EP 17: Daniel Holtzclaw is Arrested
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Below are the official police reports and court documents pertinent to this episode. (Transcript of this episode coming soon)
Bates Investigates
Episode 17 ׀Daniel Holtzclaw: The Arrest
Disclaimer: This podcast deals with adult subject matter, including depictions of drug addiction, prostitution, sexual assault, and rape. Parental guidance is suggested.
00:10 [OPENING AUDIO COLLAGE]
Newscaster: Officer Daniel Holtzclaw, with the Police Department for three years, is accused of raping and sexually assaulting women he pulled over while on the job.
Jannie Ligons: He said, ‘Come on, come on, just a minute, just a minute’. I say, ‘Sir, I can’t do this’. I say, ‘you gonna shoot...’
Det. Kim Davis: Tell me your description of him.
Sherri Ellis: He’s black.
Det. Kim Davis: He’s b—okay, black male.
Det. Kim Davis: What did your daughter tell you?
Amanda Gates: She said, ‘I met this really hot cop’.
Shardayreon Hill: So, this is good evidence?
Det. Rocky Gregory: Well, you tell me.
[OPENING AUDIO COLLAGE ENDS]
Timestamp: The following episode contains investigative events which occurred on August 21, 2014.
00:58
Host: Welcome back to Bates Investigates - Season One: In Defense of Daniel Holtzclaw. This is episode seventeen. In the last episode, I wrapped up the allegations of forty-one year old Northeast Oklahoma City resident, Carla Raines. In the investigative timeline, Oklahoma City Police Sex Crimes Detectives, Rocky Gregory and Kim Davis, have documented seven accusers or alleged victims in this investigation. An investigation that started in the early morning hours of June 18, 2014, after fifty-seven year old Jannie Ligons was pulled over for swerving while she was driving home from a male friend’s house around 2 a.m. Within hours of that traffic stop’s conclusion, Ligons made contact with police and reported that she had been sexually assaulted during that traffic stop. The officer was later identified as twenty-seven year old Oklahoma City Patrol Officer, Daniel Holtzclaw. We are now two months into the criminal investigation and detectives and prosecutors are ready to make the allegations against Officer Holtzclaw public. But first, they’ve got to get him into custody. It’s August 21, 2014, a Thursday, and Detective Kim Davis is sitting at her desk at Oklahoma City Police Headquarters. She’s finishing up a Probable Cause Affidavit for the arrest of Officer Daniel Holtzclaw. You’ll recall back in episode seven, I spoke with local defense attorney, and former Oklahoma County prosecutor, Angela Sonaggera. I recently sat down with her again, and asked her to help explain exactly what’s going on at this point in the investigation.
02:45
Angela Sonaggera: Uh, thanks for having me on again. I appreciate it. Probable Cause Affidavit is usually referred to as a PC Affidavit. It doesn’t list all of the narratives, it doesn’t list all of the victims, it’s just enough for a judge to say yes, I believe there’s enough probable cause to arrest this person.
Host:Is it a, is it a very high standard that Kim Davis is gonna have to overcome?
Angela Sonaggera: It’s not huge, but there is… you have to have probable cause to stop somebody and to arrest them, so they have to have enough for the judge to say that’s in that documentation. Because, obviously, arresting somebody is a very serious thing. They don’t wanna just issue an arrest warrant, just because. They have to make sure everything’s in order.
Host:Could we consider this a pretty one-sided, very short narrative of what the least the prosecution is alleging happened?
Angela Sonaggera: Yes. That’s a good, that’s a good way of phrasing it, yes.
03:37
Host: The three page Affidavit, which I have posted on this episode’s homepage at holtzclawtrial.com, in very damning language lays out the case that Holtzclaw is a serial, sexual predator who used his badge to target and victimize at least seven women, ranging in age from thirty-nine to fifty-seven. And the common thread amongst the listed victims? They are all black females, and all but one having a documented history of drug usage and/or prostitution. Detectives Davis and Gregory take the completed Affidavit to the Oklahoma County Courthouse. There they seek out Judge Cindy Truong for her signature authorizing the arrest. Again, Angela Sonaggera.
04:26
Angela Sonaggera: Well, usually the police will have the PC Affidavit. They’ll take it to a judge that sometimes is on call, they kind of rotate, or sometimes also, like, at night if they want a search warrant, there’ll be a specific judge that’s on call and they’ll go to their house. But they’ll go to the courthouse, seek out some particular judge, sometimes it’s just whoever’s available, hand them the documents, and the judge will look it over. If there is probable cause they will sign the documentation and then that will start the process rolling, and they’ll set a bond at that point usually.
Host:Judge Truong is a former prosecutor in the Oklahoma County DA’s office. She started there shortly after graduating law school in 2001. She worked as an ADA under District Attorney, Wes Lane, and his predecessor, David Prater. She was elected Judge in 2010. She has held her office ever since without drawing an opponent. I just want to interject a brief disclosure. I know Judge Truong personally and I consider her a friend. I first met her when she was a prosecutor working for DA Wes Lane. I also volunteered to aid in her campaign when she successfully ran for election. Judge Truong reviewed the Affidavit as prepared by Detective Davis. This document is the only investigative materials the Judge will see before authorizing Officer Holtzclaw’s arrest. Which, when executed, unleashed local, national, and international media coverage and criticism.
05:53
Angela Sonaggera: I wanna disclose that I worked for Judge Truong too. When she was an Assistant District Attorney, we worked briefly together. And I appeared in front of her as a prosecutor, and briefly as a defense attorney when she had a criminal docket. She may have just been the presiding judge at the time, or on call, like I said. Uh, the, the police will go to that judge, present the documentation, and there is no hearing, per se. The judge will look over the documents, as I said, decide whether or not there is probable cause, and then things get filed, the process starts going. That point the defense attorney has no say in anything, if—cause the person hasn’t been arrested so there is no defense attorney at that point. But, yes, it is somewhat one-sided. I don’t think it’s a nefarious thing though. It’s just kind of how the process works. As soon as ba—bond is set and the person is arrested the defense attorney will have an opportunity to lower the bond, if, if they want to. It’s, it’s kind of like they’re presenting the elements of each crime to the judge and the judge is saying I believe those elements are there and that’s enough to arrest somebody.
06:49
Host:The PC Affidavit presented to Judge Truong refers to each of the victims by their initials and begins with the Terri Morris encounter. The Affidavit, however, doesn’t disclose that she told vastly different versions of the same allegations, doesn’t mention she couldn’t pick Holtzclaw out of a photo line-up as her attacker, or how she identified a different style of police patrol car, nor how Holtzclaw’s AVL didn’t match her story. Nevertheless, Morris’ allegations resulted in a criminal complaint of Forcible Oral Sodomy, which alone, carries up to twenty years in the penitentiary. The Affidavit next alleges Jannie Ligons was forced to expose her breasts, pull down her pants, and then perform oral sex on Officer Holtzclaw. Detective Davis points out that Ligons submitted to a SANE (or rape exam) but the Affidavit fails to mention that the results of that exam did not support her allegations. From there, the Affidavit focuses on accuser Tabitha Barnes, stating “the defendant harassed her on various occasions” and details how Officer Holtzclaw allegedly burglarized Barnes’ home when he called in the open door on her residence (a residence that had recently been burglarized), conducted a protective sweep, and encountered Barnes’ boyfriend, Terry Williams. The Affidavit states Holtzclaw told Williams he shouldn’t be in the home, and does it in a way as to make it seem nefarious on Officer Holtzclaw’s part. And I’d argue that’s mostly due to the fact Detective Davis failed to mention Williams was a registered sex offender and indeed he most likely should not have been residing in Barnes’ home—which is close to a school, a public park, and Barnes herself has young children living in her house.
08:49
The Affidavit next details accuser Carla Raines. While Detective Davis is certain to mention that Raines claims Holtzclaw had her expose her breasts, she doesn’t bother to mention she initially (and seven times) denied being a victim. And even when she does eventually implicate Holtzclaw, Raines admits he never directly told her to expose herself. With accuser Sherry Ellis, Detective Davis says that Holtzclaw encountered her at one location, allegedly forced her to perform oral sex upon him, and that he then drove her to a second location where he removed her from his patrol car and vaginally raped her from behind. This must have sounded absolutely horrific to the judge, especially considering there is no mention that Ellis described her attacker as a short, dark-skinned, black male and that the location she claims she was taken to is not supported by the AVL evidence. Then there’s accuser Florene Mathis, whom Detective Davis describes as being stopped at Northeast Eighteenth and Kate Avenue, and that Officer Holtzclaw allegedly fondled her breasts on the top of her clothing. Interestingly enough, there is no mention that Mathis claims to be the housekeeper of accuser Tabitha Barnes, and that Holtzclaw’s AVL shows he never encountered Mathis at Northeast Eighteenth and Kate. Finally, the Affidavit ends with accuser Carla Johnson and her allegations that Officer Holtzclaw touched her breasts and vagina while searching for drugs. All in all, the Affidavit for arrest, prepared by Detective Kim Davis, calls for Oklahoma City Police Officer Daniel Holtzclaw to be arrested on nine criminal complaints. One count of Rape in the First Degree, Rape by Instrumentation, three counts of Forcible Oral Sodomy, two counts of Sexual Battery, and two counts of Indecent Exposure. Once again, Angela Sonaggera.
11:00
Angela Sonaggera: Rape is a very serious allegation. S—s—you know, Forcible Oral Sodomy. All of them are sexually based crimes. Those are some of the—the worst crimes that we have. Because of that the ranges of punishment are pretty harsh. Some of them carry up to ten years. Uh, the Rape charge carries five to life. Uh, so, it’s a big range of punishment, but those are, you know, for the most serious crimes. Sometimes the detectives will list out crimes that they think have been, uh, committed on their own, based on their investigation. Sometimes when it’s something like this, uh, when involving, a, a high profile defendant or high profile suspect, it is done in conjunction with the DA’s office. It is not uncommon for that to happen, because a lot of times the police will have certain information and they’re not sure maybe they have enough to arrest somebody or to charge somebody so they’ll go to an ADA and say, ‘Hey, you know, do we have enough here? What do we need if we don’t? Uh, what are we looking at if we, you know, is there something else we can use instead of this particular charge we’re looking at?’ So, sometimes it is done in conjunction with the DA’s office.
Host:Just because they’ve listed certain charges in this, uh, Probable Cause Affidavit for Arrest, does that necessarily mean that’s what he’ll ultimately be charged with?
Angela Sonaggera: Not always. Typically what happens is they’ll list the crimes they think have been committed by this person and then when those get to the DA or the ADA, they’ll go through and look at everything and see if those elements of those particular crimes are there. If they’re not, they’ll decline certain charges, and/or maybe change it to another charge that might fit a little better, fit the elements a little better. So, it’s not always the same thing as they start out with.
Host:I’m not giving anything away here, most people listening are somewhat familiar with this case. We’re only at seven accusers and we know, ultimately, there’s thirteen, so obviously, at some point, additional charges are, are going to be added. Uh, and really, we’re at nine.
Angela Sonaggera: Right.
Host:And we know, ultimately, he has thirty-six charges against him.
Angela Sonaggera: Correct.
Host:So, it’s more of a, kind of a fluid document. This is basically what is utilized, I guess, to get him in custody, and then charges are filed, but even once charges are filed they can be amended and changed and those sorts of things.
Angela Sonaggera: Right. They can be amended right up unto trial, basically. Because, you have certain information at that point, and like you said, you want to get somebody in custody if you think they’re a threat to society, and so you charge them with what you have, and sometimes that goes on the news or is in the newspaper or somebody tells somebody else and then more, more victims can come forward and then more charges may develop from that. And then, even, like, when you get to, like, a Preliminary Hearing, if there’s certain testimony the charges can be amended at that point based on the testimony that was given. So, it, it is a very fluid document.
Host:Once the judge signs off on an arrest warrant, a lot of people, especially people who live in, here in Oklahoma, are familiar with websites like OSCN and stuff like that, typically once they get an arrest warrant signed, how long is it before that becomes general public knowledge where even the defendant could be tipped off that there’s a warrant for their arrest?
Angela Sonaggera: Generally it doesn’t take very long. It, it kind of just depends on how long it takes to get on OSCN. Um, I’ve seen it happen in a matter of days. I’ve seen it take a few weeks. It, it really just depends. On a ho—high profile case like this it probably won’t take very long because it’ll be given top priority.
Host:Which probably explains why immediately a—I don’t think it’s any accident that immediately after this was signed they went right out and put him under arrest.
Angela Sonaggera: Probably not.
14:29
Host:It’s just after two in the afternoon. Judge Truong signs the arrest warrant and officers assemble to decide how best to take Daniel Holtzclaw into custody. Remember, up to this point, he hasn’t been arrested or charged for anything. He was simply relieved of duty on June 18th and has been free to move about in any way he wishes, with no restrictions. Detective Gregory decides it would probably be best to take Holtzclaw into custody somewhere out in the open, in public, and to try to catch him off guard. So, they decide to call Holtzclaw and tell him they need him to speak with his Major, Brian Jennings. Holtzclaw says he’ll be at the gym in Northwest Oklahoma City and can step outside to talk. Less than an hour after the warrant is signed, a team of uniformed and undercover officers converge on the Gold’s Gym in the twenty-three hundred block of West Memorial Road. As Holtzclaw steps outside, he is approached by Detective Gregory, who extends his hand in greeting, but then proceeds to place him under arrest. Here’s how Detective Gregory described the arrest when he sat down with a reporter with the Daily Oklahoman newspaper.
15:45 [RECORDING BEGINS]
Detective Gregory:They, we had, we was a little worried. He, he was big. So, had the gang guys show up and actually there was a Major that had called him up there.
Reporter:[clears throat]
Detective Gregory:Said ‘Hey, I need to give you some paperwork.’ Me and my partner, Rob High, we go over there, you know? As soon as he turned around to see me, he knew what was going on.
Reporter:What was his face?
Detective Gregory:Uh, shock. I—i—it was shock. Uh, you could tell it’s, I mean, I felt like his heartbeat was starting to go. Uh, but he never was angry, anything, didn’t show anything like that. Uh, I shook hands with him cause I wanted it to be a, a calm interaction. Uh, and then, uh, I just had him turn around. Kinda explained, you know, I said, ‘We have a warrant for your arrest,’ and, um, you know, ‘We just—we don’t want any problems or anything like that,’ you know, ‘We’re just doing what we’re supposed to do,’ and… And, uh, he was good. He obeyed every command. You know, turn around and hands behind the back and so I put the handcuffs on him and… and, uh, just kind of went from there. Put him in, uh, one of the gang guy’s cars. Uh, we followed him down to the County Jail. They had to clear out the County Jail. Anytime an officer arrives, everybody goes on lockdown and there is no inmates around. They don’t want ‘em seeing him, dealing with him. And it’s for their protection, the officer’s protection. And, it is pretty quiet around there. That’s usually one of the busier places. And I just remember going through with him. Uh, he was allowed on the phone. You know, we was trying to give him some courtesy.
Reporter:Who’d he call?
Detective Gregory:I believe his, uh, dad. And, uh, I mean he was, I—I can’t remember whether he really cried then or not.
[RECORDING ENDS]
Host:Immediately after being placed into custody, Holtzclaw was transported to the Oklahoma County Jail, where he is formally booked in and has his mug shot taken. And he wouldn’t be released any time soon, at least not under the current bail that had been set by Judge Truong. I asked Angela to provide us with some more details as to the assigning of bond, and exactly when in this process it was set.
18:11
Angela Sonaggera: Probably right when that Probable Cause Affidavit was signed. Because that’s telling the police you can go arrest this person now and you have to set a bond and a bond is usually set by what’s called the Bond Schedule, meaning there’s, like, a list of charges and then they have certain prices or amounts that the bond will be. Like, for example, you know, maybe an Assault and Battery with a Dangerous Weapon will be Five Thousand Dollars, or, you know, Trespassing will be Five Hundred Dollars. That just means that the judge looks at, the person’s, um, charges, whether or not they have prior charges, or if there’s, you know, two or three charges, kinda add all the numbers together, that’s the bond. And that’s the amount that the person has to pay or have a bondsman pay to get out of jail. Uh, this bond is very unusual in that it was Five Mi—first, it was Five Million Dollars, and then, fi—secondly, it was Five Million Dollars cash. Uh, that’s…
Host:And what does that mean when they say cash?
Angela Sonaggera: That means you can’t go to a bondsman and put up what’s called a Surety Bond where you just pay part of the bond. A cash bond means you have to pay all of it.
Host:So, have you ever in your career, uh, how long have you been a lawyer?
Angela Sonaggera: Let’s see, I think now, 01, so eighteen years…
Host:Eighteen years.
Angela Sonaggera: …nineteen years, almost.
Host:Have you ever seen a bond that was Five Million Dollars?
Angela Sonaggera: No.
Host:Um, it—it’s essentially no bond.
Angela Sonaggera: Essentially, yeah. Because most people would not have the means to secure that at all.
Host:So, they, you can’t put up just a portion, there’s no need to even call a bondsman because the judge has said you have to put this up literally in cash.
Angela Sonaggera: Right. What most people probably don’t realize is that, uh, bond is not supposed to be a form of punishment, it’s just supposed to ensure that you’ll show up for your court dates. However, there isn’t a, there is not a presumption of innocence when a bond is set, the Court actually sets your bond with the assumption that you are guilty. And in this case, you know, those are very serious charges, hence the high bond.
Host:So that would, so anyone who’s—th—w—maybe wants to criticize Judge Truong for the high amount, um, she, even though in the eyes of the law there’s a presumption of innocence until proven guilty, but specifically, in Oklahoma law, it’s the presumption of guilt whenever bond is actually set.
Angela Sonaggera: Right. And you also have the factor too, the nature of these charges. They’re bad. I mean, they’re bad, they’re not a Trespassing charge, so the likelihood that somebody will run or flee because of those charges are being filed or they’re being arrested for them la—you know, is probably very high. It would be difficult for me to want to stay and face my accusers or go to court on a Rape charge as opposed to a Trespassing charge because the stakes, obviously, are much higher for a Rape charge. Rape charge carries up to life in prison. R—you know, Trespassing is maybe a fine or misdemeanor at best. So, that’s part of the, the bond setting too, is the judge kind of takes all of that together and sets a number. And again, it—it’s a high profile case. He has some notoriety. He’s known probably at this point a little bit, if not in Oklahoma City, he’ll be known nationwide soon, he—they’ve got to make sure he comes back to court.
21:20
Host:An—an—and I… some of the insights I have, I know the judge was also told about the DNA evidence that they had found and that they had not identified who it belonged to. So, potentially, they, they believed that there were additional victims out there that they had yet to identify. And I think one of the concerns that somebody would have is you wouldn’t want any defendant trying to reach out and intimidate other victims or potential witnesses.
Angela Sonaggera: Right.
Host:Um, and the best way to do that would be to keep him locked up.
Angela Sonaggera: Right.
Host:And something else a lot of people may not realize, but this comes up, it didn’t in this case, but in other cases, uh, a lot of people will wanna use a public defender because defense attorneys are expensive, but a lot of people don’t realize, and I’ve come across this, if you manage to make bond—which bond in Oklahoma County often times is pretty low, Five Hundred Dollars…
Angela Sonaggera: Right.
Host:…to Twenty-Five Hundred Dollars and you only have to put up a percentage of that. A lot of people don’t realize that when you exercise that right and you use a bondsman and you put that money up, there’s a good chance you now will no longer qualify for a public defender, has that been your experience?
Angela Sonaggera: Yes, uh, typically what happens is you’re in a courtroom and the judge will call the docket and someone will say, ‘I just bonded out but I need to get the application for a public defender,’ and the judge will ask what their bond was, and if it’s, you know, pretty high, like, you know, Five, Ten Thousand Dollars, then they’ll say, ‘Well, you, you can get the application and fill it out but you’re probably not gonna qualify for a public defender because those are for truly indigent people.’ And their thought process, or the system’s thought process, I guess, is that if you can afford to bond out, even if somebody else did it for you, you can afford to get an attorney.
Host:And then something else, in a case like this, where, say bond is set at—I, in my opinion, and you tell me if this would be right or not, in my opinion in Oklahoma County a high bond is typically somewhere between Fifty and One Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars.
Angela Sonaggera: Yeah, I would agree with that.
Host:If a person has a bond amount that is set high, and they can’t make it, and they feel that that was unfairly set too high, is there any sort of recourse or anything that a defendant can, can do, if they, they truly feel that their bond was unjustly set?
Angela Sonaggera: Yes, they or their attorney can have a motion to reduce the bond. And what that is is that’s a hearing that’s set in front of a judge, and the attorney will give a reason to the judge why the bond should be lowered. Kind of like what we were saying earlier that it’s not supposed to be a form of punishment, it’s just to ensure that you’ll show up. And so the, the attorney will, you know, point out the ties you have to the community, if they’ve lived in the state for a long time, if they have a job here, if they have relatives here, they have—they—you know, something that ties them to this area and ensure their—their appearance, and sometimes the judge will agree with that. Sometimes they won’t. Sometimes they’ll take a passport or something else just to ensure it too. But the bond hearing is that avenue.
24:16
Host:Almost immediately as Officer Holtzclaw is taken into custody and booked into jail, the media is alerted to his arrest and a press conference is called by the Oklahoma City Police Department. The story of an alleged serial rapist with a badge is breaking news. Despite many groups and individuals claiming this story received little or no attention, the truth is the media coverage was immediate, intense, and spanned the globe. The following is a sample of the breaking news as reported locally by NBC affiliate KFOR News Channel 4.
[RECORDING BEGINS]
Linda Cavanaugh:Oklahoma City Police Officer accused of shocking sex crimes.
Kevin Ogle:So far seven victims have come forward, but police say there may be more. Today, court records are providing a timeline of the disturbing allegations. Officer Daniel Holtzclaw, with the Police Department for three years, is accused of raping and sexually assaulting women he pulled over while on the job. First at six, News Channel Four’s, Jesse Wells, is covering that story and he’s live in the newsroom with the very latest on the investigation, and Jesse, I know you have reaction from one of the victim’s friends.
Jesse Wells:That’s right, Kevin. According to court records the sexual assaults began back in February and ended in June of this year. The sad thing is the story of one victim you’ll hear in just a minute, has been duplicated several times over by other women on the City’s Northeast side. An arrest warrant now details how the first allegations against Holtzclaw came to light in February. A woman claims Holtzclaw touched her bare breasts, adding that the victim had City warrants and Holtzclaw advised her to play by his rules and he would help her out. From there, allegations arose from different victims on March 14th, April 14th, May 7th, May 8th, May 26th, and lastly on June 18th. Following that alleged assault in June here at Northeast Fiftieth and Lincoln, Holtzclaw got pulled off the streets. All of his alleged crimes took place in the Springlake Division on the City’s Northeast side. So far, seven victims have come forward, all African American women, and police admit there may be more that haven’t come forward.
Cap. Dexter Nelson:We’re hoping that this does not affect our public trust, but we know it, it probably will and it can.
Jesse Wells:And right now Holtzclaw is still on paid leave while the case is investigated. He does remain though behind bars at the Oklahoma County Jail. He’s being held on a Five Million Dollar bond. Linda, back to you.
[RECORDING ENDS]
26:46
Host:While the arrest of a police officer for multiple sexual assaults allegedly committed while on duty is news worthy on its own, you need to keep in mind that at this time local, national, and international news was fixated on a racially charged incident out of Ferguson, Missouri: the August 9, 2014 fatal shooting of Michael Brown, an eighteen year old black youth, by a twenty-eight year old white police officer named Darren Wilson. Just three days before Officer Holtzclaw’s arrest in Oklahoma City, every news channel was leading with the uptick in violent clashes between protestors and police after a curfew was imposed and the National Guard was called out to restore peace. That incident is also known as the Ferguson Uprising or Ferguson Race Riots. Like the civil unrest in Missouri, Oklahoma is now facing the same potential powder keg of what is being described as a white officer who intentionally targeted vulnerable African American females. Though, in reality, Officer Holtzclaw is himself a minority, he’s half Japanese. But that reality is often lost on a media and social justice mob’s with a proven attention-grabbing agenda—white cop versus black citizen. It’s while Holtzclaw is sitting in jail with a Five Million Dollar bond that his father, Eric Holtzclaw, begins contacting attorneys. One of those attorneys that he calls is high profile criminal defense attorney, Scott Adams. I recently sat down with Mr. Adams in his office at his law firm, Adams and Associates, located in downtown Oklahoma City. Another disclosure, Scott Adams and I are personal and professional friends. Best friends by most people’s definition. I first met Mr. Adams many years ago, probably around 1996, when he cross-examined me (more like crucified me) while I was on the stand as a witness for the prosecution to a crime his client had allegedly committed. Despite the defendant being convinced he was going to be found guilty, Mr. Adams worked his magic and the jury acquitted. Mr. Adams’ take-no-prisoners approach to jury trial left an impression upon me. I hated that he embarrassed and belittled me on the stand, but I admired his unapologetic defense of his client. When years later in 2005 I found myself the target of an overzealous prosecutor who had me arrested and falsely charged with several serious felonies, I knew exactly who I need to call. That experience of working with Mr. Adams, and doing much of my own investigative work to prove my innocence, is what convinced me to get my license and become a Private Investigator and work on the behalf of others. I now office out of Mr. Adams’ law firm and we actually have lived next door to each other as neighbors for several years.
29:45
Scott Adams:I’ve been practicing law for thirty years now. I, uh, graduated law school in 1989 from Oklahoma City University, and I basically practice exclusively criminal trial litigation.
Host:You would be defined as a, as an actual trial attorney.
Scott Adams:Yes. That’s literally all that I do.
Host:There’s a lot of attorneys who will take on criminal cases, but they—they’re not known for going all the way to trial.
Scott Adams:Yes, and over the years, we’ve had a reputation for going to trial.
Host:Take me back to the day that, I’m assuming, you were first contacted by Eric Holtzclaw.
Scott Adams:It was late summer of 2014, and I recall that I received a phone call from a, a police officer, and I believe he was a Lieutenant from some other, uh, police department here in Oklahoma. You know, p—prior to the phone call, I’d seen, uh, some clips from the local media stations and in the newspaper that there was an officer who’d been arrested here in Oklahoma City. What I recall—and when I received the phone call it was his father and he is a Lieutenant at a different police department here in Oklahoma and, uh, he was—started talking about his son who was the officer who had been arrested here in Oklahoma City and I put two and two together and figured out they were the same people.
Host:What was his reaction? Or what was he saying to you? Just ‘how do I get my son out’ or what was his concern?
Scott Adams:Well, he, you know, he—his—he was very methodical and his number one concern was his son was in jail and he wanted to know what we could do, uh, to get him out of that situation. Which, you know, obviously, at that point in time, I didn’t have any information so I didn’t know. Uh, but that was his number one concern. His num—his, his second, uh, concern, was that he felt that his son was being, uh, charged inappropriately, that he hadn’t done anything wrong, and, and that was his second concern.
Host:And, it, it’d be fair to say that up to this point, when, when someone calls you to see about representation, the only thing you have to go on are the charging documents, right?
Scott Adams:Un—unfortunately, when I get these phone calls like this the only thing I have to go off of is what the government has suggested or what they’ve filed, which, in this case, was a Probable Cause Affidavit that had some of the information and that’s all that I had.
Host:Is it pretty typical that once you finally get to get some actual evidence or discovery that it’s not nearly as nefarious as they write these reports?
Scott Adams:A—a simple answer to your question is yes. I mean, typically th—th—they’re skewed in the, in favor of the State or the government, they typically leave out a lot of exculpatory type evidence, and things of that nature. But, still, what I recall when I read this one, I was taken back by the, the sheer number of allegations.
Host:Did Eric Holtzclaw, did he know what the bond situation was at that point? Did he understand how dire it was?
Scott Adams:Yes. He did. He knew that it, he knew that it was sig—serious. I don’t think that he understood how serious it was.
Host:What becomes your first priority?
Scott Adams:My, my first priority in this case was to try to get Daniel out of jail. Uh, it’s so much easier to, to work with a client and, and develop a defense, obviously, if your client is out, uh, out of jail and can have access to come into the office and things of that nature. But that was my number one concern was what could I do immediately if anything to get him out of jail.
Host:And in, in this case, Daniel had a Five Million Dollar cash bond, had you ever seen anything like that in Oklahoma County?
Scott Adams:L—l—like I said, I’ve practiced law for thirty years and I can’t recall another defendant ever having a Five Million Dollar bond in Oklahoma City.
Host:So, this—you think this was more the judge sending a message to the public as opposed to actually enforcing some sort of a bond schedule or something?
Scott Adams:I—I—I do. I believe it was a message to the entire community that, uh, that—they wanted people number one to pay attention to the case, but number two, for whatever reason, they were trying to make an example out of him.
Host:What’s the remedy when, when such a high bond, which, basically, Five Million Dollar cash bond is a no bond, wh—is there any legal remedy when they do something like that?
Scott Adams:The only remedy that we have is to take it up with the district judge here who set the Five Million Dollar bond. If I can’t get any relief with that particular judge, then I would have to take it up with the Court of Criminal Appeals here in the state of Oklahoma.
33:49
Host:The Holtzclaw family, after speaking to several lawyers, eventually decide to retain Mr. Adams to represent Daniel. And, in the near future, Holtzclaw and his legal team will successfully argue for a more reasonable bond. Before that can happen, two more accusers will come forward. One will eventually admit to making up the entire story of being sexually assaulted by Officer Holtzclaw. The other, she’ll claim Officer Holtzclaw followed her into her home and vaginally raped her in an upstairs bedroom. But those two stories are for the next episodes. If you’d like to see and read the actual arrest warrant, police reports, and links to original news coverage, as well as a transcript of this episode, I encourage you to check out this episode's homepage at holtzclawtrial.com. This serialized podcast of the State of Oklahoma vs. Daniel Holtzclaw follows the timeline and perspective of the investigation, but with the scrutiny of the defense. If you’ve enjoyed this podcast, please take a moment to subscribe and give us a five star review. You can also follow updates on this season’s Facebook page at In Defense of Daniel Holtzclaw, or on Twitter and Instagram @HoltzclawTrial. Bates Investigates - Season One: In Defense of Daniel Holtzclaw is researched, produced, and edited by me, Brian Bates. This has been a bug stomper production.
[child singing] Huh? [squishing sound] [laughter] Bugs!
- END -
