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Sniper reward in limboChief Moose to lead group making decision
ROCKVILLE, Maryland (CNN) -- It will be months before authorities determine who will receive the $500,000 reward for providing information that led to the arrest and indictment of the two D.C.-area sniper suspects, authorities said Tuesday. Montgomery County Executive Doug Duncan said authorities received more than 60,000 tips in their search for the persons suspected of killing 10 people and left three critically wounded in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C., last month. Investigators also linked the sniper suspects with a September shooting in the area that left one person wounded. Authorities believe the two who are charged with the crimes, John Muhammad, 41, and John Lee Malvo, 17, also committed murders elsewhere in the country. Some important tips they received involved at least one of those killings. Duncan said authorities were working to determine who should get the reward money, but for now "we don't have an answer. "It'll take time to evaluate the tips and determine which tips led to the arrest and indictment of suspects," he said at a news conference. The decision is also complex for other reasons. Police Chief Charles Moose, who led the investigation into the sniper shootings, will head the team that decides who gets the reward. Moose said investigators and prosecutors will have to discuss the tips together and arrive at a joint decision. Investigators can say which tips contributed to the arrests, but prosecutors will have to determine which ones helped lead to the indictments, he said. "We're also cognizant of not creating a situation where we have a potential witness testifying at the trial" who has received reward money, Moose said. Once someone receives the money, he or she may be considered a "paid witness," Moose said, which could damage the prosecution's case in a trial. "So there are a lot of potential missteps in the distribution of reward funds," Moose said. "We will work with people that have experience, and then eventually we will also make sure that we have the proper number of attorneys involved in this entire process." No one will receive the money "until we have some adjudication," he said. With multiple trials ahead for the two suspects, Moose said it is not clear how much adjudication would have to be completed before the money is rewarded. Another complication is that some people insist they provided tips that would have led to arrests and indictments if the authorities had paid better attention, he said. Though officials did not name anyone who is being considered for the reward money, it is widely believed that possible candidates include: • Ron Lantz, a Kentucky truck driver who spotted Muhammad's car at a Maryland rest stop and called 911. Authorities found Muhammad and Malvo sleeping inside and arrested them. • Whitney Donahue, a Pennsylvania refrigeration specialist who also reported the car at the rest stop. • Larry Blank, who worked at the rest stop and also provided information. • Robert Holmes of Tacoma, Washington, who called police to report that Muhammad and Malvo had used a tree stump for shooting practice • The Rev. William Sullivan, who told police that two people called him and boasted of killing someone in Montgomery, Alabama. That tip helped lead police to name Muhammad and Malvo as suspects. Authorities Tuesday praised and thanked the more than 900 people from throughout the country who contributed money toward the reward fund. There was a surplus of approximately $115,000 that is being added to a separate fund designed to help the families of victims. California businessman Tim Blixseth, who helped raise the money for the reward fund, said, "The heart of America really stood up. So God bless you." The Salvation Army and the United Way are among the groups operating funds to assist the families. Over the weekend, the Victims' Rights Foundation distributed the first large checks to families. The organization said the 14 families of people killed or injured in the D.C. area are receiving more than $18,000 each.
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