Two Guards to Testify at Malvo Trial
The judge in the capital murder trial of Lee Boyd Malvo will allow the testimony of two prison guards who say the sniper suspect bragged to them about committing several of the shootings.
Defense lawyers had sought to suppress the testimony of Maryland prison guards Joseph Stracke and Wayne Davis, contending that Malvo had invoked his right to remain silent by the time he spoke to the guards.
But Circuit Judge Jane Marum Roush ruled Tuesday that the testimony can be heard at trial, set to start Nov. 10.
“Although Malvo was in custody, and the prison guards were law enforcement officers, Malvo initiated the conversations, and the guards did nothing deliberately to elicit any incriminating statements,” Roush wrote.
Malvo, 18, and fellow suspect John Allen Muhammad, 42, have been charged with 13 shootings, including 10 deaths, during the three-week spree that terrorized the Washington area last fall.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
