Caught In The Crossfire

Who Is To Blame For A Wife's Death And A Judge's Shooting?

(CBS)  A search of Darren's condo turned up incriminating evidence, including a note that on closer inspection police believed to be a chilling step-by-step guide for the day's bloody events. The media dubbed it "Darren’s to-do list."

"It refers to 'ending the problem.' And then, it also referred to certain weapons that he would need to fulfill those plans," Chalmers explains.

Police also found a rental contract for a silver Ford Explorer, and a crucial piece of the puzzle that tied everything together -the list had the phrase "parking garage if yes."

Police reviewed surveillance video of the garage across from Weller's office. At 10:41 a.m., just 20 minutes before Weller was shot, a silver Ford Explorer was photographed entering the parking garage.

48 Hours retraced the path police believe the explorer took that day.

Police believe the shooter's vehicle pulled into the parking garage, drove up to the fifth floor and backed in so the rear of the vehicle was facing the justice center.

We know that the judge was shot at about 11:05 a.m.; the video surveillance camera shows the Ford Explorer’s rear hatch being closed at 11:05 and then the vehicle left the parking garage.

"It would take some skill as a marksmen to shoot that distance and hit that target," Roberts remarks to Det. Chalmers.

"It would take some skill," the detective agrees. "But Darren Mack has an extensive history in hunting."

Within hours, news reports broadcast that Darren Mack was not only the prime suspect in the Weller shooting but was also a target in the murder investigation of his estranged wife, Charla.

But 45-year-old Darren Mack was nowhere to be found.

While Judge Weller was being treated for his wounds at a local hospital, a nationwide search was underway. Mack decided to head south.

His cousin, Jeff Donner, even went on television to make an impassioned plea; Darren had called Donner just minutes after Judge Weller was shot.

"If Darren is listening, if he’s watching, we love him and we care about him," he told reporters. "If he is responsible for this, he snapped, he broke… .. The press needs to ask what went wrong in that courtroom...that would make a good loving caring person like this possibly snap."

That courtroom belonged to Judge Chuck Weller. And what went wrong-in Darren Mack’s mind-was just about everything.

"He felt Weller wasn’t listening. He also felt that Charla’s attorney was lying about everything he was filing. But Weller was letting him get away with it," explains Michael Small, one of Darren's closest friends.

Small and Mack had a lot in common: both men were in the midst of bitter custody fights. And both men appeared before Judge Weller. Small says his own experience in Weller's courtroom sheds light on Darren's intense frustration.

"I think I understand what he’s going through, inside of him, better than anyone out there," says Small.

Weller ordered Small to return his son to Florida where his ex wife lives, an arrangement Small said would put the child at risk. But a Florida judge had already rejected that claim.

Judge Weller's hands were tied - he said his court did not have jurisdiction in this case. When Small missed the deadline to return the boy, a Florida judge threw him in jail for 45 days.

The former actor was left to stew about family court in general and Weller in particular, a sentiment shared by Darren Mack. Both men were losing, both men blamed Judge Weller, and both men started a campaign against him.

"We felt that something big did have to happen in order for people to know what was going on in order to shed light on the situation," Small says

"Something big like what? Like a judge being shot?" Roberts asks.

"No," Small says. "We never talked about that. We never thought about that, we never wanted anyone to get hurt."