You often hear the words ‘Only in South Florida.’ Nowhere is that more true than in the problems you face and the calls to Help Me Howard with Patrick Fraser hoping they can solve them.
Everybody has heard of Elmo, but only in South Florida have we seen Elmo get arrested.
Officers: “Get on the [expletive] ground now. Get on the [expletive] ground.”
Darren Anselmo is an actor who was hired to play Elmo for a live streaming show. As part of his job, the organizers tied him up and put him in a van.
Darren Anselmo: “I was like, ‘Hey, you know what, I’m up for anything.'”
But BSO got calls that there was a kidnapping. When they arrived, they were not happy.
Deputy: “You wasted not just our time but helicopter fuel. You scared the [expletive] out of a couple of families.”
Darren Anselmo: “I was paid to be kidnapped, ’cause I am an actor.”
Deputy: “And you did a great job.”
The organizers of the show, and Darren, spent a few hours in jail, each facing a 60-day sentence. We asked Eric Schwartzeich to defend Darren, aka Elmo, at no charge.
Eric Schwartzreich: “I got a lot of cheesy analogies here. Perhaps they weren’t tickled by this, but it should never have been a crime, and it’s certainly not a breach of the peace.”
The three organizers agreed to a deal with the state attorney, but Darren and Eric wanted to go to trial. Six months later, they were back in court and won.
Doreen Monk: “Both myself and the defense have spent the last few weeks negotiating back and forth regarding the appropriate result in this case. So the state announces a nol pros.”
Translation: No charges. Darren didn’t have to act when it was over.
Darren Anselmo: “We got Eric Schwartzreich. We got you, Help Me Howard, Howard Finkelstein. With your guys’ help, you save me from 60 days in jail.”
Elmo didn’t commit a crime, but the person who got Rafael sure did.
Rafael Cubela: “I usually turn on Amazon Prime Video and I can watch a movie.”
While Rafael was watching a movie, a QR code popped up on his screen and said he needed to take a picture of it and call what he thought was Amazon.
Rafael Cubela: “He knew my social security, the last four numbers. He knew the banks that I used, that were on my phone.”
As Rafael sat on his couch, the crooks were ripping off his bank account $ 5,000.
Rafael Cubela: “It cannot be retrieved. I was in shock.”
The money is gone. We are not even safe from the hackers even in your own living room.
And then from another home to the people who catch criminals.
Jannene Howard-Brown: “I always promised that I would never have anyone forget my husband’s legacy.”
Jannene’s husband, Sgt. Jermaine Brown, was a police officer killed in the line of duty. She is also an officer raising their son Justice.
Justice Howard-Brown: “When I walked in the door, I saw Chaos and I just broke down in tears.”
A few years earlier, Justice’s father had given him Chaos. One day, the clever fellow opened the gate and Chaos and his sidekick, Axel, got out.
Jannene Howard-Brown: “I went everywhere, every, every, everywhere.”
Jannene lives in South Dade. A fellow who found the pair for some reason took them to a rescue group in North Broward. They gave the dogs away, and refused to tell Jannene who had her pets.
Jannene Howard-Brown: “I’m just asking if they could find it in their heart, show some compassion.”
Janenne asked us to help. The animal group also refused to tell us who had the dogs, so we could try to reason with them. Then we let them know we were planning to go to court to get the names of the people who had Axel and Chaos.
Janenne got a call the next day: Come to Palm Beach County.
Jannene Howard-Brown: “That’s him, that’s him. Oh, Axel! Oh, it’s mommy’s baby. Oh.”
First, Axel was returned to her, then Chaos. As Justice did something he had not done since his buddy disappeared.
Justice Howard-Brown: “And I actually smiled. I really love this dog. I can’t lose him again.”
They are all back together. The late officer’s son has the dog his dad wanted him to have.
Jannene Howard-Brown: “I don’t think, if you guys would have gotten involved, that we would have ever gotten these dogs back.”
This is the time of the year when we get to remember all the fascinating, kind people we meet. Glad to be able to help you.
A problem dogging you? Don’t know the code to solve it? Unload it with us to try to help.
With this Help Me Howard, I’m Patrick Fraser, 7News.
CONTACT HELP ME HOWARD:
Email: helpmehoward@wsvn.com
Reporter: Patrick Fraser at pfraser@wsvn.com
Miami-Dade: 305-953-WSVN
Broward: 954-761-WSVN
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