Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Manhunt for Escaped New York Prisoners; Smuggling into Prisons; Former ISIS Stronghold; Special Report of DC Mansion Murders Tonight; Tom Brady Files Appeal Against Suspensions. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired June 23, 2015 - 09:30   ET

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

[09:30:00] SHERIFF KEVIN MULVERHILL, OWLS HEAD, NEW YORK: It's very rough terrain. It's not easy to get to. It's not easy to traverse.

SARA GANIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A restaurant owner says he spoke to the person whose cabin was broken into soon after he made the discovery.

TERRY BELLINGER, LOCAL RESTAURANT OWNER: He stressed the point, he says, I'm not -- I'm not saying it was them, but he says I know somebody broke in our camp and I saw one guy running away.

GANIM: Officials say there is still no evidence the fugitives have any kind of support network outside of the prison, but they are reviewing months' worth of hotel registries in the area.

MAJ. CHARLES GUESS, NEW YORK STATE POLICE: If you return to your camp and anything is out of place, call 911 immediately. No lead is too small for us to investigate.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GANIM: I want to mention something, Carol. The cell service up here is not great. It's very spotty. But yesterday authorities did tell us that they're worried that these two may able -- be able to stay one step ahead of the search crews by monitoring in some way police and radio communications. And last week, when we talked to the district attorney, he did say that they interviewed other inmates at the prison who knew these two and they did see them with cell phone, which they're not supposed to have before they broke out.

Carol.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: So these police radios that these prisons are supposedly monitoring, are they inside those cabins, because cell phones aren't dependable in that area, so do people inside those cabins have other forms of communication and that's what the prisoners are using?

GANIM: Well, it's hard to say what was in any specific cabin, right? But we have talked to residents here who say that they have to go with other means of communicating with the outside world from this area because the cell service is really bad. One person who we spoke to yesterday says everything goes through a satellite. That everyone here has a land line, they have satellite and that's how they communicate.

You know, these are also -- you have to take into consideration, not all of these structures are full-time residences. A lot of them are hunting cabins or seasonal cabins. There's a ski resort near here. It's a big hunting area. So a lot of these in the summertime are, you know, not in use and you don't know if there's a working television or cable, you know, if they're able to watch the news, if they're able to monitor through a radio or other means. But that's something that police are definitely concerned about because they have, it seems, been able to stay one step ahead of the search crews.

Carol.

COSTELLO: All right, Sara Ganim reporting live from Owl's Head, New York, this morning.

As that search continues to heat up, a source telling CNN authorities are trying to figure out if escape tools may have been smuggled into the prison through a delivery of frozen hamburger meat. It's possible, the source says, that prison worker Joyce Mitchell convince a guard to bypass security and make the meat delivery to the inmates just one week before they broke free. Both inmates were part of that honor block, which allows inmates to cook some of their own food in their cells.

So let's talk about this with Eugene O'Donnell from the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, and former prison warden Charles Felton.

Welcome to you both.

CHARLES FELTON, FORMER PRISON WARDEN: Thank you.

EUGENE O'DONNELL, JOHN JAY COLLEGE OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE: Good morning, Carol.

COSTELLO: Good morning.

So, Charles, I'd like to start with you. Seriously, you could smuggle in tools in frozen hamburger meat and no one would know?

FELTON: Absolutely. That was a very clever method of smuggling contraband into a prison or jail. And it just points to the resolve that a number of these prisoners have in trying to commit -- further commitment crimes even while they're in prison.

COSTELLO: So how exactly would that work? So maybe Joyce Mitchell convinced somebody to, you know, deliver the meat inside the prison and they -- it didn't go through the metal detectors and then somehow this meat now thawed and then she would -- how would that work exactly?

FELTON: A metal detector, in that instance, may not be totally reliable. The best method that I've used has been the x-ray machines. In fact, I used one very well in Florida some years ago. Someone smuggled in, through legal mail, which we're not supposed to look at, they smuggled in a loaded .25 automatic. And we had just purchased the x-ray machine. We put the mail through there and it set it off. And we probably saved some lives in doing that.

So there are a number of resources out here to assist them in overcoming whatever roadblocks they may have in detecting contraband coming into a correctional facility.

COSTELLO: And, Eugene, Lyle Mitchell, Joyce Mitchell's husband, was on the "Today" show with Matt Lauer and he interviewed Lyle Mitchell and I'd just like you to listen to a bit of what Lyle Mitchell said. Here it is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LYLE MITCHELL, HUSBAND OF JOYCE MITCHELL: And the next morning she said, the state police called. I said, for what? They want to know something about a package. A package? I said, what are you talking about? She said, we've got to go back to

-- I need to talk to the troopers. An investigator come out and said, Mr. Mitchell, your wife is more involved than what she's letting on. What? And that's when he said that she was -- she brought apparently two hacksaw blades, a Phillips bit and a chisel. Oh, my God.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[09:35:12] COSTELLO: Well, Eugene, those things couldn't be hidden in hamburger meat, right? They're pretty big. So how did she -- how do you suppose she smuggled those items into these inmates' cells?

O'DONNELL: Well, it remains to be seen but, obviously, the big issue here is that once you have people inside a prison or jail who are breaching the security and working actively with prisoners, all bets are off. And so, you know, the ordinary security that you see in a locked up locked down facility goes by the wayside. And so what we're seeing here is, we're seeing that this creates tremendous vulnerability and systems can collapse pretty quickly when you have cooperative people working with those who are incarcerated.

COSTELLO: Do you think it was just Joyce Mitchell? I mean were there more involved? I know there -- authorities are right now interviewing another prison worker, but that's only one more. That do you think, Eugene?

O'DONNELL: Well, it suggest -- the strong suggestion is that there are additional other people besides Ms. Mitchell. So we'll have to see. Of course the interesting issue is, whether these guys had a plan once they got out. It appears from today's evidence that they may not have, which is kind of -- which is kind of not very bright that they apparently figured out a way to get outside the facility but may not have had any plan to go beyond that. Again, that remains to be seen, but that's a very big break for the police if they had no plan to get past the -- the sewer that they got out of.

COSTELLO: Yes. Supposedly Joyce Mitchell changed her mind, right, Charles, and that was plan a and there was no plan b. Is that how it appears to you right now?

FELTON: It appears that way, but she's a very fortunate person because I don't believe they would have had any use for her upon their escape in a short distance from the penitentiary.

COSTELLO: All right, Eugene O'Donnell, Charles Felton, thanks for your insight. I appreciate it.

And tonight, watch CNN for a special report called "The Great Prison Escape." We'll take a deeper look inside this massive manhunt. Again, that's at 9:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:41:37] COSTELLO: Kurdish forces have beaten back ISIS and taken control of a key town in northern Syria. That's according to a human rights group. The town is in an area of Syria that's been an ISIS stronghold. It's the latest sign the Kurds are gaining momentum in their fight against the terror group. Last week with the help of U.S. forces, the Kurds reclaimed a border crossing in northern Syria, a town that had been under ISIS control for two years. CNN's senior international correspondent Arwa Damon was among the first journalists on the ground there. She gained exclusive access inside the battle and what ISIS left behind.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For two years, ISIS reigned with impunity over this rural landscape. A vital frontier to defend and supply its stronghold of Raqqa. Now, beaten back.

DAMON (on camera): There was a coalition air strike, Orhan (ph) was just saying, on that side of this underground tunnel that goes around the entire village. ISIS had moved into this particular area about two years ago. This, obviously, dug out with heavy machinery about three feet three inches, a meter wide and pretty high as well. And then you can see the metal ceiling, roof, that was put into it running throughout. ISIS' tunnel is fairly crude, but still highly effective when it comes to giving them freedom of movement throughout the entire area.

This is the road that runs parallel to the Turkish border. And berms like this one had cut it off completely. This was just one of ISIS' many defenses that they had put into place.

What Orhan is saying is that the air strikes that happened here were key. They took place just a few days before forces advanced into Mabruca (ph) and they were highly effective.

DAMON (voice-over): In just four weeks, the air strikes allowed the WYPD to advance some 80 kilometers, 50 miles, taking over key territory, including the town of Tal Abyad and the border crossing, cutting off one of the main ISIS supply routes.

"When the coalition against ISIS was formed, we were the only force that was committed in the fight against ISIS," commander of the Tal Abyad Front Biladro Ojava (ph) says. "The coalition saw this and coordinated with us." He won't disclose specifics. Here, the U.S. can say that its strategy has delivered a blow to ISIS,

but the battlefield is vast and the blueprint for success, hardly easy to replicate.

Arwa Damon, CNN, Tal Abyad, Syria.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: And still to come in the NEWSROOM, a family and their housekeeper brutally killed inside a Washington, D.C., mansion. Now new questions about the murder suspect. Should he have been allowed in the country at all?

[09:49:58]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: New details this morning in the D.C. mansion murder case. CNN has learned that Daron Wint, the man charged with killing three family members and their housekeeper, was in danger of losing his green card because of prior arrests.

CNN dives deeper into the case in a "SPECIAL REPORT" that airs tonight at 9:30 Eastern. Here is a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We knew he was probably staying in this hotel, so we sent an advance team to figure out which room he was in.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The timing is incredibly fortunate.

[09:50:00] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: While the advance team told us, hey, they just took off. They're going up Route 1.

BROWN (voice-over): Fernandez and a small fleet of law enforcement officials chased two vehicles -- the white Chevy Cruze Wint is riding in, along with a truck of unknown associates.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I could see the truck and the car, and so we pulled in right behind.

BROWN: After the suspect's vehicles pull a bizarre U-turn, Fernandez radios for helicopter back up and makes his move.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I decided that we just had to take the cars down.

BROWN (on camera): And it was right here, right?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's right. Command was given, go, go, go, and we did it just like we practiced. Pinched the car in. The other car came around on the side, blocked it off.

BROWN (voice-over): Fernandez and his team quickly removed the occupants of both vehicles. (on camera): What was Wint like? Was he combative at all? Was he compliant?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When he came out, his body posture and the look on his face was like he was thinking about running. But we were right on top of him and he never got a chance.

BROWN (voice-over): Finally, after an intense 48-hour manhunt, Wint is captured.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was such a horrible situation, and he's such a monster. I felt great.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: CNN justice correspondent Pamela Brown, the host of that "SPECIAL REPORT", joins me now with more. Good morning, Pamela.

BROWN: Well, good morning to you, Carol. Through the process of putting this report together, we learned some new information not only about Daron Wint but also about some of his relatives, including one, his cousin, who worked at American Iron Works. That's the company owned by the Savopoulos family who was brutally murdered, allegedly by Daron Wint, and police believe others.

And we learned his cousin was fired from American Iron Works ten years ago. That's around the same time that Daron Wint left the company. But, Carol, not only was he fired, he apparently threatened to burn down the headquarters, and the company actually took out a restraining order against him at that time.

We've also learned, Carol, that police have been looking at Daron Wint's brother who was with him in his convoy during that manhunt, but only Daron Wint has been arrested in this case. It is still a very active investigation and still very much a mystery. Carol?

COSTELLO: Wow. Pamela Brown, thanks so much. And you can watch Pamela's "SPECIAL REPORT: THE D.C. MANSION MURDERS". Airs tonight at 9:30 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN.

Getting a check of some other top stories for you at 52 minutes past. Six Baltimore police officers charged in the death of Freddie Gray have pleaded not guilty. Their trial date now set for October 13th. Prosecutors say Gray was illegally arrested in April. He suffered a fatal spinal cord injury inside that police van. They say officers did not respond to Gray's calls for medical help.

Sean P. Diddy Combs is out of jail this morning after being arrested at UCLA, where his son plays football. He's accused of assaulting someone with a kettleball in the school's athletic training facility. No one was seriously hurt. Combs is charged with assault with a deadly weapon. He posted $160,000 bond. He's due back in court on July 13th.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, it's Tom Brady versus Roger Goodell in New York City. Moments ago, the star quarterback kicked off his appeal of that suspension for Deflategate. We'll talk about that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:57:36] COSTELLO: Are you ready for Deflategate round two? Just moments ago, Tom Brady kicked off his appeal of that four-game suspension he was slapped with back in May. Investigators found Brady was probably aware that some ball boys for the Patriots deflated footballs in their AFC championship game against the Colts.

CNN sports anchor Rachel Nichols joins me now with Tom Brady's appeal.

RACHEL NICHOLS, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Appealing the appeal of the appeal, exactly right. Exactly.

Look, this is pretty huge. You have the most powerful man in American sports, Roger Goodell, facing off against a guy whose nickname is Tom Terrific. He is the winningest quarterback of his era. Everybody's all-American, future Hall of Famer, married to a supermodel, and the NFL is calling him a cheater and a liar. Now, Tom Brady, when asked about all of this earlier this year publicly, had this to say about his guilt or innocence. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM BRADY, NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS QUARTERBACK: I would never do anything outside of the rules of play. I would never, you know, have someone do something that I thought was outside of the rules.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NICHOLS: Now, he is expected to say something very similar to the commissioner today. But, remember, this is an appeal hearing. The NFL has already ruled that he is guilty. So in this scenario, the NFL's executive vice president, Troy Vincent, already went by the Wells report which, of course, we've discussed ad nauseam, saying, hey, he did all of these things and he also obstructed the NFL's investigation. Roger Goodell approved that ruling and now Roger Goodell is the one hearing the appeal.

COSTELLO: What?

NICHOLS: Which, of course, the NFL Players Association has argued against. They lost this argument. So that's where we are right now.

COSTELLO: Well, it seems like he's going to lose his appeal because of that.

NICHOLS: Well, Roger Goodell has left himself a little window here. He has said, in the ensuing weeks, he has said, look, if Tom Brady comes to me with new information, I am willing to hear it. And there's been new information on a lot of sides, namely the Wells report that the NFL went on to do this punishment in the first place, a lot of outsiders have attacked this report. They found holes in this report. Brady will use that today in his appeal, but Goodell is a little stuck because it's his executive vice president and himself who approved that punishment. He's kind of undercutting their own system of justice if he comes back and says, yeah, there were some flaws in the way we did this. So it's going to be an itneresting needle to thread.

I wouldn't expect this to come down, the decision to come down today.

[10:00:03] Roger Goodell in fact can extend this hearing through the week if he wants to, and then he has sort of an unlimited time to make his ruling. Greg Hardy, who has also appealed his own suspension, his appeal happened a month ago, he still hasn't heard an answer yet. So this could go on for a while, Carol. We could be back discussing this all summer.

COSTELLO: I always welcome your presence, Rachel Nichols. Thank you so much; I appreciate it.

The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM starts now.