Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Crime Alert 09.03.24 | Uber Driver Kidnapped for Three Days

Episode Date: September 3, 2024

Uber driver kidnapped for 1,000 drive to Florida. They don't mean 'catch a tiger by the tail' literally.  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. Miguel Hernandez orders an Uber for a short ride to an Arlington, Texas gas station. When they arrive, he refuses to get out of the back seat, pulls a gun, loads around in the chamber. He holds the driver at gunpoint, demanding he drive to South Florida. The driver has no choice but to make the 1,000-mile drive. Hernandez telling the driver to go to a Hialeah, Florida store for, quote, supplies. When that happens, the driver makes a break. Nancy, on the way to Florida, Hernandez described his plans to kidnap another person

and hold them for a $3 million ransom. Hernandez intended to send the driver into the store for materials for that attack when the driver fled three days into the kidnapping. Hernandez was caught on foot later that day and admitted to his crimes. Miguel Hernandez now facing kidnapping, carjacking, and gun charges. Question, who paid the bill for that thousand mile drive? Zier Dennis takes the phrase, catch a tiger by the tail, way too literally. Dennis spends a day at New Jersey's zoo with friends and gets the idea to pet a tiger. Climbing over a fence with signs clearly saying, do not climb, walks up to the tiger and reaches out a hand to pet the beast.

Witnesses film as the tiger tries to bite Dennis before she runs out of the enclosure. Not satisfied yet, she pulls a similar stunt at the bear cage. Zier Dennis, 24, now charged with two counts defiant trespassing. I wonder what the bear and the tiger have to say about that. More crime and justice news after this. Now with the latest crime and justice breaking news, Crime Online's John Limley. In a disturbing case out of East Point, Michigan, a 14-year-old girl and her 17-year-old boyfriend now face serious charges after allegedly conspiring to kill the girl's mother. Let's bring in Sydney Sumner of Crime Online for more. According to the Macomb County, Michigan prosecutor's office, the events unfolded in July when the teenage boy reportedly gained access to the family's home through an unlocked door.

Once inside, he attempted to strangle the mother while she slept. The attack was interrupted when other family members confronted the assailant, forcing him to flee the scene. Subsequent investigations by East Point police revealed that the two teenagers had orchestrated the plot together. The 14-year-old girl was arraigned on charges including solicitation of murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree premeditated murder, with her bond set at $1 million. Her boyfriend was arraigned two days earlier facing charges of conspiracy to commit first-degree premeditated murder and assault with intent to murder. His bond was set at $2.5 million. Authorities have indicated that the mother had recently taken her daughter's phone away due to ongoing issues at home and was reportedly

unaware of her daughter's relationship with the boy. Now to Arkansas, as a Jonesboro police officer has been terminated after a video surfaced showing him violently assaulting a handcuffed inmate in the back of his patrol car. Once again, Crime Online's Sydney Sumner. The video, which captures Officer Joseph Harris punching, elbowing, and slamming a car door on the inmate, was recorded on his own vehicle's camera. Jonesboro Police Chief Rick Elliott took swift action firing Harris the day after reviewing the footage. The video came to light following a complaint from the Craighead County Sheriff's Office, prompting the department to publicly release the video and announce the officer's dismissal. The incident involves Billy Lee Corum, the inmate in question, who is seen in the video wearing a hospital gown and dangerously wrapping a seatbelt around his neck. As the car pulls over, Harris exits the vehicle, opens the door, and repeatedly strikes Corum in the face

while attempting to unwind the belt. In a particularly disturbing moment, Harris is seen slamming the car door on Coram's head. Details on Coram's injuries remain unclear. Coram was being held at the Craighead County Jail on escape charges and had additional warrants from out of state. He had initially been taken to a local hospital after claiming to have ingested fentanyl and had subsequently attempted to escape before being apprehended by Harris. Chief Elliott has stated that the case will be referred to local prosecutors and the necessary paperwork will be submitted in the coming days. Furthermore, Elliott has contacted the FBI's Little Rock office and intends to request

the state to decertify Harris as a police officer. This isn't the first time Harris has faced scrutiny. He was suspended two years ago for excessive force and is currently named as a defendant in a wrongful death lawsuit involving an inmate who died in the Craighead County Jail earlier this year. This incident also adds to growing concerns over the use of force within the department there in Jonesboro, located about 130 miles northeast of Little Rock. Thanks, John. Susana Torres Salto, 29, gets a restraining order against estranged husband Javier Chavez, and she's granted full custody of their three-year-old boy. She also has an older son from a previous relationship the day before she has a court date to make that restraining order permanent. Chavez ambushes Susana as she's leaving a grocery store, forcing her into the passenger seat of her car at gunpoint. Her two boys are waiting in the back

seat. Chavez drops the boys off at his parents' house, then takes Susana across the border to Mexico. Susana Torres Salto never seen again. Chavez, last seen driving Susana's silver 2009 Chevy Impala, tag, 7R red T-Toy B-Brother 273. Susana, Hispanic, 5'5", 150 pounds, brown hair, brown eyes. If you know or think you know anything about Susanna's disappearance, she's now missing three years, please call Stanislaus County, California Sheriff's 209-525-7117. For the latest crime and justice news, go to CrimeOnline.com. And please join us for our daily podcast, Crime Stories. With this crime alert, I'm Nancy Grace.

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