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At This Hour
Alleged Gunman in Execution-Style Killing of Deputy in Court; Texas Sheriff Links Deputy Killing to Black Lives Matter Movement; Polls Show 2nd-Place Candidates Surging. Aired 11-11:30a ET
Aired August 31, 2015 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[11:00:00] CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you so much for joining me today. I'm Carol Costello.
AT THIS HOUR with Berman and Bolduan starts right now.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Killed in cold blood. The man accused of shooting an officer execution-style appearing in court right now. But was the deputy targeted because of his uniform?
America's new political party, the Mad as Hell caucus, and Donald Trump not the only candidate getting their help. How high will the second-place guys go?
And the tallest peak in North America just got a new name, or an old one. And the president just managed to tick off a whole state and delight another.
Hello, everyone. I'm John Berman. Kate Bolduan is off.
We begin with the execution-style shooting of a sheriff's deputy. The alleged gunman in court. Shannon Miles is accused of ambushing Texas Deputy Darren Goforth as he filled up his patrol car at a Houston gas station. "A cold-blooded execution" is how the county sheriff described what happened. The sheriff is convinced the officer was attacked because he was in uniform.
Nick Valencia is following this story for us.
NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John. I just got off the phone with CNN legal analyst, Phillip Holloway, who tells me what we should expect as Shannon J. Miles is in court AT THIS HOUR right now. This is the initial appearance, and we will expect the judge to read the formal charges that Miles is facing. Also since he's not been formally indicted, it's unlikely he will have a chance to enter a plea. If Miles has not been appointed an attorney, just yet, he will get that today. Because he's facing a capital murder charge, in Texas if he is convicted, could face the death penalty. Our affiliates are saying we should not expect a trial to happen for at least another year -- John?
BERMAN: Nick, there's some confusion here because now the mother of the suspect is telling our affiliate that he's innocent because he was with her at the time of the attack. But this is something different than what you heard over the weekend. VALENCIA: We were following this story as it broke over the weekend,
and I was speaking to investigators with the Texas department of public safety who were involved in this investigation. They told me that the mother played an instrumental role in turning in Shannon J. Miles. Reportedly they had a conversation shortly after the shooting happened at which point she realized her son may have been involved somehow. She calls the Harris County sheriff's deputies who come over and pick her son up and they later charge him with the murder of that sheriff's deputy. Since then, however, John, she's told our local affiliates that there's absolutely no way her son could be the gunman because they were out shopping at the time of the shooting. That's a little bit different from what we were told over the weekend.
Meanwhile, the community there in that Houston area, they've banded together. They've raised over $120,000 for Darren Goforth's family.
What's really bizarre in this case, John, is police say they do not believe the two men, Miles and Goforth, knew each other or had any prior interaction. They believe it was an unprovoked execution-style killing and that Goforth was simply killed because he was in uniform -- John?
BERMAN: Nick Valencia, a very disturbing story. Thank you so much for that.
The story really getting attention for two reasons. One, it's a horrific killing of an officer in uniform. Deputy Darren Goforth, a life lost, the father of two. However, it's also getting attention because of what the sheriff in that county said not long after the killing, where he seemed to link the death, in part, to the Black Lives Matter movement.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RON HICKMAN, SHERIFF, HARRIS COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT: Any point where the rhetoric ramps up to the point where calculated, cold- blooded assassination of police officers happens, this rhetoric has gotten out of control. We've heard Black Lives Matter, all lives matter. Well, cops' lives matter, too, so why don't we just drop the qualifier and say lives matter and take that to the bank?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: Joined by Texas State Representative Garnet Coleman.
Thank you so much for being with us.
First of all, I know we all agree that the loss of this deputy is a tragedy, the conditions surrounding it simply horrific, and we all hope to get to the bottom of it and let the facts cam out as soon as they may. What is your reaction to the sheriff? His immediate statement was to suggest that somehow the rhetoric involved in the Black Lives Matter movement is somehow connected to this killing.
STATE REP. GARNET COLEMAN (D), TEXAS: Well, first of all, we have no idea whether that's the case until the shooter, who should be convicted and put to death, says that that's the case. I think it's good to wait until we get all of the facts. I do believe that the family has to be devastated and no way that they could deal with this in any rational way. I think the sheriff may have spoke too soon because he was concerned for his men and women, but I think that's the deal --
(CROSSTALK)
[11:05:] BERMAN: Representative, hang on one second. Representative, we're looking at live pictures right now of 30-year- old Shannon Miles in court for his first appearance right now. If you can wait with us, let's listen in.
UNIDENTIFIED HARRIS COUNTY JUDGE: Do not make any statement while you're out here. Any question that you have, refer to your attorneys, and then we'll ask on your behalf, OK, sir?
Can I hear probable cause?
UNIDENTIFIED PROSECUTOR: Yes, Your Honor. On August 28, 2015, at around 8:20 p.m., a call dropped on an officer involved shooting at 16050 West Road in Harris County, Texas. That location is a Chevron gas station. When deputies arrived, they found Deputy Darren Goforth face down in a pool of blood, dead from multiple gunshot wounds. He was laying in the parking lot near his patrol car. They identified him by his unit number and from knowing him. They also found around the body 15 .40 caliber Agee LA shell casings.
They contacted a witness at the scene who said that he had pulled up at the gas station with his children in the car. He was getting out of the car when he heard gunshots. He turned and saw a black male with a bald head shooting into a deputy's back who was down on the parking lot. He got his kids back into the car and then turned and saw the male get into the driver's side door of a red Ford Ranger pickup with an extended cab.
Officers realized that there were surveillance cameras all around the parking lot. They contacted the owner of the gas station who allowed them to view the video. On the video, they saw a red Ford Ranger pickup truck with an extended cap and a white cooler in the bed of the pickup parked in front of the gas station. They watched the video and saw that Deputy Goforth came out of the convenience store, approached his patrol car, and as he got a few feet away from it, they saw a dark-skinned male, who was bald with red shorts and a white T-shirt, run up behind the deputy, who clearly did not see him or hear him coming, and shot him in the back of the head. Deputy Goforth fell to the ground and the male stood over him and fired several more times into the back of his head and his back.
Aside from the white cooler in the pick cup truck there was another distinctive aspect of the truck, which was an after-market trailer hitch that they noticed on the video. They did a database search for that particular vehicle in the 77095 zip code and got a hit on 8454 Lake Crystal Drive. Deputies went to that scene where they found a house. They saw the pickup truck in the driveway parked. They knocked on the door, and a male answered the door, identified himself as Justin Woods. They asked him if he was the owner of the truck, and he said, no, that it was his brother's truck. They asked if his brother was at home, and he said, no, that he had recently left the home with his mother. They asked if it was OK to look around the house for him, and Mr. Woods let them into the house.
As they were in the house, a man and a woman drove up in another car. The deputies approached the man and asked him if that was his truck in the driveway, and he said it was. They asked him what his name was, and he identified himself as the defendant, Shannon Miles. They asked him if he had any guns. He said he had two, a .9 millimeter pistol that he had recently gotten rid of, and a .40 gun that was in his garage in a blue baseball bag. Deputies went and got a search warrant for the garage, and inside, found the white cooler and a .40 Smith & Wesson pistol in the blue baseball bag. Alongside it was a box of Agee LA .40 caliber bullets, the same brand of casings at the scene.
They took the gun to the firearms lab. Ballistics testing was done on the weapon and it was determined it was the gun that fired the cartridges at the scene, the 15 cartridges. The gun magazine holds 14 rounds and there was one in the chamber. So he unloaded the entire weapon into Deputy Goforth. When the deputies recovered the pistol in the garage, it was loaded again.
A witness positively identified this defendant, Shannon Miles, as the shooter in a video lineup.
UNIDENTIFIED JUDGE: Criminal history, please.
UNIDENTIFIED PROSECUTOR: In 2005, in Harris County, Mr. Miles was convicted of the misdemeanor of failure to I.D. February of 2005, criminal mischief. In August 2005, resisting arrest. In October 2005, disorderly conduct. In January 2007, evading detention. In May of 2007, trespass of property. In May of 2007, resisting arrest again in 2009, and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in Travis County in 2012.
[11:10:25] UNIDENTIFIED JUDGE: Mr. Miles, I know there have been inquiries about your representation, but it's my understanding, thus far, you have not hired an attorney, is that correct?
SHANNON J. MILES, ACCUSED OF MURDER: That's right.
UNIDENTIFIED JUDGE: Please understand that while you are represented by counsel, they are your lawyers, so you can't have -- you have to be careful about multiple representation to be clear on those bounds with your attorneys in whatever hired attorney that you may decide to have. Do you understand that?
MILES: Uh-huh.
UNIDENTIFIED JUDGE: Would you mind addressing the court as, "yes, ma'am."
MILES: Yes, ma'am.
UNIDENTIFIED JUDGE: Do you have any questions? MILES: No, ma'am.
UNIDENTIFIED JUDGE: You may take him back.
I would like the microphone turned off -- (INAUDIBLE).
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Off the record now, Judge?
UNIDENTIFIED JUDGE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'll take over, judge.
UNIDENTIFIED JUDGE: Thank you.
BERMAN: The initial court appearance for Shannon Miles right there in Harris County. We did learn some new details. According to prosecutors there, this man, Shannon Miles, was linked to the killing of sheriff's Deputy Darren Goforth because of his truck. It was a red pickup truck with a white cooler in the back. There were a lot of cameras at the gas station where the sheriff's deputy was killed. They were able to trace the red truck and the cooler back to a home where Shannon Miles lived. They went to the house, they met up with Shannon Miles. They got a search warrant. They found a gun, a Smith & Wesson .40 pistol with bullets at the scene. Rounds they were able to link through ballistics testing, says the prosecutor. The gun used at the gas station in the killing to the gun that was found in that house.
Another chilling detail, prosecutors say that the suspect fired 15 rounds, 15 rounds at sheriff's Deputy Goforth there. No motive was discussed for this, but you can understand why law enforcement in that area has been calling this a cold-blooded execution-style killing. 15 rounds there. They said officer Goforth was hit from behind. Doesn't seem like he ever saw the shooter coming. And more chillingly, the suspect kept firing into the back of the deputy's head even when he was on the ground.
I want to bring back Representative Garnet Coleman.
Representative, I think you had a chance to listen to that along with me. Just, first off, your reaction.
COLEMAN: Well, it certainly was overkill and no doubt that this was an execution-style shooting where there clearly may have been anger with that many bullets fired, and the gun and the casings and the bullets match. So it appears that everyone is confident that they have the right person. And I hope that they quickly go to swift justice even though, as you said, it may take a year, but the evidence is very strong, and if he is the -- if he is convicted, which I think he will be, he deserves the book thrown at him plus the death penalty.
BERMAN: I think that there will be a lot of people that stand with you. As of now he's just a suspect. There was no plea submitted at this time. The process in Harris County, in Texas, does take some time to play out. It's worth noting that law enforcement ling the walls inside that courtroom during this hearing. A show of support, I think, to sheriff's Deputy Darren Goforth there. I think anytime a law enforcement officer is killed in the line of duty, you see others rallying in support, gathering around to support the families of the lost officer. OK. That's the crime. That's the crime that is being accused right now. That's the suspect that we're seeing right there.
Let's get to the outer issue right now even as I think -- it can't be overstated we mourn for the loss of this officer and our thoughts are with the family, but there has been some heated rhetoric now surrounding this death, and we played the sound for it before. We won't do it again where you have the sheriff in that county saying that there was this Black Lives Matter rhetoric here, that that has contributed to an atmosphere where officers fear for their lives. Do you think that officers or can you understand why officers are fearful in this environment?
[11:15:07] COLEMAN: Yes. I have spoken to several peace officers who have indicated that they are fearful in this environment. However, that didn't need to be brought in at the time the sheriff brought it in because there is no evidence that the movement, the Black Lives Matter movement, who by the way I believe is no permanent friends, no permanent enemies, just permanent interest. They've gone back after black Mayor Muriel Bowser in Washington, D.C. I think everybody needs to tap down on the rhetoric and try to find a solution to this problem that doesn't ramp it up even more politically, and that's why I was critical because the sheriff brought that in, not the circumstances.
BERMAN: And as of now we have no reason to connect the two, other than what the sheriff said. If he has evidence, he hasn't shown it to us that this suspect, again you're looking at pictures of him right now from his first court appearance a moment ago, we don't have any reason to know or suspect he knew at all of the Black Lives Matter movement or any feeling of that one way or the other.
Representative Garnet Coleman, thank you so much for being with us. Appreciate it.
COLEMAN: My pleasure.
BERMAN: All right, breaking news in the race for president. A new poll crossing literally just seconds ago. Ben Carson, Dr. Ben Carson, now tied in Iowa with Donald Trump. Wow. Details next.
Also, one of the most important historical sights in the world but now an ancient temple 2,000 years old the victim of ISIS. The new pictures ahead.
And meet the man behind the nightmares. I met him. I spoke to him. Wes Craven, the horror film legend, he has passed away from brain cancer. Why his life off-set will surprise you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:20:26] BERMAN: All right. New this morning, the second-place surge, and maybe then some. Bernie Sanders closing in on Hillary Clinton in Iowa. The latest Bloomberg/"Des Moines Register" poll shows Clinton at 37 percent, Sanders at 30 percent. Ben Carson is in a solid second place in this poll. Wait a few minutes. I have another poll to show you. I am going to keep it in my pocket for a moment. But Ben Carson may be doing better than second place.
Joining me to talk about this, Doug Heye, former RNC communications director; and CNN political commentator, Hilary Rosen. Her firm consults for the DNC.
Hilary, let me start with you.
Bernie Sanders closing in on Hillary Clinton, now within seven points, 37 to 30. Is this now reason for Hillary Clinton to be nervous? Polls show her losing in New Hampshire. Can she well afford to lose the first two contests?
HILARY ROSEN, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Losing the first two contests would be bad but the poll is very interesting I think for three main reasons. The first is that Hillary Clinton is not slipping in Iowa because of the e-mail issue. It very clearly says that, you know, more than 60 percent of those Democratic voters don't care about the e-mail issue at all. What they're intrigued about with Bernie Sanders is he's making them feel better about being Democrats. He is being much more aggressive on the economy, much more aggressive against the wealthy, much more aggressive against kind of the elite status quo. That's really where Iowa Democrats at their base are feeling energized right now. So Hillary Clinton's issue is she's saying good things about what she would do and policies for those things, but she's got to be able to convince those folks she's going to be a fighter for their values, and I think the conventional wisdom has been she's slipping for some credibility reasons or some e-mail reasons, but that doesn't appear to be the case in this very credible poll.
BERMAN: It's interesting. The spin here seems to be you're happy that she's not slipping because of one reason but she still is slipping. It seems to me sooner or later if she doesn't win in Iowa, it doesn't matter why but it's still problematic for the campaign.
(CROSSTALK)
ROSEN: First of all, I'm obviously not interested in the spin part of this. I'm analyzing what's going on here and suggesting people kind of take a deeper look at this. I'm a Democrat.
BERMAN: You're a Democrat. Indeed, you are.
Doug Heye, you're a Republican. And there's a brand new poll out I can't wait anymore to share with you, that comes from Monmouth University, that shows Dr. Ben Carson has pulled into a tie in that state. I don't think we have the graphics so I'll read it for you. Donald Trump and Ben Carson both tied at 23 percent in the state of Iowa right now. That's on top of the "Register" poll she showed that showed Ben Carson closing in on Donald Trump. But Ben Carson with a meteoric rise here that's undeniable here, sharing first place in one poll. How do you explain it? DOUG HEYE, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I explain it for the same
reason we see Bernie Sanders doing so well on the Democratic side. It's no surprise. There are a lot of Americans that are upset with what's going on in Washington right now. Anything that smacks of Washington, anything that speaks of Washington, we're seeing so many voters react negatively to. That's why we're seeing Trump do well, Carson do well, and Bernie Sanders. It's a rejection of Washington.
(CROSSTALK)
BERMAN: Go ahead. Go ahead.
ROSEN: I think that's right, ironically, that Bernie Sanders is a Senator but he's a registered Independent. But there's sort of one more piece of this which is interesting. If you played in Iowa politics, as both Doug and I have, you know that Iowa voters actually take this responsible of being first in the nation super seriously. So they tend to look outside the mainstream. They're constantly looking for, you know, who are going to be interesting choices, who are going to be the right candidates. They've consistently over the years rejected the candidates they see are status quo, and it doesn't necessarily mean that ultimately that's who they think should be president, but they do see it as kind of their responsibility to air the next thing.
BERMAN: And, Doug, Carly Fiorina in third place in that poll with Scott Walker slipping precipitously, Jeb Bush slipping.
[11:25:01] HEYE: Absolutely. It speaks well to with Carly Fiorina has put together. She's trying to get into the CNN debate coming up next month. She needs more national polls showing her doing well. This again speaks to the anti-Washington atmosphere throughout this country and isn't on just specifics of policy. This is an attitudinal situation where they're rejecting anything that's Washington right now. But that's also one of the important things about the Iowa caucus. The Iowa caucus, whoever emerges victorious on either side, Democrat or Republican, doesn't necessarily tell you who is going to be the winner. What Iowa really does, and does well, is it begins to winnow that process down.
BERMAN: Doug Heye, Hillary Rosen, I like having you both here for your analysis.
HEYE: Thank you.
Hilary, as you point out, not for any spin.
(LAUGHTER)
Thank you for being here.
Next, much more on our breaking news, the man accused of killing a deputy execution-style. He appeared in courts moments ago. Right now prosecutors speaking live about how they tracked him down. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BERMAN: One of the world's most precious historic sites, an ancient temple dating back to Roman times, may have been destroyed by ISIS. It comes a week after ISIS blew up another temple in Palmyra.
CNN's senior international correspondent, Nick Paton Walsh, joins us now.
Nick, I understand they're still waiting for official confirmation at this point.
[11:29:51] NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: At this stage, Syria's antiquities head with the Syrian government regime has said that according to eyewitnesses speaking to him, they believe that, in fact, the key columns of that temple are still standing. That's according to eyewitnesses they have spoken who have driven past it today.
