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Crime and Justice With Ashleigh Banfield
Police Arrest Two in Hunt for Fugitive Cop Killer; An Admitted Pedophile and his Wife Speak Out; Grandfather with Marijuana Prescription Arrested in Texas; Parents Seek Restraining Order Against a 6-year-old; Mother Fleeing the Repo Man Killed in Car Accident. Aired 8-9p ET
Aired January 11, 2017 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
[20:00:00] ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, HLN HOST (voice-over): Squeeze play -- police swoop in and arrest friends of a killer on the run.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What have you been doing to help your uncle?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Accessory after the fact.
BANFIELD: This as video shows his pregnant girlfriend joking about killing a cop.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Go ahead and kill him (INAUDIBLE)
BANFIELD: That`s right before he kills her.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Always get off the hood.
BANFIELD: Stand by your man, even if he`s attracted to kids?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do I look like a pedophile?
BANFIELD: An Oregon wife is defending her husband saying he`s never actually hurt anyone.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`ve been sexually attracted to little girls.
BANFIELD: An exclusive tonight with the wife and her man.
Grandpa`s not so excellent adventure.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I had it in a bag just like this one.
BANFIELD: Busted delivering medicinal pot cookies to a grandchild dying of cancer.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`m a grandpa, so I`m thinking like a grandpa.
BANFIELD: Now the doting grandpa could go to jail.
Hell on wheels, a repo man chases down a mother of three who can`t pay off her car.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He chased my wife 12 blocks, put her into a tree and killed her.
BANFIELD: She crashes and dies.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A life for a stupid car!
BANFIELD: So should he be locked up?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And I do apologize to the family!
BANFIELD: Kindergarten cops -- does a 6-year-old really need a restraining order to keep him from harassing his classmate?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He had pushed her up against the fence at one point and tried to kiss her.
BANFIELD: You`ll be surprised what a judge said and why his own parents don`t disagree.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He jumped out and tackled her on the ground.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Welcome to my neighborhood!
BANFIELD: Don`t get in this woman`s way, especially if you`re Mexican.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get a super-good look, everybody! This is what it`s called (ph) to be Spanish privileged in America! And she`s going right to
where I used to live!
BANFIELD: Oh, yes. And there`s a child in that car ahead.
And the call no 911 dispatcher ever expects to get.
911 OPERATOR: 911, what`s your emergency.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mommy, Mommy, it`s Cassidy (ph). The house is on fire!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BANFIELD: Hello, everyone. I`m Ashleigh Banfield. Welcome to PRIMETIME JUSTICE.
The manhunt for suspected cop killer Markeith Loyd is now in its third day, and there are still no signs of this Orlando man. He is the person
suspected of gunning down police Master Sergeant Debra Clayton on Monday in cold blood at a Wal-Mart. His niece and also a friend of his have now been
arrested because they are now suspected of giving him a hand while he`s been on the run.
And now word there is a third person who`s been hauled in tonight in connection with the killing of that downed police officer, and also word
that a fourth arrest could come this evening. All of this according to the Orange County sheriff`s office, who have been hard at work fanning out
across the state, trying to find Markeith Loyd.
That man became a fugitive when he allegedly shot and killed his pregnant girlfriend. And now we have found Facebook video that shows this couple
getting the sonogram exam just a week before he allegedly ended her life and the life of that unborn child.
There is also other Facebook video that we have found showing that same couple laughing and joking at a traffic stop just weeks before all of this
went down, before she would be killed violently.
The couple is apparently waiting in the car while the officer detains them. And then the couple is joking about killing the policeman so that they can
get home faster. She has even likened this couple to Bonnie and Clyde singing the "bad boys" theme from the show "Cops" and then reminded Loyd
that he always wanted to kill a cracker.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SINGING) Bad boys, bad boys, what you gonna do, what you gonna do when they come for you!
(LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Go ahead and kill `em, babe, so we can get home faster. You always wanted to...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) (EXPLETIVE DELETED)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You always (INAUDIBLE) (EXPLETIVE DELETED) There he go.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Damn, we`re never going home.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is he technically (EXPLETIVE DELETED)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Be careful about that, all right?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right, brother.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right, thank you, brother.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You always get off the hook! I`m going to start telling them to check your record and give you a ticket next time so you
learn your lesson. `Bye (EXPLETIVE DELETED)
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[20:05:07]BANFIELD: It is hard to believe that it would just be one week later she would be dead and that of her unborn child, as well, a killing.
CNN correspondent Ryan Young joins me live from Orlando. Ryan, it is -- you can`t overstate this, that this is a manhunt that is now going on
weeks. It is getting more frightening by the day because it gets wider every day. He could be anywhere at this point. And now we`re hearing
about arrests that could actually squeeze people into giving up where he is.
Walk me through who`s been arrested today and who`s been arrested tonight and then who we think might be arrested in the coming, I don`t know,
minutes or hours.
RYAN YOUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, when you put this all together, you know officers are trying to do everything they can to break this man`s
network up. He`s been on the run almost 30 days, we know 30 days as of tomorrow when the first shooting happened December 12th.
The arrests that were made today (INAUDIBLE) breaking (ph) apart not only his family but his friends. We`re told had a manager that he used to work
with. He went there after the shooting of his ex-girlfriend. That`s according to police.
And they had some sort of conversation where he actually told him that he apparently was the trigger man for that shooting, and claimed that it was
in self-defense. That man drove him around to several different places and even fed him in the days afterwards.
Then gave his niece some money, some $200 at some point, and lied to detectives. When we talked to the sheriff`s department just yesterday,
they told us they were going to be breaking apart this network. They were going to go after people who may have been helping to harbor him. And
that`s exactly what they`ve been doing.
Those two arrests coming in early in the part of the day, and now the third arrest happening just in the last two hours or so. And we`re told a fourth
person could be arrested. So you know they`re just trying to pick up everyone who`s been involved in this, in keeping this man`s out of police
hands for quite some time, and we`re starting to see that action take place.
BANFIELD: Yes, it`s sure hard to stay out there under the radar if you don`t have a little help from your friends. And so perhaps that`s what
we`re starting to see. Let`s pop those mug shots again because Zarghee Mayan has given several different stories, the third of which actually had
him driving around with this suspect...
YOUNG: Yes.
BANFIELD: ... after the brutal and violent murder of his pregnant girlfriend. And that child, that unborn child also died, Lakensha Smith-
Loyd apparently going and getting money from former place of work and transporting that money to the suspect in this case.
And I want to remind you what happened just one week before this pregnant girlfriend was violently murdered allegedly by this man on the loose
tonight. I want to take you into the sonogram room so that you can hear what the two of them were talking about one week before she would lose her
life.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He or she.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He`s doing headstands. He`s got to be a boy.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... my daughter-in-law...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They don`t know yet. Last time, they didn`t see anything, so we just came back because they wanted to see because she
wasn`t far along. So how long before they really tell whether it`s a boy or girl?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sixteen weeks.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Four more weeks.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, you have to have been seen by a doctor. Are you under a doctor`s care yet?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thirty-five dollars.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right. Thank you. (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You have insurance and everything, right?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Out of 20 (ph). This one`s 12.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, OK.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: That`s from the sonogram of his unborn baby. That`s looking at the pictures of his unborn baby, talking to his girlfriend who is pregnant
with his unborn baby. Days later, she`d be dead and he`d be on the run, and everybody`s getting arrested who may have helped him.
One other thing I want to show you, and that is this moment where Sade Dixon, who is the victim of this murder, pregnant with his child, is in a
car with him when a police officer pulls up behind. Nothing was violent in this police incident. In fact, it was very polite. It is not the person
you think who we`re looking for tonight, not this incredibly violent murderous person. He`s very polite to the officer. He even compliments
that the officer`s a nice guy.
But I want you to hear Sade Dixon and what she says as she`s Facebook Live broadcasting this moment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I`m not going to live past 25. I`m not going to make it, not like this. Oh, no. I might as well pray every day, no shot of
making it into heaven.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: "I`m not going to live past 25." She was right. She was so incredibly prescient and right and it is tragic.
[20:10:00]I want to go back out to Ryan. Ryan, you`re at this memorial for Officer Clayton, another victim of this incredibly violent shooting
rampage. This is actually at the police station, and they -- this is a makeshift memorial behind you. Just tell me what`s happening there.
YOUNG: There is. And I also want to bring up one other point. In that video where they`re getting that sonogram, he says, I`m going to have my
own little thug. That is something that he says during that conversation on that Facebook video. And when you think about all the people that he`s
accused of shooting at, not only his pregnant ex-girlfriend, but her brother, who he shot in the shoulder -- that`s according to police -- and
then he took a shot at the mother. Then came the killing of the deputy sergeant.
So you look back here and you see all this at the memorial. This is actually her police unit that was outside of that Wal-Mart, police bringing
it here and so many people now decorating this with flowers. There`s several memorials throughout the city. There`s one at the Wal-Mart, as
well. But you can see all the flowers that have come here.
BANFIELD: Wow.
YOUNG: There`s actually an officer from Detroit that came here a little earlier today and placed his hat up here, as well. He said he broke down
in tears when he heard about how this woman had dedicated her life to making children`s lives better in the city.
You think about all the shots this man has fired in different directions. It is really taking a toll here at the police department. We`ve watched
officers during their shift walk out here, stand here and just break down in tears. The emotion is just so high right now because of all the people
that she`s helped. More than 200 kids just alone this summer she helped get their first job. You can feel the impact of a woman who grew up in
this city who wanted the help.
BANFIELD: Master Sergeant Debra Clayton losing her life, Sade Dixon losing her life, as well. Ryan, thank you for that.
I want to bring in Joey Jackson for a moment. Look, as a defense attorney, you know all too well when you start hauling people in, it`s what you call
a squeeze play. You want every piece of information you can get out of them. Sometimes the first to talk gets the best deal.
But I got to ask you -- they`re being charged with a crime that could land them in prison for 15 years.
JOEY JACKSON, HLN/CNN LEGAL ANALYST: That`s right.
BANFIELD: And Joey, two people are dead after the death of Sade Dixon.
JACKSON: You know, $100,000 reward, number one, obviously, as you see it there in order to get this person under control and bring him in to
authorities. As you mentioned, people who were accessories after the fact -- what does that mean in English? It means you provided material aid or
support knowing that he committed the crime that he did. And so you would just have to believe that it won`t be long now before certainly they get to
him.
The issue really, Ashleigh, is when they get to this person, is there going to be -- I hate to say this -- a gunfight or is this a person who would go
in voluntarily? I doesn`t appear from what we know about him...
(CROSSTALK)
BANFIELD: I will tell you this. Officer Clayton`s own cousin has said, I hope they gun him down. I hope they shoot him on the spot. And you know
what, as a crime victim, a family member of that victim, I can understand where she`s coming from.
Joey, hold that thought for a moment. We`re going to continue to follow this. And when we get the updates on that arrest, if there is yet another
arrest tonight, we`re going to bring it to you live. We`re still on the air for another 47 minutes, 46 minutes, so there is still time to update
you on that story.
I have this other story, as well. And I am shaking my head. Despite an outcry from just about everybody else, the wife goes to bat for the husband
even though he admits he`s attracted to children.
Also, a woman`s racial road rage rant drives her straight to jail.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... in America! Get a super-good look, everybody! This is what it`s called to be Spanish privileged in America.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:17:38]BANFIELD: Wedding vows include all that jazz about standing by each other through sickness and health. But did anyone ever say anything
about pedophilia? Because that`s hard to imagine. But we area bout to talk to an Oregon couple, Gary Gibson, who is a self-proclaimed pedophile,
and his wife, Tabitha Abel. They are together and she stands by him, despite the fact that Gibson has been attracted to underage girls for more
than half a century.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GARY GIBSON, SELF-ADMITTED PEDOPHILE: I never called myself a pedophile, but 50 years, for more than 50 years, I`ve been sexually attracted to
little girls. I choose not to act on it. I`m not exclusive. So it`s pretty easy for me to pretend I was, you know, a regular, normal adult
male.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: He says it is a struggle for him not to act on his desires. And those desires, as difficult as it is to say, include having sex with young
girls, not teenage girls, younger, young girls. Gibson has set up a not- for-profit to help people like him who choose and try not to act on their pedophile urges.
Gary Gibson and Tabitha Abel join me live now from Portland, Oregon. Thank you to both of you for agreeing to be on the show because I know this is
not an easy topic and I know that you have both been under a lot of fire on line.
But Gary, I got to ask you about this idea that you choose not to act on your desires and have done so for 50 years. I think a lot of people
watching would find that very difficult to believe. Is it true you have never acted on those desires with little girls?
GARY GIBSON, SELF-PROCLAIMED PEDOPHILE: It is true that I have never abused a child.
BANFIELD: What is your definition of abusing a child?
GIBSON: That is really the question. A child, defined by the DSM, is under -- prepubescent children under the age of 14 is what we`re talking
about with child sexual abuse. Sexual has more meaning than just intercourse. It could mean touching. It could involve looking at
pornography. I`ve never looked at child pornography. I`ve never penetrated a child for sexual purposes.
[20:2:00]The question that I struggle with -- and it`s really not a struggle with -- for me not to have sex with a little girl. It`s quite
easy, just as it is for a heterosexual adult who`s attracted to women. It`s not like they`re going to rape every woman they meet. So it`s not
really a struggle. It`s just -- the struggle is more because I want to maintain a virtuous life in my mind, as well.
So I don`t like the thoughts that come. They`re not mine. I don`t choose to dwell on them. I don`t choose fantasies. So I -- I reject them.
That`s what I mean by it.
BANFIELD: But I think -- again, I think a lot of people would say it`s extraordinary to bring up your example of a heterosexual person doesn`t
rape every person they meet, but the heterosexual person does have sex, especially over a 50-year period because it is extraordinarily difficult to
-- to maintain chastity for that long with those desires. And I was just...
(CROSSTALK)
GIBSON: That`s why it`s probably easier for me...
BANFIELD: OK, but I want to bring up something that you yourself said in that tape that we played earlier. You said, I knew I was attracted to
little girls. I was always a little close (ph). Maybe I hugged them too tight or did some things I shouldn`t have done, but I never penetrated a
child, never what I would call had sex with a child.
I have to ask you, sir, what is it when you say you never did -- or you did some things that you shouldn`t have done? What things did you do?
GIBSON: Well, Tabitha always says that I`m too sensitive about it, but I recognize that when I hug a child -- a hug is not abuse. But if I hug the
child too long or too tight, I feel sensitive that maybe I`ve done something that somebody would think was inappropriate.
(CROSSTALK)
BANFIELD: You did say, I`ve probably hugged children too long or did some things I shouldn`t have done. Did it go beyond hugging them a little
tightly?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
BANFIELD: OK. What about the idea that you said, I have never what would call had sex with a child, never penetrated. There is a lot more to child
sexual abuse than penetration. There is molestation. There is groping. There are many categories that are traumatic for children and are very
illegal.
So what are you talking about when you say you`ve never gone so far as to penetrate a child? Have you done other things in that category like
molested or touched a child inappropriately?
GIBSON: So the difficulty in answering your question is that if I say I`ve never done anything, nobody`s is going to believe me. If I say, which I
did on this show yesterday -- this morning, an other show -- I admitted that when I was a child, when I was 12 going through puberty, spending the
summer with my cousins, the boy, who was my age, taught me to play doctor with his sisters. And so then a guy came on and said that I had offended.
Well, most reasonable people understand that children experiment and look and touch each other. And that`s what I mean by not penetrating.
BANFIELD: OK. I understand.
GIBSON: Touching -- what we would term playing doctor, examining -- which I think is wrong and inappropriate. I`ve apologized. But if somebody
wants to fault me for what happened 54 years ago, they can. But to me, what I mean is that I`m endeavoring to live a virtuous life now, and that`s
what the group Virtuous Pedophiles means. It`s not that we`re perfect.
BANFIELD: OK.
(CROSSTALK)
GIBSON: You know, some people looking at me think I might be over the top, too...
BANFIELD: OK.
GIBSON: ... too close.
BANFIELD: I understand where you`re coming from. I want to ask Tabitha -- I`m sure this is not a comfortable experience for you to be not only seated
on live television besides your husband as he says these things, but you have been very open about supporting him and believing in him.
And even though your husband has admitted that throughout the generations of his family, there has been terrible pedophilia and sexual abuse of
children and incest, you still fully believe your husband. You have 100 percent faith that he has not offended in that way, he has not abused young
girls and will not in the future?
TABITHA ABEL, GIBSON`S WIFE: Well, that is my belief. And you know, I think a lot of people will say, well, I`m very naive. Of course, I am not
with him all the time and I wasn`t with him -- we have been married 11 years. So you know, there`s nothing that one can say with certainty.
I believe what he`s saying, and I think we need to recognize that for someone to come forward and say they have a sexual attraction to children,
and they have not acted on it, I think that`s a very bold thing to say, particularly if you`re not doing it, I wouldn`t even know it. I would not
know that this was going on in his head.
[20:25:16]But we both feel that this is where we need to stand up to help those that have that sexual attraction and enable them to get help because
at the present time, this is such a taboo subject, nobody is going to help them. They have very -- there are serious consequences if a 16-year-old or
an 18-year-old or a 32-year-old, whether they`re married or they`re single kids or whatever, should say that because people do not understand being
sexually attracted to children...
BANFIELD: Let me ask...
ABEL: ... doesn`t mean you`re acting on it.
(CROSSTALK)
BANFIELD: That`s the key. And to believe -- I mean, it takes an enormous amount of faith, given the circumstances and the science and you know,
empirical data about pedophilia to have that faith in your husband.
And sir, I want to ask you about an incident in your family`s past. A foster child of yours at 10 years old reported that you had touched her
inappropriately, that there had been molestation, and you at the time accused that child of having false memories. Two questions there...
GIBSON: I wasn`t accusing her.
BANFIELD: Well, let me ask -- let me ask -- well, you suggested she had false memories. And I want to ask you...
GIBSON: I know that what she said did not happen.
BANFIELD: OK. Is it possible you have false memories?
GIBSON: No. And I don`t think that she deliberately lied or tried to make something up. But I do know that when she was with us, the Child
Protective Services pressured her on occasions to come up with something, and one time she came up with another story that I had left them off,
walked off in the woods without the kids, left them alone.
BANFIELD: Mr. Gibson, you have to understand...
GIBSON: So I`m not -- I`m not...
(CROSSTALK)
BANFIELD: Given the circumstances, it is very difficult to believe that. It is awfully coincidental that you`ve had the family history, you`ve said
that you`ve been attracted to children for 50 years, that you`ve done some things you shouldn`t have done and never what you call have had sex with a
child, and a foster child of yours at 10 years old said you did touch her, and you`re suggesting it`s a false memory. You have to understand that
that is extraordinary for people to believe.
GIBSON: I understand. She did not mention that until three years later. And she has recently...
BANFIELD: And children often won`t mention it for decades. I mean, that is a -- that is a proven science.
GIBSON: Right. I understand.
BANFIELD: That`s why statutes of limitations have been expanded for decades. You understand that, as well.
GIBSON: Yes, I do. And she reconnected with us recently and assured me that she felt comfortable that it had not happened, that I had never done
anything that made her feel uncomfortable. Now, you can go to her and pressure her, just like CBS does sometimes, like a counselor would, because
in the 1980s, that happened very frequently.
And now people looking back realize that many counselors thought that a child has been abused. Myself -- I was not abused, but a counselor spoke
to me in the 1980s and insisted that I must have been abused by my mother. I told her. She said no. And then the counselor said, Oh, you`re both in
denial. But I know that I was not abused. And I don`t believe that this girl really thought that I was...
BANFIELD: I understand your point. But you know, there are repressed memories and there are people who are very good at their jobs who are able
to dig deep with children, and after many years of counseling and appropriate questioning, actually unearth repressed memories. So it can go
both ways. But I do have to say...
GIBSON: I understand that.
BANFIELD: I appreciate both of you doing this interview. It is a difficult subject. I think there are a lot of people who will be gritting
their teeth right now in anger and hate...
GIBSON: I understand.
BANFIELD: ... and maybe others who will be even more curious about what it is you have to say. I hope we get a chance to speak again sometime because
this is a crisis in this country. It is a crisis around the world. And I think there is a need for more light. Thank you both. I appreciate it.
GIBSON: Thank you.
ABEL: Thank you.
BANFIELD: A grandfather busted for pot cookies in the car. And before you think, Well, so what, he certainly does have a story, but the Texas trooper
was not buying it. And then there`s this.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
911 OPERATOR: 911. What`s your emergency?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mommy, Mommy, it`s Cassidy (ph). The house is on fire.
911 OPERATOR: Your house is on fire? Cassidy?
(END AUDIO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Yes, your own Cassidy, your own baby girl Cassidy -- a Texas girl calling 911 and her mom happens to be the dispatcher.
[20:30:00] Wait until you see how this turned out.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BANFIELD: I want to introduce you to somebody, Phillip Blanton. He has a 20-year-old granddaughter and that granddaughter is dying of stage four
Hodgkin`s lymphoma. She has lost her hair. She`s had chemotherapy which has caused nausea, vomiting, and pain. So, as a loving grandfather, he brought
this gift.
He hit the road from Newman, California to Houston and in that bag was a batch of marijuana cookies. Medicinal marijuana cookies. This was not a
storybook ending because he was pulled in Decatur, Texas for speeding. And he got searched and Blanton told the police that he had no illegal drugs.
In fact he had prescribed medical marijuana in the car. But now, even though he was concerned about his granddaughter`s fight, he is facing two
felony drug charges.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[20:35:05] PHILIP BLANTON, CONVICTED OF FELONY CHARGES: I`m a grandpa so I`m thinking like a grandpa. I`m thinking I`m going to help my
granddaughter. I`m going to give her some grandpa`s cookies. Help her with her nausea and vomiting and the pain from the severe chemotherapy they had
to give her.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Well, it didn`t quite go like that. Peter Brill, Danny Cevallos are joining Joey Jackson. Danny, he had a license for not only the medical
marijuana in California, but also a gun. And there was no problem with the gun, but once you cross the state line, they nabbed him on the marijuana
cookies.
DANNY CEVALLOS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: You know, we have a crisis of federalism in this country and when you say you get a license in California. He sort
of did. Not really because even in California, it`s technically illegal under federal law. And it gets even nastier in Texas. Texas is one of those
states that would charge someone not for the actual marijuana, but if you use hashish oil, they will charge you for the batter weight. That means the
actual weight of the brownie.
BANFIELD: Let me play something for you because he described -- he spent the night in jail and he described what it was like when he was getting let
out of jail and how the police officers treated him. This is going to surprise you. Have a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BLANTON: All of those guys fell in love with me because I`m a grandpa. And they took care of me when I was in there. Are you OK? Do you need anything,
you know? And they all -- when I left, they all clapped for me. When I left the jail, they did. They all hugged me. And said you`re our hero because
you`re doing this for your granddaughter.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Yes, you can see him choking back the tears there, Peter. And you know who else who choked back tears, a jury. A jury who looks at a guy
who`s got a daughter in a hospital bed who has lost all of her hair and who is dying and throwing up and is in terrible pain and then they see that guy
-- a granddaughter, sorry -- will see that guy.
PETER BRILL, FORMER PROSECUTOR: Right. That`s what they call that jury nullification but you hope they don`t have to get that part. We get the
compassionate prosecutor and compassionate judge even if he has to admit to the crime, then hopefully no major consequences for him.
BANFIELD: We`ll see. We`ll see what happens, Brill. There is this story. A 911 operator, you know, they`re all used to getting these calls, every kind
of emergency out there, but there is this dispatcher in Texas who got a very different call. Here it is.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: 911. What`s your emergency?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mommy. Mommy. It`s Cassidy. The house is on fire.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Your house is on fire, Cassidy?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. OK. OK, what`s going on? Tell me what`s happening?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: That is cool as a cucumber. Layla Wray, at work, and that`s her daughter calling into 911 to tell her, "Mom, our house is on fire."
Thankfully dad was at home. All of the kids and the puppies -- they had puppies. They all got out of that house safely. But it is remarkable to
listen to her composure as she did her job and then even had this incredibly classic mom moment.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Dispatch. It`s 212. It`s going to be --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I`m on the phone with mommy.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- miles from the 45 feeder road, two and a half miles. There`s going to be chicken houses next door.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Stop crying about it. The house is on fire.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If you two don`t stop fighting , I swear to God.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
BANFIELD: "If you two don`t stop fighting, I swear to God." I said it a million times. You know what, I`m really happy that things worked out for
them. And what a call.
So, who doesn`t fear the repo man or even hate the repo man? But this time things got really out of hand and it was fatal. And then there`s this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He was hiding underneath her desk and when she came to sit down, he jumped out. He tackled her on the ground. It took, what did
they say, it took two adults --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It took two adults
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- to get him off of her.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Talking about a kindergartener. And the parents of that little girl in Washington State, for them recess was the start of something that
became unthinkable -- getting a restraining order against a fellow 6-year- old kindergartener from class. You`re going to be surprised at what the judge said about this.
[20:40:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BANFIELD: How does an auto loan end in the car owner`s death -- manslaughter in fact? This is a case of a repo man who may have gone out of
control. It will come as downright disastrous for a family of five. Let me walk you through what happened.
Kenneth Drew drove his tow truck to the home of Brennen and Ashleigh Best. He was there to repossess Ashleigh`s 2002 Lincoln Navigator because the
family was behind on the payment. This happens all the time. But that mom took off and that`s when things got really ugly.
The repo man took off too. He gave chase. This was all through a quite neighborhood of Pleasant Grove, Utah. This all happened after midnight and
police say that he was going over 50 and was even grinding against Best`s car.
Best`s SUV ended up jumping a curb and hit a tree and she died soon after. Drew, the repo man, pled guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced from one
to 15 years in prison.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KENNETH DREW, CONVICTED OF MANSLAUGHTER: This was an unfortunate accident and I do apologize to the family. I know that they probably won`t accept
it, but I do. My heart goes out to the Best family. I want their family to be able to pick up the pieces and move on.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Aaron Rosen is the news director at KKAT-AM 860 and he joins me live from Salt Lake City. Aaron, that was an incredible remorse that I
heard from this repo man. And I know people love to hate repo men, but that guy is doing his eight hours a day. He`s doing his job. They were behind on
payments. She took off. He gave chase. And is that where the breakdown is? He broke policy with his company by chasing after the person who was taking
off with the car?
[20:45:00] AARON ROSEN, KKAT-AM 860 NEWS DIRECTOR (via telephone): Well, you know Ashleigh, I`m not sure if it`s breaking policy per se. That`s more
or less that it`s emotions getting in the way. Often times when we find ourselves engaged in this type of activity as part of an employment whether
you`re a repo guy or enforcing rules, traffic attendant, you know, or a law enforcement officer, it`s hard sometimes when you feel fronted or that your
authority is not being observed, you know.
And he allowed Ms. Best to her to stay at home with her husband and leave the Lincoln Navigator on the property as they were trying to make
arrangements for payment, but as soon as the husband said go ahead and get in and take off or move the truck, all of a sudden I think that`s when
emotion got into play. You`re not going to move that truck and things spiraled out of control, Ashleigh.
BANFIELD: Aaron, she had anti-anxiety medication in her system, anti- histamine to make you drowsy. She had methadone in her system. That sounds to me like a defense attorney could have used that to say this accident
wasn`t the cause of my client. He was doing his job and maybe wasn`t doing his job well when he chased after her to get the car. She was drowsy and
shouldn`t have ever been behind the wheel and the result is tragic.
ROSEN: Well, Ashleigh, I would also -- I would say that almost be a secondary if not a tertiary argument, but I mean, all the years you spend
in a courtroom, you can`t tell me that a defense counsel would say that there were, you know, substances on board in her system.
We`re talking about a manslaughter charge. That was the singular count that was filed on the information in the fourth district court in Utah, was
manslaughter and to the willful and wanton disregard or unsafe practices by the repo guy.
BANFIELD: I just keep coming back to the fact that if she hadn`t taken off and given chase that the tow truck driver was behind her. Not in front of
her. You know, he wasn`t -- it`s just very frustrating that if she hasn`t done that, that you know, this wouldn`t have happened. And now a man can
end up in prison for between one and 15 years. Aaron, I got to leave it there, but thank you, sir. I appreciate you coming in to give us your
expertise.
ROSEN: Thank you so much Ashleigh.
BANFIELD: Yes. It`s well researched too. I appreciate it Aaron. I want to take you to Washington State where a family had filed a restraining order
against someone they say is a danger to their child. The thing is, this dangerous person is only six.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Our kindergartner came home and told us, you know, there is a little boy at school who was chasing her around on the
playground trying to kiss her. She told us that he had pushed her up against the fence at one poit and tried to kiss her and was like pulling on
her clothes and stuff.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Emily and Patrick Piper say they asked their little girl`s school to intervene in attacks that just kept coming. But it didn`t work.
And an ensuing attack actually took two people to get the boy off their daughter. So, they thought the only way they could go forward was to ask a
judge for a restraining order.
And shockingly, you may think that`s frivolous and crazy, but the judge sure didn`t, and actually said it wasn`t frivolous. And here`s what`s even
more incredible. The parents of the boy, they agreed too. They understood. This was a problem for both families. It seems that everyone was in
agreement that the school did not do enough.
I want to bring in Peter Brill, Danny Cevallos, and Joey Jackson. So, as I see this, this is a disturbed child. This is someone who`s having a tough
time, this child. And this is a victim, a child who actually said, "Mommy, I wish I wasn`t me today." Is this really the fault of the school here?
BRILL: The school has got to step in and step in a lot harder. Schools these days are so afraid between federal privacy laws and then IEPs to take
a firm hand, and that`s what was really needed here. This was the third or fourth time that the parents had complained about this child before the
school really decided to come forward.
BANFIELD: This got to change the environment. For god sake, these are two victims. This special needs boy --
BRILL: Just take the kid out of the school. Take the kid out of the class --
BANFIELD: Yes.
BRILL: -- which they didn`t do for four times.
BANFIELD: I think this girl is traumatized and this boy is traumatized because he`s been told over and over how bad he is.
JOY JACKSON, DEFENS ATTORJNEY: It starts at home. Look, the reality is that it certainly, you know, we need the judicial system and the judicial
system has to intervene sometimes, but when you can`t control 6-year-olds, what`s it going to be when they`re 7, 8, 9, 10 when they`re juveniles?
BANFIELD: I will say this --
JACKSON: There has to be some resolutions in this issue.
BANFIELD: Home is one thing but for special needs kids, when they go to school, the school has to be there, and schools are taxed too. This is a no
win and is really tough. They didn`t end up getting a restraining order, but not because the judge disagreed.
They did move that child. Hold the thoughts for a minute. It`s a nice change of pace to see a good deed caught on a dash cam, but in any
language, what you`re about to see sounds like a hate filled rant.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Get a super good look, everybody. This is what it calls to be Spanish privileged in America.
[20:50:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BANFIELD: Sometimes you just shouldn`t Facebook live especially if you`re going to say the things that we saw posted Sandra Jametski post on Facebook
as seen on "Seattle Times" website. Have a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Get a super good look, everybody. This is what it calls to be Spanish privileged in America, yes. This is what we call
Spanish privilege. And she`s going right to where I used to live. Welcome to my neighborhood.
This lady in this freaking Nissan or man or whoever it is, they don`t have the furthest clue what it is to drive in America. This is America. We don`t
drive like that here. We don`t drive like you`re in Mexico, lady.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[20:55:03] BANFIELD: OK. She was charged with a hate crime.
CEVALLOS: Not a hate crime. They didn`t target her because of her race. She targeted her because apparently she`s a lousy driver in her opinion so,
not a hate crime.
BANFIELD: They had a car accident a year ago. She harbors this anger and she posted it and people are reacting, and that`s the hate crime
apparently.
JACKSON: Hate crime. There has to be repercussions for these actions and you have to have the deterrent value. And as were speaking before -- what
was the bail Peter?
BRILL: $500,000 for making a bad Facebook video.
JACKSON: I would have made it $750,000 deterrent value.
(CROSSTALK)
JACKSON: What kind of society have we become?
BRILL: -- sell that and raise your bill.
BANFIELD: You know what, the bad video ended up like endangering her life. That woman felt afraid because of everything that happened online
afterwards. Her child was in the car.
JACKSON: That`s not a hate crime.
BANFIELD: The victim`s child was riding in the car.
BRILL: She hated her, but it wasn`t a hate crime. There is a difference.
BANFIELD: I got to leave it there. I love you guys. No hate here.
JACKSON: We`ll be debating throughout the night.
BANFIELD: Thanks guys. Thank you all for watching as well. We`ll see you back here 8:00 tomorrow. "FORENSIC FILES" starts now.
[21:00:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
