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EARLY START

Police Arrest Quadruple Murder Suspect; Police Warned About Biker Revenge Attacks; ISIS Advances in Iraq & Syria. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired May 22, 2015 - 04:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


[04:00:13] JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking news this morning: police arrest the man they say murdered a Washington, D.C. family and then set their home on fire. The dramatic details of the capture, ahead.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now, police on alert, warned that biker gangs may be planning a revenge attack against police officers.

BERMAN: ISIS makes critical gains across the Middle East, in Syria and Iraq. And now, many question the president's strategy against ISIS. We'll have all the details, ahead.

Good morning, everyone. Welcome to EARLY START. I'm John Berman.

ROMANS: Nice to see you. I'm Christine Romans. It is Friday, May 22nd, 4:00 a.m. in the East.

The manhunt for Daron Wint is over, the prime suspect in the quadruple murder that rocks the nation's capital. He was taken into custody last night near Washington. Investigators say the 34-year-old ex-marine killed his employer, Savvas Savapoulos, along with the executive's wife, son and the family's housekeeper before setting their $4.5 million mansion on fire.

Here is what we know about Wint's arrest. He was tracked to New York City, but he took off just before officers arrived. He was found at a hotel in College Park, Maryland, with five other people -- three men, two women. Police say all six left the hotel in two vehicles and were followed for five miles before apprehended. No one was hurt during the arrests.

Wint has a long history with run-ins with police. Court records show he has three assault convictions in New York state dating back to 2007. He also has an outstanding arrest warrant for violating an order of protection involving a former girlfriend.

In Washington, D.C. area, he has been charged with domestic violence, burglary and assault. But listen to Robin Ficker, Wint's former attorney. He insists there is no way the ex-marine could commit this type of crime.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBIN FICKER, WINT'S FORMER ATTORNEY: It's not his act. He's a nice guy. He's patriotic. I defended him in six cases. He was not found guilty in any of those cases in 2005 and 2006. They've got the wrong guy. It's not him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Police believe Wint worked at Savapoulos' company at least ten years ago as a laborer. Wint is facing first degree felony murder charges this morning.

BERMAN: All right. Happening now: Texas law enforcement officials say they are investigating specific threats against police officers from local biker gangs. This comes in the wake of the shootout with the rival gangs in Waco that left nine people dead. Some bikers believe that police escalated the violence. Now, the Texas Department of Public Safety has sent a warning that top level officers and families are being targeted.

CNN's Evan Perez has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

EVAN PEREZ, CNN JUSTICE REPORTER: John and Christine, the Bandidos biker gang is, quote, "out for blood." That's the warning from a new bulletin issued by the Texas Department of Public Safety. This is all in the wake of a shootout last weekend at the restaurant in Waco, Texas that left nine dead and nearly 200 people arrested.

The bulletin warns law enforcement agency that Bandidos and Black Widows motorcycle gang members have ordered a hit against Texas troopers and local police.

The warning lists potential trouble spots, including Austin, El Paso, Houston, and Corpus Christi, Texas.

The gang members are trying to obtain grenades and C4 explosives and plotting to attack high ranking members of Texas law enforcement with car bombs.

Now, the bulletin is based on information from an informant, and that hasn't been corroborated. But with the coming the Memorial Day weekend, a popular time for motorcycle club gatherings, police are taking the threat very seriously.

John and Christine, according to the bulletin, gang members believe police shot their fellow, quote, "brothers" at this Waco event.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: Evan Perez, thanks so much.

It is still not clear exactly what ignited that deadly shootout in Waco. Police recovered hundreds of weapons from the crime scene, which is the Twin Peaks restaurant there. There had been reports that a parking space dispute triggered the violence. Someone had their foot run over. But a waitress inside the restaurant tells CNN that it was much more complicated than that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

"AMY", WAITRESS, TWIN PEAKS: Contrary to what everyone is saying, it wasn't just over a parking space. I mean, it's a long -- it's been a long issue between Bandidos and Cossacks for a while. It just finally brewed up to where it erupted.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Waco police are under fire, accused of arresting innocent bystanders in the aftermath of that shootout. Police deny that charge, insisting the 170 people arrested were all involved in the incident.

ROMANS: All right. Four minutes past the hour. Time for an early start on your money this Friday morning.

[04:05:00] Stock futures pointing to a higher open after the S&P 500 hit a record high on Thursday. Asia markets posting solid gains. U.S. stock market will be closed Monday for Memorial Day.

The exploding air bag problem that led to 34 million recalled vehicles, it could take as many as five years to fix. That's according to the Consumer Federation of America. The main issue, how long it will take to make all of the replacement air bags, finding all of the owners and getting them to take their cars to dealerships who will pose a challenge. Also, some dealerships could simply be overwhelmed by the number of repairs.

Takata is the company that made these dangerous faulty air bags. It has manufactured 4 million replacement parts. There are 34 million cars to be recalled. Most of those 4 million replacement parts have been installed.

It is ludicrous that the huge failure of consumer safety in this, that there -- consumer experts are saying, if there are two people in the car, two potential drivers, one taller than the other one. The smaller person should sit in the back. The tall person should drive for safety. That is how ridiculous the whole thing is.

BERMAN: All right. Six minutes after the hour.

Six police officers now indicted in Freddie Gray's death. Baltimore situation with new developments. We will tell you the charges they are now facing, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: ISIS forces on the move in Iraq after taking control of Ramadi less than a week ago, the terrorists are now heading east toward Baghdad. Overwhelming government troops with mortar and rocket fire. One Iraqi military official describing this situation as very critical.

Right now, thousands of civilians from Ramadi are being allowed to cross the Euphrates River and then to Baghdad province to escape all of this fighting.

BERMAN: In Syria this morning, ISIS tightening its grip on the city of Palmyra. The extremists dumping the decapitated bodies of their opponents on the city's historic streets and calling on citizens to turn in government soldiers.

[04:10:07] These latest developments have triggered global concerns of the fate of the ancient ruins there.

CNN's Ian Lee is tracking the developments for us.

And, Ian, beyond just these ancient artifacts being lost, what are the ramifications of that city falling?

IAN LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, when we look at it, you first have to talk about the civilian population there -- tens of thousands of people living there and as you mentioned, ISIS going door-to-door looking for anyone who is a threat. They executed people. Also, this is a very strategic city. It is at a crossroads that leads to Homs and Damascus.

But also, the antiquities there. For ISIS, this is like robbing a bank. We know they destroyed antiquities across Iraq and Syria. The threat is there for Palmyra as well.

But also, the looting of antiquities as well. ISIS has used antiquities, the legal trade of them, to help fund their operations.

I was at a conference talking about the significance of this. I talked to a former U.S. ambassador who had advice for Americans. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WENDY CHAMBERLIN, PRESIDENT OF THE MIDDLE EAST INSTITUTE: You can call it as we used to call blood diamonds. These are blood antiquities. And it's important that the American public know that when they're buying antiquities, they check it out first. They don't want to be involved unwittingly supporting terrorist groups.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEE: Well, for any trade, you have supply and demand. ISIS is trying to produce this supply of antiquities. The demand is in the west. That is where a lot of governments are trying to stop people from buying them and educating people as well.

And to give you an idea of what an antiquity could get or ISIS could get it from it, anything could go -- one of them could go for $1 million, let's say. And according to the Antiquities Coalition, that could buy roughly 12,000 AK-47s with 2.5 million rounds. So, those are real number of these antiquities, what they could get from them, John.

BERMAN: The cruel business of terror at play here. Ian Lee for us -- thanks so much, Ian.

ROMANS: I know for public relations benefits, they destroy these things as false idols. But behind the scenes, this are selling to buy more guns and kill more people.

President Obama insists the United States is not losing this war against ISIS. He admits more needs to be done to help the Iraqis recapture the territory they lost.

And while the White House does concede there had been setbacks, listen to this assessment of the crisis in the Middle East from a retired Army General Jack Keane.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEN. JOHN KEANE (RET), FORMER VICE CHIEF OF STAFF OF THE ARMY: The resources provided to support Iraq are far from adequate. The time and urgency to provide arms and equipment and training is insufficient. And as such, we are not only failing, we are in fact losing this war.

JOSH EARNEST, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I would acknowledge that we had seen a setback in Ramadi. I think you could accurately characterize the situation in Palmyra as a setback. It is a materially different one, though, because we don't have this local force on the ground that with whom we can coordinate and who we can support with coalition military air power.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: The U.S. now admits one of the air strikes in Syria killed two children last November. This is the first time the Pentagon has acknowledged causing civilian casualties in the bombing raids in Syria.

BERMAN: Thirteen minutes after the hour.

A grand jury in Baltimore has indicted six police officers on charges connected to the death of Freddie Gray. The state's attorney, Marilyn Mosby, says some charges against the officers were dropped and others were added. Freddie Gray died last month after suffering a fatal spinal injury while in police custody.

CNN's Miguel Marquez has more now from Baltimore.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Christine and John, this is a corner in West Baltimore, a corner that's seen some of the violence in the recent days and weeks here. This is Edmonton and Pulaski of West Baltimore. The people out here are with 300 Men March. It's been a movement that's been present here in Baltimore for several years. And certainly in last several weeks, they are trying to bring down the level of violence in this city. The word that these charges came down today is being treated as a victory on these corners here in West Baltimore.

The first time that Marilyn Mosby, the state's attorney, brought charges, she brought 28 charges total. The grand jury has now returned 28 charges, slightly different, though most serious of charges was second-degree murder. That is still there. There are six manslaughter charges, six assault charges, nine misconduct charges and six reckless endangerment charges. The one difference is the false imprisonment charges from previously have now gone away.

The other thing that happened, though, because these officers were meant to be in the initial hearing next week.

[04:15:00] Now that the grand jury has spoken, it moves it all into a different court, basically an end-round. Her critics who said she should recuse herself from this case. The motion that was filed in the lower court now is null and void. They have to file it again or take another way to take on Marilyn Mosby whose position seems to be growing -- Christine, John.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: All right. Thank you for that, Miguel.

A protest in Olympia, Washington, drawing hundreds of people angry over the shooting of two unarmed black men by a white police officer. The two men, step brother, Andre Thompson and Bryson Chaplin (ph), were accused of shoplifting. Police officials say one suspect assaulted an officer before the shooting. Both men are expected to survive. The incident is now under investigation.

BERMAN: The Florida man who landed a gyrocopter on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol last month pleaded not guilty in federal court to the six charges against him. Sixty-one-year-old Donald Hughes pulled the stunt as a protest against big money in politics. Outside the Washington, D.C. courthouse, Hughes says he has no regrets.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DOUG HUGHES, GYROCOPTER PILOT: Nobody else could do what I did and get away without at best being forced down. At worst, being shot down. I highly recommend nobody try it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: The charges against Hughes could land him in prison for up to nine and a half years.

ROMANS: Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates now president of the Boy Scouts of America is calling on that organization to end its ban on gay scout leaders. Gates says the Boy Scouts do not act on their own, it is likely the courts will force them. When he was defense secretary, Gates helped end the military policy of "don't ask, don't tell".

He said it was an existential crisis for the organization. He said, look, we need to do this. Times have changed and we need to end this thing.

BERMAN: It is interesting, though. Religious organization which fund 70 percent of the Boy Scout troops across America, he said they should not be affected here. So, it's only outside their purview, so the idea of this being an all encompassing change. Maybe not.

New revelations about the money flowing into the Clinton Foundation. It received more than $26 million in previously -- up to $26 million in previously undisclosed payments from corporations and universities and other foreign sources. The money was paid as fees for speeches by Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton. The disclosure from the foundation comes amid scrutiny of foreign donors and whether any of the funding sources could be a conflict of interest for the former secretary of state and her bid to be president.

ROMANS: All right. President Obama's trade agenda, he has been fighting hard for this. This is taking a big step forward. The Senate advancing legislation that would strengthen his hand in trade talks with Pacific Rim nations.

The fast track measure would allow the White House to negotiate trade deals that Congress could accept or reject but not change. The president says the Pacific trade deal would open access to more global markets. Opponents say it would cost American jobs.

And I think it's fair to say there's pretty much an ideological war among the Democrats about this. Elizabeth Warren -- Senator Elizabeth Warren and many others say this is a give away of jobs and job protections for Americans. They do not like the president's agenda on this.

BERMAN: And Mitch McConnell is making deals with Democratic senators to get that passed, and was supposed to be easier in the Senate than the House. The House is going to be tough.

All right. New information this morning about the extent of the huge oil spill in California. Just how long will this take to clean up? That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:21:55] ROMANS: Coast Guard officials say cleaning the coastline, it could take months. Crews are now working around the clock. They're scooping up patches of crude oil from a pipeline spill that closed beaches and endangered wildlife. The pipeline operator still trying to figure out what caused the rupture. Meantime, the accident is raising questions about the company's past performance.

We get more from CNN's Sara Sidner.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, Christine, the clean up continues here in the beaches of Santa Barbara. We are still smelling the putrid smell of crude oil. And you can see, the crude oil splashed all over the rocks. There is still plenty to do and it will take at least a week before they begin to open some of these beaches here.

And we should also talk about what is happened with this company in the past because they have a checkered record when it comes to dealing with their pipelines. About 10 years ago, they had -- between 2004 and 2007, they had a series of 10 spills in states across the country, including Kansas, Texas and Louisiana. And those spills culminated in a settlement with the government, with the EPA, and with the Justice Department.

They ended up settling for $41 million. And that $41 million was supposed to go toward paying to upgrade about 10,000 miles of crude oil pipeline.

The company says it did that and safety is a priority. But, certainly, we're seeing again a problem here with that same company. We asked a lot of questions, but we didn't get answers when it came to their record -- John, Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: All right. Sara Sidner, there's more questions and more answers coming on that for sure.

BERMAN: All right. Emergency officials in north Texas urging people who live in the city of Wichita Falls to evacuate as heavy rains trigger flash floods. Some neighborhoods are dealing with flood waters moving into their homes this morning. The area just coming out of a year-long drought, but they have seen flooding before back in 2007.

ROMANS: Meanwhile, there's heavy flooding being reported all across the South. Let's get to meteorologist Derek Van Dam with the very early look at your Friday weather.

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, John and Christine.

The Central Plains has an extraordinary amount of rain this month so far. Just to put this all into context, here are five different cities approaching the wettest May on record. In fact, even Fort Smith, Arkansas, just surpassed that at 14 inches of rain so far. We still have several days to go left in this month.

And there is more rain in store. Look at the storm system brewing across the Texas panhandle over eastern sections of New Mexico. There's even the possibility of severe weather today.

The National Weather Service has extended the flash flood watches and warnings through the holiday weekend from North Texas to Eastern Oklahoma, even the western section of Arkansas. So, be careful driving. Remember the slogan, turn around and don't drown.

With an addition five to perhaps even upwards of 10 inches of localized rain over the next seven days, you can see why the flash flood watch continues.

Here's a look at severe weather. Sunshine over Northeast with temperatures in the lower 70s for New York City.

Back to you.

[04:25:01] ROMANS: Derek, thanks.

BERMAN: All right. We have breaking news this morning. Overnight, U.S. Marshals arrest the man accused of murdering a Washington, D.C. family before setting that mansion on fire. This manhunt has gripped that city. We will tell you the dramatic details of the arrest, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: Breaking news this morning. The manhunt for the murder suspect believed to have killed a D.C. family in their home before setting the home on fire. That manhunt is now over. A dramatic takedown overnight. New details ahead.

BERMAN: Possible biker revenge. Police warned that they could be targets of rival biker gangs in Texas heavily armed. The new threat, that's coming up.

ROMANS: New victories for ISIS across the Middle East. The terrorists gaining critical ground. They are expanding rapidly this morning and casting new doubt on President Obama's war plan. Live team coverage breaking it all down, ahead.

Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans.

BERMAN: Great to see you today. I'm John Berman. Thirty minutes past the hour right now.

And breaking overnight, the manhunt is over. Daron Wint, the prime suspect in the quadruple murder that rocked the nation's capital, was taken into custody late last night near Washington. Investigators say the 34-year-old ex-marine killed his former employer Savvas Savapoulos, along with the executive's wife, son and housekeeper before setting their multimillion dollar house on fire.

This is what we know about this arrest that happened, again, overnight. He was tracked by law enforcement to New York City, but he apparently fled New York just before officers arrived.