Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Shameful coronavirus pranks flood media.

Episode Date: April 6, 2020

A new wave of coronavirus crimes is sweeping across the country. From pranks that put citizens at risk to outright fraud, the list of shysters grows. Joining Nancy Grace today to discuss: Kathleen Murphy - North Carolina, Family Attorney, www.ncdomesticlaw.com  James Shelnutt - 27 years Atlanta Metro Major Case detective, SWAT Officer (RET) Attorney Joseph Scott Morgan - Professor of Forensics Jacksonville State University, Author,"Blood Beneath My Feet" Dr Angela Arnold - Psychiatrist, Atlanta Ga Tina Moore - New York Post reporter Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. Hi guys, Nancy Grace here. All of us here at Crime Stories are working every day to stay in touch with you and bring you the very latest in crime and justice news all around our country. And now our friends at Sirius XM are making it even easier for you to get crime stories while so many of us are doing our part, staying home and staying safe. This is what they're doing. If you don't already have a subscription at SiriusXM, here's a chance to listen for free.

Listen for free. Just go to your app store, download the app for SiriusXM, make up a login name, and you're in to listen for free. Listen through your phone, your computer, Alexa, Google Home, Sonos, any smart TV, so many other devices, but those are a few of them. Don't miss Crime Stories every weekday at high noon eastern on Sirius XM 111, the Triumph Channel. Free listening for you runs until May 15. Sirius XM, thank you for letting our listeners listen for free and for being our partner. People around our country are living in fear, fear of the deadly coronavirus, COVID-19. As if that's not enough, there's a whole new wave of coronavirus crimes infecting our country. Be on the lookout and don't fall victim to coronavirus crimes. I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories.

Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. At a time when our country should theoretically be pulling together, at a time where fear is running rampant, people are isolated in their homes across the country, not really knowing what's going on, and falling prey to isolation and fear. The hyena are coming out. The cons, the crimes. Today, coronavirus crimes, the next wave.

First of all, take a listen. Oh, first of all, thank you for being with us. I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories here at Fox Nation and Sirius XM 111. I want to first talk about a young man, self-named Lars with a Z. Take a listen to our friend, Piers Morgan. You may remember also the other idiot. This is also in America who, as part of the coronavirus challenge that

some morons are doing uh went into his local toilet cubicle here and licked the bowl oh my god i haven't seen this oh my god why are we showing this there's another picture disgusting yeah yeah take it off the telly um what is what is uh i think this is called karma what here's a picture of him on his instagram page. Yeah, he's got coronavirus. That's him in hospital. And you know what? He expects someone to save his life now. He expects someone to provide some medical assistance.

And he'll be putting a healthcare professional at risk. I wouldn't give him any treatment. It's not only, as you say, disgusting, it's a felony. Now, let me tell you what this guy did. This guy goes online and does a video licking his commode seat. Now, at any other time in our nation's history, that may be considered, well, how do you say toilet humor? But now, not so much.

This guy has a social media reach that is very, very vast. Let me go straight out to our special guest joining us, all the guests joining us today. Kathleen Murphy, North Carolina lawyer at ncdomesticlaw.com. James Shelnut, 27 years Metro major case swat now lawyer professor forensics jacksonville state university author of blood beneath my feet on amazon joseph scott morgan renowned psychiatrist joining us out of the atlanta jurisdiction and boy do we need a shrink now more than ever dr angela arnold with her wisdom. But first, to ace reporter from my favorite newspaper in the world, New York Post, Tina Moore. That's quite a lead in, Tina.

What do you have for me on Lars? L-A-R-Z. Make sure you get the Z. And as Piers Morgan accurately pointed out, there's no such thing as felony idiot. He was quick to point out, in America, I can't deny it. But what did this guy do? I don't know what the charge is for stupidity. I just, I'm not sure like how you charge him. It's just incredible that anybody would do that. Well, what exactly is your understanding to you, Justice Scott Morgan, of what happened? Well, my understanding is, is that this fellow went into a cubicle at a location, a bathroom cubicle, and began licking the toilet seat.

He licked literally the potty, Nancy. And this is a very dangerous thing to do nowadays, particularly when you consider they're now identifying the coronavirus as being, as they term it in medical jargon, a very robust virus. That means it lives for a very long time. And I don't care so much that he may have infected himself. I'm worried about who he may have infected as a result of his actions now isn't it true that later he posted i tested positive for covid19 isn't that correct out to tina moore and i understand he was licking a toilet bowl on a flight or no was that in his home i'm not i'm not really sure nancy sorry let me find out i understand this guy Lars, licking the toilet seat.

I believe in this case, it was in his own home. And the reality of that, Kathleen Murphy, joining us out of North Carolina, is that he didn't pose a threat to anybody else that we know of. But the importance in my mind, Kathleen, is what this is doing to all of the children, tween, and teen followers. So I have a 13-year, you have the twins and they look at this stuff. Unfortunately, he was actually following an Instagrammer named Ava Louise, who went and licked the toilet on a flight and subsequently was on Dr. Yes. And then subsequently on Dr. Phil. You know what my response is? I'd love to know their parents' names and phone numbers. I would love to know their number because my neighbor across the street is that emergency room physician.

Can I tell you something else? This same guy, Lars, with a Z, 21 years old, old enough to know better, was also part of a craze where stuntsters would lick tubs of ice cream in supermarkets. Then he posed himself languishing in a hospital bed saying that he has COVID-19. That is putting a painting COVID-19 with a stunt, a hoax brush. And I don't like it. The example it's setting, and not only that, potentially giving other people COVID-19.

Let's talk about his inspiration. Her name is Ava. And I want you to, but before we get to her, let's take a listen to Lars himself himself speaking to dr phil i mean i don't talk to my family why not they're irrelevant they're irrelevant none of them have followers if they got followers or got rich i'd probably talk to them again hang on a minute did you just say i don't talk to my family because they don't have followers if they had followers they'd be here right now you talk about your I mean, my mom has more followers than my sister.

It's your mother. What do you care if she has followers or not? It's your mother. Can anyone tell me what I would talk to my mom about if she's not going to be making me relevant? Yeah, like, hi, mom. Now I have a career, and I'm i'm famous like that's what happens when you get famous you cut people off seriously everyone's upset with it maybe because you guys aren't

relevant either so you don't understand maybe i'm just i'm out of sync i guess because i didn't know you till today and if you gotta wear it well once dr phil calls it like it is i want to get to the bottom of where he licked the toilet but in the meantime let's go to ava louise speaking to dr phil get ready what the hell were you thinking when you're licking a toilet seat on an airplane on the way to spring break when the country shut down. One, I had way dirtier things in my mouth that whole spring break. Two, I bleached that. Three, private plane. I flew down on my sugar daddy's plane with my best friend.

So really, it wasn't that dirty. Like, I wasn't putting myself or anyone else at risk. Okay, well, you just said you bleached it before you did it but then we should answer you also say you did it to show that there's no danger and everybody shouldn't be concerned so if there's no danger and everybody shouldn't be concerned then why did you bleach it uh well i bleached it because you know like people like poop on there that's why i bleach it like you know well you didn't say that you didn't say i'm gonna bleach this and and lick it i'm gonna clean it like it was in a lab and then i'm gonna bleach

it you so you lied to people well yeah i mean that's what the media is doing i think with this entire virus you were hearing our friend dr field coming down on prankster ava Louise. You know, I've researched, I pulled up the Lars with a Z video again. It's not his home. He is in a public bathroom laughing and joking and licking not only the toilet, but who knows what else just to get followers. You heard him say he doesn't even speak to his own family because they can't make him relevant. And the whole point is that the message they are sending is there is no danger to COVID-19. What message are children, tweens and teens getting from this? Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Everybody, again, thank you for being with us here at Fox Nation and Sirius XM 111. We're starting off with coronavirus crimes, pranks.

Then we'll work into the felonies. And believe me, there's never a lack of business. We're talking right now about Ava Louise licking the commode on a flight. Jackie, let's hear Dr. Phil speaking to Ava Louise. And I was like, really annoyed that Corona was getting more publicity than me, because I currently have like a song going viral right now and no one was covering it so I decided to hop on the corona wave but um yeah I just did lie to people yeah I did and it did exactly what I thought it was going to do like it's funny because I created the fake news myself as like I feel like I definitely represent like the whole Gen Z like

population in I'm not terrified of this I basically took things that your generation and boomers are scared of and I capitalize off of it and I create it in made mainstream media so I and I'm sure there was government officials freaking out about it and things like that i literally i i manipulated headlines in the political like like ring i had megan mccain talking about me i was on the view and i was sitting at home laughing sitting at home laughing i jump in here for just a minute is this dr angela arnold or kathleen murphy this is kathleen murphy yes you know what i was about to go to a shrink but jump in k for just a minute? Is this Dr. Angela Arnold or Kathleen Murphy? This is Kathleen Murphy.

Yes. You know what? I was about to go to a shrink, but jump in, Kathleen. Hit me. Please arrest her. Why has she not been arrested? And of the nine incidents I know about these prankings, only four of the individuals have been arrested. But yet, there's a Department of Justice publication that says this is a

biological agent and there is a terroristic threat associated with this type of behavior. Now, the ones that have been arrested so far include coughing on produce, meat, and bakery goods that are about to be sold at a Wegmans grocery store, coughing on a grocery store worker, going through the aisles of a Walmart on video, then posted claiming that the person, Justin Rhodes, had a coronavirus and that we're all going to get it too. He was there reportedly trying to infect people, making a direct biological threat, which equals terroristic threats.

And Kathleen Murphy, to your understanding, terroristic threats can carry one to three up to 15, 20 years, depending on the jurisdiction in our country. Correct. And if she has, whether she's infected anyone or not, it was her intent to create this scenario that leads other people well you know what to dr angela arnold i want to pick up on what kathleen murphy just said uh north carolina lawyer dr angela arnold psychiatrist joining me out of atlanta dr angela she actually said hi dear that These are things you boomers, speaking to Dr. Phil, your generation is afraid of. People are dropping dead, dropping dead.

I've had one of my very closest family members with coronavirus in California. This is not a laughing matter. So what is the danger of what pranksters are doing, Dr. Angela? Well, Nancy, I think that one of the things that this whole coronavirus is doing, it's flushing these narcissists out. And they, just like this Lars guy said, he is saying that. Hey, hey, hey, you know what, what dr angela you know how i feel about you i respect you i care for you but please don't throw around psychological or psychiatric terms

like narcissist to people like us that may not know what you're talking about nancy yes they are it is a real disorder it is a real personality disorder. And the internet and the social media is just a feeding ground for people like this. Okay. And yes, I believe they should be arrested. I don't believe that they're thinking clearly. Absolutely. But why would you say that i'm quote hopping on the coronavirus wave i think it's what ava louise said to dr phil oh well she's an idiot isn't she well is idiot a psychiatric term is that in the dsm i mean there's got to be a name to this disorder. Is it narcissistic? Yes.

Narcissist who looked at his own image in a pool of water. All you see in the world is yourself. Well, okay, now I'm getting it, Dr. Angela. And she wants to be famous. And this is her way to make her pathetic little self famous. Let's also not forget that she said to Dr. Phil, she was on her sugar daddy's plane. I didn't miss that in her talk with Dr. Phil. Not judging. She was on her sugar daddy's plane.

Yeah. You know what? My condolences to him. You know, I want to take a look at something even more devastating. I'm worried about nobody had heard of her. I've never heard of her, and I hope I never hear of her again. But there is another issue, and that is the release of violent felons, compassionate release over COVID-19. Jackie, let's hear about D'Angelo Stone, Cut 11, please. The sounds of a mother's pain filled the streets of Avondale Friday night 11 place. Yeah, you can c a mother's pain filled th

friday night as Margaret son Ronald, who was also bags. This is the worst p feel no matter if your chi It's just horrible to los Ronald Antonio Williams w gunned down in this Bond Hill parking lot Thursday morning while he sat in a car. He was well loved. My son touched a lot of people's heart. Even though he was caught up in things in his life, he always wanted the

streets to be safe for these kids. Cincinnati police didn't have any updates to the case today, but the family remains hopeful that they'll get some answers soon because several businesses have surveillance cameras, just like this one at the office for Vice Mayor Chris Smitherman. And we're told that these businesses have turned over their surveillance to police. With these cameras, the cameras speak out. But, you know, if somebody did see something, somebody was right there was 839 in the morning. You are hearing our friends at WKRC Local 12. That was Walter Smith Randolph speaking. D'Angelo Stone has just been released. He's not elderly.

He doesn't have an underlying health concern. Why was he released? He's behind bars on charges of attempted murder. And you just heard the mother of Tony screaming out. That was Margaret Williams screaming out in pain. Straight out to our friend from the New York Post, Tina Moore. What happened? A lot of cities are letting inmates out on compassionate release, they're calling it,

because the illness spreads so fast through jail. And you think about a city like New York where it's spreading quickly, it's just even worse in jail where people are so close together. So they're letting people out, and I'm hearing of people up here getting out who probably shouldn't get out either, so that's what's happening. You know, the compassionate release for COVID-19, where people are behind bars in tight, cramped quarters, is supposed to apply to people with misdemeanor charges that have some health ailment.

But that doesn't seem to be the way that it is working out. Take a listen to Ms. Williams speaking with WLWT News 5's Jatara McGee. This is the worst pain you can ever feel. More than nine months after Margaret Williams lost her son Tony Williams, that pain is still fresh. Anything can happen, anything. The shooting was caught on surveillance video near Vice Mayor Chris Smitherman's office in Bond Hill. The alleged killer was caught days later. So it's devastating to know that D'Angelo Stone is out walking these streets

and my family is still suffering, still crying, still trying to accept this. Now awaiting trial out of handcuffs, D'Angelo Stone's Friday release comes as the Hamilton County Justice Center releases some non-violent low-level offenders to prevent the potential spread of COVID-19 inside the jail. Stone is facing multiple felonies including murder and having weapons under disability. I want to point out that the victim in this case, Ronald Tony Williams, leaves behind three children, one just two years old. His mother, Margaret, tells us, quote, He can go to his mother now, but Ronald can never, never hug me.

Hi, guys. Nancy Grace here. I have investigated and prosecuted literally thousands of felony cases. I have covered literally thousands of cases of missing people, adults and children, unsolved homicides, violent crimes. My question is, what can we do about it? I don't want to just sit back and report on it. I want to take action. And I know you must feel the same way. And here is the news. We have all worked so hard to bring to you, Don't Be a Victim, Fighting Back Against America's Crime Wave, a brand new book. You can pre-order now. Go to crimeonline.com. This book is for everyone. It even includes how to stay safe while you travel, in hotels, if you're abroad, what do you do to make sure you come home safely to your family? Don't be a victim fighting back against America's crime wave.

Available for pre-order now. CrimeOnline.com. Pre-order now and know that portions of our proceeds goes to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. We are covering a new wave of coronavirus crimes, as they are called. And right now, I want to focus on another ill-timed release, that in Texas, of David Cruz charged with murder. 27-year-old Christian Tristan was a dad, happy and hardworking. 29-year-old David Cruz, a guy with a lengthy record of arrests, was charged with Tristan's murder. Only as of Thursday, he's out of the Harris County Jail, and he didn't have to put up a dime for bail.

Cruz's argument to the judge was the fear of getting coronavirus. It worked. We want to make it very clear to our Harris County community, there are no mass releases planned. Our number one priority will always be public safety. They are talking about releasing nonviolent criminals, but yet this person was released. Today we got another statement from the sheriff's office. The Harris County Sheriff's Office had no role in an independent judge's decision to release this specific inmate. And that's true.

This week we've learned the sheriff asked for 35 releases. They all appear to be misdemeanor defendants. The DA's office didn't want this to happen either. No, this was the decision of one judge, Deshaun Jones. You charged him with murder and you released him. Just then, you were hearing our friends at KPRC2. That was reporter Joel Eisenbaum to Tina Moore joining us, reporter with the New York Post, this is what I know about Judge Deshaun Jones, who released Cruz because Cruz said he was afraid of getting coronavirus. We know that Deshaun Jones, the judge, has sided with defendants throughout his tenure on the bench, including with a death row inmate. So you've got this judge, Deshaun Jones, on the bench, letting an accused killer free because his lawyer says he's afraid of coronavirus.

And I would like to point out, Tina, that I did a little research on David Cruz. Turns out that he's already been in jail on a deadly hit and run where he mowed somebody down and then left the scene. In this case, we understand that he shot his friend Christian Tristan dead, left him in a pool of blood. And then he, David Cruz, had the wherewithal allegedly to throw the gun over a bridge into a body of water. I don't think his release was what the sheriff intended. I don't think so either. I mean, he did say, I read that Cruz said it was an accident. I have no idea if that's true or not.

But I think what these judges and what everybody in jurisdictions are faced with is, are you going to let people die in jail? And that's the problem. And then also I wonder how much they're worried about being sued later if people do die in jail. Well, you know, I'm thinking about this. Kathleen Murphy, you've been in several jails just like myself. I think the idea of compassionate release for people that are elderly, that have underlying health issues, not charged with violent felonies,

for instance, misdemeanor charges, and they're sitting there and they just haven't gotten a bond. In my mind, those people would be perfect candidates for early release. I think this issue is kind of twofold. Yeah, there's some compassionate release issues, but it really comes down to this judge,haun Jones has an agenda, and his agenda is pretty clear, and he cites the Eighth Amendment against excessive bail, etc., but if you're looking at compassionate care, you're absolutely right, Nancy. It's for people who are older, people who

may not be able to tolerate this virus. But this guy in particular was also convicted of leaving a hit-and-run scene and somebody dying. Yes, and I want to go back to Tina Moore's point with the New York Post. I mean, the reality is to James Shelnut, 27 years Metro Major Case SWAT officer, now lawyer, he, Cruz, is claiming it was an accident the shooting but if it were an accident why leave your friend your friend to die in a pool of blood and all you're thinking about is getting rid of the murder weapon I mean you could easily block your phone and call 9-1-1 to save your friend's life you were afraid, you'd get pegged with the murder. But none of that happened.

No, one of the first things that you look at as an investigator when someone says this is a, quote, accident, is you look at whether or not their actions following this supposed accident are consistent with it being an accident or consistent with it being something else. You're spot on with this. He could have called 911. He could have taken a variety of actions, but the actions that he took led him to be where he's at today. And, you know, you talk about compassionate release. What about the compassion for these

victims and their families? You know, we're talking about, you know, liability. You know, if you look at liability, who's got the better case on liability? The poor guy that's in there for disorderly conduct who's made to stay in a coronavirus, you know, infected jail or the murderer. Well, I guarantee you that a case can be made to let the guy out who's in there on disorderly conduct a lot quicker than the guy who's in there for murder. I agree with you 100%. I do not think that low level crimes like misdemeanors, the extremely elderly, those that are already sick, they should be given release as much as I don't like it. I think that's the right thing to do, but not people like Cruz with two dead bodies under his belt. Take a listen to our friends, Fox 26, Houston, Randy Wallace.

When we were first told about the compassionate releases, the inmates considered were described as those in their fifties and sixties with health problems and non-violent offenses. CONSIDERED WERE DESCRIBED AS THOSE IN THEIR 50S AND 60S WITH HEALTH PROBLEMS AND NON-VIOLENT OFFENSES. THAT DOESN'T DESCRIBE 28-YEAR-OLD DAVID CRUZ. A JUDGE RELEASED CRUZ ON A PR BOND BECAUSE CRUZ WAS AFRAID OF CATCHING COVID-19. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. 27-year-old Kristen Tristan won't be singing happy birthday to his mother anymore. And she won't be celebrating his birthday next week. Kristen Tristan was shot to death last August, allegedly at the hands of 27-year-old David Cruz. Tristan, who was still reeling from Christian's death,

found out Wednesday her son's alleged killer, David Cruz, was released from jail on a PR bond, meaning he didn't have to pay a dime. I don't know what to think anymore. I don't know what to think. Well, it's not just these two. There are legions of violent offenders getting released, so not only do we have to worry about our children's safety and our safety and sheltering at home, self-isolation, quarantine, we now have to worry about these guys getting out. Have you ever heard the name Richard Lundy?

If you haven't, you will now. Take a listen to our friends at WJW Fox 8 Cleveland. Authorities have arrested a Lakewood man for the murder of his son. The Akron Division of the Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force found Richard Lundy. They say the 41 year old was arrested nine years ago and later convicted of three counts of felonious assault. Lundy had been released from a state prison in September. His child had serious head trauma and died in April of this year as a result of three separate assaults. Lakewood police charged Lundy with aggravated murder last month. What, if anything, do we know about Richard Lundy now being released because of the coronavirus scare?

You know, I want to go first to you, Joseph Scott Morgan, Professor of Forensic at Jacksonville State University. Fill me in on Lundy and what your take is on coronavirus behind bar threat. You know, this is something that we're experiencing nationwide in circumstances that are close quarters. And let me kind of break this down. Even the military at this point, when you look at basic training sites like the Navy, the Air Force and the Army, and particularly Marines

just came out with a distancing issue. And when people live in close proximity to one another, Nancy, it can get really nasty in there. You're breathing, you're coughing. And in these environments, in these prisons, they're like these dirty little petri dishes that you have in science class when you're a kid, where you're trying to get viruses to grow. And it's really, really hard to get these things cleaned out. So my thought is, I don't understand what the rationale is with releasing violent offenders when they could let the lesser charged out and

then spread these violent offenders out, even a cells with distance between these individuals and scrub these vacated cells and put people in there where you can knock it down. Because listen, this is not like something, this virus is not like something, it just poof and vanishes. You have to stay on top of this it's just like i've been saying all along we don't talk about well people are cured of the flu we talk about it in a sense of a season and so this flu season eventually passes this too will pass but we have to be careful well i agree i think that we have to be compassionate to people behind bars, but risking innocent people on the outside by releasing violent offenders is not the answer. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Guys, today we are talking about coronavirus crimes, the next wave.

We hardly know where to start, but I want to tell you about a protest and threats to commit suicide by detainees in an Alabama correctional facility. Listen. I'm live, bro. It's live. It's live. Yeah, it's live. You feel me? They're not caring. They got three positive testers for the coronavirus in here with us. They brought them in here today while we were sleeping, and they're not trying to let them out of here. We telling them, yo, y'all got to take them out of here or we're going to turn

up in here. They threatened to shoot us with tasers and pellet guns and tear gas and all that. You feel what I'm saying? Like. Guys, you are hearing a sound from the Washington Post that it's live Facebook video from a smuggled cell phone in Alabama. Inmates at the facility, Etowah County, Alabama, used a smuggled cell phone to record their protest, and it went live. This is what we know. The detainees in the facility were angry because three ICE detainees were transported to the facility with a fourth inmate who was wearing a face mask. And they assumed he had coronavirus. So the inmates were angry. These three detainees were released amongst them. They then made homemade nooses out of sheets, got up on a second floor ledge,

and threatened to commit suicide. Okay, to Dr. Angela Arnold, psychiatrist joining us out of the Atlanta jurisdiction, what do you make of it? Sounds to me like the inmates are, I mean, I would be worried, I would be scared, but it sounds like they're upping their ante so that someone will listen to them. They're not really going to

commit suicide, but they want to be heard. I don't understand why these coronavirus infected people were put into the same population. Can't they separate these people? First of all, we don't know they had coronavirus. We know that the three ice detainees were in a transport van with a guy that had on the face mask uh the three detainees have been tested i think that there are answers but i get i agree with you dr angela i would be afraid behind bars i would be afraid for my loved one if they were behind bars. The reality, what do we do with it, Kathleen Murphy? Open the doors and let everybody out of jail? I mean, what's the answer?

Well, you think about it this way, Nancy. Think about all the people that have to monitor the ankle bracelets. Think about all the probation officers. Think about all the employees over at the courthouse. Who's got to monitor whether they're complying with the drug and alcohol restrictions. It takes just as many people to monitor these ICE individuals as it does to monitor them in the detention. And it comes down to, are they violent or are they not violent? I think you're right.

I think nonviolent offenders such as dope addicts, maybe even low-level dope dealers with maybe three to five hits a crack or the equivalent, not talking about drug lords, shoplifters, low-level crime, theft of cars, that type of crime should be disorderly conduct, misdemeanors, local ordinance violators. Those should be let out. I don't know the answer for the others. I want to tell you about another... Nancy, when you think... Go ahead, jump in. I'm sorry, but jumping into here, my first thought was is uh Bernie Madoff a non-violent offender because he's seeking compassionate release right now from a federal prison in North

Carolina and I just think about that person who's done so many so much damage to so many people but yet he's non-violent so yeah now we're down to splitting hairs, trying to find, yeah, I agree with you. I don't want him out. But if we're letting out nonviolent offenders, would he be one? Here's another coronavirus crime threat you need to be worried about. Door-to-door coronavirus testing. Talking about like encyclopedias or vacuum cleaners. Take a listen to our friends at ABC 30 Fresno, Warren Armstrong. The Porterville Fire Department is warning residents of scammers roaming neighborhoods tonight. They're impersonating police officers and firefighters claiming they have tests for COVID-19. Authorities say residents

have reported seeing the impersonators go door to door attempting to sell fake tests for the coronavirus. Firefighters say a test would never be issued at someone's door. And if you see these scammers, call 911. And it's not just there in Fresno. Take a listen to WPTV West Palm Beach, Florida. This is Maris Babcock. If you get a knock on the door, officials are warning, beware of people peddling scams tied to the coronavirus pandemic. We talked to a man in Boca Raton who says it happened to him.

It's just a shame that there are people scamming already with such a terrible thing going on. Boca Raton resident Morris Umansky was getting his home ready in case he had to self quarantine when two strangers showed up when they were knocking on doors asking people if

they wanted coronavirus tests for 300 bucks. Yeah, well, well, they weren't getting three cents out of me. I was ready to call the police immediately. The scammers were dressed in Florida business casual attire and had plastic bags and Q-tips, but no gloves, masks or credentials. So I said, I'm going to call my doctor to make sure it's okay. By the time I got back to the door, they were gone. Morris called 911. 911, what is the address of the emergency?

There's some people that came to my door yesterday that offered me a coronavirus test. And also sent this text to his friends. You feel like this was a scam, right? Oh, definitely. I don't think CDC or our Boca health department is going to send people to your door unless, you know, you know about it beforehand. You darn right it's a scam. People are waiting five and six hours in a line for drive-thru testing. Right now, the CDC has not released mass tests for the public. They show up at your door. Coronavirus is extremely dangerous and communicable.

So why would they come to your home to do such a sensitive test? To Tina Moore joining us from the New York Post, the door-to-door coronavirus testing scam is taking over the country, Tina. Right. I mean, people need to stay informed. They need to stay informed with various sources. They need to know what's going on because, like you said, anybody who's watched TV or read newspaper stories would see that people are reading in line and see how hard it is to get tests and see how few tests are available and would know that that's BS when the person shows up at their door.

You know, that's a technical legal term that I like to throw around whenever possible, Tina. I didn't know you had your law degree, the BS factor. You know, to James Shelnut, 27 years, Metro Major, K-Swat, now lawyer. James Shelnut, how do we catch these guys? You know, you rely heavily on the public to call when they're there. Yeah. You know, quite often, you know, you don't know who they are, as this guy says, until the police actually show up and identify them. So calling 911 immediately after they're at your door or if you see people that you suspect may be doing this, the best thing is for police to catch them on sight. You know, unfortunately, one of the things that you see and we have always seen over the years with these people who scam people is they go for people often who are vulnerable. Vulnerability, whether or not it is a senior citizen, whether or not it is people who were in a panic about the coronavirus, being vulnerable is their number one target. And although that's not always the case, that's the first one that's on their list.

And the reality is to you, Joseph Scott Morgan, professor of forensics and author, Joe Scott, we are told to stay home and be safe. But with people like these scammers, we're not there. This is either a way to get your credit card information, your money, or as a distraction, robbery attempt. Get distracted, get the victim distracted with a fake coronavirus test, and then rob them, or worse. Yeah, you're right, and people are terrified. Let's just, let's go ahead and put that on the table. People are terrified. They're sitting at home.

They're watching a lot of news. They're ingesting all this information, so we've got heightened anxiety anyway, and it kind of dovetailed with what James was saying. I'd also recommend calling the county health department as well. And also, if you can't get through to them, talk to the people in your emergency management department. Because trust me, those people are on top of this. And they know what's going on relative to available testing. You can get testing in your area perhaps, if not today, sometime very soon. But don't trust somebody that just comes

up to your door. As a matter of fact, don't even open the door. Don't even. The camel's nose and the tent. His tale will surely follow. Coronavirus hoaxes, terroristic threats, murder suspects released, door-to-door cons. Be careful. Stay safe. Nancy Grace, Crime Story, signing off. Goodbye, friend.