Washington ? The two suspects in the sniper spree that terrorized the Washington area last month will first stand trial in Virginia, a state with strong death penalty laws and a record of carrying out executions.

Atty. Gen. John Ashcroft announced Thursday that John Allen Muhammad, 41, and John Lee Malvo, 17, would be tried separately in neighboring suburban counties. Both face capital murder and other charges.

Even as Ashcroft announced his decision, yet another crime was connected to the pair ” a Sept. 21 killing in Atlanta. That brought to 18 the number of shootings linked so far to Muhammad and Malvo by police across the country. Thirteen people were killed.

Ashcroft said at a news conference that the strength of the evidence in the Virginia cases combined with the state’s tough death penalty laws gave it the edge over Maryland or the federal system in bringing “swift and sure” justice in the sniper shootings.

There were 13 shootings during the three-week sniper spree in the Washington area.

Paul Ebert, prosecutor in Prince William County, where Muhammad will be tried, noted that Virginia’s 86 executions since 1976 rank it second only to Texas.

“The death penalty’s reserved for the worst of the worst, and I think from the evidence : these folks qualify,” Ebert said.

Sniper suspect John Lee Malvo is taken from federal custody to the Fairfax County, Va., Adult Detention Center. Officials announced Thursday that Malvo, 17, and John Allen Muhammad, 41, would be tried first in Virginia, where they could receive the death penalty for capital murder. Malvo and Muhammad have been linked with 18 shootings across the United States.

Muhammad will be tried for the Oct. 9 slaying of Dean Harold Meyers, 53, of Gaithersburg, Md., a Vietnam veteran who was shot while pumping gas in Manassas, Va., shortly after leaving work.

Malvo will stand trial in Fairfax County for the Oct. 14 killing of FBI analyst Linda Franklin, 47, who was killed while loading packages into her car with her husband at a Home Depot in Falls Church, Va.

Ebert and Robert F. Horan Jr., the Fairfax County prosecutor, said it probably would be months before either trial begins. Both cases will go before grand juries after preliminary court hearings, they said.

Muhammad and Malvo were delivered Thursday from federal custody to Virginia authorities, with initial court appearances scheduled today.