All language subtitles for I.Survived.A.Crime.S01E02

- danger strikes
when you least expect it.

- [indistinct]
- [indistinct]

- it can happen at any time...

[bullet whooshes]

anywhere, to anyone.

[tires squeal, glass shatters]

now survivors
will come forward...

- When you have a gun
in your face,

your life flashes
before your eyes.

- To tell their emotional
stories...

- I felt like it was just us
three going against...

- Everything.

- Taking us back
to the moment of attack,

and how they survived.

I'm gio benitez, and this is
"I survived a crime."

- I broke down, I started
crying, and I went out.

- Turned upside down...
- Beat me and kicked me...

- And my neck was pushed.
- Took cabs everywhere.

- He thought
I was somebody else.

- They knocked out
my front tooth.

- And behind him
was another man.

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪

- our first survivor
was outnumbered two to one.

But his quick thinking
and resolve

may have ultimately
saved his own life

and prevented others
from getting hurt.

It's the overnight shift
at this gas station

and convenience store
in huntsville, alabama.

At 3:15 a.M., a customer
drops by and buys a banana.

He leaves and then returns.

After a few words
with the clerk,

it becomes clear what
he really wants is the money.

[tense music]

♪ ♪

the attacker
pulls out a knife.

♪ ♪

and it's met
by the clerk's machete.

♪ ♪

in the middle of the battle,

the clerk hits
the button on the wall

that electronically
locks the front door.

The suspect is trapped.

♪ ♪

[glass shatters]

♪ ♪

outside the store
is a female accomplice.

And before the clerk
knows what's happening,

she starts engaging him.

Meanwhile,
the original suspect

has used the diversion
of his accomplice

to go back into the store
to get the cash.

♪ ♪

back outside, the clerk
has turned his attention

to the suspect's car.

[glass shattering]

♪ ♪

the goal,
he later told the cops,

was to make the car easier
for police to identify.

♪ ♪

the male suspect
takes the cash

and goes to the defense
of his car and his accomplice.

[glass shatters]

♪ ♪

they flee the scene.

Incredibly, no one was
seriously injured that night,

including the clerk.

The suspects,
32-year-old seth holcomb

and 33-year-old
laney nicholson

both pled guilty and received
three years' probation.

The police recognized
their car

due to its
very obvious damage.

♪ ♪

drive-by shootings
have taken the lives

of more innocent victims
than ever before.

Our next survivor experienced

the often deadly phenomenon
firsthand.

It's just before 1:00 a.M.

On a quiet Wednesday evening
in louisville, kentucky.

Real estate agent
patrick hemmerle

is picking up some extra cash
as a rideshare driver.

He's about to drop off
his passengers

at a recording studio
in downtown louisville.

Along the way, he is
listening to their music.

[tense music]

I decided to just go ahead
and run this one last ride,

and I kinda had a bad feeling.

And I probably should have
listened to my gut.

I started the trip and saw
that it ran straight downtown,

and, you know,
just started heading that way.

As I rounded the corner,

I noticed a vehicle stopped
behind another vehicle.

The light
had just turned green.

My brain was telling me

something was off
about that vehicle.

As I start slowing down,

the car just kinda
paced us for a second,

fell back, sped up,

and just started unloading
on us for no apparent reason.

[gunshots ringing]

[tense music]

♪ ♪

I saw the muzzle flash.

The passenger was shooting out
the top of the car,

just firing wildly
out the window.

- The shots were fired back
towards patrick's truck

as the car pulled away,
the license plate obscured.

- It took me about two shots

to really recognize
that it was gunshots,

and when I looked over,
the third or fourth shot

came through my windshield.

And that's when a blast of

glass shards and shrapnel
exploded in my face.

Then I just had a huge
adrenaline dump.

I knew the bullet
crashed into the cabin,

and I didn't know
where it went,

and I was just trying to
assess if I'd been hit or not.

I've never been shot before.

And the bullet actually bounced
right in front of my face.

- Patrick and his passengers
are okay.

The suspects
are still at large.

It's amazing that his truck
was only hit twice,

considering how many shots
were fired.

- I counted probably 15 or 16.

It was definitely
a full magazine.

- Patrick, who still has
the nearly-lethal souvenir,

is both philosophical
and practical.

- I don't know
why they did it.

I was mad for a few days.

But then I decided
I had to forgive them

and just hope
that those young men

make better decisions
as they move forward,

because you make enough
bad decisions,

you're gonna have a bad life.

- So I'm probably done
with the whole rideshare thing.

I'm just gonna focus on
real estate more.

- Patrick credits
his calm under fire

to the fact that
he plays a lot of video games.

Lot

involving a bank, a boyfriend,
and a beating.

Cypress, texas.

As this woman is about to step
inside for family business,

a car pulls up.

This man is pursuing
a hot tip,

and he wants
the victim's purse.

[ominous music]

♪ ♪

he pulls her toward
the getaway vehicle.

♪ ♪

the woman's husband
hears the commotion

and rushes to her aid.

He tries to defend his wife.

♪ ♪

the woman frees herself
and runs for her life.

Meanwhile, a getaway car
circles the building.

One suspect pursues the woman.

Her husband mounts
a quick counterattack.

What the business owners
don't know

is that their bank teller
dates one of their assailants,

and she's tipped them off
to the fact

that earlier that day,
the woman made

a $75,000 cash withdrawal.

The attackers
aren't about to walk away

from that kind of money.

♪ ♪

the woman clings to her bag

and is dragged across
hot asphalt.

♪ ♪

her husband punches
one assailant.

[engine revs]

♪ ♪

the woman is wedged
under the rear bumper

and the attack comes to
a terrifying conclusion.

♪ ♪

[engine revs]

the couple is injured
but still alive and fighting.

[engine revs]

but they ultimately
lose the bag.

♪ ♪

after the attack,

the woman is hospitalized
in critical condition.

Her husband is treated for
minor injuries at the scene.

Both make a full recovery.

♪ ♪

police arrest
shelby taylor wyse,

davis mitchell,
and travonn johnson.

Wyse, the bank teller,
masterminded the robbery

and recruited johnson
and mitchell to help.

Mitchell and johnson
are arrested and charged

with aggravated robbery
with a deadly weapon.

Wyse is arrested
for felony robbery.

All three are awaiting
sentencing.

Did you know that
30% of all home burglars

enter houses through
unlocked front doors?

Our next survivors
are 100% positive

it doesn't always end well
for the intruder.

It's 1:30 in the morning
at this home in idaho falls.

Time for lounging,
watching a little tv,

and checking your phone.

You would hope that anyone
who comes calling

at this hour
is family or a friend.

Not this time.

- I'm caspian shamel.
- And I'm isabelle shamel.

- And we survived
a home invasion robbery.

- We just got home from a date
and I was pretty tired,

and I was just scrolling
through my phone,

halfway watching
the documentary.

- We went out and did
one of those escape rooms,

so we were pretty tuckered out
from that, ready to relax.

- And then I just
hear a loud bang,

and the door flies open.

- I've got a couple of
roommates that live downstairs

so having people
come in and out

at all hours of the night
isn't super odd.

But I kinda noticed him
and I did a double take.

- I just didn't know
what was happening at first.

I was just in shock.

- The intruder orders
caspian to take a seat.

Then he turns his attention
and his shotgun

toward caspian's fiancée
on the couch.

- I definitely
feared for my life

whenever I saw that shotgun
pointed at me.

I've never been in a situation

where a loaded gun
was pointed at my face.

And it was a shock,

and kind of my life
flashed before my eyes.

[tv in background]
- get the [bleep] down.

[tense music]

♪ ♪

get up, [bleep]!

- Caspian reacts at once,
grabbing the shotgun barrel.

- Instinct kicked in,

and I wasn't letting go
of that shotgun.

At that moment, I--

just straight adrenaline,
I would say.

- Caspian knows his fiancée
is still in the room.

She rolls off the couch.
He barks an order.

- [indistinct shout]

I actually yelled
for the roommate.

[laughs]

and that was all
I could muster out.

[indistinct] now!

[suspenseful music]

♪ ♪

- caspian is actually being
dragged down the stairs,

still holding that death grip
on the shotgun barrel

as the intruder is now on his
own version of an escape room.

- I immediately, as soon as
I felt safe enough,

ran and called 911 and tried to
help the best I could,

best I knew how.

Fully clear

to this home invader...

- I told him,
"wrong house, buster!"

he was fully in agreement.

As we hit the stairs,

it was a change in power
for sure.

He slipped, as it was icy.

I overtook him,
took the weapon away from him.

♪ ♪

- the imminent threat
is over,

a moment for the couple
to relax.

Caspian is now armed
in self-defense,

but hopefully
won't need to use his weapons.

But two minutes later,
an angry knock at the door

and an unbelievable request.

- I open the door,

and he was asking
for his shotgun back.

And so we told him no,
of course,

and he tried to force his way
back into the house.

- The suspect
finally fled the scene,

still without his shotgun,

which was loaded
but never fired.

Caspian turned it over
to the police

as he relived
the sickening events.

- The police were
almost arriving.

I see sirens coming up,

lights flashing
around the block,

and he started heading back out
the door again,

and they intercepted him
there by his vehicle, so...

When the police showed up,
then they wanted me to walk

through the situation
with them,

and I hadn't even really
fully processed it yet.

I just got incredibly,
incredibly adrenaline high.

I mean, my whole entire body
was shaking,

I was sweating.
My face was bright red.

And so I puked.

It kind of all washes over you.

I mean, when you're
in the midst of it,

you don't feel any
of those things happening.

But as soon as it
kinda calms down,

you're like, "holy crap.
This is really pretty crazy."

- I'm just glad
that you were there

and you were able to
take action so quickly.

[uneasy music]

♪ ♪

and I felt safe before,
but now I feel extra safe.

I know that he'll protect me
no matter what.

- Having somebody to go through
it with is certainly nice too.

- Just days
before this attack,

caspian and isabelle
got engaged.

They've since married

and tried to move on
with their life together.

- It took me a while to be able
to fully sleep

without being super paranoid,

that someone else
was gonna break in

or something else
is gonna happen.

- Arrested that night was
28-year-old eddie walker.

He pled guilty to aggravated
battery,

and was sentenced to a maximum
of 11 years in prison.

The irony of the evening
is not lost on these two,

and serves as an important
reminder for all of us.

- We were watching a true
crime documentary

when this happened, and now
we had to live through it.

You know,
you watch all those things

and you think
you know what to do,

and then it really happens,
and you just

don't expect it to happen
to you.

- Yeah, we're definitely a lot
more on our toes now.

- Mm-hmm.
A lot more careful.

♪ ♪

- experts say that a family-run
business can strain

physical, emotional,
and financial relationships.

But we met a family that pulled
together when it mattered most.

Bergen county, new jersey.

The vega family is hard at
work in their smoke shop,

mom lisa and her children
john and jas.

This man has been in the store
for more than 30 minutes

before finally approaching
the counter.

The man kept talking about

how he could shoot
john vega with his gun,

a flare gun he loaded
right there on the counter.

[dynamic music]

- a man armed with a flare gun
attempts to rob

the vega family smoke shop,
but lisa vega,

her son, and daughter
fight him off.

♪ ♪

john grabs the flare gun

and sister jas
jumps on the suspect's back.

♪ ♪

- [barking]

- the family dog
offers support

from behind the counter
as mom heads off to get help

from the store next door.

- [barking]

♪ ♪

- john and jas neutralize
their attacker

and hold him for police.

Gabriel velez was arrested
and charged

with robbery,
weapons violations,

and resisting arrest.

Charges are pending.

Just an unbelievable
experience.

Lisa vega joins us now.
Lisa, thank you for being here.

- Thank you for having me.

- What was going through
your mind?

I mean, he was in that store
for, what, half an hour?

- He came in very quiet.
He had a hoodie.

He kinda kept his head down.
He was very soft-spoken.

And then he just started
saying just, like,

really weird things.

He kept kinda, like,
patting his chest and saying

he had a gun and he can take
the gun out and shoot us.

When he said that, like,
my brain just panicked.

- And it almost looks like your
son is telling him something.

- My son is just kinda trying
to gauge the situation.

It happened so fast

that we all just,
like, reacted.

Making a predetermination

as to how you will handle
a given situation

and being in that situation--
two totally different animals.

You know what I mean?
So it's, like--

- yeah, there's no way to plan.
- Right.

- I mean, for you,
as a mom,

watching this happen
with your kids...

- I just wanted to kinda
get in there and help them.

I just wanted to get the guy
down and away from my children.

- At that moment,
you must've been scared.

- Looking at them in that
situation,

it was extremely,
extremely scary.

Things could have happened
in the blink of an eye.

If he had been allowed
to load that flare gun--

in the back of the counter
where my son was standing,

it was a shelf
that was filled with butane.

- Wow.

- So put two and two together,
that's very scary.

But very proud of the way,
you know,

they handled it,
and thankfully,

you know, we all survived.

[chuckles]
- and what about the dog?

Is the dog guarding
the store now?

- Mm, no, he's not.
He's not.

He just didn't know
what to do, the poor dog.

He's not a vicious dog,
but he could be.

- How did this experience
affect your family?

- I think it stays with you,

you know, for the rest
of your life.

There are still days
when we hear the bell

and a customer walks
into the store

and we kinda get that feeling,

you know, like,
that anxiousness.

I don't think that
that ever goes away.

- What would you, like other
people watching this today,

what would you like them to
learn about this?

- You just have to be--

always be aware
of your surroundings,

you know, and just be mindful,

and I think
that's all you can do.

I don't think you can literally
live your life, you know,

kind of base your life
around this

from like a fear factor
perspective.

I think you have to
just move on.

- All right, lisa vega,

thank you so much
for joining us.

- Thank you so much
for having me.

- So there you have it.

- [grunts]

- survival and strength...

- Whoa!

- Caught on camera.

I'm gio benitez, and this is
"I survived a crime."

thanks for watching.
Stay safe.