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Edit Transcript - The Plate Belonged to Nothing. So Did His Name.
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The Plate Belonged to Nothing. So Did His Name.
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That's correct. >> Hey man, put your arms behind your back. >> What? >> Put your hands behind your back. >> All right. >> All right. >> I'm not pulling nowhere. >> Stay back. I have back surgery. >> I have had back surgery. >> Good for you. Stop yelling. >> What you just watched is how it ended. This is how it started. A Saturday morning in January, just after 9, in a shopping plaza in Lady Lake, Florida. The sergeant has been behind this white pickup for about 3 minutes. The truck is not speeding. The driver has done nothing anyone would notice. She has run the license plate and it has come back to nothing at all. What follows took a little over an hour condensed here to the parts that matter. And it ends with the arrest of one of the 10 most wanted fugitives in America. >> All right. Hands up. Thank you. Driver's license, registration, insurance. >> Okay. >> Thank you. You got any weapons in the vehicle? Uh, >> I don't think so. >> Okay. Uh, >> so whose truck is this? >> Joe Michaels. >> I I'm an employee. >> Okay. So, this tag does not come back to this vehicle. This tag is not assigned to any vehicle. >> Well, I don't know that. I'm uh if you look uh I'm a construction guy, so I do. Oh, >> hands up. >> But as the driver of the vehicle, you're responsible for it. You have to make sure that it's legal. >> I don't know why, >> which is why I'm going to ask you for your insurance, your registration. She's Okay, great. >> I work right uh not trying to turn fast toward you right here at Lady Lakes. We're putting a pot on it. >> Okay. >> Yeah. >> What is that? What kind of restaurant is that? It's sandwich shop. I've been working there for five months putting that place in. >> It's It's kind of like a um It's kind of like Subway. >> Yeah. >> All right. >> Um it's open Saturday >> or Wednesday. >> No, give my give my updated. >> I don't have your updated. >> Give me one second, please. >> Mhm. >> I don't know where the information on truck is. I don't know that stuff, you know. >> Well, good thing you got her with you, huh? We've been there for 5 months and uh I don't use >> that your license outdated ones. See if I'll find it real quick. Give me a second. I got it. >> Okay. Do you have a Florida license? >> No. >> No. Where do you live? >> What happens next is a long stretch of people looking for paperwork that does not exist. He cannot produce a registration. He cannot produce proof of insurance. The license he handed over is expired. and he admits not the current one. Did you notice how much he volunteered that nobody asked for? A job, a timeline, an employer, a sandwich shop opening that Saturday. People telling the truth usually answer the question they were asked. People managing a situation tend to fill the silence. And this stop has a great deal of silence in it. >> All right. So, you don't have registration, you don't have insurance, and all you have is an out of date driver's license. >> I got my driver's license up to date. Okay. But that's the one that you have. Is it out of date? >> Um, I mean, we could call the owner, the old owner of the truck. >> And the tag that's attached to this truck does not belong on this truck. And I'm going to go check the sticker as soon as I get another officer here cuz it doesn't look right to me. It looks odd. I'm just going to say that. So, >> I'm driving. >> Okay. >> Can I get in trouble for that? >> Absolutely. >> I have trouble as you you're the driver of the vehicle. You're responsible for it. Should be in legal status as you're driving it down the road. So, if the tag attached isn't a sign and you can't provide me a tag for it, it's gonna get towed. >> Oh, come on. >> I can't let you drive a vehicle on the road. You can't provide me insurance. You have no valid registration. The tag that's attached to it is not assigned to this vehicle. It's a nonlicensed reg. It's not a licensed vehicle. You can't drive it on the road. >> Maybe it's one of swap tags. I don't know. We can check it. It should be legal. But nothing else. Can I park it right under her work right here? My work's right there. >> We'll talk about that. >> Oh, here. Wallet. >> All right. >> What do you got in your wallet? Will you check that for me? What do I got in my wallet? >> No, you have your ID in your wallet. Your valid ID. >> Yeah. No, that's that's the only one he has. Like >> I guess it Okay, hang tight for me. I'll be right back. >> Hey, I didn't want to look at that. Yeah, that's what I thought. That sticker. That's Yeah, that's what I thought. That tag's not attached. [laughter] A license plate is supposed to belong to something. When an officer runs a tag, it comes back to a registered vehicle with a make, a model, and an owner on file. This one came back to no vehicle at all. Not stolen, not borrowed off another car, simply a number assigned to nothing. In Florida, that is an infraction, and it is the entire legal basis for everything that follows. She is now doing the slowest part of the job, sitting alone in the car, running what he told her against what the databases actually say. >> Truck, but then >> there's other places that >> Yeah, I know that. I know that. >> All right. >> So, we're going to have to find it on the vehicle. I need a VIN >> right there. >> Okay. >> There could be. Yes. I don't know. There could be. I always got a gun, but I don't know if I >> I want to touch nothing. I'm trying to show you why. I didn't know. Sorry, I asked you that earlier if you had any weapons of vehicle. You told me no. And now you said I could have a gun. I don't know. You get back in. You get back in. We're going to deal with you one at a time. >> You're fine. You're fine. You're fine. >> You want both of them back there? All right. >> Walk back here. >> You can get on the bumper. >> Okay, you're fine. >> I don't give no trouble, buddy. I'm nicest guy you ever met. >> Pat him down for weapons, please. >> So, all right. Wishing you put a jacket on. >> That's what I'm at least in the sun. >> You are fine. >> No knives in the boat. >> No, no, no, no. I don't care. >> No, no, no. I just know most people. All right. What I found the car Watch how long this takes because the patience is the craft. By now, the officers have a driver who cannot say where he lives, a license, and a name that is not his and paperwork for the truck that never appears. Any one of those is enough to change the temperature of a traffic stop. Nobody raises their voice. Nobody reaches for handcuffs. They keep it slow and conversational for the better part of an hour. And the reason is simple. A man who thinks he is talking his way out of a ticket does not run. >> Hey there. >> Look at you doing some work. >> I know. It's like I'm real cough or something. >> I know. >> This is all jacked up. Go look at the sticker on that. >> That's how the new stickers are starting to look. >> Are they really? >> Yeah. But it's starting to look all fake. It's like >> that looks very fake. Well, that tag's not assigned to anything. So, that's not a valid. >> Is that tag assigned to that sticker? >> I don't know. Pettis Pettis looked at it. He goes, "It looks fake." I didn't get that close, but I didn't. It should have the number on it. >> Yep. So, I'm writing for expired DL and tag attached on a fine truck towed. has no insurance, no proof registration. And that actual truck says it's maroon even though it's clearly white. They said it was like what is it like in a scrap or you buy from? Yeah, that kind of thing. There's no VIN in the dashboard. The VIN that I found in the sticker located in the door. You want to look and see if you can find >> So the VIN's actually pulling up under that. >> I thought assembled from parts white. Okay. No record on the owner, no license plate. >> So, this paperwork they gave me came back to >> the tag traces back to Missouri and the warrant traffic starts. What the officers have is a hit on a name out of another state more than a thousand miles away. That is routine on a roadside. Out ofstate warrants come back all day long. Most of them for failures to appear in unpaid obligations. And an officer working a shopping plaza in Central Florida has no way to see the size of the thing on the other end of it. >> Run run that through David. See what you get back with that. >> He says he does it, but he's a liar at this point. You just rapid I need him with a different identification. >> That is a second document. Not the outdated license from the start of the stock. a different one in a different name. Providing a false identification to a law enforcement officer is its own crime in Florida, separate from whatever brought the officer to the window in the first place. And it is the moment the stop quietly changes shape. Until now, the officers have been checking a story. From here, they are establishing an identity, which is a different job, and one that a man with two names and no address is not going to help them finish. >> Hang on. I still my snowbo address. 50. Hang on. 50. That's my parents address. 50 lake. I don't even remember. Oh, >> you don't know your address? >> I told you she's 314. That's my parents. >> Okay. But what's the address on this driver's license that you have in the position to you? >> It's only 2 years expired. So >> I know that's a steel girl address. And that's what my parents went to when they retired. >> That's what you tell. I never lived with that as a uh at 50 uh 50 lake. And what's your what's it called? >> Um that'd be uh >> hang on a second. I get that. >> It's Lake Burman, I think. Um so it would be >> I've had I built two different >> travel and look at me. Look at me. Open your eyes. >> Sorry. And then you're right in the sun. If you go on that side, what I'm wanting, I want to see >> I want to see the color of his eyes. >> Hey, look. That did right here. >> Oh, right here. Right here. Had one right here. Head name right there. Burn it off. >> Motorcycle Harley. >> Burnt it off on the motorcycle. >> The Harley Very hot. Do you have tattoos on your chest, too? On my chest? My arm? Right here. Go up. >> On your arm? >> Yeah. Right here. Go up. Right here. Yes. Go down. >> Do you have any on your chest? >> No. >> Do you mind lifting your shirt to show me you have none on your chest? >> Thank you, sir. >> Do you have a tattoo on your groin? I know it's a weird question to ask. >> I got on my groin. >> Tattoo on your groin. >> You say no. She says yes. I said look in her eyes. >> That's a personal damn question. >> That's a yes. Yes or no? >> Yeah, I got one. >> He's got a tattoo on his right arm shoulder area. He does not have any on his chest. If he just showed up and showed it to me, he had one on his right ankle. It got burnt off on a motorcycle. He does have one on his groin. I'm going to just call this agency so they can send me a picture of this guy. >> Fantastic. Thank you. >> By this point, the question is no longer whether the story holds. It is who this man actually is. She has a name he gave her, a license, and a different name and a description that does not quite match the man in front of her. So, she does what the job actually looks like. She photographs the truck. She goes through the cards and his wallet one at a time. She checks a tattoo against a description. None of it is dramatic and all of it is the reason this stop did not end with a citation and a wave. >> 65 Missouri female house. >> By now, the sergeant has enough to stop asking questions and start confirming answers. She has a name that appears on neither license, a warrant out of Missouri, and a physical description she can check against the man sitting in the truck. She goes back to the patrol car to read what came back. There is no music here and no moment of realization on camera. What you are about to hear is one officer telling another what she is looking at in the same voice she would use for a stolen tag. >> It has the same name that he provided here. >> Step over here. Open my door. >> Unknown caller. >> Hello. So, um, the spans are going to FBI most wanted if this is him, but he's he's changed. >> It's odd that the, uh, tattoo on his leg. He said was burnt off. That looks like him. Let me go grab the wallet. I saw Nfields in there. >> It was uh, >> his wallet. >> Her last. Yeah, I got his wallet. Yes, >> you have releases. >> Yeah. You guys offer a $250,000 reward for the capture of this guy. He's number four in the top 10 most wanted on this hit that I got. >> Kind of weird. I've heard that thing. >> And that photo was the guy the guy we're looking for >> on that flyer. Yeah. >> It looks like him to me. >> That your phone? >> Yeah. >> Can I borrow it from him? Absolutely. Yep. Go picture and compare. >> The man in the truck was Donald Eugene Fields II. He had been indicted federally in Missouri on a charge of child sex trafficking, and he had been a fugitive for nearly 3 years. Since 1950, only about 530 people have ever been placed on the FBI's 10 most wanted list, and he was one of them. There was a reward of $250,000 for information leading to his arrest. That is what he was wanted for, and it is the last this film will say about it. >> He's got hazel eyes, not blue eyes like the ID that he provided me. >> And there's no type of scars or anything on his back. >> Bag, >> back, right shoulder. >> I'm going to go look. and lift your shirt. Show this officer your back, please. All the way. >> There you go. That's good. >> Oh, that's all right. What do you want to do? Come on. upside down. >> Put your arms behind your back. >> What? >> Put your hands behind your back. >> All right. >> All right. >> I'm not pulling back up. >> Stay back. >> I have back surgery. >> I have back surgery. >> Good for you. Stop yelling. Unless you want to go to jail, too. >> Shut up. >> I'm sure Missouri would love you for your warrant. >> Shut up. >> Shut up. >> Exactly. >> Shut up. You're fine. >> Are you going to calm down or do you want handcuffs? >> She's fine. You're calm. >> Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Fantastic job. really without the um fingerprint scanner that wouldn't come about, >> right? >> You know, cuz you see people that they look like drug users. They just look older than they actually are. So, >> no, I'm glad I thought about using that. >> Yep. There's actual cash in there. Take it to jail. >> This is what actually settles it. Not the licenses, not the hour of questions, not the story about the sandwich shop. A portable fingerprint reader, the kind that rides in a patrol car and takes about a minute to use. A determined false identity can survive almost everything else available on a roadside. It can survive a name check, a description, even a photograph because every one of those depends on a person making a judgment. Fingerprints do not. The officers had been circling the answer for over an hour and the scanner handed it to them in one pass. >> I'm married. That's why. And I changed my name legally. >> That's fine. >> Okay. So, you're married to Mr. Fields who's in our back seat. Thank you, man. Appreciate that. >> Just got to positively identify like I told you. Okay, >> you're free to go. >> All right, good luck. Please don't fall away. >> I got the tag. I'm going to call Higgins and reschedule today for tomorrow. >> We got it. All right. Superstar. Superstar. Are you taking any on it or high? And you're going to double >> now. You didn't say a while, but the FBI wanted to talk to me. wanted me. >> Yeah, you're on the boat. >> We can talk when we get there if you want. Okay. I'm sorry. >> What were you saying, boss? >> Did uh you say something about the FBI logo? >> Yep. >> There you go. There you go. There's your flyer. Well, 10 most wanted. That's a good one. 10 most wanted. >> Yeah, I guess. I would tell that's worth 10 most wanted. Out of everybody in this world, I'm 10. Number 10. I'm out of 10. >> I don't know how the FBI does the numbers, brother. I >> buddy, I do not know either. I don't know. >> So, what's the process? I mean, I know Rust is an arrest. What's the process? >> Um, well, you're going to be there on no bond for now. I know that there ain't no bond. >> Something the cops th you call on you? >> Um, so you'll be there on no bond. I mean, they said the FBI has this out. So they're I don't know if they're going to talk to you or they're just going to extract you back to Kentucky. I don't or Missouri. Not too sure. >> What was on the side roading? >> Huh? Was that cop on the side roading? >> Yeah. After nearly 3 years on the run, what ended it was a license plate that did not belong to anything. No tip, no surveillance, no task force. A city police department with a few dozen officers made one of the largest fugitive arrests in the country that year because a sergeant ran a tag on a Saturday morning and would not let it go when the answers stopped making sense. He pleaded guilty in April of this year and in July he was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison. What would you have done an hour into a traffic stop with a story that still would not check out? Let us know in the comments and subscribe for more breakdowns of real cases and the law behind them.
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