[dramatic music]
♪ ♪
- Hi, everyone, I'm Dan Abrams, and this is "Court Cam."
- You should be ashamed of yourself.
- I want dude off my case. [spits]
♪ ♪
- Got a runner.
[people yelling]
- Get out!
- This is not TV court. This is for real.
♪ ♪
- First up we go to Henderson, Nevada, for an arraignment.
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36-year-old Darryl Smith has been charged
with DUI resulting in death,
and reckless driving resulting in death.
♪ ♪
Four days earlier, police say Smith
smashed his pickup into a vehicle
that was waiting at a red light.
[tires squeal, metal crunches]
Inside the car was 38-year-old Rebecca Post
and her two sons, six-year-old Achilles
and five-year-old Leo.
Rebecca and Leo died at the scene.
Achilles was taken to a hospital
but died later that night.
Police responding to the scene said that Smith
appeared to be intoxicated.
When asked if he'd been drinking,
he told them he'd had three glasses of wine
and some cough syrup.
Smith was treated at a nearby hospital
and then taken into custody.
Today he appears before Justice of the Peace Kam Brian
to discuss bond.
- The state is requesting a higher bond
based on recently released toxicology reports
from the night of the crash.
- The judge schedules another bond hearing for a later date.
But as spectators exit the courtroom,
the victim's partner has some words with a member
of the defendant's family.
Marshals step in to escort him out
and try to calm the situation.
[indistinct arguing] - Let's go.
♪ ♪
- The victim's partner leaves the courthouse.
Once outside, he gets involved in another skirmish.
And marshals once again step in
as a witness records the incident on his phone.
- Move! Move!
[Taser fires] - [yelling]
[officers shouting]
♪ ♪
- One of the marshals uses a Taser
to subdue the victim's partner.
[Taser fires] - [yelling]
- Who immediately falls to the ground.
The man's father records the moment on his phone
and shares his frustration with the marshals.
♪ ♪
- The victim's partner suffered no serious injury
and was not charged in the incident.
As for Smith, the judge kept his bond at $255,000.
He remains in custody and has pled not guilty.
If convicted, the max Smith could receive
is 72 years in prison.
His case is pending.
♪ ♪
Next we're in Crawford, Michigan,
for a probation violation hearing.
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30-year-old William Lamott has been charged with assault.
♪ ♪
Police say that five months earlier, Lamott,
who was already on probation for two unrelated incidents,
got into a physical altercation
with his 73-year-old father over a coffee mug.
And when his own wife tried to intervene,
Lamott struck her in the face.
He was arrested and released on his own recognizance.
♪ ♪
Today Lamott appears before Judge George Mertz
to find out if this most recent arrest
is a violation of his probation.
- Okay, we're on the record in People versus William Lamott.
- Prosecutor Ciera Pope questions
the defendant's wife, Bethany Lamott, about the incident.
- Can you tell me what happened?
♪ ♪
- And did this appear to you as a playful interaction
or a consensual interaction?
- What happened after you witnessed this event?
- How did this incident make you feel?
- Next, defense attorney Richard Truche
calls Lamott's father to the stand.
- You've been in the courtroom, and you heard the testimony
that was given by Bethany Lamott, correct?
♪ ♪
- When they're finished,
the prosecutor has a few of her own questions.
- After hearing from the state and the defense,
Judge Mertz is ready to make his ruling.
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- Judge Mertz dismissed three of Lamott's assault charges
but agreed with the state that he engaged
in assaultive behavior in the so-called "cuddle match"
with his father in violation of his probation.
Lamott is in jail and awaiting sentence.
- Next we head to Royal Oak, Michigan, for a plea hearing.
♪ ♪
49-year-old Felipe Godinez has been charged
with domestic violence.
♪ ♪
Two months earlier, police say Godinez
got into a physical altercation
with his live-in girlfriend and was arrested.
♪ ♪
Today he appears before Judge Derek Meinecke
to enter a guilty plea.
He's represented by attorney Joey Phillips.
The victim is also on the call,
but her camera's turned off.
- Mr. Godinez, you're going to be
given the opportunity to participate
in the Spouse Abuse Act.
You have to complete a probationary period,
but you could be in line to potentially keep this charge
off of your record.
Mr. Godinez, you had a question
before I go forward with the plea taking?
♪ ♪
- What?
What was it?
- It sounds like the defendant just made a marriage proposal.
- So if you're trying to send a message to the victim,
that would be violating your bond
right in front of the judge.
♪ ♪
- Yeah, that's not--
- At this point, the victim,
who's already heard the marriage proposal,
appears on the call, and Judge Meinecke
continues with the hearing.
- All right, Mr. Godinez, I'm directing your attention
to November 4th of this year.
Did you make an assault or assault and battery
upon one [bleep]?
- So you agree that you committed an assault,
is that correct?
Okay.
- Noticing that the victim is upset,
Judge Meinecke revisits the proposal.
- Mr. Godinez, you need to understand,
your statement generated a huge response from the victim here
that feels purposeful, and the court
doesn't take it lightly at all.
In fact, the court could violate you right now
just for making that kind of statement
because it's obviously generated
a huge emotional response and a great deal of pain
for the victim.
And so my frustration level extraordinarily high.
Ma'am, I will say this, if you feel threatened
in any way, shape, or form, please let me know.
♪ ♪
- Ma'am, I'm with you.
It felt to me the moment he said it
to be extraordinarily manipulative.
- Godinez doesn't seem to agree with the judge.
- Mr. Godinez, no, listen,
you don't get to determine how people respond
to your statements, okay?
Whatever your intent was,
that doesn't mean anything to me.
What matters to me is the impact
that I'm clearly seeing it on [bleep] face.
So I can't reinforce this enough, Mr. Godinez,
you've been given a gift of an opportunity by the prosecutor.
♪ ♪
- All right?
You've been given a gift of an opportunity.
If I get any sort of sense that there's
any type of further manipulation,
attempt to contact her, attempt to reach out to her,
it's over, it's done.
♪ ♪
Not only will you lose that gift of a deal
where you have a chance to keep this charge off your record,
you're going to jail.
Stay away from her.
No contact with her whatsoever, okay?
Are we on the same page with this, sir?
- You're on the edge of a knife right now.
Don't push me.
♪ ♪
- Judge Meinecke scheduled the sentencing hearing
for a later date.
Godinez remains free on bond.
- Next, we're in Milwaukee, Wisconsin,
for a sentencing hearing.
♪ ♪
39-year-old Matthew Willmann has pled guilty
to disorderly conduct.
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A year and a half earlier, Willmann,
a Milwaukee police officer, was off duty
and having lunch with his wife
while a group of protesters were marching
outside the restaurant.
Willmann's wife says she heard the marchers
make an anti-police comment,
so she threw her drink in their direction.
♪ ♪
That's when police say the protesters confronted her.
Willmann came over to intervene.
Willmann can be seen in this footage
swinging at 22-year-old photographer Sean Kafer,
whose camera flew to the ground.
♪ ♪
After more words were exchanged,
a second photographer, 52-year-old LaTasha Lux,
followed the couple back to the restaurant.
According to police reports,
Willmann slapped Latasha's camera out of her hand,
prompting several of the protesters to confront him,
one of them even shoving Willmann to the ground.
♪ ♪
No punches were thrown, but after a heated standoff,
Willmann and his wife went back inside the restaurant.
LaTasha claimed she suffered a concussion
and emotional distress.
Sean Kafer was uninjured, but his camera needed repair.
Willmann was later charged with battery
and disorderly conduct
and suspended from the force for 45 days without pay.
The case looked to be headed for trial until Willmann
decided to take a deal and, in exchange
for his battery charge being reduced to disorderly conduct,
pled guilty.
Today he appears before Judge Jack Dávila
to hear his sentence.
But first, the two victims deliver
impact statements to the court,
beginning with LaTasha Lux.
- Hello, Matthew.
We've never been formally introduced.
I'm LaTasha.
On July 5, 2020, our paths collided.
I walked away from that encounter forever changed.
♪ ♪
I hate that people see me as a victim.
I am no longer your victim, Matthew Willmann.
♪ ♪
- Next to speak is Sean Kafer.
- Watching Matthew Willmann leaving that bar,
approaching me, breaking my camera lens,
knocking it to the ground, throwing punches at me,
that night I didn't sleep.
The anxiety that I have to this day
after that incident is great.
And finding out that Mr. Willmann
was a police officer in the Milwaukee Police Department
made me lose a lot of faith.
- When they finished, Willmann speaks to the court.
- My wife became involved in an incident
while we were out to lunch.
Fearing for her safety, I intervened.
Looking back on this day, I believe I could have used
better judgment and restraint.
I apologize that my actions that day
have brought discredit to not only my family
but my department.
- Before imposing sentence,
Judge Dávila has a statement of his own.
- There is no question that what occurred was serious.
And when he turned around and he struck the camera,
you know, that, to me, seemed like a violent act.
It was a violent act.
It was a roundhouse.
And you made contact with the camera,
which is close enough to her face,
that, you know, you should have recognized
that punching at her camera at that point
was like punching her.
♪ ♪
It's understandable that you would want
to go out and, you know,
protect your wife and try to bring her back in.
But, at some point, you also engaged with the protesters.
So I can't ignore the fact that, you know,
this is really instigated by you.
You could have gone back into the bar, but you didn't.
You have a good record.
Other than this offense,
you don't have any prior convictions.
I think a fair sentence in this case is as follows.
As to count one on misdemeanor disorderly conduct,
I'm going to impose the maximum fine of $1,000.
I am going to order that you pay restitution
in the amount of $1,099.
As to count two, the citation for disorderly conduct,
I will also impose the maximum fine of $250.
♪ ♪
- Willmann was ordered to pay a total of $2,349.
He remains an officer with the Milwaukee Police Department.
♪ ♪
- Next we go to Panama City, Florida, for an arraignment.
♪ ♪
51-year-old Richard Earl Brown has been charged
with driving with a suspended license.
♪ ♪
Today he appears before Judge Wade Mercer
to discuss next steps in the case.
Brown, who already has two
driving without a valid license charges on his record,
is late for his hearing, and the judge is not happy.
- Mr. Brown, you are over 45 minutes late for court.
So why were you late for court?
- Came from Tennessee?
- You were in Tennessee yesterday or last night?
- Okay, so when did you get to Florida?
- Today?
You came--so you came from--
you were in Tennessee yesterday.
Last night.
- So where did the Greyhound bus bring you to?
- Okay, and how did you get from Dothan down here?
- All right, where's the friend at?
- Okay.
I don't believe you.
I don't have any reason-- you give me no reason
to believe you at all.
It just sounds like a whole lot--
little suspicious, if anything.
What about the friend that brought you,
can we call him or her and verify they brought you?
You got his or her number?
- Okay, listen, you do have their number?
- All right, let's see if we can call them then.
- Because if I verify that you got transportation,
I'm gonna believe your story.
But so far I don't.
I don't know that it's very credible or believable.
- Brown complies and dials up his friend.
- Just tell him you're in court and the judge
wants to talk to him.
- Don't tell him-- don't tell him anything
other than judge wants to talk to him.
- Let me see it here.
- The bailiff hands the phone over to the judge.
- How are you doing, sir?
- Good. We just Mr, um...-
Mr. Brown was late for court this morning.
He said you may have some information on that.
Can you tell us, what do you know about him
coming to court today?
- Okay, so you didn't bring him to court?
- Okay, all right.
We appreciate it, sir. Thank you very much.
♪ ♪
All right, Mr. Brown, anybody else you can think of
that may have brought you besides Mr. Williams?
- All right, I'm gonna find that you're late for court.
I'm gonna take you into custody,
I'll see you at first appearance tomorrow.
You haven't given me any reasonable explanation
for why you're late.
In fact, I believe you just tried to mislead me.
You need to go with the deputy for failure
to appear at court on time.
We'll see you tomorrow morning, okay?
- All right.
♪ ♪
- For failing to appear on time,
Brown was sentenced to one day in the county jail.
Two days later, Brown returned to court on time
and pled no contest to driving with a suspended license.
He was sentenced to 27 days in jail.
♪ ♪
That's it for this edition of "Court Cam."
I'm Dan Abrams. Thanks for watching.
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