Cold Case Files - Officer Down

Episode Date: April 16, 2024

23 years after Atlanta policeman Sam Guy is slain moonlighting as security, investigators finally get the tip they need to charge the two men Sam’s son David, also a police officer, suspected all along. Sponsors: Apartments.com: To find whatever you’re searching for and more visit apartments.com the place to find a place. Hydrow: Head over to Hydrow.com and use code COLDCASE to save up to five hundred dollars! Progressive: Progressive.com  

He had a gunshot wound in his leg and he wanted to show it. We've seen a lot of people shot. He knew that he was losing too much blood. And he knew he was hit bad. I didn't want that man to lay in his grave until the end of time and nobody paying the price. When a police officer is killed, all agencies pull together. We will never rest until the case is solved. From A&E, this is Cold Case Files, the podcast. January 7th, 1975. On the streets of Atlanta, Arthur Kaplan works the late shift.

A lawyer by training, Kaplan doubles as a volunteer paramedic, waiting for the call to help someone in need. On the night of January 7th, Kaplan gets just such a call. A 63-4 at the Howard Johnson Hotel on Washington Avenue. 63 means an officer is down. Kaplan responds to the scene and finds that the officer in question is a friend, Atlanta Police Detective Sam Guy, who moonlights as security for the hotel. When I saw Sam, I knew this was a very dangerous situation because there was blood all over the floor.

Guy has been hit twice, in the shoulder and in the leg. The second bullet ruptures the detective's femoral artery, and Sam Guy begins to bleed to death. And got in there and tried to stop to control the hemorrhage the best that we could. Kaplan applies direct pressure to Guy's leg and bundles him into an ambulance. The detective's life is now measured in minutes. As Sam Guy fights for his life, another detective named Guy is just finishing up his shift. David Guy is a cop with the Atlanta PD and Sam Guy's son. When David hears the report of an officer shot at the Howard Johnsons, he knows it can mean only one thing. And I told my friend, I said, that's where my dad's at. He's working an extra job there.

I said, I'm going to go down there. As David Guy heads to the scene, his police radio barks out more information. The injured officer is being escorted to Grady Hospital. Within minutes, David Guy is inside the emergency room. An officer guards access to the trauma center. I said, well, how bad is he? And they they said, well he's shot in the arm and leg. And when he told me that I felt a little bit relieved. Believing his father will be okay, David Guy drives to his parents home to break the news to his mother.

Mother and son drive back to Grady Hospital, hoping to visit with Sam Guy. As they pull up, Atlanta's chief of police is waiting to greet them. I remember Chief Chafin was standing there and he looked at me and shook his head in a negative way. And I knew then that my dad had died. He was such a fine person. So dedicated to his wife and his son. It was indescribable, almost.

Arthur Kaplan did all he could to save a life. Now all he can do is console his friend's family. Sam Guy is pronounced dead at 2.45 a.m., an hour after he was first reported shot. As Sam Guy is pronounced dead, detectives from the Atlanta PD begin to work the crime scene. The night clerk tells police two Black men entered the lobby and announced a robbery. A shootout with Guy ensued. Kelly Fite, a crime scene investigator and ballistics expert, is tasked with reconstructing the scene.

We knew that Sam Guy was sitting doing the security work. And when the incident started, he had overturned the little desk in front of him. And we knew that was his location. From behind the security desk, Guy fired his city-issued.38 caliber revolver. Across the lobby, directly in front of Guy, Fite finds a set of 9mm shell casings, evidence of returned fire from the first suspect. According to the night clerk,

the second shooter moved up on the detective's right and positioned himself in a hallway. You could see the direction of the bullets from Sam Guy going towards the shooter, the 9mm. You didn't see any of Sam Guy's bullets going towards the second perpetrator. Fite believes the second gunman moved up on Guy's right, outflanked him, and opened fire, taking the officer down. The bullets pulled from Guy's right, outflanked him, and opened fire, taking the officer down.

The bullets pulled from Guy's body are both.38 caliber, supporting fight's theory. The question now for investigators, who pulled the trigger? Sergeant Berlin Compton is put in charge of the investigation. He notes that the Howard Johnson sits close by an interstate highway, a likely avenue of escape for the shooters.

We developed a brochure or a flyer and we mailed it to all police departments and law enforcement agencies in cities of population more than 5,000 in the United States. If the shooters make a habit of traveling the interstate, chances are their bullets might turn up at other crime scenes across the southeast. The investigation, however, doesn't neglect the possibility of a local angle. Compton sweeps Atlanta's streets clean, bringing in dozens of possible suspects, pushing them hard about the night Sam Guy was killed. We were trying to determine if they might have had something to do with it, knew something about it, had seen something,

or maybe, you know, they just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. An unsolved homicide is serious business. A cop killing? Especially so. Atlanta detectives work the case 24-7, pausing only once to attend a funeral and pay respects to one of their own. On a cold and wet morning in January at Rest Haven Cemetery, Sam Guy is laid to rest. In attendance, family, friends, and a few hundred fellow officers. Here's the epitome of a human being. He was the kind of man that any father would be thrilled to have as a son.

And that's Santa Claus. I thought he would live forever, you know. But just all supported each other. And the police department was constantly there to see if we needed anything. And just a real strong family. After the funeral, the investigation continues. Six months later, however, no one has come forward with any concrete information on the shooters. The bullets picked up at the scene have not been matched to any other crimes, and the case eventually goes cold. Had names that we were still working on.

Leads were following them, but no suspects. Sam Guy's murder finds its way into the inactive files. The death of a cop, however, is never really forgotten, especially when the son of the deceased is a cop himself. David Guy goes back on the street, waiting and hoping for the piece of information that will lead him to the men who killed his father. Down deep, I felt that maybe one day I would be able to be involved in the apprehension of these people.

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Sam Guy does not make it through the night. He's survived by his son, a fellow cop named David. He's such a good man and just so well-liked and just sort of like the neighborhood hero everybody looked up to, you know, especially when he became a policeman. For seven years, Sam Guy's murder lies dormant in the cold files. David Guy moves on from the Atlanta PD to a new position with the Fulton County Police. Then, one day, he gets a call. At the other end, a special agent from the FBI named Arthur Krinsky. And the break David Guy has been waiting for.

Apparently, there was a man in DeKalb County Jail who had been arrested, and he said he had information on my dad's killing. The reason I went to David is quite simply, number one, he's a police officer, but more importantly, David is Sam's son, and I felt he needed to know that the case against his father hadn't died, that the FBI had developed information. Krinsky's informant is a man named Larry Smith, who is looking at a lot of jail time on a drug offense and is anxious to cut a deal. David Guy and Krinsky catch up with Smith, who is more than willing to talk about the murder. And one of the questions I asked him is, why didn't he come forth sooner? And he was very forthcoming in stating he was afraid of him. Smith tells investigators about one night when he ran into two acquaintances with the street names of TJ and Wolf. The pair told Smith they had just

shot up a Howard Johnson's, killing a security guard. Smith's description of TJ and Wolf fit witness statements about the Howard Johnson shooters. Just as important, Smith's body language tells Krinsky the informant is probably giving it to them straight. I was absolutely 100% convinced that Larry Smith was telling the truth and that these were the perpetrators. Krinsky and David Guy hit the pavement working informants trying to put a real name to their two suspects. Within two weeks, they have two possibilities. On the streets of Atlanta, Terry Jackson is known as TJ, and Abner Wilkinson goes by the name of Wolf.

Both men have criminal records. Krinsky puts them in a photo lineup and asks Larry Smith if anyone looks familiar. And he positively picked out the pictures of Terry Jackson and Abner Wilkinson as the individuals who had admitted to the killing. And as it turned out, they both had lengthy criminal histories and served a lot of time.

But for this short span of time when my dad was killed, they were both out of prison. Guy and Krinsky have no physical evidence linking either suspect to the shooting. No prints, no murder weapon, and the only eyewitness to the crime, a night desk clerk, is unable to make a positive ID. Larry Smith's statement is essentially their case. For the district attorney, it is

simply not enough, and no indictments are issued. So it was very, very, very frustrating, because I was absolutely convinced that these were the individuals that murdered Sam Guy. Unable to push the case any further, Agent Krinsky moves on. David Guy, however, has no such luxury. He fights the temptation to pick up his revolver and take the matter of justice into his own hands. I really decided, I think these are really the guys. I'm about 99% sure. But I guess it's that 1% that always kept me

from really pursuing some sort of justice of my own. Guy keeps his gun in his holster, his mind on the job, and waits for the day the law catches up to his father's killers. That wait turns out to be a long one. 16 years later, on September 29, 1998, Atlanta detective Scott Bennett takes a phone call. At the other end of the line, a voice without a name. A woman who claims she knows who shot Sam Guy.

I really felt like this was not some crackpot. This was somebody that knew what they were talking about. And she gave the name of Abner Wilkinson as being one of the perpetrators. And an individual that she knew only as TJ. Bennett asks the woman for her name. She refuses, but promises to call back. Three months later, Bennett is still waiting. Cold case detective Jim Rose is brought in on the case. Together, the detectives decide it's

time to stop waiting and start tracking their anonymous caller. Most of the calls that we do get down at the office are calls from spouses or ex-girlfriends. In the world of cold cases, a woman scorned can mean a break in a case. Girlfriends and wives are often the only people a killer will confide in. When something goes wrong in the relationship, she might be ready to talk. Detectives start with the woman in Abner Wilkinson's life. I found a woman involved with him that used the name Channara Marie Hayden and found out that that name was an alias for a woman by the name of Myrtle Wilkinson. On February 24th, 1999, detectives Rose and Bennett knock on Myrtle Wilkinson's door in southwest Atlanta. She had a look on her face that looked like it was relief and she knew what we were there to

talk to her about. Myrtle agrees to sit down with detectives and tell them her story. Did you call me back last fall of 1998 in a capacity that a lot of us call her. I said that Andrew Wilkins was responsible for having something to do with it. Cold Case Files is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Most of you listening right now are probably multitasking. Yep, while you're listening to me talk, you're probably also driving, cleaning, exercising, or maybe even grocery shopping. But if you're not in some kind of moving vehicle, there's something else you can be doing right now. Getting an auto quote from Progressive Insurance. It's easy, and you could save money by doing it right from your phone.

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National average 12-month savings of $744 by new customers surveyed who saved with Progressive between June 2022 and May 2023. Potential savings will vary. Discounts not available in all states and situations. I'm Brett. And I'm Alice. And together we host a weekly true crime podcast called The Prosecutors. In every episode, we bring our unique perspective as full-time prosecutors to the most famous and debated true crime mysteries. Whether it's Maura Murray, Scott Peterson, or the Delphi murders, Brett and I dig deep to bring you details you won't hear anywhere else.

Our podcast is about more than just a story. We will walk you through the legal problems lurking behind every case, breaking down the complexities of the criminal justice system with humor and a personal touch. And it's not just true crime. We bring the same training and approach we've learned as prosecutors to classic mysteries like the Dyatlov Pass incident and the ghost ship Mary Celeste. So if you're looking for a true crime podcast with a different point of view, The Prosecutors is the one for you. Find us wherever you get your podcasts. In January of 1975, an Atlanta detective named Sam Guy bleeds to death on the lobby floor of a Howard Johnson's. The men who shot him make a clean getaway.

23 years later, an anonymous phone call fingers two possible suspects. A man named Abner Wilkinson and a second, ID'd only as TJ. Cold case detectives Jim Rose and Scott Bennett trace the call to Myrtle Wilkinson, Abner's estranged wife. Investigators sit down with Myrtle and ask her what she knows about the night Sam Guy was shot and killed. Can you tell us a little bit about that night? I saw it on television, on news. But he told me before I saw it. Told me right after it happened. She said that after the crime had occurred,

the morning after that her husband Abner had come home and had more or less told her about it, what had happened, and then told her, we're not going to talk about it anymore. For more than 20 years, Myrtle Wilkinson lived in fear of her husband and kept quiet about the murder. Now detectives push for details about her husband's accomplice, known only as T.J. And can you tell me the name of the person that was with him? Do you know his full name? T.J.

Just T.J.? And she knew T.J. only as T.J. was somebody that her husband and that she socialized with from time to time. Myrtle Wilkinson's information is enough to get Sam Guy's case out of cold storage and back into play. The next step for detectives, a conversation with the victim's son. Their supervisor, Mickey Lloyd, called me and said, I just want you to know that something's happening on your dad's case. On the night his dad was killed, David Guy was an Atlanta cop.

Now he is a recently retired Fulton County deputy sheriff. For 20 years, Guy worked his father's case. He compares notes with cold case detectives. I said, well, do you have any names? He said, well, yes, Abner, Wilkinson, and then all we have is initials T.J. And I said, Terry Jackson. He said T.J. is Terry Robert Jackson. I said, well, how do you know this?

In 1982, David Guy and FBI Special Agent Arthur Krinsky developed an informant named Larry Smith. Like Myrtle Wilkinson, Smith claimed to know who pulled the trigger on Sam Guy. Like Myrtle, Smith fingered two men as the shooters. Their names? Abner Wilkinson and Terry Jackson. It was basically the same as the information we had initially in 82. So I was certain at that time that they were on the right track. In 1982, Guy and Krinsky had Smith's statement, but not enough for a charge of murder.

Nearly two decades later, cold case detectives promised to try again. What made me feel good was when I spoke with Detective Rose and Sergeant Bennett. I knew that they really wanted to solve this case for the family. You know, they really made it personal. Rose and Bennett next traveled to Shreveport, Louisiana, to have a chat with Larry Smith. They ask him if he remembers what he told the police in 1982 about Guy's murder. His story was still consistent. Larry Smith recalled most of the facts and the important facts of his statement back in 1982.

Smith's statement supports that of Myrtle Wilkinson. Both informants, unknown to each other, point to Abner Wilkinson and Terry Jackson as the shooters. In a court of law, however, the statements amount to an evidentiary house of cards with nothing in the way of physical evidence holding it together. In a court of law, however, the statements amount to an evidentiary house of cards, with nothing in the way of physical evidence holding it together. And at that point, Scott and I decided that the only way that we were going to bring this

case to a closure was to somehow get Abner Wilkinson to sit down with us and tell us what happened, tell us the truth, and confess to this crime. Cold case detectives believe Wilkinson to be the more vulnerable of their two suspects, more likely to feel the heat when looking at a possible murder charge. Abner had been arrested a few times, but there was no strong violence in his arrests. He was the one that was possibly the weaker of the two. So we decided to start with Abner. Rose and Bennett develop a strategy

to scare Abner straight. They plant stories in his neighborhood about a couple of cops who want to talk about murder. I wanted his neighbors to go to him, and I wanted his friends to go to him, and I wanted his family members to go to him and tell him that the police department was looking for you. Out of the blue he'd run into somebody that said hey these two Atlanta homicide cops are here asking questions about you and in the end it proved to be more than he could take. On September 17th, 1999, the stories planted by cold case detectives pay off. Abner

Wilkinson shows up at an Atlanta PD headquarters with a suitcase in his hand, ready to tell all and go to jail. Yeah, so like, it seemed like they were like in hot pursuit. And I came to the conclusion that maybe I just can't get it off my chest. He had arrived carrying an overnight bag, so I think he knew that it was time to face the music and go ahead and put this thing behind him. The detectives tell Wilkinson to get himself a lawyer. Then they roll videotape. He came in here today of his own free will with his attorney

to tell us his accounts of what happened on 1-7-75. In a police interview room, Wilkinson tells his tale. From the time he and Terry Jackson entered the Howard Johnson Hotel lobby and announced their intention to rob the place. And we make the announcement, they also got up and told us what's going on. Wilkinson tells police he was armed with a 9mm, exchanging gunfire with Detective Guy. According to Wilkinson, however, it was Terry Jackson, armed with a.38, who hit Guy in the femoral artery and killed the officer. I didn't know anybody about you from the moment.

My feeling was, after spending most of the day with Abner, videotaping his story, talking to him, going over the finer points, I really felt like we've got it. Now all that's left to do is go arrest Terry Jackson, which we did that night. Two hours later, Scott Bennett walks into a convenience store and places Terry Jackson under arrest for the murder of a police officer.

On November 22, 1999, at the Fulton County Courthouse, Terry Jackson and Abner Wilkinson are arraigned on charges of murder in the first degree. Clint Rucker and Maura Krause handle the case for Fulton County. It's not the kind of thing that happens during the career of a prosecutor very often, that you get a chance to actually solve a case that's 25 years old through a confession. Wilkinson's videotaped confession makes their case against him fairly straightforward. Terry Jackson, however, is another matter. Although he is believed to be the shooter, there is little in the way of direct evidence tying Jackson to the crime. To ensure a conviction, prosecutors need Wilkinson's help. Instrumental in the case and getting the actual shooter was going to be Abner Wilkinson.

But as the prosecuting attorneys, we were not going to cut a cheap deal. On the eve of his trial, Wilkinson agrees to the DA's offer of a 12-year prison sentence in exchange for his testimony. Two months later, Terry Jackson stands trial. A jury finds him guilty. Jackson is sentenced to 25 years to life, bringing to a close the murder case of a police officer that lay cold for almost a quarter century.

For the Atlanta Police Department, Sam Guy's memory far outstrips that. In honor of the slain officer, cold case detective Jim Rose wears Sam Guy's badge number. It's an honor to have such a great man's badge number assigned to you. A man that was well loved on the police department by everybody, well loved by his family, and I'm proud every time I put it on. Abner Wilkinson is now 88 years old in Hardwick, Georgia. I told Mr. Guy's family how sorry I was, and I wish that somehow they could find it in their heart to forgive me for his demise. Forgive and forget is not the mood David Guy finds himself in these days. If he had his way, Abner Wilkinson and Terry Jackson would have adjoining cells on Georgia's death row. I would like to see the guys die, to be honest with you. I felt like they deserved the death penalty. But from the standpoint of being a police officer, my background, I know that those things have to be done. I know that deals have to

be made in order to reach a successful conclusion sometimes. Curtis Productions and hosted by Bill Curtis. Check out more cold case files at anetv.com. there's 18 channels that'll make you laugh looking for drama we got so much of it you'll cry tears of joy reality shows game shows sports star trek and even more star trek no matter what mood you're in there's something on pluto tv just download the app and start streaming pluto tv stream now pay never