07x05 - Come Quickly, I'm Afraid

[bunniefuu]

[siren blaring]

[narrator] A desperate plea for help.

A cold blooded attack.

[Peel] The first thing that I noticed

was a huge smear of blood.

[Crystal] I felt like

it had been a punch to my gut.

[narrator] Only a trail of video evidence...

...can unmask the k*ller.

[Peel] Nothing made me think

this could be someone who had

committed three heinous murders.

[Dollins] The level of evil,

it can't be explained.

[theme song playing]

[narrator] 35-year-old Michael Hockensmith

has recently become the owner of

the ABC Gold, Games & More pawn store

in downtown, Danville.

Hey! How can I help you, sir?

[Duke] Mikey opened a pawn shop.

He took it over and started running it his way.

Yeah, this is nice!

How about $275?

[Duke] Mikey was always honest with his customers.

He would tell them what he thought about it, you know?

The merchandise they was bringing in.

He knew how to talk with people.

Thank you very much sir. Pleasure doing business with you.

Michael was a lot like me.

Kind of easy going and...

Helping others was his whole life.

This is a nice watch.

Wow. Yeah, it's really distinctive.

[Barbara] When he married Angie...

[Angie] What do you think?

...he felt like that was a perfect match.

[Duke] Angie was a real nice young lady and,

she was really his first love.

Mikey worshipped the ground she walked on.

Wow. Hey Andrew, what do you think?

[Duke] When her son Andrew come into the picture...

It's cool.

[Angie] It's cool. [chuckles]

[Duke] And a little baby girl Naomi.

They was just so happy together.

[narrator] The store attracts a number of regular clients.

Mikey!

[narrator] Including local gold broker,

Daniel Smith.

[Daniel] Andrew, how are you doing?

What do you have for me this week?

[Pastor Smith] Danny was the charmer in the family.

My aunt used to say,

"He could sell ice water to an Eskimo."

He knew his diamonds.

He knew how to grade them.

He knew his gold.

And he loved working with people.

This is good. This is fine.

And this one, I'll take the two rings.

All right, good.

[Crystal] He had a philosophy that

he was not just going to sell to someone.

He was going to help someone.

How's that?

That is perfect.

[Daniel] Okay! Great!

Good doing business with you, as always.

[Barbara] Mike and Angie liked having their own business.

I figured if it made them happy,

that's all that counts.

[phone ringing]

[siren blaring]

[radio chatter]

[narrator] Within six minutes, officers arrive

at the pawnshop to find the door locked.

[Peel] As I made entry,

you know, all I was thinking about was, "Is the sh**ter still here?"

The first thing that I noticed was

a huge smear of blood to my right,

in the lobby area of the store.

And that smear of blood led up to

the body of Mike Hockensmith.

He was clearly deceased.

And I immediately noticed

on the ground below me

was the body of Angie Hockensmith.

Another victim was located

on the other side of the counter.

[narrator] It's the body of Daniel Smith.

Officers finally locate Andrew and his baby sister, Naomi.

[baby cooing]

[Mullins] Andrew turned to me and he said, "My parents...

My parents have been shot."

I couldn't imagine what these kids had gone through.

They had lost both their parents.

In that split moment.

In that store.

[narrator] The forensic unit begins processing the scene.

[Peel] There was a total of 14 spent

.22-caliber shell casings.

As well as three .22-caliber b*ll*ts

that still had the round intact.

[narrator] Both Mike and Angela Hockensmith

have multiple g*nsh*t wounds to their head and torso.

Dan Smith has been shot in the head.

We found Dan Smith's briefcase

sitting open on a table.

As I continued to process the scene,

I discovered that over $1,000 from the cash register was still there.

It hadn't been taken.

Both Mike and Dan's wallets hadn't been taken.

It made me start to think that

the victims had been targeted for a reason other than robbery.

[Mullins] We started looking around to see

if they had any cameras up in the shop.

There was no surveillance in the store.

It was just odd that

a pawnshop wouldn't have cameras.

A huge hurdle had just been placed in front of the investigation.

[narrator] Without video surveillance,

detectives start looking for witnesses.

Officers located an employee at a neighboring business, Rainbow Cleaners.

That witness was able to provide us with a description of a vehicle,

a silver van,

that she had seen back into and park

behind ABC, prior to the events occurring.

She saw a gentleman exit the vehicle and described him as being

kind of heavy set man with a beard.

[Dollins] Our next step was to do a canvas on foot

around the entire area

to try to get any images of the van that we could.

Including images of the license plate, if at all possible.

[narrator] Police notify the victims' next of kin.

[Barbara] We both broke down.

I just could not comprehend why anyone

in their right mind would want to hurt either one of them.

I was just thankful to the Good Lord that they didn't harm the kids.

[phone ringing]

Hello.

[narrator] The tragic news

soon reaches Dan Smith's daughter, Crystal.

My step-mom called and she told me that

Dad had been k*lled in a robbery.

And I just froze and started going, "What?"

I was just in disbelief, you know?

I felt like,

it had been a punch to my gut.

He was gone.

[Peel] Speaking with Dan Smith's family,

we learned that he was a gold buyer.

He went around to pawn shops all over Central Kentucky,

and adhered to a very consistent, predictable schedule.

[Crystal] Dad, oftentimes, would carry

a lot of cash on him for his business.

And it could be, you know, $100,000.

And we had several conversations over the years, just,

you know, saying, "Hey Dad, I'm really concerned that

you carry around so much money."

[Peel] We started to believe that Dan Smith was the target.

And that whatever he may have had in his briefcase

was what had driven the subject to commit the crime.

We began to attempt to

trace and track where Dan Smith had been

prior to arriving at ABC.

We learned that he had visited a jewelry store

in Harrodsburg.

Which is a town about eight miles north of Danville.

At a place called Lawson's Jewelry.

[Mullins] As I entered Lawson's Jewelry,

I scanned the room and noticed the camera

up on the far wall from the door,

that was pointed for anybody that came and went out of that store.

Can we see the footage from yesterday morning?

[Peel] We may be able to see if there was anyone else

who may have possibly been following Mr. Smith.

[Peel] In acquiring the video footage from Lawson's Jewelry,

we were hoping to get an idea

of where the investigation needed to go from that point.

Can you bring up the footage please?

Play it back again.

[Peel] Pause it there.

Okay, let's zoom in.

Is that him?

Yes, that's him.

Keep it playing.

Dan Smith arrived at about 8:16a.m. that morning.

And he was carrying what appeared to be a brown leather briefcase.

[Mullins] He walks in, smile on his face.

Says hello to the female clerk.

And continues to go towards the back of the business.

[Peel] There were no other customers in the store at that time.

There was no indication that anything was out of the ordinary.

There he is again.

[Peel] At approximately 8:39,

Dan Smith could be seen coming back into the frame

from the back of the store.

He briefly speaks with an elderly female customer in the store

before leaving.

After he goes out the door,

we look to see if the camera outside catches anything.

We couldn't see anything from the video.

Nothing at all,

to think that something was wrong.

Sitting there watching that,

there's just something in your belly that you're watching someone

that had no idea what was to come,

what was about to happen.

[narrator] Back at the police station,

nine-year-old Andrew Hockensmith

has been brought in for questioning.

[Mullins] It's my job.

But, it was... it was difficult.

[Mullins] The man pulled out a g*n,

and pointed it at them and told them all to get down.

He says that Dan gave him the case.

[g*nsh*t]

The man then turned to his father.

Andrew said that his mom pleaded

"Don't k*ll my children."

His mother turned to Andrew.

[g*nshots]

[Mullins] He was describing and trying to tell us

that there was a sil*ncer on this weapon.

He described the suspect to me as

being taller than his dad.

He wore a green army-type jacket.

[narrator] It's a match for the description

given by the witness at the Rainbow Cleaners.

[Peel] We started to look into the background of the business itself.

We learned that Mike Hockensmith

was co-owner of the business with another gentleman by the name of Steve Devine.

We learned that usually Steve Devine would be

present on Friday mornings at the store when Dan Smith arrived.

But on the morning of the 20th, he wasn't.

It immediately raised red-flags for us as detectives.

[Peel] It would be crucial for us to interview him

and determine his whereabouts during the time of the crime.

So, why weren't you at the shop the day of the shootings?

You can check with my wife if you want.

She was at home with me most of the day.

Why are there no security cameras, though?

That's unusual.

[Peel] Steve Devine told us that

Allen Keith, the previous owner of the business

took the security system with him.

And that he and Mr. Hockensmith

had not gotten around to replacing it.

[Dollins] At this point in the case,

Steve Devine is still a suspect,

until we can confirm his alibi.

[narrator] The previous owner of the ABC Pawn Shop,

Allen Keith, is a local pastor.

He also owns the Gold Rush Gold Buyers pawn shop

in neighboring Somerset.

[Peel] Mike Hockensmith and Allen Keith,

had a relationship that went back almost 15 years.

Oh, good to see you.

-Hey Pastor Allen. -Hey, how are ya?

[Mike] Could you grab a stool please?

Michael knew Allen from the church

where they worked with youth camp.

-[Michael] Rest your legs. -Okay.

Thank you, thank you.

[Duke] Mikey and Angie both looked up to Allen.

And Andrew, he looked up to Mr. Keith as a uncle, you know.

He thought he was his uncle there.

How are things?

[Duke] He seemed like a real nice guy.

How are things? How's business?

Business is great, thanks.

How are things with you? How you feeling?

You know, good days, bad days.

[narrator] Pastor Keith sold the store to Mike

after being diagnosed with brain cancer.

You know, I will take one of those as well.

[Duke] Mikey would pray for Mr. Keith

that he would be able to overcome.

-You know, it's in God's hands now. -[Michael] Amen to that.

[Peel] Pastor Allen Keith's name

was added to the list of people we were looking to talk to.

[Mullins] Going door-to-door, checking,

we found a rental property business.

And they had video, that was recording.

-So the footage from Danville Rentals. -Is it on 4th street?

Yeah, they're like less than a block from ABC.

Okay well, let's just start about an hour before the sh**ting.

We are just looking for a silver van.

Or a person that matches the sh**ter.

[Dollins] See that?

Can you rewind that again?

At 8:45, we're able to see a vehicle, a silver van,

pass through that frame.

Pause it there.

[Dollins] Unfortunately, we couldn't determine for sure

the make and model of the vehicle.

Zoom in.

[Mullins] We couldn't even see who was driving.

We would replay it.

Just over and over.

We probably wore the video out watching it so much. [laughs]

Trying to see the license plate,

to see if there were any identifiable marks.

The witness at the dry cleaners had described the van as being

squared off, an older model.

Look!

[Mullins] And watching the video, we were able to determine that

that van was squared from the back.

We think we have found the vehicle.

Try... try zooming in on the license plate.

[Mullins] The license plate was still blurred out.

It was too grainy.

And it was very aggravating

because we wanted it so bad, just to...

to have the next piece that we needed.

[narrator] The co-owner of the pawn shop,

Steve Devine, is still a person of interest.

[Peel] Investigators were sent to speak with his family members.

They confirmed that he was at home

during the time of the murders.

That he was having problems with his allergies.

And that after taking some medication,

he had decided to remain home and not go to the shop that day.

The fact that Steve Devine didn't own a silver van

moved him down the list of the people that we were

considering for the crime.

The most significant lead that we had was the description of the silver van.

[Dollins] We began to spread out the canvas

further and further away from the pawn shop.

We did go to Ephraim McDowell Hospital,

and were able to also get some surveillance footage there.

Fine, let's try it about an hour before the sh**ting.

[Mullins] It's just another piece of the puzzle that we're trying to put together.

Just following the evidence. You've just gotta find it.

You see that?

[Dollins] We did observe a silver van

traveling west-bound

towards Forest Street at 8:17.

We back it up and then pause it.

Zoom in.

And we were able to determine that it was in fact,

a silver Dodge Minivan.

[narrator] Detectives keep watching for another 39 minutes.

It's back!

We again see the silver van pass through at 8:56.

And that was just 21 minutes before the 911 call.

[Mullins] When we found that,

we knew that we were on to the right minivan.

We believe that the suspect was circling the block,

passing the pawn shop.

But we still couldn't see a license plate.

We still couldn't get the fine details

to put us over that hump.

[narrator] It's been two days since the murders.

[Duke] We had a candle-light vigil

for Mike and Angie and Mr. Smith.

And there was hundreds and hundreds of people there.

People I've never seen, never met.

That's when I realized how many people actually cared

and loved Michael and Angie.

[narrator] In Somerset,

Daniel Smith's family prepare to lay him to rest.

The night before the funeral, I mean, I couldn't sleep.

He was gone.

And that was really hard

to wrap my brain around,

my heart around.

[Pastor Smith] I was angry,

just like most of our family was,

that Dan was taken from us.

And I really didn't want that anger

to be a part of this funeral.

I just wanted everybody to know

how much I love my brother.

How much we love Dan.

[narrator] The Danville Police Department launches

a public appeal for any leads on the sh**ter

or the silver van.

[phone ringing]

Good afternoon, Detective Kevin Peel.

[Peel] On September 24th,

I received a phone call from Tracy Herald,

the pastor in Warren, Michigan.

That was a major red flag for us.

Yeah.

[narrator] Allen Keith is now a suspect.

[Peel] Pastor Allen Keith was ran through numerous databases

to search for any previous or prior criminal activity,

and nothing was found.

[Dollins] No matter how unlikely the suspect is,

we have to look into them.

[Peel] We immediately, dispatched investigators

to retrieve the video from the pharmacy,

where he alleged that he had picked up the prescriptions for his wife.

[Dollins] If he was in there during the time of the sh**ting,

then he wouldn't have been a suspect.

Play that back.

[Peel] At 9:24a.m.,

approximately seven minutes after the 911 call,

a man is seen entering the business.

[Dollins] Hey, we're going to zoom in.

Freeze it.

[Peel] And it was clear, that it was in fact,

Pastor Allen Keith.

Nothing made me think, you know, this could be someone who



There's no beard.

[Peel] He wasn't wearing the green jacket

that had been described by witnesses.

He clearly had no beard,

or hat or sunglasses.

The video footage gave credit to

Pastor Allen Keith being at the pharmacy.

But it did not exclude him from being in the area of the murders

at the time that they occurred.

And so, it did not eliminate Pastor Keith

as being a suspect.

[narrator] There's a seven minute window between the 911 call...

...and Keith's arrival at the pharmacy.

We had to consider if he would be able to make it

from the crime scene to Good Neighbor in that time frame.

[Peel] We decide to actually drive the route.

We learned that it would take around five minutes

to make the trip.

Plenty of time to commit the murders,

and then leave the scene and arrive at the pharmacy.

I placed a phone call to the Good Neighbor pharmacy in Somerset, Kentucky,

and was able to confirm with the pharmacist there

that they did in fact stock the medication

that he had picked up in the Danville pharmacy.

I began to feel like this was an attempt by him

to establish an alibi.

[Mullins] We did a vehicle search on Allen Keith and his wife.

And we were able to discover that they had

a 2008 Dodge minivan,

silver in color.

[narrator] Detectives must establish if Keith

was driving his minivan on the day of the shootings.

[Peel] After learning that Allen had access to a silver minivan,

that just began to pile up with everything else that we were gathering.

Thank you very much.

[Peel] We obtained medical records from the VA Hospital.

And upon reviewing those we learned that

Pastor Allen Keith had never been diagnosed with cancer,

or any type of brain tumor.

He had lied about his medical ailments.

None of it was true.

[narrator] It's two weeks since the killings.

[Peel] All of this evidence was circumstantial.

It wasn't enough to support an arrest.

We made the decision to contact Pastor Herald again,

and ask if he would be willing to take part in a series of pretext phone calls

to Pastor Keith.

[phone ringing]

[Peel] During the recorded phone calls,

Keith made statements...

...that seemed to paint the Hockensmiths in a very different light.

[Peel] Pastor Keith went on to

begin to discuss the details of the case that were never made public.

[Peel] Mr. Keith told Pastor Herald that

once he left Danville, he returned to Somerset,

where he took his vehicle to a car wash to have it detailed

in preparation for a family vacation.

[narrator] Detectives may now have an opportunity

to see what vehicle Keith was driving that day.

We went to the carwash in Somerset,

and obtained the video from that day.

That's Allen.

[Mullins] At 10:55a.m.

we see Allen Keith walking through the hallway

to the front counter,

I guess pays,

and he was cool as a cucumber.

[narrator] Detectives switch to the external camera

covering the carwash parking lot.

My hope was that we may be able to see what vehicle he was driving.

At 11:25a.m., an outside camera catches

Keith coming out of the car wash,

and leaving in a silver van.

[Peel] That vehicle matched

all of the images we had captured

from the various surveillance video systems in Danville.

We got him.

[narrator] Police now have sufficient evidence to arrest Allen Keith.

[Peel] Go, go!

You're under arrest. Put your hands on your head and turn around.

[narrator] At Somerset PD,

Detective Peel questions his prime suspect.

[Peel] His response to us

was very unusual.

He claimed that he would not be able to successfully pass a polygraph,

because during his time in the military,

that he had been dropped into Guatemala

on a mission where he assassinated three people.

[narrator] Detective Peel executes a search warrant

at Keith's pawnshop at Somerset.

[Peel] We discovered a large amount of cash.

Well over $100,000.

There was no legitimate explanation

to where the majority of this money had come from.

[Dollins] We were able to recover money bands

that we were able to link back

to an account belonging to Dan Smith,

and proving that that money had been his.

[Mullins] We found some .22 spent shell casings,

just outside the back door.

[narrator] Ballistics testing confirms the casings are from the same weapon

Andrew Hockensmith would see used to g*n down his parents

and Dan Smith.

Allen Keith is charged with three counts of m*rder,

along with burglary and robbery in the first degree.

I believe what ultimately led Pastor Allen Keith to commit the murders was,

he felt that Steve Devine and Mike Hockensmith

had conspired to run him out of his business.

He clearly knew that Dan Smith carried a large amount of cash.

But I think the biggest reason

that he chose to do it on the day that Dan Smith was gonna be there,

was to confuse law enforcement,

and to throw us off.

[narrator] Mike Hockensmith's business partner Steve Devine

had nothing to do with the plot.

And there was no evidence of foul play

when the pair took over Keith's business.

[Peel] We believe that on that day,

Pastor Allen Keith came to Danville,

driving in the silver Dodge Caravan.

He continued to circle around the pawnshop

until Dan Smith's vehicle was outside.

[Peel] Once Dan Smith had arrived at the pawnshop,

he approached the front door,

went inside,

and then demanded that Dan Smith give him his briefcase,

before opening fire on Dan Smith,

Mike Hockensmith,

and Angie Hockensmith.

He took a large amount of cash from Dan Smith's briefcase,

and then left the area.

Straight to Good Neighbor pharmacy

to be on camera, to add credibility to his alibi.

[narrator] Keith then heads to the carwash.

[Dollins] That was his attempt to cover his tracks,

and to clean up any evidence that may have been left behind.

[narrator] In 2017, just as his trial is set to start,

Allen Keith pleads guilty on all counts,

and is sentenced to life without parole.

The level of evil that he demonstrated, just...

It can't be explained.

[Pastor Smith] It's a very warped mind

that would do what he did,

think the thoughts that he thought,

and then be able to live with himself

after he did it.

[Barbara] Andrew has been able to sit and talk to me about how he feels.

That's helped him overcome what has happened.

He'll always remember it.

He'll never forget it.

But at least he can put it behind him,

and move on with his life.

[Duke] As long as Andrew and Naomi are alive

Mike and Angie will still be alive with us.

We still love them every day of our life.

[Crystal] Dan Smith was not just a gold buyer.

He was this really great man.

He'll always be a part of me.

He's never gonna be gone.

He just, he went home...

[sniffles]

...,and he's waiting for us there.