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Crime and Justice With Ashleigh Banfield
Stranger Killing in Atlanta; Man Shot to Death After Non-Fatal Accident With 4-year-old Boy; Sorority Death; Shower Shooting; Caught in Tape; Violent Home Invasion; Dramatic Pursuit on Video. Aired 8-9p ET
Aired April 04, 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): A beautiful attorney shot in the back as she crossed a busy street in broad daylight.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who ever did this is sick and needs to be caught.
BANFIELD: Her killer casually walks away from the execution.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He clearly didn`t care and wasn`t too concerned about being seen.
BANFIELD: Now the city of Atlanta bewildered and demanding, Find that killer.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We will do the best that we can to get him in custody.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I killed him. He dead. He dead.
BANFIELD: A stunning admission after a little boy is accidentally hit by a car.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The dude that hit you by the car, he dead.
BANFIELD: Police say the boy`s father may have forced the driver out of the car and shot him dead point-blank.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: His arms just dropped, and there was no life in him anymore. They shot him again.
BANFIELD: Now that father may never see his son again without bars between them.
Imagine coming home and finding a drunk guy taking a shower.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Unreal.
BANFIELD: It happened to one home owner when he says he saw a tipsy teacher.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just the wrong place at the wrong time.
BANFIELD: But instead of calling 911, police say the owner opened fire.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It`s crazy to me that he didn`t call 911 when he left.
BANFIELD: Should he be charged with murder?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let me see your hands!
BANFIELD: Violent confrontation.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get out of the car now!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get out of the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) car!
BANFIELD: Police try to stop a woman trying to skip out on her plastic surgery bill.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get out of the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) car!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stop the car!
BANFIELD: Tonight, is she still wearing the hospital gown she left in?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Evan is the sweetest (INAUDIBLE)
BANFIELD: Beaten and left for dead.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We`re having a very difficult time just understanding why someone would do this.
BANFIELD: A 15-year-old viciously attacked after leaving his JV baseball game.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The entire left side of his face is fractured.
BANFIELD: Even worse, the gangsters who did it are still out there tonight.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: His face is telling a story.
BANFIELD: A mugshot that could make Stephen King shudder. What this man said to his victim before his close-up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Hello, everyone. I`m Ashleigh Banfield. This is PRIMETIME JUSTICE.
It is in our DNA as Americans to solve a crime when it happens, find the perp, find the motive, make him pay. Don`t get me wrong, there are some
crimes that leave us stumped. Can`t find the guy, can`t serve up justice. But there are few crimes that leave us simply gob-smacked, crimes so
random, so pointless, so cruel and so sad.
That`s what happened to Trinh Huynh, a young and beautiful lawyer who just took the last steps of her life crossing a street in Atlanta. But she was
not hit by a car. She was shot by a complete stranger, an executioner who just calmly walked up to her out of the blue, aimed his pistol at her back
and pulled the trigger, broad daylight, in front of stunned onlookers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LT. RICARDO VAZQUEZ, ATLANTA POLICE DEPARTMENT: At about 7:40 AM, we responded to the intersection of Peachtree Road and Peachtree Place to a
shooting incident. At that incident location, an Asian female was shot multiple times in the intersection. She was transported to Grady Hospital,
and she did die at Grady Hospital.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Why would anyone execute a perfect stranger in the street, because there appears to be no connection between Trinh Huynh, the lawyer,
and her killer.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VAZQUEZ: She was targeted. It was (INAUDIBLE) it was random. We believe that she definitely -- he follows. We see her -- him following her in
another piece of video. And so we at this point in time -- we definitely believe that she was a target. Why she was a target, we do not know that
yet.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: So all of the witnesses who saw this, and indeed the rest of us, are left with a jaw-dropping mystery tonight. But we are also left with
this videotape, and it is this tape that just might help us find the perp, find the motive, make him pay.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VAZQUEZ: He was very calm before the shooting incident, and then even though he runs after the shooting incident, he again slows back down and
just starts to walk away. So again, it wasn`t a big effort to get away. He wanted to kind of just seamlessly blend into whatever was going on in
that area in the morning.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Trinh Huynh never had a chance to run from her killer. Now her killer might not have a chance to run from justice because just in the last
few hours, police think they may have found their man. They pulled over 39-year-old Raylon Browning after running a red light. Lo and behold,
Browning was also wanted in the stabbing of two other people. And when they searched inside of his car, they found the gun that they think was
used to kill Trinh Huynh.
[20:05:06]Joining me now, Tina Douglas. She`s an anchor/reporter for news radio 106.7 in Atlanta. Tina, it is sort of astounding to think how lucky,
how lucky they got. But for that red light, would they have not found this man?
TINA DOUGLAS, NEWSRADIO 105.7: Probably not, not as quickly as they did. You know, a lot of police work comes by happenstance and just a little
luck. In this case, Cobb County police had pulled Mr. Browning over for running a red light, and come to find out he was wanted for a prior
incident just the day before the shooting on aggravated assault charges. So once running his name, they realized he was wanted. At that point,
though, had no idea of his connection with the shooting of Mrs. Huynh.
BANFIELD: So do we know, Tina, if he is being cooperative, if he has said anything?
DOUGLAS: At this point, we don`t know from what officers told us in a news conference earlier today, was that Mr. Browning had had several arrests,
nothing violent, though, in the past, and had kind of always had more or less a violent reaction with police officers.
BANFIELD: Tina, the $64,000 question. Trinh Huynh was just on the street in a really nice part of Atlanta with people everywhere in broad daylight,
and the shooter shot her in the back. And everyone is mystified. Is this suspect shedding any light on why this happened?
DOUGLAS: Well, at this point, we really don`t have a lot of information on that, or what his relationship was with Mrs. Huynh or if he even really
knew her. That`s the, you know, $1,000 question. Was there a relationship? Was there a prior relationship between the two, either
legally or personally? That part of this whole equation, we just don`t know.
BANFIELD: I mean, it just seems so incredibly mystifying. I want to bring in Marc Harrold. He`s an attorney and a former police officer in Atlanta.
Marc, thanks so much for being with us.
I mean, this is so stunning, especially in the -- I know this part of Atlanta. And not to suggest that crime can`t happen anywhere, it can. But
when it happens in a spot like this in broad daylight with people walking to and from their businesses, it sort of brings the city to a halt. How
are people feeling about this in that town?
MARC HARROLD, FORMER ATLANTA POLICE OFFICER: Well, I`m sure it was an absolutely shocking crime to the people in that area. I think that right
there, Peachtree and Peachtree Square, it`s 8:00 in the morning, very busy part of town. And I just can`t imagine the people that this all of a
sudden happened, this completely what looks like a random act. I think she was the intended victim. But from anyone looking on or at least the
initial investigation, he just walked up her and shot her in the back of the head.
I can only imagine the type of, you know, fear in that neighborhood if somebody does this. I`m glad he is in custody. Looks like Cobb County did
a nice job with the police work, and it was somewhat fortunate that he ran the red light up in Cobb County north of Atlanta. But absolutely. I mean,
I can imagine how the city feels with this type of crime right there in broad daylight at 8:00 in the morning.
BANFIELD: So the deputy chief, Darryl Tolleson, actually talked about that -- that red light run and the huge lucky break where they actually
apprehended this guy. At the time, they had no idea that they had the person they were looking for in Trinh Huynh`s death. They grabbed the guy
who ran a red light. They found something else.
I want to have the deputy chief explain that part of it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DEPUTY CHIEF DARRYL TOLLESON, ATLANTA POLICE DEPARTMENT: Raylon Browning, 39, or Roswell`s being charged with murder and is now in custody. Last
evening around 9:00 PM, Browning ran a red light in Cobb County. Cobb County PD made a routine traffic stop on him. They learned that he was
wanted by APD. Browning was arrested by Cobb County on the scene. Our suspect, Mr. Brown (ph), was already wanted by APD for aggravated assault
charges that stem from an altercation he had on April 2nd.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: So Marc, look, with this much of a mystery still hanging, do they now have to turn their attention to the why? Do they now have to
investigate and figure out what on earth the motive would be because who would believe this could actually happen?
HARROLD: Yes, I think they`ll definitely turn to motive. They`ll try to figure out if there is a connection. There`s also the that there will be a
connection that was in the shooter`s head that doesn`t really exist. In other words, I think she was definitely the intended victim. Whether this
is some sort of a mental health problem, whether this is a schizophrenic, whether this is somebody who has serious problems who either has gone
untreated or off their medication -- and I`m not -- I`m purely speculating.
But with an individual like this who at least somewhat calmly walks away, who`s pulled over later in the day wearing the same clothes, doesn`t seem
to be any rhyme or reason with such a calculated what we would usually call, you know, an assassination or an execution, given the fact that
there`s just nothing leading to this, there may be a mental health issue to this, or at least that may be part of it.
But absolutely. As the deputy chief says -- Deputy Chief Tolleson said, it seems like a routine traffic stop. But you realize there is no such thing
as a routine traffic stop. They pulled somebody over for a red light. He had a weapon. He was somebody who shot somebody in the back of the head
and stabbed two people a couple of days earlier or a day earlier.
[20:10:12]So it`s very fortunate that he`s off the street. Clearly, he went from stabbing to shooting someone in the back of the head. There`s no
indication that he would have stopped, so I`m glad he`s in custody.
BANFIELD: Well, he`s in custody, he`s not convicted yet. So let`s give him his day in court before we ascribe all these crimes to him. But I will
say this. The deputy chief had a whole lot to say about him at his press conference, and he wasn`t mincing words. Have a listen to him talking
about that very thing you just said, Marc, that whole prior incident of the stabbings that happened before Trinh Huynh was shot. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOLLESON: (INAUDIBLE) stabbing. He actually stabbed two people up in 1180 West Peachtree Street. He was doing some contract work up there, we
understand, and he knew the people he got into an altercation with. That`s how we actually got the warrant for him by name because the victims knew
him and gave us his name then and there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Want to bring in my attorneys, defense attorney Caroline Polisi and CNN and HLN legal analyst Joey Jackson. So you have the video, walking
to, walking from. You have the police pulling him over, finding a gun they say was the gun used in this incident. And you have witnesses in broad
daylight who saw all of this. This is an uphill battle for this man.
JOEY JACKSON, CNN/HLN LEGAL ANALYST: It certainly looks this way, Ashleigh. And you know, you mention this part of Atlanta. I`m familiar
with it, as are you, Peachtree -- it`s a seminal (ph) street there.
And you wonder what the back story is in terms of what, if any, relationship? Was it a stalker? Was it a client? What actually happened
here? Now, from a legal perspective, of course, we know that we don`t have to establish motive, right? There`s not motive required. All that needs
to be established is that he`s the one.
But if you piece together everything you said and provided the ballistics match with the gun that they found, the body type matches in terms of look
at the surveillance tape and look at your suspect, then it`s going to be very problematic for him to overcome this.
BANFIELD: I would agree with you in most cases, because there`s some nexus in most of those cases. And OK, so we don`t have a motive but they knew
each other and they`d been in a -- you know, a dispute in the past.
This is the kind of thing where you absolutely are gob-smacked about why. He had no idea who she was, by all accounts. She`s walking across the
street. It is broad daylight. There are people walking across the street, as well. And he goes up to her back with the pistol and allegedly takes
her down!
So is that the kind of motive? You kind of have to help me get past this.
CAROLINE POLISI, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, as Joey said, a motive is not necessarily an element of this offense that the prosecution is going to
have to prove. But certainly, the back story is going to be a key element that any jury is going to consider when -- I think when you get to the
sentencing stage here. So once we find out more about the background between these two, you know, there could be mitigating circumstances
involved. There may be circumstances that make this even a more horrific crime. So we have to wait and see.
BANFIELD: For every mitigating circumstance, I got a family member of Trinh Huynh who will be in that courtroom to unmitigate the mitigation.
JACKSON: Especially when it`s in the back, Ashleigh. I mean, you know...
BANFIELD: Oh, my God! By the way, Trinh Huynh, a lawyer, like you guys. She was beloved in this community, unbelievably well educated. You know,
she was part of the pan-Asian community in Atlanta, a professional association. I mean, this was really a tragic loss for this town.
JACKSON: Went to Princeton, went to Emory law school, by all accounts was doing wonderful work as an attorney. You just wonder how do these things
happen and why do they need to happen?
(CROSSTALK)
JACKSON: Scratch your head.
BANFIELD: Scratch your head. Hold that thought for a moment.
Vigilante justice or just plain, old-fashioned murder -- police suspect that a dad took the law into his own hands after a driver hit his young
son, and now he`s facing murder. But there is quite a twist.
Plus, what is up with the grin on the suspect straight out of "The Shining"? Take a close look. Why police say he probably shouldn`t be
smiling at all.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:18:12]BANFIELD: Emotions always run high when a child is hit by a car. Entire neighborhoods can erupt into chaos, a flurry of 911 calls, and
depending on the scene, an apologetic driver who stops or a heartless one who doesn`t.
Jamie Urton was the driver who stopped after a 4-year-old boy darted out into the street and was hit. Jamie did not run. He did the right thing.
But Jamie Urton has paid a terrible price for it. He was grief-stricken and terribly apologetic. But nonetheless, he was attacked by three men who
forced him out of his car and onto his hands and knees. Point-blank he was shot summary execution-style right there on the spot.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He didn`t mean to do it. He was bawling his eyes out, saying he was sorry, begging for mercy, basically, and they shot him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: That flurry of 911 calls did, in fact, happen, but one of them stood out more than the others because police think it may be the boy`s
father they can hear. His name is Jamall Killings -- unfortunate name. They think he may be muttering admissions that he`s the one who did the
shooting.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You OK? I took care of dude. I killed him. He dead. He dead. The dude that hit you by the car, he`s dead, I killed him. I`m
serious, he dead. That`s why I tell you daddy, but you can`t run out on the street. You see that car hit you?
(END AUDIO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Jamall Killings has now turned himself in and he is being charged with murder and felonious assault. We want to start with Sarah
Brookbank, who`s a reporter for Cincinnati.com`s realtime newsdesk. Sarah, can the police be certain that that is Jamall Killings`s voice, the dad of
the little boy who was hit? Can they be certain that`s him on the other end of the line?
[20:20:14]SARAH BROOKBANK, CINCINNATI.COM (via telephone): Hi, Ashleigh. Well, they don`t know. They are saying that in some things (ph) that they
do believe that it is Jamall Killings on the phone when he is trying to reassure the child.
BANFIELD: And you heard that anonymous witness describing what she saw, that it was just a scene that was sort of a horror show with someone
pleading for his life. I want to play a little bit more of what she described happened right after that boy was hit. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You could hear him wailing, just like, I`m sorry, I`m so sorry. The guy was reaching in the window, beating him up in the
window.
He just fell. He just stopped. And they kept going at it after he stopped. They kept shooting. After his arms just dropped and there was no
life in him anymore, they shot him again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: That witness was anonymous, Sarah. And I always wonder, is there any other reason for that witness to be anonymous? Is this is the
sort of community where, you know, you just don`t rat anybody out? You don`t talk?
BROOKBANK: Well, the street that the shooting occurred on, on Kenton (ph) Street in Walnut Hills is kind of known as a bit of a cut-through street.
And there have been other situations of violence in the past. In the beginning of the year, a lawyer was shot on his way home during a New
Year`s Eve party, I believe.
BANFIELD: So I want to play this random interview that a reporter was able to get just after this had happened, interviewing this father, Jamall
Killings. Before Jamall Killings was ever suspected of anything, before police were looking for Jamall Killings, before Jamall Killings ever turned
himself in, he actually spoke to a reporter. And what he said is so curious given, what we know now. Have a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAMALL KILLINGS, FATHER CHARGED WITH MURDER: I apologize for you guys` loss. I do not condone violence. I don`t teach my kids violence. That
should never have happened. I don`t have any information. I don`t know anything about it. Unfortunate situation and unfortunate events, but I
hope we all can learn from this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Sarah, not sure if he really regrets doing that now, given the trouble that he`s in. But there is still one other person who they are
seeking tonight, am I correct? There`s still someone on the run?
BROOKBANK: Yes, you are correct.
BANFIELD: Who is that person, and what do they suspect he`s guilty of?
BROOKBANK: Right. So the other person in the case is considered armed and dangerous. It`s Deonte Baber. They have been looking for him since last
Friday. And he is, again, wanted for murder, as well.
BANFIELD: I want to bring back in Joey Jackson and Caroline Polisi. There was something that stood out to me when I saw the fact pattern in this
crime. And that was that Jamie Urton did the right thing. He stopped. A little boy was hit, and I`m happy to say that little boy was not killed.
He was treated. He was released. He`s going to be OK. It was a serious injury, but he`s going to be OK. But Jamie Urton was killed.
And doesn`t that put a chilling effect on anyone else out there who may unfortunately find themselves in an accident -- again, an accident -- and
they are too terrified to stop now because of the story of Jamie Urton?
JACKSON: It absolutely does, right? I mean, here`s a person who did the absolute right thing, saw that there was an error, what happened, someone
was hit, got out of the car or at least was forced out of the car but stopped.
And so now you have a situation he gets out of the car is pulled out and the other passenger is. He`s told to get on the ground, and he`s shot
multiple times.
And I`ll tell you something else about that video you showed concerning his statement. That was somewhat contradictory. I killed him, I killed him.
Then, I don`t know anything about it. I don`t condone violence, anything else -- those voices sound strikingly familiar, don`t they?
BANFIELD: Voice experts coming in...
(LAUGHTER)
(CROSSTALK)
POLISI: What`s interesting about this case, if you listen to the entirety of that 911 call, you`ll hear that a man who identifies himself as Jamall
Killings says in the beginning, It wasn`t me. Somebody else shot this man. It`s only later in the recording when he`s apparently talking to his 4-
year-old son that it actually comes out that he says he did it. And I think a good defense attorney could make a case that this was perhaps
grandstanding.
(CROSSTALK)
JACKSON: ... or were you lying then?
POLISI: ... talking to the son. He could have been -- you know, you could have been trying to comfort the son.
BANFIELD: So just so we know what kind of person Jamie Urton was before he was executed, you know, outside of his car, John Mitchell (ph) is with the
Cincinnati Association for the Blind. And Jamie Urton worked for the Cincinnati Association for the Blind. And here`s what John has to say
about his former co-worker.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[20:25:00]UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Jamie was a very kind, helpful person. Certainly, he`ll be missed in the workplace, but he will really be missed
as a friend and somebody we could count on and a good guy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: So Caroline, good guy, stopped, thought he was doing the right thing, paid the price. Could someone in a hit-and-run going forward cite
this case and say, I was too afraid to stop, given what I`ve seen happen on the news?
POLISI: You know, I wouldn`t be surprised. People will try anything...
(CROSSTALK)
POLISI: I don`t think it`s a good...
BANFIELD: Hey -- hey, and I don`t mean that in a sinister way. I mean, for many years, you pulled over on the road if you were a single female
driving at night if you saw the flashing lights behind you. And then came the advice, No, don`t, put your flashers on, drive slowly to the nearest
lighted area where there are people and then speak to the police because you don`t know who might have those flashing lights. And I see this as
similar.
POLISI: Yes. Maybe we`ll see some case law popping up citing this as a defense. I mean, it certainly wouldn`t be the first time.
JACKSON: But I think there`s a credibility determination to be made, right? If you go and you`re never found and the police come find you, you
say (INAUDIBLE) I couldn`t stop. I feared for my life. That`s one thing. If you get to a safe location and you call and you say, Look, something
terrible happened, I want to report it. I was fearful. That`s quite another. And so I think that`s the more likely circumstance that carries
credibility, anyway.
BANFIELD: Sarah Brookbank, do you think that they are closing in on Deonte Baber, and do you think at this point that Jamall Killings is probably
getting the squeeze play -- You`re in custody, he`s not. You give us info, he comes in, your life gets better?
Do you suspect, Sarah, that`s what`s happening right now?
BROOKBANK: Well, I`m not quite sure. I do know that Jamall Killings did turn himself in this afternoon to police and that police have been
searching for Baber since Friday. Other than that, I can`t really speculate.
BANFIELD: I can imagine that they are looking for him and that if and when they find him -- maybe, Joey Jackson, you think it`ll be one of these
defenses? I didn`t do it, he did it. I didn`t do it, he did it.
JACKSON: It`s got to be, right? Because...
BANFIELD: Yes, I think absolutely.
JACKSON: ... someone`s got to accept responsibility, or both of them are going to spend a lifetime in jail.
BANFIELD: Yes, forgot about that whole...
JACKSON: They may anyway.
BANFIELD: ... this about those witnesses who called 911. There may be someone in that mix who actually saw the triggerman.
POLISI: The calls are contradictory.
JACKSON: Or a number of people in that mix.
BANFIELD: Right. All right, well, we`re going to leave it there. Thank you, Sarah Brookbank. And of course, Joey and Caroline, I`m going to ask
you to stand by.
An investigation`s under way in Missouri after a disturbing discovery there. Police confirm that a second human skull has been found in just two
days in the same wooded area where a skull was discovered yesterday.
Police were called after a mushroom hunter came across human bones. Police say no identification has been made at this time, but CNN affiliate KNBC
reports the families of two local missing girls have been called by the police, Kara Kopetsky and Jessica Runions. Kopetsky was last seen in May
of 2007 after leaving high school, and Jessica Runions disappeared last September. We are going to continue to follow this development.
In southern California, police are searching for two men who beat a 15- year-old high school baseball player and left him for dead. Evan Jimenez was reportedly walking home just before midnight when the men attacked the
boy with bottles and kicked him and stomped him and choked him. Good Samaritan found him in the condition he was, took him to the hospital,
where he was in intensive care with multiple fractures.
I think the picture has a thousand words attached to it. Police say his road to recovery will be a long on. They are hoping the road to finding
who did it, reportedly gang members, will not be quite so long.
A 19-year-old was arrested after police say he brutally stabbed a young woman, allegedly telling her that he had to, quote, "make a sacrifice."
And if that is not chilling enough, here`s the photo that police say was taken shortly after they arrested him. Meet Benito Crazanto (ph). That`s
how he chose to pose for his shot,
He`s facing charges of attempted first degree murder, aggravated assault and robbery. He also goes by the name Phil (ph). According to the arrest
report, he texted a female friend, saying he was going to come by her apartment to say good-bye because he was moving to New York. When he
showed up, that woman says he pulled out a gun, and the next thing she knew, she was being stabbed and had no idea why.
It is doubtful that he will be making his way to New York any time soon. He`s currently behind bars, making an appearance here and there. The
victim remains in the hospital, condition stabilized. But that picture will certainly live in perpetuity.
A truly bizarre death, a beautiful 20-year-old college student dies three days after choking during a pancake eating contest in Connecticut.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[20:30:00] BANFIELD: Caitlin Nelson was participating in the contest with other fraternity and sorority members at Sacred Heart University. This
happened last week and the Fairfield police lieutenant, Bob Kalamaras, says that that junior had eaten about four of the five pancakes when all of a
sudden she became distressed.
BOB KALAMARAS, LIEUTENANT, FAIRFIELD POLICE DEPARTMENT: Her airway was closed. And it was difficult for officers responding to establish an
airway.
BANFIELD: They are saying students and first responders tried to save her. Multiple students called 911.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Fairfield 911, do you have an emergency?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Someone`s -- someone`s choking. Someone`s choking in the UC, please hurry. Um, Sacred Heart University.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Does anyone know how to do the Heimlich maneuver there?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Uh, yes, we have a lot of first responders out. Like first responder people, um.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nurses here, and they`re already trying to do stuff.
BANFIELD: Caitlin was taken to a local hospital and was rushed to New York City Medical Center where she died. No official cause of death yet. But
there is such a twist to the story. Such a New York tragedy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Such a family tragedy. Caitlin is not the first in her family to die tragically. Her father was a responder on 9/11. Her father died on 9/11
in the Twin Towers trying to help others to survive. And in his obituary, Caitlin was mentioned as a 5-year-old daughter who survived her father.
What would you do if you found someone taking a shower in your house and you didn`t know that someone?
(START VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: One homeowner claimed he was so frightened that he just walked right out that door, went next door, got himself a gun, and went right back
in that door and started firing. What do you think police think about that story? What do you think should happen to him?
Plus, there are caught on tape videos but this is sort of a caught in tape, literally, weird, how this guy ended up duct taped to a pole and what the
police did when they got there.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What happened, man?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They called the cops.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[20:35:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BANFIELD: Some stories never leave you, like the terrifying home invasion last week in Seattle where those two brazen criminals busted down three
doors and finally got to their terrified victim who was hiding in her shower in her bathroom.
(START VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where are you at? (ph)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where`s it at? Where`s it at? Where`s it at ma`am, we ain`t gonna hurt you. She`s in the shower, watch out.
(CRYING)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where`s it at?
BANFIELD: They ripped the necklace right off her neck, stole her iPhone, and made a break for it. But that pesky camera that caught them in her
bedroom made for some prime media coverage for this fella. And I guess it got to be a little too much for this one. This alleged perp turned himself
into the police today.
So maybe there is one left guy to worry about in Washington State. His partner in crime however is still on the run. But it may just be a matter
of time. Not much honor among thieves these days, they say.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: But in another bathroom about 60 miles away, just three days later, another chilling moment, but maybe not so much for the guy who got
arrested. A man calls 911 to say that he has just shot and killed an intruder.
(START VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: His name is Bruce Fanning. He says he found a strange man showering at a house that he uses for business. Police say Fanning told the
stranger to get out. The intruder was Nathaniel Rosa, this man, a teacher, a beloved teacher in fact. Fanning says Rosa was drunk and that Rosa was
threatening. So Fanning made a critical decision. He left that particular (inaudible) style.
He went next door to the place where he actually lives. He got a gun. He came back and he shot Rosa right through the shower curtain, multiple
shots, dead. He eventually called 911. That eventually thing might actually be a big problem for him among other things because Fanning was arrested.
And now, he may face murder one for doing all of that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Andrew Binion is a reporter for the Kitsap Sun. He joins me on the phone from Bremerton, Washington. Andrew, thanks for being with me
tonight. What is the story about this victim, Nathaniel Rosa, being in the shower
(START VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Where clearly he wasn`t supposed to be? What`s that story?
ANDREW BINION, REPORTER FOR THE KITSAP SUN: Well, it`s unknown at this point. We haven`t seen a probable cause statement. We have seen a probable
cause statement. We don`t know what charge will come with it. But he is believed to have been at a neighbor`s house, a friend of his, a couple of
doors down. And from my understanding from the prosecutor in Mason County was that
[20:40:00] the two buildings had identical floor plans. And Mr. Rosa had at some point left his friend`s house, walked around, may have been drinking,
and found himself in this other residence. It`s not exactly clear how or why he was there but that`s what I`ve gathered from the prosecutor.
BANFIELD: And as I understand it, the floor plans are pretty much identical. So he were forcing himself
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Into the home he thinks is his friend`s, maybe he has had a few cocktails, I don`t know if that`s true, it wouldn`t be weird he would be
able to find himself to the shower and not think he is in someone else`s home.
(START VIDEO CLIP)
BINION: Yeah, if that were all true, then yeah, it would make sense why he was there. And I guess there had been some sort of disagreement with his
friend prior to him leaving. As he returned to this similar looking structure, forced his way in, but you know, there is kind of a reasonable
explanation there too that the friend might have been locking him out.
And then in the interaction with Mr. Fanning, Mr. Fanning reported that there was sort of a hostile comment made from Mr. Rosa, I guess, if you
accept all those facts, then it could have been Mr. Rosa thought he was talking to his friend who he had been in a disagreement with.
BANFIELD: My goodness. But it is true that he left that particular apartment, that particular residence, he was using it as business. He left,
he went next door. He got his own gun and then made that decision to come back. I want to bring Joey Jackson into this and Caroline Polisi because
that to me, is the crux of the case.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: You left the place, you felt scared, you came back into the place where you felt scared.
JACKSON: Yeah. It makes no sense. Look, in the event that he was scared, you would have left and kept going. He didn`t leave and keep going. He
left, he got a gun, and returned. And so that is problematic. He goes to the issue of premeditation. He knew what he was doing. He had the common
sense to go, and then he went.
He grabbed the gun, he came back, he shot, but didn`t have the common sense to call 911 or to get authorities to come and assist him. And to me, that
elevates it to first-degree murder, which by the way has no practical effect but for second-degree murder, you can serve life without parole. But
on the principal of the matter, it is premeditation, period.
POLISI: (inaudible) castle doctrine.
BANFIELD: You know, so many of these states, you are allowed to be in your castle and if someone comes into your castle, you`re allowed to shoot that
person in your castle. Can you leave your castle and re-castle and still use the castle doctrine?
POLISI: Well, look, Washington State has notoriously robust stand your ground laws, meaning that it is appropriate to use lethal force in certain
circumstances. Washington State also says that one isn`t required to retreat in the face of imminent danger. As you know, the issue is here he
did retreat, right? He went back to his other home to get his gun and potentially could have picked up the phone to call 911.
Now, I think what the defense is going to say, is that this man feared for his life. And so he was running back to a different (inaudible) style, but
he didn`t have any time to pick up the phone to call 911. He feared for his life. If you found a man in your shower, what would you think?
JACKSON: But he had time to get a gun. He had time to return. The castle doctrine, okay, there is no duty to retreat, but the castle doctrine, you
can protect your home, but it`s not a license to kill.
BANFIELD: Right. So here is another question I have for you. I started this segment with that other story from Thursday where we showed you that video
of those two home intruders that terrorized that woman in her shower. The police tell us that that was so media saturated, that may have been one of
the reasons that the guy in the light colored shirt who comes in lighter or light jacket turned himself in.
Is it so far off base that this man, Bruce Fanning, had watched this story play out three days before in the heavy media saturation in this market, 60
miles away, three days prior to him finding someone in his shower? Could you as a defense attorney say that man saw what could happen when intruders
are in your shower?
POLISI: Absolutely. I would use that 100 percent. And one of the key issues in this case is gonna be whether or not the violence inflicted was
proportionate to the perceived threat. So absolutely, Ashleigh, that . goes to the perceived threat right there. Three days ago, I saw this issue
happening in my home, I feared for my life.
JACKSON: Point of order! Point of order! Would you not then, if you saw this video, when you were so scared, keep running, keep running, keep
running.
BANFIELD: Yeah, I would run.
JACKSON: Don`t get a gun and come back.
BANFIELD: I would run. And shooting through the shower curtain either is very, you know.
JACKSON: Good defense. (inaudible).
BANFIELD: . very hitch cock (ph). All right. Thanks, guys. A plastic surgeon`s office is not normally a place where the police end up having to
be called. A brand new body cam video shows two officers
(START VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: In some kind of danger when a suspected thief, yes, plastic surgery thief, tried to make a run for it. Wow.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stop the car!
[20:45:00] Stop the car! Stop the car!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BANFIELD: I am sure that you have heard of dine and dash before, having plastic surgery and then making a run for it without paying, kind of brings
things to a whole new level, don`t it?
(START VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: In Miami, a woman allegedly tried to pull that very stunt off at a plastic surgery clinic.
[20:50:00] The staff at the little grew a little suspicious as Paula Johnson reportedly tried to pay for her procedure using someone else`s
identity. That might just be because two years earlier, she racked up a bill over $10,000 and did not pay it.
This time when the authorities arrived at the clinic, things heated up. You can see her walking by here in a light blue hospital gown as staff point
her out to the police and then as you are about to see, Johnson makes a break for it, bolting out the back door in her gown, and then she hops over
a railing, and she hops into her Mercedes. And guess what? Still in the hospital gown, stuck indoor, take a look.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That`s her? In the gown.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, she`s running, she`s running.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She just ran downstairs.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Coming towards you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Subject is running.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let me see your hands. Get out of the car! Get out of the car now! Get out of the car now! Get out of the car now! Get out of the
car now!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stop the car! Stop the car!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: So that happened. With me, Karen Curtis, news anchor at WFTL Radio in Boynton Beach, Florida. Karen Curtis, what the heck is going on in
Miami? They caught her eventually. But she was on the run for a while. How did she end up in custody?
KAREN CURTIS, NEWS ANCHOR AT WFTL RADIO: She exactly turned herself in. Believe it or not. I mean, the price of beauty. This story is amazing.
(START VIDEO CLIP)
CURTIS: And those officers, the south Miami police officers said, you know, they would have been justified actually shooting here. I mean, there was a
bullet hole. If you see in video, there is a bullet hole in the hood of that Mercedes, but that was not from this incident.
BANFIELD: Oh, dear. Are you kidding me?
CURTIS: And the paper gown is hanging out of the door. She rushed to get into that vehicle to get away from them. They came in with body cams
rolling. This was just released yesterday. And this happened last week. She had gone to the Result MD plastic surgery clinic with her friend.
Two years after, she allegedly stiffed them for $12,000. She went in for a liposuction consult and the employees recognized her and they looked in
their file and they called the police and said this is the same girl. So they showed up and she saw them and took off.
BANFIELD: Certain amount of
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: You know, gal, shall we say, to go to the same place where you allegedly scammed what you said $12,000. I think this procedure was $11,000
that she was trying to rack up with the fake I.D. I guess I don`t even have a question for that because I`m astounded just two years later she didn`t
think someone would be actually be wiser. P.S., she`s very pretty. It`s not like she doesn`t stand out. She`s lovely.
CURTIS: Well, she is charged tonight with
(START VIDEO CLIP)
CURTIS: Two counts of assault on a police officer and being held for $21,000 bail in jail right now.
BANFIELD: Okay. I want to bring in Joey Jackson and Caroline Polisi on this one because there is a -- I mean, I hate to see it. It`s almost like a
movie.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: If you want a jury to see exactly how this all played out between the body cams and everything else, you literally have it moment by moment.
It`s a little hard to argue this happened.
JACKSON: Just a little hard. You know, I`m surprised also that the bond is only $21,000, that`s number one.
BANFIELD: You are?
JACKSON: I am. I mean, you know, they have her dead to rights. Number two, the restraint of the officers, I mean I have to give them a lot of credit.
BANFIELD: Yeah.
JACKSON: . for not firing. A car can be construed as a dangerous weapon, right? Therefore.
BANFIELD: They got hit.
JACKSON: Yeah, so kudos to the police.
POLISI: Yeah, thank God for the body cam.
BANFIELD: Right here. They both get struck by the car as it goes by. A little shaky but both were banged up by the car. They`re okay. If you ever
got banged by a car going by, it may look easy, it doesn`t feel easy. P.S., she has a Mercedes, she has some money.
POLISI: Right.
JACKSON: (inaudible).
POLISI: And has a gunshot in the hood, right?
(LAUGHTER)
BANFIELD: Okay. That part I didn`t know. Karen Curtis, you`re awesome for just bringing in the details. The gunshot in the hood of the Mercedes, we
didn`t know about that. So, thank you.
(LAUGHTER)
CURTIS: She does have a record. She has a record for grand theft, disorderly conduct, criminal mischief, and throwing a deadly missile. I
don`t know what that`s about.
BANFIELD: Dear God, the hits keep coming. All right. Karen, you`re invited back any day.
CURTIS: Thank you.
BANFIELD: Appreciate it. Karen Curtis, joining us from WFTL. So how does one end up a couple feet off the ground duct taped to a pole?
(START VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Here`s a hint. Do not lose a bet to your really good friends.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[20:55:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BANFIELD: Good rule of thumb, don`t make bets with teenagers over basketball or actually anything for that matter.
(START VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: In (inaudible) Point, Houston, the police responded to this. There was a report that a young man was taped to a traffic sign. Of course,
they came and found the young man taped to a traffic sign. Duct tape. He lost the bet on last week`s Rockets-Warriors NBA game and letting his buddy
duct taped him to the sign was the payout.
The officers reportedly gave the teenagers a warning. They even helped get the kid down. And those nice officers helped him get home too.
[21:00:00] So nice.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Thank you, Joey. Thank you, Caroline, for being here tonight. Appreciate it. Thank you, everyone. We`ll see you back here tomorrow night
at 8:00 for PRIMETIME JUSTICE. "FORENSIC FILES" is up next.
END
