CLEVELAND -- Damian Bradford, who for 10 months was labeled a "person of interest" in the May 13 slaying of Dr. Gulam Moonda, yesterday was identified by a federal prosecutor here as the gunman who fatally shot the Mercer County urologist during a stop on the Ohio Turnpike.

	Damian Bradford

U.S. Attorney Gregory A. White said a federal grand jury had returned a two-count indictment charging Mr. Bradford, 24, of Center, with following Dr. Moonda, 69, of Hermitage, from Pennsylvania into Ohio as the doctor, his wife, Donna, and his mother-in-law were on a car trip to Bowling Green.

According to the indictment, Mr. Bradford, whose nickname is "Kaos," robbed Dr. Moonda of his wallet holding a significant amount of cash and fatally shot him in the face. The robbery-homicide occurred after Mrs. Moonda, 46, pulled her 2000 gold Jaguar into an emergency parking lane of the turnpike as they approached the Cleveland suburb of North Royalton. Mrs. Moonda said she stopped because she wanted Dr. Moonda to drive the last 120 miles to Bowling Green, despite their having stopped six miles earlier to buy water.

Although the killing occurred at about 6:30 p.m. in the daylight of a long spring day, neither Mrs. Moonda nor her mother, Dorothy Smouse, 74, also of Hermitage, could provide investigators with anything more than generic descriptions of the gunman, who they said fled in a van.

The federal charges of interstate stalking and using a firearm in a crime of violence that Mr. Bradford faces carry a maximum sentence of life in prison.

Mr. White provided little explanation why federal authorities filed charges in a case that normally would warrant a state homicide charge. He said he and Bill Mason, the Cuyahoga County prosecutor, decided the stalking charge was the best way to proceed.

"It's tantamount to a murder charge," said Mr. White, who was joined at the news conference in the U.S. Courthouse by Col. Paul D. McClellan, superintendent of the Ohio State Highway Patrol, and Pennsylvania State Police Capt. Robert Lizik, whose departments conducted much of the investigation.

Also indicted was Charlene McFrazier, 21, of Leetsdale, who was charged with lying to the grand jury in Cleveland on March 1 by falsely claiming Mr. Bradford was with her between 6 and 7 p.m. on May 13, the time period when Dr. Moonda was killed. Miss McFrazier, Mr. Bradford's fiancee, was arraigned yesterday in Youngstown and released on $25,000 bond.

Mr. White would not comment on whether investigators were continuing to look at Mrs. Moonda's possible involvement. Mr. Bradford, who is currently in the Allegheny County Jail on an unrelated probation violation, had a relationship with Mrs. Moonda after they met in 2004 in a Beaver County drug rehabilitation center.

"We're not going to talk about any other individual other than those named in the indictments," he said, adding the investigation is ongoing.

Niki Z. Schwartz, Mrs. Moonda's Cleveland attorney, said yesterday he suspected the events of the day would be surprising to his client.

"I would think Donna would be shocked if Bradford had anything to do with this. Of course, an indictment doesn't mean he's guilty," said Mr. Schwartz, who was hired by Mrs. Moonda May 20 after she said investigators from the Ohio State Highway Patrol became accusatory with her.

Mr. Schwartz further noted that it was his understanding the descriptions of the assailant provided by Mrs. Moonda and Mrs Smouse were generic because "the assailant was covered in black, making it impossible to identify him."

Mr. White said the Moondas and Mrs. Smouse left Hermitage at 4:30 p.m. A fare ticket showed that their vehicle entered the Ohio Turnpike at 5:09 p.m. At 5:30 p.m., they stopped at the Portage Service Plaza to eat and left 30 minutes later. A half-hour later, after yet another stop for bottled water, they pulled into the emergency lane where the robbery and killing took place.

Mr. White said another fare ticket showed that a vehicle in which Mr. Bradford was riding entered the Ohio Turnpike just after the Moonda vehicle. He would not say whether Mr. Bradford was alone or even if he was driving, nor how investigators linked that fare ticket to that vehicle.

He said that after the killing, that vehicle used the Strongsville exit, about three miles past the crime scene, and then turned back east toward Pennsylvania.

In June, a maintenance worker and members of the Ohio State Highway Patrol discovered items belonging to Dr. Moonda in a median about 12 miles east of where he was killed. In August, Dr. Moonda's wallet was found about 11 miles east of the crime scene.

Mr. White would provide little additional insight into what evidence led authorities to believe Mr. Bradford was the gunman and what the motive might have been. He repeatedly declined to answer reporters' questions, other than to say, "The investigation is continuing."

"This is a step toward resolution of this gruesome, calculated homicide," Mr. White said.

Mr. Bradford's attorney, Michael DeRiso, said his client will pursue an alibi defense despite Miss McFrazier's arrest. He said records of Mr. Bradford's cell phone use and a witness he declined to identify will support such a defense.

"We categorically deny any involvement by my client" in Dr. Moonda's death, Mr. DeRiso said.

Nevertheless, he said he was not surprised that his client was indicted, adding that once federal investigators took over the case from Cuyahoga County prosecutors, he felt there would be charges of conspiracy murder or murder for hire.

That's because of the attention investigators have paid to both Mr. Bradford and Mrs. Moonda, including search warrants for their homes and their DNA.

Mr. Bradford and Mrs. Moonda began their relationship after meeting in the drug rehabilitation center, investigators said. Mr. Bradford had a cocaine problem and was a self-described drug dealer. Mrs. Moonda was prosecuted in 2004 for stealing fentanyl, a powerful painkiller, from the hospital in Greenville, Mercer County, where she worked as a nurse anesthetist.

Mrs. Moonda, who was sentenced to probation without verdict, continues to dutifully fulfill her reporting obligations, said Robert Bushey, a spokesman for the Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole. Her probation will end Aug. 4, 2007.

Police said her ties to Mr. Bradford were serious enough for her to list herself as a cohabitant of his apartment in Center, Beaver County. He lived there with a roommate, Matthew Tabit. They were evicted last year, after the Moonda case broke.

Investigators noted that Mrs. Moonda would benefit financially from the death of her husband, whose assets were estimated at $6 million, not including his mansion in Hermitage or any life insurance policies. She is to receive 20 percent of the money after proceeds from her husband's will are distributed, a process that might take until the middle of 2007.

In October, Mr. Bradford went before a Beaver County judge on a probation violation, and used the opportunity to say he is innocent of Dr. Moonda's killing.

Testifying under oath, Mr. Bradford said: "I'm not a bad guy. I have not involved myself in violent crimes."

Mr. Bradford served six months in jail last year for a steroid conviction. Three small containers of the drugs were found in his apartment after police raided it, looking for evidence in the Moonda case. Police also seized three pink bath towels with suspected blood stains, 19 $50 bills, a pager and six cell phones.

Mr. White would not comment yesterday on whether the money or personal property played a role in Mr. Bradford being charged. Instead, Mr. White said everyone would have to be patient, as the evidence would be revealed when Mr. Bradford goes on trial.

Mr. Bradford was expected to be arraigned in Youngstown on Monday.