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Marche Johnson is Interviewed about the Dock Brawl; DNA Request in Gilgo Beach Case; Ukraine Claims Partial Success; Winning Mega Millions Ticket Sold in Florida. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired August 09, 2023 - 09:30   ET

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

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[09:33:49]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: So, just in, a U.S. nurse and her daughter who were kidnapped in Haiti, we are getting word they have been released. This is according to the Christian humanitarian group that she works for. Alix Dorsainvil, and her daughter, went missing a couple weeks ago amid the deteriorating security situation in Haiti. So, good news, they have been released, Kate. Obviously, we're looking for details on exactly how this went down.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Exactly, but very good news. The best you could ask for in this moment. But we'll learn much more and we'll bring it to you when we get it.

Let's turn to this now.

This morning, Montgomery's mayor says justice will be served and Alabama police say more charges to be coming after that riverfront brawl in Montgomery over the weekend. We now know three men have been charged with assault, all of them white men who were on the pontoon boat blocking the dock, how this began. They're accused of attacking the black riverboat co-captain. Police say the brawl started when Damien Pickett, you see him in the white shirt -- maybe you don't because it's a melee there now -- spent up to 45 minutes trying to peacefully, in the police chief's view, get the men to move their boat so the riverboat could dock that had a lot of people on board. One of those men charged now is Richard Roberts.

[09:35:01]

He is now facing three counts of third-degree assault.

Joining us right now for more on this is Montgomery City Councilwoman Marshe Johnson. She represents the district where this brawl happened.

Councilwoman, thank you so much for coming in.

Police say arrests -- more arrests are highly likely I think is how the police chief said it last night. What more do you hear could be coming?

MARCHE JOHNSON, MONTGOMERY, AL, DISTRICT 3 CITY COUNCIL MEMBER: Yes, we do know that we have two more outstanding warrants for other individuals. There were several addresses listed for those men. So, we know that they'll be turning themselves in, which should have happened last night and they would have -- will be transported from the Selma police department to Montgomery.

BOLDUAN: Do you think more people are going to face charges or do you think these three are going to be the extent of it?

JOHNSON: I believe these three will be the extent of it because this was the onset of that brawl. Everyone else that got into that altercation and that incident was going in as a protective measure and as a defense measure for the co-captain that was attacked that day.

BOLDUAN: The police chief said that they looked at possible hate crimes here, but he says that the evidence did not meet the criteria. Councilwoman, what are you - what do you see in the video, and what have you heard from folks in the community? Do you think race was a factor here? Do you see this - do you see this differently?

JOHNSON: Kate, that's an awesome question and I'm glad you asked.

As we know, Montgomery is the cradle of the confederacy, the birthplace of the civil rights movement, so race issues are not new to us. And it's very coincidental how that happened and where that incident happened. The community is in an uproar but -- and I think that a lot of feelings and emotions came out of this incident on where we've came to far in this -- in the country because the -- as we know that those onsetters of this incident were from Selma and other small, rural towns in Alabama and not from Montgomery. Because in Montgomery, we have built the culture, we've been actively engaged in building a culture of moving forward and reconciliation of our past.

And with EJI, which is the Equal Justice Initiative here, we have a lot of visitors. And as the representative of that district, we have tourism on ultra-high (ph). We're like the second highest visited location when it comes to reconciliation and a civil rights movement and all of those things therefore and thereafter.

And right now the community - when I say we've had so much support from across the country, even internationally, on what can be done next. The feelings and emotions are high now because of the history of Montgomery and where we stand. We're fertile ground for reconciliation, right? But right now what I see is a country coming together from all walks of life to feel - to want to know, what can we do next? How can we resolve this? How can we come together as communities on two separate aisles and really truly resolve the past and move forward to the future.

So, we're getting people that want to do charity (INAUDIBLE) and they want to do something in defense of the gentleman that was attacked so brutally and for no unforeseen reason truly. And then we have community members that are ready to set up safe spaces, to truly have conversations, and those tough conversations on race. So, I think now, as we look forward from what happened this past weekend, we're going to look at the solutions that we can bring to the community, what we can do for that dock so that incident won't happen again because what we heard from the captain was that this wasn't new for them dealing with those pontoon boat owners. So that's putting up signs (INAUDIBLE) --

BOLDUAN: On that point, Councilwoman, just real quick, have you had a chance to speak with Damian Pickett, that co-captain who was attacked?

JOHNSON: No, ma'am, I have not, but we have been in contact with the family as my team has and he is doing well but I do know there is some emotional charge they're still settling and he's going to have to resolve it. And I do hope and pray that some counseling does come in and, as the community and as a representative of that community, I will do what I can to help to assist because he also is a city employee.

BOLDUAN: Yes, it will be good to hear - it will be good to hear from him whenever he does feel up to it.

Councilwoman Marche Johnson, thank you for coming in.

JOHNSON: Thank you.

BOLDUAN: John.

BERMAN: All right, new this morning - sorry, Kate, new this morning, investigators in the Gilgo Beach serial killing say getting DNA from the suspect now is extremely important to the case. The Suffolk County's DA Office submitted a court request to obtain a new DNA swab. They are waiting for a judge's response.

[09:40:03]

CNN's Jean Casarez, who has been covering this, and, Jean, you cover DNA and genealogy so closely. Why is this new DNA swab so important and when will a judge decide?

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's fascinating, and we don't know why they want it, but under state law they've got to go to a judge. You know, the prosecution, they have forensics in this case already that led to the arrest. They have the telephone records. They have cellphone tower pinging and where the movement of Rex Heuermann's phone and the movement of the victim's phone. And remember that pizza crust, because that was discarded pizza crust by Rex Heuermann, according to legal documents, and they got that -- they say they got his DNA, compared it to DNA on the victims. And, remember, there was a male hair on the burlap outside of one of the victims that they found and they said that they had a match, but they want more DNA.

And according to state law -- and there's a precedent setting case last year. It's people versus Rodgers in New York State. It says there is an innate privacy to someone's DNA. A privacy right. And when you're arrested, you get the mugshot. They take your fingerprints. But they can't take the DNA because of that privacy right. So, prosecutors have to go to a judge and ask for that buccal swab of additional DNA. That's what they have done.

I want you to listen to what the Suffolk County sheriff said last night on this issue to Erin Burnett.

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SHERIFF ERROL TOULON, SUFFOLK COUNTY, NEW YORK: Gathering his DNA is extremely important to this case. You know, clearly it's going to be - it's left in the hands of the judge to decide whether to go forward and get a DNA swab, you know, or not. And so that's where we -- we have to wait and see what's going to happen with the judge's decision. What the task force has gathered and what we have discussed, I have no doubt that he is the person that killed those three women.

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CASAREZ: And the defendant has pleaded not guilty. The defense attorney says, do you think you even have the right person here? You may not. Well, once, according to People v. Rogers, once the prosecution makes the request, the defense can fight it. They go before a judge at a hearing, this case law says, and the judge decides. But once they get that DNA, if they get that DNA, John, they can use it for other investigative purposes outside of the current investigation. It has to be at the local level, but they can use it for more than just what is charged at this point. And the defense, it looks like, is really going to fight this based on constitutional grounds.

BERMAN: All right, I know you'll be watching it very closely and you will give us the results as soon as they come in.

CASAREZ: (INAUDIBLE).

BERMAN: Jean Casarez, thank you very much.

CASARE: Thank you.

BERMAN: Kate.

BOLDUAN: Super interesting.

Coming up still for us, Ukraine's President Zelenskyy says the counteroffensive is, quote, difficult, and happening probably slower than some had hoped, his words. He's meeting with his top military commanders this morning. We'll have the latest, next.

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[09:47:28]

BERMAN: This morning Ukraine says it is advancing on its southern front, making partial success in the Zaporizhzhia region. This follows the CNN report that western leaders fear that the counteroffensive is moving more slowly than needed. And Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy admits progress is happening probably slower than some had hoped. John Kirby from the White House is now weighing in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JOHN KIRBY, WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL: They are definitely trying to push forward. Now, whether they'll -- how far they'll get and where that will be and what kind of breakthrough they might be able to achieve, I don't think anybody can say right now. But we've got to make sure that we're staying behind them and supporting them.

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BERMAN: All right, let's go to CNN's Natasha Bertrand at the Pentagon.

Natasha, again, today they are pointing to some success. The question is, it fast enough?

NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Well, even the Ukrainians, of course, have acknowledged that it is not fast enough. It is not as quick as they had anticipated here. And U.S. officials are also well aware of that. And it is very unclear to U.S. officials just how long this counteroffensive is actually going to take. And it is, of course, unclear whether this is what the Americans and the Ukrainians, as they were war gaming for this counteroffensive, had actually anticipated.

We have to remember here, John, that the Ukrainians did not necessarily anticipate the fact that they would be encountering such mined areas, the land mines that the Russians have dropped there in territory all along the front have been really, really difficult for the Ukrainians to surmount. As to that the vast network of trenches that the Russians have really dug in, in anticipation of this counteroffensive, just layers and layers of defensive lines that the Ukrainians have had some difficulty breaking through.

But, look, the U.S. saying that they are not giving up here. They are going to continue to support the Ukrainians for as long as it takes for them to regain their territory. And we should note that just this past weekend the first shipment of those Abrams tanks, those heavy western tanks that the Ukrainians have been asking for, for so long, they were approved and they're expected to arrive there in early fall. So that could really give the Ukrainians a powerful ground component here to continue to prosecute this counteroffensive.

But, again, no one is expecting this counteroffensive to end anytime soon, John. And it remains to be seen just how much territory the Ukrainians can actually win back from the Russians.

BERMAN: It is frustrating to so many, but at the same time they do need to remain determined.

Natasha Bertrand, thank you so much for the update.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: Check your tickets. Well, only if you are or have just been in Florida apparently.

[09:50:02] The largest ever Mega Millions jackpot has a single winner. Up next, the dreams dashed by millions and millions and millions of people and what we know about the winning ticket. We'll be right back.

BERMAN: I told you. I told you you were not going to win.

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BOLDUAN: A very, very, very, very, very lucky person in Florida -- I don't know how many of you apply to this, but a lot of verys, that lucky person has won big. Like, the largest-ever Mega Millions jackpot kind of big. The total, $1.58 billion. The winning ticket was sold at a Publix grocery store in Neptune Beach.

Here are the winning numbers in case you're just waking up and haven't looked at your ticket. It will show up at some point. Oh, and they're dropping just like the lottery. I feel like I've missed my calling.

CNN's Carlos Suarez is in Florida.

Carlos, do we know anything about who has won quite yet?

CARLOS SUAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Kate, good morning.

So, we don't know a whole lot about the person who has this winning ticket, though, in Florida, the winner does have a couple of months before they can come forward to claim that winning ticket.

[09:55:03]

And in Florida, at some point, we will know who this winner is because state law says you have to make their name publicly available, as well as the city that they live in.

As you said, Kate, $1.58 billion. The winning numbers were 13, 19, 20, 32, 33 and 14. The last time that someone won the Mega Millions jackpot was back in April. And so that amount of money just kept rolling week after week after week.

That winning ticket, as you said, was sold at a Publix grocery store near Jacksonville, Florida. We're told that it was a quick pick that delivered this amount of money to a single person.

Now, here in Hollywood, Florida, we're near Ft. Lauderdale, we're outside of a convenience store where one winner did buy a $2 million winning ticket. That person picked five out of the six numbers.

Kate and John, I've always wondered what it would be like to not only, of course, win the lottery, but also what it must feel like to know you were just one number shy of taking all of that money home.

BOLDUAN: That's a horrible thing to have to consider. Come on, Carlos, it's already bad enough knowing that you're never going to win, but then knowing that you were so close.

CARLOS: Hey - yes, and, look, $2 million is still a good amount of money, but, I mean, you've got to go around thinking one number shy of $1.58 billion, huh?

BOLDUAN: Thanks for being there. Stick there. Let's see who like is smiling ear to ear walking into Publix today.

You know what I was thinking, John? How many of these we have talk about over the years. Does it get you any more excited. I always get excited and John always has that look on his face.

BERMAN: No, I feel like it's just a giant letdown. It's like the great American letdown. You say how often we talk about this. I want all those minutes back of my life. These - these are minutes I will never get back in my life for the billions of people who bought lottery tickets and haven't won.

BOLDUAN: There are so many letdowns in - in life, but you could still have a chance, John.

BERMAN: What brings me joy is to see the look on -- Carlos looked like he was happy there, and that's what's important.

BOLDUAN: He was. Carlos was happy. Carlos is enjoying his life today.

BERMAN: If Carlos is happy, I'm happy.

So, a victory at the ballot box for abortion rights and Democrats look to take the trend nationwide.

The leader of the Coast Guard Academy spent years covering up sexual assault. This is a CNN exclusive.

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