Police chief Moose to lead effort to award sniper reward

ROCKVILLE, Md. -- Who gets a piece of the half-million-dollar reward for the capture of the Washington-area sniper suspects may take awhile to decide, authorities said Tuesday.

Montgomery County police chief Charles Moose, who led the investigation into the sniper shootings last month, will head the team that decides who gets the reward.

Moose said Tuesday that officials are "very cognizant" that the reward could create a situation where it appeared a witness was being paid for his testimony.

"Do not be upset if the process takes awhile, if it does not take place immediately," Moose said. "That's not going to happen. ... We want to be very careful."

John Muhammad, 41, and John Lee Malvo, 17, are awaiting trial in Virginia on murder charges. They have been accused of shooting 18 people, killing 13 and wounding five in Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C.

Montgomery County, Md., Executive Doug Duncan said the sniper task force is sorting through about 60,000 tips that were received during the search for the snipers.

Of the $580,244.77 that was raised, $500,000 will be given out as a reward. The remainder will be given to victims of the shooting and their families. The money was donated by more than 900 contributors.