Original subtitles

Courthouses are supposed to be

places of calm and dignity,

where order is maintained and justice is served,

but when stakes and emotions are at their highest,

cool heads don't always prevail.

Coming up...

We, the jury, find the defendant, Daniel villegas...

...fears and tears as a man awaits his fate in

a third capital murder trial.

I believe that the tension, you could cut it with a knife.

A callous killer faces a father's fury.

And a judge leaps through his courtroom

in a single bound.

I just wanted to get them.

From superheroes to a whiny mama's boy.

You're gonna make me stand up my own mother,

my 83-year-old mother?

With key insights from our team of crime

and legal experts.

Stalkers are notorious for making

their victims lives a living hell.

On "chaos in court."

On November 5, 2018, Lisa balch passes out justice

for hartley t-shirts outside a Vancouver,

Washington, courthouse.

Five-year-old hartley Anderson

was murdered just three days earlier.

She was at our Halloween party at work on Wednesday,

and I got my last hug from her.

It's heartbreaking to see somebody go through all this.

Lisa balch is one of the many hartley family

supporters who gather for the arraignment

of the child's alleged killer,

37-year-old Ryan burge.

Rendelman: In 2018, burge had been dating

the mother of this five-year-old child.

He was babysitting for the child.

The mother returned home

and found the child unresponsive and unconscious.

Hartley's mother, nataasha luchau,

immediately calls 911.

911.

Ryan burge says that she has a temper tantrum,

and that she goes into her room and starts

banging her head against the wall,

ultimately losing consciousness.

But other than that, he said he had nothing to do with it.

He never touched her.

Tragically, hartley dies later at the hospital.

An autopsy reveals severe head trauma,

and her death is ruled a homicide.

This was a very severe beating that caused her death,

and it just obviously couldn't be explained away that

she hit her head.

It's not uncommon as police officers, when we show up to

calls where a child has been hurt,

that someone will try to come up with a very simple reason

why the child was injured.

Oftentimes, those stories that they give just don't match

the injuries. -Bryant: It turns out,

nataasha luchau, the mother of little hartley,

has been dating Mr. Burge only four months -- doesn't have

a real clear picture of his background, which turns out to

have included a number of crimes.

Ryan burge was arrested in 2008 and spent

six years in prison for

setting fire to on apartment building and trying to collect

the insurance money.

Now, the mom had no idea about Ryan's prison record.

So even though his criminal history doesn't show that

he has any history of violence toward anyone, much less kids,

the fact that he's babysitting a child,

the child of the woman he's only been dating for four months,

could be a recipe for disaster.

Bryant: Nataasha luchau is wrestling with so many emotions.

Yes, she's just lost her child,

but she must probably also be feeling some guilt.

At a candlelight vigil,

hartley's mom speaks out.

The child's biological father, Peter Anderson, is by her side.

Life will never be the same without her again.

Hartley isn't here to tell you how much all your love and care

has meant, so I'll have to do it for her.

For her -- hartley, you'll always be in our hearts.

I love you so much.

We will never stop fighting for justice for you.

At burge's arraignment, inside the courtroom,

the grief and tension is excruciating as the family

awaits burge's arrival.

This is only three days after the murder of this little girl,

and everybody's heart just goes out to the mother.

They all have t-shirts on for hartley,

and they're packed in this courtroom.

The stakes are extremely high,

as the family sees burge for the first time since

the child's death.

Rendelman: So as the defendant walks out,

you can hear the audible cries of the family members.

You killed my baby.

Bove: This defendant is brought into the courtroom

wearing a suicide smock.

Apparently, the security had found out

that he may be a danger to himself.

The material made from a suicide smock is material that

just rips easy so they can't hang themselves.

It gives you an inside look into what the mindset

or the emotional state of Ryan is.

Before the proceeding even begins,

hartley's mother, nataasha luchau,

is overwhelmed with emotion and collapses.

The mother of hartley Anderson, the woman that had

actually brought this demon into the family and had

introduced him to this five-year-old,

was so devastated when she saw him that she physically had to

be lifted and taken out of the courtroom.

Peter Anderson, hartley's biological father,

is just out of the camera's view

in the corner of the courtroom.

To have to be in a courtroom with the man who

murdered your child is gonna be difficult for anyone.

And that really became the boiling point for

hartley's father.

As a court officer, I know from experience that dealing

with an infant or a baby's death,

that the family is definitely on edge,

and the father just lost it.

Bove: They cuffed him for safety purposes,

not only for the court officers, but also for himself.

This father did what anybody might do,

but going after the defendant really doesn't help anybody.

It just makes everybody more upset, more tense,

and it does nothing to promote getting justice for hartley,

and that's the ultimate goal.

After order is restored in the courtroom,

Ryan burge enters a plea of not guilty,

which only infuriates hartley's family even more.

Outside, they pray for justice.

One of the saddest aspects is not just, you know,

the fact that this child is gone,

but the grandfather comes out of the courtroom and explains

how this defendant has robbed them of this grandchild.

I'll never get to see her graduate from high school,

be married, or anything.

He took that from US.

He took the joy we had with her away.

He -- I just hope the -- the system works.

His hope is soon realized.

On February 13, 2020, Ryan burge

is convicted of second-degree murder.

He is sentenced to 40 years in prison.

He's gonna be in jail for pretty much

the rest of his life.

In youngstown, Ohio,

62-year-old Dale Williams sr. Is in

court after pleading guilty to gunning down his girlfriend,

46-year-old Elizabeth pledger- Stewart, in cold blood.

Rendelman: Dale Williams sr. Had been with the victim for about

four years.

They had a pretty tumultuous relationship in which

he would often be jealous of the victim.

Toward the end, it was getting really bad.

In fact, the defendant sent her a threatening text

the night before the murder

saying the world would be a better place without you.

She told the cops about it.

They didn't even have the chance

to, like, turn it over to the detectives

the next day because she was already dead

by eight o'clock in the morning.

At least one of the police officers

saw the whole thing happen.

He was taken directly downtown to the detective division.

With no prior criminal record,

Dale Williams calmly admits to detectives that he killed

Elizabeth because he believed she was seeing someone else.

By his own admission, he says he -- he was out there ready

to go. He knew her direction of travel,

how and when she went to work.

He started at six o'clock that morning,

and he sat behind an empty restaurant,

waiting for her car to pass.

He waits for her, and as he sees her

approaching in her vehicle, literally crashes

his vehicle into hers.

Whitmore: She's pleading for her life, and he looks her

in her eyes and merely guns her down.

Dale Williams fires ten shots at Elizabeth

at point-blank range.

A street security camera is rolling,

but just misses capturing the brutal murder on tape.

At least one of the police officers

saw the whole thing happen -- by the time he gets

out of the car, approaches with his weapon drawn,

Dale Williams has already dropped his weapon

and pretty much gives himself up to the police.

We found no evidence of miss Stewart cheating on

the defendant. Um, we looked at her phone,

we talked to the family, and there was no evidence of

that happening.

Domestic homicide is one of the most common types of

homicide in the United States today,

and about one-third, one-third, of domestic violence victims

will lose their life to their male partners.

Before Williams is sentenced at the mahoning county

courthouse for the horrific murder,

judge Maureen sweeney allows Elizabeth's family to give

victim impact statements.

In the courtroom is miss Stewart's children,

two sons and a daughter.

Her sons, Anthony dees,

is 30 years old, and Jerome Stewart was 23 years old.

This is a man who's been part of

their mother's life for the last four years,

and for the grown children,

seeing him in court is excruciatingly painful.

I'm sure it was more than her sons could bear.

Dale Williams has pled guilty to firing

ten deadly shots into his longtime girlfriend,

Elizabeth pledger-Stewart during a jealous rage.

Elizabeth's three grieving children are in court

for his sentencing.

Dorsey: And now they're sitting

right behind the guy who chased their mother

and hunted her like an animal,

shot her as she begged for her life,

and now it's all they can do to contain themselves.

As the defendant is sitting there waiting to hear

victim impact statements from the sons

and daughters of the woman he killed,

all of a sudden, all hell breaks loose.

Anthony dees, he's in a black shirt,

he is the first one to go after the defendant.

Bove: The first son gets to the defendant,

who's shackled and handcuffed, and pulls him off the chair

like a sack of potatoes and start mopping the floor.

The second son, who has jumped in the fray,

is just throwing haymakers at him.

He's in custody.

His welfare, his safety is completely dependent on you.

So they do have a responsibility to protect

Dale Williams.

What we were thinking is holy crap.

What's gonna happen?

The judge ducks out the back door,

the other prosecutor and I kind of ducked into the jury box,

because there's nowhere else for US to go,

and we weren't sure if it was ever gonna end.

The deputies really couldn't get it under control to

the extent that they wanted to,

so they had to use the taser.

The taser is going to shoot 50,000 volts

of electricity into a person's body, which is

going to incapacitate them for a period of time,

but usually do not hurt them to the point where they won't

recover and basically gives

the officers the opportunity to gain control of that subject,

which is what they did.

For their violent outbursts,

both the victim's sons, brothers Anthony and Jerome,

are arrested and charged with obstructing official business.

They ended up getting five days in jail,

90 days with 85 days suspended.

We, as judges, cannot allow someone to impose

justice on their own by having a physical altercation.

Ultimately, Dale Williams was sentenced to 23 years to

life in prison for the murder of Elizabeth pledger-Stewart.

McBain: Versus Jacob Larson.

24-year-old Jacob Larson is no stranger

to judge John McBain

and his Jackson county, Michigan, courtroom.

Jacob Larson had been in court about four months

before for stalking this young woman,

a young woman that he knew from high school.

Dawson: Judges take stalking cases very seriously

because serious harm could be done to the victim.

He was slapped previously with a restraining order

against a victim that he's been stalking.

Now the nature of what a stalker is

is that they don't stop.

They don't respect the authority

a restraining order has.

Bryant: This young man, for the last year,

was accused of going to this young woman's work,

dropping off flowers at her house, and leaving odd messages

on her various social media accounts.

He continued to harass her, reach out to her,

and she became incredibly concerned for her safety.

If an order is in place and the person isn't following it,

then you, the person who wants the order, has to go back to

court to get the court to enforce it.

Unfortunately, it is very common for adult victims of

stalking to be in the same courtroom as their tormentors.

Dawson: There's only one bailiff in the courtroom.

I wouldn't even have the victim at the table

and maybe not have the victim

in the room until it was time for the victim

to even testify.

But that's not the case here.

Jacob and his victim is sitting just

a few feet away from each other.

The woman being stalked submits evidence

that Larson has violated the protection order

a whopping 22 times.

This is a bizarre scenario because you're in court,

and the alleged stalker is pointing to the alleged victim,

saying it's her fault.

It is not unusual for a stalker to believe that

he, in some way, has a relationship with his victim.

She tried to be calm, cool, and collected,

but Larson wanted to control her,

and he wanted to control the situation.

Judge McBain was not having any of it.

The judge does not like the mouthing off.

In fact, this is a judge who's known to be no-nonsense.

But jail time doesn't go over well with Larson,

and his back talk is about to push this judge over the edge.

Accused stalker, Jacob Larson,

violated a personal protection order

and is sitting just a few feet away from his victim

in court.

He's furious when judge John McBain gives him three days in

jail for mouthing off.

He has no idea what he's doing

because the court has tremendous power.

Bove: The security in the courtroom should be on alert

that this defendant has no regard for the judge,

what the judge is saying -- he's leaning back in his chair.

He has his hand in his pocket,

which you never want someone to do when they're up there.

You don't want them to take out

an object and use it as a weapon.

Stand up.

Come stand up.

The court officer begins to handcuff Jacob Larson,

but Jacob Larson is not having it, and he is not willing

to be handcuffed.

Good.

Why do you think you're sitting there, dude?

She's been telling you all along,

I don't want to see you, but this stalker has

a whole different approach to the problem.

Rendelman: This young woman, who has been harassed

and stalked by this young man must be

absolutely terrified that he could come over to her

at any point and hurt her.

Put your hands behind your back.

As he watches the defendant struggle

with the court officer,

the judge rips off his robe and comes to his rescue.

Let me tell you, you don't want to get into

a battle or any type of tussle wearing a robe.

Tase his ass, right now! Do it now!

Rendelman: You cannot even see the judge anymore,

as he is literally down on the ground trying to

hold Jacob Larson as the court officer

attempts to handcuff him.

They're trying to control this guy, who has just turned

a simple stalking, three-day sentence into a year in jail

for contempt.

Luckily for Larson, he isn't tased, after all.

Rendelman: After this defendant is finally handcuffed,

finally brought under control,

he is removed from the courtroom

and brought to jail.

The judge cools off and brings

his sentence back down to 93 days.

But after serving his time,

Jacob Larson goes right back to stalking his victim.

This defendant was charged with aggravated stalking,

which is a felony,

and ultimately, he got five years in jail for the crime.

Stalkers are notorious for being unrelenting.

They find real pride in making

their victims' lives a living hell.

Put it down! That is enough from you, all right?

On October 5, 2018, the jury has

reached a verdict in the capital murder trial

of 41-year-old Daniel villegas.

Daniel has been tried three different times

for double homicide in El Paso, Texas,

and has spent nearly half his life in prison.

It's always gut-wrenching, waiting for the verdict to

be read, but can you imagine this being the third time

for this man who's lived in prison for 18 years?

Everything is gonna happen in seconds.

Daniel's nightmare began back in 1993.

He was a good kid who'd never

been in trouble with the law before.

But in a twist of fate, a silly,

stupid joke changed the course of Daniel's life.

He was accused of killing two teenagers in

a drive-by shooting when he was 16 years old.

On April 10, 1993,

four teenage boys are walking home

from a house party when a car pulls up alongside them.

Suddenly, multiple shots are fired from the passenger side.

Bryant: Robert england is shot in the head,

and he drops to the ground.

17-year-old Armando lazo is hit

in the abdomen and leg and also dies.

Juan Medina and Jesse Hernandez managed to escape.

They ran away unharmed.

The two surviving boys tell

police they can't identify the shooter.

There's a lot of pressure on police to solve this case.

Over a week had gone by, and they had

no leads on this case whatsoever.

But one night, Daniel villegas, trying to be cool,

jokingly tells his cousin, David rangel,

that he is the shooter.

And then he goes, you're kidding.

And then Daniel starts laughing.

He goes, yeah, I was.

Nearly two weeks after the murders,

police bring in a number of teenagers from El Paso's

northeast side for questioning,

including Daniel villegas's cousin,

17-year-old David rangel.

He is fingered as the trigger man by his cousin.

He said, "well, he was just kidding."

He goes, "well what did he tell you?"

Then he tells them the story.

So the cops haul Daniel villegas in.

Remember, he's 16.

They throw him in a chair, interrogate him.

No attorney.

What was running through my 16-year-old mind at that time

was I was scared as. And I didn't know who the hell

these you guys were. You know, all the respect to the victims,

I didn't know who they were.

Carrizales: Daniel was denied his basic

constitutional right during his interrogation.

Not only did he not have his parents present, but he didn't

have an attorney present when he was interrogated,

handcuffed to a chair, and threatened to be assaulted by

these police officers if he did not provide a confession.

It is not uncommon, and, in fact,

it's used all the time, where detectives are going to tell

a lie, they're going to try and trick you up a little bit to

gain a confession, and this is allowed.

But officers are not allowed to take part in any type of

coercive techniques, meaning threats, intimidation.

They cannot treat a suspect that they're

interrogating in any kind of inhumane way.

Whitmore: So after hours of all this pressure and questioning

and interrogation and forcing this individual to be here

and to answer these questions, with all of these layers of

pressure and the fear he was facing,

villegas actually confesses.

The fact is that, a few hours later,

he recants, and he says, "no, that's not what happened."

It doesn't matter. The cops have what they want.

This guy's going to trial.

I just could not conceive in my head that

this was reality.

You know, I couldn't conceive it in my head.

This is america.

Daniel's alibi? That he was with friends

babysitting the night of the murders.

On December 5, 1994,

Daniel's trial begins.

Jaime olivas is his defense lawyer.

And he actually put on a decent defense.

He raised the alibi defense,

called many witnesses that were able to corroborate that

Daniel was babysitting.

But Daniel's coerced confession was

still part of the state's evidence.

Is he gonna go to jail for the rest of his life?

Daniel villegas is just 17 years old when he goes

on trial for the murders of two teenage boys in 1993.

Villegas initially confessed to the drive-by shootings

but later changed his story,

saying he'd been coerced during a police interrogation.

Even though Daniel villegas recanted his confession

to the detectives,

that confession was used by prosecutors against him.

In December of 1994, the first trial ends in

a hung jury, deadlocked 11 to 1 in favor of conviction.

Spencer: One of the jurors just did not believe that Daniel

had committed the offense,

and they stuck to their conviction,

and we had a mistrial, so we had a second trial.

Just two months before the second trial is set to begin

in August 1995, villegas is given a court-appointed

defense attorney.

There was no DNA from Daniel villegas.

There was never a firearm located.

There was never any forensic evidence

linking Daniel villegas to this crime.

But none of that seems to matter

in Daniel's case,

there's no doubt that once you get a confession,

it's so powerful.

No matter what the circumstances are

in getting that confession,

it can lead to a conviction when there's almost

no other evidence.

And in 1995, Daniel villegas is convicted of

capital murder and sentenced to life in prison.

Bryant: Daniel villegas goes to prison at age 18,

and he spends the next 18 years of his life behind bars.

By August 2012, villegas has a new

legal team, led by attorney Joe Spencer.

He successfully petitions the appellate court for

a new trial based on ineffective counsel.

The court of appeals did allow the case to be presented

back to the court so that all the other information,

and all the other evidence could be presented in a way

that was fair to the defendant.

After spending 18 years,

half his life behind bars,

Daniel is released on bond pending a third trial.

But it's not an acquittal.

They have to go through the trial process again.

This time, villegas's attorneys move to suppress

his 1993 confession, and the move works.

Judge Sam medrano rules the confession to be

inadmissible as evidence,

saying it was obtained by coercive conduct by

police officers.

While the police officers were never charged

with any improper conduct,

Daniel gets a second chance at life with a new trial.

Rendelman: He was out for four years,

raised a family during the time he was awaiting

his third trial to happen.

Every system is different.

In this particular case,

this case has spanned across four years.

Daniel's third trial begins

on October 1, 2018, and without the confession,

the prosecution doesn't have much of a case.

State's putting on their case,

they were not getting anybody

that was incriminating Daniel.

They were not getting any evidence in that

I thought was hurting US.

After the prosecution rests,

the defense doesn't call a single witness.

We've got everybody in a small room

and said okay, everybody knows this case.

They didn't prove anything.

And we made a decision in that room

not to put on any evidence because we just didn't feel

we needed to.

So the day of verdict comes, and in the courtroom, you can

imagine the intensity of the emotion,

what the family members are feeling,

what he's feeling on the inside.

Spencer: Daniel looks at me,

and he starts hyperventilating.

He starts collapsing.

He starts telling me, tell my kids

I'm sorry, tell my kids I love them.

I know they're gonna convict me.

I know they're not gonna -- I'm not gonna

see 'em again, and he starts panicking.

He knows everything he has fought for

over the last 22 years,

18 of them in prison, is now coming to a head.

Everything is gonna happen in seconds.

We, the jury, find the defendant,

Daniel villegas not guilty of...

Rendelman: You can hear outburst from everybody in the courtroom,

and Daniel villegas is barely able to stand.

He's so emotional, crying into the arms of his attorney.

Spencer: I was very happy for Daniel.

Tremendous sigh of relief for Daniel,

that we were able to give him justice

that he'd been -- eluded him for a quarter of a century.

Daniel villegas and his wife have chosen to take

this horrible experience in their life and use it for

something positive.

There now advocates for other individuals who've been

wrongfully convicted,

so kudos to both of them for doing that.

It takes an incredible spirit to be

able to rise from something like this.

Sometimes, courtroom chaos is caused by people

whose job it is to keep things orderly.

We're on for -- it's a motion for contempt

by the commonwealth, is that right?

52-year-old Robert fleck,

the assistant Jefferson county prosecutor,

is in a hearing before judge Sandra McLaughlin.

So we're in the louisville courtroom with what would

normally be considered a pretty simple matter.

It's a dui hearing.

The prosecutor is there,

the defendant is there, and his defense attorney is there.

That's when things go a little bizarre.

The goal today for the defender, Mr. Braunbeck,

is to get his client's

dui, driving under the influence, deferred.

But the prosecutor argues that the defendant,

rickie McAllister, should get

180 days in jail for contempt after skipping

his court-ordered alcohol education classes

eight times over the past three years.

I know why he has failed to comply.

He's failed to comply because he doesn't want to do it.

We've had no evidence whatsoever here today,

so, I mean, that's where we are.

In the midst of that defense,

the prosecutor feels insulted by statements

from the defense attorney,

and they begin to go back and forth.

Now, do I have to prove why he willfully failed

to appear in court? No, of course not.

Because he didn't.

-We don't -- -and that's why --

I'm talking here!

Bryant: In this case, you've got a relatively young

defense attorney.

And on the other side a more experienced prosecutor.

So it's time to go at it.

And if he's got a problem with it,

he can file a motion to rule this as unconstitutional.

I'm sorry if Mr. Fleck is arguing things

that he doesn't know -- Mr. Fleck is arguing --

I'm arguing things I don't know?

I've forgotten more than you will ever know, buddy boy.

McLaughlin: Mr. Fleck.

Coming up, the childish behavior

goes from bad to worse.

For the record, I think this is bull.

And that's why -- I'm talking here!

A veteran prosecutor and a young attorney,

are sparring in court over a simple dui case.

I'm arguing things I don't know?!

-I've forgotten more than -Mr. Fleck.

You will ever know, buddy boy. -Mr. Fleck.

Prosecutors and defense attorneys have

intense competition.

It's no different than the NBA.

You're either playing offense or you're defense,

and you're going to want to win,

regardless of what side you're on,

but you have to keep it professional,

and you have to keep it under wraps just

by the very nature of the law you practice.

I object to that!

I -- I take great umbrage of somebody coming in here

and trying to disparage my knowledge

and my reputation when he is still wet behind the ears.

Mr. Fleck, have a seat. -...On this planet.

Okay, have a seat. Thank you very much.

All right, we're gonna recess until one o'clock.

We'll see you back at one o'clock.

And the judge, at that point, had had it.

She's like, okay, we need to take a break.

But there's a whole 'nother wrinkle here with Mr. Fleck.

Seems he was going to have lunch

with his 83-year-old mother.

You want me to call my mom and tell her

I'm gonna stand her up for lunch

because of Mr. McAllister?

You're gonna make me stand up my own mother,

my 83-year-old mother, who's waiting at a restaurant for me

to show up?

Whitmore: And the judge is like, "we need to take a break,

who, whoa, whoa," and he's --

I need to have lunch with my mommy.

In this case, it seemed to get very personal for

the prosecutor,

and he lost total control in this situation.

For the record, I think this is bull.

We'll start when you are back here,

so enjoy your lunch with your mother.

So they break for lunch, and they come back,

and by this time, Mr. Fleck, he -- he has calmed a bit,

and he's realized that he needs to apologize

to the court.

Mr. Fleck, did you want to make a statement?

I'd like to apologize for my outburst.

I think I was being needled by counsel incessantly,

and the very thought of me standing up my mother --

let me stop you right there.

The judge steps in again and says,

"either say you're sorry, or don't say you're sorry."

I would apologize for my behavior,

my outburst, um, the thought of my mother being stood up

for lunch, I had no way to get a hold of her.

She does not have a cellphone,

deeply apologetic for what I said and did.

In this situation,

the judge didn't hold him in contempt.

The judge didn't put him in jail, because we can do that,

but instead, his bosses said, "enough is enough."

Rendelman: The prosecutor's office actually fires Mr. Fleck

because of his unprofessional conduct.

And lo and behold, what does Mr. Fleck become?

He becomes a criminal defense attorney.

I think this is bull.

In Chehalis, Washington,

28-year-old kodey Howard and 22-year-old

Tanner Jacobson are at a bail hearing

in judge r. W. Buzzard's courtroom.

Howard is facing charges

of burglary and trafficking in stolen property.

Jacobson is arrested for reckless driving

and operating a vehicle with a suspended license.

The courtroom is really pretty quiet.

You've got the attorneys on each side.

You've got the judge, you got a clerk,

you've got a bailiff, and you have a few inmates.

And you have these two individuals that are being

accused of misdemeanors, not felonies,

not murders, but two misdemeanors.

Also in the courtroom

are two other inmates who have just appeared before

judge buzzard.

It was my birthday, and, yeah, it was very normal day.

Every day at, the same time, we see in-custody inmates

that have been picked up or arrested the day before.

Bove: But all of a sudden, one guy jumps up,

bolts, and his buddy sitting next to him

says, "well, if he's gonna go, I might as well go."

The first thing I think to myself is this really can't be

happening, and then the second thing

as they reach the public doorway is I sure hope

they don't hurt anyone as they try and get out of here.

Neither of these defendants are there for serious charges.

So one could only guess

what is in the mind of these two individuals.

The judge had to do something to stop him.

Buzzard: I thought it was necessary for them to be

at least pursued to find out where they were going.

Dawson: So just like Clark Kent turning into Superman,

this judge decides to rip off his robe and run after

the defendants. -Buzzard: I took my robe off

because they are hard to maneuver in.

I just wanted to get them.

You can see the two individuals running,

and as they're running, one of them actually

trips, um, and loses what -- it's almost like

a cinderella moment.

He loses one of his shoes and then keeps on going.

Bryant: These two guys are working their way down

the stairwell.

As I was running after them down the stairs,

all I was thinking was, I hope they stop.

I hope they don't run into anyone.

I hope they don't hurt anyone going down

the stairs or out into the public area.

It's pretty unusual, but I have to

give him credit because he was pretty fast.

Bryant: One of them makes it outside,

and the judge makes his last-ditch effort.

In true Superman fashion,

the judge decided to make that last-minute leap, as he lunged

at the defendant to make sure he didn't make it out the door.

Buzzard: I was in arm's reach of Mr. Howard,

reached out to kind of stop his progress, and grabbed him in

a bear hug and tumbled out the door.

Bryant: The second guy does not evade

the long arm of the law this time.

One of the funniest parts of this story is that

the first guy runs,

gets a couple blocks, and then realizes he's in prison garb

with handcuffs and has nowhere to go.

After four short blocks, Tanner has an epiphany.

You know, he realizes I'm an idiot.

I should not be doing this.

I am not helping myself, and he basically

gives up and is taken back into custody.

Here's two guys who had misdemeanor charges,

charges where it would be more than likely they would have

walked out themselves from the courtroom, and instead,

because of their absolutely stupid, ridiculous behavior,

end up with additional felony charges.

After the incident, Tanner Jacobson

is sentenced to one year

and one day for a single count of second-degree escape.

Kodey Howard's punishment for bolting?

He gets an additional 36 months

behind bars, along with his original charges.

The way it worked out for judge buzzard,

he comes off as a hero.

But, you know, it could have ended badly.

Buzzard: My colleagues and co-employees'

reaction to my reaction of

chasing them was from good job to

what in the world were you thinking?

Now that's determination, and that's called

keeping the chaos out of your courtroom.