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Nancy Grace
Kansas City Highway Shootings Mystery; Christian Congressman`s Sexy Clinch; Ex-Boyfriend Arrested in Danielle Locklear Murder; Boyfriend Confessed to Killing Girlfriend; Classroom Brawl Caught on Tape; Reality Star Deep in Debts
Aired April 10, 2014 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JEAN CASAREZ, GUEST HOST: We begin tonight with breaking news out of Kansas City. Police are investigating about 20 random shootings on busy interstates and roadways across the Missouri city. The shootings, all within the last month, randomly target drivers. Tonight, who is the mystery Kansas City highway shooter?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The 13 highway shootings, random shootings which injured three people.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Somebody trying to terrorize this area.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Police believe it`s possible the shooter or shooters were on foot, hiding and waiting.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CASAREZ: And also tonight, surveillance video catches married congressman, father of five Vance McAllister reportedly kissing a female staffer. McAllister says the video obtained by "The Ouachita Citizen" is a leak, reportedly blaming a security breach. Will the congressman involve the FBI?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: U.S. Representative...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... Vance McAllister...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... a married man with five children...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Family man.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The video believed to have been taken inside McAllister`s office.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Surveillance video showing his wife passionately kissing her boss went viral.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: "He has wrecked my life."
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Asking for forgiveness.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Headed for divorce.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The values of faith, family and country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CASAREZ: After police announce finding a body believed to be missing North Carolina teen Danielle Locklear, two arrests and new details in the investigation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fifteen-year-old Danielle Locklear...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... went to meet her ex-boyfriend, 17-year-old Je`Michael Malloy. The two had an argument. It became violent.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) then stuffed a sock down the 15-year-old`s throat. The pair then tied cinderblocks around her body and threw her into the South River.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... was one of those things that`s unbelievable.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CASAREZ: This cell phone video from inside a classroom goes viral, a California science teacher and wrestling coach in a scuffle with his own student at a Santa Monica high school.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Caught on cell phone video, a brawl between a teacher and student. Students say the boy took the first swings, punching the teacher in the face.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What is the teacher supposed the to do? He was trying to restrain him.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He made a bad decision. You do not take a child down.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CASAREZ: "Real Housewives" stars Teresa and Joe Giudice live a lavish lifestyle on television, but now they are facing prison time after pleading guilty to federal fraud charges. Now it is revealed the alleged scam leaves the couple owing $13 million in debts.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Teresa Giudice flaunted her money on "The Real Housewives of New Jersey," but new documents reveal Teresa and her husband, Joe, owe creditors over $13 million.
TERESA GIUDICE, "REAL HOUSEWIVES": I`m a Jersey girl.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The flashy couple, whose fortunes have turned sour.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my God!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CASAREZ: And that was video from Bravo`s "The Real Housewives of New Jersey."
Good evening, everybody. I`m Jean Casarez, in for Nancy Grace. Thank you so much for joining us tonight.
About 20 random shootings under investigation as police search (ph) the Kansas City highway shooter. Let us go straight out to Christine Vendel, police reporter with "The Kansas City Star." Christine, tell us how this unfolded.
CHRISTINE VENDEL, "KANSAS CITY STAR" (via telephone): Well, the police analysts started looking at some random shootings. They started with about four that all occurred on highways or major roadways. And when they dug into it, they came up with about 13. That number has since grown to 20, and with a common denominator of them being apparently innocent motorists targeted for no reason other than opportunity on the highways around the Kansas City area.
CASAREZ: Christine, has law enforcement said at all, or those that have been victimized -- any patterns with the shooter or shooters?
VENDEL: The pattern seems to be opportunity. These victims are shot at at road splits (ph) or at highway exits, ramps, where the shooter apparently fires, then veers off in a different direction from the victim, preventing the victim from following, catching a license plate, or really knowing what happened to them. Most of the victims didn`t realize they had been shot at when it occurred.
CASAREZ: And Christine, isn`t it true that the shots ultimately have gone through the passenger or driver doorways, lower than higher, and people have been hit by those shots, but nobody`s been killed?
VENDEL: Correct. There have been -- most of the shots have hit the doors. They end up staying in the doors. They don`t have enough velocity to go all the way through. Some have hit windows. And we have had three victims hit, two in the leg, one in the arm.
CASAREZ: And everybody, what we`re talking about is Kansas City right now, on a highway, a freeway, also some roadways -- could go anywhere. This is the heartland of America. Someone or people are shooting at cars. Now, either they want to scare somebody or they`re just a bad shot at this point and they haven`t killed anybody.
I want to go out to Clark Goldband, NANCY GRACE producer joining us. I want you to take us through exactly where the shooting incidents have been. Break it down for us.
CLARK GOLDBAND, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Sure thing, Jean. You`ve got it. Now, I just want to put out there, law enforcement not revealing all of the shootings for investigative reasons. Here`s what we know. I`m going to show you 10 of the locations that we know, Jean, again, not in any particular order, but here they are.
They`re approximately 11 miles by 16 miles across. As you can see, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten. They`re all in a particular region, most of them here, down towards the southeast.
But take a look at this. Here`s what`s most interesting, Jean. There appears to be some sort of pattern. You see it behind me. The first incident that law enforcement thinks they`re dealing with is the 8th of March. There is a gap here of about 10 days. And then, if you take a look at the next incident, there`s a gap of about 10 more days. But then, Jean, they start coming rapid-fire. Look at this, the second, the third, the fourth, the fifth, sixth, some reported, Jean, twice on the weekends, some within just a few-minute range of each other, law enforcement desperately trying to crack this thing.
But one of the key problems that we`re seeing is that we cannot get a consistent, clear description on the perpetrator or on the car. Jean, things being reported from red, green and white. We cannot get a description of the perp, either.
Kansas City is very, very scared this evening, some people changing the routes they`re taking, especially in the evening.
CASAREZ: You know, Clark, we`ve got someone very special with us. It is a victim of that shooter or shooters joins us. She is going by "Denise" tonight because she is still scared for her life.
Denise, thank you for joining us from Kansas City. You are a victim. You were driving in your car. You got shot at. You survived. Just tell us the experience from the beginning.
"DENISE", VICTIM OF HIGHWAY SHOOTINGS (via telephone): Sure. It was just -- it was March 31st, and I was coming home from a class. And I was on the highway and went to take the exit, which is what they call the 470/435 exit, and had just gotten on the exit when I heard a very loud explosion.
First thought was that my tire blew, so I hung onto the steering wheel. But then I heard glass crinkling, so I looked over my left shoulder, and the door behind me, the passenger window, was all crinkled out. And as I started to look forward, I saw a car to the side of me. It was, like, a yellowish cream-colored car. It reminded me of a Monte Carlo, a `77 Monte Carlo, but it has a four-door, and it had a white vinyl top.
The front passenger window was down, the back passenger window was halfway down, all the windows were tinted. I didn`t see anybody. But the second thought that came to my mind was that they threw something at my car. So I continued onward, and I thought, Well, if they did that, I was going to look in my side mirror, and that`s when I noticed the bullet hole in the door.
CASAREZ: So you said the window, the passenger window was all crinkled up, but the shot actually went through the passenger door?
"DENISE": It hit the door -- it hit the door about an inch below where the window meets the door, and so it lodged into the door. It actually did not penetrate, thankfully, because it hit the extended metal that they use to prevent damage when you`re in a crash.
CASAREZ: You know, Denise, that shot could have gone straight through that passenger door and hit you in your abdomen, where there are vital organs. Your life is spared.
"DENISE": Actually, if it had been two inches higher, it probably would have been the neck or head, correct.
CASAREZ: Wow. Denise, is law enforcement telling you anything, that they believe the shooter is trying to kill and just a poor shot? Because when you aim a gun -- because I shoot guns -- and your shot can go lower than your target is aimed for. And that`s just something you get through practice. Do they believe this is someone just trying to have fun or aiming to kill?
"DENISE": They were very, sorry to say, very nonchalant and just said it could have fallen from the sky, the bullet, at the time that I reported it. I think they have since then gotten more serious because they retrieved the bullet from the car. But at the time, they kind of just said it was just property damage. That was it.
CASAREZ: Dr. Tim Gallagher joins us. He is a medical examiner, forensic pathologist out of Daytona Beach, Florida. Let`s talk a little more serious about the bullets, OK? Is there anything forensically, when the bullets are being looked at, to determine at all the intent of the shooter?
DR. TIM GALLAGHER, MEDICAL EXAMINER, FORENSIC PATHOLOGIST (via telephone): Well, Jean, the bullets will have some unique identifying markers on it. But looking at the bullet, we cannot know what is going on in the mind of the person shooting it. So no, there`s nothing on the bullet that we can use to help us find the intent of the shooter.
CASAREZ: I knew that, but I just thought I`d ask you that question. Now, obviously, Dr. Gallagher, they are putting together -- they are collecting the bullets because they are at the different scenes of the shootings, and they are trying to see if the bullets match. And that brings us to a tool, a tool-arm (ph) specialist in regard to the bullet, the bullet`s special markings that they have. Isn`t that correct?
GALLAGHER: That is correct. Your ballistic expert can determine very unique markings on the spent bullet and then match that up with the firearm.
CASAREZ: I want to go to Bethany Marshall, psychoanalyst and author of "Dealbreakers." In your experience, do you believe that this is all the same person, or do you believe there are some copycat artists that saw what was happening a month ago and thought, This is really exciting? And let us remind everybody, last week is when the majority of those shots came, day after day after day at motorists on the highway.
BETHANY MARSHALL, PSYCHOANALYST: Well, if it was a copycat crime, they could be copying the D.C. snipers, right, because we saw them standing on bridges, shooting out of the back of a car.
I really disagree with the medical examiner that we cannot know what was in the mind of the shooter. We can at least guess that the shooter has an axe to grind against society, right, as opposed to an individual who has an axe to grind against another individual, like domestic homicide or spousal abuse or violence against a child.
Whoever did this has an axe to grind against society. They feel paranoid. They feel persecuted. And they have put themselves in the position of ultimate power because this has a fish in a barrel quality, like school shooters. They feel persecuted, paranoid. What do they do? They stand at the top of a stairway. They shoot. They wait until all the students are bottle-necking out of the building, and then they shoot even more.
So I would look at power, I would look at a vendetta, and feeling ostracized by society.
CASAREZ: And you know, Bethany, I would say if a shot was 1 to 2 inches from Denise`s head, that tells me evidence of intent to kill.
When we come back, security video catches married congressman Vance McAllister reportedly kissing a female staffer. Will the congressman involve the FBI?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CASAREZ: Surveillance video catches married congressman Vance McAllister reportedly kissing a female staffer. McAllister says the video, obtained by "The Ouachita Citizen," is a leak, reportedly blaming a security breach. Will the congressman involve the FBI?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A compromising image, another congressman caught canoodling with a woman who is not his wife, instead a congressional staffer.
MCALLISTER: Where I come from, we aren`t scared of a hard day`s work. And the values we live by are faith, family and country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CASAREZ: This is surveillance video obtained by "The Ouachita Citizen."
All right, let`s go straight out to Michelle Southern. She is assistant news director. You know, Michelle, I paused right there because I`m watching this video. This is a married father of five, more less (ph) a congressman, in his office as a surveillance video rolls, and he is kissing -- allegedly, I`ll say that -- a fellow staffer, who`s also married.
Michelle, what else can you tell us?
MICHELLE SOUTHERN, LOUISIANA RADIO NEWS NETWORK (VIA TELEPHONE): Well, and I would say that our reaction here in Louisiana is the same. I mean, McAllister was a brand-new congressman. He seemed to be very popular in his fifth district, endorsed by the "Duck Dynasty" crew, of course, on his family values platform. And then now this. And it`s still being pretty much talked about, the top story for us.
CASAREZ: All right, Michelle, how did this get out? I mean, this is internal surveillance video, and my first question is, how did it get out to the public, viral?
SOUTHERN: Well, the article claims that they received the video anonymously, and so we`re -- you know, lots of folks, obviously, asking that question. None of it has been confirmed yet. It`s mostly speculation at this point. We just don`t know.
CASAREZ: Now, Clark Goldband, I want to ask you -- originally, they had said that they wanted the FBI to look into this. Are they still asking for that?
GOLDBAND: Well, no, Jean, and in the past 24 hours, there have been quite a few changes. We`ve seen the chief of staff of this congressman, according to reports, asking for an FBI investigation and saying that this congressman would send a letter to Speaker of the House John Boehner. However, since that statement, we`re now seeing that they do not want an FBI investigation pursued and they just want to move on.
Now, Jean, here`s what we`ve learned about the cameras from "The Shreveport Times." They say it`s an eight-camera system, only saves the data for about 60 days. This was apparently two days before Christmas. So that narrows the timeframe the video may have been taken.
And Jean, the newspaper also reporting that a passcode may be required to access the footage. Therefore, who has the passcode? That seems to be the big question tonight. It may narrow down the person or persons who had access to this footage.
CASAREZ: But you know, Clark, my big question is, why don`t you want an FBI investigation into this? Why don`t you want a probe? Because this is, in a sense, breaching federal security. But...
GOLDBAND: Well -- and yes -- yes. You know, and that`s what the chief of staff said, Jean. They were concerned about security and how it was breached. But then, seemingly, just hours or 24 hours later, that approach has now been withdrawn, saying they do not, at this time, want an FBI investigation. So certainly questions there.
CASAREZ: Joining us tonight is Carmen Luisa Coya. She is a chief PR strategist for Effective Media. Ms. Coya, here is what we are hearing. You can`t really see it on the video, but the reports are saying that when this video starts, at least what has been released, that his purple shirt is crumpled. That tells me that this is not the beginning of the video because they leave the room, they lock the room, they go outside, surveillance video shows them going separate ways. What do you say?
CARMEN LUISA COYA, PR STRATEGIST: And that`s probably the reason that they don`t want the actual investigation to continue to, you know, move forward. There`s probably a lot more. And at the end of the day, coming forward and being honest and coming public and admitting guilt is probably the better way for him to go, take that harsh road.
Right now, my biggest concern would also be the woman that`s in that video. She`s, unfortunately, going to come out quite damaged after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Congressman McAllister put out a statement asking for forgiveness from God, his wife, his kids, his constituents and his staff.
MCALLISTER: If you trust me with your vote, you can count on me to take those values to Washington.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The video showing McAllister kissing his scheduler, Melissa Hixon Peacock.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One person he didn`t ask for forgiveness from was Heath Peacock.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CASAREZ: Now, this video that you are watching right here that has gone viral of Congressman Vance McAllister, father of five, married father of five -- that is his staffer he is allegedly with, Mrs. Peacock, all right, in his office right there.
Michelle Southern, assistant news director of Louisiana Radio Network, what we`re understanding is that the congressman and Mrs. Peacock`s husband had known each other for years and years and even went to high school together?
SOUTHERN: Yes, I think that`s another thing that puts a bite (ph) in the whole story is that he did know this woman before he hired her after he was elected last year and that he was best friends with her husband.
CASAREZ: And Mr. Peacock, the husband, is saying that he is destroyed by this, obviously, right, and that his marriage is over. And this surveillance video we`re watching was obtained by "The Ouachita Citizen."
Let`s go to the lawyers. First, Ken Padowitz joining us, former homicide prosecutor out of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. You know, I touched on it before, but this is breaching federal security. Isn`t this a crime?
KEN PADOWITZ, FORMER PROSECUTOR: Well, there may be a crime in the breaching of federal security, if, in fact, it can be shown that this videotape was released to the press in a way that would be deemed illegal under federal law.
But the bigger question for me is, why is this congressman, who`s a politician who`s run on a family values platform -- why is he asking originally for an FBI investigation when it`s his conduct which is contrary to everything that he stands for in his platform when he ran? It`s his conduct that really should be the issue here.
I don`t know if the breach of federal security by releasing a video of a potential extramarital affair is something that we want our federal agents working on.
CASAREZ: Well, today it is an affair, tomorrow it is information that is high (ph) held and secret. Jeff Gold, weigh in.
JEFF GOLD, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Look, he did it because it was a tactic. He wanted to shift, you know, what people were looking at. And it`s a legitimate tactic. However, in the end, this is a moral issue, much more a political issue, so he shifted tactics again. But that`s why he did it.
CASAREZ: All right. When we come back, two arrests and new details in the search for the North Carolina teen Danielle Locklear.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The confessed killer is her ex-boyfriend.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He went with us to all the searches. He went with us to the balloon release.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CASAREZ: And then later, a high school science teacher fights with his own student, and it`s all caught on cell phone video.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CASAREZ: After police announce finding a body believed to be missing North Carolina teen Danielle Locklear, two arrests and new details in the investigation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She wasn`t going to her friend`s house in the neighborhood, as first thought, but went to meet her ex-boyfriend, 17-year- old Je`Michael Malloy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a tragic event. Everybody involved is young.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The confessed killer is her ex-boyfriend.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Strangling Danielle and stuffing a sock in her mouth.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Then he tied cinder blocks to her body and tossed her into the South River.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It`s just so devastating to us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JEAN CASAREZ, HLN HOST: What a horrific case. A young girl, 15 years old, is gone. Jeff "Goldy" Goldberg, host of "Good Morning, Fayetteville," is joining us from Fayetteville, North Carolina.
You know this case from the beginning, you`ve been with it. Just start with us, of what has happened up to this point.
JEFF "GOLDY" GOLDBERG, HOST, GOOD MORNING, FAYETTEVILLE: Well, first of all, Jean, good evening. And you know whenever kids die, it`s a tough deal, and for many reasons, this case has been like a punch in the stomach for this community. This has been a tough one. As you said, beautiful 15- year-old high school freshman, Danielle Locklear. She goes missing on March 11th. Tells her grandpa she`s going over to a friend`s house, she never makes it there.
For the next 20-something days, we`ve all been hoping and believing that maybe she just ran away. She saw the media coverage, she was embarrassed to call or come home, and we wanted to believe she was still alive.
They find the body floating in the river on April 2nd. Six days later, this past Tuesday evening, we find out that Danielle`s boyfriend has confessed to choking her, stuffing a sock in her mouth, transporting her to a bridge with a friend`s help, tying cinder blocks to the body, and throwing her into the river.
These are teenagers, Jean. This is something out of "The Sopranos." This town is stunned and shocked and appalled and now one of these young men has posted bond and is out of jail already.
CASAREZ: So there are two now that are charged with only, I will say, only, second-degree murder. Locklear`s ex-boyfriend, she`s 15, he`s 17. They`re both high school students, right?
GOLDBERG: Correct. She goes to South View High School. The two gentlemen who are accused in this case both go to Cape Fear High School.
CASAREZ: So what did the boyfriend actually confess to?
GOLDBERG: The boyfriend confessed to an argument that turned violent. He says he choked Locklear to death and stuffed a sock in her mouth. He said that then he and Lock tied cinder blocks to her body, tossed her into the South River, just south of Autryville, North Carolina, Malloy lives nearby, on Highway 210, and that`s what we know about the confession right now.
CASAREZ: To Dan O`Donnell, anchor/reporter, from Newstalk 1130, tell us more. What else can you tell us about this case? Because I`m not sure that I`m going to believe somebody that confesses something that is less than a first-degree murder, because he`s sort of saying that it`s just sort of an accident that went too far.
DAN O`DONNELL, ANCHOR/REPORTER, NEWSTALK 1130 WISN: That is what he`s saying. In fact, investigators, as they relaid the confession, said that he admitted to them that he was choking Danielle, that he stuffed a sock down her throat after he had been choking her for a while. And then once he realized that she was dead, he panicked, called his friend, Dominick Lock, and they tied down this body with cinder blocks.
The investigation, of course, still ongoing, but that`s the only information that investigators have released thus far. What, in fact, the accused killer has told them.
CASAREZ: Right now, a very, very special guest, someone that has lost someone so dear to her. Phyllis Fowler is joining us from North Carolina. The step-grandmother of beautiful Danielle Locklear.
Thank you for joining us today, Miss Fowler.
PHYLLIS FOWLER, STEP-GRANDMOTHER OF MURDERED TEEN: Thank you, Jean, so much.
CASAREZ: Oh, my goodness, my goodness. We don`t know what you`re going through, but do you believe the confession of this ex-boyfriend?
FOWLER: I -- yes, I can believe what`s been told, but I will tell you this much. Personally, I think there was -- there`s more to it than this. I think that it`s -- you know, there was some hard feelings, and I think that other people need to be asked some questions. I can believe Je`Michael did it, but, you know, I just, I`m praying for him. His heart has to be heavier than those cinder blocks they used to sink her precious body in that water. I just think, you know, that there`s a lot of questions that need to be asked here. And --
CASAREZ: Did he -- Miss Fowler, did he help with the search? Because he wrote a message on social media that --
FOWLER: Oh, he did.
CASAREZ: "I`m crying because she`s lost and we can`t find her," and he helped?
FOWLER: Yes, he was there. Every time a search was held, when we had the balloon release on March 29th, he was right there. And if you could see his picture, I mean, he looks physically sick. And who wouldn`t? After you had just murdered someone as precious as Danielle was. But he truly looks sick. And you know, it`s just so hard to comprehend.
CASAREZ: I`m sure it is.
FOWLER: But I would like to make a plea.
CASAREZ: Please.
FOWLER: To every person listening tonight, I want to ask them to go out and pay forward one act of kindness this week. Pay it forward to another person and if they do that, Danielle`s life will not have been in vain. Her life will have had more meaning to it. It will just make her star shine brighter and brighter.
CASAREZ: You know what you`re saying, Miss Fowler, is just something we should all wake up with in the morning. I mean, there`s no question about it. What happened to their relationship? Because, obviously, there were not acts of kindness if this was an ex-boyfriend.
FOWLER: That`s right. And that`s a very good question. I don`t know, I didn`t live -- Danielle didn`t live with me, you know. I just talked to her, texted her and everything. So she never told me the trouble that she and Je`Michael were having. And, you know, I just, I don`t know. But I know that there was something more there than what`s come out.
For a 17-year-old to do something this vicious, oh, I cannot imagine who had talked him into doing or even thinking something this horrible.
CASAREZ: Or he made his own actions, he made his own decisions.
FOWLER: That`s right.
CASAREZ: You know, Miss Fowler, we`re going to talk about when we come back, we`re going into another story, but I want everybody to realize that there are two acts here. There is a choking and there is a stuffing down her throat with a sock. Those are two separate and distinct acts, and prosecutors are charging this as second-degree.
All right, more on that. But when we come back, a California science teacher gets into a scuffle with his own student at a Santa Monica high school. It`s all caught on cell phone video, from inside the classroom.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: The two are wrestling and struggling with each other, we don`t see any punches thrown in the video.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CASAREZ: Cell phone video from inside a classroom goes viral. A California science teacher and wrestling coach in a scuffle with his own student at a Santa Monica high school.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What the --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, hold up.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: A brawl between a teacher and student in a classroom caught on cell phone video.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The little boy was selling drugs in the class and the wrestling told him to stop.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: The two are wrestling and struggling with each other, the teacher eventually restrains the young man.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What is the teacher supposed to do? Sit there and let a student just beat him up?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CASAREZ: Wow. That is cell phone video from inside the classroom, during the fight, from affiliate KTLA.
Let`s go straight out the Jill Ryan, investigative reporter.
Jill, how did this altercation begin?
JILL RYAN, INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER: Well, we actually have a couple of different versions of this story, but the most popular one involving witnesses, mostly students, had said that teacher Mark Blair -- Mark Black, rather, confronted 18-year-old Blair Moore about a bag of marijuana that he had on him.
Blair is then accused of punching Black, which prompted the takedown. So that`s kind of what started the entire series of events.
CASAREZ: Who threw the first punch, Jill?
RYAN: Well, according to witnesses, it`s not the teacher. It is the student Blair Moore. That`s what we are hearing. We don`t know exactly what his version of the story will be yet, and that video starts just after the initial event, so we`re not exactly sure, you know, what is going to go on, as far as legal charges.
CASAREZ: Well, Michael Christian, the fact is, there have been some charges now. Tell us what the student has been charged with.
MICHAEL CHRISTIAN, SENIOR FIELD PRODUCER, "IN SESSION": He has been charged with threatening a public school official, Jean. Two counts of that. He`s been charged with possession of a box cutter on school grounds, possession of less than 28.5 grams of marijuana on school grounds. And force or violence against the school employee in retaliation for an act performed in the course of his or her duties.
Now all of those charges are misdemeanors. He has posted bail. He has been released on his own recognizance.
CASAREZ: But here`s the thing, the superintendent of schools in Santa Monica, California, came out immediately after this video went viral, saying that the teacher was to blame. There you have it right there. She went out, taking a side, almost immediately.
Defense lawyer Peter Odom, aren`t you saying to yourself, how dare she?
PETER ODOM, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Right, she should have waited and gotten all the facts. It seems clear now that this teacher was doing what he was entitled to do, and that was to defend himself and protect the rest of the class. It`s clear from watching the video that he really is just trying to take the student down to make sure that he`s no longer a threat. And for the superintendent to come out publicly, disparaging her own teacher, I think is inexcusable.
CASAREZ: Jeff Gold, you know, video in today`s day and age can be exhibit A for a prosecutor. It can be absolutely compelling and so important, but there`s a downside. It doesn`t show the whole story, does it, Jeff Gold?
JEFF GOLD, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: It doesn`t show the whole story. I have a different take on this, because I don`t think that the teacher had any business doing this. You noticed the kid`s not charged with distribution, he was charged with possession. He had a box cutter on him. What kind of problem would have happened if the box cutter came out and cut one of the kids or the teacher?
He should have called the police. He shouldn`t have done this. And you can see this video, it`s way over the top in a classroom, call the police. He was selling marijuana. He wasn`t attacking somebody. He didn`t have a knife. It`s over the top.
CASAREZ: You are looking at cell phone video from inside the classroom, that`s during the fight between the teacher, who happens to be the wrestling coach, and the student, it`s from affiliate KTLA.
To prosecutor Ken Padowitz joining us, you have to say that this is a clear case of self-defense.
KEN PADOWITZ, FORMER HOMICIDE PROSECUTOR: It`s ridiculous. I mean, the teacher should be getting an award. I was a high school teacher before I became a lawyer 28 years ago. And let me tell you, it is the teacher`s job to make sure that the classroom is safe and that it`s a school environment for learning. And if he has to confront a student and that student punches him, that teacher has every right to defend himself.
That superintendent should be ashamed of himself and this teacher should be given an award for his actions in doing the right thing during that classroom and during that school day.
CASAREZ: And this teacher wrestling coach is on administrative leave. But joining us right now is a supporter of Professor Mark Black, Daniel Jacobs.
You started a Change.org petition in support of this man, who was your teacher at one point.
DANIEL JACOBS, COACHED BY TEACHER IN BRAWL: Absolutely, yes. He was my teacher and he was my wrestling coach for three years to which I was captain of the team.
CASAREZ: And why did you start this petition? Why do you think this is unfair?
JACOBS: Well, specifically, the petition is to get the superintendent, whose name is Sandra Lyon, to apologize for calling Mark`s actions unreasonable and utterly alarming. She effectively threw a hero under the bus and decided to support a student who was dealing drugs, who had marijuana, who had a box cutter, and who attacked my coach.
And you know, it`s quite obvious, you can see it from the video that, you know, especially from a perspective of 11 years of wrestling backgrounds, what my coach did is very simply, he used a defensive move to immobilize a kid who was violent and out of control. And think about what the repercussions would be if teachers weren`t allowed to act out against violent students to get them under control.
I mean, this is the day and age in which students are shooting up or knifing up classrooms basically every other week. And if administrators are going to go against teachers and disallow them from doing something about that, then we`ve got a grave problem.
CASAREZ: All right, Danielle, thanks for joining us.
When we come back, "Real Housewives" star Teresa and Joe Giudice are facing prison time on federal fraud charges. The alleged scam leaves the reality stars owing $13 million in debts.
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UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Reality star Teresa Giudice flaunted her riches on "The Real Housewives of New Jersey," but in real life, she was lying, cheating, and deep in debt. Teresa and her husband, Joe, owe over $13 million and they`ve only been able to pay off a measly $7,500.
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CASAREZ: "Real Housewives" star Teresa and Joe Giudice live a lavish lifestyle on television. But they`re now facing prison time after pleading guilty to federal fraud charges. Now it is all revealed the alleged scam leaves the couple owing $13 million in debts.
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UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: They flaunted a lavish lifestyle on the "Real Housewives of New Jersey" starting with this multimillion dollar custom mansion.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Owe creditors over $13 million. Money that may never be paid off. The bills are huge.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: The prison time deal looming for the couple.
JOE GIUDICE, "THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF NEW JERSEY": We have accountants and we have -- you know, we hire people to do all that stuff.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CASAREZ: And you`re watching video of the "Real Housewives of New Jersey," that is from Bravo.
Let us go out to Bonnie Fuller, she is the president and editor in chief of Hollywoodlife.com.
Bonnie, we`re all paying our taxes right now. They`re due in a few days. This couple never paid taxes. They took that money that should have gone to the federal government and lived a lavish lifestyle. Tell us about it.
BONNIE FULLER, PRESIDENT AND EDITOR IN CHIEF, HOLLYWOODLIFE.COM: They absolutely lived a lavish lifestyle. They had a home worth $1.7 million and somehow they had only $140,000 in equity? They had two other luxurious homes. They had cars, a Maserati, an Escalade, a Ford 350. They had boats, a scudo boat, a Kawasaki, I mean, boats I`ve never heard of. And yet they never paid for any of it. It was all done on loans.
CASAREZ: So, Bonnie, at this point because they filed for bankruptcy and that was their fatal mistake in their eyes because then it was found that they fraudulently had gotten mortgages and loans and the homes that they had and the boats that they had. How much have they paid off at this point? How much do they still owe?
FULLER: Well, this is what is absolutely shocking. They have only paid off about $7,500 of all of these debts. They still owe $13.4 million to their creditors.
CASAREZ: And on July 8th of this year, they are going to be sentenced, so Peter Odom, they could easily go to prison under the federal law because they have pled guilty to federal crimes.
ODOM: Right.
CASAREZ: What`s going to happen when they come out if they owe these there $13 million? Are they going to have anything left?
ODOM: Well, if they`re successful in liquidating all their debt in bankruptcy, then they`ll come out clean. However, under federal law the court that sentences them for the criminal fraud charges can make them pay restitution to victims so they could theoretically come out with a $13.2 million tax bill.
And let me tell you something, the federal government is a very dogged collection agency, so good luck to you, Giudices.
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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Now all the flaunting on the "Real Housewives of New Jersey" may land Teresa and Joe Giudice behind bars.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: The money owed could be rising. Not only are they facing jail time, there`s also a fine that could go over $1 million.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CASAREZ: And joining us right now is one of the "Real Housewives," Alex McCord joins us. She`s a former "Real Housewife." She is a host of thestir.com.
Alex, when we look at their lifestyle, and just flaunting what they didn`t have, is that a necessary thing to be able to be a housewife like you are and were?
ALEX MCCORD, FORMER "REAL HOUSEWIFE": I tell you what, these fraud charges started before they were cast, and I bet you if they were not living that large, spending that much money, they would never have been cast. And it`s a double-edged sword because then once they were on TV and became famous, they attracted the attention of the feds. They probably got caught sooner because they went on TV.
CASAREZ: How important is it to have that air, though, when you`re on television as one of the real housewives of having so much? Do you think that that lifestyle was perpetrated because of their position on television?
MCCORD: Certainly it was continued. The "Housewives" franchises is all about lifestyles of the rich and famous. And cast members if they want to keep their jobs are encouraged to live bigger, louder, faster and spend more money. So it`s a vicious cycle. It started before they were on the show. But they definitely felt pressure to continue it.
CASAREZ: You know, I want to end on Bethany Marshall. Why does somebody do this? These were intentional acts, but psychologically speaking, they`ve ruined their life.
BETHANY MARSHALL, PSYCHOANALYST, AUTHOR OF "DEALBREAKERS": Well, because they`re high-level griftors. And just to put in context, that measly $7500 they paid back is about two Chanel purses worth or four pair of Louis Vuitton pumps. And I look at all these picture s of these chandeliers, there right there, that Cadillac Escalade, the Maserati. I mean, look at all the debt that they racked up and they paid back $7500. It`s not even conscientious. It is fraud.
CASAREZ: Lets us stop to remember American hero Army Sergeant Joshua Kirk, 30 years old from South Portland, Maine. He was awarded the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart. He loved rock climbing. He leaves behind his mother, Bernadette, his five siblings, his widow, Megan, and his daughter, Kensington.
Joshua Kirk, a true American hero.
Dr. Drew is coming up next with an update on two Albuquerque police officers under investigation after the murder of a 9-year-old boy who calls 911 for help.
Good-bye, everybody.
