[dramatic music]
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- Hi, everyone, I'm Dan Abrams, and this is "Court Cam."
- You should be ashamed of yourself.
- I want dude off my case. [spits]
♪ ♪
- Got a runner.
[people yelling]
- Get out!
- This is not TV court. This is for real.
♪ ♪
- First up, we go to Albany, Oregon, for a hearing.
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30-year-old Christopher Jackson
has been charged with trespassing, resisting arrest,
and unlawful use of a weapon.
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Three months earlier, county officials say
Jackson was walking on a private road
when a resident called the sheriff's office.
After Jackson refused to show ID to a county deputy
and walked away, things got physical.
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According to the sheriff's department,
Jackson and the deputy rolled down a 25-foot embankment.
And during the scuffle,
Jackson reached into his pocket,
where a box cutter was later found.
Jackson was taken into custody and officially charged.
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Today, he appears in court with his attorney,
Edward Talmadge as well as his mother, Julia Stickney.
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The hearing hasn't started yet,
but Jackson makes himself at home.
When the only court staffer present at the time,
a clerk seated off camera,
asks Jackson to move his feet off the desk,
Jackson responds by flipping her the double bird.
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And when his mother tries to intervene,
Jackson shoves her by the neck.
Talmadge tries to calm his client,
but he's not having much luck either.
Eventually, Jackson lowers his fingers.
And things appear to settle down--
until this happens.
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Jackson grabs a chair,
but his mom stops him from doing anything with it.
But he just grabs another one--
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And charges at the clerk.
Talmadge quickly comes to the clerk's aid
as the group crashes under a desk,
causing this clock to topple over.
The clerk breaks free and motions to a deputy
who's just entered the courtroom.
A second deputy arrives just as Jackson's mother,
who appears frustrated, takes a seat.
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The deputies assist Talmadge
whose pinned Jackson underneath the desk.
One of the deputies removes his taser
and points it in Jackson's direction.
But as Talmadge steps away,
it looks like the taser won't be necessary.
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When the deputies pull Jackson out from beneath the desk,
they place him in cuffs and take him into custody.
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The court clerk and Jackson were both unharmed
during the scuffle.
But Talmadge, who no longer represents Jackson,
suffered multiple scratches to his face
and was bitten on his arm and hand.
The deputies suffered bite marks.
They were treated and released from a local hospital.
Jackson was later charged with assault,
menacing, and unlawful use of a weapon.
Pled not guilty, but was convicted in court
and sentenced to six years in prison.
As for his original charges, they're pending.
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Next, we go to Ann Arbor, Michigan, for an arraignment.
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19-year-old Eternity Jackson
has been charged with driving without insurance.
Today, she appears before Judge Cedric Simpson
to discuss next steps in the case.
But first, the judge has a question for the defendant.
- All right, before we begin, who--
who escorted you to the court today?
- Pardon?
- Who were you with?
- Your grandfather?
- Jackson's hearing was scheduled for 9:00 AM.
But according to court staff,
when her case wasn't called on time,
her grandfather wasn't happy and had some words with them.
- All right, sir, I realize you wanted her case called.
But I'll just give this admonition.
I call the cases in order as I have them by their blocks.
We're not going to call this thing at 9 o'clock.
And I don't appreciate ever my staff being yelled at or you--
or you trying to send them back to pose a question to me.
- Sir?
It isn't even your case.
So have a seat.
- Have a seat.
♪ ♪
I've given my admonition.
That's the way that it will roll.
- Judge Simpson checks in with the prosecutor.
- Ms. Reiser, you have something on this case.
- Yes, Your Honor.
The public defender did provide me with proof
of now there is an insurance policy for six months.
Given that pre-arraignment,
I would move to dismiss the charge.
- Ms. Jackson, you have any objection to dismissal?
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- Case is dismissed.
Thank you, ma'am.
- After Jackson and her grandfather exit the courtroom
Judge Simpson takes a moment with his staff.
- You know,
how many people have I taken into custody today?
- One. - Just one?
- Yeah. - There was almost two.
And I tried so hard.
[chuckles]
- Good job, sir. [laughs]
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- Next, we head to Eureka, Kansas,
for a preliminary hearing.
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33-year-old Bailey Cargile has been charged
with aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer,
fleeing an officer, possession of opiates,
driving under the influence, and other charges.
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A month earlier, Cargile was driving with her boyfriend
when police say they attempted to pull her over
for driving recklessly. [sirens wailing]
Police say that's when Cargile slammed on her brakes,
causing the officer to rear-end her vehicle.
[tires screech]
Then officers say she got out of the car and fled the scene.
But after a brief foot chase, Cargile was apprehended.
Inside the vehicle, police say they found
cocaine and methamphetamine.
Cargile and her boyfriend, 25-year-old Owen Solomon,
were both arrested.
Solomon, who was hit with four drug-related charges,
was released on $12,500 bond,
while Cargile was held on a $45,000 bond.
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Today, Cargile appears from the county jail
before Judge Phyllis Webster
to discuss next steps in the case.
Solomon is also on the call for his case.
The county prosecutor is Jill Gillett.
Cargile's represented by attorney Richard Paugh.
- Mr. Paugh, you said you wanted to be heard on bond.
- Yes, Your Honor.
Now, she's being held on a $45,000 bond.
We would ask for a $25,000 cash or surety bond.
Judge, also, there is a no-contact order
with her boyfriend.
They've been together five years.
And I would ask that the no-contact order
be lifted, as well.
- Ms. Gillett, what do you--
what do you have to say about this request?
- Judge, she had four failures to appear on her record
and has run twice.
So I think $45,000 cash surety is appropriate for the charges.
- Judge Webster has heard enough
and is ready to make a ruling.
- I appreciate your efforts on behalf of your client, Counsel,
but the modification request is denied at this time.
- Including the no-contact order, Judge?
- Yes. - OK, thank you.
- Before Cargile returns to jail,
she makes a subtle gesture towards the camera.
- [no audible speech]
- Who are you telling you love?
- And the judge takes notice.
- Did she just violate the court's order of no contact?
Sit back down.
- It appears Cargile mouthed "I love you" twice--
perhaps in the direction of her boyfriend.
- Who were you just mouthing "I love you" to?
- No, I was just saying that I'm about ready to go.
- No-- - Like, I'm about done.
- Who's there? Ma'am, I can replay the tape.
- OK. - You said, "I love you."
Who are you speaking to?
- I love my lawyer.
- Who do you love? Who did you--
- My lawyer, like, for having my back today.
- No, come on. - Like, I like him.
- OK, so you love your attorney.
You like your attorney. - Yes.
- And you are mouthing to your attorney, to Mr. Paugh,
"I love you." [playful whistle]
- I was actually saying that to the guard as I got up.
- You were saying it towards the camera as you got up.
I was like-- - OK, stop.
- Judge, he's on here.
- All right, is Owen Solomon your boyfriend of five years?
- Yes, Your Honor, he is.
- And you didn't know he was on here?
- I--I can't see.
There's a lot of different people up on the screen.
And it was-- you were the big one.
[playful bounce]
I was literally talking to the CO.
- No, I don't buy that.
You were looking at the screen.
Your mouthing was very clear.
See, this is why I can't trust you
to have a bond modification.
You just burnt some serious bridges
on credibility with the court
because you just showed me
you don't have respect for the court.
You don't have respect for your attorney,
even though you claim he's the one you love.
In any event, go ahead and leave.
Go into jail now. And just--
- Thank you, Your Honor.
♪ ♪
- All right.
- Cargile was later released on her $45,000 bond
and has yet to enter a plea.
If found guilty, she's facing up to 33 years in prison.
As for Solomon, he was charged with possession of narcotics,
possession with intent to use drug paraphernalia,
and other drug-related charges.
If found guilty, he's facing up to 11 1/2 years
in prison.
Both Cargile and Solomon's cases are pending.
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- Next, we go to Painesville, Ohio,
for a probation violation hearing.
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Three years earlier, 40-year-old Brian Kochis
was convicted of aggravated drug trafficking
and possession of cocaine.
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He was initially sentenced to 30 months in prison.
But after serving just eight months,
he was placed on probation for five years
with the condition he undergo regular
drug and alcohol testing.
But when Kochis overdosed after taking a pill laced with
fentanyl and then admitted to using methamphetamine,
he was taken back into custody.
Today, he appears before Judge John O'Donnell
to see if his probation will be revoked.
Kochis is represented by attorney James Matthews.
- Mr. Kochis would like to waive his right to both
a probable cause and final hearing
and enter a plea of guilty to the violations, Your Honor.
- Is that what you want to do? - Yes.
- All right, I'll accept your guilty plea
and find you guilty.
So what's-- what's going on here?
- Well, I screwed up.
I don't--
- Where were you getting the meth?
- Couple of my friends that I know.
- OK, who were you getting the meth from?
- This friend that I know, [bleep].
- So listen-- - My friend [bleep].
- So listen. Hold on.
Hold on, OK?
This seems to be the way you like to deal with things.
And now you're not telling me the truth.
- I am. - Now wait a minute!
I'm not done yet.
You were here on February 2 of 2022.
And I sent you to prison for 30 months.
- Yes.
- You were here on October 27 of '22.
And I let you out of prison
and put you on community control for five years.
When you started testing positive for meth
at the probation department,
you told them it was your Wellbutrin
that was making you test positive.
- At first-- - And you kept that up.
And you kept that up.
And you kept that up until the result
went off the chart on a test,
and then you finally admitted it.
Right? - Yes.
- Up until then, you weren't admitting it, right?
You figure out what you want to do,
how you want to live your life.
Talk to Mr. Matthews.
- After a brief recess,
Kochis tries to explain his overdose.
- That pill, I had never taken another pill
that I don't know what it is.
Again, that was-- - Why did you take it?
- That was horrible.
Like, I thought it was just a regular Percocet.
And my back was kind of hurting.
I was like, eh.
I know I shouldn't have done it.
But that was the most--
the worst thing I've ever been through.
- Whose pill was that?
- This girl I met on Facebook Dating.
- OK.
And you just decided to take-- what, she gave you a pill?
- She left it there.
She was at my house, and then she left.
And then I noticed it was sitting there.
And I don't even know why it was left.
Like, she must have forgot it or something,
or fell out of her purse or something.
- You ever hear of fentanyl showing up
in otherwise what is purported to be prescription medication?
- Yeah, I've heard of it.
- You've heard of that, but you took it anyway.
- Well, I didn't think it was. I mean, I thought--
- Well, how did you know it wasn't?
- I didn't. - You didn't.
- I didn't. - OK.
- I didn't.
- Why don't you stop being so selfish?
This whole thing is about you being selfish.
Knock it off.
Why don't you grow up?
You're either going to stop acting like a selfish brat,
or you're going to be dead again from the next thing.
You can shake your head no, but you're sitting here.
I sent you to prison. I let you out.
And you're sitting here again because you're a selfish brat.
- I don't want to do it no more, though.
- Then don't do it no more. - I'm not going to.
- If you don't want to do it, then don't do it.
♪ ♪
- The judge decides to give Kochis another chance,
allowing him to remain on probation
as long as he stays clean.
But just a month later,
Kochis violated his probation by testing positive again.
He was sentenced to 35 days in jail
with credit for 26 days' time served.
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- Next, we're in Detroit, Michigan, for an arraignment.
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36-year-old Juna Lee-Edward Green
has been charged with DWI, speeding,
driving with a suspended license,
and several other charges.
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Today, Green appears before Judge Shawn Perkins
to find out if he'll be offered bond.
- Oh, that's Berry Junior on behalf
of the defendant, Your Honor.
- $500 personal bond.
Going to be testing once a week.
- For what?
- Alcohol.
I'm going to have you testing one time per week.
I'll have you no leaving the state
without the court's permission.
And no drinking during the pendency of this case.
Let's get probation in here now.
- What is the probation for?
- So they can assist in you testing
and make sure that you're testing.
- I'm not an alcoholic. - Listen, I don't--
I didn't--I didn't say you were an alcoholic.
It's a procedure, right?
When I see this charge, everybody's got to go through
the same procedure.
- Joining the hearing is probation officer
Jennifer O'Driscoll, who spoke with Green
in a breakout room earlier that day.
- I did speak with the defendant
regarding the testing at ATS.
I did tell him that he would need to report tomorrow.
- Wait a minute, please.
Everybody's going to be orderly in here, all right?
- Green, who's turned his camera off,
is claiming he's unable to get to the testing site
on the West Side of Detroit.
- OK, Mr. Green.
Turn your camera on, please, because I want you to--
I want to see.
Take your hat off, please.
I want to see you in the--
stop.
Stop moving, please. Please.
How old are you?
- 36.
- You're 36 years old.
You're born and raised in the city of Detroit.
And you're telling the court that you don't know
how to get around on the West Side.
- Correct.
- I'm not-- I'm not buying that.
I need to have testing this week.
And I'm not--I'm not buying the fact that you can't get there
by 8 o'clock tomorrow.
- How can you not and I don't know where I'm going, sir?
I mean, I could call them on my phone.
- Yes. Yes.
Yes, sir, you could figure it out.
You're 36 years old.
You're a grown man.
- You're moving around pretty good on the camera.
- 'Cause my back is hurting.
I can't sit down and stand up, due to my injury, too long.
- So, listen, I'm not going to--
I want you testing tomorrow.
And--and you're going to have to figure it out.
- You expect me to walk tomorrow,
because I don't have no money. [tape whirs]
- I'm done. You make your own decisions.
And you do what you do. I'm going to do my job.
The trial date is April the 29 at 9:00 AM.
Tomorrow, you need to have testing done by 8:00 PM.
- So I just have to beat you guys.
That's the only way.
It's me against the world out here.
- Don't put me in it, because I didn't--
I didn't give you the ticket.
And I'm just here doing what I do in my job, all right?
♪ ♪
- Green did not show up for testing the next day.
But he did appear the day after that.
His test came back negative.
And his attorney informed the judge
that getting to the testing site
on the West Side of Detroit was no longer an issue.
Green pled not guilty to the charges,
and his case is pending.
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That's it for this edition of "Court Cam."
I'm Dan Abrams. Thanks for watching.
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