agents finally get a really good break that they've been waiting for. [24:49] The ballistics tied all those shootings together. That's why we knew we were onto the same person responsible for this.

[24:55] Armed with the two names, the task force begins to dig. And we gotta fill in all our gaps. What's their story? Who are these people? [25:03] These people, as we now know, are John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo. Their story doesn't start in Maryland or even Washington, D.C., or even the United States at all. It actually starts hundreds of miles away in the West Indies on the Caribbean island of Antigua. And it's here where the two first met. [25:24] Neither John or Lee came to Antigua under happy circumstances. John was a Gulf War veteran and a single father in the midst of a bitter divorce from his ex-wife Mildred, who had a restraining order against him. She cited escalating domestic violence and fear for her life. At some point, John took his three children out of the United States to Antigua without warning or permission from Mildred or the courts. [25:54] was going, and she firmly believed that her son and two daughters had been lost to her forever. [26:00] Meanwhile, Lee, who was 15 at the time, was a native of Jamaica, but he'd been brought to Antigua by his mom, Una. [26:07] Now, Una moved Lee around a lot throughout his childhood, like a lot, a lot. Lee was born in Kingston and initially had a really good relationship with his father, Leslie. But Una severed ties between Lee and Leslie after they separated, telling her son that his father was dead. And she even was writing that on his school admission forms. Now, Lee did end up reuniting with Leslie briefly before he turned 10, but Leslie wouldn't allow his son to come live with him.

[26:37] relatives and boarding schools while Una left to work on these wealthier tourist islands throughout the region. And her pattern went a little something like this. Like Lee would be left for months at a time with someone else, basically long enough to form connections and settle into somewhere new, only to have her swoop back in right when he got settled and basically take him away to a new place. [26:58] By the time Lee meets John, he's gone to over 12 different schools, both back in Jamaica and now here in Antigua. He's never had a parent-sustained presence or any real family stability, and it hurts him. John, meanwhile, he's like well-known, well-liked around the island. There was this woman who knew him during this time, and she described him to Vanity Fair as, quote, one of those people who everyone walking down the street would say hi to, end quote. [27:28] so popular, though. He actually has a good business forging highly authentic U.S. work pieces for people wanting to find work off the island. And one of his clients is Lee's mom, Una. [27:40] Now, it's believed that John and Lee met for the first time in October of 2000 while Lee was still living with his mom and her new boyfriend. But Una leaves again in December. And so now Lee is living alone in this one room shack without electricity, no running water. And he's totally alone except for one person, John Muhammad. [28:02] John takes Lee into his home. And according to John's youngest daughter, who did an interview with Crime Watch Daily, John introduces Lee to his kids as their new brother and right away becomes this like parental authority that Lee never had.

[28:17] For a time, everyone's happy. The Muhammad kids get a new sibling, and Lee has what he's always wanted, a family. [28:24] Following occasions, John Muhammad taught Lee Boy Malvo, and John Muhammad was the older subject, and Lee Boy Malvo was kind of his follower, mentee, and that his de facto son. [28:39] John takes on the role of both father and teacher, and before long, Lee converts to John's version of Islam. And he starts following a new diet, a new exercise regimen, and learns everything John has to teach him about weapons, which is a decent amount considering he was a former expert marksman in the military. [28:55] Every night, Lee would fall asleep listening to John's homemade cassette tapes, full of these motivational books and self-improvement speeches sprinkled in with, like, Nation of Islam teachings. [29:06] So eventually, John's visa forging operation gets busted and he packs up and travels to the United States with Lee and his three children. Now, this is in late May 2001. And I'm not sure of the agreement they had or the arrangement, but John doesn't keep Lee with him. He actually drops Lee off in Florida to be with his mom, who, if you'll remember, got one of those forged visas from John. And then John heads to Bellingham, Washington. [29:36] What is up with Bellingham? I feel like every story comes back to the state of Washington and Bellingham and Puyallup in particular. I don't know why. Stay out of Washington, you guys. So what John doesn't know is that in his absence, his ex-wife Mildred took legal action to get her kids back. Not only did she get like a no-fault divorce and full custody, but she also got a habeas corpus writ that said John had wrongfully detained their kids.

[30:06] radar and before long the kids are taken out of his care to be reunited with Mildred. Now it's her turn to take them and vanish. [30:15] Around the same time, Lee Malvo makes his way from Florida to Washington. But when he reaches John, it's a completely different man than he knew back in Antigua. [30:27] Losing his kids only made John's problems worse. He is full of rage at Mildred and rage at the world, at everything he believes is responsible for his suffering. He and Lee resume their training, but now it escalates into something darker. Gone are the recordings of, like, Don't Sweat the Small Stuff. Now it's, like, violent race war rhetoric, one meal a day for this growing 16-year-old boy, shooting practice, grueling workouts, hunting each other like snipers across the forest, [30:57] being chained to a tree in winter to toughen him up against interrogation is what John was trying to do. [31:05] Now, during all of this, they're living at a homeless shelter. And so there are people around all the time. But John keeps to himself and goes to great lengths to keep Lee isolated from their peers. This man named Al Archer, who worked at the shelter while John and Lee were there, told Vanity Fair, quote, John never let Lee out of his sight. They were always alone and together. John was also now controlling everything that Lee did. [31:35] it was okay to talk, end quote.

[31:37] And this grueling training doesn't end once the sun goes down. John and Lee watched a lot of action movies and sniper documentaries, and John also encourages Lee to play sniper video games, in particular Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon. [31:52] John's constant refrain is simple. He and Lee are on a mission, and there's no turning back. [31:59] Despite Una tracking down her son in Bellingham in December 2001, and both her and Lee getting picked up for deportation by INS, Lee returns to John yet again, and they end up leaving Bellingham together in early 2002. They stop in Tacoma, Washington, where just days before his 17th birthday, Lee takes his first life, shooting 21-year-old Kenya Cook in the face when she answers the door. [32:27] John was right about one thing. With Kenya's death, there was no turning back. [32:33] They continue their way across the country, killing others in their path. But they were headed for the D.C. area all along because many, most even, believe that John's wife was the real target of all of this. [32:47] John Muhammad, he went through a traumatic situation. His wife had left him, took his kids, and had relocated from Washington State over here to Maryland. [32:59] His mind is that if I shot these people randomly, [33:03] and she would draw her out. [33:04] and we'll get closer to her, and then he can kill her.

[33:08] That's one of several theories. [33:10] But what I can tell you, what the nation needed to know that there was a concern about was this terrorism-related. And we did all the necessary checks and only to find that there wasn't. Our conclusion, it was not terrorism-related. This was a man that was bent on trying to do other things and make other statements, and he was trying to lure his wife out. And frankly, he got pretty close to her. [33:31] because she was living over in a county here in Maryland. [33:34] And he got real close to knowing exactly where she was at. [33:40] For decades, some cold cases have been reduced to files in a cabinet, but not anymore. I'm Ashley Flowers, and me and my team on the deck have been traveling across the country to report on these forgotten cases. And in some instances, it's resulted in these cases being solved after decades. [33:59] Join me every Wednesday as we revive these stories one card at a time. Listen to the deck now. [34:06] wherever you get your podcasts. [34:10] Days were long, days were long, and every time we had, we'd have a command post, and every agency was represented in the command post. We had a table. [34:18] Okay, Montgomery County was here. [34:20] Prince George's County was here. Aslan, Virginia was here. [34:24] Virginia State Police, Maryland State Police. And every time we had another shooting, we had another chair to the table, because we had it someplace else. Everybody wanted to help, all the federal agencies. [34:35] We got offers from every place. [34:37] Every place.

[34:39] Five long days pass without any more shootings. The public waits anxiously, unwilling to believe that the terror has stopped. [34:47] The task force is on edge too, and they work furiously to chase down new leads and find something, anything, to bring them closer to apprehending their suspects. Like it or not, the names John Muhammad and Lee Malvo are leaked to the press before anyone on the case is ready. And on top of that, a big detail in the case has completely changed. We were on the white band, a white box truck. And then as we look through the evidence is that we had a shooting down here in Washington, D.C. [35:17] where after the shot was taken and [35:20] there was a dark colored [35:22] capris that was seen with the lights cruising away from the area. [35:26] So we had a piece of information [35:29] but it didn't fit [35:30] We had it there, but it didn't fit at the time. And it came from the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department. So that was key. And then we did what's called an offline search [35:41] in terms of that vehicle. Only they found out that that vehicle was also the same vehicle had been identified up in Baltimore. [35:49] So as pieces started coming together, it all came together quickly and then we started, [35:54] changing this jigsaw puzzle around. Okay, this is what we got, this is what we got. [35:57] Just like they did when they thought the white box truck was what they were looking for, law enforcement asked the public to be on the lookout for a specific vehicle, the Chevy Caprice. And they have more information now. They say it has a New Jersey license plate number NDA21Z.

[36:14] Now, meanwhile, while they're asking the public for this, the snipers make contact again after shooting Jeffrey Hopper on October 19th at a Ponderosa in Ashland, Virginia. [36:24] Police and dogs find a four-page handwritten letter left deliberately in the woods nearby, and the letter repeats their demand for $10 million, and it also makes a terrifying threat. Your children are not safe anywhere at any time. [36:42] That victim, Jeffrey Hopper, survives his injuries. But Conrad Johnson, who shot three days later in Aspen Hill, Maryland, does not. And at this point, he is the sniper's 10th known casualty. [36:56] Finally, early morning on October 24th, police get a major break in the case, the break that they have been waiting three long weeks for. So what happened is that they were here in Maryland. They were out on Interstate 70 out here in Maryland, heads out west. And there was a rest area. And then in the wee morning hours, there was a truck driver who was coming through. [37:18] who had been following the media and he followed the description of the vehicle and he'd seen it in the arrest area. [37:26] So he took his, he was driving an 18-wheeler, he took it and he blocked the exit to us so they couldn't get out. He called us. He was able to get through to the command post and we quickly got the right people. [37:40] out there in the middle of the night [37:42] Uh, [37:43] We got people on the ground, we got some English folks out there, they go, "Yeah, the car is there." It's occupied two times and then I like to sleep.

[37:52] So we were able to put a plan together. We took the FBI's hostage rescue team and some other tactical teams. They went in there and breached the car and made the arrest. We knew that these guys were going to be armed in danger. They already had 10 bodies under the belts and three other victims, so we knew that they were going to be armed. [38:09] So we had had to write people just because it couldn't have been just the regular traffic types. It came together quickly. Fortunately, these teams that work together all the time, they know what to do. [38:18] So they do a quick assessment of what they got to isolate the area, the cleared area. Because it was a truck stop, even though they didn't block the other side, we ended up blocking the other end so nobody came in. [38:29] to the rest area. [38:31] So we secured air and then they went in and did what they had to do. [38:34] Now, if you're wondering like me if that truck driver got any kind of reward or recognition for being amazing, I asked retired special agent Lewis the exact thing. And yes, yes, he did. So when these two are finally in custody, they are filthy. They've been living out of the caprice. They haven't showered or washed their clothes in weeks. [39:04] sniper's nest. [39:06] John and Lee had modified it to their exact specifications. They had cut a hole in the trunk to stick their rifle through, painted the hole with a dark color to reduce the flash in the guns, and anchored the latch with a bungee cord so that they could open the trunk easily enough to get the gun barrel and scope through the hole. And according to the website, the FBI also recovered the rifle, the rifle scope, this digital voice recorder that both of them used to make their extortion demands.

[39:36] found a stolen laptop from one of the victims and on the laptop contained a map with all of their shooting sites and getaway routes. They had maps and walkie talkies and so many more items. [39:49] John is 41 when he's arrested. Lee at the time is still a minor, only 17 years old. That audiobook, Call Me God, tells the story of both John and Lee being taken to the state police barracks in Maryland for interrogation, where an improperly handcuffed Lee manages to escape and actually climb up into the ceiling before being retrieved. After they bring him down, that's when he starts to talk. [40:14] The admissions from Lee came, all the victims were shot pretty much by Lee. Just for the most part. For the most part. Yeah. Did, obviously Lee, you said, was very candid with you guys. Did John speak to you guys at all? No, he didn't cooperate. [40:28] Other violent crimes across the country going back to February of 2002 are eventually linked to John and Lee bringing their victim count up to 17 people killed and 10 more wounded. Their original case goes to trial in the fall of 2003. Well, they both were convicted over in Virginia, in the Commonwealth of Virginia. That was the first charges. And... [40:50] and uh... [40:51] John Muhammad was given death penalty. [40:53] And then, [40:54] Leiboy Malbo was given life. [40:57] John Allen Muhammad was put to death by lethal injection on November 10, 2009, at the Greenville Correctional Facility in Virginia. He declined to offer any last words.

[41:08] In 2012, three years after John's death, Lee Boyd Malvo told the Today Show that John had sexually abused him over the course of several years, from the early days in Antigua up to his arrest in Maryland. [41:21] In that same interview, he also claimed that there were more murder victims never connected to the sniper attacks, but law enforcement has never verified these claims. [41:30] As of right now, Lee is 34 years old serving his sentence at the Supermax Security Red Onion State Prison in Virginia. He spent as much of his life in prison as he ever spent out of it. [41:43] His request for resentencing is currently up before the United States Supreme Court, but even if it's granted, it's unlikely that Lee will ever see freedom again. [41:54] You know, we tell these stories every week, some solved, some unsolved, but we rarely get to talk to the men and women who were there, who are working to solve them, working tirelessly, giving up sleep and time with their family to protect us. And you'll probably never hear them tell you what they gave up unless you ask them. [42:12] Oh, I know I didn't get home a lot. That 21 days, probably out of those 21 days, I probably made a home [42:17] maybe four times. [42:19] and [42:20] for me it was equally compounded because at the time my mother was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and she was back in Michigan. [42:31] I found a day or two I can go back home and see her and then she knew what was going on and I'll never forget this. She said, "Hey look, I know what you're doing. Don't worry about me. I'll be okay."

[42:40] And she had gone back. [42:42] I'm not. [42:43] so uh [42:45] But that, you know, then she, unfortunately, we lost her a couple weeks later. [42:50] But she was supportive. Hey look, you know, do what you got to do, you know. [42:54] We are so lucky to have people like retired Special Agent Kevin Lewis serving our country, giving up the things or moments that I'm not sure I could because they're committed to the job, to the country, and to us. [43:09] You stick with it until it's done. And we as a country are so blessed, we got committed [43:15] men and women in law enforcement. [43:19] that step up time and time again, and you see it. They won't go home. They will not go home. I mean, you got people being killed, [43:26] or shot or injured. [43:28] You know, they won't go home. You got to make them go home. [43:32] And I see it time and time again. Law enforcement folks are just committed to doing this stuff. [43:37] They realize it's their job. And that can't take you. We can't pay them enough money. [43:41] You cannot pay them enough money. [43:43] When it was all said and done, there was one moment that stood out to Lewis most. [43:47] We're back at the leadership and some of the key investigators were at the command post. And we got a call and it was Andrew Card, the chief of staff for the president. And I talked to him on the phone. [44:01] He said, "Hi, this is Andy Carter. Who's this?" "This is Kevin Lewis." He said, "Hey, the president wants to talk to you about it. Is there a way you can put this out into your command post?" So they had the tech people come in and they set it up.

[44:15] and George Bush. [44:17] Open bay, it had to be a whole floor. We had the mic set up. He came on from Air Force One to thank [44:24] all those men and women for everything they've done. [44:27] to [44:28] put our country back at ease. [44:30] I mean, I can tell you, it wasn't a dry eye in the house for the president to call in there. We just joined our jobs. We just joined our jobs. [44:38] And that was another touching moment. You look around, you had all these seasoned cops and FBI agents and you know, "I'm okay, I'm okay, I'm okay." [44:49] But to have your president call and say thank you, it was truly special. [44:54] Hearing about all of the sacrifices that these agencies made, the huge sacrifice that Kevin made after the loss of his mother, I had one burning question. [45:04] Did you at least get a vacation after that? [45:06] We went back to work. We went back to work. Just hoping, oh God, hoping I don't get another case like this again. Oh, please. You were stretched out. Oh boy, oh boy. [45:31] This was a case that changed how law enforcement responds and operates, and I'm so honored to have met retired Special Agent Kevin Lewis, the man who helped make that change and who's helped capture two monsters and put a nation back at ease.

[45:50] of African American special agents, visit FBI.gov and search Our History, Our Service. We also have links up on our website that will take you right there and tell you everything you need to know. [46:02] Thank you so much again to the FBI for inviting me down to headquarters to talk with them and help them tell this story. It was such a wonderful opportunity. And I was 100% that person who bought all the things in the gift shop. So I can one day look back when I'm like 100 and be like, remember that time I was a podcaster and went to the FBI HQ. So thank you for listening. If you want to check out any of the other sources we use, you can go to our website, CrimeJunkiePodcast.com. And you can follow us on social. We're at Crime Junkie Podcast. [46:32] And we'll be back next week with a brand new episode. [46:54] you [46:54] *music* [46:56] *music* [46:59] you [46:59] *music* [47:01] Crime Junkie is an audio Chuck production. So what do you think, Chuck? Do you approve? [47:09] Okay, Crime Junkies, you know, I absolutely love a twist and a turn, especially when it comes to people who turn out to be someone they're not. That's why I have been obsessed with the podcast Chameleon. Every Thursday, host Josh Dean deep dives into a scam so bizarre, it will leave you wondering, how did they get away with that?

[47:28] It is truly one of my favorite podcasts right now and I've been listening for years. [47:31] I think you'll love it too. [47:33] Listen to Chameleon wherever you get your podcasts.