ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, January 30, 1997 TAG: 9701300060
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-12 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: DENVER
SOURCE: Associated Press
The man in the widely distributed sketch of John Doe No. 2 in the Oklahoma City bombing has been positively identified as an Army private who had no role in the attack, the Justice Department said Wednesday.
In a brief filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Denver, prosecutors said Pvt. Todd Bunting rented a truck at a Kansas City, Kan., body shop the day after suspect Timothy McVeigh rented the truck believed to have been used in the bombing.
A mechanic at the body shop is ``confident he had Todd Bunting in mind when he provided the description for the John Doe 2 composite,'' according to the government's brief.
Prosecutors say they still are looking for another person who may have been with McVeigh when he rented the truck.
The mechanic, Tom Kessinger, identified McVeigh as John Doe No.1, the man who identified himself as ``Robert Kling'' when he rented the truck.
In their brief, prosecutors said Kessinger is now prepared to testify that his description of John Doe No.2 was wrong, that he confused him with Bunting.
In establishing Bunting's identity, prosecutors said they relied on Kessinger's description of a tattoo visible below his sleeve, and a baseball cap featuring a zigzag pattern in the front.
Some witnesses have said they saw the man described in the sketch of John Doe No. 2 in Oklahoma City shortly before the bombing, but investigators say they're mistaken.
Prosecutors said Kessinger remains sure that McVeigh is ``Kling'' and that two other workers who rented the truck to ``Kling'' are sure another man was with him.
Stephen Jones, attorney for McVeigh, offered the mistake in identifying John Doe No. 2 as evidence that eyewitness identifications should be thrown out, including the identification of McVeigh.
Jones is asking for a hearing to suppress the identifications as evidence. Prosecutors opposed a hearing, saying witness identifications should be challenged at trial.
McVeigh and co-defendant Terry Nichols could face the death penalty if convicted on federal conspiracy and murder charges in the bombing, which killed 168 and injured more than 500.
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