BATON ROUGE POLICE DEPARTMENT
704 Mayflower Street • Baton Rouge, LA 70802
Pat Englade - Chief of Police
NEWS RELEASE
October 31, 2002
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SNIPER SUSPECTS TO BE CHARGED IN B.R. MURDER
The Baton Rouge Police Department today issued warrants for the arrests of JOHN ALLEN MUHAMMAD,
41, and JOHN LEE MALVO, 17, for 1st Degree Murder and Armed Robbery in connection with the robbery and
shooting death of HONG IM BALLENGER, 45.
Ms. Ballenger was shot to death at approximately 6:40pm on September 23rd in the parking lot of her place of
employment, BEAUTY DEPOT, 3055 FLORIDA BLVD. Ballenger was robbed of her purse and shot to death as she
was about to enter her vehicle to leave work.
Ballistics comparisons by the Louisiana State Police Crime Lab have now positively linked the .223 caliber
bullet used to murder Ms. Ballenger with the weapon used in several of the “D.C.-area Sniper” killings. Further,
evidence found in the car driven by Muhammad and Malvo establishes that the pair was in Baton Rouge on September
23rd.
The investigation into the possible involvement of Muhammad and/or Malvo in other local crimes is continuing,
with the assistance of the East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney’s Office, Louisiana State Police, the East Baton
Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office, and several federal law enforcement agencies.
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Contact:
Cpl. Don Kelly
Cpl. Mary Ann Godawa
Office of Media Relations
(225) 389-3948