Washington – Sniper Lee Boyd Malvo took responsibility Tuesday for his role in the October 2002 shootings in Montgomery County, Md., pleading guilty to six counts of first-degree murder.
His defense lawyers said they hope to reach a “global resolution” before his Nov. 9 sentencing that presumably would involve having Malvo plead guilty to crimes committed outside the Washington area.
Malvo would benefit from such a deal if Virginia – where he is serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole – agreed to relinquish custody of him so he could serve his time elsewhere, probably in a federal facility.
Prince William County Commonwealth’s Attorney Paul Ebert, who tried Malvo’s fellow sniper John Allen Muhammad, said he didn’t think Malvo should be able to shop around for a prison.
Malvo spoke little during the hearing, during which a prosecutor outlined Maryland’s evidence against him.
Muhammad, 45, was convicted in May on six counts of first- degree murder after a month- long trial in which he acted as his own attorney and deemed the state’s case a conspiracy.
Malvo and Muhammad killed 10 people in the Washington area with a high-powered rifle during a rampage that prosecutors called an extortion scheme.
Malvo, 21, took the stand against Muhammad during the elder sniper’s Maryland trial, providing the first public account of the shootings. Both men also have been convicted of murder in the Virginia sniper killings.
