Return to Transcripts main page

LEGAL VIEW WITH ASHLEIGH BANFIELD

DC Mansion Murders; Oil Cleanup Underway; Biker Gang Shootout. Aired 12-12:30p ET

Aired May 21, 2015 - 12:00   ET

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


[12:00:00] TINA FAY: Men can be funny.

BILL MURRAY: I'll never have the money I owe you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Ah, yes, it does make you wonder, though, who would read your top ten list if you could choose? George Clooney? Bradly Cooper? Wolf Blitzer? I don't know. They'd all be in there somewhere.

Thanks for joining us "AT THIS HOUR". LEGAL VIEW with Ashleigh Banfield starts right now.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Ashleigh Banfield. And welcome to LEGAL VIEW.

I want to show you a face and read you a name and you need to stop whatever you're doing and look real closely at your screen because the man identified by the Washington, D.C. Police as Daron Dylon Wint and said to be a Maryland resident, 34 years old, is a very dangerous person. One week to the day after an arson fire in one of D.C.'s most exclusive neighborhoods, we know fire was probably the least of the horrors that took place in that lavish home. And Daron Wint is believed to be the person responsibility for much of it, if not all of it. Law enforcement sources are now telling CNN that Wint has been traced to the New York City area. And we hope to learn more in a news conference in Washington, D.C., about 15 minutes from now. And, of course, we're going to bring that to you live just the moment that it happens.

In the meantime, my CNN colleague, Joe Johns, tells a story of murder, and torture, extortion and then that telltale pizza.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A bizarre twist in the brutal quadruple murder/arson mystery in an upscale D.C. neighborhood. Police identifying a suspect in the slayings of a prominent CEO, his wife, their young son and housekeeper. Thirty-four- year-old Daron Dylon Wint, now wanted on first degree murder charges while armed. According to law enforcement officials, the break in the case coming not from the grainy surveillance video released by police days ago, but from DNA found on the crust of a Domino's pizza that had been ordered to the house as the victims were being held.

Forty-six-year-old Savvas Savopoulos, a CEO of a company called American Iron Works, his 47-year-old wife Amy, a Washington philanthropist and socialite, their 10-year-old son Philp and a woman named Veralicia Figueroa, their 57-year-old housekeeper, all found dead in their mansion that was set on fire. Their blue Porsche, that went missing, found ditched in a Maryland church parking lot where it was torched.

More lurid details of their gruesome murder now emerging. A source telling CNN, the victims were bound with duct tape and held captive by the perpetrators, with signs of torture to the youngest victim. Meanwhile, "The Washington Post" reporting that one of Savopoulos' employees came to the mansion and dropped off a package with $40,000 inside, the assailant making off with the cash. The case riddling investigators. Hours before the Savopoulos home was torched, one of the family's other housekeepers received a bizarre text from Amy Savopoulos, reading in part, "I am making sure you do not come today."

No motive for the killings has been released but police believe money was a prime factor.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BANFIELD: And the author of that report, Joe Johns, is live with me now. And I'm also joined here in New York City by CNN law enforcement analyst and retired New York Police Detective Harry Houck.

First to you, Joe Johns, on the scene. What's the very latest in the effort to track this person and actually get him in handcuffs?

JOHNS: Well, we do know that United States marshals, who track fugitives across the country, are aggressively working this case right now and the New York area. The suspect, we are told, has been tracked to the New York area. Obviously not clear if he's still there. We also know New York Police Department is involved as well.

This individual's last known address to our knowledge was in Lanham, Maryland. And last night authorities also visited that house with a search warrant and checked it out as well. So this manhunt continues on many fronts as the investigation does as well in New York, here in Washington, D.C., in Maryland and even in Virginia, where the father of this family actually was trying to start up a martial arts studio. So a lot of moving pieces on this right now, Ashleigh.

BANFIELD: All right, I want to get Harry Houck on this. Stand by for a second, Joe. Don't go away.

But, Harry, you've got sources in the New York Police Department you've been speaking with.

HARRY HOUCK, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Correct.

BANFIELD: And I just want to get a couple of things from you.

HOUCK: Yes. BANFIELD: Number one, they're suggesting that they've traced him here. Is it just one, though, because the big question is, is he a lone actor, a lone alleged actor? Could there be more? Is he traveling with others who might have been responsible for that (ph)?

HOUCK: Well, that's the thing yet, we don't know if there's a second person involved, although I, in the beginning, had thought it was only one person, but the Washington, D.C. - there's information that the Washington, D.C. Police Department has put out that there is a second perpetrator in this case. So we're not really hearing much about that. I -

[12:05:06] BANFIELD: So what are they saying, though, about tracing him here? What do you know about that?

HOUCK: Well, what I know about that - I checked my sources in New York City and, as far as I know, there has not been an arrest -

BANFIELD: Nothing yet.

HOUCK: There has not been an arrest in New York City. But New York is a big state.

BANFIELD: Yes.

HOUCK: And they're talking that he was tracked in New York. So something could be happening, you know, somewhere outside of New York City. We wouldn't be aware of it.

BANFIELD: Let me get back to Joe Johns.

Joe, the detail that was so remarkable in this story was the fact that the - there was a - there were pizza's ordered during this harrowing, lengthy, overnight ordeal. There was money apparently left on a doorstep so that the Domino's delivery man would just leave the pizzas and not see anybody. But ultimately we're learning that there was a pizza crust that was left behind with that DNA and that that's truly what led authorities to start looking for this Daron Dylon Wint, 34 years old. What about the potential for others, though? Are they saying anything yet about what's left behind in that home that would lead them to other suspects?

JOHNS: They are not. And, quite frankly, I have to tell you, it was an extensive crime scene search here that lasted over several days. The technicians came, they went, they came in, they went. And had to recover a lot of evidence. That said, there are some concerns about the state of the evidence, particularly on the second floor and up toward the attic because that apparently is where most of the fire was. So there was a question about the quality of the evidence that they were able to get out of there.

But, yes, the - we expect there's a lot of information the authorities have been not releasing. They've been very selective about it simply because they're still trying to get ahold of this individual. And there are concerns about releasing information because they don't want to get in a situation where in litigation an individual says, well that information got out there and our guy -

BANFIELD: Of course.

JOHNS: Doesn't know anything about it or whatever.

BANFIELD: Yes. And it's always so savvy in law enforcement to hold back those details that only a killer would know. That's how you get those sure-fire convictions when DNA might seem perfect but could have been mishandled. You know, only a killer can know certain things if they don't release it to the - to the press.

Harry, to you again. The details about - that we are finding out about the fact that this child -

HOUCK: Right.

BANFIELD: Ten years old, may have been tortured in order to try to extract whatever it was that these absolute monsters were trying to extract, it's thought that it's money.

HOUCK: Right.

BANFIELD: But what are the details that you usually know? How do you find these things out when you're dealing with four bodies and an inferno?

HOUCK: Well, the autopsy report is key, you know, something like that going on. They'll be able to tell you whether or not he was dead, you know, when - especially if there's no smoke inside the lungs, all right, there's no charred inside tells us that he was dead at the time it was set on fire. So - but there were - there are indications that either he was sliced or he was battered and that's how - that he died, but we haven't seen the autopsy report yet, so we have to wait to see that.

BANFIELD: OK, stand by, Harry, if you will. I said it off the top of the show and, Joe Johns, as well, if you could stand by too, that we're awaiting this briefing from Washington, D.C., not only the mayor, Muriel Bowser, but also the police chief. They're joining forces on this news conference. Cathy Lanier - Chief Cathy Lanier. They're going to give a news conference and update us as to the developments and whether, in fact, we actually do have someone who is on the loose in the New York area or perhaps even arrested in the New York area or more. We're just waiting to find out. So it's 12:08 right now Eastern Time. Keep your eyes peeled. We will have that for you just as soon as it happens.

We're also following on the other coast, and a state of emergency that's in order right now in southern California after an oil pipeline spill along a pristine beach near Santa Barbara. This is the scene there live, folks. The men and woman in Tyvek trying their best against literally an ocean of oil. Back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:12:43] BANFIELD: So, as promised, it's 12 minutes after the hour and we are waiting for this live news conference in Washington, D.C. It's actually supposed to be held right outside of the police headquarters, in fact. And it's all potentially about this man. This is the guy who is highly sought after and may already be in custody and that's a big question we're waiting to hear. Daron Dylon Wint, who is wanted on murder one while armed, sort of an understatement, even though it sounds pretty powerful. We have four dead people in an upscale mansion not far from where the vice president lives and it is one of the more heinous of murders where a ten-year-old boy, the evince at least forensically at this early stage, shows that this ten- year-old boy may have been tortured in front of his own parents in order to extort as much money as the killers or killer may have be able to get. At this early stage it looks like at least $40,000 was dropped off on that doorstep of that mansion and it's not anywhere to be seen.

So we're waiting on that news conference. We're going to give it to you right away. It's the police chief, it's the mayor, Chief Cathy Lanier and Mayor Muriel Bowser, any moment now.

In the meantime, I do want to get you up to speed on what's been happening on the other coast. In Santa Barbara County, California, they're under a state of emergency there because there was this massive crude oil spill along a nine mile stretch of scenic beach. And, of course, as you'll look at your calendar, this is just in time for the Memorial Day weekend.

The pictures you're seeing right now of this clean-up effort, everybody in Tyvek for their own protection. These are live. They are doing their best. And, look at that, there's only so much you can do when this is just such an insurmountable task. Hats off to all of you guys out there for the work you're doing.

Officials really don't know yet just exactly how much oil we're talking about that leaked into the water and that's coming up in waves and laps up onto the beach and onto the wildlife, et cetera, but here is the latest worse-case scenario, 105,000 gallons. Think about that for a moment, 105,000 gallons, toxic black sludge, wreaking havoc on those beautiful, pristine beaches and, again, all the wildlife that call that home. CNN's Paul Vercammen covering the disaster.

We went out to you yesterday and it looks like those people haven't even taken a break yet. Are they making any headway in the position where you are, and did that other beach that was threatened end up getting hit with the oil slick?

[12:15:07] PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that beach got hit with some ribbons, thin ribbons of oil. Myself and producer Jason Karvaric (ph) walked it not long ago. It is also completely shut down. So both Refugio and El Captain shut down for memorial weekend. But we think they're making progress.

I will show you behind me, here are the rocks and here's what happens, the tide comes in, it dumps all of this goo right on to the rocks. But yesterday at this time, frankly, the waves themselves were much dirtier and they have been able to rake together and pick up much more of the tar here on shore. Many saying this could have been a lot worse. Plains All American Pipeline saying that they kept four-fifths of the spilled oil from going through the culvert and on to the coast. And they were able to do that by sealing it off.

This is on ground. This is a rare spill. We usually hear about spills off a platform or whatever the case may be. In this one, the pipeline ruptured here on ground. And Plains has somewhat of a dubious reputation. Back in 2010, the Justice Department and the EPA getting Plains in their crosshairs. They got the company to agree to make $40 million in repairs to pipelines, most of them allegedly corroded. They also got them to pay $3 million in fines, all of it connected to ten separate spills in Kansas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Texas, Ashleigh.

BANFIELD: So the state of emergency that's been called for that area, oftentimes when you have these kinds of disasters, whether they're natural or manmade, it means it opens up the spigots for money. Is there anything else that that does for the place where you are and the people who are doing that job?

VERCAMMEN: Well, I'll telling you one thing, along those lines and from a legal standpoint, in this county you have the Environmental Defense Center. That's a non-profit. I talked to them and they are eyeballing this situation carefully, going over all of it with a fine- tooth comb. I asked them point blank, would you sue? I got sort of a euphemism, we're collecting material, we're looking over it. But you better believe, given that centers' litigious reputation, if they find anything to be at fault, if they think they can hang their legal hat on, they will go after Plains All American.

BANFIELD: And you know how it works as well as I do, you can always sue. You can sue anybody at any time. Can you win is the bigger question and is it worth the battle.

Paul, I'm sorry that you're having to stand out there in that beautiful environment and look at it the way it is, but keep us posted on how they're doing and thank those crew members for us. Thanks, Paul. Paul Vercammen for us live on the beaches out there.

And as you see, also in the right-hand lower corner of your screen, the D.C. mansion murder police briefing, we were expecting that about - about three minutes ago to start and we expect that at any moment we will get that latest information from the D.C. mayor and the D.C. police chief as to that manhunt that was underway for one very dangerous guy, an alleged first degree murderer at this point, murder one with - with an armament of some kind. It's very serious. And they're not sure necessarily that they're saying right now if he's the only one they're after. We're not sure if they've got him. So we can't wait for this news conference. We're going to give it to you right away.

By the way, back to Paul's story out on the coast, who's to blame and who pays when you have a disaster like this? All of those people have to suit up for their own protection to try to clean up. And then, of course, probably bag up dead animals that died from it. And if the companies pass a big issue, should it be a red flag. These are simple questions but the answers are pretty complex. Also ahead, I'm going to take you back down to Waco, Texas, because we

are still on alert there for more possible biker gang violence, if you can believe it, almost a week later. That city is trying to figure out how to deal with 170 bikers who were behind bars. That number is now 169, which means one guy has enough money to post a $1 million bond. I'll update you in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:22:40] BANFIELD: Got some live pictures up for you now courtesy of our affiliate WJLA. This is effectively the hastily called news conference this morning. The mayor of Washington, D.C., and the police chief of Washington, D.C., will be addressing reporters. The media is assembled now. just got the life signal up, so we're going to watch this for you because the person on the left is the guy that they say is responsible or at least one of those responsible for that house of horrors in Washington, D.C., not far from where Vice President Biden's home is, where four people, three members of a family and their housekeeper, were viciously murdered, their house torched.

And the worst detail of it perhaps that's emerged is that forensically they've been able to determine that the ten-year-old boy was tortured and possibly to extract money from his parents. We do know that the assistant of the father arrived at that doorstep with $40,000 in an envelope and was instructed to just leave it in the envelope on that front doorstep. It's just a remarkable series of developments. But now, because of a half-eaten pizza, a pizza crust that was left behind, that the killer monsters or monster decided to order while exacting all of these horrors, you leave your DNA behind when you leave a half-eaten piece of pizza and the police got that DNA and that's the guy they say matches it.

So they're looking for him. We're waiting to find out if this news conference means that they caught him. We do hear that they've traced him to the New York area.

I want to move to Waco as well right now. In Texas, they're still not breathing real easy and who can blame them because they don't know yet if their city might end up being another scene of an epic biker gang turf showdown that could happen. The police are still looking for more weapons that might be stashed or thrown around in that fog of war that erupted around that restaurant where a chaotic shootout left nine people dead just a few days ago. Members of the two so-called motorcycle clubs with a history of rivalry, they started fighting and stabbing and shooting one another. Police threw 170 of them in the slammer and then they went ahead and slapped $1 million bond on every single one of them.

Look at this incredible video. Holy cow. From KTVT. Wow. That is just remarkable stuff.

[12:25:02] So far, and this is pretty interesting, there is one of those 170 suspects that was able to make that $1 million bail, posted it, and they're out. The rest of them are locked up, though, on organized crime charges, the most serious of which, by the way, of those organized crime charges that they're basing that on, capital murder. So I always find it amazing in a death penalty state when you get bail at all. But one of them did.

None of the 170 suspects have had a court appearance yet. It is a really, really tough job when you have a high number of people like that to just process them in the jail, let alone get them first appearances and get them lawyers. They were calling for more yesterday. They are shorthanded in a city the size of Waco, Texas.

I want to bring in now Kent Schaffer. He is a Houston attorney who has represented members of the Bandidos motorcycle clubs for more than 30 years.

Kent, thanks for coming on with me. I really appreciate this.

KENT SCHAFFER, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, thank you for having me.

BANFIELD: First and foremost, have you been called by any of the members by the Banditos who are locked up right now, because there is untold numbers of potential clients in there?

SCHAFFER: Yes, I have been. I've met with representatives and I think, by the end of today, I will be representing one of the Banditos who's charges.

BANFIELD: And what is your - and, look, you don't know all the information yet. You sure haven't gone into any discovery process yet. But when you're talking about 170 people in what looked to me like must have been an incredible melee, it just seems to me that these cases are ripe for a defense attorney to pick and choose all those different defenses you can use.

SCHAFFER: Well, there are. And I think what you're going to find over the next few days or weeks is that the prosecutors are going to have to start pairing down charges. You can't charge 170 people because they happened to be there. So they're going to have to show that each of the individuals that they charge, that they're able to make the case that this person did something that was criminal other than merely being present.

BANFIELD: So let me ask you this. I have read some of the comments that you've had about the Banditos, that you say they're misunderstood, that they're not all criminal and gang-related players, that that might be in a few elements, certainly not all. But I got to be honest with you, Kent, the federal government has put out untold statistics.

You know what, Kent, I'm going to just break into this news conference - this interview for a moment because the mayor of D.C. is updating us on the - on those murders. Can you stand by for a moment? Want to go live to the mayor. Let's listen in.

MAYOR MURIEL BOWSER (D), DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: And so the District of Columbia are to the hard working men and women of the Metropolitan Police Department, as well as our fire and emergency medical service that responded last week to the home of Amy and Savvas Savopoulos and - and their son, and attended to Ms. Veralicia Figueroa, their housekeeper. So we are grateful for their responsiveness. But we're also grateful to our partner agencies, that's the ATF and the Secret Service, who have been working on this case 24/7 since last Thursday. And all of us are focused on finding the perpetrator of this act of evil on Woodland (ph) and in our Ward Three (ph) community.

I also know that you are all aware that MPD has identified a suspect, 34-year-old Daron Dylon Wint. He is currently at large and we continue to seek the public's assistance in locating Wint. He is a black male, approximately 5'7" in height, weighing approximately 155 pounds. If you see Wint or know anything about his whereabouts, we ask that all members of the public call 202-727-9099. You can also send any information leading to the whereabouts of Wint to the MPD text line at 50411. If you see something, we're begging of you to say something, to call law enforcement. Any bit of information can lead to a breakthrough and can lead to us solving this heinous crime in the District of Columbia.

Again, the Metropolitan Police Department seeks Daron Dylon Wint, black male, 5'7" in height, weighing approximately 155 pounds.

I'm going to ask the chief of police to provide more information that she can about the investigative efforts of her department and our partner agencies since we spoke on last Friday.

[14:29:51] CHIEF CATHY LANIER, DC METROPOLITAN POLICE: I'll start off by saying, I know that many of you have a variety of different bits and pieces of information that has come from different sources. I just want to caution you that I know that there is a lot of inaccurate information that is getting leaked out to the media and I caution you to be careful about what you report.