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American Morning

New Developments in Duke Rape Investigation; Houston Teen Attacked; Bullet Theory in Seattle

Aired April 28, 2006 - 08:59   ET

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

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Jason Carroll, in Durham, North Carolina. A young woman who says she was raped by three Duke lacrosse players says a similar incident happened to her before. I'll have all the details coming up.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Ed Lavandera, in Houston, Texas, where a 16-year-old boy is fighting to stay alive after police say he was brutally attacked by two other teenagers. More on that story coming up.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Carol Costello. Talk about your one in a million shots. We bring you the impossible in two minutes.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: And what really happened inside the Sago Mine? For the first time, Randy McCloy, the sole survivor, is offering up some desperate details, and he has some heartfelt words for the victims' families. A look at his letter ahead on this AMERICAN MORNING.

Good morning to you. I'm Miles O'Brien.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Soledad O'Brien.

Also ahead this morning, we're going to have a little update on that Harvard student, sophomore...

M. O'BRIEN: Ah, yes.

S. O'BRIEN: ... who wrote the novel, got a $500,000 advance. Well, then you had the whole plagiarism allegations. She appeared talking about that it was just an accident. An update now from both Harvard and, also, it looks like her book's being pulled from store shelves.

M. O'BRIEN: The plot thickens, as they say.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes, it sure does.

First, though, new developments to tell you about in the Duke rape investigation. A police report just released shows the accuser was actually involved in another rape case more than 10 years ago.

CNN's Jason Carroll live in Durham, North Carolina, for us.

Hey, Jason. Good morning.

CARROLL: Good morning to you, Soledad.

That police report was filed 10 years ago in Creedmoor, about 15 miles from here, filed by the accuser. Right now we're awaiting a press conference from the Creedmoor mayor, as well as police chief. Perhaps we'll get some more details about exactly what happened.

Here's what we can tell you about that police report. Again, it was filed by the accuser 10 years ago. She told the police officer that three years before that she was sexually assaulted by three men.

The police report says, "The three suspects raped and beat her when she was 14 years old for a continual time." She names the three men who assaulted her in that police report that we had an opportunity to take a look at, but their names are blacked out. She did say that one of the men who attacked her when she was 14 was someone that she knew, it was an acquaintance.

The officer at the time, 10 years ago, had her fill out a chronological account of exactly what happened. She apparently did that, but no charges were filed in that particular case -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: All right. Jason Carroll for us this morning. The plot kind of thickens there.

All right. Thanks, Jason -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: This morning in Houston, word of a horrifying attack and a desperate struggle for survival. A 16-year-old Hispanic boy lies in critical condition in a Houston hospital. Two teenage boys are behind bars after the terrible beating on Saturday night. Authorities may charge those two in jail with hate crimes. Police say they beat the boy for apparently trying to kiss a 12-year-old girl at a party.

Correspondent Ed Lavandera from Houston with more -- Ed.

LAVANDERA: Hi, Miles.

Well, that victim is unconscious and in critical condition. Authorities say that the attack was so brutal that it left him with internal injuries to his vital organs.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LAVANDERA (voice over): During a late-night party Saturday, a fight erupted inside this suburban Houston home. Investigators say David Tuck and Keith Turner unleashed a brutal assault on a 16-year- old boy after he tried to kiss a younger girl. Prosecutors say both suspects dragged the victim into the backyard, kicked him in the head with steel-towed boots, and then sodomized him with a two-inch-thick PVC pipe.

MIKE TRENT, PROSECUTOR: They also poured bleach on him. And the victim is in pretty bad shape right now, critical condition, and it is unclear at all whether he's going to survive. LAVANDERA: Authorities say no one at the party called an ambulance until 10 hours after the attack. The 16-year-old was left fighting for his life all night. Neighbors who saw the boy taken away by paramedics were shocked.

NANCY BENAVIDES, NEIGHBORHOOD RESIDENT: He was severely beaten. It was just, oh, my goodness, I couldn't believe it. His face was severely swollen, lips, everything. He just looked -- there was blood everywhere.

LAVANDERA: Tuck and Turner have been charged with aggravated sexual assault, but if the victim dies, authorities say the charges will be upgraded to capital murder.

David Tuck made a brief court appearance, but his attorney said he was invoking his fifth amendment right to not incriminate himself. Keith Turner has not been to court yet, and it's still not clear if he has an attorney.

But plenty of people are talking in the town of Spring, the Houston suburb where the attack happened. They are especially stunned by the details the attack might have been racially motivated.

Investigators say the suspects yell racial epithets as they beat the Hispanic victim. Many in this neighborhood say the two suspects were troubled and angry. Classmates and neighbors of David Tuck say he had a history of using racial slurs.

DAVID COOK, NEIGHBORHOOD RESIDENT: When we were at his house there was all sorts of stuff. Like, he had swastikas painted on the fence of his back yard. It was just real white trashy sort of stuff. And he'd yell sort of "Hail Hitler" crap.

LAVANDERA: Timothy Borque doesn't think Keith Turner is racist. He says the 18-year-old often hung out with minority students. But he does say Turner acted like a wannabe gangster.

TIMOTHY BORQUE, SPRING, TEXAS, RESIDENT: He's a (EXPLETIVE DELETED). He's just a wannabe. A little bitty, kind of short white dude who thinks he's all that.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LAVANDERA: The League of United Latin American Citizens, LULAC, here in Houston is asking the FBI to look into this, and prosecutors also say that they are -- they will continue to look deeper into the racial aspects of this case. In particular, the backgrounds and any kind of groups these two suspects might have been associated with. But they also say that it's not likely at this point that hate crimes will be filed against them -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Ed Lavandera in Houston.

Thank you very much -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: A shooting in Seattle leaves police investigators with a clue and a strange theory, too, about exactly what happened.

Let's get right to Carol Costello. She's live for us in the newsroom.

Hey, Carol. Good morning again.

COSTELLO: Good morning.

You know, it's hard to believe this could actually happen. To say it's unusual is the understatement of the year, but Seattle police say it does prove exactly what happened when two police officers opened fire on an armed suspect.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEP. CHIEF CLARK KIMERER, SEATTLE POLICE: I have not seen anything quite like that in my 24 years.

COSTELLO (voice over): Seattle's deputy police chief is talking about a one in a million shot fired by one of his officers. It happened earlier this week with an armed suspect who witnesses say had threatened to shoot.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He said he was going to pull the gun -- if the police came, he was going to pull the gun on them. That was it. He didn't have anything to live for.

COSTELLO: It happened like this: an 18-year-old man had apparently a fight with his girlfriend. He became upset and began threatening people on the street.

Police responded. Two officers walked toward him and ordered him to drop his gun. He did not. The officers fired, killing him. Police say the suspect never fired but they had to choice but to shoot him.

KIMERER: It is very clear, much more clear than I'm used to seeing in these situations, that the suspect pointed a loaded revolver at the officers prior to their returning fire. We know that because one of the officer's rounds struck the cylinder of the suspect's weapon, straight on, passing through the cylinder and impacting the bullet that was in the cylinder of the weapon that he was firing.

COSTELLO: In these crime scene pictures, you can see the mangled cartridge still in its chamber that the police bullet hit head-on.

KIMERER: It went into the cylinder. So, there is the barrel, and then the cylinder with six chambers. And it came along the side of the weapon. You can even see how the bullet grazed the weapon and went into the cylinder. When we say the cylinder, not the barrel of the gun, but the cylinder of the revolver, and actually shot out back end of the bullet that was in the chamber.

COSTELLO: Police say there could be only one explanation.

KIMERER: Physically, I believe it is impossible to conclude anything other than the fact that the suspect was pointing a weapon directly at the officers.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Still, those two police officers are on administrative leave. That is very routine in these cases. And we'll keep you posted on what happens next.

S. O'BRIEN: Strange case. All right, Carol. Thank you.

Let's get a look at the forecast now. Reynolds Wolf in for Chad.

Hey, Reynolds. Good morning again.

REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Soledad.

(WEATHER REPORT)

S. O'BRIEN: All right. Thanks, Reynolds.

WOLF: You bet.

Sorry to say, for this young woman things not going so well. She's a first-time author, and her novel has now been pulled from store shelves.

We're talking about the author of "How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild, and Got a Life." She had admitted copying some passages from another author's work. The Harvard sophomore says, no, no, no, it was all unintentional.

Similarities were first reported by a writer for "The Harvard Crimson," the Harvard student newspaper. The author apologized. Publishers, though, have gone ahead and pulled the book.

She signed a two-book deal worth $500,000. Also, a movie deal was in the works. It's kind of unclear now what happens, and there's a report in "The Harvard Crimson" today that the school might begin its own investigation.

M. O'BRIEN: I guess the next thing for her will be Oprah or something. No -- I mean, I don't know, it's -- what next for her? It's not a good picture, no.

S. O'BRIEN: No, it doesn't -- it -- it's not going to end well, is my guess.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes.

S. O'BRIEN: And we're already seeing the signs of it all unraveling.

M. O'BRIEN: All right. Thank you, Soledad, for that update.

Coming up, an emotional letter from the sole survivor of the Sago Mine tragedy to the families of the victims. It explains a little bit of what happened deep inside that mine. Just gut-wrenching stuff. We'll ask some of the victims how they feel about reading those words.

S. O'BRIEN: Also this morning, we're going to talk to one man behind these huge immigration protests. One is planned for Monday. He's a deejay, and he's actually asking his listeners to tone down the protest. We'll find out why.

M. O'BRIEN: Plus, this is a story you don't hear too often, a guy who fights off a vicious alligator attack. His incredible story and his incredible line of work -- he dives for golf balls. Will he go back to that? The answer is coming on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: Well, he lived to tell the tale, and now finally Randy McCloy is just beginning to tell us what happened underground in the wake of that explosion at the Sago Mine in West Virginia at the first of the year. He's written an emotional letter to the families of those who died.

Miner Jerry Groves was among the 12 men who died in the tragedy. Some members of his family have agreed to talk to us this morning and talk about that letter. They join us from Weston, West Virginia, his brother John and his sister Geraldine Bruso.

Good to have you with us this morning.

How are you doing, Geraldine?

How have you been doing, John?

JOHN GROVES, BROTHER OF MINER JERRY GROVES: Thanks for having us. And things -- everything is doing better.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes.

GROVES: It's just one of those things that we received -- it's been heart-wrenching, and we -- it's just so emotional that the fact that we've received this information that the -- that our brother never had a chance.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes.

GROVES: Due to the letter.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes. Let me just share with folks for just a moment a passage, one of the passages from the letter.

Randy says this: "The first thing we did was activate our rescuers..." -- he's referring there to the breathing devices that they carry with them -- "... as we had been trained. At least four of the rescuers did not function. I shared my rescuer with Jerry Groves, while Junior Toler, Jesse Jones and Tom Anderson sought help from others." There were not enough rescuers to go around.

First of all, the company denies that -- they claim that the rescuers were perfectly in working order, but what are your thoughts on this? Did you have some suspicion at all, Gwendolyn (ph), that these devices might not have worked properly?

GROVES: We were just under the assumption that everything was fine, they had their rescuer equipment and everything. And, you know, whenever they say that the actual equipment was in working order, the rescuers themselves his problems with these rescuers to give whenever they were underground.

There were -- there were three or four of them that the rescuers had with them that did not work. We had testimony that -- from the beginning that the rescuers were not working from the people that actually survived that come out and told us that these rescuers did not work.

M. O'BRIEN: All right.

GROVES: So there's a problem there, and that's why we're here now, right now.

M. O'BRIEN: All right. Let's carry on. And there's another passage I want to share with people.

"We were worried and afraid. We began to accept our fate. Junior Toler led us all in 'The Sinners Prayer'. We prayed a little longer, and then someone suggested that we each write letters to our loved ones."

"I wrote a letter to Anna and my children. And when I finished writing, I put the letter in Jackie Weaver's lunchbox, where I hoped it would be found."

Geraldine, it's got to be gut-wrenching to hear them -- hear him describe what that scene was like there as they began to understand and accept their fate.

GERALDINE BRUSO, SISTER OF MINER JERRY GROVES: Absolutely. It was very, very devastating. And just to imagine that what they endured there for the last 40-some hours that they were there, and to know that they passed away one by one just drifting off, it's sad. It's very sad.

And we know that we need coal in our country. We know that we need the miners. We know that they need to be safe. It's -- something definitely has to be done for everyone that's concerned with this.

GROVES: We have another brother that works in the coal mines, and to know that he is dependent upon this rescue device to save his life, and there's problems with it, and there's men underground right now as we're talking that are relying on this piece of equipment to save their lives and to know that they are not properly functioning, there's a problem.

M. O'BRIEN: Clearly. Clearly.

GROVES: And it doesn't matter what I...

M. O'BRIEN: Clearly, more needs to be done to make these miners safer.

I want to share one more final passage and then get your final thoughts on this. This is Randy talking.

"As time went on, I became very dizzy and lightheaded. Some drifted off into what appeared to be a deep sleep. And one person sitting near me collapsed and fell off his bucket, not moving. It was clear there was nothing I could do to help him."

Geraldine, when you read that, I know it makes you sad. In a way, though, does it make you angry, too?

BRUSO: Absolutely. Absolutely, because we feel that this should not have happened. If all the devices worked correctly, god only knows what could have came out of this, between the machines not working and above ground with the rescuers above ground. We're very angry.

And we're also angry for the fact that they were in there, and for so long, and then when we found out that -- the news that there were still men alive, and we sat and we waited and we waited with all the other families, and it was very, very hard when they came back and they told us that they had perished. It was something that we'll never, ever forget. Never.

GROVES: That's something my mother still lives with today...

BRUSO: We all do.

GROVES: ... is to know that, you know, we sat there and we waited. You know, my mother, whenever they told us they were alive, my brother Jerry had a bald head. And she sat there and she talked about what she was going to do. And she put lipstick on and said that when she came out -- when Jerry came out, that she couldn't wait to kiss him on the head.

And when you -- my mother still can't get past that point. To her, we're still in the church waiting for him to come out.

And this is something that whenever I see, you know, there's nothing now, we just -- what we're doing now is to share with the people that we need to get these miners safe and we need make for sure that they get all that they can to help save their lives. And -- in the case of a disaster like this.

And, you know, we know the explosion, we're going to find out what happened with this explosion and caused the explosion for us to be in this situation to start with. But we have found that one thing -- there are so many different theories, and that's all they are at this point, is just theories. And we're just waiting for the answers, and we thank the governor for -- these answers are going to be answered on Tuesday and these people are going to tell us what happened.

M. O'BRIEN: John Groves, Geraldine Bruso, we wish you well as you try to find those answers. Thank you very much for your time.

GROVES: Thank you.

BRUSO: Thank you.

S. O'BRIEN: Ahead this morning, massive immigration protests are planned for Monday. At least one of the men who is a force behind them are asking protesters to tone it down a bit. We're going to talk to him about why.

And then later, we talk to a guy who survived vicious attack by that alligator right there. We'll ask him how he was able to fight it off just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: Oh, the immigration debate heating up yet again. This coming Monday, May Day, pro-immigration activists say huge protests could very well shut down some major cities. Some fear those protests could become too militant. And some, including our next guest, are calling for a respectful day of protest.

Joining us this morning, prominent Spanish language deejay, Eddie Sotelo, who's been one of the forces behind some of these protests.

Hey, Eddie. Good morning. Nice to see you. Thanks for talking with us.

EDDIE SOTELO, MORNING RADIO HOST: Hello. Good morning, Soledad. Good morning to everybody from CNN.

S. O'BRIEN: Wonderful. We appreciate you taking a little break and chatting with us.

Let me ask you a question. You've expressed some concern about these demonstration, which could be the largest demonstration ever in Los Angeles. What are you concerned about?

SOTELO: No, I'm just telling my listeners to do it, you know, peaceful, and at the same time, try to wear a white T-shirt carrying the USA flag. And at the same time, carrying the plastic bag to be able to pick up trash in case we see on the streets, because we don't want to damage, you know, the city, like, almost the thing like what we did on the 25th of last month, that we marched, you know, peaceful. And that's what we're looking forward. I'm telling my listeners to, you know, always demonstrate that we have education.

S. O'BRIEN: Be respectful, pick up your own garbage. You know, that's not really what you often hear when people are sort of exhorting someone, hey, go out and protest. Why are you taking that tact? I mean, it's a little unusual.

SOTELO: Well, that's not in my situation. You know, I respect the other opinions, but what I'm doing with my listeners is to demonstrate that I have to put an example. For example -- for example, I have to tell them, you know what? This is what I'm going to be doing, but it's your own decision. But I'm against trying to damage the city or hurt somebody else.

That's not what I want. You know, I just want to demonstrate that we are just united and we'd like to have an opportunity to be legalized. And just because, you know, there are so many people -- that we just come here to look for a better opportunity and trying to help our families in our country.

S. O'BRIEN: You've had some people say, yes, Eddie, this is what your bosses are telling everybody you should say. Is this coming from somebody else, or is this sort of what's in your heart?

SOTELO: No, no, no. This is from my heart. You know, I can just lie to you. I can lie to my listeners. But I can't lie to god, who gave me the opportunity to be a radio announcer, be with a microphone every morning, trying to make laugh to my listeners and try to let them know that we came here to succeed.

S. O'BRIEN: You know, I know your focus really has been tone. So, I want to ask you a question about this anthem for immigrants' rights. It's set to the national anthem, but it's in Spanish, and some of the words have been changed.

Let's throw up, if we can, the verse of "The Star-Spangled Banner."

It says in English, "On the shore, dimly seen, through the mists of the deep, where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes, what is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep..."

It goes on and on, obviously.

Here's the Spanish version. And they've not only -- you know, they're not only doing it in Spanish, they're also doing it with different words.

"Your stars, your stripes, the liberty, we are equals. We are brothers. It is our anthem. In the fiery of combat it is the signal of victory."

What do you make of this anthem for immigrants' rights?

SOTELO: Like I say, you know, I just have to respect that. And sometimes what I have to do is just, you know, give my advice to my listeners.

I don't believe in hurting no one. That's not in my beliefs, like I said. I have to respect that. But sometimes, what I have to do is just tell my listeners, you know what? We just have to do, for example, a demonstration of telling my -- all the family to make sure that we are united.

Like I said, there are so many people who are trying to disturb, you know, trying to make us look bad. But we're not. We're not -- you know, we're not criminals. I don't agree with that.

S. O'BRIEN: But you're -- but you're a guy who is all worried often about the tone, I mean, as you said throughout this. So, I'm curious, do you think that when you take the national anthem and you put it to Spanish words and you change it a little bit, do you think that sends a bad tone, or do you think that it sends a message that I think the people who put it together were trying to send, which is a message of inclusion?

Where do you fall on this?

SOTELO: Like I said, you know, I don't believe that that's the right thing to do.

S. O'BRIEN: You don't believe it is?

SOTELO: No, I don't. No, I don't.

S. O'BRIEN: They shouldn't have done it?

SOTELO: I have to respect that. You know, like I said, when we carry the USA flag, you know, we have to respect that, because it's a symbol of the American people, this beautiful country. And we can't do that, you know, what these people are doing.

S. O'BRIEN: Why? Just curious.

SOTELO: We can't.

S. O'BRIEN: Why not? What's -- I guess, what's offensive about it, do you think?

SOTELO: Because, you know, I don't like if somebody comes to Mexico and they do the same thing with, you know, with the anthem. You know, you can't do that. You can't do that. I don't believe that. We have to respect that.

S. O'BRIEN: You don't want the Mexican anthem in English either.

SOTELO: No, no, no. No, I would never like that, to see that.

S. O'BRIEN: Deejay Eddie Sotelo, thank you, as always, for talking with us. It's always a pleasure to chat with you and catch up with you as well.

SOTELO: Thank you. Good morning. And thanks a lot for this great opportunity to let the American people know that we just came here for looking for a better opportunity, to be here and be part of the American people. Thanks a lot.

S. O'BRIEN: All right. Eddie, thank you -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Con mucho gusto, senor.

Coming up, a vicious alligator attacks a man. The man fights back and he wins. He'll share his incredible survival story and he'll tell you why he was in the water with the alligator in the first place. You're not going to believe that one.

And later, we'll talk to actress Cheryl Hines. She's in a new movie with Robin Williams. It's called "RV". It's kind of a shades of the Griswolds here. It opens in theaters nationwide today.

You -- she's familiar, right? You know her from, right, "Curb Your Enthusiasm". Do you watch that one? Larry David's wife there.

But -- so she obviously hangs around with wacky guys -- Larry David, and now Robin Williams.

All this ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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