FLINT, (AP) - Investigators apparently have a cooperative witness in the Washington-area sniper killings - a man who co-owned the blue Chevrolet Caprice believed to have been used in the attacks.

Nathaniel Osbourne, 26, has spoken at great length with authorities and is giving them whatever help he can, the man's lawyer said after a court hearing yesterday.

The Jamaican citizen, described as a friend of sniper suspect John Allen Muhammad, was arrested Saturday as a material witness in the attacks that left 10 people dead and three critically wounded over three weeks in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C.

Officials said Osbourne is not suspected of carrying out any of the attacks, and his lawyer said he doubts Osbourne has much information to give.

"I don't think he has any knowledge or involvement in the shootings," federal defender Kenneth Sasse said.

Osbourne appeared before a U.S. magistrate yesterday. He waived his right to a detention hearing in Michigan and agreed to be moved to federal custody in Maryland. Sasse said he expected U.S. marshals to take Osbourne to Maryland in the next three days.

Osbourne, wearing a one-piece green prison jumpsuit, spoke briefly and quietly at yesterday's hearing. Magistrate Wallace Capel questioned him about child support payments and other financial matters.

Court officials said Osbourne had $10 in his possession when he was arrested and that he had a $300 monthly obligation for a child in Massachusetts whom he fathered.

"I pay child support, but I don't owe anything," said Osbourne, who worked through a temporary employment service.

He was arrested May 30 in a domestic violence case but has no known outstanding warrants. He also has three driver's licenses, one each in New Jersey, New York and Indiana, where he attended truck driving school.

Federal officials would not say whether Osbourne, who came to this country in 1996, had a valid residence visa. Osbourne's last known address was in Camden, N.J.

Why Osbourne was in Michigan, how long he had been there and how authorities tracked him to the Flint residence where he was arrested all were unclear yesterday. The affidavit for Osbourne's arrest was sealed.

The Rev. Charlie Byrd, who said he owns the home where Osbourne was arrested and lives nearby, said Osbourne was visiting a woman who lives there and was considering marrying her. He said the couple came to him Wednesday briefly for counseling.

No one answered the doorbell early yesterday afternoon at the two-story gray brick home, located across the street from a local police precinct. About a half-hour after the hearing, federal agents returned to the house in two cars and dropped off a late model Honda Accord with New Jersey plates.

During the hearing, Osbourne told Capel he owned two Honda vehicles.

Saturday's arrest came as Maryland prosecutors filed the first murder charges against Muhammad and teenager John Lee Malvo in the 13 sniper attacks that had terrorized the Washington area. Prosecutors in Virginia said Saturday they also would file murder charges against the two suspects.

Osbourne was believed to have helped Muhammad buy the blue 1990 Chevrolet Caprice in which Muhammad and Malvo were arrested. The car was purchased for $250 from Sure Shot Auto Sales Inc. in Trenton, N.J., on Sept. 10, and Muhammad and Osbourne registered it the next day.

Authorities say a hole had been cut in the trunk from which someone could have fired on unsuspecting victims. Muhammad got the car's title and registration on the one-year anniversary of the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, said Edmond Bonnette, the agent in charge of the Camden, N.J., motor vehicle office.