00:00:01
to work in a newsroom you have to have a special skill that is learning how to work without the blaring news from the
00:00:07
police scanners driving you mad and that's just if you want to skate by essentially doing the bare minimum a
00:00:14
truly skilled employee in the 17 Newsroom can not only get their work done with the scanners going off they
00:00:21
can also listen to them at the same time this is in my opinion an incredibly impressive skill one I was never good at
00:00:28
especially since most newsrooms have several different scanners playing at the same time here's a little snippet of
00:00:34
what that sounds like confir they we canit one I think listening to that all day would make the average
00:00:43
person want to rip their hair out but not 177 news assistant news Director Erica Torres I'm very good at listening
00:00:51
to the scanner I can tell when there's you know breaking news happening or big event the scanner is key because without
00:00:59
it there are tons of things happening we'd never know about or if we waited for the police to notify us it would be
00:01:05
long after the scene was cleared which for TV news especially doesn't work well Erica has been the one who heard and
00:01:13
alerted us to countless fires shootings standoffs you name it but there's a lot of stuff on the scanner that Erica
00:01:19
listens to that isn't something we'd really send a news crew to Pursuits and chases are an everyday thing nothing out
00:01:27
of the ordinary but one summer after afternoon in July 2019 Erica was listening to
00:01:33
scanner chatter about a foot pursuit that had an interesting twist the pursuit ended up in the
00:01:41
[Music] river I'm Olivia Lavo and this is the Bakersfield 3 [Music] I remember a few of us started to gather
00:02:13
around the scanner and kind of joke to each other that's a new one people do all sorts of things to try to avoid the
00:02:20
cops but jumping into the karna river was a first and based off what dispatchers were saying on the scanner
00:02:26
it sounded like a first for them too subject in the river that PE was chasing they're requesting you bring your boat
00:02:35
went underwater about 10 seconds ago you should be right directly in the middle of the river confirm with County fire if
00:02:42
they have a boat uh we can only fit one officer on the fire boat at one point we weren't sure if the
00:02:50
officers wanted to get on a boat to go grab the suspect in the water to arrest him or rescue him either way it was all
00:02:57
pretty interesting to hear tidbits of it as I was getting ready to fill in on the
00:03:01
anchor desk that night I think we were about 30 minutes into the 5:00 p.m. newscast when I started to hear a
00:03:07
commotion coming from Erica's desk everyone knew that I had got a hot tip I think every time I hear something big I
00:03:14
run into our news director's office and I told Mike try he I don't know if I can
00:03:18
curse but holy [ __ ] I Matthew Queen is in the river now it wasn't just an interesting weird standoff anymore it
00:03:25
was a big story former 17 News producer Rafel Strode had to scramble in the middle of his newscast basically like oh
00:03:34
my God it's Matthew Queen right just stranded in the river while police were trying to figure out a way to get to him
00:03:41
and uh figure out how to arrest him and bring him back on the land during the newscast literally I think we were
00:03:47
meeting in between commercial breaks about how we need to get Olivia on the story because it's her story yeah Liv
00:03:56
was anchoring that day and eventually we were just like get her out there an anchor leaving the desk in the
00:04:03
middle of a newscast wasn't something we'd normally ever do but this was big what were officers arresting him for of
00:04:11
course we all had the same thought it had to have something to do with Bailey's disappearance and that's what
00:04:16
was going through Jane's head when she got the news I look at my phone and I have all these texts and mies phone
00:04:22
calls and I think I called D and she's like McQueen's in the river and I'm like what what are you talking
00:04:32
about you know and I'm like oh my God I got to get over there but by the time Jane and I got there all the action had
00:04:38
fizzled out Matt Queen had eventually on his own walked out of the river and into
00:04:42
police custody here's Sergeant Garrett the water wasn't extremely deep he was able to navigate it fairly well but I
00:04:49
mean there's at times where he submerged himself into water to try to hide from us and as it turned out police weren't
00:04:56
even there to arrest him that day went there to execute a search warrant on his Suburban as well as get a buckle
00:05:03
swap from him and he uh fled his place of employment and let us on an hours long standoff which wasn't entirely
00:05:15
expected the intention was to get a saliva swab his DNA and search his car but when he ran things shifted and that
00:05:23
day all police would say is he was booked into jail on a kidnapping charge of course we all thought does this mean
00:05:29
he k kidnapped Bailey it didn't the next day we got confirmation the kidnapping victim was not Bailey or Micah it was a
00:05:38
guy named Caleb whose name had come up several times after bayy and Micah went missing as he was part of what the moms
00:05:44
call the circle he hung out with Bailey Micah and Matt Queen the alleged kidnapping took place shortly after the
00:05:52
do Phil episode aired in early 2019 Queen and two of his friends woke up Caleb in the middle of the the night
00:06:00
and allegedly forced him into a car they had a gun which turned out to be a BB gun but Caleb reported being scared for
00:06:07
his life nonetheless Queen wore a bulletproof vest and questioned Caleb about him talking to police about Queen
00:06:14
having Andor selling guns Caleb also told police about another unsettling incident between him and queen that
00:06:21
happened not long before Micah went missing Caleb said it started out like a regular day with him and Micah going
00:06:27
over to Queen's house to hang out The Voice you'll hear asking him questions is prosecutor Eric Smith we walked in
00:06:35
the house and went straight to the garage and then uh it he pretty much just told me to sit down on the chair
00:06:40
and he zip tied me do it what were you thinking when it happened ah man I didn't know it was hard to judge with
00:06:47
Matthew because he was a very good friend of mine and I didn't think he would necessarily kill me but he was
00:06:54
definitely uh he wasn't screwing around you know so you didn't think you were going to end up dead you just figured
00:07:00
you might get hurt yeah I guess I mean I I I couldn't say for certain you know it was a weird
00:07:06
time for everybody when you're getting zip tied to the chair where's Micah he was uh
00:07:12
sitting across the table from me what was his demeanor what did he look like he scared
00:07:19
shitless did he say anything no he he he just kind of sat there like like he wanted to help me but he didn't know
00:07:27
what he could do what about m Mr queen as you're getting zip tied to the chair what's his demeanor what's he acting
00:07:33
like he's acting like a friend still like it was all a big joke like he was he was real jovial about the whole
00:07:41
situation did you think it was a joke I mean at first I kind of did but then you
00:07:46
know once I was zip tied to the chair then it wasn't funny anymore and it wasn't funny for him
00:07:51
anymore either I guess Caleb said Queen then brought out a shock collar after that was placed on your
00:07:59
neck what happened next he shocked me with it what did it feel like I mean well it didn't feel good it wasn't as uh
00:08:10
as awful as I mean it I expected it to be but it definitely was you know scary and discomforting hey after you've been
00:08:18
shocked what happens next uh he tried to get Micah to shock me too and he wouldn't do
00:08:24
it what happened next uh he hit me in the face with the barrel of a gun now after you were struck what happened he
00:08:32
stuck a Band-Aid on me and Drew a smiley face on it according to Caleb after Queen put
00:08:39
the Band-Aid with the smiley face on Caleb's bloody swollen cut he cut off the zip ties and went back to acting
00:08:46
like they were friends the moms heard this story early on in their investigation and eventually convinced
00:08:52
Caleb to come forward the incident gave us a glimpse into the strange world queen and the circle we're living in
00:08:59
where friends are scared of one another or at least scared of McQueen one month after his arrest and
00:09:05
being charged with kidnapping Caleb Queen was hit with more charges this time in connection to a young woman who
00:09:12
was a friend of Bailey's were calling her Molly Molly was another witness the moms found and begged her to come
00:09:19
forward Molly eventually told police that Queen had pointed a gun at her on two different occasions before Micah or
00:09:26
Bailey disappeared the first was in January U AR 2018 Molly says she and Micah were in
00:09:33
Queen's car when he suddenly drove them to an orchard Molly says Micah seemed terrified and jumped out of the car and
00:09:39
took off running Molly says after Micah ran off Queen grabbed a gun and ordered Molly to get out here is audio of
00:09:47
prosecutor Eric Smith asking Molly about this after Mr Queen points the firearm at your head what does he say to you how
00:09:58
would you feel if my daughter grew up without a mother what was your response to
00:10:03
that I got on my knees and started begging for my life was he asking you any questions
00:10:10
like explaining to you why you had a gun pointed to your head yeah uh something of the sorts of if
00:10:17
Bailey has been cheating on him and I said no I don't think she is the second incident happened on March
00:10:26
21st 2018 just a couple days before before Micah disappeared Molly took her one-year-old daughter to Queen's house
00:10:33
to see Bailey who she says she was worried about at Queen's house that day Molly says Bailey confided in her that
00:10:40
she was pregnant and not sure what to do according to police reports Molly told Bailey she didn't need to go through
00:10:46
with having the baby among other things and unbeknownst to her Queen was standing just outside the door listening
00:10:53
here's Molly and prosecutor Eric Smith again I was talking about how the relationship that she
00:11:03
should get out that it wasn't healthy so when he walked in the room you were telling Bailey to essentially
00:11:11
move out break up with Mr Queen mhm yes what was his response to that he went into his closet I was
00:11:23
sitting on the couch my daughter was walking he comes out from the closet and pulls the
00:11:30
gun to me again and said get the [ __ ] out I got up I moved and then um Bailey tried
00:11:42
intruding and then Bailey ended up getting pushed and slammed up up against a wall and then she baile looked at me
00:11:50
and said go so I grabbed in the car seat and I I ran and then he followed me out
00:12:00
and chased me to the street perhaps one of the more surprising things about Molly's story is
00:12:06
despite the fact that Queen threatened her at gunpoint in January a couple months later she still went to his house
00:12:13
and she brought her baby and after he chased her down when she fled his house the second time he pointed a gun at her
00:12:20
she went on to let him drive her home because she said it was raining outside and she didn't want her baby to get
00:12:25
sick if that seems bizarre it's because it is is but yet not unusual for this friend
00:12:33
group numerous people who say they were terrified of Queen still hung out with him Caleb discussed this strange Dynamic
00:12:40
when describing to prosecutor Eric Smith what he was feeling during the incident
00:12:45
when he awoke to Queen standing over him with a gun demanding he get up and go with
00:12:50
him it was complicated because in the past instances I'd had with him like you it would be like a a really scary
00:12:58
situation but then it would be all joking and laughing at the end of it and it was so it was
00:13:04
unpredictable complicated indeed and it seems Micah also felt the same way several people say Micah referred to
00:13:12
Matt queen as scary Matt and at times seemed genuinely afraid of him but they still hung out and often after the
00:13:20
incident when Queen brought Micah and Molly to an orchard causing Micah to run off seemingly terrified Micah sent a
00:13:27
meme in a group chat with with him Bailey queen Molly Sarah and Matt vand Castile it was a photo of Hannibal
00:13:35
Lecter from Silence of the Lambs Micah wrote quote the expression on Matt Queen's face when he's about to execute
00:13:42
you in the Orchards the group chat seemed to get a kick out of it but Sergeant Garrett didn't think any of it
00:13:49
was a joke and the charges against Queen ranging from threats and assault continued to pile up unlike the last two
00:13:56
times Queen had been arrested in Bakersfield he couldn't bail out now I saw it all as a tactic by Sergeant
00:14:02
Garrett and I figured he probably wanted Queen Behind Bars one way or another if
00:14:07
he couldn't get him on murder he was going to get him on everything else he could
00:14:11
find well he had a pattern of ongoing violent criminal activity and in order to safeguard our public I uh started
00:14:20
investigating all these other things and ultimate goal was getting him held to answer on those cases so that meant him
00:14:27
being in erated that does safeguard and prevent further victims I asked Sergeant Garrett for his
00:14:35
opinion about Queen he's actually a smart person U he thinks of himself highly I don't know him personally per
00:14:43
se but I feel like I know him just the amount of hours and stuff I've looked into his life over the years he's very
00:14:51
calculating and basically you know he likes to pick on people that are weaker mindset of his and that's what he did
00:14:59
continuously during this investigation some people Queen hung out with didn't have jobs cars or even
00:15:06
working cell phones but Queen wasn't like that at all really he lived a double life he had his whole life of
00:15:15
criminal activity and stuff and then he was actually a productive person at work
00:15:18
which is kind of unusual Queen seemed driven at work involved with his kids made enough to
00:15:25
have nice things I heard from some people he just seemed like a completely normal guy not someone you'd need to be
00:15:32
scared of that was something I found myself wondering about too that first year of the investigation who was he at
00:15:38
his core was he scary was he dangerous I remember earlier on in my reporting a couple people telling me to be careful
00:15:46
of him that he didn't like me and I should essentially watch my back it was odd because I've reported on many
00:15:54
suspected criminals ranging from gang members to a guy with face tattoos to make him look like the Joker who told me
00:16:00
that killing someone was better than drugs or sex could ever be and no one ever suggested I should be nervous until
00:16:08
this case when they were worried about you I was worried about you to be honest he he he scared me coming from Bill the
00:16:17
big tough former Cop made me pay attention you know I always said if I if I had another if I was a detective again
00:16:26
I would have wanted you as my partner I mean you're a bulldog and tougher than a
00:16:31
woodpecker's beak but it doesn't matter if you're Olivia La voice 5 foot nothing
00:16:37
and 100 nothing or big fat Bill derby with a gun on his hip if he wants to kill you he's going to kill
00:16:44
you the first and really only time I got Queen to speak with me face to face he said he'd consider meeting with me and
00:16:51
giving me a flash drive with information who knows what that meant as he never did give it to me but during the
00:16:57
conversation I noticed he had clear braces he wore a plaid shirt and had a backpack on and was somewhat
00:17:05
softspoken that moment he seemed more like a nerdy dad than a criminal mastermind he was a middle-aged
00:17:12
electrician suffering through braces hoping for a straighter smile he didn't seem so scary but overall I wasn't sure
00:17:20
how to view him what was real and what was the facade here's Sergeant Garrett and I discussing this I mean some people
00:17:28
will describe him as someone that seemed so dangerous and scary and Powerful scary Matt as they referred to him well
00:17:38
actually he he referred to himself that way too so I think he got off on exerting his power over other people he
00:17:45
has prior convictions of similar nature and it just seems like that's his thing after Queen's arrest he tried to
00:17:55
stay positive or so it seemed in phone calls he made to his girlfriend Sarah who' been Bailey's good friend as well
00:18:02
as the former girlfriend of Queen's good friend Matt Vander Castile Sarah was now
00:18:07
at home taking care of her and queen's new baby on this recorded call from jail Queen appears to tell Sarah something to
00:18:14
the effect of everything is in God's hands and everything happens for a reason the audio quality is terrible and
00:18:23
difficult to make out marrying me even though I'm in prison for me to see that you do love me not your money queen says
00:18:31
maybe it was all a test one it seems Sarah passed after he asked her to marry him from behind bars and she accepted he
00:18:39
says that showed him her love for him is real that it's not just about his money just a note here the pair never
00:18:48
did get married anyhow Queen also tells Sarah on the call everything they've been through LED them to having their
00:18:55
baby that little baby would be here I know to go through all of the things to get him to
00:19:04
say it was like Bailey had to go for us to be it's difficult to make out but Queen
00:19:11
appears to tell Sarah we had to go through all of it to get him I hate to say it but Bailey had to go missing for
00:19:19
us to be together but as the days started to go by Queen's positivity lessened and his frustration of feeling
00:19:27
like everyone had the wrong idea idea about him grew in another difficult to understand jail call queen says he's
00:19:34
never hurt anyone in the circle of friends consisting of Bailey Micah Caleb and others I'm the one that's out here
00:19:43
trying to save not [ __ ] hurt them I'm the in shining armor quote I'm the knight in shining armor I didn't do
00:19:52
anything people are [ __ ] and you know the one I'm talking [ __ ] you know you were there
00:19:59
baby you were there Queen didn't elaborate but the implication seemed to be that Sarah knows the truth about
00:20:07
something because she was there what that might mean we didn't know just [Music]
00:20:17
yet a couple weeks after Queen's arrest something happened that was the first and only purely happy event for the moms
00:20:25
since losing their kids a baby was born I was told that it would be near impossible for me to ever conceive
00:20:34
naturally if I ever wanted kids after spending years thinking it could never happen Bailey's sister Caitlyn got
00:20:41
pregnant and it had a big effect on not just her own family when Cheryl and Lance and when D found out everybody was
00:20:50
just real ecstatic and happy in that moment everyone agreed the baby was a gift from Bailey Caitlyn thought a lot
00:21:00
about her sister and her friend Micah during her pregnancy I knew regardless on if it was a boy or a girl
00:21:10
we were going to incorporate their names in into it somehow Caitlyn says her decision was also based on how close her
00:21:19
and Micah's families got so quickly we had came up with her name larmy and then decided on larmy M
00:21:29
Bailey having Micah and Bailey's name hyphenated together as her middle name just felt right the baby girl felt like
00:21:37
a light all three of the families needed in their lives so for a time though it was brief there was a true feeling of
00:21:45
Joy before everything in the three moms lives was about to be turned upside [Music]
00:21:57
down what the mom's thinking how does this change how they work together that was probably the biggest surprise so far
00:22:06
in a case that's been full of them that's next [Music] time for