All language subtitles for Dont.Date.Brandon.S01E02.1080p.WEB.h264-EDITH_track3_[eng]

- Brandon was
the full package.

Very tall, 6 foot 3.

He was vulnerable,
funny, open, honest.

[suspenseful music]

- It was all bullshit.

- Just when you think
you know this person,

you don't know anything at all.

I went straight to
my social media.

The floodgates opened
and more and more women

started coming out.

- Brandon had multiple
protection orders against him.

When you do break up
with Brandon,

that is when
the stalking begins.

- My parents had to put a
video camera outside my bedroom

window to shine down on my car
to see what he was going to do.

- Days after getting a
permanent restraining order,

he came running to my car,
knocking on my window.

That's when I found
the tracking device.

- We really felt
like we needed

to start warning people.

- We all had the
epiphany-- well,

what if we use our voices?

- We were going to join
forces to go up against him.

[siren wailing]

- I don't think
Amber and I were ever prepared

for the journey
we were about to go on.

♪ ♪

- Brandon and I had been
together for five years

and married for two.

And at that point, I felt
like everything was a lie.

I learned about Brandon's
infidelity with multiple women.

He put me through the wringer,
telling me he had leukemia,

but now I don't know
what's the truth.

And Brandon created
fake emails

pretending to be Athena,

to keep us apart.

Athena had been my enemy for
five years, but in this moment,

I knew that that was never
going to happen again

and that we were going to join
forces to go up against him.

- Between us, we had
put up with Brandon's

bullshit for about 10 years.

We were vulnerable
with each other.

She shared some of the things
that had hurt her.

I shared the things that really
hurt me, and from then on,

like, bonded like sisters.

- We learned Brandon
had multiple protection

orders filed on him.

- We dug a little deeper
into who these women were.

- Some of the statements
from the women that

were incredibly disturbing.

This is from August of 2005.

"He grabs me, blocks
doors so I can't get out.

"I've had to run out the
back door, through the trees

and bushes to get to my car."

I believe she got a
10-year restraining order.

And another one states, "I am
absolutely terrified of him.

"He has caused me incredible
strife, panic attacks,

"and reenacted PTSD.

"I lost 35 pounds due to
stress,

"and I almost lost my job.

"He is violent and has
left me with bruises

on my arm from grabbing me."

I never knew who he was
to begin with.

This Brandon Johnson was
not the same person at all.

Not only was I married
to a liar and a cheat,

but he was a monster
who abused women.

- Get the fucking
camera off me.

- No, I won't.

You're acting like
a crazy person.

You're going to kill us.

- You're going to
get out of my truck.

- No.

Hell no.

No.

You're going to
drive me to Portland,

and then you're going to
get the fuck out of my life

for good.

When I asked
Brandon for a divorce,

he was not willing
to accept that.

One thing about Brandon
is that he does not

take no for an answer, ever.

- Amber was divorcing Brandon.

She had made that decision.

He, of course, started
love bombing her again.

- Basically saying he
can't live without me

and how sad he was
about this divorce.

He wants you to
remember the good times.

This time is going
to be different.

- But Amber was very
certain at that point

that she didn't believe
a single word that he said.

- I had not been able
to serve Brandon divorce

papers at that point,
and it just so happened

to be Valentine's Day.

And I had some
things that Sydney

wanted to give her father.

And I figured, you know what,
let's take this opportunity

as adults to talk about this.

- Amber decides to make
a quick pit stop at Brandon's.

I tell Amber, are you
sure you want to do this?

I'm a little bit worried.

The more we uncovered, the
more afraid I became of him.

And it kind of took
me back to the feeling

I had when I was
married to him, when

I was trying to divorce him.

Brandon does not
take rejection.

He retaliates.

- I've heard
from several women

that he can flip a switch
on you and he can harm you.

But that wasn't really
sinking in to me yet.

And naive as it
sounds, I really

didn't think that he would ever
do something like that to me.

- I just did not trust him.

I couldn't trust
what he would do.

- When I got to
Brandon's, I was

trying to be on friendly terms
so I could get him served.

We were having a
simple conversation.

And in the middle of
that conversation,

I got a text from
another woman that

reached out to me on Facebook.

And she said, this is what
I received from Brandon,

and it happened to be literally
the same message that he

sent me the night before.

I love you, you're
the best thing ever,

and I can't live without you.

All of her messages
were coming in,

and I just started
reading them to him.

And he flipped out.

And he grabbed a
drink and just threw

it across the living room,
and it splashed everywhere.

And he's like,
why don't you see?

And he was kind of shaking.

It's that bitch Athena.

She's been doing this for
years and you know it.

This is all lies.

And he went into
the kitchen and he

said, if you don't stop
reading those messages,

I'm going to kill myself.

I was just stunned that
he was behaving that way.

But I was also scared because
he just pulled a knife.

I said, you know what, I
need to leave right now.

And then his eyes went dark,
like it wasn't him anymore.

He approached me and he
wouldn't let me leave.

Brandon is a very big man.

He's 6'3".
He's built.

He was blocking me,
blocking me with his body.

He had veins popping
out of his neck.

He was-- literally
had, like, saliva

coming out as he's screaming.

It was terrifying.
It was terrifying.

I just remember screaming,
please let me go.

Please let me go.

I don't know what's
going to happen.

I think he thought
he was losing control

and he needed me to get
back in my place, obey him.

I don't even remember
getting down the stairs.

Just panic.

And I'm literally
reaching for the doorknob.

I can feel his arm come up
over me and slam it shut.

And so then it was another
panic of, now I'm cornered.

I'm like, let me out now.

He said, I'll let you out.

But if you leave,
I'm going to go

over and kill that
bitch Athena and then

I'm going to kill myself.

And with that, he
opened the door.

I almost slipped on the ice.
I'm running towards my car.

I was shaking like--

like, just trying
to get my car.

I sped out.

Now I saw it for myself.

He really is a monster.

I did not call the police
because I was driving.

I'm just shaking.

My heart was racing
and I couldn't

process what was happening.

As soon as I got back to
Oregon, I spoke to the police

and I told them
exactly what happened.

He said, hold on.

Did he say he wanted
to kill Athena?

Of course, I'm just thinking,
Athena needs to know.

♪ ♪

[phone chiming]

- I wake up to, you know,

my phone chiming
a bunch of times.

I get a text
message from Amber.

It was a lot to absorb.

Brandon had
threatened to kill me.

I'm in sheer panic.

I have all the
little kids there.

I just started thinking,
are my doors locked?

Are my windows locked?

He's going to come kill me.

Thankfully, the police
do arrest Brandon.

♪ ♪

- The police charge Brandon
with unlawful imprisonment

and threatening
to kill Athena.

And then he was ordered
to appear in court.

- Amber called me
the next day, and I

was really scared for her.

I told her to get protection.

I knew that Brandon
was dangerous.

- The prosecutor in
my case requested

that me and Athena show
up at the court in Bothell

to testify.

We certainly didn't want to go.

- I was already terrified to
be around Brandon at that

court hearing that day.

- As we were going through
the metal detectors,

Brandon was standing
to our left.

As soon as we walked in,
he starts walking towards us.

- He is shouting things at us,
telling us to leave him alone.

We were all the way
against the wall

trying to get away from him.

- Our hearts were racing.

The police officers
immediately called

other backup police officers
to help with the incident

and restrained him.

The audacity of
him was shocking.

Ultimately, Brandon
had to plead

guilty to two more violations
of his restraining order.

- After a series
of hearings, Brandon

does agree to take a plea.

- He admitted what he
did to me in his home

and threatening to kill Athena.

- And we are now all awarded

the five-year
no-contact order.

And it's not that common.

Normally it's one
or two years.

- And it was then that
I knew that they took

this very, very seriously.

I didn't know I was a victim
of domestic violence,

I didn't know that, until
we had a victim's advocate.

And she told me,
what he's doing to you

is considered
domestic violence.

So that was a really
big awakening for me.

How did I get myself
involved in this?

Like, how did this happen?

He's not even close to the
person that I thought he was.

We were given
restraining orders,

and I truly believed at
that time that I was safe

and that I would be protected.

But I was so naive.

Days after getting a
permanent restraining order,

I was driving down
the freeway and see

Brandon driving next to me,
flagging me down to pull over.

I pulled over in a safe spot
where people could see me.

He came running to my car,
knocking on my window.

And I rolled down my window,
and he leaned in to kiss me.

And I remember just leaning
back, trying to get away,

and he kissed my forehead.

I was just repulsed.

I did not want him to kiss me.

I wanted to get the
hell out of there.

But it felt violating.

It just felt violating.

And that was that
moment of, wow,

he's letting me know he
can do what he wants,

and he can break that
restraining order if he wants.

This actually doesn't
protect me at all.

Well, what happens if
he shows up at my house?

By the time I call 911, is
someone going to be here?

Like, what if he
does something?

♪ ♪

[suspenseful music]

- I was still fresh
out of this marriage

and I was still
processing everything,

so I didn't know at that
point what he was capable of.

But Athena did.

- I was worried for
Amber because

when you do go to leave Brandon
and break up with Brandon,

there's definitely
a switch that flips.

That is when he escalates
and the stalking begins.

When Brandon and I
got divorced,

I had to get a temporary
protection order against him.

I naively thought that
getting the protection order

would help me.

It was clear he didn't care.

Brandon did not care
about that piece of paper.

- When you reject Brandon, it's
not really you that he wants,

it's control.

He wants to control you.

And we discovered that this
has happened with not only

us, but multiple other women.

- As a hairstylist, I see
hundreds of women a year,

and they tell me everything.

I absolutely warn them to be
on the lookout for Brandon.

I tell them that they
should run for their life.

I dated Brandon Johnson
in 2006.

Brandon was very intense
and almost immediately

told me that he loved me.

And I believe Brandon
tells you everything

that you want to
hear as fast as he

can so that you are hooked.

- Ah!

- For the most part,
he's very charming.

But if you, God forbid,
break up with him,

then he is
vindictive, spiteful.

He wants to punish you.

- Stop, stop!
- You need help.

- Stop, please!

Just stop talking!

God!

- When I broke up with Brandon,
he just seemed to be furious.

Brandon would show up
at my work,

at my home
where I lived alone.

He was coming to
bars that I went to

after work with my coworkers.

He was so persistent.

And he's huge.

I mean, he's a big guy,
over a foot taller than me.

I had specifically asked
him to stop contacting me,

and he was still
showing up everywhere.

He was incessantly calling me
to the point where I did end up

changing my phone number.

My family was concerned for me.

My co-workers were
concerned for me.

Not too long after,
I did get back

together with an ex-boyfriend.

He and I were out one night,
and Brandon came and found

me and made a huge scene.

Brandon accused me of cheating.

He told me that he was
going to fucking kill him

and that I was damaged goods.

You fucked up now.

I'm going to ruin you.

Brandon was completely
unhinged, like a caged animal.

Brandon was behaving that
way because I had moved on.

He was so jealous
and he genuinely

seemed capable of violence.

Years later, Brandon
found out that I had

talked to Athena and Amber.

I was at the lobby of
this hotel with friends,

and I ran into him.

He proceeded to scream my
name, that I was a whore,

that he had explicit
pictures of me

and was going to
show everybody.

I was really, really scared.

I said, I have nothing to hide,
and there aren't any pictures.

I don't know why
you're doing this.

I looked around to all
of these bystanders

and said, we were in a
relationship 10 years ago.

He punched some really
thick glass doors.

And he only left me
alone when I said,

I'm going to call the police.

I feel like once you've
been involved with Brandon,

you're kind of always
involved with Brandon.

And he will do anything to
continue to torture you,

even from afar.

I had even mentioned
to my family

that if I ever went missing,
he should be their number

one person to look at.

- After Brandon stalked me
onto that freeway that day,

and after talking with Athena
and hearing from these women,

I was on fire.

It was just like, fuck him.

Fuck him.

We're going to tell everyone
what he did to all of us.

- All of us had the
worst experience,

and we wanted to share that,

this is a crazy person.

You can't even
think this shit up.

And nobody was helping us.

And we wanted people to know
what we were dealing with.

Amber and I knew
that we now had

to protect ourselves, our
daughter, and now other women.

- We always talk about
Brandon being a hurricane,

and you're kind of in
the eye of the storm,

and he's circling around you.

And you can't see out,
but everyone can see in.

So we wanted to
really show what

happens in these toxic,
cyclical relationships.

- My daughter, Lexus,
she loves podcasts.

And I remember her
listening to one, going, huh,

and then Amber says
the same thing.

I'm like, we all
had the epiphany.

Well, what if we
use our voices?

- So we decided
to do a podcast.

I was very adamant.

It was just, we're
going to have to do it.

And Athena was like, OK,
I'm on board, let's go.

Let's do it.

- We had to team up and we
had to get to the truth.

And this is how we became
"Ex-Wives Undercover."

Hello, everyone,
and thank you

for joining us for
season one, episode

one of "Ex-Wives Undercover."

- The name
"Ex-Wives Undercover,"

it just kind of
said everything

because you feel like
you're an FBI agent

when you're with Brandon.

- You're going to want
to buckle up for this one,

because it's got
a lot of twists and turns.

We did everything
from the ground up.

Women that he chose,
he could manipulate.

We built our website.

We bought recording
mics off Amazon.

- I'm ex-wife number
two, by the way.

This is Amber.

I worked a full-time job,
so did Athena.

We spent nights, weekends,
every waking moment

was on this podcast.

We'd sit down, get on the
mics, and spill our story.

- We were all looking
for true love,

but unfortunately,
Amber and I married

a very charming sociopath.

Amber and I knew
how important it was

to tell our truth
no matter what.

You just never know.

- I think the podcast
has achieved a lot.

I love that Amber and my mom
can be like a leading

light for women.

You might look at them and
be like, oh, my God, can't

believe you fell for that.

But you can't
fully understand it

or grasp it until you've
been in that situation,

or you've watched someone
close to you be in it.

I get it, I do.

I really do because
I was there.

When I was born, it
was just my mom and I.

We were, like, best friends.

Then Brandon came along.

I was seven years old.

I was a child.

He treated me like
I was a competitor,

almost, like I was a threat.

He would get mad at me
if I sat next to her

in a booth at a restaurant.

He used to take my stuff
and he would hide it.

His reactions were crazy.

I mean, you could, like, trip,
and he would yell at you.

- Lexi, she was
robbed of so much.

Yeah.

Sorry, it makes me
emotional about that one.

Her dad left, and then
Brandon stepped in,

and he thought it would
be fine because this

was the new boyfriend.

And then he never was
loving towards her.

And she was robbed of that.

- He punched a hole in our
closet door in the hallway.

It got to the point
where it was easier

not to make him mad.

I would worry about my mom
all the time,

worry about my safety
or hers or my sisters'.

He created a very toxic
environment for everybody,

and he just never quits.

He just knows how
to ruin lives.

He's good at it.

- It was awful.
It was awful.

And after that, I knew
that took a piece--

that definitely
took a piece of me.

- I think the main hope
for all of the podcasts

is that it will
help people become

more aware of the red flags
in a new relationship.

It's safer for everyone.

- As the podcast grew
and had a further reach,

then more and more people
would come out, even

more victims of Brandon's.

I would say,
on a weekly basis, I

was being contacted
by different women,

people in the legal system,
women in other states.

- He's going to lie
until the day he dies.

It was really gratifying
to see that our story

was resonating to women.

And then we got a message
from a woman named Kelly who

kind of changed everything.

♪

- So one of my friends,
she sends me a message.

And she's like, oh, my gosh,
have you seen this?

There's this podcast, and it's
called "Ex-Wives Undercover."

And I'm like, OK,
whatever, these two women.

And my friend had
said, that's Brandon.

I was like, no way.

So then I started listening
and listening, and I was just--

I was appalled.

And the time that it
became really real for me

is when there was audio
clips of his voice.

And there's one in particular
where he is in a car.

He's like--

- Stop, please!

- --just stop talking!

And that's when
it really hit me.

I'm like, oh, my gosh,
this really is.

This is for real.

And everything came back
and spiraled back for me.

I still can visualize what
his eyes looked like when

he was saying those things.

It really was the
worst part of my life.

♪ ♪

I was Brandon's first
serious girlfriend.

I started dating
Brandon in 1992.

We dated for three
years, so that was when I

was 14, 15, and 16 years old.

We went to high school
in Aberdeen, Washington.

In that time, Aberdeen was
just-- we're a small town,

old logging community.

A lot of people know
Aberdeen for being Nirvana.

Kurt Cobain actually went to
Aberdeen High School, which is

where Brandon and I both went.

I was super just attracted
to Brandon's personality.

He was outgoing.

He was loud.

He liked me.

You just fall into that
trap of, oh, my gosh,

this guy picks me.

Day one started out
amazing, and probably

four or five months in, it
just got extremely chaotic.

He didn't want me
out of his sight.

He always wanted
to be around me.

Didn't want me
talking to anybody,

and only because, you know,
I was his.

But there was
times when I really

wanted to be with
just my friends,

but that wasn't
really allowed.

He always had to
be there because he

didn't want me to be alone.

So I lost a lot of those
relationships during that time.

He was definitely obsessed
with gaining muscle.

It was really every
day having to lift.

He talked to me about being
bullied for being overweight.

And when he was younger, he
said he saw people in his life

be abused, that he wanted to
be strong enough to protect.

It is interesting how he says
he wants to protect women,

but he really
wanted to control.

He insisted he walked me
to every single class.

And if there was a time that
I didn't want to kiss him,

or I didn't want to hold his
hand on the way to class,

he would push me up against
the wall and yell at me.

He would, you know, tell me
that I was overweight,

the colors that I could
and couldn't wear,

not wearing purple,
you look ugly in that,

that I wasn't good enough
to be a cheerleader.

He just made me feel
so incredibly small.

Eventually, when I tried
to break up with him,

he wouldn't let me.

It was if you break up with
me, I'm going to kill myself.

I felt helpless.

I tried to leave him numerous
times, and it took a lot.

He would stalk me and
sit in front of my house.

And my parents had to put a
video camera outside my bedroom

window to shine down
on my car to see

what he was going to do.

If somebody, especially a guy,
ever picked me up in the car,

he would follow us down
the road in his truck.

But there was always this
stalking, crazy behavior.

I'll tell you right now, like,
when trauma happens to you,

there's things that
never leave your head.

So I reached out
through the podcast

and I'm like, oh, my gosh,
I know this guy.

He never stopped.

And it just got worse.

I do believe that
it almost became

addictive behavior for him.

- Hearing from Kelly makes
you think, oh, oh, my gosh,

you know, this isn't an adult
Brandon thing.

This started well
before me, Athena,

or any of the other women.

There was certainly a
risk to doing the podcast,

but you should have a right to
know if the person that you're

dating is dangerous or not.

- It's hard.
It drives you crazy.

- We knew that Brandon wasn't
a listener of podcasts,

so we knew that we'd be safe
for a little while anyways.

- As soon as Brandon really
caught on to the podcast,

I believe that people from his
hometown started reaching out.

He is losing his mind.

- I was scared because when
he's pushed up against a wall,

I think that he's going
to crack and explode.

- He is now not in control.

We had to deal with
repercussions to that.

- Brandon was beyond pissed.

He absolutely tried
to stop the podcast.

- He sends
a cease and desist letter

to try and shut us down.

- It's scary.

And we didn't know what to do.

- And then Brandon
pulled out all the stops,

trying to get temporary
restraining orders on us.

- We consulted with a First
Amendment rights lawyer who

told us we have every right
to share our true story,

and that this was a
matter of public interest.

- Our attorney and his team,

they did everything
to help us,

and we won.

- Immediately, the
temporary restraining

orders were thrown
out and he was

not able to stop our podcast.

- Brandon's still very angry,
so he went for our reputations.

We start being sent
screenshots

of Instagram pages

that are tagging us
abusing the legal system.

Men against abusive women,
where a man is stating

that he is a victim
of domestic violence

by his two ex-wives
who are out to get him.

It definitely did not
take much to uncover

that Brandon was the one who
had created all these accounts.

- Accounts basically saying
that we are frauds and liars,

stalking him and being
obsessed with him.

- Absolutely ludicrous.

Nobody wants to stalk Brandon.

Nobody wants to
be around Brandon.

Nobody wants to ever
see Brandon again.

♪ ♪

- Our fans weren't falling for
his BS on those social

media accounts.

- They went into
protection mode

and everybody was
flagging that account.

- It was crazy to watch him
try to, like, flip the script

and be like, I'm the victim.

- I think his ego is so big,

he just thought, everyone's
going to see the light.

But we all knew
better than that.

- Nobody bought
it for a moment.

- But Brandon can never lose.

As well as these slanderous
Instagram accounts,

Brandon also got a
restraining order on me,

threatening to remove
my rights to communicate

with his daughter, Sydney.

Brandon's restraining
order on me was thrown out,

but it seemed that, you know,
he wasn't scared

to take anyone
to court to challenge them.

- He had a lot of
representation,

a few different attorneys.

And I just couldn't
understand, like, how.

It's a lot of money.

- Every time Brandon
and I were together,

he would pay cash
for everything.

And he always had a wallet
full of crisp $100 bills.

I do remember asking
him, in a joking way,

did you just make
those this morning?

♪ ♪

- Brandon had
money for lawyers.

He had money for vacations.

He had money to
wine and dine women.

- Like, where was he
getting all of this money?

♪ ♪

One day, I get a
message from my friend,

and she is letting
me know that a woman

by the name of Elizabeth
had reached out to her.

- Elizabeth thought that
the man she was dating

was telling her
all kinds of lies,

and it legit sounded
like Brandon.

And so she was
really concerned.

- Next text that
comes through is

an image of a driver's
license with Brandon's

picture, Brandon Crane.

Elizabeth asks,
is this really him?

And we say, yes, absolutely.

But his last name is not Crane.

- Myself and Athena knew
that this is just taking it

to the next level, and that
now he's changing his identity

to get what he wants.

Elizabeth absolutely
got a red flag from that

and decided to go to the
courts and look into him.

- And she finds out
everything else, everything

from the past, all of
the harassment orders,

stalking orders, DV.

- She goes on to talk
about how crazy it was,

how, you know, there's a lot
of legal charges

he's facing right now--

13 counts of felony
theft with his employer,

and he's been charged
but not sentenced.

She was just talking
like Amber and I knew.

And we were like,
wait, wait, what? What?

She sends me the court doc.

She had made copies
of everything.

- He has his complete
criminal history,

and he's, you know, up
for embezzling money

from an employer.

I've never heard of this.

This is wild.

- And I was just
like, what the fuck?

♪ ♪

[suspenseful music]

- At one point during
our time together,

Brandon had a really
good job in tech.

He was an HR recruiter at
HTC, a mobile phone company.

I knew he made a really good
living, but not that good.

- I started to work
at HTC in 2015.

As an attorney,
if you want to be

in a more fast-paced,
interesting environment,

tech is the place to be.

The first time I met
Brandon was in-- I think

it was the employee
Christmas party.

We randomly got paired
up on a bowling team.

Brandon seemed
like a nice person,

very private in the office.

I don't know that he
had a lot of friends.

Being a recruiter, he could
work from other places.

I mean, he was working
mostly with people

outside the company, like,
recruiting employees.

I think it was in fall of
2018 when someone in finance

came to the legal
department at HTC,

and they noticed something
strange with the contracts.

The contract was to increase
the recruitment fees

for this company Softnet.

Based on what we read
in the agreement,

it was an outside
recruiting firm,

and they did tech recruiting
for kind of skilled positions.

This contract had a problem
because it hadn't been

approved, and none
of the lawyers

were aware of anyone
who had worked on it.

When we saw that it was
signed by Brandon Johnson,

that's when some
alarm bells started.

Brandon did not have the
authority to sign a contract.

They also noticed
it was signed

by someone named Barbara.

We decided to really
look into this further

and figure out who
this company was.

When I first saw
the name Softnet,

it sounded like a fake
company immediately.

So we went to their website,
and, you know, there really

wasn't a lot on the website.

Then we looked at the
Secretary of State's office

to see who had
registered Softnet,

and we saw Barbara's name.

And that was the
same individual

that we saw on the contract.

We went to Barbara's
LinkedIn page,

and we noticed that she had,
like, only a few connections.

We thought that was extremely
odd because, you know,

a recruiter and especially
a CEO would probably

have hundreds of connections.

And we went to social media

and found
her social media page.

We started looking
through her pictures,

and we noticed that she
commented on photos of Brandon

and referred to
Brandon as her son.

At the very least,
what we have here

is a conflict of interest

because Brandon's doing
business with his mom

and he's signing
contracts with his mom.

So we call Brandon
in for a meeting

and we ask him who Softnet is.

He said they were
a company that did

stellar recruiting services.

Brandon definitely
looked nervous.

He was talking fast.

I think he was
pretty surprised

to be questioned about this.

Then we asked him if he
knew who Barbara was,

and he said he didn't.

So then we gave him the
contract that he had signed

and we said, it says
right there, Barbara.

And he goes, oh, well, she's
a recruiter for Softnet.

Then we presented him
with the social media page

from Barbara that showed
that she was referring

to him as her son, and he

knew he was caught at that
point, I think.

He said, oh, well,
she changed her name.

Sorry, I got confused.

It was insane.

Like, you pretend to
not know your mom.

We collected his
laptop and his badge.

Meeting was pretty much
over at that point.

It looked like, you know,
he was kind of happy to just

be fired maybe at this point.

And it seemed like
there was obviously

some more stuff going on.

We knew we still had
some more digging to do.

We didn't believe that,
you know,

these services were
legitimate.

We immediately
contacted all the people

who we paid fees for.

And we asked them, you know,
have you ever heard of Softnet?

Have you ever heard of Barbara?

And pretty much everybody
said that they'd

never heard of Softnet.

They'd never met or
knew of a Barbara.

And they didn't work
with a recruiter.

They applied directly
to HTC online.

Softnet was getting paid,
and they weren't

actually doing anything.

When Brandon left, we
noticed that his computer

had been logged in
to a Softnet

email account as Barbara.

Brandon was a liar.

I mean, he was
essentially using

his mom as a front to
control this company

and embezzle money.

It came to a total
of $392,000.

This was fraud.

This was $392,000 in fraud.

It was shocking.

And that's when we
went to the police.

- Brandon Johnson came to
the attention of my office

because Seattle Police heard
that he'd stolen nearly

$400,000 from his employer.

We figured out through search
warrants and other things

that, in fact,
that money had not

gone to Softnet generally,
but to

Brandon Johnson specifically.

He didn't include his
mom in the bank accounts.

I mean, I don't know
if she knew about it.

We don't really have
evidence that she fully

understood what was happening.

And in all cases,
the beneficiary

was Brandon Johnson.

It was his money.
It was his crime.

It was his scheme.

It was him, him, him.

He was ultimately charged
with 13 felony counts

in King County
Superior Court in 2019.

- Hearing that it was nearly
$400,000, it was shocking.

But it made sense now
because we didn't know

how he had this kind of money.

But why isn't he being
arrested for all this stuff?

That's the million-dollar
question.

- After you're
charged with a crime,

especially a white-collar crime
like this,

often you are not put
immediately into jail.

It's not like a murder.

It's not like a shooting.

You are usually
allowed to stay out.

It was a big theft
case, but we still

need to prove it at trial.

But until that,
Brandon Johnson was

free to do whatever he needed
to do, as long as he stayed

in touch with his lawyer and
came to court appearances

as required.

That is what he
did on this case.

- Ugh, that's when I knew

it's not just the stalking
of the women,

the domestic violence.

He is all around just--

he's in deep at this point.

- Myself and Athena
had formed very close

relationships with
multiple women that had

been involved with Brandon.

We ended up calling
ourselves Charlie's Angels

on this text thread
between myself

and Athena and
several of the women.

So if one of us
heard from Brandon,

it was on this group text.

We're comparing stories so
he can't get one up on us.

- One night, one of the women
who had ended a relationship

with Brandon calls
me, and she lets

me know that she
feels like she's

being watched, followed,
that Brandon's starting

to get a little obsessive.

I believe that Brandon thought
he could always get her back.

And when he realized that
wasn't going to happen,

you could see the
change in him that way.

The woman calls me and
lets me know that there's

this video she has, and
she wants to send it to me,

and that you can see this man
who looks, height-wise, very

similar to Brandon.

You see him bent down
behind his vehicle

in front of the house.

And suddenly, you can
just tell, like, either

the tires are being deflated,
but something is definitely

happening to that car.

- So the next day, she had
noticed that the brake lines

of that car were cut.

- I can't prove it was
Brandon, but it just--

that scared me.

For months, I had
nightmares about me

driving my vehicle with my kids
and not being able to brake.

- Whoever cut the brake
lines on that car,

he had no thought in
the world about harming

an innocent person.

- There were a few of
the dates the woman

gave me where she believed she
was being watched or followed.

And I was trying
to comfort her

by letting her know
Brandon has

Sydney, so there's no way that
he could, that late at night,

get to your house.

And that's when Sydney
opened up and told me

about the late-night
drives and how

he'd left her wrapped
up in a blanket

in the back of the truck.

To leave a little girl
at night by herself alone

while you're stalking
your ex-girlfriend

is despicable.

After that incident, I get
a phone call from Brandon,

and he's informing me
that he's not going

to be able to take Sydney.

he's in a bad place,

and that he decided to take
a few days to be alone.

And then Brandon disappeared.

- He pretty much was offline
a longer than normal period of

time, and we were concerned.

- If there was any
calm or quiet from him,

that meant that something
way worse was starting.

Peace was scary when
it came to Brandon.

- He is not predictable
at this point,

and each week that passes,
I feel like he's

just losing it even more.

He has multiple felony
charges he's facing right now,

and I have a feeling that
Brandon had fled the state

to avoid being arrested.

♪ ♪

[suspenseful music]

- A week had passed.

He had not contacted me.

A few more days go by.

I decide to reach out to
any close friends and family,

and nobody has a clue
where Brandon is.

- Athena called me up
and said,

I'm going to go to his house
and see what I can find.

- Sydney asked me to
grab a few of her things

that were there
since he's MIA.

She had schoolwork,
her backpack.

Although I have this
five-year no-contact order,

it didn't matter when
it came to Brandon

and I sharing
custody of our child.

We had a parenting
plan for Sydney,

and unless we
went back to court

and spent another
almost full year

redoing the parenting plan,
he still had access to her.

- I just said,
please be careful.

I don't know what you're
going to walk into.

- I look through the
house, I call out.

I go upstairs.

I check the rooms.

He's not there.

♪ ♪

Walking back down
the hallway, there's

all these boxes stacked.

And I thought to
myself, did he move?

I went through the garage door
just to make sure

he wasn't in there.

I was terrified,
walking in, thinking

I was going to find him.

And that's when I
saw this crossbow.

- He's not an outdoor guy.

- I think Brandon has never
even thought about hunting

a day in his life.

He doesn't do this for sport.

- So that was very unusual.

When we got our
five-year no-contacts,

he was not supposed to have
any type of firearm or weapon.

And yet here he is
with a crossbow.

That's a weapon.

What was his plans with that?

Was that something
meant for someone?

And then, of course,
we were scared.

♪

- So some time goes by, and I
get a text message from Dee.

- I was at the gym one
evening here in Seattle

and looked over towards
the smoothie counter,

and I saw Brandon standing
there and had a wave of panic.

It had been a few years since
I'd had a run-in with Brandon,

and I felt safe.

Seeing him, I became shaky and
scared, and I snapped a picture

and sent it to Athena, and
said, is this really him?

I think I was under the
impression he had moved.

- I'm seeing this image.

I immediately just-- I felt
sick, I felt nauseous.

I was scared because we all
believed he had left the city.

That gym is 20
minutes from my house.

- We made eye contact and
he looked into my soul,

and I felt very
scared and terrified.

And I knew that I had
to call the police.

There was no way I could go
to my car with him there.

I was certain he
would follow me.

When I called the
police, I let them

know that I had
filed a restraining

order against Brandon
and that he had warrants.

- There are a lot
of different courts

that have arrest warrants
for Brandon Johnson.

He's got three in
Washington State.

He had arrest warrants
for hit-and-run,

for driving with a
license suspended,

and for violating
a no-contact order.

In addition to that, we're
looking to talk to him about

stealing $392,000 from HTC.

[indistinct
police radio chatter]

- They showed up with,
I believe, six cop cars,

including a K-9 unit.

They located his truck,
which was empty, and searched

the premises inside
and out, and said

he had taken off on foot.

And they were unable to
locate him that night.

- The fact that
he'd come back, I

was scared because
I knew that he

was in close proximity to me.

And when you add in your
family and your children,

it takes it up to
a whole different level.

They're my world.

And he is not predictable
at this point,

and that alone is terrifying.

Some time goes by.

Our 12-year-old daughter,
Sydney, does ask me

about her father
picking her up from school.

I find out that Brandon
was texting her.

And that's where you'll
see that the family

laws and the criminal
laws coming together,

there is a complete
breakdown there.

So my now ex-husband, Brandon,
has threatened to kill me.

He has warrants
out for his arrest.

He has multiple
domestic violence orders

from multiple women,
and yet he can fully

have access to our daughter.

It is outrageous.

I previously had called
the police prior,

you know, and they straight
told me it doesn't matter.

They don't override
one another.

And you'll have to actually
just get a court date

and go back in.

And again, I'm
thinking to myself,

what are these documents for?

What are these court
orders for if they

don't really do anything?

They don't protect.
They don't mean anything.

I am aware that Brandon has
a suspended driver's license.

Therefore, I told her the
only way that would happen

is if somebody else
was driving the vehicle.

I asked her that morning
when she went to school

if she had heard
anything from her father.

She said no.

I said, OK, then you'll
be taking the bus home

and I'll see you
when you get home.

Sydney never arrived home.

♪ ♪

I got a text message from her
that said that her father did

pick her up.

I say, who's driving?

And she says, dad's driving.

That's when I call
the Bothell PD.

They are 100% on board and
they want to arrest him.

From there, I jump
on a call with Amber

to tell her what's going on.

I'm nervous.
I'm scared.

Sydney is not responding to
any of my text messages now.

So it's all of us
in communication.

And that's when I suddenly
get text messages from Sydney.

I know my daughter
is terrified.

I know she's scared.
- You don't know what to do.

Do I call the police?

Do I drive up there now?

Can I help?
What can I do?

- I was scared for Sydney.

He always said
that nobody would

ever take his daughter away.

With everything he had done,
now what is he capable of?

I remember that I have
a tracking app on her phone.

I am on the phone
with the police

and we began to follow
her route with her dad.

- And the police
officer says, we're

going to just pull him over
and get to the bottom of this.

And then it just all took
a left turn really quickly.

[siren wailing]

- She's saying that Dad's
trying to flee from the police.

- What should have been
a simple stop turned into this

crazy high-speed chase.

[siren wailing]

Just when you think
you know this person,

you don't know anything
at all.

- The police are pursuing
Brandon,

you know, at a high speed,

and they confirm that Sydney
is in the passenger seat.

- Your heart immediately
goes to the worst of,

he's going to get
in an accident.

He's going to hurt
and/or kill both of them.

- He was weaving in
and out at high speeds.

They realized that it
was not safe for Sydney,

so they have no choice
but to pull back.

♪ ♪

I had so many emotions.

I just wanted to
be there with her.

If I could trade places
with her, I would have.

- For so long we've
been trying to say this,

and no one's hearing us.

And here's that moment,
someone going to die

before you actually listen?

Is a child going to die because
you wouldn't listen to us?

- I'm watching on the map.

And then there's a point where
they're by the railroad tracks

and the dot stopped moving.

Amber was freaking out.

I was freaking out.

I've always had this feeling
that if he's going down,

he's going to take
her to punish me.

♪ ♪

[crossing bells dinging,
train horn blowing]

Finally, I see
that he is moving

and he's making a loop back.

All of a sudden, I
get a phone call.

And it's Sydney
and she's crying.

- Just hearing that
is heartbreaking.

- I get a call from my mom
telling me that my sister

called and found out
that they were in, like,

a high-speed police chase.

At some point, he was able
to get off the freeway,

dropped her off at a Pagliacci
Pizza, gave her 10 bucks,

called her an Uber, and said,
go sit inside and wait.

And Brandon sat across from
the store

and just, like, watched.

And then from there,
she called my mom.

- He left our 12-year-old
daughter after, like,

going through the
horror she just did.

I have no words for it.

- What is this?

- Love it?

- She will forever have
that memory of,

my dad
trying to outrun the police.

He was supposed to be a safety
place for her growing up.

That's your parent.

The system had failed us
so many times.

And you're trying to
protect this child,

and you're just hitting
roadblocks at every turn.

And you don't know if
this is going to end well.

- Sydney is texting me.

I'm driving as fast
as I can to get her.

I pull up, she gets
in the car, and I

just hug her and she's crying.

We take off from there, and the
phone rings and it's her dad.

And she answers it on speaker.

And I hear his
voice, and everything

inside of me just wants
to scream and yell at him,

but I can't.

I have to shut my mouth and
safely get us away from there.

- It really takes a horrible
person to do those things.

- We knew that Brandon was
incredibly scary and unhinged.

- He is a dangerous man.

And he's everywhere.

- If Brandon could do what
he did with Sydney in the car

and with the police
officers after him,

I had no idea what
he was going to do.

I just knew something
horrific was about to happen.

- Rachel came to me
and told me she

found a guy that was perfect.

- I just got a really
bad feeling about him.

- He was following her.

He had been listening
under her bed.

I think he just took
it beyond anything

that was even imaginable.

- You will get tased!

You will get tased!

Get down on the ground, now!

- And he was going
to stop at nothing.

♪ ♪