[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]
♪ ♪
- This is not TV court. This is for real.
♪ ♪
- First, we go to Akron, Ohio, for a sentencing hearing.
♪ ♪
31-year-old Dacarrei Kinard has been convicted
of voluntary manslaughter, felonious assault,
and discharging a firearm on or near a prohibited premises.
♪ ♪
13 months earlier, Kinard was driving on the freeway
when he got into an altercation
with another driver, 40-year-old George Jensen.
Kinard pulled up alongside George's car
and fired eight rounds into the vehicle,
hitting the victim several times.
George's car came to a stop when it crashed
into a concrete median.
He died at the scene, and Kinard fled.
With the help of eyewitnesses
and an automatic license plate reader,
police arrested Kinard two weeks later in Columbus,
about 130 miles from the scene of the incident.
♪ ♪
He was charged with voluntary manslaughter and murder
and pled not guilty, claiming he acted in self-defense.
After a trial lasting five days,
a jury acquitted Kinard of murder
but convicted him of voluntary manslaughter
and other charges.
♪ ♪
Today, he appears before Judge Katherine Michael
to hear his sentence.
The state is asking for 20 to 25 years in prison.
But first, some of George's friends and family
deliver victim impact statements.
- I hate you, Dacarrei Kinard.
♪ ♪
From the bottom of my soul, I hate you.
Jesus may forgive you.
I will never.
That's the last time I'm going to use your name.
You get a number now.
Someone will tell you when and what you can eat,
when you can pee, when you can sleep.
♪ ♪
- Next to speak is George's widow, Allison.
- I shouldn't have to beg for you to see that
what you did was wrong.
It's not up to me to make you a better person
by cataloging all of my suffering.
I do ask for the judge to impose
the longest sentence possible
because one day, you will go home to your family.
You will walk through your door again.
Meanwhile, I will spend the rest of my life
waiting for Geo to not walk through our front door.
- Before Judge Michael imposes sentence,
the defendant delivers his own statement to the court.
- When he's finished, the judge sentences Kinard
to 15 to 17.5 years in prison.
He must also serve two to five years of parole
upon his release.
As Kinard leaves the courtroom, words are exchanged
between the two families.
- That's one of George's relatives,
arguing with a friend of the defendant.
♪ ♪
- None of the people involved in the outburst
were held in contempt.
♪ ♪
- Next, we go to Ann Arbor, Michigan,
for a preliminary hearing.
♪ ♪
34-year-old Stephen Ruggs has been charged
with assault and domestic violence.
♪ ♪
Two months earlier, Ruggs was arrested and then released
on $5,000 bond under the conditions that he undergo
regular drug testing and not have any contact
with the alleged victim.
This is Ruggs's second domestic violence charge
in the last seven months.
The previous case was dismissed.
Today, Ruggs appears before Judge Cedric Simpson
to discuss next steps in the case.
He's represented by attorney Silvana Reed.
The prosecutor is Nicole Peters.
Before the hearing begins, Hughes wants to discuss
a recent drug test that Ruggs missed.
- I do.
Is there a reason why you were missing?
You were testing elsewhere, weren't you?
- No, sir.
- If I give you a test today, are you gonna test--
- Why are you using that?
- Can I speak freely?
- Yes.
- Your Honor, I'm gonna be up front and honest with you.
I used to have a crack cocaine addiction,
and I've come a long way.
I've been through a lot this past few months,
and I lost my father and my grandmother.
And there's no excuses.
- Give me an order.
Okay, he's gonna go over to community corrections
to test today.
I'll get the results, and then I'll determine
what his bond will be as he proceeds up
because he's told me what's gonna happen,
and then we'll figure out what we're gonna do.
- As the defendant exits the courtroom,
something gets the attention of the prosecutor.
- Yes?
♪ ♪
- Ruggs and both attorneys return to the courtroom.
- What's wrong?
- Yeah.
- It's sitting here right with me.
♪ ♪
- Your Honor, I have no further information at this time.
♪ ♪
- Does he admit to the violation?
- If you wish.
- Were you talking to her in the hallway?
♪ ♪
- Judge Simpson isn't convinced.
- Were you sitting next to each other in the courtroom?
- Courtroom video from earlier in the day
shows the defendant and the alleged victim
sitting together in the back of the gallery.
- You know I can get video from the courtroom.
♪ ♪
- You're not to have contact with her.
♪ ♪
You know that.
♪ ♪
Forget the testing.
Defendant's bond at this time is revoked.
Defendant's remanded.
- Thank you, Your Honor.
- Ruggs was taken into custody and remains in jail.
His case was bound over to circuit court and is pending.
- Next, we head to Belton, Texas,
for a child support hearing.
According to the state, 58-year-old Achalayan Snow
owes more than $10,000 in child support
to her ex-husband, Bobby Selden.
Back in the year 2000, the state awarded custody
of their then seven-year-old daughter
to Selden, and Snow was ordered to pay
$100 a month in child support.
But the state claims she's failed to comply.
Today, both parties and state attorney Terry Moon
appear before Judge Michael Nelson to discuss the case.
- Your Honor, the mother is claiming direct payment credits
to Mr. Selden, and Mr. Selden states
he never received those payments.
- Moon screen shares photocopies
of what Snow claims are proof of her payments to her ex.
- What is this?
Are these--these aren't checks or anything.
How did you-- - Money orders.
- Oh, they're money orders?
And they were mailed directly to Mr. Selden?
- That--that is correct.
- Why were you making direct payments to him
when it was court ordered to be paid through the registry
of the court?
- I'd like to know which page that was on, please,
because I'm looking at this order,
and there is no such page here.
- Page six tells you where to make the payments.
- "In this order, all payments shall be made
through the Bell County Courthouse
Child Support Office."
Okay.
Those payments cannot and should not
be discounted because that's money
out of my household.
- Well, actually, you didn't make those payments.
You're saying your husband made them, right?
- That's my household.
- With tensions starting to rise, Judge Nelson intervenes.
- All right, here's the deal, ma'am.
Mr. Selden is saying he didn't receive those funds.
There's nothing on these receipts
to show where they went, how they went.
There's no proof that he's actually
received those funds, ma'am.
Do you have anything to show that he actually
received verification from him by letter or mail or anything?
- First of all, no, I don't.
And I have paid and paid and paid into this.
So I'm not going to make any more payments to him.
So if you want to send me to jail, then you can do that.
Just tell me where to report
because I'm not going through this anymore.
I'm tired of this. - Order in this court, ma'am!
You are going to jail, ma'am.
You hear me? Stop it.
Here's the deal. Don't yell at me.
- I'm not yelling. I'm simply speaking up.
- You got served with a copy of the paperwork.
You knew what was gonna happen today.
The simple question I had, if you had any proof
that Mr. Selden received any of these funds?
Because right now, ma'am, I can't even know--
there's nothing to show
who these have even been made out to.
This is not even a U.S. postal money order
that at least lets you fill in the blanks
to show who it's being sent to.
- Okay, well, I didn't ask to come to court.
Someone else drug me into court.
- Ma'am, that's the way court works.
This is a lawsuit from a long time ago.
The state's trying to finalize this
and get it taken care of
because it's never been finished up, ma'am.
- The judge wraps things up and makes his ruling.
- All right, ma'am, here's the deal.
I'm gonna reset this for about 60 days out,
and I'm gonna go ahead and reduce the judgment
for child support. I got uncharged, ma'am,
and I'll order repayment at $50 a month.
And when we come back to court,
we'll look at ordering a different amount.
That's the best I can do under these circumstances.
- Judge Nelson ordered Snow to begin payments
of $50 a month until the more than $10,000 debt is settled.
♪ ♪
- Next, we go to Painesville, Ohio,
for a sentencing hearing.
49-year-old Arnold Teeter has pled guilty
to resisting arrest and animal cruelty.
Four months earlier, police say Teeter
entered a restaurant carrying a two-foot-long iguana.
He then laid down in a booth
and threw a menu at a waitress.
So the manager asked him to step outside.
That's when, according to the manager,
Teeter began swinging the iguana above his head
and then threw it at him.
The throw missed, at which point
Teeter picked up the iguana and left.
And the manager called 911.
- After leaving the restaurant,
police say Teeter went to a nearby athletic center
where he allegedly caused another disturbance.
- When they arrived, police say they found
Teeter walking in traffic.
As the officers placed him in cuffs,
they found the iguana under his shirt.
♪ ♪
Teeter was arrested, charged,
and later released on $10,000 bond.
The iguana was taken to a nearby animal center
for treatment and made a full recovery.
Today, Teeter appears before Judge Michael Cicconetti
to hear his sentence.
- After essentially setting the defendant free,
the judge then lays out a few conditions
that Teeter must follow while on probation.
All right?
♪ ♪
- Teeter was released.
And in addition to serving the five years of probation,
he must pay the animal center $254.25 restitution
for the care of his former iguana.
As for the iguana, after spending a few months
at the Lake County Humane Society,
it was placed in a new home.
♪ ♪
- Next, we go to Wyandotte, Michigan,
for a jail review hearing.
55-year-old David Rudolph has been convicted
of disorderly conduct.
♪ ♪
Five months earlier, Rudolph was sentenced
to 18 months' probation with conditions that
he wear an alcohol tether for 30 days
and submit to regular alcohol testing.
But when Rudolph violated his probation
while attending an out-of-state funeral,
he was taken back into custody.
He pled guilty and was sentenced
to five days in jail, which was suspended
pending a jail review hearing.
Today, Rudolph appears before Judge Elizabeth DiSanto.
He's represented by attorney Christopher Shemke.
Before moving forward,
the judge wants to hear from Rudolph
about why he missed a recent test.
- It was an oversight.
- October 17th was an oversight.
I understand that, sir, which is why Ms. Shawl
advised you to test on October 19th.
Did you go test on October 19th?
- Yes, in Lincoln Park on Ford Street.
- Okay.
- I filled out the paperwork accordingly.
If you don't have it, it's not my fault.
I have a receipt.
I paid $25 to pee in a bottle.
- I didn't say I didn't have it.
I'm just trying to make a record.
- As Judge DiSanto reviews the test results,
the defendant has something to say.
- Your Honor, I respectfully want to address the court.
I left my house at the age of 17 to join the military,
to join the military police corps.
And that's all I have to say.
Whatever you wanna do to me, I don't care.
It doesn't mean shh--
crap to me.
- Well, I appreciate your restraint in choosing
your words carefully.
However, sir--
- Thank you. All right.
- There is still a job that I have to do.
And so the court had originally sentenced you
to 18 months' probation.
You're eligible for early discharge.
So you have a few more months to go
if there aren't any violations for the next few months.
- Ma'am, with all due respect?
- Yes.
- That's not-- that's not acceptable.
♪ ♪
- No, that's not acceptable?
- No, it's not.
This is the part where my lawyer can take up,
my court-appointed lawyer.
Shemke, got anything to say?
♪ ♪
Yeah, yeah, raise your eyebrows.
- Listen, I am not going to have you yelling and screaming.
- I'm not yelling and screaming!
This is the way I talk. I'm half-Italian.
I'm sorry.
- Stop.
- I yield--I yield the time to Mrs. DiSanto.
- Sir, we are done.
We are done. - No, we're not done!
We're not done.
- We are adjourning.
We are adjourning.
- I'm allowed to voice my opinion in a court of law.
- Mr. Rudolph, your behavior would suggest that perhaps
you don't respect the court.
You don't wanna listen to what this court has to say,
so we are done.
- At his next hearing, Rudolph's case was closed,
pending the successful completion
of his probation.
That's it for this edition of "Court Cam."
I'm Dan Abrams. Thanks for watching.
♪ ♪