Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Crime Alert 07.05.23

Episode Date: July 5, 2023

Bus driver and passenger engage in a shootout. Newly released inmate winds up back in jail on the same day.  For more crime and justice news go to crimeonline.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. Prime Alert, I'm Nancy Grace. Breaking crime news now. Charlotte bus driver Amari Tobias asked driver David Fullard to let him off at a stop that isn't on the route. Fullard refuses and the two men begin shouting at each other. Tobias approaches Fullard, who's still driving, with a gun drawn. But Fullard has a weapon too. The men begin shooting at each other, blowing out windows, sending passengers scattering to get away from the shots. Fullard pulls over, and the shootout goes on until Tobias finally stops shooting. Nancy, both men were sent

to the hospital with serious injuries. Tobias suffered life-threatening injuries and is still receiving treatment. Fullard was sent home to recover, and while not charged in the shooting justified his self-defense, Fullard was fired from his position as a driver. A spokesperson with the Charlotte Area Transit System says they believe Fullard, who was trained in de-escalation, could have avoided the shooting altogether. Amari Tobias now charged with aggravated assault. Just a few hours after Michael Stevens released from a Maryland detention center, he steals a five-ton military truck parked in somebody's front yard.

Stevens takes the truck for a joyride, smashing into parked cars and heading for the freeway until cops catch up. Stevens abandons the truck, tries to run on foot, but he's quickly caught, taken straight back to the detention center he just left with brand new grand theft charges. Well, I guess you can't teach an old dog a new trick. More crime and justice news after this. Now with the latest crime and justice breaking news, Crime Online's John Limley. Court documents reveal that an Indiana man accused of killing two teenage girls has confessed to the murders multiple times to his wife in telephone calls from prison. For more, we turn to Sidney Sumner with Crime Online.

Richard Matthew Allen allegedly admitted to killing 13-year-old Abigail Williams and 14-year-old Liberty German during a phone call with his wife, Kathy Allen, on April 3rd. The two teens were found dead on February 14th, 2017, in Carroll County, about 60 miles northwest of Indianapolis, just outside their hometown of Delphi, Indiana. Another unsealed document claims that the girls' wounds were, quote, caused by a sharp object. About a dozen knives, some of which were characterized as double-edged or folding blades, were also among the items police took from Allen's residence during a search in October 2022. Later that month, Allen was taken into custody on two murder charges. On February 13, 2017, a relative dropped the girls off at a hiking trail, and the following day, their remains were discovered in a rough, densely forested area close to the trail.

Both of their deaths were determined to be homicides. A newly filed lawsuit against a Utah woman who penned a children's book about coping with the death of her husband and who now stands accused of poisoning him seeks over $13 million in damages for alleged financial malfeasance before and after his death. The sister of Curry Richens' late husband, Eric Richens, filed the action against her in state court. Prior to his death in March 2022, the wife is accused of withdrawing money from the husband's bank accounts, misusing money intended to pay his taxes, and obtaining a fraudulent

loan, among other things. According to the prosecution, 33-year-old Corrie Richens allegedly poisoned her 39-year-old late husband by mixing five times the fatal amount of fentanyl into a Moscow Mule cocktail that she had prepared for him. Texas death row inmate Rodney Reed's request for a new trial has been denied by an appeals court. Once again, Crime Online's Sydney Sumner. Reid's assertions that he is innocent were rejected by a lower court judge in 2021, and the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has now approved that judge's recommendation. Despite the verdict, Reid is not anticipated to be put to death anytime soon.

In April, the U.S. Supreme Court determined that he should be given the opportunity to present his case for the testing of crime scene evidence that he claims will exonerate him. The Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans issued an order the following month requiring additional legal briefs to be submitted regarding whether Reed should be permitted to undergo additional DNA testing. Reed received his death sentence for killing 19-year-old Stacey Stites in 1996. According to the prosecution, Stites was raped and strangled on her way to work at a grocery store in the rural community of Bastrop, about 30 miles southeast of Austin, Texas. Rodney Reed's supporters allege that there is evidence to support his claims of innocence. Jackson Brent Garcia lives with his grandma in South Carolina and spends

Christmas at her home. The next day, Garcia heads to a cousin's home, calling grandma to let her know he'll stay the night. That evening, Garcia and the cousin take the dog outside to play. The cousin dashes inside to grab the dog a bowl of water. When he comes out, Garcia gone, his cell phone and wallet left inside the home. No one has seen or heard from Brent Garcia for two years. If you have info on Brent Garcia's disappearance, please call Sumter County Sheriff's 803-436-2000. For the latest crime and justice news, go to crimeonline.com. For This Crime Alert, I'm Nancy Grace. This is an iHeart Podcast.