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Crime and Justice With Ashleigh Banfield
5-year-old Boy Vanishes After Disneyland Trip With Dad/Woman Chokes to Death During Oral Sex. Aired 8-9p ET
Aired May 18, 2017 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANA ESTEVEZ, MOTHER OF MISSING CHILD: Be brave, honey!
ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, HOST (voice-over): A mother`s heartbreaking plea.
ESTEVEZ: Know that Mama and a lot of people are working very hard to bring you home.
BANFIELD: Her 5-year-old son missing, last seen with his dad at Disney.
ESTEVEZ: It has been 32 days.
BANFIELD: But Dad claims he was knocked unconscious, and when he woke, the boy was gone.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And the child was nowhere in sight.
BANFIELD: Police not so sure.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Law enforcement agencies from Los Angeles to Santa Barbara have been working tirelessly in an effort to find this missing
child.
BANFIELD: Tonight, a troubling find inside his car. But what does it mean for the boy?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) defense.
BANFIELD: Not your typical decision for a judge in a murder case.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is it going to be wrapped or is going to be plastic?
BANFIELD: But this man claims the court needs to see his manhood to prove he didn`t choke his girlfriend, she choked on him. So why didn`t he call
for help?
An American hero risks his life in Afghanistan, even volunteers to more than double his tour. And what thanks does he get for his service?
Airline fees for an overweight bag Seriously, United, 200 bucks?
KELLY MCGILLIS, ACTRESS: I just don`t want anyone to know that I`ve fallen.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That`s how most people remember Kelly McGillis for her starring role in "Top Gun."
MCGILLIS: Right now! Help me! Help me!
BANFIELD: But her voice on a 911 call is no act, and it`s nothing short of scary.
911 OPERATOR: What is your address?
MCGILLIS: (INAUDIBLE)
911 OPERATOR: What is your address?
BANFIELD: Now she`s fighting back in court, saying a stalker broke into her home and attacked her by surprise.
Bodycam video you have to see to believe. An officer just trying to help a motorist comes face-to-face with a semiautomatic rifle! How his quick
thinking saved his life.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Hello, everyone. I`m Ashleigh Banfield. This is PRIMETIME JUSTICE.
Anyone who has suddenly looked around and noticed your child is no longer next to you knows that instant panic that sets in. If that child still is
out of sight for 30 seconds, that panic turns into fear. And God forbid that stretches to 30 minutes, and you are at desperation level!
So now just imagine 30 days. Fair to say, all of those emotions give way to utter despair. That`s how long 5-year-old Aramazd Andressian`s mom has
been looking for him. He disappeared April 21st, two days after he apparently went on a trip to Disneyland with his dad.
Dad was supposed to hand off little Aramazd to his mom because that`s the custody deal they had, but he didn`t. Instead, Dad was found unconscious
next to his car in a park at 6:00 o`clock in the morning, and wouldn`t you know it, he had no idea where his little boy was.
He told the police that he must have been attacked, but the cops were not so sure. They found prescription pills in his car, not in his name, and
the car smelled so strongly of gas, on further inspection, they discovered the interior and exterior had been soaked in it. The gas can was still
inside the car.
So they hauled Aramazd, senior, in on suspicion of child endangerment and abduction. Bail was $10 million. But then they let him go just three days
later, saying there just was not enough evidence to charge him with anything.
To add to the drama in this case, Aramazd and his wife are in the middle of a contentious divorce, which is never good at a time like this. The boy`s
mom came forward yesterday for the first time with a public appeal for help.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANA ESTEVEZ, MOTHER: My son`s disappearance is my worst nightmare. It has been 32 days almost three hours since I last hugged my son, kissed him, or
told him how much I love him! There are no words to describe how devastated and heartbroken I am! Although I do not know his whereabouts, I
do believe that Peaky is alive, misses his family and desperately wants to come home.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: And today, police thought they might just have a break in this case. Responding to a tip, 80 officers again searched that park where
Aramazd, Sr., was found unconscious beside his car. They used drones. They used cadaver dogs. They tried to locate that little boy, or they
tried to locate that little boy`s body.
[20:05:16]Nerissa Knight is a correspondent with "Crime Watch Daily." She joins me live from Los Angeles. Any luck? Any resolution to today`s
search?
NERISSA KNIGHT, "CRIME WATCH DAILY": Well, Ashleigh, this search went on for eight hours. Many were gathered there. There were 80 members of the
Los Angeles County sheriff`s department and the South Pasadena police. They were searching via land and air. They had drones in the air, these
cadaver-sniffing dogs, as you said. They had crews on the ground. They had even on horseback.
And this isn`t the first time they searched this area. I was there right the day he went missing. That weekend, they searched for hours on end and
overnight. They had helicopters up. They were hoping that if he was there, if there was any sign of him now with the cadaver-sniffing dogs, it
would turn up. They had a credible tip, we`re told, that was not related to yesterday when the mother, Ana Estevez, came forward and spoke at that
emotional plea for Peaky, as they call 5-year-old Aramazd Andressian, who has, as you said, been missing since April 21st when he was last seen.
April 22nd, his mother reported him missing after his father, senior, Aramazd Andressian, Sr....
BANFIELD: OK.
KNIGHT: ... was found at that park.
BANFIELD: So Nerissa, tell me about Aramazd, Sr. He`s let out after three days. They say they don`t have enough to go on. I don`t understand that
because I`ve seen people convicted on less than that. But he`s just out and about walking free, no bail, no nothing, no passport, nothing?
KNIGHT: Well, they had him, as you said, Ashleigh, for three days. They brought him in for questioning, and since he has been brought in, he`s not
been forthcoming, according to investigators. They say he`s been giving misleading statements, inconsistencies. Now he`s not cooperating at all.
After he was released after being held on child endangerment and child abduction, then released because of insufficient evidence, he`s gotten a
lawyer. He lawyered up, and now he`s not even talking.
BANFIELD: Well, that`s not weird. If I were him, I`d have had a lawyer on hour one. But what about this notion -- they called him a person of
interest right off the bat. Did they dump that title, or do they consider him a person of interest in this?
KNIGHT: No, ma`am. He is still a person of interest, according to the LA County Sheriff`s Department. They are still keeping an eye on him. The
investigation continues. They`re working this. The search continues. And they say he`s a person of interest because he was the last person seen with
his son.
BANFIELD: Sure.
KNIGHT: Aramazd was seen on April 21st at 1:00 AM leaving Disneyland with his father and some other relatives and hasn`t been seen since. And his
father here, 35-year-old Aramazd`s, Sr., as you said, he was discovered at the park, Arroyo Seco Park there, passed out by his car that was doused in
gas, gasoline outside and inside the car, with matches inside, with prescription drugs inside. And he himself was on these prescription drugs,
prescribed to someone else, passed out, claiming that he had been hit in the head. Then he was checked out at a hospital, but they can`t determine
if the abrasions that he suffered were self-inflicted or at the hands of someone else (INAUDIBLE)
BANFIELD: Pretty fascinating. And I can`t imagine what Ana Estevez, that mother, is going through. You heard the top of the show. I have lost my
children for 30 seconds before. I have not lost them for 30 minutes. And I was apoplectic. So I can`t imagine what Ana`s going through and I can
only -- no, I can`t even fathom what it was like to stand in front of the press yesterday.
Let me play one more plea that she made for the rest of us to keep our eyes open for this boy. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ESTEVEZ: To my son, Papa (ph), this message is for you, my love. Be brave, honey. Know that Mama and a lot of people are working very hard to
bring you home. On April 12th, you asked me if the happiest day of my life was when you were born. My answer to you was it was the happiest day ever!
I want you to know, honey, that the second happiest day of my life will be when you come back home.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: For his part, the little boy`s father has released a statement, and I`m going to read it for you. He didn`t go before the mikes, but he
did say this. "Last time I saw my son was Saturday morning the 22nd at Arroyo Park near my home in South Pasadena. After breakfast, Aramazd, Jr.,
wanted to go to the park before we were to meet his mother before we were to meet his mother for a custody exchange at 9:00 AM. In one moment, I was
at the park with my son, and then I found myself waking up in Huntington Memorial Hospital hours later. I can only speculate that I must have been
attacked in the park, given my unresponsive state and subsequent physical condition."
[20:10:14]I want to bring in Lieutenant Joe Mendoza. He is with the Los Angeles Sheriff`s Department. Lieutenant, I am extraordinarily curious
about this man being let go after three days without any ability to charge him, given the facts that we know. And I guarantee I don`t know most of
the facts, but the gas being all throughout that car inside and out, matches, prescription drugs and a strange story, and then a man not being
cooperative with you -- that sounds like probable cause. That sounds like you can actually hold him. Why is he not being held?
LT. JOE MENDOZA, LOS ANGELES COUNTY SHERIFF`S DEPT. (via telephone): We discussed this case with South Pasadena investigators on the onset as
information was rapidly developing, and we thought that at that point, we didn`t have enough to present our case to the district court to get a
filing (ph).
One of the reasons was that Aramazd, Sr., claims his son was with him at that time on Saturday morning. However, when we started retracing his
steps, we discovered that on Thursday, when he claims to be -- I`m sorry, on Friday, when he claims to be at Lake Cachuma, with his son, we
discovered that his statements were not credible. They were actually misleading. And at that point, we couldn`t even confirm that his son was
with him on Friday.
So this investigation still continues. It`s unraveling. However, we have...
BANFIELD: Well, I hope -- listen, for your sake -- Lieutenant, all due respect, but for your sake, I sure hope that Aramazd, Sr., is sticking
around in this country because right now, he`s free to go anywhere he wants.
And you know, when you just mentioned that Lake Cachuma story, that`s another little level to this story that`s unsettling. He claims that the
day before all of this went down, as you mentioned, he was on a leisurely day with his son at Lake Cachuma recreation area, at the top of your map
there.
The problem is, reports say one witness says, Well, I think I saw a dad and a child, but another witness says they think they saw a dad with no child.
So now that`s one more notch in the case where -- look, I`m not a lawyer, but that sure looks like something you can hold this guy and charge him on.
Why couldn`t you?
MENDOZA: Well, at this point, that`s not off the table. We`re still continuing our investigation. There was also surveillance footage at the
lake that showed that Aramazd, Sr., was by himself. So we are still continuing...
BANFIELD: So he`s lying. He`s lying to you when he says, I was at the lake with my son, when the surveillance pictures show him by himself. Once
again, there`s another notch in the case against him. Again, I don`t understand why you don`t have ample material to make sure this guy doesn`t,
you know, take off and leave the country if somewhere down the road you decide to charge him.
MENDOZA: Well, I can assure you, he`s not going to take off in the country. We`re working with federal agencies, with TSA, and he will not be
leaving the country. However, he is free to travel...
BANFIELD: Is he under surveillance?
MENDOZA: He is not under surveillance at this time.
BANFIELD: So you don`t know where he is at any given time.
MENDOZA: We are right now doing investigations in an attempt to locate his son. Now, we don`t know if his son -- we`re being optimistic that his son
is alive.
BANFIELD: God, I hope so. I mean, God, I mean, we`re all optimistic that little Aramazd is still alive, but it is very unsettling to see these
details of a gas-soaked car with matches and a man who`s unconscious with prescription drugs that aren`t his own in his system.
I have a question for you about the gas. If I were to dump gas all over my car and inside my car out of a canister, I would have gasoline all over my
hands. Two questions for you. Did Aramazd, Sr. have any gasoline on his hands? And were his fingerprints all over the can, or were anyone else`s
all over that can?
MENDOZA: OK, those are details in this case at this point we`re not ready to divulge.
BANFIELD: You can`t tell me if he had gasoline on his hands? Because to me, that would be...
MENDOZA: Correct.
BANFIELD: ... a case to hold him, as well.
MENDOZA: Correct. There are certain details on this case that we`re not ready to tell the public because we`re making public appeals, and there`s
somebody out there that has information and we`re asking the public. The board of supervisors in (INAUDIBLE) country, led by Supervisor Barger,
offered a reward for $20,000 for information leading to anyone with information regarding this disappearance.
BANFIELD: You know what? Ana herself -- Lieutenant, God bless you for mentioning that. Ana herself mentioned that reward. Here`s how she --
here`s how she made her plea to the public regarding that $20,000.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ESTEVEZ: I thank the Los Angeles County board of supervisors for acknowledging this tragedy and approving the $20,000 reward for information
leading to the apprehension and/or conviction of the individuals who are concealing my son. Through the support of family and friends, a GoFundMe
account under Finding Aramazd has been created with the purpose of supplementing the reward.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[20:15:22]BANFIELD: That`s Ana Estevez. If you know anything about this case, if you think you know something about that little boy, please call
your local authorities and let them know, as well.
Tonight, an 18-year-old tourist is dead, four others are reportedly critically injured after a vehicle jumped the sidewalk and plowed into
pedestrians in New York`s famous Times Square.
Police say the driver, right here, 26-year-old Richard Rojas, tested positive for PCP and told investigators that God made him do it. He
reportedly suffers from psychological issues and has two previous drunk driving arrests.
Police say the car was speeding down 7th Avenue right through Times Square. One witness described hearing screams and then the sound of the car running
over bodies.
An accused murderer confesses to a friend that he choked his girlfriend to death, but he refuses to explain to her just how that happened. And when
you hear what his story is, safe to say you`ll be shocked.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:20:47]BANFIELD: If you get embarrassed when people talk openly about sex in detail, going on and on about their private parts, then you need to
shut off your TV right now. I`m going to give you a moment. I don`t want you to hear this stuff. Because in order for you to really understand the
murder case against Richard Patterson, I`m going to need to go into some excruciating detail about stuff we really shouldn`t be talking about and we
sure shouldn`t be showing it. And at least one judge agrees with me because she has taken her sweet time deciding whether Mr. Patterson can
drop his trousers in court and show the good people of Broward County, Florida, his manliness, his male anatomy, his penis.
It is definitely a unique defense. The 65-year-old man is on trial for killing his girlfriend. Prosecutors are trying to prove he choked 60-year-
old Francisca Marquinez to death. but Patterson says he didn`t choke her. She choked herself on him, on his outsized anatomy, to be specific. His
attorneys want the jurors to see it, to prove that it`s entirely possible that`s how it all happened.
The judge has a couple of options here, let him flash the court or maybe just show everybody a picture, or maybe just show everybody a ruler and
talk about the size, or you know what? Don`t show them anything at all. That`s on the option menu, as well.
But today in court, the prosecutors for their part started to cut down this whole sexy theory. The county`s associate medical examiner took to the
stand and said that it would take two to three minutes for someone to die that way, and that they would fight like hell.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NOURI BOKO, ASSOC. MEDICAL EXAMINER, BROWARD COUNTY: And if she cannot breathe, she`s usually start to kick and bite and -- or to do something to
prevent this blocking of the airway, try to open this airway. It`s normal reaction of any person.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Rafael Olmeda is a reporter with the "Sun Sentinel." He was in court today. He joins me live from Fort Lauderdale. OK, Rafael, I need to
let the audience know this is not such an easy case because that poor victim was left for two to three days to decompose to a point where it`s
become impossible to determine how Francisca Marquinez actually died. And today, to underscore that, those photos of her body decomposing flashed up
in open court.
I want you to take me to that moment. We`re not going to show those pictures, but tell me about what that was like today in court.
RAFAEL OLMEDA, "SUN-SENTINEL": You can`t show those pictures. They`re the kinds of things that grown adults will have nightmares about.
I`ll describe it only as briefly as I can. Her face and her neck up until her chest area were completely discolored. It was black and green and
blue. It was -- you could not recognize her face. It looked like she was wearing a mask.
They showed a closeup of her hands, and it looked like she was wearing black gloves. She wasn`t. So when they say that they were unable to see
any bruising on her neck, it wasn`t because her neck didn`t have bruises. It might have, might not have. It was definitely because you could not
have seen anything on her neck because of how discolored it had become.
BANFIELD: So Rafael, her son is in the courtroom. Her little boy was there when that happened. What did he do at that moment?
OLMEDA: Well, I need to clarify that. Her little boy is a grown man. He`s about my age.
BANFIELD: You know what? I totally am aware of that, and he is still her little boy no matter what. That young man was in a courtroom when he saw
pictures of his mother in that condition. I cannot imagine what he went through and what his reaction was.
OLMEDA: I can`t imagine what he`s going through with any of this. And I have constantly remarked to him how gracious he is being knowing the jokes,
knowing the giggles and the titters about what`s going on here and what the defense is. He has been a rock through all of this.
[20:25:06]When they showed those pictures, he`s looking at his mother. We`re looking at evidence in a murder trial. He`s looking at his mom. And
he turned from the display that was being shown to the jurors. He turned his gaze toward the defendant, and it was daggers. And it was a good thing
-- you know, they say if looks could kill. If looks could kill, he`d be on trial tomorrow because of the way he was looking at Richard Patterson.
Patterson, on the other hand, wasn`t looking at anything. He covered his eyes. He let out a slight gasp or some sound escaped from him, but he
could not look at the victim`s daughter -- the victim`s son -- excuse me -- and he could not look at the pictures. He just covered his eyes.
BANFIELD: As a reminder to our viewers, as you look at Richard Patterson on you screen, there will likely be evidence introduced in this courtroom
regarding the communications he had after Francisca Marquinez suffocated.
And here are some of the communications that he had. One with his ex- girlfriend, Holly Graff. In a sworn statement, he said, I did something terrible. I can`t go to jail. I choked her. I choked Francisca.
And in a wiretapped conversation with Holly, she said to him, Were you arguing? And Richard said, Holly, it doesn`t matter what happened. I`m
not telling you what happened because you don`t need to know, period.
And if that`s not enough, there is a text message that Patterson`s daughter actually read to the jurors. She received the text message from her dad,
her dad saying to her, Your dad did something really bad last night and I`m so sorry.
I want to bring in Danny Cevallos and Elizabeth Kelley just to sort of, like -- what is this judge? I don`t understand what she -- what she could
do in this case. If his defense is all about his manhood, his anatomy, how on earth could that key piece of evidence not be kept from the jury?
ELIZABETH KELLEY, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well...
DANNY CEVALLOS, HLN/CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Normally, when you`re dealing with these kinds of motions, the reason you show a body part like a tattoo or
something else is for identification. Say this is the person. I recognize the mole, I recognize the tattoo.
That`s not really what this motion is about. This motion is about supporting a theory that is a little bit of a stretch to begin with. So I
can see a judge denying this the way they might deny a request to go see a particular place or get on a bus...
BANFIELD: But Elizabeth...
KELLEY: ... and go somewhere.
BANFIELD: Wouldn`t that be an appellate issue?
KELLEY: Yes. If this man is convicted and the judge did not allow him to present his defense, that is an issue on appeal, and the court of appeals
would send it right back to the trial court.
BANFIELD: Would it make a difference, though? I mean, if --
(CROSSTALK)
KELLEY: Oh, a huge difference.
BANFIELD: Hold on. Would it make a difference if he were to actually expose himself naked in the courtroom or show a model or show a picture?
KELLEY: What we have got to remember is this is a court of law where the accused has a constitutional right to present his defense, no matter how
unseemly we think it is.
BANFIELD: And it was unseemly today, by the way.
KELLEY: This is not -- this is not...
BANFIELD: It was unseemly.
KELLEY: This is not...
BANFIELD: We saw a dead body today.
KELLEY: This is not a Junior League meeting. And the pictures that were introduced could have very well been introduced on the part of the state.
And there are some curative measures that could have been taken place in that courtroom. For instance, the family of the deceased could have been
advised that horrible pictures were being shown.
BANFIELD: And maybe they were.
KELLEY: And in light of that, they could have excused themselves. But that did not happen.
BANFIELD: Rafael -- I want to jump in real quick. Rafael, the defense is bringing a former medical examiner into the court to put on the stand.
What would have a former medical examiner be able to do about this?
OLMEDA: I want to back up just one second there. The family of the victim was notified. They knew exactly that these pictures were coming in. It
was the prosecution who brought these pictures in, and the victims -- the victims probably had -- they knew that this was happening. So I wanted to
clear that up.
BANFIELD: Thank you for that. And to move ahead to tomorrow, the former medical examiner coming in to testify on Patterson`s behalf -- what could
he possibly add?
OLMEDA: What he can say is he can contradict what today`s medical examiner testified to. What he can say is that it is possible that this happened,
that the physical evidence is consistent with what the defendant is describing.
BANFIELD: OK.
OLMEDA: Whether the jury believes that or not -- you know, they`re going to have dueling experts. They`re going to have one expert them it would
have taken too long and...
BANFIELD: I`m always amazed at that. I`m always amazed that two incredibly smart people have completely differing opinions about medicine.
Rafael, I`m going to have to jump in only because I have to get onto others. But will you tell us -- let us know what happens and what the
judge decides in this case? And we`re going to continue to follow it.
OLMEDA: Sunsentinel.com, and I`ll see you there.
BANFIELD: All right. Thank you, Rafael.
Any cop will tell you that traffic stops are one of the most dangerous things that they do, and this is a perfect reason why.
(START VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Put it up!
(GUNSHOTS)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: K-15 shots fired! K-15 shots fired! K-15 shots fired! Get on the ground! Get on the ground! Get on the ground! Don`t move!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Terrifying. You can hear it in his voice. This happened last Friday. Take a look. Look up close. That`s what he saw in Littleton,
Colorado. Sheriffs deputy coming around back at SUV, confronted by the suspect. What looked to him like an assault weapon looks to me, too. And
after the suspect appears to lunged at the officer (inaudible) that deputy was not hurt.
Twenty-year-old Deyon Marcus Rivas-Maestas, I think it is Maestes, I might be pronouncing it wrong, he was treated for his injuries, shot in the arm,
and now he`s being treated with something else, a charge. First-degree assault against an officer. It`s not one you want to face. Thank God we got
an officer who is alive to tell that story and to show that body cam video.
You have probably heard the first rule of flight club, don`t talk about fight club. Second rule, don`t fight at your high school kids` graduation.
Because as you can see, parents started throwing punches while the kids were marching into the ceremony. Eventually, the entire row gets involved
in the brawl. And a man holding a child tried to rescue the woman in the blue from being on the receiving end of the blow (ph). At least one witness
was appalled.
(START VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I couldn`t believe my eyes, man. You are there to support your kid, yet you`re acting like a child yourself.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Amen, my friend. Top it off the ceremony was being held in a church. Reportedly all of that started because of seating arrangements.
According to CNN affiliate WATN, high school issued a statement saying that they were disappointed, disappointed in the actions of the adults.
At this time, no police report have been filed, no arrests have been made, but the story goes. Somebody was saving seats apparently, and someone else
did not like it.
Actress Kelly McGillis going from "Top Gun" victim to terrified crying victim.
(START VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How did they get in? Were the doors locked?
KELLY MCGILLIS, ACTRESS: I don`t know. The doors were locked. I have no idea. I don`t know. I came home and the door was unlocked.
BANFIELD: The response from her alleged attacker coming next.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[20:35:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BANFIELD: Every so often a movie comes out that provides the anthem to your youth, and from my college experience, that movie was "Top Gun," 1986,
Paramount Pictures, Tom Cruise, Kelly McGillis, and this iconic scene.
(START VIDEO CLIP)
TOM CRUISE, ACTOR: Excuse me, miss, hey, hey, hey, don`t worry, I`ll take care of this. You never close your eyes anymore when I kiss your lips.
BANFIELD: Emblazoned in our minds. This is how we`re used to seeing Kelly McGillis on the big screen. But unfortunately, she`s been in a very
different role lately, that of real crime-like victim. Back in June, when McGillis returned home after a speaking engagement, she noticed something
weird with a light on and her door was unlocked.
And when she walked in the house, she says she found this woman, Laurence Dorn. Somebody McGillis said she never seen before. And McGillis said she
was ransacking her house. And she called 911.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 911. What`s the address of the emergency?
MCGILLIS: I have somebody in my house.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Okay.
MCGILLIS: Broke into my house.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who is it?
MCGILLIS: Right now, help me. Help me!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, crap.
BANFIELD: McGillis says Dorn who was there with her 6-year-old daughter fought over the cell phone she had but still McGillis was able to make a
second call to the police.
MCGILLIS: Hello?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, this is 9111. What`s going on there, ma`am?
MCGILLIS: I have somebody in my house.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Okay, what`s your address?
MCGILLIS: She`s beating me up. She`s beating me up.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What`s your address?
MCGILLIS: Please help me!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What is your address?
MCGILLIS: Help me!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ma`am, what is your address? Hello?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: The 911 dispatchers tried calling McGillis back but they could not reach her. And that`s because McGillis had run. She taken off from her
house, left the cell phone behind, jumped in her vehicle, her truck, and made it to safety. She flagged down another driver, and together they
called the police back.
(START VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There`s a woman, I`m driving. I`m at the Hendersonville Police Academy. A woman just pulled me over, she said that
someone has broken into her house.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let me talk to her. Can I talk to her?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Okay, hold on.
MCGILLIS: Hello?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ma`am, we have some help on the way there. Are you not at the -- are you at the residence right now?
MCGILLIS: I left to call 911. She took my phone. I don`t know who else is in the house. I left my purse there.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Okay, do you know who it was that broke in the house?
BANFIELD: This week, Laurence Dorn went on trial for that incident.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Mark Starling is the morning host for -- and he`s also the news director of News Radio WWNC. He joins me from Asheville, North Carolina.
Mark, what was the defense of this woman, of Laurence Dorn for what she did?
MARK STARLING, SHOW HOST, NEWS DIRECTOR FOR NEWS RADIO WWNC: Well, you know, as far as -- as far as
[20:40:00] why it happened, she says that McGillis had been stalking her through Twitter. That was kind of -- and McGillis said she never seen this
woman before, met this woman before, anything. As far as the defense went, it really was a thin defense to say the least.
BANFIELD: Did she -- did she have mental illness? I mean, did she -- did her lawyers try to defend her by saying she didn`t know what she was doing?
STARLING: They entered in for a mental evaluation, but the strange part was actually when she was leaving court. A reporter asked her, do you have
anything you want to say? And she said, I have nothing to say to Mrs. McGillis. As if it was -- she was kind of putting this all back on Kelly
McGillis for the most part.
BANFIELD: It`s been determined and proven that Kelly has no idea who this lady is and yet this lady has pictures of Kelly McGillis on her computer,
one with a bull`s eye over her face and another saying, dead on arrival or something like.
STARLING: Wanted her dead or alive.
BANFIELD: Dead or alive, yeah, want her dead or alive. That`s a really scary stuff. That sounds like this is a troubled person who might have been
stalking McGillis and ultimately broke into her house. Is that what they found in this court?
STARLING: That`s pretty much it. You know, again, this all started through social media. And the district attorney said this should be -- this should
be a felony. Because unfortunately, it did not turn out to be a felony.
BANFIELD: This is what I don`t understand, Mark. It started with charges of second-degree burglary, larceny, stalking, assault and battery, and
interfering with emergency communications for that whole 911 cell phone fight. And yet, ultimately, all she was convicted of was misdemeanor break
and enter?
STARLING: Yeah, 18 months supervised probation.
BANFIELD: How does that work?
STARLING: The thing is when -- you hate to do this, but when you see the woman`s reaction when she is questioned by the reporter, I mean, the only
conclusion you can come to is she`s crazy like a fox. I mean.
BANFIELD: That it still -- listen, I`ve seen a lot of people do that kind of thing. Let me play one more moment, just so everybody knows the fear in
Kelly McGillis` voice as she was going through this crime. Have a listen.
(START VIDEO CLIP)
MCGILLIS: I don`t know her. She`s saying she know me and I don`t know anything about her.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Okay, so where are you right now?
MCGILLIS: She has a child with her. I`m at the police academy but my gate won`t open and I don`t want her to get away. I don`t what she`s taken.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Okay, we already have help on the way over there. Did she injure you? Are you hurt at all?
MCGILLIS: Well, she grabbed at me. Don`t let her get away.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Okay, we got officers on the way up there, okay? But I need you to stay there at the police academy. We`ll meet with you there,
okay? I don`t want you to put yourself in.
MCGILLIS: I don`t want her to get away.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Okay, I understand that but I don`t want you to get hurt. I don`t want you to get back to the scene and possibly get hurt,
okay?
MCGILLIS: Help me get my dog.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How did they get in? Were the doors locked?
MCGILLIS: I don`t know. The doors were locked. I have no idea. I don`t know. I came home and the door was unlocked. The lights were on and I said,
hello, hello. And she came out and just said a bunch of (inaudible) about how I knew she was coming and how could she do this to me, why don`t I get
her a hotel? I don`t know. I think she`s a freaking thief. She`s trying to act crazy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Whatever she was trying to do, she was convicted of misdemeanor break and enter, 18 months supervised probation. My thanks to Mark
Starling. A soldier`s homecoming wrecked, spoiled, after an airline decided to charge him $200 so he could fly his bag home. Find out why next.
[20:45:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BANFIELD: When soldiers return from deployment, they are usually focused on one thing. Getting home to be with their family. They are probably not
thinking one thing about the weight of their baggage. But for Lieutenant John Rader, a lieutenant in the National Guard, getting home after nearly
two years of deployment in Afghanistan, was a pretty frustrating event.
And his trip just might turn out to be another black eye for the airline industry. Lieutenant Rader claims that when he arrived at the check-in
counter for United Airlines in El Paso, Texas, an employee informed him that his military-issued duffel bag was too heavy and that it exceeded the
airline`s 70-pound weight limit. The United ticket agent told him he have to split up the gear, all that gear from Afghanistan.
You know, things like Kevlar vest to keep him alive, two helmets to keep him alive, boots, same thing. They said split it up into multiple bags or
pay us $200 to take that one heavy bag. According to the reports, the lieutenant didn`t have another bag with him so he claims he tried to reason
with the ticket agent, hey, no, risked my life for you. Maybe you can do me a solid?
Deaf ears. He wound up having to pay the $200. Welcome home, Lieutenant Rader. Not surprisingly after Rader told his story to the local media in
El, Paso, United came forward and refunded him his money. Thank you. Too little too late? That will be a good question.
Jeffrey Boney is the associate editor for the "Houston Forward Times." He joins me from Houston. This sounds really awful. I mean, I`ve had a heavy
bag before and on occasion the airline, gate agent or the ticket agent or whoever see you checking you in will say, you know what?
[20:50:00] Don`t worry about it. More hassle than good. You got two babies with you, whatever. They have the leverage. They have the ability to do
that. Why on earth, Jeffrey, was United has insisted that a brand-new soldier returning home, a brand-new vet, coughed up $200?
JEFFREY BONEY, ASSOCIATE EDITOR FOR THE HOUSTON FORWARD TIMES: Ashleigh, it`s outrageous. When you look at the details of the situation, first
Lieutenant John Rader who I might add was originally only supposed to serve nine months in Afghanistan, he voluntarily extended his stay to 21 months
and was just trying to get home, about to board that flight to Austin, John was told that his military duffel bag was just too heavy and exceeded the
airline`s limit of 70 pounds.
I mean, Ashleigh, the man was just trying to travel with the miscellaneous items such as his Kevlar vest, his helmets, his military boots and stuff
that he needed when he was overseas fighting or representing the country for God`s sake.
BANFIELD: Hey, Jeffrey, here is my guess. He was only supposed to be there like he said for nine months but volunteered to stay longer, an additional
12 months, maybe he picked up some things along the way in those 12 months of risking his life for his country. Maybe his bag was a little heavier
because he had some extra things from the war. Is there anything that United is saying to apologize to him? Have they spoken about this in human
terms?
BONEY: Yeah, they issued a statement apologizing saying that it would reimburse John for his oversize bag as a quote, gesture of goodwill, and so
he, of course, is saying that he will never fly United again. And he is reportedly encouraging others to boycott the airline as well. Another thing
of importance is that another service member who was traveling with John also had to pay that fee, Ashleigh.
BANFIELD: So the official statement that came from United -- I just sort of wonder if they said, sorry dude and thank you for your service. But the
official statement from United, we have it here, is on military baggage. We offer members of our U.S. military a variety of benefits to thank them for
their service. One of these benefits is allowing them to check five bags and increasing the weight limitations for these to 70 pounds.
We are disappointed any time a customer has an experience that doesn`t meet their expectations and our customer care team is reaching out to this
customer to issue a refund for his oversize bag as a gesture of goodwill. Real quick, I want to bring in Danny Cevallos and Elizabeth Kelley.
I don`t think he has got a lawsuit here. I do think, look, it is a favor that United is doing to give them sort of special baggage privileges but
don`t you think, don`t you think just human to human, the guy is coming home from the war, you give him a break.
ELIZABETH KELLEY, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Has United learned nothing over the past month? It`s nice that they issued a press release, but first of all,
they should have thanked first Lieutenant Rader by his name for his service. They should have apologized profusely for what they did to him,
and even more than a gesture of goodwill would have been to say we will offer you and your family.
BANFIELD: A trip anywhere.
KELLEY: A thousand dollars of travel vouchers.
DANNY CEVALLOS, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Not so fast, everybody.
BANFIELD: Oh, here comes Dr. Doom.
CEVALLOS: Let me jump in. Not Dr. Doom, but you have to ask the question, what else was in the bag? I mean, it it was all issued stuff, then he
should be able to fly with it. But where do we draw the lines? I mean, what happens next for United if he had rolled in with 300 pounds? We have the
same results. 500 pounds. I mean, give it to him no matter what?
BANFIELD: Yeah.
CEVALLOS: They will do it to every service member who comes in no matter -- they bring a dead yak from Afghanistan, they want to bring with them.
BANFIELD: He just had his stuff coming home.
CEVALLOS: I agree. They should have made a judgment call and let him on. But, there is always two sides to the story. You have to draw lines.
BANFIELD: There are. I`m just going to say, Lieutenant Rader, thank you very much for your service. Thank you for doing what you did. Afghanistan
is a crap hole to be in and the job you`re in. And for the fact that you volunteered to be there for us, thank you. I hope United will thank you
personally, as well.
As a medic with the marine corps in Vietnam, this week`s CNN hero put his life on the line for his men in some of that worst toughest battles. And
when he got home not surprisingly, he had to deal with another fight. For years in fact with alcohol, drugs, PTSD, remember they called it shell
shock? And when he eventually got over it, got his life together, he realized that a lot of his fellow veterans were still in dire need of
help.
(START VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I began to see veterans on the street. Marines do not leave anyone behind. We take our dead and our wounded with us. We don`t go.
And that pledge means the world to any one of us. And so to see that code being broken, shocked me into action.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: See the action that Bob Adams took to help his fellow veterans and find out more about his work. Just go to cnnheroes.com. And while
you`re there, you can also nominate a CNN hero.
[20:55:00] Back right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BANFIELD: Not every day has a great ending. And here is one of them. The story actually has a great ending. Brandon Vezmar of Texas was so upset
that his date was texting as they were watching a 3D version of "Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2." He filed a petition in small claims court against
her.
He wanted his $17.31 back, the cost of the movie ticket. His petition said that his date, Crystal Cruz, used her phone up to 20 times during the
movie. She says she was texting a friend and only sent about three texts. When Vezmar objected, Cruz ended up walking out of the theater.
[21:00:00] "Inside Edition" reunited outside of the same movie theater. She handed him the 17 bucks and that scene pretty much rolled itself. Weird
date. Thanks for joining us, everybody. Thanks, Elizabeth Kelley. Danny Cevallos, as always.
END
