[ominous music]
♪ ♪
- Danger strikes when you least expect it.
[dramatic music]
It can happen at any time...
- I was scared that a weapon would be pulled out.
- Anywhere... - What's goin' on?
- Call the police!
- To anyone. - Hold on!
- [yelling indistinctly] - [screams]
- Now survivors come forward...
- I hit the ground pretty hard.
It felt like a train hit me.
- To tell their emotional stories...
- Calm the [bleep] down. - Don't do this.
- I don't wanna hurt you.
[horn honks] - taking us back
To the moment of attack
And how they survived.
I'm gio benitez, and this is "I survived a crime."
- And I broke down, I started crying,
And I ran out.
- Turned upside down. - Beat me and kicked me.
- And my neck was crushed. - Take cabs everywhere now.
- He thought I was somebody else.
- They knocked out my front tooth.
- And behind him was another man.
[soft dramatic music]
♪ ♪
- Eric popper is driving on I-95
When a car comes up aggressively behind him.
- Oh, [bleep] off.
- Seems the driver of that car believes popper cut him off,
And he's not happy.
- Oh, my god.
- Popper is not too happy either.
He slams on his brakes to rattle the chase car.
[dramatic music]
[horn honks]
He then accelerates, and what happens next
Takes this road rage to a high-octane level.
♪ ♪
According to police reports,
Popper felt the need to protect himself
And grabs a gun.
Then, as the chase car passes popper's car
On the passenger side,
The driver has his arm out the window
Pointing in popper's direction.
The 30-year-old popper is certain
That the other driver has fired a gun at him.
Popper responds by shooting at the other driver
And his car 11 times.
A police investigation reveals
The driver popper feared was shooting at him
Had actually tossed a water bottle at his car,
And popper reacted by firing at the driver.
[gun clicking] amazingly,
No one is hit by the spray of bullets.
Though popper thought he was doing what he had to do
To survive a life-threatening attack,
It's the other driver who ultimately survived
This road-rage incident.
♪ ♪
Popper pulled off the highway after the incident
And called police.
He later turned himself in.
Police investigate, and although popper
Is initially charged with mishandling a firearm,
All charges against him are eventually dropped.
According to his attorney,
Popper was reasonable in believing
That he had been fired upon,
And he was justified in returning fire.
♪ ♪
New year's eve is a time for celebration
And renewed hope for the future,
But for the two young men in this story,
The night was far more fistfights than fireworks.
- So ultimately, the plan was to just ring in the new year.
- Yeah, we were shootin' off fireworks
And just hangin' out at his house.
- And then we just got hungry.
- What can I get for you today?
- These 22-year-olds head
For the local burger joint.
While standing in line,
They see a couple of guys they claim
To have just encountered in the parking lot.
- A car had come up and gotten a little bit too close to us.
And I just kind of turned around and put my arms up
Like, "why are you driving so close to us?"
- It was more of a naturally like...
"what is goin' on?"
- And they get in line behind us,
And they're standing very, very close,
Like, so close that I could feel this guy breathing
On the back of my neck.
[tense music]
- One of the gentlemen behind us said,
"which one of these [bleep] is the badass?"
- I turned around and I said, "what's up?"
- We didn't even see that first punch thrown.
♪ ♪
- My adrenaline was already pumpin',
And then he swung, and he hit me in the face.
I personally was scared
That a weapon would be pulled out.
- Caleb covers his bloody lip and heads for the exit.
Matt immediately reacts
To his friend getting assaulted.
- My thought was "lemme just get this guy off my friend."
And I typically don't know my own strength.
I just--I'm a big dude.
- And just as matt defends caleb,
Here comes another man in a cowboy hat,
Taking on matt.
The man matt pushed to the ground
Is this guy's brother.
- He must've walked in at the point
Where he sees his brother being laid out,
And naturally, he came after me, you know?
Fists clenched and he was swingin'.
♪ ♪
- Matt avoids serious injury and tries to calm things down.
- And adrenaline was rushing, so at the time,
I was like, "if y'all don't chill the f out,
We're gonna call the cops."
And his friends behind him were boasting,
"no, we are the cops."
♪ ♪
- That's right. The man in the orange shirt
And white hat is supposed to be one of the good guys.
He's ellis county sheriff johnny brown.
His brother throwing the first punch
Is bobby brown,
And bobby brown hasn't gotten over matt
Shoving him to the ground.
He comes back to the group,
Now more calmly discussing their differences,
And he gets physical.
♪ ♪
- He just had locked his eyes on me,
And he was comin' for me.
♪ ♪
Eventually, the manager came out
And was like, "y'all need to chill out.
I've got the city police on the way."
- Arrested are both sheriff johnny brown
And his brother, bobby.
59-year-old bobby pleads guilty to assault,
Does five days in jail, and pays a $1,000 fine.
The 58-year-old sheriff pleads guilty too
But pays a bigger price.
He voluntarily resigns from office.
He is sentenced to one day in jail
And pays a $500 fine.
For both 20-somethings,
It was a life lesson.
- You know, every situation like that just
Kind of makes you stronger.
- I do look at situations more carefully
Because you just never know what can happen.
♪ ♪
- It's about 10:00 p.M. On a Friday night
At this mini-market.
That's when two masked men rush in.
Both are armed with knives.
One jumps the counter while his partner hangs back.
They want the owner's cash.
From behind the counter, our survivor speaks softly
A grabs a big stick to defend himself,
His wife, and his property.
After a couple of whacks convince one suspect to leave,
The owner's wife quickly follows
And locks the front door.
But still inside is suspect number one,
And he may soon wish he ran off like his partner.
The owner takes a stance like he's in the batter's box,
Waiting for a fastball.
There will be no swing and miss tonight.
♪ ♪
For nearly a minute, there's a standoff
Between the store owner and the suspect.
During that time, the owner unlocks the front door,
Anticipating the commotion may bring help
From the restaurant next door.
The owner has swapped his stick
For a large shelf,
And he continues to defend his family
And livelihood.
[door chiming]
And then reinforcements arrive.
Six workers from the mexican restaurant
Next door hear the ruckus and come to help.
♪ ♪
And there's more help coming into the store.
Now it's one robber against eight and counting.
♪ ♪
The suspect, almost lost in the crowd,
Is subdued in the back of the store
Until police arrive.
♪ ♪
Leland blake-rosa is charged
With armed robbery and assault and battery.
He is sentenced to four years and one day in prison.
His apparent partner, matthew patee,
Is later arrested after using a fake name
To check into a hospital for treatment
Of the injuries he received that night.
Patee was convicted of armed robbery
And assault and battery.
He is sentenced to 5 to 7 1/2 years in prison.
Both the store owner and his wife are fine.
He told police, "I was defending my wife,"
And he called her a hero.
♪ ♪
[horn honks]
According to police, this all begins
As an attempted purse snatching.
Now the survivor, who refuses to give up her purse,
Is being protected by a good samaritan
As her car is driven off
By the woman who tried to steal that purse.
- [screams]
- Oh, my god. - Oh, my god!
[horn honks]
- Get her out-- - get out of the car!
- And this suspect seems desperate to escape
On to the streets of this southern california city.
- [screams] - get outta the car!
Stop! Get out! - Several--
- Get out of the car!
- Aah! - Oh, my god, oh, my god.
[tires screeching]
Oh, my god.
- Watch as she collides with at least four cars
As the woman crisscrosses this parking lot.
- [yells indistinctly]
♪ ♪
- Get her out of the car! [horn honks]
- Watch out!
- [screams]
- Car parts go flying and people scatter.
[tires screeching]
- Oh, my god. - Get her out--
[horn honking] - watch out!
♪ ♪
Watch out!
- Bystanders rush in to stop the woman
As she barrels into car after car.
Why can't the woman simply drive the stolen car
Outta the parking lot?
It's because the car owner has installed an anti-theft bar
Across the steering wheel, making it impossible
To turn more than a few feet in any direction.
♪ ♪
- Watch out!
- What the [bleep]?
- Police report that the final collision
Disabled the car.
The woman tries to flee.
- Call 911!
- Three good samaritans who have watched the chaos unfold
Grab the woman and hold her down
For police, who are now on the way.
- What the hell?
- Three guys are holding her down.
She just hit my car. - What is the matter with you?
- Oh, my god! - Please--
- Do you understand?
- Do you know how many people
You almost just killed?
- Two bystanders suffer minor injuries
Hitting the ground as they avoid being hit.
Both are treated at the scene.
Arrested that day is dakota daniels.
The 29-year-old is taken to the hospital
And once medically cleared, she is booked for carjacking.
If convicted, daniels faces up to nine years in prison.
- What is the matter with you?
- Youth soccer is one of the fastest-growing sports
In the country, and while it's great
For teaching the importance of working together as a team,
One survivor found out the hard way
That it only takes one rogue parent
To ruin the whole experience.
- I was 17 when I started refereeing.
- This soccer match is between two teams
Of 15-year-old boys.
One team is seriously outscoring the other,
And that leads to frustration by players and the parents.
- The expectation for soccer now
Is a lot higher than it used to be,
And with that, you know, it comes with the parents
And the spectators
Sometimes not behaving like they should be.
- Referee andrew reali is on the field
In a yellow jersey, making calls.
He has his hands full calling this match.
A player on the team that is losing
Disputes one of andrew's calls.
He runs toward andrew.
Most of the yelling happens off camera.
- And then that's when the 15-year-old came
And got into my face.
[both yelling]
- Let's go! - [yells indistinctly]
- That's when I had to do what I had to do
To gain some space from him 'cause he was yellin',
Cussin' at me.
You name it.
And all I did was put my hands up like this
Like basically get out of my way.
- And what happened next is not
In the soccer referee rule book.
- I'll take you right now.
- Hey! [indistinct yelling]
- Oh! Hey.
- And all of a sudden, I just got--
Basically like blindsighted tackled.
I mean, this guy was at least 150 pounds more than me.
It felt like a train hit me,
And I hit the ground pretty hard.
- This is the father of the 15-year-old
Who yelled at andrew moments before.
He charges on to the field from the opposite sideline,
Delivering a body blow.
And he isn't done with the ref.
- Oh, my-- - don't you ever start yelling
At my son.
- So when I was on the ground,
He came up straight in my face again saying,
"if you get up again, you know,
You're gonna get it again."
It scared me. I didn't know what to expect.
- Players, fans, and officials are shocked.
Watch the center referee race over
To give a disqualifying red card
To the parent.
- Everyone knows on a soccer field what a red card is.
Once you get a red card, you're done.
- The match was ended, and cops arrived.
After watching this video,
They arrested vincente robles jr.
The 35-year-old was charged with battery.
He pleads guilty and is sentenced
To one year probation, 30 days in jail,
And ordered to pay restitution for andrew's lost wages
Resulting from his temporary inability to work.
The dad later apologized.
- With the time away from refereeing,
I was able to reflect on what happened that day.
I wanna set an example for my peers
That I will not allow the assault
To have any influences on what I love to do.
♪ ♪
- Guys, guys, what's goin' on?
- It appears this woman was just pulled
From this rideshare vehicle by this rideshare driver.
- Can you give her the phone?
- What? - Can you give her the phone?
This is an old woman.
- Hello? Can you not do that?
Can you not stop and run away?
- Ezra halawani just happens by
And tries to help the woman.
That effort is not appreciated by the driver,
Now anxious to flee the scene.
- You're gonna have to run over--
Whoa! Whoa!
[engine revs]
- The good samaritan is now a hit-and-run survivor,
But his focus is still on the woman.
- Are you okay?
- Let me help you up.
- I--
- He took--no, I have your phone.
I took your phone back.
Let me help you up.
- The woman, 78-year-old catherine shine,
Says the driver refused to drop her off
At the proper address for her physical therapy appointment.
When she insisted, he pulled her out of the car.
The rideshare company says
They're looking into the incident
And the new york taxi and limousine commission
Is now considering revoking his privileges.
New york police arrest mohamed ahmed elsakran
And charge him with attempted robbery,
Assault, and vehicular assault.
If convicted on all charges,
He could serve up to 21 years in prison.
Both the good samaritan and the woman suffered
Minor injuries and are recovering.
- A good samaritan is someone who chooses
To help out a person in distress
Even though they don't have to.
If you're a good samaritan and is also facing the potential
Of being criminally assaulted,
Well, that's downright heroic.
- I'm a third-degree jiujitsu black belt here in chicago.
- Idriz redzovic has been practicing jiujitsu
For more than 20 years.
- So the main focus in jiujitsu
Is for a small opponent to be able to defend themself
Against a larger opponent.
We're believe we're the complete self-defense,
And we are the most gentle art,
But the most effective martial art.
- Well, this man had no idea
He'd need his martial arts training
When he took his kids to the corner store
For a treat.
- So then I walk into the convenience store.
A lady came in complaining about a individual
Causing problems in the parking lot
With her and her friend.
- I will! [indistinct]
- He was running around the parking lot,
So I called 911, and I explained the situation
Like, "there's this guy.
He's, you know-- he's harassing these women."
- I will! - And I'm sitting there
Waiting, so this is when he ran up to me
Saying, "hey, what are you looking at?"
I took a step back, like I teach my students.
I put my hands up, and I kept my distance.
I felt like he was gonna hit me,
Which it felt like it at the moment,
But I felt like I had a safe enough distance.
- The man walks away from idriz
And approaches the store clerk,
Who is just a teenager.
- He was having some issues with the store employee,
Which was a teenager, taunting him
Like he was gonna punch him--
Same thing he did to me.
[dark music]
And then 20, 30 seconds of that...
♪ ♪
He does a overhand right and punches the employee
In the head.
- Idriz is shocked
That the suspect would attack a teen.
- When I saw that happen,
That's when my instincts kicked in
And I just jumped in and ended up grabbing him
And taking him to the ground.
- You can come in.
- And then I tied him up like a pretzel
And held him to the ground.
I might be the first guy in history
To in the middle of a fight
Pull out a cell phone and go live.
A lot of stuff was going through my head,
And I wanted to have witnesses
Just in case my phone got stolen.
This was live.
I had to protect myself, you know?
[grunts]
[siren wails] - after more than 20 minutes,
Police arrive.
Idriz helps transfer the man into custody.
- Hey, can someone open this door?
- Look, look.
- Christopher cruz was charged with battery
And the theft of food items he is accused of grabbing
Before punching the clerk.
If convicted, cruz faces up to two years in jail.
- After the whole thing,
People started saying I'm a hero, I'm a legend,
And all this stuff.
But I just think I did what was right at the moment.
I saw a human in danger,
And I stepped in and I stopped it,
And I did what was the right thing to do.
- The teenage clerk who was attacked
Wants to remain anonymous, but he's grateful.
- He told me, "thank you. Thanks for being there.
I saw you watching. I felt your presence."
♪ ♪
- So there you have it, survival...
- I do look at situations more carefully.
You just never know what can happen.
- And strength...
- I just think I did
What was right at the moment.
- Caught on camera.
I'm gio benitez.
Thanks for watching "I survived a crime."
Stay safe.