- It is often confusing whether a reference to Washington
means the state or the nationâs capital. In this case it is both.
The case is the murder of young Keenya Cook in Tacoma, Washington on Feb.
16, 2002. Keenya was baby sitting at the home of her aunt, Isa Nichols
and was shot dead when she opened the front door in response to someone
at the door. Police had no clues and it was a mystery until the alleged
snipers, John Alan Muhammad and Lee Malvo, were arrested in suburban Washington,
D.C.
Isa Nichols had worked for Muhammad and was a witness against him in Muhammadâs
divorce from his second wife. Police theorized that Muhammad might have
been the shooter in Keenyaâs murder, a case of mistaken identity
with Isa Nichols as the intended target.
A solid circumstantial case was built against Muhammad and/or Malvo when
a witness came forward with the .45 semi-automatic handgun that had fired
the fatal shot. The witness, still unidentified to this day, said Muhammad
and Malvo had been staying with him between Feb. and April of that year
(according to the Tacoma News Tribune) and had borrowed the weapon.
Federal and local law enforcement officials have steadfastly refused to
identify the witness, as have the three major newspapers in the area, the
Tacoma News Tribune, The Seattle Post Intelligencer and the Seattle Times.
Pierce County prosecutors have said they will not file charges in the Cook
murder providing a rationale for preserving the anonymity of the key witness.
However, all that has changed with the trial of John Muhammad in Virginia
charged with one shooting death. In order to justify the death penalty,
prosecutors need to show that Muhammad was involved in a series of murders
and/or intended to terrorize the populace.
As a part of meeting that burden of proof, Virginia prosecutors have provided
a list of 13 witnesses they intend to call from the Tacoma area. The list
includes a number of police officers, medical and forensic experts involved
in the investigation of the Cook murder and the aunt, Isa Nichols. Missing
from that list is the name of the mystery witness who is the only one that
can tie Muhammad and Malvo to the murder weapon.
Will the Virginia judge allow our mystery man to preserve his anonymity
by testify from behind a screen? Or maybe he will allow second-hand hearsay
evidence about the weapon and/or Malvoâs alleged ãconfessionä
to jailhouse guards that he shot Keenya?
But why the secrecy? Certainly the mystery witness need not fear retribution
from Muhammad or Malvo who will never see another day free. Perhaps the
real reasons have nothing to do with the sniper murders. But before exploring
those possibilities, there is an odd situation with Muhammadâs defense
attorneys
It has been speculated by Washington (D.C.) pundits that the defense team
will not mount much of a defense against conviction and will concentrate
on avoiding the death penalty. If so, they should vigorously protest any
anonymous witnesses or hearsay evidence in the Keenya Cook case.
One of the names on the Defenseâs witness list is Charles Douglas.
According to a task force investigation in Antigua, headed by prominent
lawyer John Fuller, Muhammad lived in Douglasâs home during the time
he was in Antigua. The investigation linked Muhammad to various criminal
activities in Antigua. His main source of income appeared to be from providing
forged documents, e.g. driverâs licenses and birth certificates,
which were used to obtain fraudulent passports. Muhammad was charging $3,000
per set of documents.
Muhammad would then arrange transportation to the United States for the
persons using the return trip portion of airlines tickets procured under
false names. The investigation also tied Muhammad into narcotics trafficking
and U.S. currency counterfeiting in Antigua.
Another facet of the D.C. coverup is the ease with which Muhammad has escaped
prosecution and managed to avoid a ãrap sheetä on the FBIâs
national database. In this writerâs previous article we mentioned
several instances where prosecution seemed warranted. In one case Muhammad
simply ãwalked awayä from an Antigua police station after being
held for two days and disappeared into his welter of aliases.
In another he was apprehended in Florida bringing in two aliens with false
I.D. but was released without charges. His shoplifting charge in Tacoma
on which he skipped bail and an arrest warrant was issued is not in the
database. Neither was the restraining order his ex-wife obtained against
him.
New documents and reports disclose several other arrests that did not appear
on his record. Again in Florida Muhammad was arrested when caught with
false I.D. Immigration authorities say they referred it to the U.S. Attorney
who refused to prosecute. The U.S. Attorneyâs office ãdenies
it has any recordä of the incident. (Thatâs not the same thing
as saying it didnât happen. Records can be shredded.)
Muhammad was also arrested twice in Tacoma for driving on a suspended license.
There was no prosecution and the arrests were not to be found on the database.
The conclusion is inescapable that the government for some reason was protecting
Muhammad.
Meanwhile back in Tacoma there are several possible reasons government
officials and the media continue to shield our mystery manâs identity.
It was reported that he became acquainted with Muhammad from their mutual
interest in guns. One could then assume they originally met at a gun range,
gun show, gun store or similar venue.
One such place could have been Bullseye Shooters Supply, a gun shop owned
by former sniper instructor Brian Borgelt. The shop was the last place
the Bushmaster rifle allegedly used in the 14 sniper shootings was seen
until the ATF says it found it in Muhammadâs car when the pair were
arrested. Borgeltâs store had a horrible record of losing track of
weapons and the rate of weapons subsequently used in crimes was six times
the national average for gun dealers. Hundreds of guns had gone missing
from his store in the two years before the sniper shootings with no action
taken by the ATF. Some speculate Borgelt might have been supplying weapons
for government black operations.
The Tacoma Police Department ãlost trackä of over 400 Glock
handguns when they supposedly were traded in for a like number of Berettas.
It is now a three-ring circus among the manufacturer (Baretta), the Tacoma
Police and a middleman in Las Vegas as to who has the records of the missing
Glocks. Each says one of the others kept track. The local media seems to
have no interest in following up on this story either.
When Muhammad ãkidnappedä his three children and took them
to Antigua, they first stayed with Mrs. Janet Greer. When she suspected
what he was involved in, she asked him to leave. He then moved to the Douglasâ
home for the rest of his stay in Antigua. The Antigua investigators found
that Mrs. Greer had initially put them up at the request of her cousin
Randolph Simon (who lived in Tacoma and was a friend of Muhammad). Now
thatâs a name that hasnât appeared in the U.S. media. Could
Mr. Simon be our mystery witness?
Maybe a few letters to editors of the local newspapers would prod them
to do some investigating on their own.
(In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed
without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving
the included information for research and educational purposes.)
Permission is granted to reproduce this article in its entirety.
-
- The author is a freelance writer based in Romulus, Michigan.
He is a former newspaper editor and investigative reporter, a retired customs
administrator and accountant, and a student of history and the U.S. Constitution.
-
- If you would like to receive Medium Rare articles directly,
please contact the author at jimrarey@comcast.net.
|
