One of John Allen Muhammad's motives for last fall's sniper shootings was revenge on his ex-wife for taking custody of the couple's children, and authorities believe Mildred Muhammad was one of the ultimate targets, Prince William County prosecutors said in court yesterday.

The revelation came at a far-ranging evidentiary hearing in Prince William County Circuit Court, during which Judge LeRoy F. Millette Jr. ruled that prosecutors cannot use any of Muhammad's threats against his ex-wife at next month's murder trial.

Several key pieces of the case against Muhammad emerged at the hearing -- including information about the shootings contained on a laptop computer, evidence that Muhammad previously owned a Bushmaster .223 rifle almost identical to the one used in the sniper slayings, and a videotape of Muhammad at a store near one shooting.

Prosecutors argued that the evidence gives them a strong circumstantial case against Muhammad and his co-defendant, Lee Boyd Malvo, and links the pair to several shootings.

Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Richard A. Conway argued that Muhammad became obsessed with his ex-wife after Mildred Muhammad won sole custody of their children in September 2001. Conway said the move was "a triggering event" that caused Muhammad to seek his ex-wife.

"The evidence will show that he made repeated attempts to pinpoint her location near Clifton, Maryland," Conway said. "Shortly thereafter, the shootings began in the area surrounding her. . . . The evidence will show that one of his motivations . . . was to ultimately do harm to Mildred Muhammad."

Millette, however, ruled that prosecutors can't use any of that at trial. Millette said he didn't "see a link between the threats and the killings."

Prosecutors said yesterday that they have yet to interview Mildred Muhammad. Defense attorney Peter D. Greenspun said the defense team hasn't been able to find her. In an interview with The Washington Post last year, Mildred Muhammad said she thought she was a target.

Millette also ruled that prosecutors can't use testimony from an Ashland, Va., priest who authorities say spoke with the snipers because he hasn't been able to make a voice identification of either suspect. Prosecutors had hoped the priest would be able to testify that the snipers referred to a shooting in Montgomery, Ala., that was later linked to Muhammad and Malvo.

Prosecutors also presented a photograph taken from a videotape that they say places Muhammad at a store less than a half-mile from one of the shootings. Defense attorneys argued that the video is blurry and hard to make out, and Millette said he wants to view the tape before ruling on it.

Sources close to the investigation said yesterday that the video was taken at a Big Lots store on Route 1 in Ashland in the days before the shooting at the Ponderosa Steakhouse there Oct. 19. Authorities believe Muhammad stole a Halloween-themed bag that later held a note that was tacked to a tree. The note demanded money for an end to the shootings. A separate court filing yesterday indicated that DNA consistent with Malvo's was found on the bag.

Also yesterday, prosecutors said Muhammad used a .308 rifle to train Malvo at a Washington state shooting range and once owned a Bushmaster .223 rifle like the one used in the sniper slayings. Conway argued that the evidence shows that Muhammad was familiar with the weapon used in the attacks and that he was training for them.

Prosecutors allege Muhammad and Malvo stole the .223 Bushmaster used in the attacks from a Tacoma, Wash., gun store so that the gun could never be linked to them. Millette yesterday allowed prosecutors to use that alleged theft during the trial.

Prosecutors also pointed to two items found in the suspects' blue Chevy Caprice as being particularly relevant: a Sony laptop computer and a global positioning system locator.

Conway said the laptop contains maps showing scenes of several of the 13 Washington area shootings, comments about the shooting sites and reactions to the suspects' alleged actions after they occurred.

"It is clear these items were being used in the planning and execution of their scheme," Conway said. "We understand this is a circumstantial case . . . but this is some of the most compelling circumstantial evidence that will point . . . to his guilt."

In testimony yesterday, a desk clerk at a Silver Spring YMCA said she saw Muhammad with the laptop during the shootings.

Sharon Douglas, 26, said she spoke with Muhammad several times. She said yesterday that Muhammad and Malvo showed out-of-town YMCA cards and used a number of the facilities there -- including the showers, sauna, exercise machines and locker rooms -- about a half-dozen times.

Douglas said Muhammad began showing up at the YMCA in late August and at one point had "jail twists" in his hair, describing two-inch tufts of hair similar to dreadlocks. By the last time he came to the gym in early October, he had a close-cropped haircut.

Stephen Kane, a personal trainer and nutritionist at the YMCA, said he saw Muhammad several times. On the day of the Oct. 22 slaying of Conrad Johnson, 35, in Aspen Hill, Kane said he saw Muhammad sitting in a locker room with his head in his hands. Kane said he approached Muhammad, who had just used the sauna, and asked him if he was all right.

"He said nothing was the matter," Kane testified.

Millette ruled that Kane and Douglas can testify at trial and admitted the laptop and GPS locator.

Also yesterday, a witness testified that he saw Muhammad and Malvo in the blue Caprice parked near the Bowie middle school where a 13-year-old boy was shot Oct. 7.

Gerald Driscoll, 34, a chiropractor, said he was stopped at an intersection when he noticed the car facing the wrong way at a traffic light in front of the school. Driscoll said he watched a smiling Muhammad sitting in the driver's seat and saw Malvo climb into the back.

Muhammad had a "smilish smirk on his face," and Malvo was "fidgeting with something in the back, crouching back behind the driver's seat," Driscoll said. An hour later, Iran Brown was shot.

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