Demone Holman News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

Dora vasquez says a prison officer is demanding $15,000. claiming he can set her husband free. and she fears for her life if she doesn't pay up. >> today's date is january the 11th, 2003. and it's a few minutes after 7:00 p.m. my name is dan mcannulty. >> reporter: dan is the chief investigator for the harris county, texas, district attorney's office. our producers arranged a meeting and mcannulty moves quickly to open a criminal investigation. >> we're going to attempt to make a phone call. >> reporter: first, he asks dora and her friend and translator, maria, if he can tape a phone conversat...

>> i don't know if i'm going to fool with this and shuffle it a little bit or not. >> reporter: the two women will hand the prison officer a $5,000 downpayment. and the cops will swoop in. that's the plan. but plans can go wrong. dora fears holman will realize it's a sting and hurt them. >> main thing is we want everybody to be safe, and we want the money not to walk away. >> back down in this parking lot just east of the sonic. >> reporter: using an aerial photo of the fast food restaurant and the adjacent shopping center, mcannulty and his colleagues deploy their troops. >> in the event he g...

And that a third got out early after he reportedly paid holman. finally, reporter saul estrella had his story because he listened to the two women when no one else would. so, you felt like a hero after it happened? >> not exactly. but i felt that i was doing my job right. it was not only me. it was also dora and maria with me. i felt like the three of us had and so, i think i have felt what they are feeling now. >> reporter: he wanted to make sure the women were heard. and they were. >> they never thought i was going to do something like that. you know? because they think maybe they don't know...

>> vehicle in sight. >> you received the vehicle's owner at the scene? >> yeah, we got him. he's fixing to sit down with them right now. >> hi. how are you? >> all right. >> good. >> reporter: maria, dora's friend and translator does all the talking. right off, holman wants to go inside. >> i don't want to go inside. >> reporter: but maria clearly remembers her instructions. she knows she has to stay outside to be safe. she presses holman for details. >> before we hand you the money, i would like to know when he is going to go out. how we going to pick him up or the arrangement or -- >> what's...

At the same place they first met demone holman. a fast food restaurant in west houston. dan mcannulty and the police would have liked more time to prepare. but there is no more time. in a phone call the night before, dora said a threat was made on her husband's life. >> she says, they told her if they didn't pay the money tomorrow, they were going to make him disappear. >> reporter: by 10:00 a.m., mcannulty has assembled his team at maria's two-bedroom apartment. the police reviewed telemundo's video of holman so everyone knows what he looks like. the police know there's no room for error. >> ...