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[Music]
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Next on Unsolved
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Mysteries, dreams of stardom turn fatal
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when a small town girl tries to make it
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big in
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Hollywood. A Chicago man is sent to
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prison for fatally shooting a security
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guard. He says he was framed by members
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of a notorious street gang in Simmeran,
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New Mexico. If you check into the St.
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James Hotel. Do not ask for room 18.
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It's already occupied by a
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ghost and a police chief dies during an
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attempted
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robbery. Then his killer escapes from
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prison. Perhaps there's someone watching
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who can help solve one of these cases.
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And maybe it's you. I'm Dennis Fina, so
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stick around.
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Heat. Heat.
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[Music]
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Chicago,
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Illinois. It's close to midnight on
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Chicago's notorious southside and
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Garrison Hester, a security guard, is on
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his way to work.
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He is shot twice at close range and dies
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almost
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instantly. 4 days later, 20-year-old
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Steve Shores, who lives in the
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neighborhood, is arrested for the
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murder. He is later convicted and
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sentenced to 35 years in prison.
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I've been here for 10 years and for me
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the free world has been a dream that I
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have dreamed about living inside a
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nightmare. I've never killed anybody in
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my life and I did not kill Garrison H. I
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do know he received a fair trial. Wayne
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Meyer represented the state during the
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clemency phase of Steve's appeal
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process. I know he's lied about almost
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every part of his life that I could look
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into. All those things I know. So,
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knowing all those uh without having been
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there, I'd say yes. Uh he is guilty
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beyond a reasonable
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doubt. Steve Shores claims that he was
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framed for the murder by the person who
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actually committed the crime, a man who
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belonged to a Chicago street gang known
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as the El Rukans. He says that he ended
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up behind bars because he wanted to
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protect his family from gang
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retaliation.
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At the time that Garrison Hester was
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murdered, the south side of Chicago was
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an urban war zone plagued by drugs and
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heavily armed street gangs. The El
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Rukans was one of the most
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powerful. They are very bad guys.
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Everyone in the neighborhood was scared
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of them because if you open your mouth
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or you said too much or if you seen
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something that you wasn't supposed to
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see, you would either end up in the
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morg or in jail like my brother Steve.
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Steve Shores grew up on the south side.
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He admits that he had at least one runin
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with the police, but at 18 he joined the
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army and was later honorably discharged.
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He returned to Chicago, got a job, and
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says that he did his best to stay out of
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trouble. I was dealing with the gang
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because I was living with in the
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neighborhood. And what I mean by dealing
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with the gang is that you went by the
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codes of the street. You know, if you
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saw something that didn't have nothing
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to do with you, then you didn't say
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nothing about it.
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Steve's claims that one summer night, he
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and a friend were on their way home from
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the beach at Lake Michigan. Around
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midnight, they turned onto a street
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close to the Alukan
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headquarters. Two gang members known as
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Bow and Blood were standing outside. At
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the same moment, Garrison Hester walked
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down the street from the opposite
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direction. What you are about to see is
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Steve's version of what happened next.
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Bring a gun on our turf.
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We hear a shot and I see a guy standing
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over a car and I see him bend down and
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when he comes up I hear another
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pop. The guy recognized me. He pointed
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at me, you know, like pointed at me,
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hollering to the other guy on the other
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side of the street. And uh I recognized
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him as being one of the guys from that
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gang. Get him. Check him out. Check him
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out. I actually didn't see him kill
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anybody because I actually didn't see
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the body. But I don't think they knew
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that.
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The next day, Steve says he was
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confronted by blood and another gang
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member. How are you, Steve?
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So this guy, he grabs me in the collar,
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you know, and he starts roughing me up a
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bit. They're trying to make me know the
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seriousness of the issue. Remember what
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you saw yesterday?
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Yesterday? Yeah. No, I ain't seen
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nothing. I don't believe you. I'm going
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to ask you one more time. I didn't see
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nothing. I don't believe you. I don't
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believe you. He tells me that if I say
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anything about what I saw, I'm going to
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find myself in a morg.
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How you doing? Backing a tip. Police
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picked up Steve 3 days later. Initially,
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he was told that he was brought in for
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failure to pay his child support, but
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Steve says that he was held for 72 hours
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and was questioned repeatedly about the
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murder of Garrison Hester. It was then
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that he made what he believes was a
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crucial mistake. He lied about being on
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Drexel at the time of the killing.
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I told the police that I was at home
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because I had went to the dentist, which
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I had went to the dentist. I got a teeth
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pulled and I was home all day, which
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wasn't the truth.
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I didn't tell anybody what I knew
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because I was afraid of telling anybody.
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I was afraid for my family. I was afraid
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for my life.
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While Steve was being questioned, Bow
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and Blood were also being interrogated
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as suspects in Garrison's murder. Both
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admitted that they had been at the
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scene, and both claimed that Steve
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Shores was the
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killer. The court assigned Steve a
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public defender named Andrea Lion. I'm
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going to be your attorney. Have a seat.
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He told me essentially what he had told
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the police, uh, that he was at home, uh,
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that he wasn't there. um and that he
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didn't do it. He always told me he
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didn't do it, which I believed.
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She was just another person in the
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system to me, you know, and she was some
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person that, you know, I could I felt I
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would trust with only enough information
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that, you know, whereas I wouldn't be
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harmed. And so I told her that I didn't
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do it. And I felt that it was enough.
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And she felt it was enough to fight the
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case.
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Steve was charged with the murder
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largely on the strength of bow and blood
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sworn statements. But there was another
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witness, someone without gang ties and
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with no connection to Steve. Before any
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charges were filed, the witness was
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brought into view a lineup of possible
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suspects. Sir, if you could just take
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your time. Do you see anyone up here
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that you recognize?
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The witness gave a height and a weight
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and also described the person as a dark
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skinned person.
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Steve is not dark-skinned. He's medium
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complexed. I I don't recognize anybody
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up there, sir, that night. I think it's
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very significant that the independent
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eyewitness did not pick out Steve. Um,
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and that his description did not match
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Steve either. I mean, I think those are
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very important because he had no axe to
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grind at all. He was a good Samaritan.
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He stopped to try to help. That's all.
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The description he gave did fit Steve
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Shores. And that's one of the reasons
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why the police picked him up. He saw him
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from about 2 or 300 ft away uh in the
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dark and only his profile. I think that
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explains why he didn't identify Steve.
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4 months later, Steve Shores went on
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trial. His fate hinged on the
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prosecution's three primary witnesses,
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Bo Blood, and one of their friends, a
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woman named Myra Sexton. Mr. I'm sure
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your attorney has indicated that you
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want a bench trial. Do you understand
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that? Yes, sir. On the advice of his
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attorney, Steve requested a bench trial
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rather than a jury trial. That meant
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only the judge would hear the evidence
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and decide Steve's guilt or innocence.
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We took a bench trial because it was
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such an obvious winner for the defense,
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it seemed, and because the wisdom at the
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time was you took a case that was really
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good for the defense to a bench. uh
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because you could skip some of the
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steps, some of the fluff that the
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prosecution would put on for a jury to
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impress them um and just sort of get to
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the heart of the matter. All right, Mr.
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Prosecutor, let's begin. Steve was so
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terrified of the gang members that even
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as the trial got underway, he still had
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not told his lawyer what really
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happened. She still believed that he had
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been at home recovering from dental work
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when the murder occurred. I felt that it
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would be all over with once everybody
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got on the stand and said their stuff,
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you know, it would be all over with and
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I would go home. I always felt that.
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Everybody told me that as well, you
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know. Now, did you see the security
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guard? Yes. On the first day of the
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trial, Bo was called to the stand. Yes.
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After you saw the security guard, what
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happened? The security guard was
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walking. Steve said, "I'm f to kill this
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chump."
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The testimony of the two
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eyewitnesses consisted of saying they
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were out on the scene uh that evening
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with Steve Shaw. They were drinking
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liquor, smoking marijuana when Steve
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decided to run across the street to the
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security guard and stick him up. I'm
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getting tired of this. What are you
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going to do about it?
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[Music]
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Two shots went off. Did you see the two
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shots go off? Yeah, I heard them. Who
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fired the shots? Steve fired the shots.
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Steve fired the shots. Did you see Steve
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fire the shots? Yes. B was an extremely
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biased witness. admitted that he'd been
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told he'd get charged if he didn't name
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Steve as having done this. So, he had an
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axe to grind. He didn't want to get
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charged with murder. Now, what happened
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when Steve ran up behind the security
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guard? He fired twice.
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When the other gang member named Blood
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testified, it appeared Steve was one
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step closer to being convicted of
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murder.
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Next, Steve Shores finally decides to
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tell his story when Bo allegedly
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threatens his family. Shut up. Shut up.
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Did Steve Shores murder Garrison Hester?
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At Steve's trial, two members of the
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Elukin Street gang said yes. When the
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prosecution called a third witness,
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Steve's prospects got even worse.
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Now, calling your attention to that
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night, do you remember where you were?
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Yes. After the murder, Myra Sexton, a
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friend of Bow and Bloods, was also
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brought in for questioning. In court,
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Ston claimed that she saw Steve 3 hours
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before the killing, holding a gun in an
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angry mood. Did anything happened as you
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were standing there that night? Well,
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Steve and his dude got into a little
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argument, words, whatever. Well, this
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this guy said something to Steve and it
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made him mad and the next thing I know,
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he had a gun out. Uh, who had a gun out?
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Steve, she called down to Steve and told
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him to come up to her apartment. Uh, he
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did go up to the apartment. Uh, she
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talked to him. She tried to get him to
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give her the gun. He refused, but he did
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calm down and he went back out there.
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She did not claim to have seen the the
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the murder
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itself, but she was the only
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corroboration for this incredible tale
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that these gang members told.
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Steve's family claims that Bo and
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another gang member came to their home
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and threatened them. Get out of here.
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Hey, listen. Be quiet. Get out of here.
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Listen, shut up. Shut up. Listen now.
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You tell Steve to keep his mouth shut or
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else I'mma kill all y'all.
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Bo said tell your brother Steve if he
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tell what he's
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seen we'd kill all you mother efers.
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Now it's our turn. Steve says that he
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was feeling intense pressure both from
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inside and outside the courtroom. So he
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decided to tell his lawyer the truth.
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They all lying. All of them. They all
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lying. I know they're lying and we're
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going to prove they're lying. Don't
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worry about it. You don't understand.
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No. See, I know they lying because I saw
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what happened. I finally understood why.
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Bow and blood were lying. Steve was
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framed for a crime he saw. We've got to
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put you on this stand. Well, look, look.
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I I don't want to testify. All right. I
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told you before. Well, I know, but he
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was afraid that they come after his
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family again. So, I said, "Don't
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testify. You don't have to testify. The
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state's case will fall of its own
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weight. They're contradicting each other
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all over the place. That guy Bo, I mean,
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he might as well confessed to murder the
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way he looked and acted on the stand.
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You don't have to testify, and you don't
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have to put your family at risk. I
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didn't push him to testify.
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After two weeks, the judge delivered his
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verdict. The court heard the evidence in
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the matter.
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There is a finding of guilty.
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I think I was more so angry than I was
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shocked.
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This guy could actually say guilty on
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me, you
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know, of something that he had to know I
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didn't do. Sentencing is scheduled for
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February 15th.
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I lost because I made a mistake. I lost
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because I waved jury and I didn't think
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Steve needed to testify. But I can't
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blame anyone but myself. Steve listened
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to me. He relied on my advice. He relied
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on my expertise and I told him to do the
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wrong thing.
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Something silver big and it was in his
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hand. Within a few weeks, Andrea asked
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the judge to allow Steve to testify
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under oath. Even though the trial was
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over, the judge agreed. Would you tell
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the judge who he was? Steve, you have to
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do it.
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It was both.
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Did you shoot Garrison Hester?
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No, I didn't shoot nobody with no gun.
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After he realized that uh he was found
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guilty and he better do something, Steve
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finally did testify. The I was at home
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with a toothache story wasn't going to
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fly because he knew independent
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witnesses, uh a female put him on that
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scene at some time during the day. I
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think he realized he had to put himself
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at least on the scene, but instead of
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being the shooter, he said uh that uh he
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was just a witness. And also, when I
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learned about Steve, it's highly
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doubtful uh Steve spends his leisure
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time bicycling around the neighborhood.
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I think anybody would be a little
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cynical that someone would sit there
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through a whole trial, see the real
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killer, testify, and name him, and just
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say nothing.
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I want the record to reflect that I
00:16:46
believe the state's eyewitnesses. I
00:16:49
still believe them. The judge refused to
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reconsider his verdict despite
00:16:53
supporting testimony from the friend who
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had been with Steve that night. Steve
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Shores was sentenced to 35 years in
00:17:01
prison. The conviction stands.
00:17:06
Your honors. Andrea Lion appealed
00:17:09
immediately. Steve's request for a new
00:17:11
trial was rejected by a 2 to1 vote.
00:17:14
However, he did find an advocate, the
00:17:17
dissenting judge, Eugene Pinchum. The
00:17:20
big hole, I suggest, is the fact that
00:17:23
that was an eyewitness. If you'd him in
00:17:25
a lineup, he said, "Never seen the man
00:17:27
before in my life." And the description
00:17:28
he gave of the asalant did not fit Steve
00:17:31
Shaw. That's the big hole.
00:17:33
Little hole is that all three of them,
00:17:35
the two eyewitnesses and this person who
00:17:38
was supposed to seen Steve with the gun
00:17:40
were in the police station interrogated
00:17:41
for 7 8 hours had an adequate
00:17:44
opportunity to concoct their story to
00:17:46
fit the facts as they knew them. They
00:17:48
simply substituted Steve Shaw for
00:17:50
themselves.
00:17:52
[Music]
00:17:53
Would you say there are a lot of gang
00:17:55
members in your neighborhood? Two years
00:17:57
later, hope emerged. Myra Ston, who had
00:18:00
testified that she saw Steve with the
00:18:02
gun on the night of the murder, admitted
00:18:05
that she had lied on the stand. We spoke
00:18:08
to Myra and her testimony didn't have
00:18:12
out face. All of a sudden, there was no
00:18:15
confrontation. All of a sudden, there
00:18:16
was no attempt to get a gun from Steve.
00:18:18
All of a sudden, Steve never had a gun.
00:18:19
All of a sudden, it wasn't at night, it
00:18:21
was in the morning. All of a sudden, the
00:18:23
whole thing she'd said was a lie.
00:18:27
It's not asking too much to say to the
00:18:29
trial judge and to the prosecutor. Try
00:18:31
the case again. Let 12 people hear this
00:18:34
case from beginning to end from the date
00:18:36
of the commission of defense up until
00:18:38
this moment. All material pertinent
00:18:39
evidence and there's no question in my
00:18:42
judgment that a jury would acquit him.
00:18:44
If we were to retry him, uh other
00:18:47
prisoners would say, "Well, why don't I
00:18:48
get a retrial?" There's nothing special
00:18:50
about this case. There's really not. The
00:18:52
only thing special is publicity.
00:18:56
Despite Myra's admission, Steve was
00:18:58
denied a new trial less than a year
00:19:01
after Steve went to prison. One of his
00:19:03
sisters was murdered. He believes that
00:19:06
she was killed by the El Rukans Street
00:19:09
gang. While Steve spent the next 13
00:19:12
years behind bars, Andrea at her own
00:19:15
expense looked for evidence that would
00:19:17
get Steve a new trial.
00:19:19
I'm hoping that someone who saw this,
00:19:22
and I know people saw it, that someone
00:19:25
will feel safe enough to say that they
00:19:27
saw it and that it wasn't Steven. I'm
00:19:29
hoping to crack the silence and find
00:19:33
some new piece of evidence because I
00:19:35
can't bear the thought that an innocent
00:19:37
person is going to spend another decade
00:19:40
in jail.
00:19:45
Update. Andrea Lion's hard work paid
00:19:48
off. Steve Shor's third appeal produced
00:19:51
further evidence of his innocence. The
00:19:54
defense found one witness who admitted
00:19:56
lying and another with new
00:19:59
information. Steve entered an Alfred
00:20:01
plea, which means that he pleaded guilty
00:20:04
but denied committing the crime. Steve
00:20:07
Shores was finally released after nearly
00:20:11
15 years in
00:20:14
prison. Next, does the ghost of an angry
00:20:18
poker player haunt room 18 in the St.
00:20:21
James
00:20:30
Hotel? For most of us, Halloween comes
00:20:33
only once a year. But at the St. James
00:20:36
Hotel in New Mexico. Halloween happens
00:20:38
nearly every day. According to many,
00:20:41
this old hotel is haunted by spirits of
00:20:45
the Wild
00:20:49
West. When I bought the hotel, I didn't
00:20:51
believe in ghosts at
00:20:53
all. Now, after the convincing evidence
00:20:56
of the last 5 years, I'm certain that
00:20:58
there are ghosts here.
00:21:00
[Music]
00:21:01
In its heyday, the St. James Hotel
00:21:04
offered good food, attractive dancing
00:21:06
girls, and comfortable beds for such
00:21:09
wild west guests as Jesse James, Pat
00:21:12
Mastersonson, Annie Oakley, Doc Holiday,
00:21:15
and Wy. But as the glory days of the Old
00:21:18
West faded, the hotel started to fall
00:21:21
apart.
00:21:24
Ed Sitsburgger and his wife Pat bought
00:21:26
the St. James and started to bring it
00:21:28
back to life.
00:21:32
But they soon discovered that the hotel
00:21:35
had a life of its own.
00:21:39
I wanted to see how many leaks were in
00:21:41
the old hotel. And so I got my friend to
00:21:44
come with me and to go through the hotel
00:21:47
with her
00:21:49
flashlight. We finished doing all the
00:21:52
checking and put out some buckets here
00:21:53
and there cuz we did have some leaks.
00:21:55
And then we turned the chandelier off
00:21:57
and then went downstairs and out the
00:22:00
hotel. And for some reason, I turned
00:22:02
back up and looked back up to the second
00:22:04
story and the chandelier was on. Can't
00:22:08
believe it. I got to go back home.
00:22:13
Sure. I turned this off.
00:22:16
After the light came back on two more
00:22:18
times, Pat tried to reason with the
00:22:22
spirit. I don't know who you
00:22:24
are or why you're here, but I'm tired
00:22:27
and I really don't want to play tonight.
00:22:29
I'm glad you're here, but could we
00:22:30
please play another day? And at that
00:22:33
point, I pulled the cord on the
00:22:35
chandelier and heard a click and we
00:22:37
turned around and went back down the
00:22:39
stairs. And I looked up and indeed the
00:22:41
light had stayed off.
00:22:45
According to the Sitsburgers, the hotel
00:22:48
was haunted top to bottom.
00:22:51
Guests in room 17 have reported hearing
00:22:54
a constant eerie tapping noise whenever
00:22:57
the window is
00:23:00
open. And Charlie Varela, a local high
00:23:03
school student, discovered that he was
00:23:06
not alone while cleaning the bar early
00:23:08
one morning.
00:23:10
It was kind of dark in there and I was
00:23:12
going to the back to get some liners for
00:23:13
the trash. And as I was going back
00:23:15
there, I just glanced over to the bar
00:23:18
and I seen a little boy sitting on the
00:23:20
bar and spinning the glass. At first,
00:23:23
you know, I thought it was a little boy
00:23:24
from upstairs and he was just down
00:23:26
messing around. You know, I was going to
00:23:27
tell him, you know, excuse me, you're
00:23:28
not supposed to be in here. But when
00:23:31
when I went to make the move to tell
00:23:32
him, he turned
00:23:36
around. His face was hideous and he just
00:23:39
jumped off and just scared me and it
00:23:42
just took off.
00:23:44
I quit that morning. I just don't see
00:23:47
that. It scared me and I didn't want to
00:23:49
work here anymore.
00:23:52
Dr. Kenneth Wright, a surgeon and
00:23:54
amateur ghost hunter, heard about the
00:23:56
spirits at the St. James and decided to
00:23:59
investigate. Let's go inside.
00:24:05
The room was cold and when I looked up
00:24:07
in the upper leftand corner there was a
00:24:10
whirling that was going on the corner.
00:24:13
You couldn't see the corner of the room.
00:24:15
It was like a white swirl.
00:24:18
There was this anger and hatred and
00:24:21
instantly I was filled with terror. I
00:24:24
was gasping for breath because I had not
00:24:26
expected it. Did not encounter it. I've
00:24:28
never been that terrified in my life.
00:24:30
And as this was happening to me, I heard
00:24:32
Pat saying, "You can go. You're free to
00:24:35
go. You can go."
00:24:41
I couldn't believe what was happening to
00:24:43
me. I don't know what this swirling
00:24:45
presence
00:24:46
was. It didn't want me there. That was
00:24:50
very obvious.
00:24:52
Ed then contacted Jackie Little John, a
00:24:55
psychic from Albuquerque.
00:24:58
I was able to sense physical violence, a
00:25:02
gunshot. It was so strong I stepped
00:25:05
backwards. I I could see and feel and
00:25:07
smell and uh you know the the evidence
00:25:10
of violence was so intense.
00:25:15
During her tour, Jackie claims that she
00:25:17
had a vision of a deadly poker game.
00:25:21
The poker game had been going on for a
00:25:24
long time and it was a feeling that
00:25:27
either the hotel was a stake or a very
00:25:30
large herd.
00:25:32
According to Jackie, one of the card
00:25:34
players was the man whose ghost now
00:25:37
haunts room 18.
00:25:44
He died of blood poisoning. Very slow,
00:25:46
very painful, very dreadful, desperate.
00:25:50
desperate man, very fearful.
00:25:54
Jackie says that the dead man's name was
00:25:56
TJ Wright and that he probably won the
00:25:59
hotel in a poker game just before he was
00:26:02
killed. We wanted to look back in the
00:26:04
records and corroborate the story. So,
00:26:07
we went back and looked at the hotel
00:26:09
register in 1881 and found TJ Wright
00:26:12
registered three different days in 1881.
00:26:15
It is reasonable to me that he believes
00:26:17
he owns a hotel still and wants to
00:26:19
maintain possession or at least live
00:26:21
here.
00:26:24
Ed keeps the old registry locked in a
00:26:26
glass case and he is positive that
00:26:29
Jackie never saw it. There is of course
00:26:32
no way to prove that the ghost of TJ
00:26:35
Wright is now haunting room 18, but Ed
00:26:38
is not taking any chances. There's no
00:26:41
construction activity in that room or
00:26:44
renovation work that's going to be done.
00:26:45
That's his room as far as I'm concerned
00:26:47
as a permanent resident for as long as I
00:26:49
have the hotel.
00:26:52
Is it possible that the St. James Hotel
00:26:55
is haunted by the spirits of the Old
00:26:57
West? The firsthand accounts you have
00:26:59
just heard are definitely difficult to
00:27:01
believe, but if you have a better
00:27:04
explanation for what goes on in the old
00:27:06
hotel, the owners of the St. James would
00:27:09
certainly like to hear about
00:27:13
it. Coming up, a young woman dreams of
00:27:16
becoming a Hollywood movie star, but
00:27:19
ends up dying under mysterious
00:27:22
[Music]
00:27:30
circumstances. For as long as she could
00:27:32
remember, Crystal Spencer pictured
00:27:35
herself as a famous Hollywood star. And
00:27:38
yet her search for fame and fortune led
00:27:40
only to frustration, failure, and death
00:27:44
in a manner that has never been fully
00:27:48
explained. Crystal Len Spencer was
00:27:51
raised in a small Northern California
00:27:53
town. At 17, she dropped out of high
00:27:56
school and took a job to help support
00:27:58
the family. A short time later, she
00:28:00
moved to Los Angeles to chase her dream.
00:28:03
Her early years were a struggle, and
00:28:05
Crystal quickly realized that stardom
00:28:08
was not easy to come
00:28:11
by. Crystal reluctantly took a job as an
00:28:14
exotic dancer to pay her bills. On a
00:28:17
good night, she took home up to $400 in
00:28:21
tips, but she never fully accepted the
00:28:23
fact that she was basically a stripper.
00:28:27
Sometimes she would just start crying
00:28:30
like she felt degraded about herself for
00:28:33
what she'd done.
00:28:36
One spring day, friends invited Crystal
00:28:38
to a barbecue. She was eager to
00:28:41
socialize with people who might help her
00:28:43
with her acting career. I'm An. Nice to
00:28:46
meet you. It's nice to meet you. Oh,
00:28:47
this is your place then? This is There
00:28:49
was something very alluring and
00:28:51
compelling about Crystal that would
00:28:54
readily catch your eye. She knew that
00:28:56
she would become not only an actress,
00:28:58
but she would become a very famous
00:28:59
actress, and it was just a matter of
00:29:02
time.
00:29:03
Anton Klene was an aspiring screenwriter
00:29:06
and PhD candidate. He and Crystal came
00:29:10
from totally different backgrounds, but
00:29:12
they soon fell in love. Anton took it
00:29:16
upon himself to help Crystal broaden her
00:29:19
horizons. He introduced her to art
00:29:21
galleries, museums, and concerts. She
00:29:24
loved classical music. She loved fine
00:29:26
art. She wanted to know more about these
00:29:30
other wonderful things of life that she
00:29:33
had never been exposed to before.
00:29:36
Anton had absolutely no idea that
00:29:38
Crystal worked as a stripper. She walked
00:29:41
a fine line, discovering art and culture
00:29:44
by
00:29:45
day and working Hollywood's dark side by
00:29:49
night. Crystal loved Anton very much.
00:29:52
She was very scared about him finding
00:29:54
out. She says, "Well, I better change. I
00:29:57
better quit dancing then before he finds
00:29:59
out."
00:30:02
Finally, 4 months after they met, Anton
00:30:04
found out about Crystal's other life. A
00:30:08
neighbor saw her dancing at the club by
00:30:10
the airport where she worked. And he
00:30:13
said, "I saw that girl on stage." I
00:30:15
said, "No, you couldn't have." He said,
00:30:18
"That was her." Of course it was her.
00:30:22
And I was shocked.
00:30:25
He was very upset, but he said it was
00:30:27
okay. He accepted it, which shocked her.
00:30:31
And it she didn't know what to say.
00:30:37
Oh no, Anton has my cold. One day,
00:30:39
Crystal was homesick with a flu. Anton
00:30:42
stopped by and they talked about an
00:30:43
offer she had received to work in Japan.
00:30:46
So, what's happened with Japan? I don't
00:30:48
know. Um, they haven't called yet. When
00:30:51
are you leaving? I'm not even sure if I
00:30:53
have the job or not yet.
00:30:58
The next night, Crystal and Anton spoke
00:31:00
on the phone and Crystal said that she
00:31:03
was feeling better. How you doing? And
00:31:04
the conversation lasted about 15
00:31:06
minutes. I said, "I'll be in touch." And
00:31:08
she said, "Okay." I hung up the phone.
00:31:11
And that was the last time I ever spoke
00:31:12
with her.
00:31:14
3 days later, Anton tried to reach
00:31:17
Crystal by phone, but kept getting a
00:31:19
busy signal. An operator told him the
00:31:22
receiver was off the hook.
00:31:27
Can I help you? Yeah, I'm looking for
00:31:30
Crystal Spencer. She's not working
00:31:31
tonight. Did she work here last night?
00:31:34
She was punch in.
00:31:36
Anton just assumed that Crystal had left
00:31:39
for Japan without saying goodbye.
00:31:43
I was expecting any day to receive a
00:31:46
very excited phone call from Crystal
00:31:48
saying, "It's wonderful here."
00:31:51
And instead, I got a phone call from the
00:31:54
Burbank Police Department.
00:31:57
Police discovered Crystal's decomposed
00:31:59
body in her apartment. She appeared to
00:32:02
have been dead for almost a week. They
00:32:05
at first just said she was found dead in
00:32:08
her apartment and they wanted to know
00:32:10
when I'd last seen her. And I said, "I
00:32:12
last saw her on Wednesday." And how was
00:32:14
she? I said, "Well, she had a cold."
00:32:17
And uh they said they believe she died
00:32:20
of natural causes.
00:32:23
An autopsy revealed no traces of drugs
00:32:25
or alcohol in Crystal's system. There
00:32:28
were no obvious signs of foul play or
00:32:30
suicide. The coroner ruled that her
00:32:33
death was the result of undetermined
00:32:35
causes. The body of Miss Spencer was in
00:32:38
such an advanced state of decomposition,
00:32:40
they were not able to ascribe the cause
00:32:42
of death. Uh, so they have no finding. I
00:32:46
was suspicious because I did not believe
00:32:49
that Crystal Spencer died of illness.
00:32:50
When I last saw her, she was a young
00:32:52
woman with cold. I was suspicious
00:32:54
because the way I was told the body was
00:32:57
found in an obscure corner of her
00:33:00
apartment knew from the waist down. And
00:33:03
I learned that neighbors had heard
00:33:05
terrible screams coming from her
00:33:07
apartment that some had described as the
00:33:10
sounds of torture.
00:33:13
3 days after Crystal had been home sick,
00:33:16
two of her neighbors were woken up
00:33:18
around 4:00 a.m. by a strange crying
00:33:21
sound. Listen, do you hear that?
00:33:24
But even before I even woke him up, I
00:33:26
laid there thinking, "Someone's being
00:33:27
tortured. Someone's being hurt.
00:33:28
Something's going on." Why don't we?
00:33:30
Susan was very adamant about calling the
00:33:32
police. But out of my fear of what I
00:33:36
heard, I didn't want to get involved.
00:33:40
I don't think I'll ever be able to live
00:33:42
with the fact that I didn't call the
00:33:43
police. If I had, maybe she would still
00:33:46
be alive.
00:33:48
Crystal's body was discovered a week
00:33:49
after her neighbors heard the screams.
00:33:52
They finally told their story to the
00:33:54
public about a week ago. He just took my
00:33:57
statement, took my name, asked me for my
00:33:59
driver's license. That was it. It was
00:34:01
just very nonchalant about it.
00:34:04
Crystal's family requested to view the
00:34:06
body several times, but the coroner's
00:34:09
office continually refused, claiming the
00:34:11
body was in no condition to be seen.
00:34:14
Anton was denied access to the police
00:34:17
reports. However, four months after
00:34:20
Crystal's death, he was able to obtain
00:34:22
the autopsy report. He was shocked by
00:34:26
what he found. Crystal Spencer was
00:34:28
barely 5' tall. The autopsy report
00:34:31
claims that she's an amazing 5'7.
00:34:34
Crystal weighed approximately 105 lb.
00:34:37
The autopsy claims the body is a
00:34:40
well-nourished 140 lb. I I was stunned.
00:34:44
I said, "This is not the body of Crystal
00:34:46
Spencer." And where is the real body of
00:34:49
Crystal Spencer? We do have the remains
00:34:53
identified by fingerprints from two
00:34:55
different agencies and those really
00:34:57
eliminate any possibility of the
00:35:00
coroners autopsying the wrong
00:35:02
remains. I was told by one law
00:35:05
enforcement official, "Bad things happen
00:35:07
to bad girls." And I said, "You mean bad
00:35:10
girls die of natural causes?" and he
00:35:15
said, "You know what I
00:35:17
mean." And hung up on me on the
00:35:21
phone. 2 weeks after Crystal's body was
00:35:24
found, family and friends gathered for a
00:35:26
private memorial
00:35:29
service. Crystal's ashes were scattered
00:35:31
beneath the famous Hollywood sign.
00:35:35
I am angered that they are attempting to
00:35:39
suppress the police reports in this case
00:35:41
forever.
00:35:43
We need to know what happened to her.
00:35:46
It's important to all of us who cared
00:35:48
about her to learn the truth. That's all
00:35:51
we want is the truth.
00:35:54
The truth about how Crystal Spencer died
00:35:57
remains as elusive as her dreams of
00:36:00
stardom. If you have any information
00:36:02
about this case, please log on to our
00:36:05
website at unsolved.com.
00:36:12
Next, an Oklahoma police chief is gunned
00:36:14
down during a robbery, but his killer
00:36:17
has been found thanks to one of our
00:36:29
viewers. Katusa, Oklahoma.
00:36:33
Just after 8:00 a.m. one September
00:36:35
morning, two men pulled up in front of a
00:36:38
tag agency. A popular target for thieves
00:36:41
who deal in stolen cars. This a robbery?
00:36:44
Get out of the ground, lady. Don't look
00:36:46
at me. We're being robbed. Call the
00:36:48
police. Come on.
00:36:50
Keep your head down. Don't look at me,
00:36:52
lady. Do not look at me, lady. Don't
00:36:54
hurt us, please. Chief, there's a
00:36:56
robbery in progress at the Kusa Tag
00:36:59
Agency. At least one employee inside.
00:37:01
Out. 10. The only police officer in town
00:37:04
was Chief JB Hamby, a 24-year veteran
00:37:08
whose devotion to his work was well
00:37:10
known. JB was on call all hours, no
00:37:15
sleep, come in, shower, change clothes,
00:37:19
right back out. For those people that
00:37:21
was on the wrong side of the law, he
00:37:23
could become probably their worst
00:37:25
nightmare. He was
00:37:28
relentless. Hey, get out of here.
00:37:38
20 rounds flew through that small store
00:37:41
in just a few seconds. One robber was
00:37:44
killed, shot in the head by his own
00:37:46
ricocheting bullet. The other was hit
00:37:48
twice, but somehow managed to escape
00:37:52
miraculously. Both women were unharmed,
00:37:55
but Chief Hami was not so lucky. He
00:37:58
staggered outside, bleeding profusely.
00:38:01
JB attempted to reload his gun and at
00:38:05
that point he probably sensed that he
00:38:07
was, you know, gravely injured and uh
00:38:09
from there went right on in the laundry
00:38:11
to get him help. He needed help. JB
00:38:15
JB, it's all right. Call the ambulance.
00:38:19
Repeat after me, JB. Stay with me. Our
00:38:22
Father, Our Father, who are in heaven,
00:38:25
you are in heaven. JB Hamby died before
00:38:28
he could finish reciting the Lord's
00:38:31
Prayer. The robber who escaped,
00:38:33
25-year-old David Gordon Smith, was
00:38:35
captured only two hours later while
00:38:38
being treated for gunshot wounds at a
00:38:40
nearby hospital. At first, Smith thought
00:38:42
he was being arrested for armed robbery,
00:38:45
but instead he was booked on charges of
00:38:47
firstdegree
00:38:49
murder. Ballistics proved that the
00:38:52
bullet that killed Chief Hamby had been
00:38:54
fired from Smith's gun. David Gordon
00:38:56
Smith was convicted of murder and began
00:38:59
serving a life sentence in an Oklahoma
00:39:03
prison. Smith was the classic good boy
00:39:06
gone bad, the son of a respected
00:39:09
university professor. This was his first
00:39:12
and only brush with the law and he set
00:39:15
out to become a model
00:39:17
prisoner. Smith was wellliked by the
00:39:20
staff that had to deal with him. He was
00:39:23
also wellliked by the other inmates and
00:39:26
as he served his time and as his years
00:39:28
grew and his behavior was excellent, he
00:39:32
was uh according to Oklahoma law
00:39:35
classified to a trustee status and his
00:39:39
job at the time was to monitor equipment
00:39:42
at our
00:39:44
lake. Smith was assigned to live and
00:39:46
work all alone at a small water pumping
00:39:49
station. A prison guard checked up on
00:39:51
him every hour. On three separate
00:39:54
occasions, he was allowed unsupervised
00:39:56
visits to his doctor's office. Smith
00:39:59
even got
00:40:01
married. I don't think there's any way
00:40:03
by any stretch of the imagination that
00:40:05
he deserved any sort of lenient
00:40:07
treatment. I I think it's unheard of. I
00:40:11
think he should have got the death
00:40:12
penalty. I think he should have gotten
00:40:13
maximum, you know, hard time. Uh I could
00:40:17
have lived with that.
00:40:20
For more than a year, Smith remained a
00:40:22
model prisoner. But one day, when a
00:40:24
prison guard stopped by for his regular
00:40:26
1:00 a.m. check, he discovered that
00:40:29
Smith was missing. He probably walked
00:40:33
from the room at the lake, out to the
00:40:36
nearest highway, a mile or so away,
00:40:39
where Joe Beth, his wife, picked him up.
00:40:43
They went into Mallister, which is a
00:40:46
mile or so from the prison, and mailed
00:40:48
two letters. We know
00:40:50
that authorities learned that one week
00:40:53
before the escape, Smith's wife closed
00:40:56
her bank account, sold her furniture,
00:40:58
and borrowed $1,000 from friends. She
00:41:01
told the travel agent that she was going
00:41:04
to Mexico. She never mentioned her
00:41:07
husband.
00:41:09
4 months later, David Gordon Smith was
00:41:11
seen with a woman in Arkansas, just 90
00:41:14
miles from the prison. The authorities
00:41:17
were alerted, but by the time they
00:41:19
arrived, Smith had vanished.
00:41:22
I want to see David Gordon Smith serve
00:41:25
his time. I just think it's one of the
00:41:27
most unjust things that could ever
00:41:28
happen. JB lived his job as a police
00:41:32
officer 24 hours a day. a very intense
00:41:36
person that took his job extremely
00:41:38
serious. That loss can never be feel.
00:41:41
And I I just don't think it's
00:41:45
fair.
00:41:48
Update. After we aired this story,
00:41:50
authorities received the tip that Smith
00:41:52
was working at a car dealership in
00:41:55
Spearfish, South Dakota. He was using
00:41:58
the name Gary Johnston and he admitted
00:42:01
that he had seen his story on Unsolved
00:42:04
Mysteries. Smith was returned to prison
00:42:07
with an extra 4 years added to his
00:42:09
sentence for his escape.
00:42:27
[Music]
00:42:42
[Music]
00:42:46
Heat. Heat.
