[dramatic music]
♪ ♪
- Hi, everyone, I'm dan abrams, and this is "courtcam."
♪ ♪
[screaming] - [bleep] you!
♪ ♪
- You're a lousy [bleep] of [bleep].
- I hope you die in prison as well.
♪ ♪
- First up, we're in springfield, massachusetts,
For an arraignment hearing.
30-year-old jose santiago has been charged
With first-degree murder
For allegedly stabbing his girlfriend to death
On her 25th birthday.
♪ ♪
Santiago and the victim, a mother of four,
Reportedly had an on-again, off-again relationship
And were celebrating her birthday
With a group of friends at a night club
When they began arguing.
Later that night, an intoxicated santiago
Allegedly stabbed the victim
More than 100 times inside her home.
♪ ♪
As santiago is led into a courtroom
With the victim's family members present,
The only sound that can be heard
Is the clicking of cameras.
[cameras clicking]
Then suddenly, the silence is broken.
- [indistinct angry yelling]
[all shouting]
♪ ♪
- Before santiago reaches his seat,
Deputies intercept a man rushing towards him.
And while the officers' attention is on him,
Another man finds his way
Around the outside of the seating area
And is able to get a punch in on santiago
Before deputies wrestle him down
And rush the defendant into a hallway.
♪ ♪
As officials try to get control of the situation,
The courtroom is cleared.
♪ ♪
The assailants would later be identified
As the victim's father
And stepfather.
They were charged with disrupting court
And assault and battery of a court officer.
The charges were eventually dropped.
[indistinct chatter]
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It would take two more years before jose santiago
Is ultimately found guilty of first-degree murder
And sentenced to life in prison without parole.
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Next, we go to a sentencing in albuquerque, new mexico.
♪ ♪
The defendant is 18-year-old brenden wysynski,
Who is charged with impersonating
A sheriff's deputy.
Six months earlier,
Wysynski was driving an unmarked car
With a police siren
And pulled over a driver for speeding.
♪ ♪
Albuquerque police officer danny anzo came upon the scene
And, thinking something off about the situation,
Decided to check it out.
- Can I talk to you for a minute?
- Me? Sure.
- Oh, okay.
- Okay. Do you have an id with you?
- This is all I got on me.
Like I said, I'm underequipped.
I was just heading over there to the courthouse.
- To the courthouse? For?
- To get my crap.
- Okay.
- The wannabe cop sticks to his story.
♪ ♪
- I know. It makes no sense.
I caught him going 120 down I-40.
♪ ♪
- The officer has wysynski hang around
While he checks on his story.
- [indistinct]
- While he waits for a response,
Anzo casually chats with wysynski,
One officer to... Sort of another.
- I'm not here to mess with you, man.
It's just the thing is,
Yeah, he was speeding, dude.
You could've called it in.
And--'cause if you get into shooting, you're screwed.
- Right. - All right, man?
- I understand.
This--for starters, I know this looks really bad.
This looks really bad. This screams wacker.
- Right. How long you been on?
- About three years. - Okay.
I've been on for, like, 13 years.
I'm not saying I'm perfect, but...
You need to be a little bit more careful, all right?
- Yes, sir. - So just do me a favor.
Hang tight for a second, okay?
- Yes, sir.
- It sounds like the officer might be letting him go.
Not so fast.
Anzo requests a supervisor
From the bernalillo sherriff's office
To come down to the scene.
In the meantime, he puts wysynski
In the back of his cruiser.
- Do you have anything on you, man?
Any weapons or anything? - Just my keys.
- Okay. - Keys and wallet.
- That's fine. Just have a seat, all right?
- All right.
- It looks like this bizarre game
Of good cop/fake cop may be coming to an end.
So wysynski comes clean.
- Yeah, give me one second. What's up, man?
- All right, I'm just gonna be straight up honest with you.
I'm not a cop.
- Okay.
- I'm just gonna be [bleep] honest.
- Where'd you get that badge from?
- I bought it off of line, offline.
- Okay. Do me a favor.
Stay in here, okay, for a second.
- After discussing the strange situation with his sergeant,
Anzo makes the next move.
- Hey, brenden, step out of the vehicle
For a second, man.
Okay. Face the vehicle.
At this point, brenden, you are being under arrest.
♪ ♪
- Before heading downtown,
Wysynski sheds a few tears in the backseat.
- [crying]
- So I need you to lean back a little bit.
Thank you.
- I'll give you-- when we get to the substation,
I'll give you-- we'll give her a call, okay?
- Wysynski is formally charged with impersonating an officer,
A misdemeanor,
And a second officer takes him off to jail.
- Yeah, buddy.
Can't be pretending to be a cop.
- Yeah, I know. I'm stupid.
- Lesson learned, right?
- As they head downtown, the reality of the situation
Kicks in for this counterfeit cop.
♪ ♪
- Now, as he stands before a very real judge,
Instead of fighting the charge,
Wysynski pleads no contest.
He's sentenced to one year of probation.
The judge also rules he can't carry
Any firearms or handcuffs
And must undergo a psychiatric evaluation.
♪ ♪
- But this sham sheriff story doesn't end there.
Wysynski violates his probation
By failing to get that psych evaluation.
But he gets a break when the judge gives him
An extra two weeks to complete the evaluation.
Told of his extension, wysynski presses his luck.
- I can try the best I can, your honor.
I have, honestly, a lot going on right now
And just--it's stressful,
But I will try my hardest to get it done.
- Okay, just to let you know, we all have a lot going on
And it is very stressful for everyone,
But this is very important,
And I'm not gonna give you longer than that.
- Wysynski did eventually complete his evaluation
And was able to avoid jailtime,
And hopefully his days
Of impersonating an officer are over.
- This looks really bad. This screams wacker.
♪ ♪
- As for the driver wysynski pulled over,
He was, of course, free to go.
- Next we head to oklahoma city
For the trial of daniel holtzclaw.
♪ ♪
The former police officer is charged
With 36 counts of rape,
Sodomy, battery, and a number of other charges.
Over a dozen women accused holtzclaw of sexual assault,
Committed mostly during traffic stops
In poor neighborhoods around oklahoma city.
♪ ♪
The accusers typically have minor offenses
On their records.
♪ ♪
Investigators first questioned holtzclaw after janie liggins,
A 58-year-old grandmother, claimed the officer forced her
To perform oral sex during a traffic stop.
♪ ♪
Holtzclaw denied any sexual misconduct.
- You never saw her pull her pants down?
- No, I didn't.
- Why do you think she's making this up?
- I don't know.
- Surveillance footage obtained by investigators
Showed liggins in the officer's vehicle
For over ten minutes.
Holtzclaw denied any sexual misconduct.
♪ ♪
- Do you recall putting your penis in her mouth?
- I don't.
- Would you recall that if you did it?
- If I did it, yeah.
- But holtzclaw insisted the two were just talking
And held firm to his story.
- We can fall on the sword... - Okay.
- And say "I screwed up" or something,
But if we say, "we didn't do it,
We didn't do it, we didn't do it,"
And then the dna comes back and says you did it,
Then we have a huge problem.
- Right.
I'm sticking with my story. I--
- Okay, okay.
- Things get worse for holtzclaw
When the officers mention a second alleged victim.
- Let's switch up for a second.
You had another girl, okay? - Mm-hmm.
- You probably don't--
Not necessarily gonna remember the name,
But her name is [bleep], okay?
A black female.
And she's claiming the same thing.
The exact same thing.
- But again, holtzclaw sticks to his story.
- I'm a good officer.
I-I don't--that's not me.
That's not me.
♪ ♪
- When more women came forward with similar claims,
Holtzclaw was fired
From the oklahoma city police department.
And after a victim's dna was found on holtzclaw's clothing,
He was officially booked.
He pleaded not guilty to all charges.
♪ ♪
- All rise,
The honorable timothy r. Henderson presiding.
- During the month-long trial,
Holtzclaw chose not to testify.
Several of his accusers did, including liggins.
♪ ♪
After four days of deliberation,
The jury returned with a verdict.
♪ ♪
- Has this jury reached a verdict?
- We have, your honor. - All right.
Would you hand the verdict forms to my bailiff, please?
- Holtzclaw fidgets nervously as judge henderson
Quietly reads the 36 counts before him.
♪ ♪
If found guilty, the 29-year-old could spend
The rest of his life in prison.
♪ ♪
- Verdict, count one, sexual battery.
"we, the jury, empaneled and sworn
"in the above-entitled cause,
"do upon our oaths find as follows.
"the defendant is guilty of the crime of sexual battery
"and set punishment of eight years.
"count four, procuring lewd exhibition.
"defendant is guilty. Count eight.
"defendant is guilty of the crime
Of forcible oral sodomy."
- Of the 36 charges,
Holtzclaw is found guilty of 18,
Including the most serious.
- "count eleven, rape in the first degree.
Defendant is guilty."
- With each guilty verdict,
The one-time college linebacker
Appears to sink deeper into his chair.
- Guilty. Guilty. Guilty.
- In total, holtzclaw was convicted
On five counts of rape and sentenced
To 263 years in prison.
He appealed the ruling,
But the verdict and sentence were upheld.
♪ ♪
- Next, we're at the huntington convention center
In cleveland, ohio,
Where, during the covid-19 pandemic,
The cuyahoga county court moved some of its hearings
To alleviate crowding at the courthouse.
On the docket today is a triple homicide case
That drew national attention
Because of the alleged killer's family ties.
26-year-old tevin biles-thomas is the older brother
Of four-time olympic gold medalist simone biles.
He was charged with a long list of crimes,
Including murder, felonious assault, and perjury,
Following a shooting that left three men dead.
♪ ♪
This police camera footage shows the moment officers
Responded to the call of shots fired
During a new year's eve party.
- Stick to the right. Stick to the right, boys.
- Inside one room, two men are found dead
From gunshot wounds.
And on a stairway below?
- Sir! Sir!
- Another clinging to life.
- The man would later die at the hospital.
♪ ♪
In the days that followed,
Tevin biles-thomas was arrested and charged
Based on the accounts of two eyewitnesses
Who claimed he was the shooter.
♪ ♪
The initial prosecution of biles-thomas
Ended in a mistrial
When jurors were mistakenly given legal briefs
Containing sensitive information.
Now, at a second trial, with victims' family members
Sitting in a makeshift gallery,
His attorneys filed a motion to dismiss
Due to a lack of evidence.
The defense cited that neither eyewitness
Actually saw biles-thomas fire a weapon.
One was only 75% sure he was the shooter,
Based on the clothing he was wearing at the time.
♪ ♪
- In viewing the evidence in the light
Most favorable to the state,
It is insufficient to sustain a conviction.
The motion is granted as to all counts.
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- With the charges dismissed,
Biles-thomas will walk out a free man.
If he makes it out of the hearing.
- After the judge dismisses the case...
- The motion is granted as to all counts.
♪ ♪
- The mother of one of the victims
Makes a rush towards the defendant.
- No, are you [bleep] kidding me?
[bleep]! No, [bleep]!
No, [bleep]! [indistinct]
- Several officers intercept the distraught mom
And wrestle her toward the exit.
- You all got me [bleep] up.
You all got me [bleep] up.
- I got her arms.
- After derailing her attack, officers steady the woman
As she begins to cry.
- He killed my baby.
You know he killed my baby.
- She's eventually escorted out of the court area.
- Stop. Stop, stop, stop.
- Calm down, calm down, calm down!
♪ ♪
- But she's not the only person upset
With the outcome of the case.
- I'm sorry, man. Come on.
- One of the victim's uncles also calls out biles-thomas
As he's escorted out of the court area.
- You a hoe, man. I swear to god, man.
- Sir, sir, don't make--no.
- You a [bleep], man. - Leave it. Just leave it.
Let's go. Come on. Let's go. Come on, let's go.
♪ ♪
- Tevin biles-thomas walked out of court a free man,
With all charges against him dismissed.
♪ ♪
The victim's mother was not charged.
- I'm gonna kill you, [bleep].
I'm gonna kill you, [bleep]. I'm gonna kill you.
[dramatic music]
- Next, we head to union county, ohio,
For the verdict in the trial
Of 49-year-old anthony redding.
He's charged with one count of felonious assault.
♪ ♪
Redding allegedly punched his girlfriend in the face.
The blow was so vicious,
It resulted in her losing an eye.
He claimed it was self-defense and pleaded not guilty.
This is potentially redding's third conviction for assault.
If found guilty, he could be looking at 18 years of prison.
♪ ♪
- While the jury heads home,
Redding prepares to learn the terms of his sentence.
- Ladies and gentlemen, have a good day.
Thank you once again.
- Please rise.
♪ ♪
- Judge donald fraser hasn't even started
Reading the sentence,
And redding is already fired up.
♪ ♪
- A deputy approaches to calm redding down.
But he's got something he wants to get off his chest.
- Just relax. Okay?
- Before he goes any further, the judge steps in.
- No reason for you to be acting this way.
- Well, come on, let's go.
- I think it's appropriate that the deputies put you
In restraints before the court imposes sentence.
- Give me 18. [bleep] it.
[bleep], this is [bleep].
[indistinct]
[bleep]
♪ ♪
- Please.
- Have a seat.
♪ ♪
- Get off me.
♪ ♪
- The judge first allows the prosecutor
To make a statement.
- The state believes that his conduct,
Dating back to at least 2008,
Warrants the most strict
And stringent sentence available.
- Shut the [bleep] up.
Piece of [bleep].
Come on! Give me 18.
- The judge asks redding if he has anything to say.
- It's no good.
I did not intentionally hit [bleep].
And this will be ruination of my life.
Once you take me in, there's no sense in living.
That's all I'm gonna say.
You can go ahead and do what you want.
♪ ♪
- Finally, it's judge fraser's turn to announce his decision.
♪ ♪
- All right.
Well, the court finds
That there's no genuine remorse shown here.
The court further finds that a maximum sentence is warranted.
Total prison sentence imposed is 18 years.
♪ ♪
- Redding receives 18 years in a state prison
And won't be eligible for release until 2037.
He'll be 68 years old.
- That's the order of the court. Thank you.
- [indistinct swearing]
- That's it for this edition of "courtcam."
I'm dan abrams. Thanks for watching.
♪ ♪