this is "nightline" -- >> tonight, storming the plane. a passenger jet with nearly 200 onboard, escorted by two u.s. fighter jets after a midair scare. we have the latest. what happened and why? plus, busted. they'll steal anything and everything. shoplifting is a booming business. and it's costing all of us millions. tonight, we're under cover with a special police unit. >> we're in hot pursuit right now. >> on the trail of an organized ring. and baby tiger? he's being hailed as the next tiger woods. he's got the stroke. and the attitude. and he's only 3 years old.

>> oh, yeah. but first, "the nightline 5." >> we took care of your back pain. you make him the mvp. tylenol is clinically proven to provide fast pain relief. >> if you suffer from constipation, you'll likely suffer from gas. introducing new dulcogas, that eliminates gas bubbles in minutes. nothing relieves gas faster. >> numbe

good evening. just hours ago, a police tactical unit stormed a passenger plane after u.s. fighter jets escorted the plane

with 189 onboard to a nearby airport. it has been a scary few months for air travel. and now, abc's senior justice correspondent, pierre thomas, brings us the dramatic new video and the story behind this latest incident. >> hands up. hands up. >> reporter: a terrifying moment. a fully-armed s.w.a.t. team, guns drawn, burst into the cabin of a commercial airliner, looking for a male passenger who claimed he wanted to bomb canada. it was turned around over west virginia, by f-16 fighter jets when reports came in of an unruly passenger making threats. here's air traffic control warning other flights of a potential emergency. >> there's an aircraft coming in from over the lake. it's going to land runway 33 left. and they have a bomb threat. you might see a pair of f-16s. >> reporter: the s.w.a.t. team was taking no chances, demanding

that the suspect raised his hands. the goal to make sure he was not a threat. unable to detonate any bomb. a passenger described the rant to canadian television. >> he said, with great expression, using his hands, i just want to bomb canada. >> reporter: other passengers were stunned. >> with it was quite scary. >> there was a clear point when he appeared to be disturbed. we could hear and see him ripping up newspapers and magazines. >> reporter: police snatched the suspect from the plane and conducted a search. in the aftermath of 9/11, such police action is now common. >> get down. >> reporter: there's often an overwhelming response to passengers acting suspiciously. passengers will take action against other passengers, like this man who was taped to his seat. and this wasn't a week to do anything odd on a plane. not after malaysia flight 17 was shot down over eastern ukraine, with 298 people onboard.

or after an air algeria flight with 114 passengers and crew disappeared in africa. the suspect in the canadian scare now faces a number of charges, including endangering the safety of an aircraft. he was arrested, even though nothing dangerous was discovered. for "nightline," pierre thomas, abc news, washington. >> thanks, pierre, for that report. now, to the big business of shoplifting. it's not just a problem for the stores. it's affecting you, too. tonight, we're undercover as police prepare to bring down one highly-organized shoplifting ring and the woman they believe could be the key to it all. here's abc's matt gutman. >> reporter: it's a $13 billion epidemic. shoplifters across america are costing $35 million a day to retailers. and the numbers keep growing. as seen on these youtube flash mob videos, many are brazen enough to steal anything and

everything. but while shoplifting out in the open is one way to do it, down in polk county, florida, there's a more sophisticated method. what you're watching investigators say is an organized shoplifting ring in action. in this case, the suspect, melinda ford, is about to hit the dressing room at bell's department store in florida. >> our main target in the store. >> reporter: last year, we were given access to an unfolding investigation, to a crime that starts with sleight of hand and ends up costing all of us big money. cops tell us they are the prime suspect. they call her the booster. and they believe she could be the key to bringing down a multilayered florida shoplifting ring. >> we have one occupant and one suspect. >> reporter: that's why sergeant jim ostojic from the polk county sheriff's office, has spent a

month chasing puffy, as she moves from store-to-store. we're in hot pursuit right now. >> westbound on i-4. >> reporter: not exactly sure where she's going. but we're following. other the last three years, shoplifting has become a growing national problem. stores mark up merchandise to offset the losses. and it will cost your household roughly $400 a year. >> sounds like they're headed to adel's. >> reporter: the woman driving puffy around in the yellow beetle -- they call her peewee. we're blurring her face because she's a police informant. she is to enter the fitting room with two of everything. and once inside, conceal one of each item under her street clothes. peewee tells the cops that puffy hands the items over to a network of men and women she

pays to return the goods to the store. we watched as bell security monitored what they say was one of the illegal returns going down. >> he just returned the stolen stuff. >> reporter: suspected returners cash the stolen goods in for store credits in the form of gift cards. they believe the gift cards will turn up on popular online auction sites. >> the gift cards are like money, yes? >> they're like gold. >> reporter: after weeks of following puffy in and out of stores along a 90-mile stretch from orlando all the way to tampa, sarge and his team are finally ready to arrest her. investigators say if they can flip puffy, they're betting they can round up the returner, and bring down the whole booster ring. bell's security team is in place. they're inside the store, monitoring puffy and the police informant peewee on surveillance cameras.

and radioing their movements to officers outside waiting in the parking lot. >> suspects are exiting the store. >> reporter: unmarked police car is waiting. as they exit the parking lot, the police pull up behind them. peewee who has been wearing a wire for weeks, fakes being terrifying. >> they coming. they coming. oh. >> reporter: this particular bell's is right across the street from their own sheriff substation. so, they pull over puffy and peewee right into the station's parking lot. puffy is escorted inside. directly into an interrogation room. they need to turn puffy because they believe as the head of the ring, she's the only one who can lead them to everyone involved. >> i want to get one thing straight with you, okay? understa

understand, if you're going to cooperate with us, you have to fully cooperate. if you don't want to do that, you need to tell me now. >> reporter: the rest of the suspected accomplices likely don't know who each other are. >> i want to name everyone who could set up a deal today. >> reporter: after a few hours confronting her, police say puffy finally seems to crack. >> these guys have flipped puffy. and they've managed to call everybody in her virtual roll decks. she's going to talk to them. >> reporter: over the next 24 hours, puffy works and works well for the police. >> he would be the only person. but he don't have her phone number. >> reporter: methodically helping them set up and round up her alleged accomplices. as she sets up to bust them, she seems surprised that what she's been doing is considered a serious crime. >> i never thought that what i did was this serious. it's very serious. actually is organized crime.

>> reporter: puffy, who will later receive a two-year prison term plus ten years of probation, gets to work, helping to round up dozens of suspected returners. >> picking up one of the other suspects right now. black shirt on, red pants. >> going right for it. >> reporter: these are the people that puffy claims she paid to return the stolen merchandise. police say they have evidence that 33-year-old erica is also one of them. she would later plead guilty and was given 24 months of probation. >> i don't want them in my face. >> reporter: police say erica only made about 5 bucks or 10 bucks for each return. next, the suspected venters. they're the people that puffy tell us buy the gift cards from her for about 50 cents on the

dollar. >> we have a warrant for your arrest. >> reporter: one of them sells her merchandise at a neighborhood store. they send her in with dresses they secretly marked. >> i've been stealing all damn day. i'm going to go back to the store. >> reporter: police have coached puffy to tell bubba, that the items are stolen. >> all right. i'm not going to argue with you. it's stolen. >> reporter: the next day, the police raid the store. >> polk county sheriff's search warrant. >> reporter: and find most of the merchandise up for sale. >> i didn't know it was stolen. >> i want you to remember something, okay. keep in mind that your store is videoed and audio recorded. >> yes. >> when she told me, i didn't know what's going on. so, it's got to be responsible for my actions. >> yes, sir. >> reporter: he was later convicted of dealing in stolen property and sentenced to 36th months in prison.

>> anytime that you have any idea that we were following you? >> nope. never in a million years. >> reporter: in the three weeks we followed them, the polk county sheriff's office arrested puffy and 16 of her suspected associates. and were able to stop what they say is one of the largest organized retail crime rings operating in central florida. for "nightline," i'm matt gutman, in lakeland, florida. next, a child prodigy so young, he's just learning to talk. but he's got the whole golf world talking about his game. your eyes. even at a distance of 10 miles... the length of 146 football fields. they can see the light of a single candle. your eyes are amazing. look after them with centrum silver. multivitamins to help support your eyes, heart and brain. centrum silver. for the most amazing parts of you.

now, with a new easy to swallow coating. if you suffer from constipation, you will likely also suffer from gas. introducing new dulcogas, which starts working to eliminate gas bubbles in minutes for effective relief. dulcogas, from the makers of dulcolax- nothing relieves gas faster. you got a little something on the back of your shoe there. a price tag! danger! price tag alert! oh. hey, guys. price tag alert! is this normal? well, progressive is a price tafree zone. we let you tell us what you want to pay, and we help you find options to fit your budget. where are they taking him? i don't know. this seems excessive! decontamination in progress. i don't want to tell you guys your job, but... policies without the price tags. now, that's progressive. you've reached the age where you know how things work. this is the age of knowing what needs to be done.

so why let erectile dysfunction get in your way? talk to your doctor about viagra. 20 million men already have. ask your doctor if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take viagra if you take nitrates for chest pain; it may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. side effects include headache, flushing, upset stomach, and abnormal vision. to avoid long- term injury, seek immediate medical help for an erection lasting more than four hours. stop taking viagra and call your doctor right away if you experience a sudden decrease or loss in vision or hearing. this is the age of taking action. viagra. talk to you doctor.

when you think of 3-year-olds, you might think of learning to eat with a fork and knife or maybe riding a tricycle. but the toddler you're about to meet is a little different. his athletic ability has drawn many to compare him to one of the greatest athletes in the world. steve osunsami introduces us to the little guy with the big swing, known as baby james. ♪ >> reporter: he's the small fry with big talent they call baby james. he's a pint-sized pride of southern louisiana. and at just 3 years old, he's

surprising everyone with mad skills on the golf links. just enjoy for a little bit, the pure, natural talent. what's amazing is how often he connects and how shots like this one are no accident. >> oh. >> reporter: you heard of soccer moms. his mother, nicole, is a self-described golf mom. >> make it part of our daily life. >> reporter: driving her young prodigy to practice at two nearby golf courses at least four times a week. >> there you go. >> he would start hitting the ball around the house when he was crawling. we just moved here. he was crawling, hitting it. i called my dad. he's just hitting the ball, making contact with it when he's crawling. >> reporter: hitting the ball before he's even walking. hard to believe, he didn't start walking until very late, after 17 months. even then, he couldn't get

enough of his plastic driving irons. >> have fun with it. and he would just do it all the time. he wanted to bring them in restaurants. and we'd go out to eat. clubs and balls in the restaurant. >> reporter: it wasn't long before they bought him real clubs, as he tried to explain to me himself. this is for chipping. okay. what happens when you get bigger? you have to get another one of those. >> uh-huh. i'm going to get more. >> reporter: parents say they can't help to think of childhood images of a budding superstar, that appeared on "the mike douglas show" in the '70s. >> a lot of people compare him to tiger woods. tiger woods is an amazing golfer. >> tiger will be getting baby james' autograph. >> reporter: what's your dream for him when it comes to golf? >> that would be great if he went to the pga tour.

who knows? he's so little. >> swing as hard as you can. there you go. >> reporter: his coach thinks it's possible. >> i've seen kids that can hit balls and have fun. but not at the level he plays at. and i guess what sets him apart is his focus. you know, how he can come out every, single day and practice. >> let's go to hole number 1. >> reporter: we went out with the family one night to see what he's got. i should do what again? >> take the flag out. >> reporter: okay. it was crazy hot. he was hungry. and he is a 3-year-old. so, he was feeling playful. say hi to everyone out there. >> hi. >> reporter: and we just couldn't stop him from hitting the ball. here it is, right here. >> yes. >> reporter: oh, yeah. this kid is great. we followed them to quincy,

illinois, for his first big showing. a tournament for children with his gift. he'll be the youngest there. most of the kids he'll be competing against are at least two years older and several inches taller. >> he's 3. how old are you? >> we have a lot of spectators today. any questions? all right. if not, james will start us off. >> reporter: baby james held his own, making a par 4 on the first hole of his second day, despite the stiff competition from the older and bigger kids. with mom as his caddie, james is sitting in third place in the final round. >> straight for that flag. nice. >> how's your game today? >> good. >> making excellent score card. and parents pop them into the car and a pacifier in their

mouth. these kids just played in a golf tournament. >> reporter: at just three years, his concentration isn't always fully there. >> that's okay. that's okay. that was my fault. >> reporter: on the second-to-last hole, james shoots a 12. >> you're not into it. >> reporter: but he recovers nicely to finish the round. >> nice job. nice job. >> reporter: and with this last putt -- >> focus. >> good job. that was great, bud. >> reporter: james comes in fourth out of eight, and enjoys all the other children, with a medal and a spot on the podium. dad told us as long as his son keeps having fun, they'll bring him to the links. they know this baby's a champion. for "nightline," i'm steve osunsami, in abeata springs, louisiana. >> can't wait to see what the future has in store for that little guy.

be right back. ♪ ♪ ♪ great rates for great rides. geico motorcycle, see how much you could save. if you suffer from constipation, you will likely also suffer from gas. introducing new dulcogas, which starts working to eliminate gas bubbles in minutes for effective relief. dulcogas, from the makers of dulcolax- nothing relieves gas faster.

before we leave you tonight, a programming note. i hope you'll join me tomorrow night for a special episode of "nightline prime." it involved a house across the street and an unexpected encounter with a neighbor that left one of them dead. now, the question, are the other four to blame? >> i heard a bang. and then, i heard another bang. >> this story begins on an afternoon much like any other. and ends with a twist no one saw

coming. five, young friends gather on this porch and make an impulsive decision. in an instant, one of them is dead. >> i didn't put my mind around what i was about to go through. >> reporter: they're facing the possibility of decades in prison, even though there was no intent to kill. >> it's unjust. it needs to be remedied. >> tune in tomorrow for a costly mistake, right here on abc. thanks for watching abc news. mistake, right here on abc. thanks for watching abc news. as always, we're your mother's never at home anymore. she hasn't cooked for me in a month. she's really loving that sculpture class, isn't she? ( sarcastically ) yeah, thanks for talking her into that. i just ate a fistful of bouillon cubes. hey, did you know that marie's teacher said that she has real talent? really? the teacher that she pays?

never mind. she's meeting new people. i think that's good for her. have you talked to them? i heard you have a tough clog. i only have ten minutes. i only need 7 7. liquid plumr urgent clear penetrates the toughest clogs with two fast acting gels in only 7 minutes guaranteed baby.