Sniper wants money

greenspun.com : LUSENET : Current News - Homefront Preparations : One Thread

Sniper's ransom

Reports detail his demands for cash to end rampage

By RICHARD T. PIENCIAK and HELEN KENNEDY DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS

WASHINGTON - The Beltway Sniper wants money - a lot of it - to stop his shooting rampage, according to reports about a long message he left for police.

Police found the lengthy handwritten note from the sniper Saturday night in the woods near the scene of his 12th shooting.

Reports on several television outlets, including CNN, ABC News and several local news stations, said the sniper's note demanded money - and threatened further attacks if he is not given large amounts of cash.

Police, who have been trying to establish a dialogue with the gunman, were tight-lipped about the letter.

"We will not confirm or deny that information. But we are asking that you not put that information out in the public," said Officer Joyce Utter, spokeswoman for the Montgomery County, Md., Police Department.

It's not clear who the police are dealing with, and they have been fooled at least once before - a phony witness sent them looking for a white van with a broken taillight.

The effort to talk with the sniper took a bizarre twist yesterday, as Montgomery County Police Chief Charles Moose sent his third message to the shooter pleading with him to call again because they couldn't hear him properly.

The sniper's Saturday night note included a phone number for police to monitor for messages, and Moose made a public plea Sunday for the sniper to call. Apparently, he did.

'Audio was unclear'

But yesterday, Moose faced the TV cameras with a new message for the killer.

"The person you called could not hear everything that you said," Moose said. "The audio was unclear, and we want to get it right. Call us back so that we can clearly understand."

Bad audio could suggest several things: a lousy cellular phone connection, a voice-altering machine or a scratchy tape recording. Or, it could be a ploy by police to get the sniper to call back or to delay matters.

Police unintentionally fueled the widespread speculation by trying to keep all other details quiet.

"We're at a very sensitive stage of the investigation," said police spokeswoman Lucille Baur. "Who speaks, and what is said, is very guarded at this point."

Moose thanked reporters for relaying the mysterious messages without further explanation, acknowledging that it was an "awkward" situation.

Two arrested

The precisely worded dialogue took place against the backdrop of frantic excitement over two men taken into custody in Richmond, Va.

One of the men was dragged at gunpoint from a white Plymouth minivan as he talked into a drive-up pay phone at an Exxon station.

"They surrounded the van. They had him from all directions. They had shotguns, scope guns," said Pathenia Fields, 37, a receptionist at the car dealership across the street.

The other man was nabbed at a nearby gas station.

The two men, illegal immigrants from Mexico and Guatemala, turned out to have nothing to do with the sniper. But for several hours, squadrons of federal agents grilled them and scoured the two Richmond gas stations for clues.

Even White House spokesman Ari Fleischer officially announced "arrests."

In the end, the two men were not charged but handed over to immigration authorities for deportation.

Police refused to explain their overwhelming response, but it appeared last night that one of the men just happened to pick up the wrong phone.

WUSA-TV in Washington reported the sniper used that pay phone or one near it Saturday to tell cops he had left a note for them.

The Richmond raid was about 15 miles from the Ponderosa steakhouse in Ashland, Va., where a 37-year-old diner heading for his car was shot in the stomach Saturday night.

Tests on the bullet removed from his belly late Sunday confirmed the obvious: It was the 12th shooting from the gunman who has terrorized the Washington suburbs for nearly three weeks and seems able to easily elude the biggest manhunt in the region's history.

-- Anonymous, October 22, 2002

Answers

I don't believe this is about money. Unless they're talking Billions instead of millions. Heard one possibility is a tie-in to the Pakistani prisoners who are being released from Gitmo.

-- Anonymous, October 22, 2002

have they confirmed that it really is the sniper and not just someone out for a quick buck?

-- Anonymous, October 22, 2002

to answer my own question, apparently they have because the note references certain things that only the sniper would know.

-- Anonymous, October 22, 2002

Could be part of his game. This is one smart cookie and he knows the cops won't pay him off; this way he can blame the cops for further victims.

-- Anonymous, October 22, 2002

I'm wondering if a demand for $ might not be some disinformation to get some people to quit thinking there's a terrorist cell behind the shootings. Could also be disinfo from the shooters themselves.

-- Anonymous, October 22, 2002


Moderation questions? read the FAQ