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American Morning

Interview With Martin Pomeroy

Aired August 14, 2002 - 07:02   ET

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

PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: We're going to go to our "Up Front" this morning, and we have some breaking news out of Los Angeles. She's alive and appears to be well. Four-year-old Jessica Cortez has been reunited with her parents after disappearing from a neighborhood park, not far from where both of her parents ran a taco stand.
Police say a woman brought Jessica into a children's health clinic last night, where the staffers recognized the girl and called police. The woman has been placed under arrest.

Moments ago, I spoke with Martin Pomeroy, who is the interim chief of the Los Angeles Police Department.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(on camera): Chief Pomeroy, good of you to join us -- thank you very much for being with us this morning.

MARTIN POMEROY, INTERIM CHIEF, LAPD: Thank you for having me.

ZAHN: First of all, how is Jessica doing this morning?

POMEROY: As a parent and as a police officer, I am thrilled to report Jessica is just fine. She's well, there are no apparent injuries and no apparent sexual assault, and she's back with her parents this morning.

ZAHN: Have you been able to cobble together exactly what happened to her from Sunday night on?

POMEROY: Well, we have arrested the woman that took her to the clinic yesterday. It would appear that Jessica was with that woman all the way from Sunday through yesterday, when the arrest was made. That woman, in fact, has been booked. We don't have any other prime suspects at this time.

ZAHN: That woman remains in custody at this hour?

POMEROY: She has been booked for the crime of kidnap, yes.

ZAHN: Do you have any idea who she is, and what her involvement potentially could have been with this family?

POMEROY: We don't believe that there is any involvement with the family. Her name is Patricia Cornejo, aged 34. Her motives remain somewhat cloudy to us at this time. We're just not quite sure of why she did this. ZAHN: Did she appear to be in it for the money? Because no ransom was offered at any time, was it?

POMEROY: No, there was never a ransom. To whatever else her motive may have been is purely speculative, so I just can't comment at this time.

ZAHN: And is it clear to you why she brought this little girl into the clinic?

POMEROY: Well, the little girl apparently complained of a sore throat. That might be the sole reason. Or it might be as well there was such public information about this, and we were closing in on several suspects, or people we thought at least at the time were suspects. Maybe this woman just felt the pressure of all of that.

ZAHN: And for folks who aren't familiar exactly what happened when she brought the little girl to the clinic, describe to us what went right to lead to the arrest here.

POMEROY: Well, there had been such tremendous public exposure here in southern California that the workers, as I understand it, at the clinic immediately recognized this might be Jessica. So they delayed somewhat in their treatment and called the police.

And at one point, the woman stepped out of the room, and they asked young Jessica what her name was. She confirmed who she was, and this was a different name that had been provided by that woman when Jessica was brought to the clinic. The clinic called us back and let us know, in fact, it was Jessica. And we immediately turned the red lights and sirens on, and responded quickly thereafter.

ZAHN: Well, those folks at the clinic were very alert, because Jessica's appearance was different than the pictures that were passed around of her, weren't they? Wasn't her hair cut differently, and she was disheveled?

POMEROY: Yes, there was an interesting story behind that. Her hair was bobbed off a few inches. And when she was talking to our detectives last night, she said, "I'm not pretty anymore." And our detectives immediately assured her that despite the fact that her hair had been cut, she was still a beautiful, young woman.

ZAHN: Is there anything you can tell us about Patricia Cornejo this morning? Does she have a criminal record?

POMEROY: We've been unable to verify that she has a criminal record, so I can't really tell you right now. And there's not much else we know about her life at this moment, other than the fact she has talked to us and we have gathered some evidence, and we are certain she is the prime suspect in all of this.

ZAHN: And what makes you so certain of that?

POMEROY: Well, some admission she has made, in addition to some physical evidence collected at her apartment. ZAHN: And you also said at this point, you are somewhat mystified about what her motivation was, and I know everybody is sort of stumped by that at this hour. Any conjecture you could share with us?

POMEROY: No, not that I can share. Anything I could say would be speculative, and that just wouldn't help the investigation. And we need to collect a few more facts, and then take it all to the local district attorney and have charges filed.

ZAHN: Final thought about the "Amber Alert" today, and what role that might have played. I know there was some criticism that perhaps the alert went into effect too late, but the mayor denies that. In the end, is that what saved Jessica, potentially, from a bad fate?

POMEROY: Well, to the extent that the "Amber Alert" focused public attention on this crime, it was certainly a help. I have no information that would indicate any of the people at the clinic actually saw the "Amber Alert." I believe their information came from the local media.

ZAHN: All right, well, Chief Pomeroy, you must be quite relieved that this ended the way it did, given what's happened to several other California children. Was that...

POMEROY: I can tell you...

ZAHN: ... one of your greatest fears that Jessica might be hurt?

POMEROY: Well, as we said yesterday, we were gravely concerned with little Jessica. We were searching with the fervor of parents, not just police officers. And now, the joy and the thrill we feel is that as parents as well, and not just police officers. We're just so pleased she's back with us and with her parents today.

ZAHN: Well, Chief Pomeroy, we really appreciate your sharing some of the details with us this morning. Thanks for your time and continued good luck.

POMEROY: You're welcome. Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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