[dramatic music]
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- Hi, everyone, I'm dan abrams, and this is "courtcam."
- Are you ready to take your plea?
[indistinct shouting]
- Gotta rush.
- [bleep] you!
- I'm killing all you [bleep]!
- I hope you die in prison as well.
♪ ♪
- Let's start things off
At the criminal justice center in philadelphia,
Where things get heated for one attorney
Before he even makes it into the courtroom.
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That's 72-year-old prominent local attorney
Clifford haines.
He's in court today to attend a hearing
For one of his clients.
Unfortunately, haines forgot
His bar card and identification,
And had to enter through general security.
He passed through the security area earlier.
And as per the courthouse policy,
Haines surrendered his cell phone,
And it was secured in a locked pouch.
But when he arrived in the assigned courtroom,
He realized he'd forgot to turn his cell phone off.
So, he made his way back to security
To get the phone out of the bag and turned off.
But when he approached the sheriff's deputy
To address the problem,
Haines claims he was rudely told to go the other way.
And that's when the trouble begins.
After retrieving his phone, it seems the device
Isn't the only thing set off.
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Haines has a few words for the deputy,
Who takes exception to the comments and
The lack of personal space.
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In an instant, five members of the security team
Pounce on haines, who continues to struggle.
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And it gets worse from there.
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The initial tackle sends security equipment flying.
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This officer subdues haines with a headlock.
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The officers get haines' arms behind his back and cuff him.
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Additional security members check in on the situation,
Which seems under control.
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This officer tries to lend a hand
By grabbing onto the attorney's ankles.
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As for haines, his horrible day at the office
Continues as he's taken into custody,
Where he'll remain for the next 18 hours
With a dislocated and fractured right shoulder.
The district attorney decided
Not to press charges against haines.
Haines responded to the philadelphia sheriff's office
By suing for conspiracy to defame,
False arrest, assault and battery,
And intentional infliction of emotional distress.
The sheriff's office had no comment
As they await trial.
♪ ♪
Next, we go inside the oklahoma county courthouse
In oklahoma city.
19-year-old israel pointer's in court for a hearing
After he failed to appear three days earlier
For charges of robbery with a firearm
And possession of a firearm.
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Because pointer skipped his previous court date,
The judge revokes his bond.
But before he can be taken into custody,
He makes a break for it.
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As pointer bursts through the courtroom door,
He slips the grip of one deputy
Then blows past another.
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Just down the hall, these two deputies are unaware
That their shift is about to start with a bang.
Moments later, they run into the fleeing defendant
In a narrow hallway.
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But once again, he shakes loose.
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It looks like pointer might have a shot at freedom.
That is, until he makes a wrong turn
Into this hallway.
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And this man, the county's lead district attorney,
David prater.
Typically, criminals try to avoid the da,
But today, one is about to run right to him.
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When prater sees what's headed his way,
He doesn't look for a nearby deputy.
Instead, he unbuttons his suit jacket and
Jumps into action.
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Instead of going for a full-out tackle,
The attorney latches onto pointer's arm
And doesn't let go.
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Prater hopes to contain him with the arm grab
As the other attorneys help bring him down.
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For district attorney david prater,
It's all in a day's work.
Turns out, this is the fourth time
He stopped a fleeing defendant in the courthouse.
Israel pointer is taken into custody
To later plead guilty to resisting arrest.
Sentenced to six months in county jail.
For the original charges of robbery with a firearm
And possession of a firearm,
He also pled guilty and was sentenced
To an additional three years in prison.
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- Next, we're in mount pleasant, michigan,
For the arraignment of isaiah gardenhire.
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The 40-year-old was arrested
After reportedly going on a two-day crime spree
That forced the community into lockdown.
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Gardenhire reportedly sexually assaulted
His girlfriend in their home
And killed her 13-year-old daughter
Before fleeing to a nearby apartment complex.
There, he allegedly took a man and woman hostage,
Sexually assaulted the female,
Robbed them, and then stole their car.
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Gardenhire would eventually turn himself into police.
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But now as judge sara spencer-noggle
Reads the long list of charges against him...
- Count one, homicide open murder, statutory short form.
Count two, criminal sexual conduct.
First-degree weapon use.
- He appears to nod off.
- Dna to be taken upon arrest.
A consecutive sentence may be imposed under statute...
- [yawning] - the confinement.
- Count six is unlawful imprisonment.
- Moments later, another audible yawn
Distracts from the hearing.
- Dna to be taken upon arrest.
The court may impose a consecutive sentence
Under statute.
That is also a tier three offense.
- But the judge stays on track
And asks prosecuting attorney david barberi
To weigh in on gardenhire's bond conditions.
- The prosecutor also mentions
That gardenhire was actually out on bond
For a separate criminal sexual misconduct case
In another county
When he went on the alleged two-day crime spree.
- In this case,
Due to the fact that mr. Gardenhire
Is both charged with murder
And the fact that he was on bond
At the time that the allegation occurred...
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- With the prosecutor mid-sentence,
Gardenhire interrupts,
Claiming that his girlfriend should be charged
With the murder of her daughter--not him.
- Charge her with murder
Because she's the one who did it.
- Isaiah--
[all speaking at once]
- All right, mr. Gardenhire, this is your warning.
The court will mute your microphone
If you speak out of turn again.
- Your honor, we would request that mr. Gardenhire
Be held without bond, or in the alternative,
That bond be set as $2 million cash surety.
♪ ♪
- All right, thank you, mr. Barberi.
Mr. Gardenhire, I'm going to ask
That you behave in a-- all right.
I'm gonna ask that you behave in a manner
That's appropriate for a court proceeding,
Particularly given the fact that right now, I'm considering
Whether or not to allow your release on bond.
If I have any more acting out, sir,
We're gonna turn off your audio and your video.
Go ahead and mute his audio and video.
Thank you.
- After further discussing his bond conditions,
Gardenhire's brought back into the conversation
Seemingly even less interested than before.
- All right, the court has considered the factors
Found in mcr 6.106
And finds that bond in the amount of $3 million,
Cash or surety, is appropriate.
- This time, the defendant flips the judge the bird,
First with one hand,
Then follows it up with a hearing ending two-hander.
- All right, go ahead and turn his video off, please.
- The hearing was ultimately cut short
Due to gardenhire's behavior.
♪ ♪
Isaiah gardenhire's being held on $3 million bond
For 12 criminal charges, including home invasion,
First-degree criminal sexual misconduct,
And murder.
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Next, we're at the 44th district courthouse
In royal oak, michigan,
For an unpleasant task most everyone can relate to:
Paying a parking ticket.
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In this case, the dreaded slip under the wiper
Means the driver has to pony up 10 bucks
For an expired parking meter ticket.
So, at the clerk's window, 33-year-old anthony sevy
Is gonna pay the citation by debit card
But is informed there's a $1.75 surcharge
For putting it on his plastic.
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Not wanting to pay the extra fee,
Sevy leaves and returns a short while later.
But as he goes through security,
A court officer discovers
Sevy's packing something metal and heavy.
No, it's not a weapon.
It's $10 in rolled pennies.
Security officer philip barach
Then gives his own two cents, letting sevy know the clerk
Won't accept the pennies as payment.
But he proceeds anyway.
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At the pay window, he finds out the officer was right.
Under a long-standing michigan statute,
The court is not required to accept coins
That aren't pure silver or gold.
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The statute is actually posted at the clerk's window.
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Growing more frustrated,
Sevy has a heated exchange with the clerk,
Then with security officer barach
Before he's told to leave.
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But as sevy's walked to the exit,
The verbal exchange turns physical.
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It's unclear what exactly prompted the fight,
But things quickly get out of control.
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First shoving, then officer barach
Slams sevy against the glass
As another officer helps restrain him.
Sevy says what you can't see off camera
Is officer barach choking him
Until he lost consciousness and defecated on himself.
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Sevy was escorted back into the building, processed,
And charged with disorderly conduct.
Charge of assaulting or obstructing
A police officer was later added.
He will plead no contest to the disorderly conduct charge
And was ordered to pay a fine.
The assaulting or obstructing an officer charge
Against the police officer was dropped.
Following the incident, sevy fired back with a lawsuit
Against security officer philip barach,
Which included claims of unlawful arrest
And excessive use of force.
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The suit was later dismissed by an appellate court.
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- Next, we're in west palm beach, florida,
For the sentencing of david anthony.
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The 44-year-old claims the covid-19 pandemic,
In part, pushed him over the edge
And into a violent downward spiral.
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- In March 2020, david anthony
Tried to convince his estranged wife, gretchen,
To travel with him to costa rica,
Where he believed they could escape the pandemic.
The couple had been separated after five years of marriage.
Gretchen declined, and a few days later,
Friends and family believed she went missing.
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Police went to her home, but there was no sign of her.
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That's when investigators
Put in a call to david anthony.
- Anthony claimed gretchen wasn't missing,
But that she was receiving medical attention
At a cdc facility.
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- Unsatisfied with anthony's explanation
Of gretchen's whereabouts,
The investigation continued.
And then a breakthrough.
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In surveillance footage recovered
From gretchen's home,
A dark figure can be seen lurking on her patio.
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Moments later, out of the camera's view,
Gretchen makes a muffled cry for help.
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- Then what's done in the darkness
Comes to light.
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In the garage, a man wearing rubber gloves
Can be seen loading items into gretchen's car.
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His back remains to the camera right until this moment.
Investigators pull this freeze frame.
It is david anthony.
Authorities believe
He's just murdered his estranged wife.
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[siren wailing]
- Hands out the vehicle.
- Days later, police track anthony,
Who'd skipped town to las cruces, new mexico,
And make an arrest.
- Am I being detained?
- You're detained right now, yeah.
- Okay. - Watch out.
- There's a warrant for your arrest,
And I'm gonna explain that when we get back--
Back to the--excuse me?
- Homicide.
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- Who do you think?
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- David anthony was charged with the kidnapping
And first-degree murder of gretchen anthony.
But investigators were still searching for her body.
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- Anthony denied involvement in gretchen's murder
Right up until prosecutors offered him a plea agreement.
In exchange for disclosing
The location of gretchen's body,
The state would lower his charge from first
To second-degree murder, which would take
The possibility of the death penalty off the table.
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Anthony agreed to the conditions
And immediately changed his tune,
Admitting he dumped gretchen's body
In a wooded area near her home
After stabbing her to death inside the garage.
Police investigated the location
And found gretchen's remains.
Now at sentencing, gretchen's sister
Faces down david anthony.
- I would like to say some words to the defendant
Whose name and being are not worthy of the air
We all breathe.
You are a monster.
One thing is definite.
Gretchen believed in karma
And therefore, we can take some comfort knowing
That every day you spend in prison
Will be as horrific as the murder you committed.
You can never be forgiven.
You are disgusting.
- Before the judge delivers his sentence,
Anthony addresses the court.
I disgraced my family.
I'm hated by some beyond words.
And I brought shame upon my name.
Instead of being a man,
I chose to be a coward.
- The terms of anthony's sentence were determined
At the time of his plea agreement
And confirmed by judge kirk volker.
- David anthony was sentenced to 38 years in prison
After pleading guilty to the second-degree murder
And kidnapping of gretchen anthony.
He'll be eligible for release when he's 81 years old.
- Next, we're in columbus, ohio,
For an arraignment hearing.
34 year-old donald moore was charged with
Failure to confine a vicious dog,
When, seven months earlier,
His pit bull attacked a woman in front of his house,
Causing serious injuries to her face.
[dog barking]
At the time of the attack,
Pit bulls were characterized
As a vicious breed
Under ohio state law.
Owners were required to keep their dogs on a leash
Or inside a fenced area at all times
And had to carry at least $100,000
In liability insurance.
Moore's arraignment is just underway
When there's an interruption from the gallery.
- The man behind the glass informs the court
That the defendant's dog
Just mauled his 12-year-old son
Days earlier in a separate attack.
- The boy was reportedly walking from his house
Across the street
When the pit bull broke its tether
And attacked him.
The boy's father and others rushed to help,
But couldn't get the dog to release him
Until a neighbor eventually used a knife
To stab the dog in its side.
The boy required surgery for his wounds.
The dog was euthanized after the attack.
After yelling out from the gallery
And interrupting the hearing,
The judge orders the victim's father to approach the bench.
- But on his way out the door,
The angry father pauses
And appears to send a message to the defendant.
- Donald moore was later found guilty of two counts
Of failure to confine a vicious dog,
One count of felonious assault
For the mauling of a 12-year-old boy.
He was sentenced to 13 years
In the ohio department of rehabilitation and correction.
That's it for this edition of "courtcam."
I'm dan abrams. Thanks for watching.
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