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CNN Live At Daybreak

Police Informant Says Patrick Dennehy was Shot

Aired July 02, 2003 - 06:03   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: A mystery still. Although police have been searching and supposedly have an informant spilling information, they still cannot find Patrick Dennehy. He's the Baylor University basketball player who disappeared nearly three weeks ago. However, police do have some leads. Their investigation has now expanded from Waco, Texas, to Hurlock, Maryland.
CNN's Bob Franken is covering the story from there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Although this is officially a missing persons investigation into the disappearance of aspiring Baylor University basketball player, Patrick Dennehy, the scene has shifted 1,500 miles away from the campus in Waco, Texas, to Hurlock, Maryland, the home of Carlton Dotson, who is a teammate of Dennehy's and who has been named in an affidavit as telling somebody that he had in fact shot Dennehy during an argument that had occurred during a target practice in early June. According to this affidavit, Dennehy was in an argument with Dotson, had pointed his weapon. Dotson fired, hit him in the head, then left and drove here, discarding the weapon as he drove to this part of the country.

Now, it is a convoluted affidavit. It has come from a police official in a Delaware town nearby, and he is basing his information on an informant who was told by somebody else about information that came from Dotson's cousin. And that is just one of the reasons that police officials in Waco, Texas, are taking great care to say the involvement of Dotson is not the only place that they're investigating.

STEVE ANDERSON, WACO POLICE: A person of interest that we're talking to. We have spoken to him once. I'm sure investigators will speak with him again, as well as other individuals that they have spoken to maybe once and will also speak to again.

FRANKEN: Nobody has called Dotson a suspect in this case. There are no charges, no warrants, we're told. Dotson is in this area, as police and Dotson himself decide what they do next.

Bob Franken, CNN, Hurlock, Maryland.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Never heard of Hurlock, Maryland? Well, let me fill you in. It's a small town. Fewer than 2,000 people live there, and naturally people there are shocked that their hometown basketball champ, Carlton Dotson, could somehow be connected to Dennehy's disappearance.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COREY HUGHES, DOTSON'S FRIEND: The whole town is devastated. I had a chance to talk to my friends, and no one seemed to believe it, and -- because this is just not the Carlton that we know.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How do you think he is handling all of this pressure knowing that there's all of the speculation and all of this stuff going on? How do you think he's handling that?

PAT WATERS, CARLTON'S AUNT: He's probably scared. They're not saying they're after him. They put this affidavit out, and the media is saying they're after him. I mean, if they're after him, they'd get him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Members of Dotson's family told CNN that he's staying in Hurlock and would like to make a public statement, but may talk with a lawyer first.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.






Aired July 2, 2003 - 06:03   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: A mystery still. Although police have been searching and supposedly have an informant spilling information, they still cannot find Patrick Dennehy. He's the Baylor University basketball player who disappeared nearly three weeks ago. However, police do have some leads. Their investigation has now expanded from Waco, Texas, to Hurlock, Maryland.
CNN's Bob Franken is covering the story from there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Although this is officially a missing persons investigation into the disappearance of aspiring Baylor University basketball player, Patrick Dennehy, the scene has shifted 1,500 miles away from the campus in Waco, Texas, to Hurlock, Maryland, the home of Carlton Dotson, who is a teammate of Dennehy's and who has been named in an affidavit as telling somebody that he had in fact shot Dennehy during an argument that had occurred during a target practice in early June. According to this affidavit, Dennehy was in an argument with Dotson, had pointed his weapon. Dotson fired, hit him in the head, then left and drove here, discarding the weapon as he drove to this part of the country.

Now, it is a convoluted affidavit. It has come from a police official in a Delaware town nearby, and he is basing his information on an informant who was told by somebody else about information that came from Dotson's cousin. And that is just one of the reasons that police officials in Waco, Texas, are taking great care to say the involvement of Dotson is not the only place that they're investigating.

STEVE ANDERSON, WACO POLICE: A person of interest that we're talking to. We have spoken to him once. I'm sure investigators will speak with him again, as well as other individuals that they have spoken to maybe once and will also speak to again.

FRANKEN: Nobody has called Dotson a suspect in this case. There are no charges, no warrants, we're told. Dotson is in this area, as police and Dotson himself decide what they do next.

Bob Franken, CNN, Hurlock, Maryland.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Never heard of Hurlock, Maryland? Well, let me fill you in. It's a small town. Fewer than 2,000 people live there, and naturally people there are shocked that their hometown basketball champ, Carlton Dotson, could somehow be connected to Dennehy's disappearance.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COREY HUGHES, DOTSON'S FRIEND: The whole town is devastated. I had a chance to talk to my friends, and no one seemed to believe it, and -- because this is just not the Carlton that we know.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How do you think he is handling all of this pressure knowing that there's all of the speculation and all of this stuff going on? How do you think he's handling that?

PAT WATERS, CARLTON'S AUNT: He's probably scared. They're not saying they're after him. They put this affidavit out, and the media is saying they're after him. I mean, if they're after him, they'd get him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Members of Dotson's family told CNN that he's staying in Hurlock and would like to make a public statement, but may talk with a lawyer first.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.