stella
08-05-2004, 01:45 PM
The money should have been split in more than just two ways.
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No reward for truck driver who spotted snipers
Ron Lantz, the Ludlow, Ky., truck driver who spotted the Washington, D.C.-area sniper suspects at a rest area in October 2002, will not be getting a cut of the $500,000 reward.
The reward offered by the Montgomery County, Md., Police Department for providing information leading to the arrest of the sniper suspects will be shared by two men -- one from Washington state, the other from Pennsylvania.
Lantz, 63, called 911 on Oct. 25, 2002, but he was not the first one to do so, Maryland State Police Maj. Greg Shipley said in 2002. Lantz, who is now retired, and another truck driver pulled their trucks close together to block the exit until police arrived on scene.
"I'm not a bit disappointed," Lantz said Monday. "It doesn't make a difference to me either way."
Montgomery County police spokeswoman Lucille Baur said police considered several tipsters for the reward. "Mr. Lantz's name did come up during the course of the meetings by the individuals who were evaluating who should receive the reward," she said.
Lantz may not be getting cash for his deed, but he received accolades from many sources in 2002 for his help in catching the snipers, including Ludlow schools, Ludlow city officials, Kenton County FOP Lodge No. 20, the U.S. Postal Service, U.S. Rep. Ken Lucas, D-Ky., and the mayor of Wilmington, Del. He also appeared on NBC's "Today" show.
Montgomery County Executive Douglas M. Duncan plans to announce Saturday that Robert Holmes, a 47-year-old auto repairman from Tacoma, Wash., will receive $350,000. Holmes tipped off the FBI during the 2002 killing spree that his friend, John Allen Muhammad, might be the shooter.
Whitney Donahue, a 38-year-old refrigerator repairman from Greencastle, Pa., will be awarded the remaining $150,000. Donahue spotted the Chevrolet Caprice being used by Muhammad and his accomplice, Lee Boyd Malvo, at the Maryland rest area on Oct. 24, 2002. He called police and remained on the phone with dispatchers for hours until police surrounded the car and arrested both suspects.
A task force made up of local and federal law enforcement officials -- from the Montgomery County and Fairfax, Va., county police departments, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, among other agencies -- voted Wednesday to award the money to Holmes and Donahue. The vote was unanimous.
Muhammad, 43, and Malvo, 19, were both convicted of two counts of capital murder last year in the deaths of Dean H. Meyers and Linda Franklin, respectively. Muhammad has been sentenced to death; his execution is set for Oct. 14. Malvo was sentenced to life in prison.
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No reward for truck driver who spotted snipers
Ron Lantz, the Ludlow, Ky., truck driver who spotted the Washington, D.C.-area sniper suspects at a rest area in October 2002, will not be getting a cut of the $500,000 reward.
The reward offered by the Montgomery County, Md., Police Department for providing information leading to the arrest of the sniper suspects will be shared by two men -- one from Washington state, the other from Pennsylvania.
Lantz, 63, called 911 on Oct. 25, 2002, but he was not the first one to do so, Maryland State Police Maj. Greg Shipley said in 2002. Lantz, who is now retired, and another truck driver pulled their trucks close together to block the exit until police arrived on scene.
"I'm not a bit disappointed," Lantz said Monday. "It doesn't make a difference to me either way."
Montgomery County police spokeswoman Lucille Baur said police considered several tipsters for the reward. "Mr. Lantz's name did come up during the course of the meetings by the individuals who were evaluating who should receive the reward," she said.
Lantz may not be getting cash for his deed, but he received accolades from many sources in 2002 for his help in catching the snipers, including Ludlow schools, Ludlow city officials, Kenton County FOP Lodge No. 20, the U.S. Postal Service, U.S. Rep. Ken Lucas, D-Ky., and the mayor of Wilmington, Del. He also appeared on NBC's "Today" show.
Montgomery County Executive Douglas M. Duncan plans to announce Saturday that Robert Holmes, a 47-year-old auto repairman from Tacoma, Wash., will receive $350,000. Holmes tipped off the FBI during the 2002 killing spree that his friend, John Allen Muhammad, might be the shooter.
Whitney Donahue, a 38-year-old refrigerator repairman from Greencastle, Pa., will be awarded the remaining $150,000. Donahue spotted the Chevrolet Caprice being used by Muhammad and his accomplice, Lee Boyd Malvo, at the Maryland rest area on Oct. 24, 2002. He called police and remained on the phone with dispatchers for hours until police surrounded the car and arrested both suspects.
A task force made up of local and federal law enforcement officials -- from the Montgomery County and Fairfax, Va., county police departments, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, among other agencies -- voted Wednesday to award the money to Holmes and Donahue. The vote was unanimous.
Muhammad, 43, and Malvo, 19, were both convicted of two counts of capital murder last year in the deaths of Dean H. Meyers and Linda Franklin, respectively. Muhammad has been sentenced to death; his execution is set for Oct. 14. Malvo was sentenced to life in prison.