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State and Federal Authorities Hold News Conference on Alabama Arson Arrests; President Bush Visits Gulf Coast; Remembering 26 Hours of Terror; Joey Cheek Gives To Charity; Injured Cheerleader Still Has Spirit
Aired March 08, 2006 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Big news in Birmingham, where three men are being held in last month's series of church fires in rural Alabama. Two appeared in court today, Ben Moseley and Russell Debusk, both 19-year-old students at Birmingham Southern College.
Matthew Lee Cloyd, 20-year-old student at the University of Alabama at Birmingham is also under arrest. Suspicious fires broke out at 10 Alabama churches. And investigators say at least nine of them were related.
Retired FBI Agent Don Clark has been talking with us about the investigation. And he joins us now live from Houston.
So, Don, since we last talked, we got a copy, actually, of the ATF, the testimony that -- or the interview that the ATF and other -- actually, let me grab it.
(LAUGHTER)
DON CLARK, FORMER FBI INVESTIGATOR: OK.
PHILLIPS: I have it right here. And I'm going to -- I'm going to be exact on what -- the agencies that interviewed this witness, Alabama State Fire Marshal's Office, Bibb County Sheriff's Department, and the Bureau of ATF.
Evidently, this one witness, who had talked with one of these boys that has been arrested, said that this was initially a joke that sort of got out of control. What do you make of that?
CLARK: That's an understatement, Kyra.
It may be in the complaint that it's a joke and that it was a prank. But I suggest that there's got to be a little bit more motive behind. And I think the law enforcement will dig through this. It's -- it's not uncustomary, uncommon, for people, when they get caught at something like this, that: Oh, it's a mistake. We were just joking around. We were just playing around.
But I think, as they dig more and more and more, I suggest that they may find more that is into than this is just a prank. This is just too many buildings that's gone. After one or two, somebody's got to say, enough is enough. PHILLIPS: Yes, that's a very good point, because, in this statement, the -- the one witness said that Cloyd, one of the young men that has been arrested, stated that they set a church on fire, and that he also had said to this witness: We have done something stupid.
So, that's an interesting point that, OK, one time, you may understand that you made a mistake, but we're talking about nine, possibly 10 fires.
CLARK: That's exactly right. We are talking exactly 10 fires -- or possibly 10, because the other one they said they hadn't connected yet.
But you do one thing, and it's stupid, especially with young people. And this is, OK, I'm sorry about this; this is what we did. Nobody owned up to this thing at all. And they just continually go in their pattern and continue to do this.
You know, from the outside looking in, I just think that there's a little bit more to it. And these guys have been pretty good in their investigation down there. And I think they got what they need to get the complaint.
And that's what's most important. But then I think they will -- now I think they will continue to dig through, to really build this, a strong case. And I suggest that they might find that it's a little bit deeper than just a prank.
PHILLIPS: We're waiting for a live news conference as well out of Alabama. And we are going to take that live as soon as it happens, Don. We were sort of hoping that it would start at the top of the hour, so we could listen to it together and then talk about it. We will sort of see what happens. We are gauging that right now.
But, while I have you, what happens from here? Are all three boys going to be separated, interviewed individually, so they can't sort of get together, and try and talk about their stories, and try to match things up? Isn't that usually how it works; they separate them immediately and grill them?
CLARK: Yes. Absolutely. That's absolutely how it's going to happen.
Once they got arrested, the contact that they're going to have is going to be very minimal. Now, there is something that is called a six-hour rule, Kyra, as we have talked about before, that the law enforcement can have them for about six hours, and then they have got to make sure that they get them before a magistrate and get them into the process, and, then, after that, that it's very little that they're going to be able to obtain, because, for sure, they're going to get lawyered up, as we say.
And, so, I suggest that they are, right now, trying to talk to them and seeing how these stories will match up.
PHILLIPS: All right. So, if you were -- let me ask you, if you were sitting with each one of these young men, separately, give me top three questions you would ask them as an FBI investigator.
CLARK: Well, you want to know, why did you decide to do this? You know, what caused you to do this, you know?
And, then, you want to know, tell me what techniques you used? How did you go about doing this? Who had the idea that we should do this? How did you all come together? And you want to just go on from that and try to build a case here around that one individual.
You really don't want to just get right to the point, who actually struck the match. You want to get them in a mood of telling a story here. And, then, what you want to do is try to compare those stories with each other and continue to go back to them, as long as you can.
PHILLIPS: And we're talking 19 and 20 years old. Looking at the crime, looking at the age, is it usually pretty easy to get these boys to tell the truth?
CLARK: Well, you know, sometimes, somebody just absolutely ends up, no matter how heinous the crime is, that they will start to have a little bit of a heart. And they will say, look, this is what really happened in the story.
And that happens many, many times, and I think that's a good thing, that somebody does it, will have that conscience, and say, well, let me just tell you. Now what you have is that somebody's -- what you really think now is telling the real true side of the story, and it gives you more information to go back to the others, and see where they come in, and how consistent they are.
PHILLIPS: All right, Don Clark, former FBI, stay with us.
Don, we're going to get straight to Fredricka Whitfield now. She's just outside the college there in Birmingham, where the news conference, hopefully, is going to start pretty soon.
Fred, what do you know?
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Well, a couple different things, Kyra, because there is going to be a press conference here at Birmingham Southern College. But that is going to be the college campus's own press conference, since they're learning that two of three suspects actually attended school here.
The other press conference that we are waiting for momentarily will be coming out of Tuscaloosa. That will involve all the federal, state, and local sources investigative sources that will be commenting on what kind of details they have from this case.
We know that two of the three college students were in federal court today. And the third young man, Matthew Lee Cloyd, he is likely to be in court, possibly later on today, in federal court.
Let me tell you what we do know about the two students, Ben Moseley and Russell Debusk, who arrived in federal court earlier today for their first appearance. It is also where we were finally able to hear some details about what took place and how investigators were led to these three college students.
Apparently, according to the criminal documents, and according to physical evidence, as well as eyewitness testimony, that, apparently, Mr. Cloyd, Matthew Lee Cloyd, who, apparently, is a college student at another college campus, apparently told this eyewitness that he was in attendance with these other students at these church burnings, and that something stupid had taken place, that it started out as a joke, and things just simply got out of hand.
Investigators were able to find Cloyd because they were able to track the tire track markings that were left at some of the church bombing locations. Because these were special-order tires, it then led them to the parents of this young man, Mr. Cloyd, and they were able to interview the parents, who, then, consequently, interviewed the young man, who eventually said that something stupid had happened, and things had simply gotten out of hand.
In about an hour from now, a press conference will be taking place here at Birmingham Southern College, where investigators -- or, in -- instead, where the school officials here will be commenting on things.
They are very disappointed, because this is a faith-based college campus. It's mostly a Methodist-based college campus. But these are kids who attend here, who are very much aware of their spirituality and religion. It is a faith-based college. And, so, that two of the three suspects would now be from a college campus like this is quite astounding -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right, Fredricka Whitfield, we will continue to check in with you. Thank you so much.
We're waiting for that news conference, where Fred is.
And we are also waiting for another news conference out of Tuscaloosa, where federal, state, and local authorities will be speaking. Also, possibly, we might hear from the governor, Bob Riley. So, we are going to take that live as soon as it happens.
By air and on foot, President Bush gets a clear view of all the work that remains in the hurricane zone, clearing mounds of debris, demolishing moldy homes, rebuilding busted levees, the same jobs that have faced Katrina victims and officials for half-a-year. On his seventh visit to New Orleans, his 10th to the Gulf Coast, the president brought some hope, and, once again, pushed Congress to act.
CNN White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux is traveling with them.
Hi, Suzanne.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, hi, Kyra.
You mentioned, of course, this is his 10th visit to the region, the Gulf Coast region, but it is his first time that he is in the Ninth Ward. That is the predominantly poor black community that essentially was devastated by Hurricane Katrina, specifically the levee breaches -- and President Bush using one of those levee breaches as a backdrop to make the point, to give the message that he has not forgotten the promise in Jackson Square that he will bring forward a new city, one that is rebuilt and reconstructed.
Now, the president highlighting three different aspects, one a housing initiative in the tune of some $2.4 billion that he's asking Congress to provide, up to $150,000 for homeowners who have lost their homes to Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana -- also, the president calling for greater debris removal, and, then, finally as well, promising that those -- that levee system will be repaired, some 350 miles or so, repaired by the start of the new hurricane season, that being June 1st.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The first part of the strategy is to make sure these levees are strong. And we fully understand that, if people don't have confidence in the levee system, they're not going to want to come back. People aren't going to want to spend money or invest.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: And, Kyra, of course, President Bush, emerging from that photo-op, then went on to a grocery store, You Got It (ph) grocery store, emerged with red beans and rice, trying to relate, of course, to the community.
He went on to Gulfport, Mississippi, and Gautier. That is where he signed an initiative -- rather, announcing an initiative to get a book drive going for many of the schools who have lost their books -- the president, of course, going back from Gulfport, Mississippi, to New Orleans, and then back to Washington, certainly hoping that those promises that he has made, that he has convinced many people that he is, in fact, going to live up to those commitments.
But, of course, we will have to see in June -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right, Suzanne Malveaux, thanks so much.
Poor or problematic -- the State Department's take on the human rights records of some key U.S. Arab allies. Condoleezza Rice today introduced the 29th annual report grading nations on how they treat their citizens. It cites flawed elections and torture of prisoners in Egypt, beatings and lack of religious freedom in Saudi Arabia, and floggings for offenses such as adultery in the United Arab Emirates. The only country Rice mentioned by name was Iraq.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CONDOLEEZZA RICE, SECRETARY OF STATE: We must help struggling democracies deliver on the high hopes of their citizens for a better life. We must call countries to account when they retreat from their human rights commitments. And we much always stand in solidarity with the courageous men and women across the globe who live in fear, yet dream of freedom.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: The State Department says the top human rights violators last year were North Korea, Myanmar, Iran, Zimbabwe, Cuba, and China.
Apparently, the Hammer can still strike a blow when it counts. Tom DeLay, forced by scandal to step down as House majority leader, pounded his three opponents in yesterday's congressional primary race in Texas. In his first serious primary challenge in 22 years, DeLay won 62 percent of the vote. That happened despite his indictment last year on charges of money-laundering. He will face former Democratic Congressman Nick Lampson in November.
The New England town hall meets the war in Iraq. Five communities in Vermont are taking a stand against President Bush in true Yankee, in-your-face tradition. People in Brookfield, Marlboro, and three other towns approved resolutions last night, asking Vermont's only member of the House to file articles of impeachment. The resolutions allege, Mr. Bush misled the nation into war and engaged in illegal domestic spying.
Vermont, of course, has never been confused with Bush country. It's the home of Democratic Chairman Howard Dean. And John Kerry got almost 60 percent of the vote there in 2004.
Once again, we want to bring in former FBI Agent Don Clark. He's joining us, as we get ready to watch this live news conference via our affiliate WBRC.
As you know, this is the press conference we have been waiting for, Don, with regard to those Alabama church fires. We're supposed to hear from federal, state, and local authorities, and possibly the governor.
CLARK: Yes, this is going to be good.
And, you know, they're going to -- they should be very proud of the work that they have done to be able to capture these people and find out exactly who did this crime. So, we got -- really have to give them pats on the back for that, Kyra, because, I tell you, when you look back at this, arsons are not exactly the easiest of cases to try and put together.
There's a lot of evidence, but there's a lot of destruction. And having these people to be able to go through that has been one really great job. Now, the second thing has been is that the interviews, they obviously did a great job of interviewing people to be able to obtain the information that they have. So, I think that's a good thing.
PHILLIPS: Well, right now, we're getting all the official introductions to the players that are there. So, as soon as the special agent in charge steps up to talk about this, Don, we will listen in.
But we had been talking a lot -- a number of possible motives. And now that we have gotten this testimony from the ATF, these interviews by some witnesses that had apparently talked with the suspects, the three young boys, the three college students that have been arrested, in that testimony, it says this could have possibly started out as a joke, and then had a bit of a domino effect.
But you're not buying it.
CLARK: I'm just not buying it.
The jury is still out on that. And I think, at the end of the day, there has just been too much activity to go on. That's really heinous crimes and very bad crimes here in burning churches, you know?
PHILLIPS: We are going to -- Don, we are going to go to the governor.
CLARK: OK.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
GOV. BOB RILEY (R), ALABAMA: Ladies and gentlemen, this is a good day for Alabama.
As most of you know, over the last few months, Alabama and all the churches in the state of Alabama have been going through a pretty tough time. So many people in the state have stayed with their churches, have stayed there at night. And all through this process, we have kept saying that we had leads, but the amount of investigative work that has gone on in this arson investigation over the last few months is truly incredible.
At one time, I know we had over 500 leads. And this is due today to a lot of good people at the state, county, city, federal level, all working together to bring this to a conclusion.
I think everyone understood, when you bring that many assets to bear, we can end up with a successful conclusion. And I think the arrests today are an indication of all the hard work that has gone into this.
I just want to say, on behalf of the people of Alabama, I appreciate the federal response. It has been incredible to see this many people come into the state of Alabama, move in here, work literally 24 hours a day. And it's a good day, when we can tell the people of Alabama that we believe this is an isolated instance.
We don't think that there is any type of conspiracy against organized religion or against the Baptists, against religious beliefs in particular. I think that, today, Alabama and all of the faith- based community in this state can rest a little easier.
But I do want to thank all of the people. At one time, we had about 250 people chasing down these leads. And I want to thank them for their dedication and for their hard work.
Thank you.
ALICE MARTIN, U.S. ATTORNEY: As many of you are aware, three individuals have been arrested and are suspects in the church fires that occurred in Alabama between February the 2nd of 2006 and February 7 of 2006.
Those individuals that are currently in federal custody and being detained are Matthew Lee Cloyd, age 20, of Indian Springs, Alabama; Lee Russell Debusk Jr., 19, of Hoover -- Hoover -- and Benjamin Nathan Moseley, 19, of Trussville.
A two-count criminal complaint has been filed this morning in the Northern District of Alabama. Count one charges those three individuals with conspiracy to maliciously damage or destroy buildings by way of fire. And count two specifically charges them in the May 2, 2006, burning of the Ashby Baptist Church, located in Bibb County.
There is an affidavit attached to that criminal complaint, which sets forth the information about the various church fires and some of the information about the investigation. I want to caution the public that these individuals are all presumed innocent until proven guilty or until they plead guilty in federal court.
The criminal complaint is the first step in a long process of justice in the federal court system. It is not the same as an indictment. Information and evidence developed during the investigation will be presented in due course to a federal grand jury. We are seeking detention on these individuals.
Two of the individuals, Debusk and Moseley, appeared in court this morning before Magistrate Judge Armstrong in Birmingham. And the detention hearing has been set for those individuals on Friday. Cloyd was arrested later this morning. And I would anticipate that we will have him in court today, or as soon as possible, as the judge's schedule permits. And then a date for that detention hearing will be set.
The complaint has been posted to the Web site. And that's the easiest place to get it, at the Northern District of Alabama's Web site.
At this time, for questions concerning the investigation, I'm going to call on the state fire marshal, Mr. Montgomery. Please know that we are limited in the remarks that we can make and in the evidence that we can discuss to the things that are now public in court documents, in the criminal complaint, and we are going to have hold our answers to those questions that address what's in the criminal complaint.
Mr. Montgomery.
RICHARD MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA STATE FIRE MARSHAL: The cooperation of the sheriff's departments, the -- all the federal agents, the state agents, is what has -- have brought this case to a conclusion. Probably 1,000 leads have come in. And, finally, the -- one of the things that broke the case was the fact that they were just following the leads that were coming in. And the cooperation has been fantastic, as far as state and local and federal agents have been concerned.
MARTIN: Thank you, sir.
As I said, there are federal charges that have been filed this morning. And, of course, there is also possibility of other charges that could be filed. We are working with the district attorneys that are present here today, along with General King.
And, General King, call upon you.
TROY KING, ALABAMA ATTORNEY GENERAL: Thank you, Alice.
As Alabama's top law enforcement officer, I stand before you today very, very proud of the work that law enforcement across this state has done. What they have done is just good old-fashioned police work. Because of their work, what we have today is a reign of terror that has gripped rural Alabama, and that has riveted the eyes of the nation upon Alabama, coming to an end.
When these -- when this began, I predicted something that my granddaddy used to tell me, which is that a man's evil deeds will find him out. Today, I believe that they have. And I believe that justice will soon be had. We look forward to continuing to work with an incredible group of law enforcement officers who have brought us to this point, as well as the district attorneys across this region, to make sure that justice is indeed served.
Thank you.
MARTIN: Everything we do in law enforcement requires the help of many, many people.
And you see behind me the leadership of those various state, local, and federal agencies. And the lead federal investigator agencies in this case have been the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which are both parts of the Department of Justice family.
So, I'm going to call on the special agents in charge, Ms. Adams and Mr. Cavanaugh, to tell you about the federal involvement in this investigation.
CARMEN ADAMS, FBI SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE: This -- it has been a privilege to work with every agency represented here.
It has moved -- the investigation has moved fairly quickly, in light of the difficulty we had in developing sources who would tell us things. As Ms. Martin said, we are limited in what we can talk about today. But I hope that the message is sent to the citizens of Alabama that church arsons are taken very seriously, and they are investigated very aggressively. Mr. Cavanaugh.
JAMES CAVANAUGH, REGIONAL DIRECTOR, BUREAU OF ALCOHOL, TOBACCO AND FIREARMS: Thank you, Carmen.
And thanks to the governor. And thanks to all these officials.
I certainly still feel hurt for all the churches, in that they lost their historic buildings. And I think I'm a little bit sad for the families of these three young people we have arrested today, who are all about 20 or 21. And I'm sure they are going through a difficult period there.
But I'm proud of the law enforcement group here and the work they have done. And I want to talk a little bit about that. I feel great for Alabama. I feel relieved for America.
So, we had a great, great effort, when you have leadership, like the governor coming in and saying, whatever you guys need, just tell me and I will deliver it.
Before we came out, the attorney general of the United States called. And I talked to him for a few minutes. And he was just praising the effort of all these agents and deputies and troopers and fire marshals, and what they did. And the director of ATF called also to say similar things, about how they were pleased that it happened and, you know, that it was over.
We can't talk a lot about the evidence, as Alice said. We are limited to the parameters of the complaint. But I can just make a few points within those parameters.
We did set about 1,000 leads in the case. We got close to probably 500 vehicles and maybe over 1,300 persons in our database. And those are round numbers, so I could be a little off. We slogged through these leads without any real break. We didn't have a tip. We didn't have anybody telling us who did it.
So, we just pushed and pushed and pushed, until we could make the break. I think, if you went in our command post in the last few weeks and asked any of these agents, they probably would have told you, we don't know if we can solve this case, because this is a very, very difficult, difficult case, very -- forensics are destroyed by fire, a couple of ghosts rampaging around Alabama, a very difficult case.
But we just tried to make the break, and we forced the break. And you can -- and I'm sure you have all read the complaint and saw the results of what has been in front of the court today. So, I don't want to elaborate too much on that.
I would like the sheriffs to come up. They have been our partners and -- and have done a great job with us throughout. And we just all had a -- just a great working environment.
Can we hear from the sheriffs first? And then maybe we will take a question. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There are nine sheriffs here today. Many of them had fires in their counties. But I hope that we will see a model that comes from this state.
And that is a model of unprecedented cooperation by federal, state, and local officials. It is -- at -- the only word I can think of is unprecedented. In a time when many folks are trying to figure out how do we get various governmental entities to work together, we have seen it here, and it has worked. It has been successful over the past month or so.
And on behalf of the sheriffs of this state, I want to take the opportunity to thank the public for their involvement, their countless leads, the involvement of the governor, the involvement of our federal government. Working together, we have come to a conclusion today. And the sheriffs who serve the people, many of those who were those parishes and those churches who have been affected, we thank everyone for their help, and especially the public for their cooperation and understanding, as we have gone through this investigation.
We have had countless resources that have been made available to us by federal level and state. But we have also seen county commissions that have come forward, such as the Tuscaloosa County Commission, and the Shelby County Commission, that allowed us to put in vast amounts of manpower and other equipment to aid other counties in this investigation.
And we also thank those commissions for allowing us to use those resources. So, again, on behalf of the sheriffs of the state of Alabama, we appreciate all the assistance that we have received. And -- and thank you very much, you, the media, who also has kept this at the forefront, so that -- that we were able to gather many of those leads.
Thank you.
MARTIN: Now we will try to take questions, if there are any.
Yes, sir?
QUESTION: Question for Mr. Cavanaugh, please.
I'm wondering how much (OFF-MIKE) play into this case, how much that played into breaking this case?
CAVANAUGH: Well, I think you have to read...
QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE).
CAVANAUGH: Yes.
You're going to have to read the complaint and take what was offered in the court for that, because I really can't expound on anything, other than what's in the complaint.
But I think the -- the point is, we had to drive the investigation to the people we thought were responsible. We had to get there first. We didn't know who did it. So, we had to get there first. A lot of cases start out, where, you know, you have a domestic violence or robbery or murder. People know each other. And it starts out already in a small sphere.
A case like this, that goes across a state, rampaging across a state, you don't know who is involved. So -- so, we were already at a disadvantage. And then you add the crime is -- the nature of the crime destroys most of the evidence. So, the task here is finding the guy.
And I equate it to the -- you know, I spent 17 years working on Unabomber. And we always said, we have got to find that guy. Once we find him, we will -- we will make the case. And, so, it was sort of the same challenge, I think.
QUESTION: Jim, you all were pretty much on, in terms of the early reports of two buddies. You see one, you see the other. We all know that these guys were now basically inseparable. Was that coming from profiles, the work that you had done, or actually witness reports? And can you talk about how much these two guys resemble the initial reports (OFF-MIKE).
CAVANAUGH: We said early on, publicly, that it was the collective wisdom of the investigators, the profilers, the negotiators, the commanders, myself included, along with eyewitness sightings, that led us to the information we released publicly, which was two male whites, 20 to early 30s, operating a dark SUV, possibly a Pathfinder. That was our description we put out.
We said they were buddies, an inseparable team. That's what we felt from all those facts that we gathered. One thing we did in the investigation that we always try to do is keep the team, 250-plus investigators, working from a foundation of facts that won't change.
So, we grab on to that foundation of facts. And if the case tries to go sideways, we bring it screaming back to the foundation of facts. So, that's sort of how we do it.
QUESTION: Can you explain if you had (OFF-MIKE) looking at the affidavit, there were conversations with all three of these guys previously. What actually led to their arrests? And why did it take so long to find Cloyd, if you all already knew where he was (OFF- MIKE).
MARTIN: We are just going to stand with what's in the complaint.
CAVANAUGH: Yes.
MARTIN: Sorry.
QUESTION: Hey, Jim, any idea of motives? Any idea of motives on this?
CAVANAUGH: In the complaint, you will see that the -- they said that, after they lit the first two fires in Bibb County, that it became too spontaneous. After they saw the fire trucks and the lights, it became very spontaneous. That's in the complaint. That's indicative of an excitement, thrill motive.
QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE) side of the state. These churches were kind of in backwoods. Not anybody just passing is going to know where they are. Did any of these guys have an idea of where to go to begin with?
MARTIN: I'm sorry. We are not able address that, as it's outside the complaint.
QUESTION: Is anybody going to get the reward money? And are these kids going to be held responsible for the cost of rebuilding these churches?
MARTIN: It would be inappropriate for us to comment on that at this time.
(CROSSTALK)
QUESTION: ... they used to start the fires?
MARTIN: We're not going to comment on anything that goes to the evidence in this case, because, again, I remind the public, these individuals are presumed innocent. They have not been indicted today. This is the beginning of a long legal process.
QUESTION: Is there any new information as to why Baptist churches were targeted?
MARTIN: There is nothing in the complaint, so we can't address that question.
QUESTION: Do we know sort of (AUDIO GAP).
MARTIN: They face the possibility...
PHILLIPS: You're listening to all the various agencies that have been involved in three arrests now in those Alabama church fires.
You have just been listening to Special Agent -- ATF Special Agent in charge Jim Cavanaugh -- right next to him, Special Agent in Charge for the FBI Carmen Adams.
But here was the interesting point. It sort of took a -- a while to get there. Everybody was talking about the foundation of facts and collective wisdom that led them to these three college-age men -- or these two college -- these three college boys that are now in arrest.
They said it came in interviews with these boys. And it was this one part that led them to what they believe is the motive. They said that one of those suspects, Moseley, stated they set fire to five churches in Bibb County, Alabama, and that Moseley said after they set fire to the first two churches, they saw fire trucks driving by. Moseley said after that, burning the other three churches became too spontaneous. Jim Cavanaugh saying that led them to believe their motive was the excitement and thrill of setting these churches on fire.
We're going to stay on top of this as we get more information about these three college boys, now been arrested for these church fires. Hopefully putting an end to these serial fires. We're going to take a quick break. More LIVE FROM right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: The party line vote means no Senate probe of domestic spying. The Senate Intelligence Committee has blocked a request by the ranking Democrat in favor of a Republican plan to create a new subcommittee for surveillance oversight. Republicans promise a very rigorous system, but Democratic Senator Jay Rockefeller charges the Intelligence Committee, quote, "is in the control of the White House."
Is Britain's record heist an inside job? Police have now arrested two former contractors for the cash management firm that was robbed in grandiose fashion last month. So far, 17 people have been arrested in the $92 million heist, and almost $20 million of the pilfered pounds recovered. The spokesperson says the investigation now includes suspects outside the country.
One year ago this weekend, a shooting rampaged, terrorized, the city of Atlanta. Our LIVE FROM team will never forget it. It began when we were on the air and didn't stop for 26 hours. The suspect will now stand trial for four killings. It took the largest manhunt in Georgia history and a woman by the name of Ashley Smith to get there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS (voice-over): It should have been a day like any other at the Fulton County Courthouse. Business as usual. It would be anything but.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Police are everywhere here, Kenneth (ph), said to be flying around. What we know is two people have been shot. One is a deputy. The other, we believe, may be a judge. This is just a chaotic scene with emergency vehicles flying everywhere.
PHILLIPS: In a span of 12 minutes, a brazen jailbreak. A deadly shooting spree. The terror begins. March 11, 2005. Thirty-three- year-old Brian Nichols is transported from jail to the basement of the county courthouse. Nichols is on trial for a second time in as many weeks on charges of rape, burglary, false imprisonment.
ASH JOSHI, FORMER PROSECUTOR: I was quite confident Brian Nichols knew the trial was not going well. It was the fourth quarter and we were up by a few touchdowns and I think he was concerned.
PHILLIPS: Faced with the very real prospect of spending the rest of his life in prison, police say Nichols takes matters into his own hands, literally.
At 8:49 a.m., he's escorted up to the holding cells on the eighth floor of the new courthouse. There he assaults and overpowers Deputy Cynthia Hall and quickly changes into street clothes.
U.S. Marshal Richard Mecum heads the task force investigating the events of this particular morning.
RICHARD MARSHAL, U.S. MARSHAL: He knocked her out. She had a key on her that unlocked the gun box. And so he unlocked the gun box, which is in the holding cell and took her gun out. Also got her radio.
PHILLIPS: As Nichols makes his break, Judge Roland Barnes is presiding over a civil matter on the eighth floor of the old courthouse. Court reporter Julie Brandau is next to him. Attorney Richard Robbins is also in the courtroom.
He's never given an on-camera interview about the events of the day, but he did agree to speak with CNN off camera.
RICHARD ROBBINS, ATTORNEY (off camera): There was media at the prosecutors table and three on the other side at the other table, and Julie was the court reporter at the hearing and the judge was on the bench. So it was sort of a typical day in the courtroom up until that point.
PHILLIPS: Prosecutors Gayle Abramson and Ash Joshi are also at the courthouse, preparing to head to Judge Barnes' courtroom for what they hope will be the final day of Brian Nichols' rape trial.
JOSHI: It was a few minutes after nine, probably about 9:05. I said Gayle, I'm going to go up. Go ahead and go up to the courtroom. I'll see you there in a few minutes.
GAYLE ABRAMSON, FORMER PROSECUTOR: He took the way I would take, the stairs, but since I had so much with me, visual aid stuff, I was taking the elevator. And I was running late.
PHILLIPS (on camera): By now, Brian Nichols, armed with Cynthia Hall's hand gun, is calmly walking away from the holding cells. But instead of easily escaping, he's making his way across this sky bridge to the old courthouse.
MECUM: He had been this route several times, so he knew where to go and how to go. He went from the holding cell up to Judge Barnes' courtroom. He didn't go in the courtroom itself, but went into the judge's chambers.
PHILLIPS (voice-over): Once there, Nichols takes several hostages, including another deputy and his gun. He then walks into the eighth floor courtroom, where his rape trial is about to begin.
MECUM: From the chambers, in the courtroom is directly behind the judge's bench. The judge was already on the bench with the court reporter. And when Brian Nichols came through that door, he then shot the judge and the court reporter.
PHILLIPS: Judge Barnes and Julie Brandau are killed instantly. Nichols then turns his attention to the prosecution table, but there were no prosecutors. Instead, he locks his eyes and his gun on Attorney Richard Robbins.
ROBBINS: A lot of thoughts went through my mind. He just killed the judge. Now he's going to kill the prosecutor, then he's going to kill everybody else. And I'm sitting at the prosecutor's table. So I decided at that point that I needed to get out of that courtroom, and I wasn't going to let him shoot me straight in the chest.
PHILLIPS: Robbins, convinced he's about to be shot, breaks for exit.
ROBBINS: I didn't find that out until a couple of days later that when I turned around and ran, that distracted him and he ran out of after me.
PHILLIPS: Robbins runs across the sky bridge, while Nichols ducks into a stairwell, but he's spotted by Sergeant Hoyt Teasley, responding to an alarm. Teasley chases Nichols as he dashes down seven floors to Martin Luther King Junior Drive.
Even as Nichols is making his escape, few have any idea of the tragedy unfolding at the courthouse.
HOSHI: People were moving around very fast and I see the judge's case manager and his law clerk hugging each other and crying, sobbing uncontrollably.
PHILLIPS: Judge Barnes' wife Claudia also works at the courthouse and remembers all too vividly the chaos that followed the shootings.
(on camera): How did you hear there was a shooting inside the courthouse?
CLAUDIA BARNES, WIDOW OF JUDGE ROLAND BARNES: I had a marshal friend who used to be assigned to our courtroom. I work for another judge. And he called me and asked me what all the commotion was outside my building. And I said, well, you tell me because, you know, you're the guy with the gun.
PHILLIPS (voice-over): Claudia Barnes will soon learn that a judge has been shot on the eighth floor of the old courthouse.
BARNES: One of my good friends came and got me and at that point, I knew something was wrong with Roland. So we went over to his courtroom and they had already taped it off.
PHILLIPS (on camera): They wouldn't even let you in the courtroom.
BARNES: No. Oh, no.
PHILLIPS (voice-over): In a matter of 12 short minutes, so many lives are changed forever at the Fulton County Courthouse, and it's about to get worse. Brian Nichols is on the loose.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Nichols is considered armed and extremely dangerous.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Now this weekend, I'll take you back through the dramatic events in a special two-hour documentary "CNN PRESENTS: 26 HOURS OF TERROR," the untold story of the Atlanta courthouse shootings. That's Saturday and Sunday, 7:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN.
And tomorrow, right here on LIVE FROM, Ashley Smith. What is she doing now? We're going to take you back to the place where she fed her drug addiction and she'll tell you what life was like before she became an unlikely hero, convincing Brian Nichols to turn himself in after his alleged murder spree. How has it changed her life? You'll see what she's doing now.
He's proven himself as a skater. Now Joey Cheek is making his mark off the ice as a humanitarian. We're going to talk with him about his new goal, next on LIVE FROM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: An Olympic champion, a self-described every man, a hero to kids he's never met, at least not yet. Joey Cheek skated to glory, both gold and silver in the Winter Olympics that just ended in Torino. But it's what he did after his races that's generated buzz.
Cheek donated all the bonus money he received from the U.S. Olympic Committee to an organization founded by another speedskating icon, an organization aimed at letting kids be kids no matter their circumstances.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. Are you ready?
UNIDENTIFIED CHILDREN: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. Here we go. Go!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: We're going to tell you about those kids in just a second. Joey Cheek in New York. Welcome to LIVE FROM. Good to see you.
JOEY CHEEK, OLYMPIC CHAMPION: Thanks for having me.
PHILLIPS: Well, Joey, I can't imagine what it was like to win the gold, win the silver and then came the cash. But you said no, I'm not keeping it. Tell me how you made your decision.
CHEEK: Well, it's something that I'd been batting around for a couple months going into the Olympics. I knew that if I did something big on the field of play that I'd have an opportunity -- a brief opportunity to be able to talk to you folks and I felt like if I had that chance, I wanted to use it to try and do something meaningful. And the Right to Play group, everything kind of came together at the right time and I was able to pull it off.
PHILLIPS: Well, let's brag about the Right to Play organization. You can actually log onto it at www.righttoplay.com, and you can donate and get involved. But this is amazing. You raise money for -- actually for kids overseas to create sports teams and an understanding of sports and -- right? Give me the whole purpose behind this.
CHEEK: Well, you know, a lot of the work that we do is in refugee camps. And it's -- Right to Play is in 23 different nations across the Middle East and Africa. And, you know, these kids, they may have -- they're in camps. They may have food, water, shelter. They may have the bare essentials, but they don't have anything that we sort of take for granted.
And if it weren't but for a twist of fate, you know -- we're very fortunate to be born in the country we are, that we have the opportunities and the chances we have growing up. And a lot of these kids, they have no chance to try and ever become normal if you have such an abnormal childhood. So it's an important time to try and reach people.
PHILLIPS: Are you going to get a chance to go to some of these refugee camps? I know that the money that you're raising, the money you've donated, of course, it's created this amazing domino effect. And all these people are starting to match your funds and donate money. It's going to go to the kids in Sudan, right?
CHEEK: Correct. Well, the particular cause that I'm interested in is the Darfur region of Sudan. And I'm very happy to say that, in addition to the funds that I donated, more than $500,000 has been raised since the Olympics ended and more is coming in every day.
In fact, yesterday, Lenovo, the computer folks, just decided to donate all the computers that they let us use in the village to Right to Play. So, you know, some of the kids out in the field are going to be seeing computers for the first time, which is pretty amazing if you think about it.
PHILLIPS: Why did you pick the Darfur region?
CHEEK: Well, you know, that's a region that gets -- it's -- first of all, it's a huge civil or, you know, humanitarian crisis that's going on in that region, and 200,000 people have been killed. Our government labels it a genocide.
And as I've traveled with my sport, I've been in Europe and Asia, and the coverage over there on that particular region is extensive. And I was pretty amazed coming home that there was so little coverage on the American media of what seems to be to the rest of the world an enormous humanitarian crisis.
PHILLIPS: Joey, did you see that picture that we just brought you? Are you able to see what's on the screen right now?
CHEEK: I don't have my TV on ...
(CROSSTALK)
PHILLIPS: It's from the Web site. It's this young boy -- Sudanese boy, that's imitating you. And it says "when Joey skates, children win." And he's so adorable, and I can just imagine -- I really hope you get a chance to go over there and meet these kids.
CHEEK: Well, I'm actually going to get to make a trip. I'm going to Zambia in April.
PHILLIPS: Wow.
CHEEK: So it's not -- you know, right now, the situation in Darfur and in Sudan and Chad has -- it's sort of disintegrated, and right now the humanitarian aid can't even go in because it's such a dicey place to be.
So I'm going to be with Right to Play. I'm going to go into Zambia. We're going to be shooting a documentary on HIV/AIDS prevention which, you know, obviously, is decimating Sub-Saharan Africa. So we're going to go in there and shoot that documentary, and that will debut at the Toronto Global AIDS Conference.
PHILLIPS: Oh, well, will you promise to come back and share that with us?
CHEEK: If you guys want to have me, I'd love to come talk to you.
PHILLIPS: Are you kidding me? I'm already -- I'm making -- my bookers are listening right now. Joey Cheek is coming back to talk about the documentary.
Now, what about plans for school? I thought that you were maybe thinking about politics or law? Are you going to go to college?
CHEEK: Well, yes, yes, yes. Well, first I've got to do undergrad. Well when I finished high school, I was looking at, OK, well I can either now focus on skating or try to do skating and school or just go to school. And I felt if I was going to have my best chance, I'd need to spend all of my effort and all of my energy on skating and now I've accomplished my skating goals and I hope to put the same effort and same emphasis into my education that I put into skating. So, I've got big ambitions.
PHILLIPS: And you know what? you always seem to achieve them. We are thrilled about you winning the medals and we love talking about Right To Play. The Web site, once again, www.righttoplay.com. Joey Cheek, you're a true inspiration and a wonderful role model. We look forward to you coming back.
CHEEK: Thanks for having me on.
PHILLIPS: Thanks, Joey.
CHEEK: Bye, bye.
PHILLIPS: Straight ahead, school spirit from the stretcher. Oh yes, you remember that, right? How can you forget it? You can't take the cheer out of the cheerleader. Kristi Yamaoka is a southern Illinois cheerleader who actually is going to join us. We're going to take a quick break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: You can take the cheerleader out of the cheer, but you can't take the cheer out of the cheerleader. Kristi Yamaoka is the Southern Illinois University cheerleader who tumbled from a human pyramid, landed on her head, but continued to cheer while being wheeled out of the arena on the stretcher. Kristi talks about her fall just days after the accident.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KRISTI YAMAOKA, INJURED CHEERLEADER: I'm supposed to flip forward off of the stunt and I didn't make it quite all the way up in order to get my balance. And so I knew I was probably not going to be able to roll forward. So that's basically when I knew that it wasn't going to work out as well as I'd planned. I don't know how many times I've hit that stunt perfectly and no one really cares until you hit the ground.
So I just want everyone to know that usually our stunts hit and you know, although there is some danger to cheerleading, that's a risk that cheerleaders are willing to take because we love doing it. The dangers of cheerleading are obvious and we just need to make sure that there's enough spots all over to catch girls and make sure that everything's going to be as safe as possible.
I've had phone calls like you wouldn't even believe from friends that I haven't talked to in years. And they've been calling all my family members and even a lot of my friends to check on me, make sure I'm OK and just basically give me their support. And it's been absolutely amazing.
I was aware that I was doing it, but every time we hear that fight song and they play it over and over at all the games, our coach has us dance because it helps keep the crowd going and gets everyone motivated to support SIU. So as soon as I heard it, I figured the rest of my squad was probably doing the fight song. And I'm still part of the squad so I had to do my thing.
I'm hoping that I'll be out of this neck brace in time to try out again and hopefully, you know, make the squad and be able to cheer again for the Salukis next year.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Medicare recipients, are you still confused about the new prescription drug program? Well e-mail us at LIVEFROM@CNN.com. The man who can answer your questions, Dr. Mark McClellan, head of Medicare and Medicaid coverage, will be here to answer your questions live tomorrow right here on LIVE FROM.
Well we're nearing the end of a historic day at the New York Stock Exchange. Susan Lisovicz is there with the latest and her little bell.
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
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