Moment of Truth (2021–…): Season 1, Episode 2 - Chapter Two - The Most Dangerous County In America - full transcript

You have two teenage boys

in an interrogation room
in Robeson County,

being interrogated about
the murder of James Jordan...

...and then there is this video.

And Daniel is wearing one of these rings

that was found in the car,
an All-Star ring...

...and this Chicago Bulls watch.

He's wearing the dead man's jewelry.

It doesn't look good.

A battered and vandalized car

turns up on a deserted
Cumberland County road.



The vehicle belonged
to Michael Jordan's dad.

The body, located
in Bennettsville, South Carolina,

has been positively identified
as the body of Mr. James Jordan.

The nationwide impact
of the alleged crime

hit home in rural Robeson County.

But I don't want to know.

- You don't?
- No.

Because then it probably
would hurt me even more.

Let me explain why you're scared,

since you won't explain it right.

You're scared because
you're not tellin' us the truth.

Anything you want to say
to the Jordan family?

I didn't kill him.

Police have charged
18-year-old Daniel Green



and 18-year-old Larry Demery
with first-degree murder.

They say when they realized
who they had shot,

the teens dumped Jordan's body
in South Carolina.

I first became interested
in the James Jordan murder

probably when it occurred.
I was 16 years old at the time,

a teenager growing up in Chicago,

a huge Chicago Bulls fan
and a basketball fan,

and Michael Jordan
was my idol growing up.

When I was working at
the Fayetteville Observer

in North Carolina
more then a decade later,

I found myself in the archives,

looking up things on Michael Jordan
for stories I was working on

that were basketball-related,

and finding nuggets of information
in articles and news stories

that had more detail than I was privy to
as a teenager in Chicago,

and realizing that, wow,
there's a lot more to this case

than was neatly packaged,

and that there were
so many layers to this.

-
- Larry Demery's father

fired his gun when we
approached his home

and didn't want to comment
about the arrest of his son.

But many in the community say
the boys had a bad reputation.

Police say Demery
has a violent criminal record

and is under indictment
for armed robbery.

Green was paroled out of prison
two months ago

after serving two years
of a six-year sentence

for assault with a deadly weapon
and armed robbery.

Green and Demery are being held
here in county jail.

Both teenagers are very familiar
with this place.

They have been brought here
in the past,

where they've had to answer
charges of burglary and robbery.

The Jordan family has
a lot of fans in Robeson County.

Those same fans don't like the message

the murder sends about their community.

'Cause it makes Robeson County
look bad, you know?

And people don't even
want to come through here.

It has to be acknowledged
this this murder and this investigation

took place in Robeson County.

The atmosphere there at that time

only adds to the unsettled feelings
about this case.

There's a longstanding history
in this county

of political unrest, racial injustice,

and corruption in law enforcement.

According to our studies,

it is not uncommon in Robeson County
for innocent people

to be charged...

...just to close a case.

It only increases
your fascination in the case,

it only increases your fascination
in the murder,

and became a bit of an addiction
to try to find out more

and to try to learn more
about what this case was all about

and what exactly happened that night.

To fully understand
what happened to these two boys

once they were accused of this crime...

...you have to understand
the history of Robeson County.

You could make the case we're
the poorest county in North Carolina,

and really, perhaps, the entire country.

We're really good people who work hard.

God-fearing. You know,
we got churches on every corner.

There was a racial divide
in Robeson County.

You had a good portion
of Native Americans,

Lumbee Indians.

You have the Black community
and the White community.

There's a racial hierarchy
in the county.

It would have been the Whites,
the Native Americans,

and then the African Americans.

All of whom
seemed always at odds,

for one reason or another.

Between 1983 and 1987,

Robeson County's homicide rate per capita
was the highest in the state

and about double the state average.

According to the statistics,

the crimes occur within racial groups,

and Native Americans account

for more than half the homicides.

Part of growing up here
in Robeson County,

there are animosities between

Whites and Blacks,
Whites and Indians,

Indians and Blacks,
Blacks and Indians,

and back and forth.

The reality is that,
you know, we do have violence,

and we have a lot of guns.

And that happens everywhere,

but it seems like maybe
it happens a little bit more here.

Last year the Sheriff's Department

came under scrutiny
after a detective, the sheriff's son,

shot and killed a drug suspect.

Deputy Kevin Stone

shot and killed an alleged drug dealer,
Jimmy Earl Cummings.

Cummings, an Indian, was unarmed.

The SBI looked into the case,

but after a short administrative leave,
Kevin Stone is back on the job.

This group doesn't believe
the official version of the story.

Kevin Stone pulled
Jimmy Earl Cummings over,

and he didn't place him under arrest,

he didn't read him his rights,

he didn't place handcuffs on him.

We want justice done...
whatever it takes.

If it means the removal
of Kevin Stone and his father,

that's exactly what we want.

How does the sheriff respond to that?

I don't respond to that, I...

I've not even heard that statement made.

There's always someone
out there in the field that says

that they want to get shed of somebody.

Hubert Stone was
a good ol' boy, he was a country boy.

He was charismatic.
He was a smart guy.

Grew up in law enforcement.

This isn't me,
but people call it the Stone Age.

You know, Hubert Stone,
Stone Age.

But we all know what we mean by it
when we hear the words "Stone Age."

Terry Evans says this man,
Edward Zabitosky,

offered him money
to kill the sheriff's son.

Uh, he approached me
and offered me $25,000

to kill Sheriff Hubert Stone's son,
Kevin Stone.

Terry Evans
decided to turn it down

and called Sheriff Hubert Stone.

I immediately had an appointment
with Mr. Hubert Stone in his office,

explaining to him what this individual
approached me with.

Mr. Hubert Stone told me
that he would contact the SBI

and bug that phone line
of mine at home.

At the time,
Evans didn't know Zabitosky by name,

so he described him to Sheriff Stone.

Evans says Stone commented
it sounded like someone he knew.

It was the next night that Zabitosky
was shot dead by a deputy.

A top official with the SBI says

his agency was never contacted
by Sheriff Stone.

Deputy Director Charles Dunn says
the SBI didn't know

Zabitosky was shopping
for a hired killer,

and was not asked to put a tap
on Terry Evans' telephone.

When it comes to the public person
and a deputy,

it don't...

it's always the deputy that wins.

I don't think that
there was equal justice

for people in this county of color.

- When do you want it?
- Right now!

It's not right for 'em
to take my brother's life

and just push it aside!

- Is it?!
- No!

Community leaders called
a meeting of Indians to urge calm.

Still, some said the atmosphere
in Robeson County now

is like a powder keg ready to blow.

Team, pull your backup.

It was a Monday morning,
February 1, 1988.

I was at work.

Somebody walks back and says,

"There are two people up front
with guns,"

and I went out the back, in a hurry.

Two Robeson County Indians
stormed The Robesonian,

holding the newspaper's staff
at gunpoint.

Police in Lumberton
needed plenty of backup today

as they surrounded
the local newspaper building,

which had been locked shut
by two gunmen

demanding racial justice
in Robeson County.

The man coming
in the door last

had a chain in his hand,
and he chained the door.

And as he did that,
the other guy pulled out a gun.

It looked like a pump shotgun,
sawed-off shotgun.

Seventeen people
had been taken hostage

inside The Robesonian.

Shortly after that, though,

four people were released
because they are minorities.

He said, "I'm not trying to hurt you,
ma'am, we don't want to hurt anybody.

You just don't understand."

Then he let us out,
and we were free.

Hi, this is Charlie Gaddy
at Channel 5.

Could you tell me who you are
and what the situation is there, please?

Have they
said to you what they want?

I mean, what do they want
before they would let you go?

That's all they want to do,
is talk to the governor?

Would you ask one of them
if he would talk with me?

Eddie, if the governor talks with you,
what-what are you going to ask him?

Which are...

What are they? Can you tell me?

Monday's standoff ended with
an agreement by the governor's office

to investigate the claims
of racial injustice here.

Those claims directly involve
Sheriff Hubert Stone

and bring into question his fairness
and his competence.

So the governor assigned

Secretary of Crime Control
and Public Safety Joe Dean

and Chief Legal Counsel
James Trotter

to investigate law enforcement
in Robeson County.

For his part, Sheriff Hubert Stone
says he's not worried about the probe.

If they find anything that's wrong

in this department, we're
the first to want to know about it

and straighten it out.

But I'm sure that they won't find nothin'.

Eddie Hatcher and Tim Jacobs

both went to prison
on kidnapping charges.

The state investigated their claims
of government corruption,

but in the end found no evidence.

The fact remains that

they had 17 people hostage.

There's thousands of people hostage
in Robeson County.

We love you!

If it was Whites,
they'd be out this day!

There was a lot of things

that were goin' on inside
the Sheriff's Department

that were not to the benefit

of American Indians
and Blacks in particular.

I'm trying to stop short of corruption,
but maybe I-I shouldn't.

And they started to understand
that they could effect change

through the ballot box.

You had Julian Pierce,

who was running
for Judicial Court judge.

Julian Pierce
represented hope and fairness

to the poor and disadvantaged
of Robeson County.

To the Lumbee people,
that would be a sense of pride,

knowing that they were
being treated the same,

and it would sort of remove the albatross

that had been around their neck
for a long, long time.

He was running
against Joe Freeman Britt.

And Joe Freeman Britt was,
of course, the famous hanging judge.

He had already been featured
on 60 Minutes

as the deadliest DA
in the entire country.

So this was really seen
in some communities,

probably in both communities,
as a struggle between good and evil.

To have not only an Indian judge
but a fair judge...

a judge that, across the board,
was gonna go in

and the corruption was gonna end.

Finally, at last,

someone is going to help us.

We have hope.

Before he officially announced
his candidacy in February,

Pierce's supporters say
he was asked not to run.

Julian was approached
and asked to drop out of the race.

And what was his reaction?

Uh, "Definitely not interested."

And then on March 26,

which was a Saturday mornin',
I'll never forget it,

Julian Pierce was shot and killed.

The Red Springs Police Department

has been transformed
into a command post

investigating what lawmen are calling
the assassination of Julian Pierce.

Pierce was shot dead in his home
early Saturday,

just five weeks before his name
was to appear on the ballot

for Superior Court Judge.

State and federal investigators
came to the scene

to work with the Robeson
County Sheriff's Department,

and said there appeared to be
a break-in.

We don't--
we don't know what the motive was.

Whether or not the break-in had
anything to do with the homicide or not.

But campaign workers say they think

the murder was politically motivated.

They say Pierce had been
warned to be careful.

Is this really America, you know?

Did, uh...

people who are out running
for elective office

can be, uh, snuffed overnight, you know,

just come in and blow 'em away.

Pierce reportedly
had information about drug trafficking

and corruption in the county.

That leads many to think
there was more to his murder,

and Pierce's own children say
he mentioned it to them.

He said that
he was doing an investigation.

He didn't talk to us much about it.

Twenty-five agents from the SBI

and five from the FBI are on the case.

They've set up a special hotline
for anyone with information,

and computers are ready
to keep track of leads.

But there are indications someone
is trying to keep people from talking.

Since the Pierce murder,
some residents of Robeson County

have claimed they've been
threatened to keep quiet

with information they know
about drug trafficking here...

...or they would be next.

Supporters of Julian Pierce
watched the votes come in,

even though there was no way
their candidate could win,

leaving Robeson County District Attorney

Joe Freeman Britt as the automatic winner
of the Superior Court judgeship.

Julian Pierce
as a dead man got more votes

than did Joe Freeman Britt.

Late in the evening,
Pierce had gathered 62% of the vote...

one last tribute
to their slain candidate.

People came in droves
to pay their last respects

to the family of Julian Pierce
last night, to say goodbye...

...just hours after authorities have
charged the man they say took his life.

They charged a man
by the name of John Goins.

Sheriff's deputies found Goins dead
in his father's home yesterday morning

of what authorities say

was a self-inflicted gunshot wound
to the head.

Many questions would never be answered,
and many more would be asked.

People not only believe there is evidence
that doesn't fit the official story,

they think
local law enforcement officials

were directly involved in the murder.

I was visited by a lady relative of mine.

Credible person.

And, um, she told me that

she had witnessed a law enforcement car
at Julian's house

at 12:30 that night.

He was investigated
by the Sheriff's Department,

and the trigger man,
you know, killed himself.

Okay, so no trial,
no testimony, no evidence.

We asked Robeson County
Sheriff Stone about that allegation.

To the people in the community
who are screaming

that this investigation
is not gonna be clean,

what does the Sheriff
of Robeson County say to them?

I don't say nothin' to 'em.

I go out and do my job,
and run.

Go on to the next case.

It was 1993. This was a perfect storm.

You have two 18-year-olds, minorities,
in a rural county in North Carolina

who have allegedly
killed a celebrity's father...

and not just any celebrity,
Michael Jordan's father.

They've got the car,
they've got the jewelry.

These are the guys that
they are going to charge with the crime.

It's important to think about

how these interrogations are done.

You put two people
who are involved in a crime

together in separate rooms.

And this case,
you have two 18-year-old boys

who now are being told
they've killed Michael Jordan's father,

and they're panicked.

So Daniel doesn't go through his alibi

and the fact that he wasn't involved
in what really happened

because he truly is trying
to protect Larry.

He really believed that
if he covered Larry,

that certainly Larry would cover him.

This case had to be solved
quickly, they didn't want any loose ends.

And so, what do you do?
You put them in separate rooms.

You tell them that the other person
is telling on you,

so you better tell on him.

And whoever talks first
is going to get the deal.

They start threatening both of them
with the death penalty.

They start pitting them
against each other.

And then Larry caved.

There wasn't any real skepticism
about did they get the right guys.

I mean, i-it just fit the template
for Robeson County.

There was a single-minded
decision made very early on

that Larry was the good guy,
Daniel was the bad guy,

and Larry's going to testify
against Daniel.

They were paraded
into the courthouse for the cameras,

and that never happens.

Never happened before,
never happened since.

And that was Sheriff Stone.

He played to the media.

They're surrounded
by law enforcement.

That just tells you the number of people
who wanted to be involved in this case

and wanted to be a part of it.

It also tells you
that there was real concern

that somebody was gonna try
and kill them. That's the outrage,

that someone would do something
that would hurt Michael Jordan.

- Y'all get back, now.
- Have to get to the doors, guys.

This isn't about Michael Jordan.

This isn't about his fame.

This is about a man who was
convicted of killing someone,

and there are clear problems
with the case.

There was corruption
going on in this department.

There was concerns
about how evidence had been reported,

questions about the politics
of the county at the time.

There are so many urban legends
that were born out of this case.

Rumors that involved gambling, the Mafia,

and many more that have
never been answered.

It's finally time
that someone tells the truth

about what actually
happened that night.

Daniel Green, he has had
his version of his story all along.

Daniel, anything
you want to say to the Jordan family?

I didn't kill him.
That's all I have to say.

Daniel Green has never wavered.

Spent a lot of years thinkin' about,

you know, the mistakes that I've made.

Basically, I've been in prison

from anywhere from 15 to 18 years longer
than I would've been

if I would've been convicted
for what I actually did.

I've never killed anybody.

I didn't kill James Jordan.
I'm innocent.

I'm innocent of murder.