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One Fugitive Caught, One Still Loose
Aired November 19, 2002 - 14:03 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: A jail escapee back behind bars in Kentucky, following a dramatic shootout with police; a second inmate still on the run. The pair is -- the pairs are suspected, I should say, in a cross-country crime spree.
CNN's Charles Molineaux is outside a South Carolina Wal-Mart, where one of their alleged crimes took place.
Charles -- update us, please.
CHARLES MOLINEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Martin, this was the Wal-Mart parking lot, where Alice Donovan was last seen. She has not been seen in almost five days. She disappeared last Thursday when she was carjacked here in the parking lot of the Wal-Mart in Conway, South Carolina.
Now, the dramatic development happened Sunday night, although actually it really didn't become clear exactly how dramatic it was until last night. Branden Basham, one of the suspects in the kidnapping of Alice Donovan was arrested after a carjacking in Ashland, Kentucky on Sunday night.
It wasn't until last night the police actually realized who he was. He had given them a false name, but he was picked up, turned himself in after a carjacking. He has actually been charged with a whole raft of charges, including attempted murder of a police officer, first-degree robbery and flight. Considering what he and his alleged accomplice are accused of doing over the past couple of weeks, you can expect more charges will be forthcoming.
This also comes after a dramatic high-speed chase that happened last night in Marion, Ohio over a stretch of about seven or eight miles of highway. Ohio State Police chased after a stolen BMW at speeds of up to 130 miles an hour. The FBI has looked at tapes of this chase, and they say, yes, this was the other suspect in this incident, Chadrick Fulks. He is still on the loose. Police tried to stop him. They even tried putting spikes in front of the car, but nonetheless, he got away.
Now, we have been keeping track of this, of course, with the FBI, as well as police here in Conway.
And with us right now, we have two of the people who have been in the midst of this case. And that is Senior Agent Clyde Merryman -- he is with the FBI in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina -- as well as the police chief of Conway, South Carolina, Chief Sam Hendrick. Agent Merryman, let's talk about what we've got going on right now. We did have this arrest. We now know that one of these suspects is in custody. How much can we find out?
CLYDE MERRYMAN, FBI: Well, of course, we're -- the chief and I were just talking about this, and our people in Kentucky and Ohio are working diligently trying to find Fulks. We're also trying to, of course, break Basham down and get his cooperation. Efforts are under way to do that right now, and through Basham, where we hope to locate Ms. Donovan. That's our No. 1 priority, of course.
MOLINEAUX: We're going on five days since she disappeared. What are you thinking about where she might be or how she might be right now?
MERRYMAN: Of course, we are hopeful that they didn't harm her, and that they've kept her in a hostage situation. That's always our hope, and we'll maintain that until we know otherwise.
MOLINEAUX: What kind of an effort do you have out there to catch the remaining suspect, as well as find Alice Donovan?
MERRYMAN: We're working almost around the clock. The chief and I were up until 5:00 this morning, along with a lot of other people here in South Carolina, in Ohio, in Kentucky. We're just applying every resource that we have in the local community, as well as with the FBI.
MOLINEAUX: This case has already spanned numerous states. What kind of people are we dealing with here?
MERRYMAN: Well, we're dealing with very dangerous people, obviously, and I think the chief and I believe they are very desperate people, which is a dangerous combination.
MOLINEAUX: What about the fact that we have no word of there being a second person involved in this chase last night? What does that tell us about where Alice Donovan might be?
MERRYMAN: Well, that would concern us deeply. You know, there's always a possibility that if they were trying to maintain her, they could have had her in the trunk of the car, or they could have her bound or tied her somewhere. We are still optimistic and hopeful that she's alive.
MOLINEAUX: Chief Hendrick, what have we managed to hear about how Alice Donovan is doing? We understand that we did get some word from her, but that was late Thursday after her kidnapping, and that's been a while.
CHIEF SAM HENDRICK, CONWAY, S.C. POLICE: Yes, about 4:30 Thursday afternoon of her kidnapping, she did made a phone call to one of her family members. That phone call was a very generic phone call that she wouldn't be home right away. We know that the phone call was made after the time of her abduction.
MOLINEAUX: Meaning what? That she was coerced into making it?
HENDRICK: That would certainly be the obvious.
MOLINEAUX: Now, this has obviously got to be a big concern here. You are the local police chief. This was a local woman. Are people worried about her?
HENDRICK: There is no question. And as Clyde said, our No. 1 priority right now is to find her. Secondary to that is trying to find the other suspect in this case. But our priority is trying to find her. We know that time is against us now. But again, we feel very confident that there's a good likelihood that she is out there alive, and we'd like to work on that and find her alive.
MOLINEAUX: We understand Branden Basham was questioned by the FBI and police in Ashland. What did he tell you?
MERRYMAN: That questioning process is actually ongoing right now as we speak, and I'm not at liberty to say what he is telling us. But of course, the No. 1 thing we want to know is where she is and the condition of Ms. Donovan.
MOLINEAUX: Senior Agent Clyde Merryman, Chief Sam Hendrick, thank you very much for being with us.
So, Martin, the situation still remains very uncertain as to what has happened to Alice Donovan. We do have one suspect in custody, but one still on the loose. And as we have seen in the case of this high- speed chase, very eager to avoid police and willing to go to great lengths to do it.
SAVIDGE: Obviously. Charles Molineaux, let us know the moment you hear anything about the fate of Ms. Donovan. Thank you very much. Thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Aired November 19, 2002 - 14:03 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: A jail escapee back behind bars in Kentucky, following a dramatic shootout with police; a second inmate still on the run. The pair is -- the pairs are suspected, I should say, in a cross-country crime spree.
CNN's Charles Molineaux is outside a South Carolina Wal-Mart, where one of their alleged crimes took place.
Charles -- update us, please.
CHARLES MOLINEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Martin, this was the Wal-Mart parking lot, where Alice Donovan was last seen. She has not been seen in almost five days. She disappeared last Thursday when she was carjacked here in the parking lot of the Wal-Mart in Conway, South Carolina.
Now, the dramatic development happened Sunday night, although actually it really didn't become clear exactly how dramatic it was until last night. Branden Basham, one of the suspects in the kidnapping of Alice Donovan was arrested after a carjacking in Ashland, Kentucky on Sunday night.
It wasn't until last night the police actually realized who he was. He had given them a false name, but he was picked up, turned himself in after a carjacking. He has actually been charged with a whole raft of charges, including attempted murder of a police officer, first-degree robbery and flight. Considering what he and his alleged accomplice are accused of doing over the past couple of weeks, you can expect more charges will be forthcoming.
This also comes after a dramatic high-speed chase that happened last night in Marion, Ohio over a stretch of about seven or eight miles of highway. Ohio State Police chased after a stolen BMW at speeds of up to 130 miles an hour. The FBI has looked at tapes of this chase, and they say, yes, this was the other suspect in this incident, Chadrick Fulks. He is still on the loose. Police tried to stop him. They even tried putting spikes in front of the car, but nonetheless, he got away.
Now, we have been keeping track of this, of course, with the FBI, as well as police here in Conway.
And with us right now, we have two of the people who have been in the midst of this case. And that is Senior Agent Clyde Merryman -- he is with the FBI in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina -- as well as the police chief of Conway, South Carolina, Chief Sam Hendrick. Agent Merryman, let's talk about what we've got going on right now. We did have this arrest. We now know that one of these suspects is in custody. How much can we find out?
CLYDE MERRYMAN, FBI: Well, of course, we're -- the chief and I were just talking about this, and our people in Kentucky and Ohio are working diligently trying to find Fulks. We're also trying to, of course, break Basham down and get his cooperation. Efforts are under way to do that right now, and through Basham, where we hope to locate Ms. Donovan. That's our No. 1 priority, of course.
MOLINEAUX: We're going on five days since she disappeared. What are you thinking about where she might be or how she might be right now?
MERRYMAN: Of course, we are hopeful that they didn't harm her, and that they've kept her in a hostage situation. That's always our hope, and we'll maintain that until we know otherwise.
MOLINEAUX: What kind of an effort do you have out there to catch the remaining suspect, as well as find Alice Donovan?
MERRYMAN: We're working almost around the clock. The chief and I were up until 5:00 this morning, along with a lot of other people here in South Carolina, in Ohio, in Kentucky. We're just applying every resource that we have in the local community, as well as with the FBI.
MOLINEAUX: This case has already spanned numerous states. What kind of people are we dealing with here?
MERRYMAN: Well, we're dealing with very dangerous people, obviously, and I think the chief and I believe they are very desperate people, which is a dangerous combination.
MOLINEAUX: What about the fact that we have no word of there being a second person involved in this chase last night? What does that tell us about where Alice Donovan might be?
MERRYMAN: Well, that would concern us deeply. You know, there's always a possibility that if they were trying to maintain her, they could have had her in the trunk of the car, or they could have her bound or tied her somewhere. We are still optimistic and hopeful that she's alive.
MOLINEAUX: Chief Hendrick, what have we managed to hear about how Alice Donovan is doing? We understand that we did get some word from her, but that was late Thursday after her kidnapping, and that's been a while.
CHIEF SAM HENDRICK, CONWAY, S.C. POLICE: Yes, about 4:30 Thursday afternoon of her kidnapping, she did made a phone call to one of her family members. That phone call was a very generic phone call that she wouldn't be home right away. We know that the phone call was made after the time of her abduction.
MOLINEAUX: Meaning what? That she was coerced into making it?
HENDRICK: That would certainly be the obvious.
MOLINEAUX: Now, this has obviously got to be a big concern here. You are the local police chief. This was a local woman. Are people worried about her?
HENDRICK: There is no question. And as Clyde said, our No. 1 priority right now is to find her. Secondary to that is trying to find the other suspect in this case. But our priority is trying to find her. We know that time is against us now. But again, we feel very confident that there's a good likelihood that she is out there alive, and we'd like to work on that and find her alive.
MOLINEAUX: We understand Branden Basham was questioned by the FBI and police in Ashland. What did he tell you?
MERRYMAN: That questioning process is actually ongoing right now as we speak, and I'm not at liberty to say what he is telling us. But of course, the No. 1 thing we want to know is where she is and the condition of Ms. Donovan.
MOLINEAUX: Senior Agent Clyde Merryman, Chief Sam Hendrick, thank you very much for being with us.
So, Martin, the situation still remains very uncertain as to what has happened to Alice Donovan. We do have one suspect in custody, but one still on the loose. And as we have seen in the case of this high- speed chase, very eager to avoid police and willing to go to great lengths to do it.
SAVIDGE: Obviously. Charles Molineaux, let us know the moment you hear anything about the fate of Ms. Donovan. Thank you very much. Thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
