Transcripts For WPVI Nightline 20160831 : vimarsana.com

This is a special edition of nightline. Pay for peace. Good evening and thanks for joining us. This has been a violent sumner america. August was the deadliest month in chicago in 20 years. And washington, d. C. And milwaukee saw their biggest homicide spikes in two decades. So tonight were going to take you inside one citys controversial approach. A program that pays young men not to shoot. Heres my nightline coanchor byron pitts. Reporter duwan rice is just 19 years old but hes already had to say goodbye to seven friends, each one murdered. And hes fed up. Thats cold, bruh. Reporter paying respects to two brothers buried in one plot, shot to death on the same day. He tells us he didnt cry when they died. But the tears coming now. And something else. Anger. What are you thinking . What are you feeling . Pain, man. Like real pain, bruh. Reporter grappling with an urge to avenge his friends violent murders duwan pulls out his phone. Hes about to make a life or death decision whether to call his boys and retaliate. Have to sit back. I got to think. Whether to go left, whether to go right. Five bullets came from a white mazda a brother and sister shot to death in richmond last night reporter this potent mix of pain, anger, and teenagers with guns make his hometown of richmond at one point one of the deadliest cities in america. The streets are hunting grounds. Corner after corner, young men running for their lives. The puffs of smoke, bullets. Chased by an armed rival. Here a calculated hit is under way. Two men calmly walking before they open fire, lighting up the night. Every night on the news, youd think this was beirut. Youd be afraid to come to this city. Reporter in 2007, the city brought in devone bogan who came up with a controversial solution pay young men like duwan not to pull the trigger. Thats right. The better the behavior, the better the paycheck. This month, duwan got the maximum, 1,300. Congratulations. Thank you, thank you. Good for you. Reporter the day at the cemetery, he chose not to avenge his friends murder. Everything you do is going to have a reaction. Know what i mean . And a consequence. Reporter duwan is one of two dozen men in the 18monthlong friendship. The office of neighborhood safety, ons, mostly funded by taxpayers. Thats our rent, boom. People weve spoken to who believe it is wrong to pay a kid not to kill somebody. Thats not what we do. In fact, i 97 tell a young man to put his gun down. What are you paying him for . Their job is to get their lives together. Reporter devone says incentivizing these young men to change is ultimately more Cost Effective for everyone. One murder costs nearly 500,000 on average. Almost all of it paid by taxpayers. I painted all those cabinets reporter so far the investment in duwan is paying off. He just got his first on the books paying job. When the people come in here and move into their house, they would never know that little black kid from richmond do it, know what i mean . Theyd never know. Reporter progress for a young man who was first arrested at age 12 for armed robbery. He says he was homeless, stole an iphone to help his single mom pay her bills. He was well known on the streets. Serial shooter. Thats what they would say. I call him a leader, a hunter. Thats what they would call him. I called him brilliant. Working to survive. So the arrest date and the conviction date. Were not appealing their decision. Were applying for a waiver. Reporter to help the fell fellofellows navigate life or death joyces devone enlisted men like James Houston and sam devean who themselves have rap sheets for violent crimes. Whats the resume look like . Graduate school . Social work . Most of our guys have come out of either state or federal prison. Convicts . Oh, absolutely. Let me tell you, city hall was like, what . Were going to be looking to hire men and women who may have murder in their background . Reporter its their backgrounds that in part make them particularly suited to the most crucial part of their job, interrupting violence. The fellow calling tells james he thinks hes being hunted. What kind of car . Reporter a car fills with suspected rivals parked in front of his house. Unarmed, sam and james put their lives on the line to stop a potential shooting. I want to protect myself and youre screaming for help on the ground reporter were told to keep our cameras down because the young man asked us not to show his face, house, nor use his name. [ bleep ] going to take my word im telling you whatever it is right now thats just a dead man walking. Let us try to deal with this. Reporter sam and james stay with him until he calms down. For a minute it was a hard choice. But then again, i had to really think about it. It is a cry for help. It just isnt a typical one. Because they dont want to do something but they feel like they have to. Reporter in a fiveyear period, the number of homicides dropped 76 across richmond. A number that cant be attributed to ons alone. But ons says proof their approach is working. The vast majority are still alive. But the change agents say many of the fellows in their Program Still carry guns for protection. How do you square that, trying to teach them how to function in society, yet theyre still trapped . Right now were trying to teach them not to deal with their conflict with violence. Im not saying its okay, im saying i understand your reality. Reporter having so many armed men on these streets is not a Reality Police here are comfortable with. A lot of people carry around more firepower than police do. Reporter were with them when a routine traffic stop turns into an armed standoff put your hands up firearm . Reporter the driver has a gun out in plain view. Hands up reporter not uncommon in richmond where protection from being hunted can be more important than hiding the weapon from police. Dont move. Firearm. If you move youre going to get shot, you understand . Keep your hand right there. Reporter the two cops are outnumbered by the four men in the car and no telling if the passengers are armed. In an instant this could take a fatal turn. Keep your hands on the hand rest. Hands on the hand rests. Reporter waiting on backup to arrive, officer ben terio makes a move. Put a wed on him. Reporter holstering his gun so he can disarm the driver. Im not doing anything. Step out. Put your hands behind your back. Other hand behind your back. Reporter turns out there was a second gun in the back seat. Revolver. Reporter thankfully, no shots fired. This time. He may bail out before i even get off work, you know . And theres two firearms recovered in the vehicle. Old school usi. Pump action shotgun. Reporter the guns laid out on this table at Police Headquarters were confiscated in just three weeks. This is an ak47 type rifle. Reporter a Staggering Amount in a city of only 100,000 people. Sawedoff double barrel. When you talk about serial shooters in richmond, this is their potential arsenal . Any one of these guns or something similar we could retrieve off the streets any day of the week. Reporter no matter how many illegal guns are pulled off the streets, nationally about half the people charged with firearm offenses get their cases dropped. And go right back to the street. You all right . Reporter which is why devone and his team think their approach, working with instead of against young men like duwan, has to be part of the equation. Its really like we thinking sometimes they get to make the decisions about how peaceful and safe this city and is theyre making those decisions every day. We want to expose them to a world where they go from, i dont give a to a place where, maybe i do. Reporter duwans Good Behavior earns him the next huge reward in the program. An allexpenses paid trip out east to washington, d. C. And new york city. Theres a catch. You have to be willing to travel with someone thats trying to kill you, or that youre suspected of trying to kill. Reporter being made to face their perceived enemy is perhaps the biggest hallmark of the program. When we come back, watch what happens when duwan comes face to face with his supposed rival. Yall making it seem like we tripping and [ bleep ] tripping and were making yall trip your actions, your money. It had me. It had me. I would not be a nonsmoker today if it wasnt for chantix. Along with support, Chantix Varenicline is proven to help people quit smoking. Chantix reduced my urge to smoke some people had changes in behavior, thinking or mood, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix. Some had seizures while taking chantix. If you have any of these, stop chantix and call your doctor right away. Tell your doctor about any history of Mental Health problems, which could get worse or of seizures. Dont take chantix if youve had a serious allergic or skin reaction to it. If you have these, stop chantix and call your doctor right away as some can be lifethreatening. Tell your doctor if you have heart or blood vessel problems, or develop new or worse symptoms. Get medical help right away if you have symptoms of a heart attack or stroke. Decrease alcohol use while taking chantix. Use caution when driving or operating machinery. Most common side effect is nausea. Its me in control now. Ask your doctor if chantix is right for you. 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Saving Oil Companies twentyfour billion dollars. And Big Oil Polluters have given toomey seven hundred thousand dollars in campaign contributions. Tax breaks for them. Campaign contributions for him. Pat toomey. Hes helping Big Oil Polluters and millionaires. Not the rest of us. Lcv victory fund is responsible for the content of this advertising. Here in richmond, california, bullets fly and blood is shed because of longsimmering neighborhood rivalries. I wouldnt have a problem like everybody stays in their own lane. Reporter 19yearold duwan rice is about to come face to face with rico williams who will be his travel partner for the upcoming trip. Rico is one of the guys from the other side of town. They grow up enemies. But they dont know, man, were the same dude. Bullets is just flying everywhere. You had to really, really be on guard, keep your eyes open at all times. Reporter so far, 18yearold marrico has not been shot. But his mother fears it could be a matter of time. I worry a lot every night, every day. I pray. Whats your biggest fear . That i have to bury him. Reporter theyre about to meet for the first time. Each is joined by another fellow in the program from their own neighborhood. Duwan and marrico. What was the dynam nick. Antagonism. Rivals . Theyre rivals. Violent . Willing to hurt each other . Oh, no question about that. And for a cause that they believe in. Reporter the change acts stay close by because confrontations like this can turn deadly in an instant. Let it be known that [ bleep ] now yall making it seem like we tripping and yall [ bleep ] tripping and we making yall trip reporter duwan says marricos crew disrespected one of his murdered friends on facebook. Social media posts have been a flashpoint for violence in this community before. Theres meanness behind that. Maybe [ bleep ]. Reporter finally marrico and his friend agree, the post should be deleted. We set . Yep. Reporter navigating this conflict with words, not violence, is a major step for these young men. Without this program, wed have never met. Wed have never had an encounter like that. It would have been negativity. How is it you guys get along now, you and the guys in the program . We have a conversation. So you can settle differences that maybe in the past might have been settled with guns . Talking. Whoop de whoop dewop, there you go, okay . Oh, okay, gotcha, bro. Reporter even though this encounter was positive they know it doesnt ensure a safe tomorrow. It feels like youve got a thousand balls going in the air and one could fall at any time. Yep. A kid could be hurt, a kid could bring something into your space. You could be hurt. Yep. How do you juggle all those balls youre trying to juggle . Delicately. Its different for each. Its different. Thats the challenging part. Reporter which is why cultivating relationships with the fellows is perhaps the most important part of sams job. Sam is on his way to see marrico, who has been having trouble in the program. Whats up . Now you would have got a little more reporter so this month his paycheck for the neighborhood change agents was only 500. All we got to do is stay focused. Reporter a far cry from the 1,300 he could have earned. Hed lied about going to community college. If you aint if you dont understand nothing but this, you aint never got to lie to me, bro. Not never. Reporter for sam, working through moments like this is what the program is all about. We try to get them to be responsible and accountable. We let them know that we love you, but this is up acceptable. And we help them realize its unacceptable through love. If you paint this pretty picture and we thinking its all roses, bro, we just follow in suit. But you, [ bleep ], you all messed up and you dont let nobody know. Thats an issue, man. So lets get through that. Is there any sense that maybe youre coddling these kids who need a firm hand, who need discipline, who need to be straightened out, who in some instances perhaps need to be incarcerated . Absolutely. The growth and development requires a little coddling. Coaching. Discipline. Thats what they get here. My late mama would call all that loving on these boys like parents. Brother, byron, thats exactly its not that hard. These young men shoot because when they shoot, they matter. Its when we Pay Attention to them. Reporter his approach called advance peace, the richard fellowship model, is resonating around the country. Cities like chicago, baltimore, d. C. , oakland, struggling to stop the surging violence on their streets, have called on davone for help. The reward trip to new york and d. C. Is a week away. Davone and the change agents are taking the young men suit shopping. This is the first time duw after the n has ever worn a suit. I think its smooth, know what i mean . Reporter something he says he didnt think hed do, until he was in a coffin. In fact, he never thought hed live to see this year. Next year, im going to be dead. You thought that . And now . I mean anything could happen. In seconds. In the next 30 seconds i could get killed or something. But now im not turning back. Know what i mean . Nobody, no man, no woman, could slow me down. Reporter finally, its time to fly. This is the day the fellows have been working towards. Its only their third time meeting. Now theyll be doing everything together for eight long days. Feel like a million dollars. Reporter so many firsts. Far away from the streets of richmond. The rivalries and reality of living there seem to dissipate. People say, whats your theory of change . Blow these young mens minds on life. Show them whats possible . Show them whats possible and show them whats possible in the context of being with their socalled enemy. Reporter from the corridors of power this is raw right here. Reporter to the skyline of new york city. I call it the top of the world. Know what i mean . Ive never seen nothing like this before. Reporter perhaps some new perspective on the world and each other and whats possible for a life well lived without rivals. They dont come back kumbaya. But they come back and its byron, devone. Not that sucker from across town . Not sucker. Reporter its a lot harder to shoot someone you know, respect, maybe even like. We got to know each other. Can you maintain that . Its a revolution, know what i mean . A new era. Reporter six months after the trip, duwan has stayed out of trouble with the law but hes under some new stress. Hes expecting his first child, a son. A cycle of its own. But neither duwan nor marrico has had any new gun charges. For them thats a major victory. The process itself brings these young men to a place where they go, im not going to put myself in a position where i feel like i have to have a gun. Our thanks to byron for that extraordinary report. And well be right back. This special edition of nightline is brought to you by ford. One smart choice leads to the next. The new 2017 ford fusion is here. Its the beauty of a wellmade choice. A collection for the look of every eye concern. Introducing new olay eyes. Lift depuff brighten smooth or ultimately all of it. Eyes express every emotion, not your age. New olay eyes. Ageless. Im claudine and i quit smoking with chantix. By the time i was 30, i said thats it, im a smoker for life. I wanted to be a nonsmoker and i did it thanks to chantix. Along with support, Chantix Varenicline is proven to help people quit smoking. Chantix reduced my urge to smoke some people had changes in behavior, thinking or mood, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix. Some had seizures while taking chantix. If you have any of these, stop chantix and call your doctor right away. Tell your doctor about any history of Mental Health problems, which could get worse or of seizures. Dont take chantix if youve had a serious allergic or skin reaction to it. If you have these, stop chantix and call your doctor right away as some can be lifethreatening. Tell your doctor if you have heart or blood vessel problems, or develop new or worse symptoms. Get medical help right away if you have symptoms of a heart attack or stroke. Decrease alcohol use while taking chantix. Use caution when driving or operating machinery. Most common side effect is nausea. This is for real. Im a nonsmoker. Ask your doctor if chantix is right for you. David was proud to be an american soldier. And i know im prejudiced because he was my son, but i dont think he had a mean bone in his body. There is not a day that i dont think about david. When i saw donald trump attack another gold star mother, i felt such a sense of outrage. She was standing there, she had nothing to say. If donald trump cannot respect a gold star family, then why would anyone in america think he would respect them. Votevets is responsible for the content of this advertising. We leave you tonight with a sobering statistic on gun violence. So far this year,