Close to Home (2005) s01e09 Episode Script

108 - Meth Murders

It's okey,we're going to leave in just a second.
Hey,give me the money now! Come on.
Let's go!Let's go! That's everything.
Keys.
What? Give me the keys! What? No,no, just take the money! Lady,do you want to die? Give me the keys.
Just listen,okay? My son is in the car.
My son is in the car.
You want the kid killed?! No,please! Give me the keys! No! Get out of here! Just let me take him! Just let me take him! Please,just let me take him! Stop! shut up! dispatch,this is two george.
I'm in pursuit.
he's out.
Two george pursuing on foot.
Two george,I lost him.
Is this the guy? That's him.
Ladies and gentlemen, meet calvin riggs.
Take a good look,folks, 'cause this is whyyou come to work.
Two months ago,he carjacked a woman at gunpoint and drove away with her two-year-old child.
Now,until this morning, ed crane was handling the case, but he's on a plane to dallas handling a family emergency.
So annabeth,maureen, I want you to take it.
When does the trial start? I know that's not much, but that's all we got.
The judge won't give us another continuance.
Now,the case file says calvin riggs, but on the street,the call him c-mac.
The tattoos you see signify leadership in a gang called "the mac tens.
" Now,y'all have a rap sheet in front of you that tells you that mr.
Riggs is a violent predicate.
He's done four years for armed robbery and two years for assault.
What it doesn't tell you is that the robbery victim was 72 years old, and when he resisted, mr.
Riggs pistol-whipped him and fractured his skull.
Mac ten's the real deal: Robbery,murder,drugs, extortion,and everything we have says that calvin riggs is right at the top.
He already has two strikes.
Exactly.
One more and he's done for life.
And we will make sure that that happens.
Now,I don't have to tell you that gang activity is up, not just in the city, but in the suburban counties as well.
It's spreading into our communities and it won't stop until people like mr.
Riggs go down.
Now,I want all of you pitching in on this.
Is that clear? Steve? This is a bad guy,annabeth.
As bad as we get.
I get that,but the trial's in two days.
We can't be ready.
We don't have a choice.
We thought the case would plead.
His lawyer gave us that distinct impression.
We knew it was risky to trust him,but we burned all our continuances trying to make it happen.
And? You were right.
It was a ploy.
He never intended to deal.
He was just hoping to catch us unprepared for trial,which he won'T.
Who's the defense lawyer? Doug hellman.
Please tell me you're kidding.
Listen,annabeth, this is a solid case; three witnesses up and down.
Do not let him get to you.
I won'T.
I'm serious.
You have two days to pull this together.
Whatever it takes, I want calvin riggs gone.
close to home Season 1 Episode 8 I say we call the victim first, then move to the cop.
Sounds good.
Set up the crime, lay out the arrest.
What about the security guard? I talked to him this morning.
He saw riggs run into the arcade and pretend to play a video game.
Were there any video cameras any video cameras None.
And I checked the atm camera.
You can't see the crime.
Where are we on the gun and the gloves? I talked to the lab.
Riggs tossed them into a sewer grate about a block from the arcade.
We didn't get any usable prints.
There's no prints in the car either.
This case is going to come down to an id.
If the witnesses are sure, we should be fine.
What happened o mr.
Crane? I'm sorry.
Mr.
Crane had a family emergency.
But don't worry.
We have all his notes in the file.
Okay.
You'll be great.
We'll be right here with you.
Are those his friends? Yeah.
Hey! Officer,him.
Get him out of here.
Yo,I didn't do anything.
I want him out of this courthouse now.
Are you okay? Yeah.
I'm fine.
He had a gun.
He told me to give him the money.
And did you? Yes,but then he put the gun to my head and demanded my keys.
What did you do? I begged him.
I told him my son was still in the car, but he didn't care.
Objection,your honor.
Sustained.
Just tell us what happened,ms.
Walker.
He grabbed my keys and then he pushed me away.
I tried to fight,but I couldn'T.
Diane,I want you to look around.
Do you see the man who took your son in this courtroom today? That's him.
Are you sure? I'm positive.
Your witness.
Uh,ms.
Walker,when did this happen? A little after 7:00.
So it was dark.
It was getting dark, but I could still see.
We measured the lot.
The nearest streetlamp was 30 feet away.
I know what I saw.
Who are you trying to convince,ms.
Walker, the jury or yourself? Objection.
Withdrawn.
If you had to guess, how long would you say the attack lasted? I don't know.
Ballpark,more or less.
You say the man had a gun.
Can you describe it for us? Silver with a black handle.
So,you looked at it.
For how long? More than a few seconds? I'll take that as a yes.
Objection.
Sustained.
So,the attack lasted 20 seconds, part of that time you were looking at the gun.
You were also looking at your son in the car.
That doesn't leave a lot of time to study his face.
Is that a question? No,but this is.
Were you scared? Of course.
So it's possible that you were in shock.
That isn't fair.
Fair? My client is fighting for his freedom.
Your honor? I don't think it is unfair to consider the facts.
Mr.
Hellman,that's enough.
Sorry,your honor.
Almost done.
So on the night of the crime, you identified my client,correct? Yes.
Now,how many other suspects did the police show you? Did you view a lineup or a photo array? No.
The truth is you only saw one man, and at the time,he was under arrest in handcuffs being led to a police car.
It was him.
Clearly,you believe that.
She did the best she could.
You saw the jury.
They didn't know whether to trust the id.
They will.
We still have two other witnesses and they both back up her story.
I'll put officer clarkson on the stand.
In the meantime, you prep the security guard.
I really,really didn't see much.
Guy just ran into the arcade and started acting like he was there the whole time.
And you're sure he wasn't? Definitely.
Listen,um,let me ask.
Is there,is there any way you can do this without my testimony? Is there a problem? No,no.
It's just I see guys like this at the arcade all the time.
When this is over, I got to go back to work.
I'm sorry.
I'll arrange for police protection, but we really do need you there tomorrow.
Officer clarkson, how fast was the suv going when it passed you? My radar clocked him at 85.
I hit the siren and gave pursuit.
Did the driver stop? No,ma'am,no.
He continued for over a mile, and at that point, he abandoned the vehicle.
Did you see the driver get out of the car? Yes,ma'am.
The defendant.
Please continue,officer.
He took off on foot, and I chased him for a few blocks.
But he's quick.
He ducked into a video arcade, tried to pretend he was playing a game.
I grabbed him.
Made the arrest.
No further questions.
So you admit you lost sight of the driver? Not for long.
It was less than a minute.
A minute's a long time,officer.
So you didn't see the man run into the arcade? No.
You just assumed that's where he went.
It wasn't an assumption.
It was a logical choice.
Aren't there a lot of other stores on that street? Yes,there was a beauty salon and a pharmacy.
So those weren't logical choices for a carjacker? Look,I was right.
The security guard at the arcade confirmed it.
He motioned to your client.
He motioned? You arrested my client based on a motion? He saw your client run inside.
Move to strike.
Sustained.
The witness may not testify to what the guard saw.
So tell me,officer, when you did see the driver, what was he wearing? A white shirt and jeans.
Exactly what your client was wearing when I found him.
Isn't that what this is about? My client had the misfortune of being in the wrong place at the wrong time wearing the right color shirt.
And the truth is that you lost your suspect.
You got angry and embarrassed, and you saw a young man with a few tattoos and you jumped.
No further questions.
Officer clarkson, did you see the suspect when he fled the car? With my own eyes.
And as you stand here today, are you absolutely certain that suspect was the defendant? Yes.
It's too early to panic.
I'm not panicking,steve.
I'm just concerned.
He did real damage.
The victim said she was positive.
The cop backs her up.
Not if the jury has a reasonable doubt, which right now,they probably do.
I don't know.
Juries are smart.
They can smell when a lawyer's twisting the facts.
Look,the security guard is next.
He saw the defendant go into the arcade.
I don't care how good hellman is.
He can't explain that.
Where's morgan now? At work.
Don't worry.
We have a unit escorting him.
Thank you very much.
Any news? He's out of surgery.
Critical but stable.
Thank god.
The bullet entered his left side just below his chest.
I thought he had police protection.
He did.
They shot him from a moving car.
The officer saw the whole thing.
Okay,look,annabeth, you stay here,talk to him.
See if he can id the shooter.
I'll talk to the judge, explain why we're not ready to proceed.
Maureen,you go to the scene.
I know riggs was in custody, but let's see if we can link this to him.
the guy was standing here when the shot was fired.
Now the report said a blue coupe with tinted windows.
Any luck on the search? Negative.
Probably in a chop shop by now.
Strip the parts,sell the pieces,boom.
Looks like your shooter dropped something.
No,he didn't drop it.
He left that as a calling card.
It's a magazine to grease gun.
Probably mac-10.
Tell me something.
Why call the gangs the mac-10s? Well,in the '70s, a mac-10 was a new kind of gun.
It was smaller, more efficient,reliable.
Since then,there's been a lot of new models came around.
Lighter,cheaper.
Some say none as good as the original.
The name mac ten is a callback to the old days.
It's the gang's way of saying they don't make 'em like us anymore.
Honey,will you take her? I need to talk to miss chase.
It's okay.
Hi.
You had us all a little worried there.
Yeah.
Friday's my,um my daughter's birthday.
The bullet would have been an inch higher, she would have spent it at my funeral.
Mr.
Morgan,did you see who did this? You know who did it.
Did you see anyone,anything that could help us? Look,I'm out.
Excuse me? I said I'm out.
I never wanted this, and I knew it was a mistake to get involved.
But we need your testimony.
Sorry.
I tried to do the right thing.
I need to think about my family.
Your family isn't safe with people like riggs on the street.
Mr.
Morgan,please.
I need your help.
The man on trial didn't just carjack a woman, he drove away with her child in the car.
A boy about the same age as your daughter.
I can'T.
We can offer you witness protection.
How? Like before? You don't get it.
Riggs was in custody.
His people-- they were willing to kill to save him.
Please don't do this.
If we don't convict him, you know he'll do it again.
What would you do if you had a child? I do.
And I promise you, I wouldn't ask you to do this if I wouldn't do it myself.
Sorry.
I'm out.
He won't testify? No.
Even if we force him to testify, he won't incriminate riggs.
He's terrified.
Well,to be honest,so am I.
If riggs did this, he could still come after me.
We're prepared for that.
I've asked the police to increase your protection.
so,what happens now? We keep fighting.
I filed a motion.
I want the jury to hear that mr.
Morgan was shot.
If I can't call a critical witness, I want them to know why.
You can't do that.
The jury deserves to know the truth.
It is highly prejudicial, not to mention irrelevant.
A key witness gets shot in the middle of a trial and you call that irrelevant? It is only relevant if you can connect my client.
I think a jury can make that connection.
No,they can'T.
Your honor,speculation is inadmissible.
And if the state wants to assume that my client is involved, they damn well better to assume that my And the fact is,they don'T.
I hate it when you're right,doug.
You enjoy it too much.
You gloat.
That said,he is right,miss chase.
Do you have anything to link mr.
Riggs to the shooting? We have a clip.
A what? A gun clip.
We found it at the scene of the crime.
It fits a mac-10.
Oh,come on.
It links the defendant's gang.
Your honor,my client was in custody.
Now,if somebody wants to take a potshot at one of their witnesses, they can't blame my client.
I'm sorry.
Do you have any conscience? I beg your pardon? I mean,do you actually hear what you're saying? Don't blame me for your own mistakes.
all right.
Miss chase,I'm sorry.
I'll advise the jury your witness is unavailable for medical reasons.
Your honor you have my ruling,counselor.
I don't like it any more than you.
Are you enjoying this,huh? Are you enjoying the fact that your two-time violent felon psychopath of a client just gunned down a witness in public? I got to call you back.
Is there a problem here? You want to represent guys like riggs,go ahead.
Everyone deserves a defense,I get that.
But? But you don't do it for that.
You do it to win.
You do it out of ego.
And you don't? Look,you want to make this personal,fine, but I suggest you take a look in the mirror.
Meaning what? Oh,please.
Come on.
Why are you so angry? The loss of your witness, or the fact that you just might be losing your first trial? Is that what you think? I'll tell you what I think.
I think you're worried, and I think that guard was critical to your case and if I had any doubts as to how critical, you just erased that.
So thank you for this little exchange.
You just tipped your hand.
That went well.
The jury was expecting to hear from the guard.
I agree.
If we don't call him, if feels like a hole in our case.
Okay,it's done.
The question is, how do we win the trial without him? I don't know.
We don't have another witness, and hellman just discredited our other two.
We can't trace the gun, and there were no prints in the car.
If we rest now,does the defense even plan to put on a case? One witness-- his name is michael hale.
A member of the mac tens.
He's lying to protect his superior.
He claims he was playing video games with riggs for an hour before the arrest.
That's good.
Good? He backs up riggs.
That's my point.
Riggs is taking a chance.
By calling a witness, he's telling the jury who he was with that night.
Now if it works, he goes free but if he's lying and we can prove it he's done.
You're right.
If we can bust the alibi, we could win this case.
Okay.
What do we know about hale? Everything.
The cops have been on him for weeks.
The only thing we don't know, is where he really was the night of the crime.
Well,one thing's for sure: He wasn't with riggs in the arcade.
So step up the search.
Okay,where are we on the search? We're trying.
We've been checking out hale since the day that hellman filed the alibi notice.
We can't place him somewhere else? Not yet.
He's got a job loading trucks downtown.
We thought maybe he was at work, but the time card wasn't punched.
What about his family? Family,friends, we interviewed everybody.
These people don't talk to the police.
Wherever he was, he didn't leave a trail.
You guys,I got to run.
Just for an hour.
I told jack I'd pick haley up at day care.
It's okay.
I'm sorry.
I'll be right back.
It's not like we're getting anywhere.
I'm going to send a unit with you.
From now on,you both get escorts.
You really think that's necessary? Damn right it is.
Riggs has already shot one witness.
I'm not taking any chances.
Lou it's not up for discussion.
Until this is over, neither one of you goes anywhere without a cop.
No,they're right here.
Two officers.
Jack,I'm fine.
It's just a precaution.
Hi.
Yes,I will.
Yes,I'm being careful.
Okay.
I'll drop haley off at my mom'S.
I love you,too.
Okay,bye,baby.
Annabeth.
Hey,pam.
Is everything okay? Oh,yeah,everything's fine,thanks.
I'm just in a bit of a rush.
Can you grab haley for me,please? Oh,of course.
She's right over here.
Over where? Helen? Do you have haley? No.
Okay,where is she? I'm sure it's fine.
Margaret's with another group out front.
We need to find her now.
Haley? Haley?! There she is! I told you she was fine.
oh,god.
I'm so sorry.
It's just been a really long day.
And everything's been crazy at work.
Honey,what is that? What do you got? What do you got there? How did she get this? What?This! Where did she get this?! I-I don't know.
It's possible that somebody walking by get everyone inside.
Get everyone inside now.
Okay.
Margaret,come on! Everybody,we're going inside! We canvassed the area around the day care center.
So far,we've come up with nothing suspicious.
How'd this happen? It's on a public street.
Someone must've walked by.
I don't believe this.
We've got men outside of the house.
And I've arranged for someone to travel with jack in case he needs to leave.
You okay? I'll be outside.
I'm,uh I'm sorry.
Steve,you couldn't have known this would happen.
Maybe not.
But now I think we should talk about making a change.
You're taking me off the case? Annabeth we know these people are violent and now we know how far they'll go.
I can't ask you to put your family at risk.
If you choose to let go of this, I'll understand,and the office will take it from there.
It's your decision.
Steve,can i have a second alone with my wife,please? Sure.
Um,I'll be outside.
What do you think? I don't know.
I want to feel angry, but right now I'm just scared.
I'm telling steve to reassign the trial.
You can let it go, it's one case.
No,it's not.
This morning,I asked a witness I begged a witness to testify.
He was afraid, and I looked him in the eye and I asked him not to give up.
You're doing your job.
I know,but if i walk away from this, keep doing it,jack? I mean,how am i supposed to go to work everyday and ask people to do something I won't do myself? Because there's a difference.
You have a family.
So does he.
I promised him that if I was him,I would keep going.
Well,you can't keep every promise.
Look I know it feels wrong to give up.
He threatened our daughter.
I started this,jack.
I just can't just ask someone else to take the risk.
You're asking someone else.
You're asking haley.
I have to do this,jack.
Please.
I have to know at all times that you and haley are protected.
Absolutely.
You sure you want to do this? No.
I'm a lot of things right now, but I'm definitely not sure.
It was in her hand? Yes,your honor.
Get him in here.
Your honor,my client denies all knowledge of doug I'm doing my best to remain calm, but if you keep talking you can't speak to my client without my consent.
I don't give a damn.
He put a bullet in a baby's hand.
You want to stand there and defend that? You want to report me, go ahead,file an appeal.
Do whatever you want.
But right now, get him in here.
Mr.
Riggs,what do you know about this? Your honor,I want this on record.
Oh,that's right.
Laugh.
This is my courtroom.
So far,you've gotten a fair trial.
Some would say more than fair.
But so help me god, if anything happens to this woman or her family or anyone else connected with this case, that will change.
Look at me.
Are we clear? get him out of here.
Thank you.
Hope it worked.
Okay,look,as hard as it is, we need to focus.
The defense case is next.
Lou.
Any progress on the alibi witness? Nothing new.
I pushed the friends,family.
We ran everybody's cell phone,pager showed the picture of hale to the local merchants.
Hell,we even reached out to rival gangs to get information.
We can't prove he wasn't in the arcade.
Okay.
So let's talk cross.
Hale and riggs are in the same gang.
We highlight his motive to lie.
We can also use his priors.
Hale has two convictions for larceny and drug possession.
Good.
We attack him hard, challenge his credibility.
Annabeth,you okay with that? Annabeth? Yeah.
Yeah,I'm ready to go.
Calvin and i were hanging out.
And around 6:00, we swung to the arcade to play some games.
That was at 6:00 P.
M.
Yeah.
That's our spot,you know? We roll there all the time.
And you're absolutely certain the both of you were there at that time? Yeah,no doubt.
We were there for,like,like, an hour or whatnot.
Then I had to get home.
Next day,I found out calvin got arrested.
And I'm telling, he didn't rob that lady.
He was in the arcade with me the whole time.
No further questions.
Ms.
Chase.
Mr.
Hale you called the defendant "calvin.
" But that's what you call him when you're not in a courtroom.
On the street, you call him "c-mac.
" Correct? Yeah.
He was given that name by the mac tens,wasn't he? Mr.
Hale,I asked you a question.
Is calvin riggs a member of a gang called mac tens? I don't know.
You should know, you're also a member.
Ms.
Chase,are you all right? Your honor maybe we could take a break? Fine.
I think we've all had enough for today.
We'll pick this up again in the morning.
Feeling any better? Much.
I don't know what happened.
I just,I need to go home,clear my head a little bit.
Okay.
Hey.
You'll get him tomorrow.
What do you think? By keeping this case,am I beingirresponsible? I know you,annabeth.
If you were to give away this trial, you'd be miserable right now.
You didn't answer my question.
Because I can'T.
That's something only you and jack can decide.
I'll see you tomorrow.
My car is on the next corner.
I want you to stay here and I'll bring it around.
Okay.
Ms.
Chase.
are you ms.
Chase? Who are you? A friend.
I like your shirt.
Purple.
Same color the pacers got on their uniform.
What do you want? Do you like the pacers? Word is,michael hale does.
You might want to check that out.
Wait,wait,wait.
How do you know that? Did you see that? The kid who just ran away? No.
Sorry.
You ready to go? I'm not going anywhere.
Paul.
I need your help.
Sure.
Call espn.
I want all pacers game footage for a home game on this date.
After that,call the local affiliates.
I want every piece of crowd footage they shot at the stadium.
What are we looking for? Him.
He's riggs' alibi.
Michael hale.
Security feeds,parking lot cameras, anything that might prove he was there.
-Anything else? -Yeah.
Send this to the lab.
I want a fingerprint check now.
Okay,this is it.
We have every inch of tape shot at the pacers game.
Conseco fieldhouse has 18,000 seats.
Now,how we supposed to find one guy? Michael hale was at that game.
If we find him, we destroy the alibi.
We've been watching security feeds for three hours.
He's not here.
He has to be.
I checked the national footage, but they don't cut away to the crowd much, and when they do, it's at court level.
Then check the local.
All three networks sent reporters to the game.
That's him.
That's him.
What tape is that? Uh,it's the,uh,highlight reel.
Uh,they ran it on the news at 11:15.
That's not him.
Well,could be.
Look.
It's the same hair, same shaped face.
Well,that's hard to say.
No,that's him.
That's your boy.
I don't know.
What's that? What? On the bottom left.
That guy,what's he holding? Looks like a camera.
That's pro equipment.
And,look,he's not filming the game,he's facing the crowd.
Well,the nba's got rules, and you can't get in a stadium with a camera like that without permission.
Okay,wait.
In order to find the tapes, I got a list of every film permit issued on the night of the crime.
Now,most of these were news teams here it is.
Daniel burke.
He was shooting a student film.
If that is michael hale, maybe this guy's camera got a closer angle.
We should be in court.
Here,you go.
I'll,uh,come as soon as I can.
We just need a little more time,your honor.
You've had time.
His cross was set for yesterday.
We're following a lead.
Now? His trial's almost over.
It's not over yet.
We just need 30 minutes.
Under the circumstances, I think that's fair.
I object,your honor.
Yes.
Somehow I thought you would.
Half an hour,ms.
Chase.
Then I want the cross to continue.
Yeah,come on in.
I,uh,I need to see the tape.
It'S it's back here.
Yeah,I shot the movie for a class.
I mean,it's not a real movie, it's just a short film--I had a permit.
You're not in any trouble.
So just the scene at the game, that's all you need? Yeah.
What's the film about? Oh,it's a romantic time-travel comedy.
You see,this couple gets divorced and this guy,he travels back in time to stop himself from asking his wife out on their first date.
Okay this is the scene.
What is it you're looking for? Him.
Ms.
Chase,I'm sorry, but your time's up.
I'll have to ask you to proceed.
Mr.
Hale,are you familiar with a street gang known as the mac tens? I know the name.
You know the name because you are a member.
And so is calvin riggs.
Isn't that why you're here today, to lie for a fellow gang member? Objection.
You honor, is this going anywhere? I'm getting to it,your honor.
On the night diane walker was carjacked, the pacers had a game at conseco fieldhouse.
You were there.
Objection.
Overruled.
The game started at 7:00 P.
M.
You weren't anywhere near the arcade that night.
Your honor,the state never disclosed this tape.
We didn't have the tape until now.
This was filmed at 7:18 on the night of the crime.
That's you.
You want to change your testimony,mr.
Hale? Or should I call the man who filmed this? You lied to the jury.
You weren't in that arcade.
Calvin riggs wasn't in that arcade.
He arranged for an alibi because he's guilty.
Speak up,mr.
Hale.
We all want to hear what you have to say.
How long will it take? It's hard to say.
Every jury's different.
We should have a verdict soon.
Listen, whatever happens,thank you.
For everything.
So you're moving back to michigan? Yeah,just for a while.
My life in the suburbs didn't exactly start the way I planned.
Brave woman.
There's a lot of that going around.
For what it's worth, I respect you for keeping the case.
There you are.
That fingerprint check you wanted just came in.
Subjects name is henry wicks.
I pulled the file.
Thanks.
"State of indiana vs.
Calvin riggs,on count one, "carjacking,a felony, we the jury find the defendant "guilty.
"On the remaining counts,felony kidnapping "and criminal possession of a weapon, we find the defendant guilty.
" You did it.
That's his third strike.
Thank you.
Doug.
Well,congratulations.
You tried a good case.
Yeah? Yeah.
I wonder if henry wicks would think so.
I'm not sure what you mean.
I think you will.
He's 17.
Gave me a tip about michael hale being at the pacers game.
Maybe he looks familiar.
He has three priors, all misdemeanors,and you were his lawyer for all three.
You're the one who sent him.
You're the one who gave me the tip.
Annabeth I'll see you in court.
So you won.
Yeah.
Riggs got his third strike.
He's in for life.
And what about us? Is this how we're gonna live our life now,police protection? Jack,it's just for a little while.
Just until things calm down.
Look,if this is too much I'll stop.
Is that what you want? I don't know.
I don't want to make that decision for you.
I tell you what.
Let's just take it day by day.
One case at a time,can we just do that? Of course.
close to home Season 1 Episode 8
Previous EpisodeNext Episode