Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Crime Alert 08.21.23

Episode Date: August 21, 2023

Elderly neighbor sets car on fire in feud. Habitual shoplifter admits "he's not very good." For more crime and justice news go to crimeonline.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. Crime Alert, I'm Nancy Grace. Breaking crime news now. A Maryland man calls 911 when he sees his brand new BMW on fire in his driveway. Firefighters contain the blaze and investigate. Cops look over surveillance footage in the neighborhood and spot the man's 86-year-old neighbor, Phillip Fleming, walking across the street and setting the car on fire. When cops try to speak with the senior, Philip Fleming, he speedwalks into the woods behind his own home, which officers interpret as evasion.

Nancy, the neighbors had a longstanding feud, the man's girlfriend going so far as to have a judge enact a peace order against Fleming. Firefighters were able to stop the fire from spreading past the car, but the BMW was described as a total loss due to damage caused by the blaze. Fleming now charged with arson, property damage, and failure to comply with a cop. Daniel Casimar's bike gets a flat tire while he's out, so he pulls into a Florida Walmart. He heads inside, then slips a bike lock, tire repair kit, and pump under his shirt. Employees notice the shoplifter and call police.

Casimar, who has two previous shoplifting convictions, admits he's, quote, not very good at it as they arrest him for a third time. Casimar now facing felony theft and held on $2,000 bond. Probably more than his bike costs. More crime and justice news after this. Now with the latest crime and justice breaking news, Crime Online's John Limley. The ex-wife of Microsoft executive Jared Breidigan has been charged with first-degree murder in what Florida prosecutors have termed the, quote, cold, calculated, and premeditated murder of the father of four. For more, we turn to Sydney Sumner with Crime Online. A grand jury indicted Shanna Gardner for first-degree murder,

a capital offense, as well as conspiracy to conduct first-degree murder and child abuse, all of this according to prosecutors. 33-year-old Bridegan was shot and killed in the middle of a Jacksonville Beach roadway last year in what authorities called a deliberate ambush. Officials say that Gardner was apprehended in West Richland, Washington, and will be extradited to Duval County. Five months ago, Gardner's current husband, Mario Fernandez-Saldana, was charged by a grand jury on various offenses, including first-degree murder. Henry Tennant, Fernandez-Saldana, was charged by a grand jury on various offenses, including first-degree murder. Henry Tennant, Fernandez-Saldana's former tenant, was arrested earlier this year and suspected of pulling the trigger. According to police, Breitigan was driving his

then-two-year-old daughter in February 2022 when he encountered a tire blocking the roadway. Authorities say he was ambushed and murdered when he stepped out of the vehicle. Prosecutors say they'll seek the death penalty against Gardner. A man sentenced to death for the 1996 murders of two women he met at beach bars in the Florida Panhandle is likely to be executed under an execution warrant approved by Governor Ron DeSantis. Michael Dwayne Zach III is set to die by lethal injection at 6 p.m. on October 3rd. According to court filings, Zach embarked on a crime spree across the Florida Panhandle in June of 1996. Zach's killing rampage began on Okaloosa Island. It was there that officials say he encountered Lori Rosillo, whom he strangled to death before leaving her body on the shore.

Zach then proceeded to Pensacola Beach, where he met Ravon Smith. According to investigators, Zach sexually assaulted Smith before fatally stabbing her at her home. He was apprehended two days later after breaking into a house. Zach was found guilty of first-degree murder in both deaths. He received a life sentence for Rosillo's murder and the death penalty for Smith's murder. A fugitive from Colorado apprehended after a spectacular confrontation last month

that sent furniture flying from a window at Caesars Palace on the Las Vegas Strip has accepted a plea deal that would send him back to his home state to complete any jail sentence. Once again, Crime Online's Sydney Sumner. According to his attorney, 36-year-old Matthew John Ehrmand Mannix has pleaded guilty to felony property destruction and misdemeanor carelessness charges. He has also agreed to pay approximately $55,000 in restitution. A Nevada judge could also fine Mannix up to $12,000 and sentence him to one to five years in prison, concurrent with a 364-day jail term. Prosecutors agreed to drop more serious criminal kidnapping and coercion allegations, this according to court filings. In Nevada, a kidnapping conviction can result in life in

prison. No one was critically hurt in the incident, and Mannix and a female companion surrendered on July 11. During the five-hour standoff, guests were forced to flee a pool area as broken glass fell from a 21st-floor window, and hotel furniture such as chairs and a desk tumbled to the building's rooftops below. Mannix is still being held in Las Vegas on $750,000 bail. Caitlin Case takes a flight from Colorado to Louisiana with plans to buy a car from a friend and drive it back. During the drive, Caitlin's in frequent contact with family and reports having issues with the car's nav system and very bad cell service. The next day, Caitlin calls her dad from rural Texas, telling him she's worried she's lost. The call cuts out. Cell tower tracking indicates her

phone travels through Paris, Texas, up to Choctaw County, Oklahoma, then stops pinging. A week later, the car she purchased is found abandoned, hidden behind a steep embankment on the Kiamichi River. All of Case's belongings found in the car, including her shoes. Cops do not believe Case physically entered Oklahoma. Caitlin Case now missing, please contact Oklahoma SBI 580-298-5525. For the latest crime and justice news, go to CrimeOnline.com. With this crime alert, I'm Nancy Grace. This is an iHeart Podcast.