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JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL

Rapper Gunned down on Busy NYC Street

Aired December 11, 2012 - 19:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


KYRA PHILLIPS, HLN ANCHOR: Thank you so much.

That does it for us. We will be back here tomorrow at 5 p.m. Eastern. JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL starts right now.

JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL, HOST: Tonight, the hunt is on for a brazen killer who carried out a hit on the busy streets of New York City, midtown Manhattan, as tourists are walking about, as people are shopping for the holidays. Gunning down an aspiring rapper with one shot to the head. It was an execution. On the other side we`re going to talk to experts who have knew information just in.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VELEZ-MITCHELL (voice-over): Tonight, the hunt for an assassin in midtown Manhattan. Cops on a manhunt to find this killer who executed a Hollywood music industry player in broad daylight at the peak of the tourist holiday season. What were the secrets behind this murder? We`ll talk to an expert who believes this hit was a message to others. We`ve got the very latest.

Plus, Charlie Sheen`s ex, Brooke Mueller, headed to rehab for the 19th time? Is that some kind of record? We`re uncovering the secrets behind this latest meltdown, and you won`t believe who`s reportedly going to watch the couple`s twin boys. I`ll have the latest, and I`m taking your calls.

And meet Felix. This adorable fella is looking for a home for the holidays. We`ll introduce you to him tonight on "Rico`s Rescues."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A deadly shooting in the middle of the afternoon in the middle of Manhattan.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Police are on a nationwide manhunt.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Police confirm that the man, the victim, was walking along 58th Street, that he was approached by the suspect from behind. He was shot in the head from behind and that the suspect took off in a waiting car.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Killing 31-year-old Brandon Woodard execution- style in broad daylight.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When I saw the guy and saw him bleeding, I knew it was a shot. For a second I was like trying to stay behind the cars.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Tonight, deadly secrets in the heart of New York City as police hunt for an assassin who shot and killed a man in broad daylight at the very peak of the holiday tourist season.

The victim, 31-year-old Brandon Lincoln Woodard -- you`re looking at him right there -- a man of many backgrounds. An aspiring rapper who was visiting New York City from Los Angeles. He`s also described as a perennial law student. He also had some real-estate dealings. Who wanted him dead? That is the mystery that we are examining tonight.

Good evening. I`m Jane Velez-Mitchell, coming to you live.

Witnesses say the victim, who was also the father of a young girl, was walking down the street texting when a man just walked up behind him and executed him pointblank with a single shot to the head, and then the gunman, just in a very casual sort of leisurely way, gets into a waiting sedan and goes off. But even bothers to stop for a red light. That`s how icy cold this killer was.

Listen to people who saw the whole thing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was like the guy never existed. Whoever did it, got away clean.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nobody taken off that fast, nobody was in a hurry like that. After you shoot someone you try to rush to get out of the place. Nobody was like that around.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: By the way, this is one of the most expensive areas of Manhattan. They`re selling condos for $90 million next door. Take a look at the surveillance video that shows a suspect in the shooting just minutes before Woodard was shot and take a look at this freeze frame that shows the gunman right behind the victim, just moments before the deadly shot was fired.

Here`s what another witness said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One loud shot. We were all standing right here, and we were all scared to death. And then we looked down the block, we saw the guy on the floor.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Woodard does have a criminal record. This is the victim we`re talking about. It includes hit and run, theft and cocaine possession, and he was due in court next month on a felony cocaine charge. Could that have anything to do with the shooting?

We do know one thing for sure: somebody wanted Brandon Woodard dead. But who and why? What`s the secret here?

Call me: 1-877-JVM-SAYS; 1-877-586-7297.

Straight out to HLN contributor and investigative reporter Jon Lieberman with Howard 100 News, Sirius XM. You are live in Columbus Circle right there where the shooting took place. An area packed with people shopping, tourists from around the world. So many other people could have been hurt. But only one was killed.

Jon, what are your sources telling you tonight?

JON LIEBERMAN, HLN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, Jane, I`ve got to tell you, the loud holiday music you`re hearing and the blinking lights, it`s all in stark contrast to what happened right over here yesterday afternoon in broad daylight.

My police sources are telling me that police are making a lot of progress in tracking down what they call an executioner, a cold-blooded killer, and they are also looking for the getaway driver of this killer, as well.

Here`s what we know at this point. We have confirmed that police actually have the license plate number of the suspect vehicle. That is going to be huge. They have not released that to the public, because they are working through their investigative channels to try and find out whose car it was registered to and who was in the vehicle.

No. 2, we have learned police recovered one single shell casing from the murder scene, and that shell casing matches bullets from a 2009 shooting right here in Queens, New York City, where nobody was hurt in that shooting, but there is a file from that case, as well. So investigators are comparing this case to that case, as well, to look at names and fingerprints and things of that sort.

One other thing, Jane, you know, I was at "America`s Most Wanted" for seven years. I don`t think I`ve ever seen such a brazen killing as this. I mean, a killer lying in wait; he is there for at least 10 to 12 minutes prior, according to the surveillance video, waiting for the victim to check out of his hotel, which was right down the block, and then come up right behind him and put one bullet right at pointblank range in the back of his head at 2 p.m. in the afternoon with a street packed with people.

But luckily, as I said, law enforcement, they have the surveillance video. They have the shell casing. They have a lot to work with.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Let me jump in here. This hit home for me personally. Because this is my neighborhood where I was born and raised. I grew up literally down -- halfway down the block from where he was executed.

And in fact, my mom, who`s turning 97 in a couple months, she has a woman who`s worked with her for 32 years who was literally praying thanks, because she was about to walk the dogs, my dogs, right past that area. And she decided not to go, and she thought maybe she could have been killed.

Here`s the thing. How did this executioner know that this man was going to walk right by that particular location? I mean, nobody knows exactly what route you`re going to take going from point A to point B? Or do they?

Today I went right to the exact spot where the shooting occurred, and I talked to one of the men who saw the entire thing and, sadly, watched Brandon Woodard die. Let`s listen to what he told me.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I heard the gun shot. We ran down there. The guy was on the floor. He was bleeding from just under his eye. It seemed like both of his eyes. I kept turning away, because I didn`t really want to see it. And a lot of people scattered. And no one seen the gunman at all.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes. That guy very shaken. He told me he called the fire department, because the fire department is right across the street, directly across the street. Those firefighters ran over, and that`s where it happened. And they tried to resuscitate this man, Brandon Woodard. Could not. He was dead.

I want to go to Dan Regino (ph), former Secret Service agent. You`ve been consulting your sources. What are you learning tonight? Because I understand that police are closing in?

DAN REGINO (ph), FORMER SECRET SERVICE AGENT: They are. The camera system and the camera network in Manhattan is extensive, as you can imagine. What they`re trying to find is they`re trying to find a camera that`s a megapixel camera, one that they can really zoom in and get a usable face shot, like a high-definition-type face shot to use.

Most of the cameras that they are getting the footage from -- and I think you can see in the still that you have -- it`s pixelated, and very difficult for them to get a usable identification photo from it. But they`re working around the clock. Their TERU (ph) unit, which is specifically assigned to that task, monitoring a lot of these cameras, is actively engaged in this investigation right now.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Let me jump in here. I understand that the mayor of New York has made this a top priority. What do you know?

REGINO (ph): Yes. Absolutely. I mean, this is an embarrassment from my 17 years in law enforcement and my time with the New York City Police Department, as well. These are the type of things that make, obviously, national headlines. We`re talking about it right now on HLN. You know, not a local news network.

So this is an embarrassment for the city. It`s not the kind of publicity you want in a tourist season, especially with the amount of money that flows through New York City at this time of the year. So I would imagine, from a political perspective, that there is some heavy top-down pressure to get this solved as soon as possible and to send a message from law enforcement that you do something as devious as this in our city, we`re going to find you immediately.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: But here`s the question: why? Why? And how did this man know that this individual was walking directly down the street?

Now I`ve got to say, we pulled the background of the victim, and it`s a fascinating background. I`ve got to tell you, there`s a lot of real- estate transactions here, Vinny Parco, as well as we know that the victim is from Los Angeles. He graduated from Loyola Marymount. He was reportedly attending Whittier Law school, but he is -- he is described as kind of a perennial law student. And as a matter of fact, he`s been going to law school for a long, long time, and his father reacted to his son`s death. Let`s listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our hearts are just -- are very -- are they hurt right now. So we`re, you know, we`re trying to deal with the grief of the loss of a son, the loss of a father.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes. And Woodard, the victim, has a criminal record. According to the "New York Post," he was charged with cocaine possession in California last June. He has prior arrests for robbery, petty theft and leaving the scene of an accident.

And "The New York Post" also reports he works for an L.A. firm founded by his mom that involves mortgages. CNN has not independently confirmed this.

But I`ve got to tell you, Vinny Parco, private eye, his background check shows a whole lot of real-estate transactions, and his family`s in real estate.

VINNY PARCO, PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR: That`s because they were involved in a cocaine trade, and one of the things you do with cocaine money you have to launder it, and one way of it is buying real estate. That`s the best way to launder money in that particular industry.

And also, one thing you`ve got to keep in mind, the way he was killed was gang-related. I would bet that, when they find out who the killers are, they`re going to find out they were members of one of the gangs in L.A. And this is a message. When they do a killing like this, this is not a quiet killing. It`s a loud killing. They want everybody to know don`t mess with us.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, again, we cannot independently confirm anything you said about laundering.

Anybody involved with the family, invited on our show any time. This man was a victim, and he is -- should be regarded as a victim. He was gunned down. More on the other side.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No one seen the person that did it. Whoever did it, was like, you know, he was a ghost, like the guy never existed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whoever did it, got away clean.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Those are some of the people who were right there when that shooting occurred. A single gunshot. Take a look at the surveillance video. It`s our only glimpse of the suspect. And it looks like he was just hanging around, waiting for the victim to walk by. So that tells me the shooter knew the victim was going to walk past him. How did he know this?

Now, he had reportedly checked out of a trendy hotel just minutes earlier.

Wendy Murphy, former prosecutor, it`s one thing if you follow somebody and execute them. It`s another if you`re waiting there, biding your time, and then the person walks right by you, and they just checked out of a hotel. But how would he possibly know that he was going to walk right there at that time?

WENDY MURPHY, FORMER PROSECUTOR: Well, you know, my reaction was I smell a rat. He was texting, reportedly, at the time he was killed, and there were many cell phones found near his body. You know, there`s a real good chance that somebody he was communicating with was sharing information about his whereabouts.

But remember also, the killer was apparently there for some 40 minutes before he walked out. It`s possible he knew he checked in and they were tracking him in some way but weren`t sure when he was going to leave.

You know, the bottom line is, they might have waited another two hours if they were just going to sit there until the guy walked out of the hotel and circle around and, you know, they knew he was there. They knew he was there.

Look, one could argue that sometimes, you know, when plans are made and there`s somebody at a hotel and you throw enough money around, you can find out just about anything about anyone in terms of where they`re going and when they will be there.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: We don`t want to implicate the hotel.

MURPHY: I didn`t say anything in particular.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: We don`t want to implicate anybody. Yes. No, I understand. But we have no knowledge of that.

Now, let`s go to the phone lines. Christine in California, your question or thought, Christine? Christine?

CALLER: Hello.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Hi.

CALLER: Hi, Jane. I can`t hardly believe that someone can walk by in broad daylight, and absolutely no one can give a description or even see this person.

And as you said, this person was obviously drug-related, possibly gang-related, and the thing that makes me really sad about it is that nowadays people can just stand around, and life appears so cheap. I mean, where you can be gunned down in the city of Manhattan, I just cannot believe that no one saw this or no one knew about this.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Christine, this is excellent, excellent points that you`re making, but I want to say that crimes like these are not new to New York City.

For example, just a stone`s throw, literally away from where Woodard was killed, mob boss Joe Colombo, head of the Colombo crime family, was the target of a professional hit, gunned down in Columbus Circle, gunned down by a guy who was posing as a newspaper reporter. This happened way back in 1971.

Vinny Parco, private investigator, I`m sure you remember this.

PARCO: I was there.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: I was a teenager. You were there? When Colombo was shot? Yes, go ahead.

PARCO: I was there. I was with the group from the Bronx, the Italian-American Association. We came with busloads of people to support the group, not to support Mr. Colombo, but the group, and though I didn`t see the killing, I was nearby and I saw the commotion. And obviously, the killer was killed also at the time.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes. It was unbelievable.

PARCO: And this was also a gang-related killing. This was Joe Gallo had him shot, because Joe Gallo was a member of a splinter faction of the Propacci (ph) family which became the Colombo family. And they had Joe Colombo killed because they had an ongoing war.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes. So it`s funny. We use that as an example of, like, oh, the more things change, the more they stay the same. This is literally, you could throw a stone and go from one execution to the other, except one happened in -- actually, he was paralyzed. Colombo didn`t die in the shooting. He was paralyzed, and he died many years later. But it`s the same thing happening in the same area.

More on the other side.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was like the guy never existed. Whoever did it, got away clean.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nobody taken out that fast. Nobody is in a hurry like that. You shoot someone you try to rush to get out of the place.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Imagine you`re walking down the crowded streets of New York City, the peak of the holiday season. Suddenly -- we`re going to show you video of this, too -- you hear a gunshot in the middle of the afternoon.

Here`s a map showing the popular hotel where Brandon was staying very close to Columbus Circle. Brandon then walked about a block before being shot in front of a school -- a choir school where boys stay.

The hotel where Brandon was staying is called 6 Columbus, a trendy, very nice hotel, boutique hotel. We checked their Web site. The lowest price for a room, $225.

So you have Dan Regino (ph), former Secret Service, a 31-year-old from L.A., staying at a very nice hotel in New York, and he has sort of a strange back story. He`s described as a perennial law student. He`s also called an aspiring rapper. He also has a lot of real-estate transactions for somebody his age. And now we`re hearing that this could have been some kind of message. What do you make of it?

REGINO (ph): Well, the permeations here are endless, as many contacts as this video seemed to have. I don`t disagree with that. In my professional experience, to commit a crime like this in broad daylight, in the middle of Manhattan, in a busy tourist season, you wouldn`t do it logically if you weren`t trying to send a message. It was obvious that the individual who perpetrated this act, was well aware that the media was going to cover it extensively.

So again, in my opinion, my professional opinion, this was clearly a message to someone else who may be involved in this, a third party, to either pay up or -- and again this is just my opinion, or to produce whatever he was or she was expected to produce.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: This time of year, the area where the shooting took place, full of tourists. This is an area made famous by a lot of movies, "Tower Heist," for example, with Eddie Murphy and Ben Stiller. Here`s a clip from Universal Pictures and YouTube.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just an hour ago, the Tower`s richest resident was released into federal custody under house arrest here at his penthouse apartment.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Jon Lieberman, if you want to send a message, no better place to send it than to carry out a hit in this area. Carnegie Hall, Columbus Circle, the New York Athletic Club, $90 million apartments for sale next door.

LIEBERMAN: It`s the world`s biggest stage, and Jane, I wanted to say two quick things. One, Wendy alluded to it, but police are investigating whether or not this victim was knowingly or unknowingly communicating with the killer leading up to his being executed. By that I mean was he texting or e-mailing with the actual killer? That`s something police are looking into.

And the second thing is police truly believe that this killer has killed before. Studying his mannerisms, they were calm, cool and collected. He even got stopped at a red light. They didn`t run the light. They just waited for the light to change and continue on their way.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: And...

LIEBERMAN: And police believe they also caught the vehicle going through the Queens midtown tunnel, leaving the city. So that`s another clue, as well.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: And ten seconds, Wendy, when they catch this guy, which they will, will this be the tip of the iceberg?

MURPHY: That`s a good question. You know, usually you catch one, you catch a few more, but they all know, you talk, you die. So I`m not so sure.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Vinny, ten seconds.

PARCO: It`s a gang-related killing. I said before. When the cops find this guy, and they will find him, they have enough evidence to find him, you`re going to see I`m telling the truth.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. Thank you. Fantastic panel. Great analysis. We`ll update you when they find this killer.

Up next, we`re talking Charlie Sheen and Brooke Mueller. Craziness. You won`t believe what they`re up to now.

And just minutes from now, Nancy Grace with the story of a former high-school valedictorian, so-called perfect son, accused in the vicious murder of his own mom. And now the accused killer`s ex, testifying her former boyfriend cheated, allegedly coming up with elaborate stories to cover his tracks. Nancy, 8 p.m. Eastern on HLN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Charlie Sheen`s ex, back in rehab? Brand-new reports today that Brooke Mueller is back in treatment. Will Charlie now get custody of their kids?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Charlie actually paid for Brooke to go to rehab. Charlie has been very, very supportive to Brooke.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She, obviously, has a history of abuse with alcohol. She`s over that. She`s on the road to recovery. She`s been on the road to recovery. But this girl has been through such trauma.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Charlie and Brooke, you know, they`ve both been through multiple stints in rehab.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I will tell you that Brooke is absolutely committed to her sobriety. She`s committed to regaining all of her health.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Tonight, Charlie Sheen`s ex-wife, Brooke Mueller headed back to rehab, allegedly for the 19th time. Is that some kind of record? This time, the troubled mother of Charlie Sheen`s twin boys checked in for an addiction to the prescription drug Adderall. Her lawyer says, quote, "Brooke was uncomfortable with the way Adderall was making her behave," end quote. You think?

Last week Brooke was rushed to the hospital after allegedly OD`ing on drugs and drinking. She is clearly secretly struggling. Her lawyer says there were no illegal drugs in her system, but will that matter to her probation judge? Brooke is on probation in Aspen and is not supposed to touch a drop of booze.

Brooke has already been to rehab once this year alone. Again, 19 times -- how many times is enough? Is she getting ready for a meltdown like her ex, Charlie Sheen? You know, winning and tiger`s blood and all that stuff? I`m sure you remember this from U Stream and NBC.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHARLIE SHEEN, ACTOR: Now that I have your (EXPLETIVE DELETED) attention world, sit back and rejoice.

It`s like the soul is inhabited by the ghost of Betty and now will murder people and will eat trolls with his razor fangs.

I am on a drug, it`s called Charlie Sheen.

Built by trolls, keep that in mind. Phones were built by trolls.

I`m tired of pretending like I`m not (inaudible) a total freaking rock star from Mars.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Troll-icious (ph). Will this stint in rehab be the lucky go around? Yes. What do you think? Call me.

Straight out to TMZ news manager Mike Walters; Mike, tell us about the bizarre twist of who is taking care of Charlie and Brooke`s twin sons because this really blows me away.

MIKE WALTERS, TMZ NEWS MANAGER: Well, Jane, the one person that everyone around them says is the best person in their life, Denise Richards. That is Charlie`s second wife, who he does have daughters with, and apparently his daughters and the three and a half-year-old twins that Brooke Mueller and Charlie Sheen have together, are very close.

And so we are told that Denise Richards has taken custody of the children because here`s the deal, Charlie really hasn`t been fighting for custody of these kids and once this happened to Brooke Mueller and she was hospitalized he hasn`t come calling to take custody so Denise has taken the kids.

But I have to be honest Jane, the bigger problem here like you said before is the fact that Brooke Mueller was drinking when hospitalized so it`s very possible that her probation will be revoked in Aspen and she will do jail time. It looks like Denise might have these kids for longer than we think.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, I say, if rehab hasn`t worked 18 times, I don`t know if it`s going to work 19 times. And I think maybe the best thing to save her life is throw her in jail.

I want to go to my dear friend, Dorothy Lucey, mother and social commentator @DorothyLucey, have to check out her blog. Dorothy, you have been in Hollywood for many years. You`ve seen all sorts of bizarre and crazy behavior. But this threesome is starting to remind me of like an x- rated version of "Sister Wives" or something. I mean she goes to rehab, he`s off shooting anger management so he can`t take care of the kids so Denise Richards takes the kids.

DOROTHY LUCEY, SOCIAL COMMENTATOR: Well, here`s the thing. Denise has really become Mother Teresa in all this. Did we ever think that we would be calling Denise, who is a nice girl, but do we think we`d be calling her Mother Teresa? Charlie also is doing pretty well now. He`s trying to help out Lindsay Lohan. You know, he gave her money and apparently she never said thank you. And he`s admitted that he wasn`t winning when he said he was winning.

So I think Charlie and Denise, who get along very well, are just trying to do the best thing for the kids. I mean they`re babies.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes. They`re 3-year-old boys. I feel sorry for them. It takes a village. Thank God Denise Richards is there with her head on her shoulders. We`ve seen a boom of celebrities addicted to prescription pills from Heath Ledger to Michael Jackson. We know prescription meds are just as dangerous, if not more, than illegal drugs.

Adderall, commonly used to treat ADHD can have effects similar to cocaine, especially when mixed with booze.

Howard Samuels, addiction specialist, founder and CEO of The Hills Treatment Center. The last time Brooke went into rehab was just last may and she allegedly checked in with issues with crack cocaine. I have no independent confirmation of that.

But my gosh, it`s very common for people, I`m going to stop using the illegal drugs, so I`m going to use legal drugs to give me the same kind of high?

HOWARD SAMUELS, FOUNDER/CEO OF THE HILLS TREATMENT CENTER: Well, first of all, you don`t go into treatment because you`re taking your prescription of Adderall as prescribed, Jane. I mean, if you believe that, I got a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you, ok. So that statement is an absolute joke. She went in to treatment because she`s out of control and she`s emotionally unstable.

And you know, she`s obviously got issues with prescription pills, with alcohol, cocaine -- whatever it is -- it doesn`t make a difference. What the real tragedy is here is that it doesn`t make a difference how many times you go to treatment -- you have to take it seriously. She doesn`t want to take it seriously. You have to take a look at the kids being taken away from her. She is a mother. Child Services needs to be involved in this case ASAP.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: I agree. I think throw her in the pokey already. Rehab hasn`t worked 18 times, not going to work 19 times. You can save her life and save these kids by throwing her in jail and giving her some real consequences so that she hits bottom. And I say that as somebody in recovery.

Charlie Sheen has had a very public battle with drugs and alcohol. We all know that. He told ABC that he could cure himself of drug addiction by just willing it to be so. Listen to this gem.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you worried you`re going to relapse?

SHEEN: No.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why?

SHEEN: Because, I`m not going to, period, the end.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How do you know?

SHEEN: I blinked and I cured my brain. That`s how. Everybody has the power.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Dana, Washington, your question or thought -- Dana?

DANA, WASHINGTON (via telephone): Hello, Miss Mitchell. I just love you.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, thank you.

DANA: I watched your show since you went on the air.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Ok. Thank you.

DANA: I think you`re wonderful. Look, I have to comment on this. 19 times in rehab, that`s a little much, Miss Mitchell, you know. She should have stuck with it. I think my problem is those poor children. You know, they have a father and a mother that`s going through this rehab and, you know, I`ve been in medical practice for a long time and Adderall is a good drug if you`re taking as prescribed and, obviously, she didn`t. She obviously had to abuse it if it made her feel that way.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes. Oh, my gosh. On the other side of the break we`ll talk to Dorothy about the impact on these kids. She`s a mom.

But first, must see video of the day incredible shots of a gas line explosion in West Virginia. You just got to see this fireball that destroyed at least four homes -- wow; actually melted part of Interstate 77. Yikes. Five people were hurt; thank God nobody seriously. But this looks like something out of a movie starring Charlie Sheen. Right? More Charlie on the other side.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Here`s your "Viral Video of the Day". A young, (inaudible) busting out his best dance moves along with the Tampa Bay cheerleaders and the team mascot. Oh my gosh. Look at this little fellow go, you go Christian. Oh, my gosh.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHEEN: We love each other and want to hang out until we die.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I spoke to your --

SHEEN: Didn`t that sound romantic?

BROOKE MUELLER, FORMER WIFE OF CHARLIE SHEEN: It did.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What do you say about that, Brooke?

What is it like being with this guy, going to marry Charlie Sheen?

SHEEN: She doesn`t have words --

MUELLER: I don`t. It`s too much.

SHEEN: -- for such a feeling.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. There`s Charlie and Brooke in happier times. Maybe we need to look at the reason somebody can be a chronic relapser. How about the tumultuous relationship Brooke had with Charlie Sheen? Remember her frightening 911 call after Charlie allegedly attacked her with a knife.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MUELLER: My husband had me with a knife and I`m scared for my life and he threatened me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Dorothy Lucey, these 3-year-old twin boys and then their mom just last week is rushed to a hospital with a suspected drug overdose and now she`s in rehab. You`re the mom of a son, young son. What are these kids experiencing with this?

LUCEY: It`s hard to imagine because, you know, they`re little, they`re three. And it seems that Brooke has not been able to stay sober for a period of more than a couple of months at a time. But you know, the kids, I`m guessing, are happy.

You say it was a sister wife situation. The third wife, the third ex-wife has given them to the second ex-wife. They have been there before with Denise. Denise is a loving woman. She adopted a child and she has her own two kids with Charlie.

So, I don`t know if it`s one big happy family but I know Denise is happy to have these kids. She`s had them before. So at least it`s a place where we believe they`re comfortable.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Let`s hope that they get a nice story, mommy has gone off to buy them toys for Christmas or the holidays and they are spared the awful details.

Another infamous rehab repeater, Lindsay Lohan could be one day away from having her probation revoked. You remember her first class acting job in court. Let`s recap and review.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LINDSAY LOHAN, ACTRESS: I`m not taking this as a joke. It`s my life and it`s my career and something I`ve worked for my entire life. And, you know, I`ve learned from my experiences and I take responsibility.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: What do Lindsay and Brooke have in common? Other people who were not beautiful, blonde, famous, rich; let`s say they were poor, male, minority, might not be walking around free or going to rehab for the xyz time. They might be behind bars.

Howard Samuels, there is a two-tiered system in this country, no ifs, ands or buts. Do you think now that Brooke`s butt should be thrown in the clink because she may have violated probation?

SAMUELS: Well, Jane, absolutely. I mean I think that people have to hit a bottom. They have to hit an emotional bottom. The only things that do that are institutions, jail, coming close to death, having your kids taken away. You know, it has to be intense emotional pain.

The problem with these women is that they don`t take the recovery seriously. They have money. People keep on enabling them. They keep on being given money and people around them, you know, tell them how great they are, they manipulate the system, and they`re only hurting themselves in doing that.

I mean, I know the only way that I got sober was, you know, being a convicted felon, being threatened with four years of prison. I mean horrible stuff I had to go through to hit an emotional, painful bottom. And that`s what has to happen to these -- both of these women and hopefully it happens soon, Jane, before one of them or both of them die because of this disease.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: And, you know, it just shows you addiction knows no boundaries. She`s beautiful, she`s rich, she lives in the most glamorous area and still incomprehensible demoralization. Ditto for Charlie. Happy this is an inside job.

Brooke, I say it in absolute desire to help you, you should go to jail, rehab isn`t working for you honey. You need to hit bottom or you could die.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Time for your "Pet o` the Day". Send your pet pics to hlntv.com/Jane. Fred and Barney, look at those visors. No, those are hats. Those are the Blues Brothers. Bandit is just tres chic. Look at that yacht behind him. Emma -- simple but elegant. And we love you Emma. And Elmo, oh -- hey, Santa.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Time now for "Rico`s Rescues". Right, little Rico?

Let`s save some lives, huh, Rico? Rico. Rico. Hey, Rico. Rico.

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VELEZ-MITCHELL: And my buddy Rico is back. And together we`re going to introduce you to a new friend. Meet Felix. Like Rico he was once homeless. Felix is a rescue dog looking for a loving family to take care of him.

Straight out to my dear friend, animal welfare expert, Jane Garrison who is saving so many dogs. We`re working together to do it. The man of the hour, Felix, and is he adorable. Oh, my gosh, tell us about this fellow.

JANE GARRISON, ANIMAL WELFARE EXPERT: He is so cute, Jane. His name is Felix. He`s a one-year-old malty poo and he`s great with everyone. He`s great with people. He`s great with dogs. He`s great with kids. He`s great with cats.

He was found as a stray, and he`s currently at the Santa Paula Animal Rescue Center in Ventura County and he is aching to go home with somebody. He loves to play. He`s great on a leash. He`s crate trained. He is the perfect dog. He`s hypoallergenic so if you have allergies, he doesn`t shed. So he would be a great dog to adopt especially if you have a family.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes, look at him. There`s some video of him. Looks like he`s on a golf course, a putting green of sorts and -- there he is -- look how playful he is. Oh, he is a doll. If you want to adopt Felix contact the Santa Paula animal Rescue Center. You can call the number 805- 525-8609, e-mail them at info@santapaularc.org or you can go on our Web site or my Facebook page, Janevelezmitchell Facebook. And you can get all the information.

Hlntv.com/Jane -- many ways to get the information. But, again, this is an animal who this little guy people think, oh, the dogs in shelters, the dogs that are homeless are somehow -- there`s something wrong with them. Au contraire, Jane Garrison.

GARRISON: That`s right. The only thing that was wrong was that he didn`t have a collar and tag on so we couldn`t find out who he belonged to. And I have to say, Jane, this shelter does a wonderful job. Unlike some shelters they really -- they don`t kill for space. They don`t kill for medical needs. I think it`s important to really give credit to the shelters that are really trying to stop the killing going on, but everyone has to help.

We have to -- everyone has to rescue go to shelters, go to adoptapet.com and be sure to spay and neuter your dogs and cats so we can stop this overpopulation.

Please adopt him. He wants to come home.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Oh, my gosh. He`s an angel. They`re all angels. Look at all these animals behind bars at shelters. We`re going to show you -- here is the heart of the problem. While there are millions of animals literally around the country languishing in shelters, people are breeding animals for profit.

We`re going to show you a picture of Billy the Chihuahua. He was on our show last week because he was rescued from what the Humane Society of the United States claims was a puppy mill. The owner denies that. But look at this little guy. He was found in a tiny cage where he had lived his entire life. There was a raid, and the cage had rusted. They couldn`t even -- nobody had opened the cage according to police for a long time. And part of his jaw was missing. Luckily he was adopted by his rescuer. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So one of the buildings on the property was what looked to be a small shed. The smell was just horrendous in there. I immediately saw a cage with a small Chihuahua in it. When I got this little guy out, he laid his head on my shoulder and at that moment I felt responsible for him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Oh, little Billy is one of the lucky stories, although he spent his entire life behind bars up until now. He`s getting some TLC big time. On the other side we`re going to talk about how you can be part of the solution if we all stop buying animals, buying pets from pet stores or online or from puppy mills, we wouldn`t have a pet overpopulation crisis.

Again, you can adopt Felix or you can be part of a larger solution.

More on the other side.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. There is little Felix and he`s looking for a loving home. You know, Jane Garrison, we have been so blessed to be able to find homes for quite a few animals since we started our "Rico`s Rescues". You go to adoptapet.com, put in your zip code and any number of animals, whatever breed you want. And also go to our home page, hlntv.com/Jane, and we have all sorts of animals that you can adopt -- lizards, a bunny rabbit and of course Felix.

Why is it important, Jane, that people adopt as opposed to shopping?

GARRISON: You know, Jane, every year there`s about 4 million to 5 million animals that are killed in shelters and if you go to a pet store or you go to a breeder, you`re actually being part of the problem not part of the solution. So be part of the solution. And if you hear of someone who`s going to a pet store or going to a breeder, educate them and tell them that they need to rescue, they need to adopt. And let`s stop the needless killing that`s going on in our country.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: That little angel who just yawned just like this little angel, they deserve homes. Adopt don`t shop, spay and neuter.

Nancy is next.

END