Muhammad lawyer slams ‘cowards’ for leaks
MANASSAS, Va. (AP) – The lawyer for sniper suspect John Allen Muhammad denounced the “cowards in law enforcement” Wednesday for leaking details of the investigation to a newspaper. The comments by Peter Greenspun came after Muhammad made his second appearance in a Prince William County courthouse to face capital murder charges in a fatal Oct. 9 shooting at a Manassas-area gas station.
Greenspun asked the judge to wait until Dec. 12 to set a trial date, partially waiving Muhammad’s right to a speedy trial. That means a trial would have to begin by early May, unless Muhammad waives additional rights.
Prosecutor Paul Ebert has said he expects the case to take a year or so to get to trial.
Muhammad, 41, sat impassively during the hearing, saying only “yes, sir,” when asked by Circuit Judge Leroy F. Millette if he needed court-appointed counsel.
Greenspun saved his strongest comments for after the hearing. He accused police of trying to poison the jury pool by anonymously telling The Washington Post the other sniper suspect, 17-year-old John Lee Malvo, had confessed to some of the shootings.
“I think there are cowards in law enforcement who … wanted to taint the jury pool, who wanted to seal public perception in this case,” Greenspun said.
“I am hopeful the public will keep an open mind in this case and not listen to the innuendo, half-truths and misinformation coming from law-enforcement sources.”
He said he has met with Muhammad and that he has been cooperative, but he declined to talk about evidence or trial tactics.
Both Muhammad and Malvo could face the death penalty. The two are suspected in a months-long shooting spree that left 14 people dead and five others wounded in Maryland, Virginia, Washington, D.C., Washington state, Alabama, Georgia and Louisiana.
Malvo, 17, is being held in the Fairfax County jail awaiting a Dec. 5 hearing. The teen is charged in the Oct. 14 slaying of FBI analyst Linda Franklin, 47, outside a home improvement store in Falls Church, Va.
Muhammad is charged with killing Dean Harold Meyers, 53.
The judge granted a request from Greenspun for a second lawyer, Jonathan Shapiro, to serve as co-counsel for Muhammad. Shapiro, a respected defense attorney with experience in capital cases, is co-counsel in the federal spy case against retired Air Force Sgt. Brian Regan.
He also represented an Alexandria man, Gregory Murphy, who is charged with capital murder in the stabbing death of an 8-year-old boy. Shapiro was removed from the case after Murphy punched him in court, knocking him out.
Shapiro sought to stay on the case, saying he bore no ill will about the attack. Murphy has since been ruled incompetent to stand trial.
Greenspun has also handled death penalty cases before.
In 1994, he represented Ralph Shambaugh Jr. in a murder-for-hire case. Shambaugh eventually pleaded guilty as an accessory to murder.
His highest-profile case, though, was representing Marv Albert on charges of forcible sodomy after a woman claimed Albert bit her on the back and forced her to perform oral sex in a hotel room. Albert pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault, spent no time in jail and eventually had the conviction wiped from his record.
Albert’s lead attorney in that case, Roy Black, said he was impressed by Greenspun’s work.
“We selected him because he was clearly the best criminal defense lawyer in that area of Virginia,” Black said. “He’s very good thinking on his feet; he’s great with a jury.”
Black said Greenspun’s experience with that trial should prove helpful.
“I wish Greenspun good luck,” Black said. “The only thing standing between Muhammad and a lynch mob is Peter Greenspun.”
Meanwhile, a man wanted for questioning in the case was being held in a New York City jail on passport fraud charges.
Peter Gianquinto Jr., a 53-year-old felon who has used several aliases, was arrested Nov. 4 as he left his doctor’s office. He appeared in federal court the following day on charges he submitted a bogus Rutgers University ID card to obtain a passport.
Authorities in the Caribbean island of Antigua have linked Gianquinto to Muhammad, according to the Post, which reported Wednesday that the two men were there together in spring 2001.