An East Baton Rouge grand jury indicted sniper suspects John Lee Malvo and John Williams Muhammad on Thursday on charges of first-degree murder.
Baton Rouge police connected Malvo and Muhammad on Oct. 31 to the Sept. 23 shooting of Hong Im Ballenger at Beauty Depot, 3055 Florida Blvd.
John Sinquefield, first assistant district attorney, asked the court Thursday to file indictment papers. The grand jury found there was enough information to detain Malvo and Muhammad for the crime they allegedly committed in Baton Rouge.
“I am certain they will be brought here and be punished for what they did,” Sinquefield said.
The indictment allows the district attorney to arrest the individuals and then arraign them for trial in Baton Rouge.
Craig Freeman, a media law professor, said each state would have to try the suspects where the crimes occurred. The suspects only can be charged in a federal court if a federal law is broken; for example, transporting a murder weapon across state lines.
Though no court date was set, Sinquefield said he will meet with a Virginia prosecutor this week and file extradition papers to get Malvo and Muhammad back in the state.
Sinquefield said Louisiana will have a very good argument to try Malvo and Muhammad before Maryland and Virginia because the Ballenger shooting occurred before the sniper attacks began.
Sinquefield said he will ask the jury for the death penalty in the trial.
“They murdered a very nice Baton Rouge woman, wife, mother and religious person,” Sinquefield said. “When you do that you will pay for what you did.”
Authorities in Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C., arrested Muhammad and Malvo on Oct. 25 in connection with the sniper shootings that began Oct. 2 and continued for three weeks. Alabama authorities also charged Malvo and Muhammad for allegedly shooting a woman during a liquor store robbery.