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Post by pakman on Mar 5, 2023 11:18:29 GMT -5
I can't believe it, but I've finally reached the end of the 2005 Episode Guide! When I started this guide, I was living in a completely different state lived a different life than I do today! But I'm happy to have finally finished this guide, and I'm ready to share with you the final three episodes of 2005!
Episode #829 – Dec. 3, 2005
Ronald Young Capture (Full segment)
Correspondent: John Turchin / Edited by: Ryan Stone
John Turchin has the story of a fugitive, on the run for nine years, who was taken down in just 48 hours thanks to an AMW tipster. Ronald Young is an accused scam artist wanted out of Colorado, whose victims include an ex-girlfriend and a friend. But Young is also wanted for questioning by Arizona police for the bombing death of real estate agent Gary Triano. Young had been dating Gary’s ex-wife, Pam Phillips. When AMW aired Young in November, one tip in particular had investigators excited. The tip was from a chiropractor in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, who said that Young was one of his patients, and he was schedule to come for an adjustment that Monday. The Broward County Sheriff’s Office Fugitive Task Force was assembled, and immediately after his appointment, Young was taken into custody, making him Capture #868. Investigators learned Young, who had a loaded handgun on him when he was arrested, had never stopped scamming people, and his own chiropractor almost became a victim.
(commercial break)
Peter Braunstein (Full segment)
Produced by: Jon Leiberman / Edited by: Joan Perry
The manhunt for accused rapist Peter Braunstein continues. Braunstein is alleged to have set two fires outside a New York City apartment, knocked the woman inside out with chloroform and then sexually assaulting her for 13 hours. AMW interviews a photographer who had been acquainted with Braunstein. The photographer talks about how the fugitive was obsessed with fame and how mentally unstable he was. When Braunstein stood the photographer up for an assignment, he told him he wasn't going to work with him anymore, and he said Braunstein would send him harassing emails, which only stopped after the fugitive’s play about Andy Warhol flopped. Braunstein then got in trouble for making up a story about how his ex-girlfriend assaulted him, then stalking that same woman, pleading guilty to lesser related charges. In the latest developments, AMW tips have placed Braunstein in Ohio. He spent a week there, posing as a retired cop from Los Angeles and being driven to area strip clubs. He was last spotted in Columbus, where the trail went cold. Just a week after this profile, a tipster in Tennessee finally led to Braunstein, making him Capture #871.
(commercial break)
Bruno Arreola (15 Seconds of Shame) – An alleged member of a drug ring responsible for bringing over 1,000 kilos of marijuana into the U.S. Arreola was indirectly captured in Mexico in 2011.
John Evans (15 Seconds of Shame) – Wanted for molesting five young girls in Arizona. Evans fled before his sentencing. Still at large
Roman Saldarriaga (15 Seconds of Shame) – Police in Naples, Florida, are seeking Saldarriaga for a drunk driving incident where he crashed his car, killing a mother of two. Still at large, and reportedly he is living openly in Colombia.
John Ramirez (15 Seconds of Shame) – Former Marine wanted for stabbing a man to death during a botched robbery in Corpus Christi, Texas. Ramirez was indirectly captured in 2008.
Unknown Fairmount Park Rapist and Murderer (Full segment)
Produced by: Gavin Portnoy / Edited by: Gary Meyers
In the middle of a busy park in Philadelphia, women are on high alert. That’s because an unknown suspect has been raping women for almost two years. In 2003, the first known victim was jogging in Fairmount Park at night when the suspect came up behind her, threatened her with a knife and raped her. While the first victim lived, the second victim, Rebecca Park, wasn’t as lucky. Three months after the first attack, police say the rapist killed her after he pulled her off the jogging path. Investigators believe she was killed because she fought back against the suspect. And three months after that, there was a third victim. But much like Rebecca, this victim, who was targeted in broad daylight, fought back. Although she was stabbed, something scared off the suspect before he could rape her. The woman recognized the suspect from the composite sketch that had been broadcast on the news. Eventually, the rapist struck again in 2007 in another nearby park. Still at large
(commercial break)
Lashawn Tanner and Henrietta Rollins (All-Points Bulletin) – The FBI and Indiana police are looking for this couple on drug charges. Investigators say Lashawn Tanner, a high-ranking member of the Renegades street gang, is a major cocaine trafficker. It’s alleged that his girlfriend, Henrietta Rollins, helped in the drug operation by driving the cocaine to its destinations. Rollins was last seen in Florida working as an exotic dancer, while Tanner vowed to fight if he were arrested. Both were indirectly captured at different times; Rollins a little more than a month after this profile, and Tanner nearly three years later in 2008.
Fred Wert (All-Points Bulletin) – Carnival worker wanted for murder. Wert had met his girlfriend when they were both traveling circus workers. After his girlfriend got pregnant, they moved to Michigan. However, after he began abusing her, she kicked him out of the house. In March 1993, Wert showed up at her house in a fit of rage. When his ex’s new boyfriend tried calming him down, police say Wert shot him and fled. Still at large
Manuel Virgen (All-Points Bulletin) – Police in California say Virgen killed a teenager for simply asking a question. After getting into an argument with his girlfriend, Virgen was angry. A 15-year-old boy asked him if he and his girlfriend had broken up. In a rage, police say Virgen grabbed a gun and shot the teenager, killing him. Still at large
(commercial break)
Sueann Ray (Break Four Tease) – Missing woman who disappeared from Georgia in August. Two months after this profile, her body was found and her husband was charged with her murder.
(commercial break continues)
Roger Kemp Fights Back (Full segment)
Produced by: Dave Bolton / Edited by: Joan Perry
When Roger Kemp suffered a tragedy that no parent should ever go through, he chose to fight back instead of giving up. In June 2002, his 19-year-old daughter, Ali, was killed while working at a pool in suburban Kansas City, Kansas. Roger found her body. A witness helped develop a sketch, and while AMW aired the case, Roger decided to do more. Speaking with Lamar Advertising, he was able to get a billboard put up with the killer’s sketch, which led to 7,000 tips. Soon, Roger began working with other agencies to help put up billboards, leading to more and more arrests. Roger also started a self-defense course called TAKE – The Ali Kemp Educational Foundation. In the meantime, tips eventually led to the arrest of Benjamin Appleby in connection with Ali’s murder. And while the case works itself through the courts, Roger has vowed to keep moving forward, saying he’s going to finish the fight that Appleby started with his daughter.
In the Line of Duty – Officer Dillon Stewart (New York City Police Department, New York)
(commercial break)
Recap – Peter Braunstein, Unknown Fairmount Park Rapist and Murderer, Henrietta Rollins & Lashawn Tanner, Fred Wert, Manuel Virgen
Episode notes:
- This episode was filmed in the AMW Studio…except for the introduction of the first segment, which was filmed in Broward County, Florida with members of the Broward County Fugitive Task Force. I doubt this was filmed specifically for this episode, but I don’t know when it would have been filmed. The only other recent time John Walsh would have been in Broward County will be an upcoming episode in February 2006, but I doubt they would have filmed it this far in advance.
- Recycled/Repurposed Reenactments: James Bennett (used for John Evans’ 15 Seconds of Shame profile); Steven Harrison & Tamika Hamilton (a scene with Hamilton stripping is used to describe Henrietta Rollins’ work as an exotic dancer)
- Ronald Young’s capture is one of a few where the actual moment he was taken into custody was captured on camera, as AMW sent a camera crew to tag along with the Broward County Fugitive Task Force.
- Sgt. Abby Tiger, with the Broward County Sheriff’s Office, and who is featured in the Ronald Young capture report, is a frequent face with AMW. She’s been featured pretty much every time the show has come to Broward County, and in 2012, she’ll actually get her own feature.
- That said, her name is spelled two different ways in this episode; the on-screen credit when she appears calls her “Abbey,” whereas the transcript of the radio traffic prior to Young’s arrest calls her “Abby.” The latter is the correct way to spell her name.
- Also, she refers to Ronald Young as “Kelly Young” during the briefing before his capture. After she says that, John Turchin narrates, “Kelly Young, whose actual name is Ronald…” which makes the whole scene look awkward. I keep thinking that there had to have been a better way to edit that.
- John Walsh asks viewers who believe they may have been scammed by Ronald Young to call the AMW Hotline.
- Ronald Young would eventually be charged with Gary Triano’s murder in 2008.
- During the COPS Credits, a preview for Peter Braunstein’s case is shown, which includes the photographer telling the fugitive to turn himself in and get psychiatric help. This clip is not shown during Braunstein’s profile.
- Peter Braunstein’s profile ends with John Walsh saying, “Now, the manhunt’s just getting started, so stay with us.” John typically said this at the end of the first act, but this is the second. I’m wondering if Braunstein was meant to be the lead case, but they ended up going with Ronald Young’s capture instead.
- During Roman Saldarriaga and John Ramirez’s 15 Seconds of Shame profiles, the last four seconds of each have no narration, and there’s simply just the background music and photos. I don’t know if this has happened before, but it’s really noticeable here.
- Despite the fact that Lashawn Tanner was the accused mastermind of the cocaine operation, the show seems to put more focus on Henrietta Rollins. She takes up more of the APB story, is listed first on the profile card, John Walsh talks about her first in the recap, and as I recall, her amw.com profile was uploaded weeks before Tanner’s. This makes me think the case was originally supposed to air on the Bad Girls episode the previous week, but they ultimately decided against it. Interestingly, when Tanner gets his second profile in late 2006, it will be a 15 Seconds of Shame airing, suggesting to me that they didn’t think he alone had a compelling story worth dedicating much time to.
- Although Fred Wert is also wanted for rape out of Texas, this was never mentioned in any of his AMW profiles. This is despite the fact his mugshot from that arrest is shown during nearly all of his profiles.
- Sueann Ray’s profile card misspells her name as “Sue Ann Ray.”
- One of the billboards shown during the Roger Kemp story is of Philip Hughes, who AMW tips caught in December 2004 (he was a tacked-on profile to Benjamin Appleby’s capture report). Strangely, AMW’s role in Hughes’ capture is not mentioned, although it’s implied that AMW tips helped catch Appleby – who was an indirect capture.
Episode #830 – Dec. 10, 2005
Jason Howard (Full segment)
Produced by: Angeline Hartmann / Edited by: Gary Meyers
Jason Howard was a troubled man living outside of Savannah, Georgia. A convicted armed robber, the 34-year-old Howard was living at home with his mother and stepfather, while also caring for both of them. In May 2004, a woman who was friends with Howard’s mother received a mysterious letter stating that the family home had been abandoned, and it also had detailed instructions on how to care for his dog and other details, including stating something had happened on April 1, 2004. Police investigated, but couldn’t find anything suspicious. A month later, Howard’s stepsister came down to help investigate, and a crime scene was discovered. Soon afterward, cadaver dogs were brought in, and they found the bodies of Howard’s mother and stepfather buried in a shallow grave in a barn on the property. Investigators believe that Howard killed both of them because he was sick and tired of caring for them, particularly his stepfather. Due to his schizophrenia, police worried Howard might be a danger to himself and others. In March 2009, almost exactly five years to the day of the murders, Howard was arrested, still in Georgia.
(commercial break)
Rashawn Capers Capture (Full segment)
Produced by: Peter Gillespie / Edited by: Rudy Blyden
A new crimefighting tool has led to the arrest of a fugitive who had spent nearly eight months on the run. In March 2005, Paterson, New Jersey Police Officer Wayne Smith responded to an early morning stabbing. When he arrived on scene, he was stunned to find that the victim was his 20-year-old son, Dayshawn. Despite his best efforts, Officer Smith’s son died a few hours later. Police say Rashawn Capers was the man who stabbed Dayshawn. After AMW aired the case, tips came in saying first that Capers was in South Carolina, then back in New Jersey. Over the summer, AMW installed a billboard over a highway showing Capers’ photo. That billboard did the trick; AMW got a tip from someone who had seen the billboard and said Capers was in The Bronx. When officers arrived, they arrested Capers without incident, even though he was using a 4-year-old child as a human shield. Capers was AMW Capture #867.
(commercial break)
Tommy Hardin (15 Seconds of Shame) – An armed robber, police say Hardin escaped from a prison in Kentucky by climbing through an air vent. A month after this profile, a tipster contacted AMW saying Hardin had been bragging about being on the show, leading to him becoming Capture #874.
Larry Woods (15 Seconds of Shame) – Indiana police say Woods, who was serving a 111-year sentence for murder, escaped from prison by hiding inside of a garbage dumpster. Still at large
Luis Soto (15 Seconds of Shame) – Accused burglar Luis Soto is the last of nine escapees from the Yakima County Jail in Washington state still at large. He was indirectly captured just five days after this airing.
Leobardo Villarreal (15 Seconds of Shame) – Accused of shooting a federal agent during a drug stakeout in Texas. Although he was arrested, he escaped from prison. Villarreal was indirectly captured in March 2006.
Peter Braunstein (Full segment, but classified as breaking news) – Rick Segall is hot on the trail of an accused rapist out of New York. Police say Braunstein, while posing as a firefighter, raped a woman for 13 hours on Halloween night. The latest tips place Braunstein in Ohio, where he told one bar owner that he was a TV producer and asked to be driven around so he could scout potential filming locations. The bar owner told AMW that Braunstein claimed that he had a deceased wife and a college-aged daughter, and that he flashed a U.S. Marshals badge and said he likes seeing peoples’ reactions to it. Braunstein fled to Columbus, but police lost his trail there. This ended up being Braunstein's final profile; a mere six days later, he was finally caught in Tennessee, making him Capture #871.
(commercial break)
Arthur Vitasek (Full segment)
Correspondent: Ed Miller / Edited by: Jim Robinson
Ed Miller heads to Arizona to tell the story of a man police say is a child predator. By day, Arthur Vitasek is a skilled skip tracer; someone who tracks down people who are late on their car payments and other bills. His bosses all say he’s one of the best in the business. But police say Vitasek is also one of the most prolific child molesters they’ve ever seen. He allegedly befriends single mothers with young boys, then works to drive a wedge between the child and his mother. One victim said Vitasek made him think his life was horrible and that he would be able to help him out, and would also buy the boy gifts. Vitasek is also accused of using his victims to help him find other victims. When one boy came forward, Vitasek fled. About nine months after this profile, Vitasek was indirectly captured.
(commercial break)
Heaven Ross (Break Four Tease) – Northport, Alabama police say 13-year-old Heaven Ross disappeared while walking to her school bus stop. Her body was found in late 2006.
(commercial break continues)
Bablu Hassan (Full segment
Produced by: Peter Gillespie / Edited by: Lee Cobb and Joan Perry
In July 2000, a woman and her daughter were brutally attacked by somebody they thought could be trusted. In the middle of the night, 5-year-old Chastity Adams woke up to see her mother, also named Chastity Adams, being stabbed by her boyfriend, Bablu Hassan. When the little girl ran to her mom’s aide, Hassan allegedly slashed the little girl across the chest before running off. Though she was severely hurt, the elder Chastity asked her daughter to call 911, and the little girl was able to alert a neighbor. Little Chastity survived, but her mother slipped into a coma and died two months later. Hassan is still at large
John Walsh tells viewers that Hassan was first profiled back in 2000, and was named his #1 most wanted fugitive of the year. Since that time, six of those fugitives have been nabbed, although Hassan is still out there. Next week, he invites viewers to tune in to see who was named to his Ten Most Wanted of 2005.
In the Line of Duty – Officer Odel Fite and Officer Brandon Breland (Wiggins Police Department, Mississippi)
(commercial break)
Kids Safety Tips: Holiday Shopping (Brief, approx. 2 minutes) – In a brand-new feature presented by Walmart, safety instructions are shared with the audience. With the holiday shopping season ongoing, parents are asked to designate a meeting place in case they get separated, make a mental note of what their kids are wearing, and tell their children, if they get lost, to alert someone in a uniform or a store employee.
Recap – Jason Howard, Bablu Hassan, Peter Braunstein, Arthur Vitasek
Next week on AMW – John Walsh once again reminds viewers that next week, he will share his list of his personal Ten Most Wanted Fugitives of 2005.
Episode notes:
- Much like last week’s show, this episode was filmed in the AMW Studio with the exception of the first segment, which was filmed on the farm owned by Jason Howard’s mother and stepfather outside of Savannah, Georgia.
- Recycled/Repurposed Reenactments: Timothy McGhee (the scene where the TVR gang got into a shootout with police is used for Leobardo Villarreal)
- One month after it was supposed to be shown, AMW finally airs Jason Howard’s profile. And with this airing, a possible explanation for the delay is revealed. Howard’s first profile is 13 minutes long, much longer than his other profiles that we’ll see in the future. On that same episode he was supposed to be profiled, Daniel Hiers received a 15-minute profile. There was probably no possible way both cases could have been aired on the same show.
- Several parts of Howard’s profile are cut out of future airings. Most of them involve Howard’s history with mental illness, and how his mother and stepfather had him videotape all of their family vacations. This profile went more in-depth with Howard’s family, whereas future airings mostly just focus on the crime in early 2004.
- During the portion of Howard’s profile that talks about how the cadaver dog found the bodies, a graphic appears on screen stating something to the effect of, “To learn more about Molly, the heroic police dog, log onto amw.com.” At the time, amw.com had a feature story about the dog, who had since passed away, and everything she’d done to help solve crimes.
- Oddly, the dog in the reenactment looks absolutely nothing like the real dog. My guess is that the dog in the reenactment was her replacement, which happened to be a different breed than Molly was.
- John Walsh says that not only was the Howard case filmed at the actual scene of the crime, but the actor playing Howard wore his actual glasses, while the actress playing his mother wore her actual clothes.
- Not only was a camera crew on hand to capture Rashawn Capers on camera immediately after his arrest, but they were also present for Officer Wayne Smith learning of the fugitive’s arrest.
- When talking about how a billboard led to Rashawn Capers’ arrest, John Walsh says, “Those billboards really. Do. Work.” The way he said it, plus the tone of his voice, almost sounds like he’s trying to convince someone of something, although what that is, I don’t know.
- All four fugitives in 15 Seconds of Shame were wanted for escape. John Walsh actually recorded a special intro and closing; “Now, four escapees who’ve earned their 15 Seconds of Shame,” and “Now that they’ve had their 15 Seconds of Shame, let’s get these guys back behind bars.” Additionally, behind their photos, you can see stock footage of a razor wire fence.
- John Walsh introduces Peter Braunstein’s case with a generic, “Now, we’ve got a breaking news update on a case we told you about last week.” Curiously, the update doesn’t reveal any new information other than an interview with a bar owner that Braunstein interacted with. The previous week, John Walsh vowed to stay on Braunstein’s trail until he was caught, so perhaps he just wanted to air him again. Given that he was caught almost exactly a week later, it’s probably safe to say that strategy worked.
- 1-800-CRIME-TV is missing from Heaven Ross’ profile card.
- While John Walsh says six of his Ten Most Wanted of 2000 have been captured, at this point, it had actually been seven. The one that’s not pictured is Jerry Bowen, who was #7 on his list.
- The six fugitives John Walsh mentions that have been captured from his Ten Most Wanted of 2000 list are all pictured. They are Stephen Tatro (#9), Stephen Briller (#8), Tito Dominguez (#7), Jesse James Hollywood (#5), Javon Capers (#4) and Jeremy Sanchez, one of the Unknown Linda Lebrane Attackers (#2). It’s curious that Jerry Bowen is missing, since he was caught BEFORE Hollywood.
- Interestingly, Daniel Perez, who was #10 on John Walsh’s 10 Most Wanted of 2000, would be caught just over a month after this episode aired. To date, he’s the most recent capture, as Bablu Hassan and Esnel Jean are both at large.
- Kids Safety Tips was a short-lived feature sponsored by Walmart that offered advice on how to protect children in different situations. It’ll be seen sporadically throughout 2006. Interestingly, I’m fairly certain it aired more often than The Safety Chick and Call to Action features.
Episode #831 – Dec. 17, 2005 (John Walsh’s 10 Most Wanted of 2005)
#10 – Alfredo Lopez-Cruz (Full segment)
Produced by: Paula Simpson and Sedgwick Tourison / Edited by: Rudy Blyden
Police in Hamilton, Ohio are on the hunt for an accused child rapist. Over the summer, Alfredo Lopez-Cruz allegedly abducted his nine-year-old neighbor as she was riding a bike with her friend. He then brought her to his home and allegedly repeatedly raped her for three hours. The little girl escaped and told her dad, but when he went to confront him, Lopez-Cruz tried assaulting him with a baseball bat. In the commotion, he got away, and days later, vigilantes torched Lopez-Cruz’s house. Lopez-Cruz was indirectly captured in early 2011.
#9 – Jason Brown (Full segment)
Produced by: Miles Perman / Edited by: Jim Robinson
Investigators in Phoenix, Arizona are looking for accused killer Jason Brown. He’s wanted for shooting and killing an armored car guard outside a movie theater as the guard was carrying receipts from the busy Thanksgiving weekend box office haul. Brown fled the scene on a bike, which gave police a fingerprint that they were able to use to identify him as the suspect. It turned out that Brown was a bit of a playboy and party animal who couldn’t afford his lifestyle anymore, which police believe is why he targeted the armored car guard. It’s believed that Brown had been stalking the armored car driver for days, figuring out his route. But by the time investigators figured out where Brown was staying, he was already gone. Still at large
(commercial break)
#8 – Kenneth Cofer (15 Seconds of Shame) – Wanted out of Oklahoma City for shooting a Vietnam War veteran to death during an argument. Still at large
#7 – Donald Lynch (15 Seconds of Shame) – Tennessee police say that, when Lynch was entrusted with babysitting two little girls, he allegedly raped them. He was indirectly captured in 2007.
#6 – George Saravanos (15 Seconds of Shame) – Authorities in New York want to question Saravanos about the murder of an off-duty correctional officer. In 2007, AMW tips led to Saravanos’ arrest in Ecuador, making him Capture #969.
#5 – Andre Harris (15 Seconds of Shame) – During a home invasion, Harris allegedly shot and killed a man in front of his wife and teenage daughter. Still at large
#4 – Jean-Marie Jean-Francois (Full segment)
Correspondent: John Turchin / Edited by: Paul Waide
John Turchin reports on a fugitive from Miami who investigators say lived a double life. Jean-Marie Jean-Francois seemed like a good Christian man. He even befriended a local priest whom he would talk about the Bible with. But police say he actually practiced Voodoo, and would use it to carry out revenge on his ex-girlfriend after she got a restraining order against him. He allegedly beat her to death, and waited for her 12-year-old daughter to come home from school. She said he tied her up with tape and left her alone for 20 hours before police were called on a welfare check. Though she was rescued, Jean-Francois had gotten away. Still at large
(commercial break)
#3 – Fabian Urrea (Full segment)
Produced by: Amy DiDomenico / Edited by: Jim Robinson
Ed Miller reports from California on a soldier who lost his life in his own backyard. Jorge Estrada was a California National Guard member serving in Iraq while his wife, National Guard Reservist Diana Estrada, was pregnant. While the baby’s father was her ex-boyfriend, Fabian Urrea, Jorge vowed to raise the child as his own. Jorge returned home on leave to see his daughter’s birth, but Urrea demanded to see the child. When Jorge and Diana went to see Urrea, he allegedly pulled out a gun and shot Jorge in the parking lot of his apartment, then nearly ran over his body as he pulled out. Jorge died before help arrived. After more than a year on the run, Urrea was indirectly captured in January 2007.
(commercial break)
#2 – Israel Barretero (Full segment)
Produced by: Jonathan Winfrey / Edited by: Jim Robinson
Police in Dallas are looking for a violent fugitive with a hair-trigger temper. In March, Bernardo “Lalo” Andrade, a new father to twin girls, went out for a night on the town with three of his friends. While at a bar, their group got into a fight with another group, which included Israel Barretero. Police were called, and Barretero left to take one of his friends to the hospital. Later that night, after the bar closed, Lalo and his friends headed home, unaware that Barretero and one of his friends were following them. When they stopped at a light, Barretero allegedly stood through the car’s sunroof and began firing an assault rifle into Lalo’s car. Even though they sped off, police say Barretero kept shooting, not stopping until after Lalo’s car crashed. Police arrived seconds later and found Lalo and two of his friends dead, while another friend was hurt, but survived. While Barretero’s accomplice was captured, he managed to slip away. But it turned out, he didn’t go far. Mere weeks after this profile, an AMW tipster led to Barretero’s capture in Dallas, the same city he was wanted out of. He was Capture #873.
(commercial break)
Dr. Zehra Attari (Break Four Tease) – Authorities in Oakland, California are looking for a woman who went missing a month earlier. Just days after this profile, her body was found submerged in the Oakland Estuary. She’d accidentally driven off a boat ramp in bad weather.
(commercial break continues)
#1 - Daniel Hiers (Full segment)
Produced by: Angeline Hartmann / Edited by: Ozana Halik
A former police officer is on the run in South Carolina from multiple charges impacting multiple families. Hiers had befriended a young girl who was taking karate lessons at the same dojo as him, and soon became a father figure to her and a trusted man for her mother. But he’d been lying to her family, first claiming that his wife, Mila, left him, when she was still with him. More seriously, in late 2004, the girl told her mother that Hiers had been molesting her. Hiers tried fleeing, but ultimately turned himself in and resigned as a police officer due to the allegations. And despite his wife staying by his side, shortly before Hiers was charged with more serious sexual abuse charges, he allegedly shot and killed Mila, then disappeared. In 2018, Hiers was located in China, but bureaucratic red tape and limited information, plus lack of an extradition treaty, means that nobody truly knows what’s going on, or even if he’s still in custody.
In the Line of Duty – Officer Andy Stevens (California Highway Patrol)
(commercial break)
Upcoming on AMW (Brief, approx. 15 seconds) – Don LaFontaine reveals that, thanks to viewer tips, career criminal Jody Thompson has been captured. The story of his capture will be told in an upcoming episode, but for those who can’t wait, they can visit amw.com to read the story and watch an exclusive jailhouse interview with the suspect.
Recap – Alfredo Lopez-Cruz, Jason Brown, Kenneth Cofer, George Saravanos, Donald Lynch, Andre Harris, Jean-Marie Jean-Francois, Fabian Urrea, Israel Barretero, Daniel Hiers
Episode notes:
- This episode was filmed in the AMW Studio
- John Walsh records special narration for 15 Seconds of Shame. His introduction is, “Fugitives 8-5 have the dubious distinction of being on my year-end 15 Seconds of Shame,” while he closes with, “Now that they’ve had their 15 Seconds of Shame, let’s get these Top 10 fugitives off my list and into custody.”
- This year marks the only time fugitives who exclusively appeared on 15 Seconds of Shame were named to John Walsh’s annual 10 Most Wanted List. (In this case, Donald Lynch and Andre Harris) There’s a lot of speculation that perhaps they’d replaced fugitives who were caught at the last minute (much like how Greisy Valencia replaced Juan Nieto in 2004) but it’s hard to definitively say (especially since Peter Braunstein, who I thought was guaranteed a spot on the list, was only caught the day before. It would have been really tricky to edit that out and replace him with someone else, though not impossible). Either way, it is odd that two fugitives who had only received 15 second profiles were named to a year-end most wanted list.
- There are a couple interesting notes about George Saravanos’ profile. Firstly, John Walsh says he’s only wanted for questioning. Secondly, this marks the first time AMW had a real photo of his “Blaze” tattoo, and it was aired as part of the profile. Previously, a graphic artist designed a facsimile of what it might have looked like. The real tattoo looked nothing like the illustration.
- Before John Walsh reveals Daniel Hiers as his #1 Most Wanted Fugitive of 2005, a minute-long montage plays, highlighting the fact his most wanted fugitive of the year, since 2001, has been caught. They were Luis Ortiz (#1 in 2001, Capture #671), Michael Brashar (#1 in 2002, Capture #763), Pinkney “Chip” Carter (#1 in 2003, Indirect) and Jahbir & Alfonso Fowle (#1 in 2004, Capture #s 831 and 832).
- But there are a couple errors in the montage. There are no quotation marks around “Chip” when the name “Pinkney Chip Carter” appears, implying that was his middle name and not a nickname. Also, Alfonso Fowle’s name is misspelled as “Alphonso.”
- This montage would be repurposed for The Ones That Got Away, one of the most frequently-rerun episodes in AMW history, starting in 2007.
- While his first profile was a whopping 15 minutes long, this time around Daniel Hiers profile is pretty much chopped in half, only lasting about 7 minutes. This would also become his default airing going forward.
- Although the recap lists John Walsh's 10 Most Wanted in order, George Saravanos and Donald Lynch switch places. Because actual numbers aren't listed, you would only know this if you were paying attention to the rest of the show.
- John Walsh acknowledges that the show will be taking a two-week break for the holidays before returning on Jan. 7.
- Most likely because it was the last show of the year, John’s “You CAN make a difference” is changed to, “You DO make a very big difference.”
And there you have it! Every single episode of AMW that aired in 2005 has been highlighted! I'm not quite 100% done with this project just yet - as with previous years, I plan on listing my Top 10 Favorite and Least-Favorite episodes of the year, plus a general summary of the show as a whole in 2005. Expect to see that sometime this week.
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Post by pakman on Mar 16, 2023 11:49:03 GMT -5
Now that my 2005 guide is completed, I'm ready to finish by analysis of the year! Here's my tradition of recapping the year, which includes my favorite and least-favorite episodes!
Reflecting on 2005, I would best describe it as a “transitional” year for AMW. It seems to me that the show may have been going through a rebranding, trying different segments and different ways of telling stories in an attempt to keep the show “fresh,” so to speak. Many of these segments, unfortunately, didn’t really take off.
These segments included Street Stories (a collaboration between Tom Morris and filmmaker Ray Farkas that interviewed random people on crime-related subjects), The Safety Chick (where safety expert and stalking victim Kathleen Beatty shared tips on how to keep people safe), and Call to Action (a partnership with OnStar where AMW told brief stories about how the tool, which was relatively new at the time, had helped in emergencies).
Most famously, though, was probably Cold Case, a segment that, in theory, was a fantastic idea – profile old cases AMW hadn’t featured in years in the hope of generating new leads. Longtime fugitives Teddy Ellis, Adam Zachs, Donald Santini and John Gentry, plus a few others, received their first profiles in years. But the segment failed to deliver on a major promise; John Walsh said the cases would feature new interviews and updates, but none of them did. They were all exactly the same as when they had last aired. Sadly, this seemed to be the last year AMW really concentrated on closing some of their older cases. Longtime fugitives would continue to air sporadically, but there was never a dedicated segment for it.
2005 also saw the end of the “John Walsh Investigates” segments, which stared in October 2004 when he decided to investigate the murder of hotel desk clerk Helen Walker himself. It was a unique idea, but it clearly wasn’t a hit with viewers, and by March it was done. It would eventually come back in the late-2000s, but that’ll be a story for another time.
But 2005 was also the year of the first AMW All-Star Award, a tradition that would continue up until the show’s final cancellation in 2012. The tail-end of the year saw the introduction of Kids Safety Tips, which would become a semi-regular feature over the next year. And 15 Seconds of Shame really hit its stride this year after debuting for one episode in December 2004, continuing until 2010.
A total of 48 fugitives were directly captured in 2005 (plus a couple from previous years that had capture numbers retroactively assigned to them). Several longtime fugitives (including Randolph Dial, Christian Rodriguez, Malaika Griffin, and Peter Hommerson) went down, plus three members of the U.S. Marshals’ 15 Most Wanted (Phillip Williams, John Lockhart, and Jody Thompson), three of John Walsh’s Ten Most Wanted of 2004 (Damar Pink, Jahbir & Alfonso Fowle) and three web-exclusives (Scott Dellagatta, Shannon Griffin, and David Kiermaier).
As for the episodes themselves? Honestly, it was hard to compile my favorites and least-favorites, simply because most of the episodes didn’t really stand out one way or another. That’s not to say they’re bad episodes, but the majority I felt indifferent towards. Heck, I could actually only find eight episodes I didn’t like as opposed to 10.
But either way, here are my personal favorite and least-favorite AMW episodes of 2005!
Favorite Episodes:
April 2, 2005
This episode, to me, was when AMW started returning to form following the John Walsh Investigates experiment and focusing on telling the stories of fugitives who needed to be caught. Yes, this episode featured another airing of Jason Brown, but John Walsh didn’t specifically cover his case for this episode. This episode also featured the much-anticipated capture report of Jesse James Hollywood, plus several longtime fugitives met their end thanks to this episode. Christian Rodriguez went down in Puerto Rico after this airing, and Peter Hommerson, who was on this episode’s APB, was recognized by two separate tipsters and busted in Mexico after nearly 10 years on the run. They also gave Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus another profile, a year after Gina disappeared.
April 9 2005
Just a week later, the show continued to impress me. Randolph Dial’s capture and Bobbi Parker’s recovery earlier in the week thanks to an AMW tipster made for a fantastic capture report – which was really well-done given the breaking news nature of the story – plus several old cases were reaired in this episode. I consider this the unofficial debut of the Cold Case feature, since John Walsh acknowledged they were profiling Teddy Ellis for the first time in over a decade. Michael Soutar, who was profiled in 1997 but caught just a day before the show aired him, was also profiled after committing more crimes, plus it was always nice to see Joel Urena get profiled (I don’t know who made that reenactment but they did a fantastic job of showing how frightening the home invasion and shooting were for the victims). There was also a really nice update on the Smith brothers that acknowledged Dino Smith’s capture a year earlier.
May 14, 2005
May 2005 was a very good month for AMW, as you’ll soon see. This was the first time AMW took a couple weeks off for NASCAR, but they returned with a whopper of an episode. They kicked off with a great feature on Operation: FALCON (it makes me sad for when I’ll have to analyze the very disappointing 2009 Operation: FALCON episode), then went into 15 Seconds of Shame, which had finally found its “groove,” so to speak, as the way it appeared in this episode is pretty much how it remained until its September 2006 overhaul. Great segments on fugitives and missing persons, plus the first time In the Line of Duty connected to a wanted fugitive (in this case, Raul Garcia-Gomez), which will happen a couple more times over the years.
May 21, 2005
Those who have been following me on this forum for some time know I don’t like episodes where very few cases are profiled. That said, I don’t mind this episode. Despite only three fugitives (one of whom was unknown) being aired, I love this one. This is the episode where John Walsh went to Capitol Hill to lobby for the law which eventually became the Adam Walsh Law (one of whom is the current President of the United States). You can see just how passionate John is about this legislation, and it’s one of the few times his “boots on the ground” method impressed me. Not to mention this episode led to the capture of Phillip Williams, who had been on the run for nearly two years, plus it was the first time Emanuel Veiga was profiled. It was also the annual Police Week recognition which featured the family of Officer Mark Sawyers coming by the hotline to thank the show for all they’d done for them.
May 28, 2005
The inaugural AMW All-Star celebration. Until the show’s cancellation in 2012, this was a staple and it was usually one of the better episodes of the year. Yeah, it was a drawback hearing the monotonous Kasey Kahne announce in APB, but I like that they profiled fugitives wanted out of the home states of the NASCAR drivers. Plus, there was a great tribute to Sgt. Greg Martin, whose case became one of the most frequently-aired unsolved murder on AMW (in fact, it’ll be aired for a second time in January 2006, so expect to see that soon). Aspects of the award changed over the years, but this is where it all started. Perhaps appropriately, the inaugural winner was a detective who specialized in crimes against children.
July 2, 2005 and July 9, 2005 (tie)
Both of these episodes were reruns. The July 2, 2005 episode originally aired in November 2002, with reruns in January and August 2004. The July 9, 2005 episode originally aired in May 2003. Most of the time, I’m not a fan of reruns, but these two are the exceptions. Neither episode felt like a rerun. The July 2 episode had several case additions and replacements, plus a re-shot ending, and the July 9 episode featured an update to a longtime fugitive (Chaka Raysor) and a complete overhaul of one of the cases from this episode's original airing (Scott Hornick). My only wish is that they’d replaced the Ed Myers capture report in the latter episode with another segment, but that’s really a minor complaint in the grand scheme of things. I never did like reruns, but if they treated them like these two episodes, I’d feel completely different about them.
July 23, 2005
This is probably my favorite episode of 2005. It was completely jam-packed with profiles. They featured in-depth stories on Alfredo Lopez-Cruz and Omar Maldonado, both 15 Seconds of Shame and All-Points Bulletin, plus the official introduction of Cold Case. It included the first time Adam Zachs was profiled since the late-90s (I believe 1998 was his last profile prior to this). A couple other longtime AMW fugitives – Kevin Vermette and Joe East – also received profiles. Although this particular episode only led to one direct capture – 15 Seconds of Shamer Robert Ellison – I was so happy to see so many cases be profiled while also not seeming like a rushed episode. This was also the episode where amw.com had a behind the scenes feature showing what went on at the hotline that night, and it was the first night the show decided to keep the hotline active for one hour longer than usual.
Sept. 10, 2005
The Hurricane Katrina Special Edition. There were certain national tragedies where AMW went on scene to help out, and this was one of the more unique ones in that it was a natural disaster. But they had a primary goal of reuniting missing families, which apparently they were successful at. AMW also featured fugitive scammers who might target Katrina survivors, plus a few escapees who took advantage of the chaos. Dozens of other fugitives who had nothing to do with Katrina were profiled too, including, once again, a 15 Seconds of Shame and All-Points Bulletin combo (the latter of which featured longtime AMW fugitive Gary Irving).
Sept. 17, 2005
Just a week later, AMW went in-depth into the Collar Bomber investigation. Again, I normally don’t like episodes that dedicate the entire show to one case, but this is one where I make an exception simply because of how complex the Collar Bomber case was. There were so many unanswered questions. Who could have done such a horrible thing? Was Brian a victim, or was he involved? How were all of these bizarre characters – a high school shop teacher, a woman who shot her former lover, a fugitive rapist, a pizza delivery man – all connected to each other? Of course, the show also featured APB and 15SoS, which helped make the episode flow a little bit better, and it would also be reran in January 2007. There’s some evidence to suggest that this episode may have played minor roles in solving the Collar Bomber case (in my research on the case, the FBI long suspected the people they mentioned, but they just needed someone to help connect the dots, which AMW did).
Least-Favorite Episodes:
Jan. 1, 2005
The very first show of the year is a really good summation for what was to come. A rerun of a special Friday night edition from October, there were only two really minor changes between both shows. One was Vickie Nash replacing the captured Frederick Rosato in APB, and the other was missing child Rosa Sandoval as the Break Four Tease (replacing Juan Marte, who I believe was still a fugitive at the time). They also didn’t bother replacing Donald Crosby’s capture report, even though at the time there were there were seven recent captures whose stories hadn’t been featured yet. There were nine weeks in between these airings, but only six episodes (the show did not air the last week of October, the last week of November, and the last week of December). I get that they were on a break, but I feel like they could have aired any other episode in its place.
Feb. 26, 2005
Of all the John Walsh Investigates episodes, this was easily the one that felt like it had the least effort put into it. Here, John went to California to investigate the disappearance of preschool teacher Nancy MacDuckston, and there were pretty much ZERO differences between his case and Ed Miller’s report from a year earlier. All the interviews were recycled from that story, and there were no new clues mentioned. The only addition? Interviews with random people on the street asking them what they thought might have happened. This ended up being the last John Walsh Investigates show for several seasons, so I think this is a really great reflection of the segments as a whole. Oh, and I almost forgot that this was the official debut of John Walsh’s Dirty Dozen, which featured two abbreviated profiles of fugitives who had just been profiled two months earlier.
March 26, 2005
The 800th Episode. And I’m thinking we were spoiled by the phenomenal 700th episode that aired in December 2002, because this was incredibly underwhelming. Yes, the show aired a member of John Walsh’s Dirty Dozen (Gary Lasher), a longtime fugitive (Michel Barrera), the newest addition to the FBI's Ten Most Wanted List (Jorge Lopez-Orozco) and the capture of John Walsh’s Most Wanted Fugitives of 2004 (the Fowle brothers) but this was such a disappointing show. They could have done so much more, but chose not to for some reason. Interesting to note that this was the last milestone episode until the “1,000th Episode” in 2010 to be acknowledged (the 900th episode, which will air in 2007, will not be noted). I suppose it’s not a “bad” episode, so to speak, but it just didn’t live up to being the 800th show.
Aug. 13, 2005 and Sept. 3, 2005 (tie)
I had two reruns on my favorites list, and I have two on my least-favorites list. And these two episodes are here for the same reason; they very much felt like reruns. Both aired a week apart in April 2005, and both aired mere weeks apart in the late summer. I suppose the Aug. 13 episode (which was a rerun of April 9, 2005) is the better of the two, but it still stands out because Teddy Ellis went from not being profiled for over a decade to being profiled twice in a single year. And the latter episode was basically the exact same episode; the only difference being the replacement of one unknown case with another. They didn’t even replace the Fabian Smart Final Justice story, which really didn’t have to be aired twice.
Oct. 1, 2005
Okay, I actually have a very specific reason for disliking this episode. It has nothing to do with any of the cases profiled, nothing to do with anything that disappointed me, and nothing to do with any egregious errors. No, it’s because my copy of this episode is messed up for some reason. When I burned it to DVD, the file got corrupted and it can’t play. On my VHS master copy, the episode skips (at least on my 20-year-old VCR) and when I tried to digitize it again the episode kept skipping. Fortunately it still plays, but the skipping is incredibly annoying and distracting. I’m hoping I can get a better VCR to fix this.
Nov. 12, 2005
This episode is probably the first episode I’d consider “poorly edited.” The previous week, John Walsh stated that Jason Howard was going to be profiled on this episode, which was filmed in Savannah, Georgia. Well…he wasn’t. Daniel Hiers was, though, and his profile took up a whopping 15 minutes of the episode (if this had aired in 2010, they would have cut the profile in half with a commercial break). I’m not saying they shouldn’t have aired Hiers, but I wish they would have found a better episode for his profile. This meant the only Georgia case profiled on this episode was missing teacher Tara Grinstead. Not to mention, Miguel Torres, based on John Walsh’s generic intro, was almost certainly not originally meant to be aired on this episode either. AMW had a weird habit of traveling to places and not profiling cases actually from that location, and this is a prime example of that in action.
Nov. 19, 2005
The infamous Cold Case special edition. The positives? AMW aired perhaps the most infamous cold case of all time in the Alcatraz escapees, plus they led to the capture of longtime fugitive Ronald Young (who I think, but can’t prove, was profiled on AMW between 1996-1999). The rest of the episode, though, was highly underwhelming. They could have done a 15 Seconds of Shame with only cold cases (as it is, Kevin Donner was the only old fugitive that was aired), or maybe cut down either Young or the Alcatraz story to fit in a cold case (I feel like that entire first part could have been summarized) All-Points Bulletin. There were just so many odd choices for this episode that really didn’t make sense. I wonder if Peter Braunstein going on the run impacted their plans, since he received his first full profile on this episode.
There you have it! My recap of AMW in 2005! As for my next plans, I will get to 2006 sooner rather than later, but there’s something else I’m working on too. I won’t say what it is just yet but I plan on going back and forth between that project and the 2006 guide. Hopefully 2006 won’t take me several years to complete!
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