◆ SpookStack

14, 15. 16. Your affiants are further aware that a citizen who lives in Tacoma, Washington has reported that, during the 6 month period before this affidavit was sworn out, MUHAMMAD and a male associate occasionally visited the citizen’s home in Tacoma, Washington. The citizen also reported MUHAMMAD and this associate had an AR-15 type firearm with them. This is a firearm capable of firing a .223 caliber round. He further reported that MUHAMMAD referred to his associate as “Sniper.” The citizen also reported that MUHAMMAD and “Sniper” indicated they were taking the firearm to the range to “zero it.” This citizen has been shown a photograph of JOHN DOE, JUVENILE, and confirmed that this person is the male associate who visited him with MUHAMMAD and to whom MUHAMMAD referred as “Sniper.” In your affiants’ experience, the phrase “zeroing” a firearm refers to the process of calibrating a firearm’s gunsight to insure accuracy. , Law enforcement officials have determined that, while in the U.S. Army, MUHAMMAD was stationed at Ft. Lewis in the Tacoma, Washington, area. In addition, law enforcement officials have determined that while MUHAMMAD served in the military, he would have received training in the operation and discharge of firearms. On September 21, 2002, at about 11:15 p.m., two individuals leaving the ABC Beverages Store at 1690 Zelda Road, Montgomery, Alabama were shot by an unknown assailant. One of the victims died from a gunshot wound to the torso, the other victim survived her injuries. When police arrived at the scene, a person fled the police arrival, dropping a firearms catalogue to the ground, which was recovered by police officers and submitted for latent fingerprint analysis. Fingerprint analysis has been conducted comparing the multiple latent fingerprints from the catalogue to the known prints of JOHN DOE, JUVENILE. A forensic expert has confirmed those fingerprints to be one and the same. Witnesses have identified both MUHAMMAD and JOHN DOE, JUVENILE, as being present in the vicinity of the crime scene. During the course of the sniper investigation, telephone calls taking credit for the sniper shootings were placed to law enforcement officials and to a private citizen. Those calls also included specific identifying contents that match phrases left at three crime scenes within the sniper investigation. Specifically, the calls used phrases that appear on messages left for law enforcement at the scenes of shootings in Bowie, Maryland, Ashland, Virginia, and Silver Spring, Maryland. Those phrases were not released to the public. In these calls, the callers collectively made mention of specific knowledge of the Montgomery, Alabama shooting, providing, for example, the exact neighborhood of the incident, referring to it as a liquor store robbery, and emphasizing the caller’s awareness of who actually participated in the shooting. During at least one call, the person receiving the call was spoken to by two different people. During this same call, one of the callers indicated that the police should conduct ballistics testing of the bullet fragments in Montgomery, Alabama.