[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 head to Davenport, Iowa,
for a sentencing hearing.
♪ ♪
20-year-old Madison Russo
has pled guilty to first-degree theft.
♪ ♪
Two years earlier, Russo used social media
to tell the world that she was battling pancreatic cancer.
- I'm still doing round three of chemo.
And I'm not going to lie.
It has been a rough night.
- The college freshman claimed she had a football-sized tumor
around her spine and, through a crowdfunding site,
collected almost $40,000 from 439 donors,
including some charities.
The whole thing was a lie.
♪ ♪
Russo's plan unraveled when medical professionals,
who saw her online posts,
noticed inconsistencies in her story
and informed authorities.
Police then subpoenaed her medical records.
And when they found no cancer diagnosis,
Russo was arrested and charged.
She was released on $10,000 bond.
And if found guilty, she's looking at a possible sentence
of up to ten years in prison.
Instead, the state took her clean record
into consideration, deciding not to recommend prison time
if Russo pled guilty.
Today she appears before Judge John Telleen,
hoping to receive a deferred sentence,
which can later be wiped from her record.
But first, Russo offers an apology to the court.
- [crying] I fully acknowledge that what I did was wrong.
And I am incredibly sorry.
I didn't do this for money or greed.
I didn't do this for attention.
I did this in an attempt to try and get
my family back together.
I come from an extremely broken and separated family,
ever since I was two years old.
I thought if I said what I said,
it would make everybody pull together.
It didn't work, and it only got worse.
I know I am still a good person.
I ask for forgiveness and a second chance.
♪ ♪
- Next were some of Russo's victims,
beginning with Peggy Ohl, whose husband
died from pancreatic cancer
and who runs a cancer charity that supported Russo.
- I never imagined someone so callously
would fake that they had such a devastating cancer
as pancreatic cancer
and willingly accept our gift of love and kindness.
She stood in front of me with her wig on,
knowing she wasn't sick at all.
♪ ♪
She preyed on my emotions and my giving nature.
She used my husband's legacy and our fund
to better her story and to lend legitimacy
to her fake cancer story.
♪ ♪
- Next is Rhonda Miles,
president of a pancreatic cancer foundation
in Nashville.
- I used a precious ask
with the world's best pancreas surgeon
to get you a second opinion.
♪ ♪
That's hard to get.
And you took that precious ask
away from a deserving pancreas cancer patient.
♪ ♪
It's disgusting. It's disgusting.
♪ ♪
- When she's finished,
the judge has a statement of his own.
- It's just hard for me to fathom
what was going through your mind
while you were making yourself up and using a fake IV
or fake bandages.
Even if you did somehow think,
in a misguided effort to bring the family together,
you were going to report that you had cancer...
♪ ♪
- Judge Telleen decided against a deferred sentence,
meaning the conviction will remain
on Russo's permanent record.
Instead, he gave her
a ten-year suspended prison sentence,
plus three years' probation.
So, if she's arrested again while on probation,
she could be ordered to serve the ten years.
Russo also returned all the money to the donors,
and was ordered to pay a fine of $1,370.
♪ ♪
Next, we go to Detroit, Michigan,
for a pretrial hearing.
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34-year-old Larry Alderman has been charged with assault.
♪ ♪
Two and a half years earlier, Alderman was arrested
and released on $5,000 bond.
He's pled not guilty.
And today he appears from the county jail
before Judge E. Lynise Bryant to discuss
next steps in the case.
He's represented by public defender, Raed Mourad.
But before things even begin, Alderman steps out of line.
- Mr. Alderman, can you tell me
why we have to look at your whole, you know,
body, belly up to the camera?
My name is not Ms. Bryant.
♪ ♪
My name is Judge Bryant. That's my name.
- Hey, Mr. Alderman, let's just stop it.
Let's just--nobody's going to say anything else.
- Once the parties settle in,
Judge Bryant begins the hearing.
- I'm ready on Mr. Alderman,
who's going to stop talking and laughing!
♪ ♪
What's all that for?
We're either going to come to court, or we're not.
Let's put him on another day.
If he's not ready to come to court today,
let's put him on another day.
- Well, then act like it!
- I don't want no smoke either, but don't talk to me like that.
That's street language.
♪ ♪
That's slang. And I'm sick of it.
I'm sick of it.
Let me just indicate, I'm sick of it.
When you coming in here to talk to me,
talk to me like we in court and not in jail.
I'm not in jail. I'm not your homegirl.
♪ ♪
- The defendant is charged with one count of assault
or assault and battery.
Today is the day set for pretrial conference.
How are we proceeding?
- Judge, we move for dismissal for continuous failure
to appear.
- Ms. Ritter?
- Judge, this is the first occasion
of the pretrial conference.
I'm going to respectfully request the court adjourn
this pretrial conference to give the complainant witness--
- I'm not going to do this case.
I'm not doing this case, no.
- Alderman seems upset
about the prosecutor's request for adjournment.
But the judge has had enough.
- Mr. Mourad, does he have another case pending?
- Yes, Your Honor.
- While out on bond for this case,
Alderman was arrested for domestic violence
and a second assault charge.
- Okay, when is the court date for that case?
Maybe by that time, he would've calmed down,
because I'm not going to--
You're not calm.
- I don't care if it's been going on since 1966.
♪ ♪
It's the first time
that it is appearing in my courtroom.
When is his court date for his other case?
- Well, let me just say this.
I'm sick of coming to work, getting up out of my bed,
driving down my vehicle to be disrespected.
I did not go to law school to be disrespected.
I did not accept the Governor's appointment to be disrespected.
♪ ♪
- Judge Bryant returns
to the prosecutor's initial request.
- Court is going to grant the people's request
for a one-time adjournment
and set the matter for a pretrial conference.
♪ ♪
- For his new case, Alderman was released on $2,500 bond.
But that case was later dismissed after the victim
failed to cooperate.
His original case is pending.
♪ ♪
- Next, we head to Pontiac, Michigan, for a civil hearing.
♪ ♪
37-year-old Brianna Kingsley is suing her ex-boyfriend,
40-year-old William Wojciechowski,
for $6,500.
♪ ♪
Almost two years earlier,
Kingsley had transition surgery
and now identifies as a woman.
After the procedure, Kingsley,
who was living in Wojciechowski's home,
says she placed her testicles in a mason jar
and left them in his refrigerator.
But after she moved out,
Wojciechowski threw them in the trash,
so Kingsley sued.
Wojciechowski then countersued for the same amount,
claiming emotional distress.
♪ ♪
Today both parties are before Judge Jeremy Bowie,
who appears off camera, to make their arguments.
- That physical anomaly has been
a point of stress in my life since I can remember.
And my middle name that I chose is Dee, because my whole life,
I've been called Big D.
And I thank God that these nuts were extracted.
♪ ♪
I put them in a mason jar.
And I put them in the fridge next to the eggs.
- Okay.
- A year earlier, according to police reports,
Kingsley was allowed to enter Wojciechowski's home,
along with a sheriff's deputy escort,
to gather some personal items.
- I don't know if the specimen was in the fridge at the time
that I returned.
- Okay, understood.
So you're suing for $6,500?
- In regards to deez nuts, I wanted them back.
They are priceless.
So the amount that I'm claiming is for the damages
of not having these nuts with me.
I want them in my fridge, not his.
I'm not sure why he would want to keep them.
He claims he disposed of them.
I don't believe it.
I bet you a dollar it's at his house.
- When Kingsley's finished,
the judge hears from Wojciechowski.
- When we did pick them up, in order to keep them,
they had to be preserved properly,
meaning they had to be submerged in brine or alcohol,
which they never were.
And they were left in the fridge.
I wanted nothing to do with it. I thought it was odd.
But I try not to judge because everybody's a little different.
And if it's what made her happy, whatever.
- So let me ask you this.
Was the conversation ever from you, I'm done with you?
Could you please get your testicles
out of my refrigerator?
♪ ♪
- That never came up.
And if they were so important to her,
I don't understand why she didn't grab them then.
- But you're saying you didn't prevent her from grabbing
whatever she wanted.
Is that correct? - That's correct.
♪ ♪
The testicles were disposed of
because they were rotting in my fridge.
And it's disgusting.
And I've got food in there that I want to eat.
♪ ♪
They were not preserved properly.
- After hearing from both sides,
Judge Bowie is prepared to make a ruling.
- My ruling is, obviously, she was there.
I don't know why Miss Kingsley
didn't think about the specimens.
I don't know why,
if Mr. Wojciechowski was so grossed out,
he didn't say, hey, if you're gonna grab one thing,
you're going to grab these testicles
out of my refrigerator.
- They were my testicles.
They absolutely are! They're my balls!
[laughs] How are you saying that he gets awarded
for stealing and throwing away my balls?
So he can get $6,500 for throwing the balls away?
That's what it works out to, you're saying?
♪ ♪
- The judge denied both claims,
and no money was exchanged.
The case is now closed.
- Next, we head to Green Bay, Wisconsin,
for a sentencing hearing.
♪ ♪
23-year-old Tyana Putzlocker has pled no contest
to child neglect causing death.
♪ ♪
A year and a half earlier, investigators say Putzlocker
and her 23-year-old boyfriend, Derreck Young Jr,
were home with their 18-month-old son, Derreck.
Young told police they'd just woken up from a nap
when they discovered little Derrek was unresponsive.
Putzlocker performed CPR, and they called 911
before the child was taken to a hospital.
He died later that same day.
♪ ♪
An autopsy determined that he'd overdosed on fentanyl.
Putzlocker initially told police
she hadn't been doing drugs.
But Young admitted to officers
that he was addicted to fentanyl
and that his son most likely ingested
one of his pills.
Six months earlier, according to court documents,
Putzlocker and Young lost custody of the toddler
after authorities discovered drugs
and weapons in their home.
He'd been living with his paternal grandmother,
and his unsupervised stay with his parents without her
had not been authorized by the court.
♪ ♪
The couple were both charged with child neglect
causing death.
Putzlocker pled no contest.
♪ ♪
Today she appears before Judge Tammy Jo Hock
to hear her sentence.
The state and defense have both agreed
to a sentence of four years in prison,
plus six years' probation.
Before the judge imposes sentence,
Putzlocker has a statement for the court.
- I know that there are no words that I could say
that will bring Baby D back.
[sniffles, crying] Being away from my son and my family
has showed me how I was blinded by an addiction
that was taking over every aspect of my life...
♪ ♪
And that led to...
the death of my son.
[sniffles] Every day I wake up,
and I know that I'm to blame for his living soul
no longer being here.
- When she's finished,
Judge Hock has a statement of her own.
- The facts are...
horrifyingly tragic.
♪ ♪
You admitted that you were using.
You admitted the baby was in your care
and shouldn't have been.
You admitted the child wasn't supervised
and should have been.
When I look at all of that, Miss Putzlocker,
I find that this is such a serious offense.
♪ ♪
When I look at your character,
I can't just look at the fact
that you're young and you have no prior record.
I have to look at all of that, as I've already indicated.
And I can't agree, then,
that the recommended joint sentence is appropriate.
It's simply too low.
♪ ♪
It unduly depreciates the seriousness of the offense.
And it certainly doesn't provide adequate protection
to the public.
So, instead, I'm going to sentence you
to 15 years in the Wisconsin State--
[crowd gasps]
If there's any more outbursts,
you can all exit the courtroom now.
- This woman here needs to leave.
- [screams]
♪ ♪
- Ma'am you need to leave the courtroom now.
♪ ♪
- After one family member is removed,
the judge continues with the sentencing.
- I sentence you to 15 years
in the Wisconsin State Prison System,
to be bifurcated as ten years of initial confinement
and five years of extended supervision.
You'll receive credit for 501 days previously served.
♪ ♪
- Putzlocker will be eligible for release in 2032.
She'll be 32 years old.
As for Young, he's pled not guilty.
His case is pending.
♪ ♪
- Next, we're in Grand Traverse, Michigan,
for a small-claims case.
♪ ♪
50-year-old Brandi Kelly
is suing 59-year-old Pam Silva for $3,500.
♪ ♪
Four months earlier, the two got into a car accident,
and Silva paid Kelly $3,000 through her insurance company
for damages to her car.
Kelly also injured her hand but has made a full recovery.
♪ ♪
Today Kelly and Silva appear before Judge Geno Salomone,
because Kelly is seeking an additional $3,500.
- Ms. Kelly, you were paid $3,000...
- Yes, sir. - By the insurance company?
And that was from Ms. Silva? - Correct.
- Okay, my understanding of the law
is that would be all that you could collect
at this point in time.
- Kelly and the judge seem to have a different understanding
of the law.
- Do you have any law that says it's different?
- Well, my State Farm agent instructed me
I could still collect another $3,500 per the law,
if I chose to.
- Yeah, and I have to disagree with your State Farm agent.
The pain and suffering from your hand--
Your hand is healed, I think. - It is.
I had to pass a new job up for it, but, yes.
When I was hit, I was actually working that day.
And I could not do that any longer due to that.
So it's caused a lot more than just a broken car.
- Yeah, but not enough, I think,
to get us to the serious impairment standard
required by law.
♪ ♪
And so I'm going to have to just indicate,
I'm dismissing your case at this point in time
because you were paid the $3,000.
- Kelly does not seem pleased with the ruling.
♪ ♪
- Okay, I have no idea what you're talking about.
I'll be honest with you. - I don't either.
♪ ♪
- Hey, that's enough.
You want to be in contempt of court, Brandi?
- Nope, I'm getting off the phone.
You have a great day.
- Yeah, no, you should come into court.
Then we can hold you in contempt.
- Okay.
- So hang up your phone and be quiet about it.
- The judge gives Kelly a chance to leave quietly.
- Ah, there we go. Come on in, Ms. Kelly.
Hey, Miss Sylvia, what are you going to do?
- [laughing] I'm sorry.
- It's outrageous.
So we'll see. Take care.
♪ ♪
- Judge Salomone ultimately decided to let the comment go
and not hold Kelly in contempt.
The case is now closed.
♪ ♪
That's it for this edition of "Court Cam."
I'm Dan Abrams.9 Thanks for watching.
♪ ♪