Law & Order Special Victims Unit s03e12 Episode Script

In the criminal justice system, sexually based offenses are considered especially heinous, In New York City, the dedicated detectives who investigate these vicious felonies are members of an elite squad known as the Special Victims Unit, These are their stories, Hurry, Mama! Hurry.
Mijo, run.
Tell them.
Go! Whoa! What's the rush? My brother.
He's been shot.
Where is he? They're coming.
Give him to me.
No, he's my baby.
I'll take him inside.
I got a gunshot wound here! Hurry! Prep trauma one.
Page surgery and tell OR to stand by.
Doctor, please save my baby.
Save him.
There's no exit wound.
Let's go.
Forget trauma.
Oh, my God, don't let him die.
Save him.
He's in good hands.
Please! Let's take a look at you.
Mommy.
Mommy.
Officer Jones is gonna take you for a snack while I help your mom.
No.
No.
No! I'm staying with her.
Post two, notify NYPD for a GSW victim.
No, no.
No police, please.
Ma'am, your son has been shot.
We have to call the police.
Now, what is your name? Lupe Rodriguez.
And your son who's wounded? Jorge.
Please, go and check on him.
Please.
Mommy.
He's gonna be okay.
Baby, he's gonna be okay.
The kid's lucky.
Still critical, but the docs say he should make it through surgery.
Where's the mother? In the waiting room with her older son.
Real shaken up.
Where is she? She's gone.
She had the kid in her arms.
Came from over there.
I carried him in, bleeding all over the place.
Did you search the building? Yes.
Didn't even wait to see if her son was dead or alive.
You're from Special Victims? Yeah, we handle the child abandonment cases.
Now, Jorge, how's he doing? Just out of surgery.
And the mother was acting strange? She freaked when she heard me call the cops.
Jorge was shot once in the lower abdomen.
Any idea how old he is? Five, maybe six.
What are his chances? We got the slug.
Didn't hit any major arteries or organs.
He'll recover from this, but he's got bigger problems.
Bigger problems than getting shot? Chest film showed multiple healed rib fractures, so I ordered a skeletal survey.
Found even more healed fractures.
His left ulna, humerus, one on each side of his face.
Doctor said the kid had the crap kicked out of him for years.
And nobody in that ER recognized him? Or the name.
No Jorge Rodriguez or anyone matching those injuries having been treated there.
Mother gave a phony home address and social security number.
I mean, Lupe's probably not even her real name.
So they're new in the area, or the mother hit a different hospital every time the boy was injured.
Makes it harder to pick up on the abuse.
Could be she's protecting a boyfriend who thought the kid was an inconvenience.
How about the victim or his brother were playing with a gun? He was shot with a 9 mill.
No stippling or powder burns.
Bullet was still inside of him.
He had to be shot from some kind of distance.
Great, so we got false ID on the victim and the mother, no perp, no weapon.
Do we at least have a crime scene? Checked communications and the local precinct.
No reports of any shootings around the time the boy was brought in.
Well, that woman couldn't have run very far carrying 50 extra pounds.
Cab or car service would've dropped them right off at the emergency room doors.
Fin, John, check with transit just in case.
After that, call every ER in the five boroughs.
See if anyone remembers a child with our John Doe's old injuries.
Chances are, this family lives somewhere near that hospital, and those kids had to go to school somewhere.
Do you recognize this child? It's Miguel Ramos, one of our first graders.
What happened to him? He was shot.
Oh, good Lord.
How is he? Critical, but the doctors expect him to recover.
That must be why Luis is absent today.
Luis is Miguel's brother? Yeah.
One of our fifth graders.
Both good students.
Quiet, never cause any trouble.
We're looking for their mother, but she gave a phony name and address at the hospital.
That must be a habit of hers.
The letter I sent to their home last week came back today.
No such address.
Phone number's out of service, too.
That's why I was looking for Luis this morning.
Her name is Maria.
Maria Ramos.
That's in the middle of the East River Park.
Now, she would have had to show proof of her current address to register the boys, right? Yeah.
I have a copy of her lease.
I mean, she enrolled the boys last month.
Everything seemed in order.
It's a standard form.
She could have bought it at any stationery store and forged it.
Okay.
Is there a father? No.
Not in any of the paperwork.
Must be out of the picture.
What about an emergency contact number or a place where she works? No.
Just a home number but I know she has a job.
Luis takes Miguel to a youth center on Essex Street every day after school.
Thank you.
Miguel and Luis are regulars.
We try to keep these latchkey kids off the street and out of trouble.
How did it happen? That's what we're trying to find out.
Are there any friends that we can talk to? Yeah.
Hey, Kevin? Take over for a minute.
McDONALD: What's up, Mr.
Penza? These detectives need some information.
This is Kevin McDonald, he's one of our counselors.
McDONALD: How can I help you? Tell us about the Ramos brothers.
Two great kids.
Luis is one step away from his red belt.
He's got a mean flying side kick.
You ever see their mother pick them up from school? Yeah.
She was here yesterday.
Comes by once a week.
The rest of the time, Luis is more like Miguel's father.
Makes sure nobody messes with him.
Anybody know where they live? I walked Miguel home one night when Luis was out sick.
Nobody named Ramos on here, I lived in a building for four years, never put my name on the buzzer.
I'll ring the super.
Liv, what's that look like? Ricochet mark.
Goes all the way down the building.
Shooter either got him going into the building Or coming out.
There's no blood on the stoop or the sidewalk I don't see any blood on the walls.
Doesn't look like there's any in the street, either.
But there's some over here.
Trajectory of the slugs show the weapon was fired at a low angle.
Someone crouching down across the street? Yeah.
More likely a drive-by.
We found more slugs than shells.
So some of the shells might've ejected into this car.
Or rolled into the sewer.
That's not all.
Angles of the slug marks on the building get more and more blunt from the stoop to the alley, so the car had to stop.
So the shooter fired at somebody coming out of the building, then escaped into that alley.
Might explain these.
Skid marks.
Yeah, and they're fresh ones.
Stopped the car, peeled out, he left that behind.
Sideswiped him.
Silver car, black paint.
Also fresh.
Peter, get a shot of this.
Got it.
We'll get the chemistry set out, match the paint to the manufacturer.
How long before you get us a make and model on that car? For you two, give me a day.
Any luck on the canvass? Hear no evil, see no evil.
Zero witnesses.
We found the kids' apartment.
They live with Grandma.
Last night when I came home, the boys weren't here, so I thought maybe Maria took Luis and Miguel for the night.
Well, they live here, but Maria doesn't? Last month, she shows up at my door and asks me to take care of the boys.
It was the second time that I see them in two years.
Where is Maria staying? I don't know where.
With some friends.
But she said that it was temporary until she find a place of her own.
Why would anyone want to harm them? Last year, Maria called me.
She was arrested with drugs I gave her the bail money, because she told me that her boyfriend could never find out.
When she came here with my grandsons, I asked her if she was back with the drugs and she swore to me that it was all behind her.
But I knew she was in trouble.
Maria's boyfriend, do you know where he lives? In the Bronx.
They live together.
We'll need that address.
You said that you tried to reach Maria, but you couldn't.
This is her telephone number where she works, some restaurant, in case the boys got sick.
Two other detectives were here yesterday asking about Maria.
Don't you people communicate with each other? That would be much too efficient for a bureaucracy like ours.
The detectives say where they were from? No, but they were undercover.
Looked more like drug dealers than cops.
What did you tell them? Maria had a day off.
I didn't know where she was.
She scheduled to work here today? She didn't show up.
Not like her at all.
Hard worker, good attitude, until today.
But if she don't call me, I got to let her go.
She seem uneasy about anything lately? Yeah, two days ago, she was working the grill.
Some customer comes in and calls her by name.
She makes like she doesn't even know the guy, and then she said she was sick, and she had to go home.
Okay, if you see her Yeah, don't worry, I have her paycheck.
She'll call me.
Hello? Yes? Police.
I'm Detective Stabler.
This is my partner, Detective Benson.
You are? Fredo Garcia.
How can I help you? We're here about your family.
Did something happen to them? When were they last here? About a month ago.
I was away on business.
Came back, they were gone.
Can you tell me what this is about? Miguel was hurt.
Did she do it? Why would you say that? Maria has a crazy temper.
I came home one night, she was hitting Miguel.
I warned her if she did it again, I'd call the cops.
I guess that's why she left.
But you didn't report them missing? I looked for them myself.
Didn't have any luck.
She wanted to leave me.
I figured, what am I gonna do to stop her? How long were you two together? Two years.
And she gave you no indication where she might've gone? Didn't even leave a note.
If you find them, would you tell them I'd like her and the boys to come back? Sure will.
He's so concerned that Maria beat Miguel but doesn't ask what happened to him.
Wonder what Fredo does for a living.
Somebody's dealing out of here.
Could explain Maria's drug problem.
Last year Maria was busted with a dozen dime bags of heroin and $1,000 cash.
Possession with intent to sell.
First offense, D.
A.
knocked it down.
She did a year on probation.
None of this jibes with a woman slinging burgers to support her kids.
We figure out their movements the day of the shooting? The kids went to school and the youth center as usual.
Maria picked them up.
We don't know where she was before that.
Yeah, we're thinking they all went to Maria's mother's place, even though it was just Miguel who got shot.
From there, they ran the three blocks to the hospital.
Well, what about the ex-boyfriend? Munch is running a rap sheet on him now.
Now Fredo's story is, Maria left because he threatened to call the cops on her for beating up her boys.
Maybe Miguel can tell us what happened.
He's asking for his mother.
What's going on? Doctor told me not to say anything.
What happened? Miguel is dead.
They just told us that he was awake.
Complications from surgery? Pillow over his face.
He was smothered.
I was checking his vitals.
He was stable, awake, alert.
I walked out to get a peds blood pressure cuff.
I was only gone five minutes.
All right.
Now, when you were in there did Miguel say anything about the shooting? He asked for his mother and his brother, that's all.
Okay, think really hard.
You remember seeing any strangers on the floor? Just some visitors and a maintenance man.
Oh, my God.
What? The maintenance guy.
He passed the Nurses' Station as I was going back to Miguel.
I said, "Hi" and he just kept walking.
Someone I haven't seen before.
Can you describe to us what he looks like? Hispanic, average height, dark hair.
Okay.
We'll need you to describe him to a sketch artist.
I'll tell my boss.
Good.
Let's go.
Pair of patrols found a maintenance worker's uniform in the men's room on the first floor.
Nurse saw him just before she found Miguel.
Does the mother's ex-boyfriend look good for this? We'll have the nurse work with the sketch artist.
All right, look, I want everybody who works in this hospital interviewed quick.
Miguel's mother and brother could be next.
Look like you could use some caffeine.
Twelve-hour sack time would be a lot better.
Sketch of your guy.
Anything back from the lab, yet? Dozens of prints taken from the hospital room.
No word yet if it matches anyone in our system.
Results are in of the sideswiped car from the scene of the drive-by.
Your shooter drove a black '98 Lexus.
Must be a couple of thousand of those in the Tri-State Area.
Why don't you guys catch an hour or two up in the crib? We'll cover for you.
Thanks.
It's gonna have to wait.
What's the problem? That was Maria Ramos' boss.
She's going to pick up her check.
Manager just gave me the heads up.
Wake up call, she's at the counter.
Neither did we.
What? Olivia said she didn't see her coming in.
Who's that? Not Maria.
On the way out.
Leather jacket.
Orange pants.
We got her.
You want us to take her? No, not yet.
Let's see where she leads us.
Looks like she's heading for the bus stop.
You think she's just bringing that check to Maria? Think that'd be too easy.
Hey, Luis.
Luis.
Let's go.
Leave him alone! Let go of me.
I didn't do anything.
Luis, you're not in trouble.
Listen to me, we're cops.
We're here to help you.
What's going on here? Let's start with your real name.
Annie Colon.
Annie Colon, why are you picking up Maria Ramos' paycheck? She asked me to.
Where is she? I don't know.
She slept on my couch for the last week.
Then last night she said she had to leave, told me to give her check to Luis.
You Iying to us? I'm telling the truth, I swear.
Luis, where's your mother? That's a tough guy, he doesn't wanna work with us.
I'll tell you what, you want to play it that way? Let go of me.
What are you doing? We're taking him in.
No! For what? He's 10 years old! He's truant.
Stop.
Let go.
Luis, we wanna help you.
But you have to help us, too.
Why was your mom scared to pick up her own paycheck? You left your little brother in the hospital, why? Did you see Miguel? Yeah, we saw him.
Now, look, we know you and your mom are in trouble, and we wanna protect you, but we've got to talk to her first.
Luis, tell us where you and your mom are staying.
No.
I'm not telling you.
That kid's hanging tough.
Can we hold him? For cutting class? As a material witness.
We know he saw something.
We put him in the system, they put him in juvenile detention, which just terrifies him further.
He didn't do anything.
Let's try harder.
Poor kid doesn't even know about his brother.
Luis have anything on him? A few bucks, slip of paper with the word "Liberty" written on it, a school subway pass, and transit says most trips originate from the Lawrence Street Station.
N and R trains in Brooklyn, near the Fulton Mall.
They could be staying near there.
Then that's where we look for Maria.
Start with every place that has Liberty in the name.
Haven't seen anyone like that around here.
Anyone move into the building in the last few days? No.
No new tenants in six months.
Okay.
Thanks.
We've been to Liberty Apartments, Liberty Hotel.
There's a Liberty Avenue exit off the Van Wyck in Queens.
You know, this is gonna take us at least a month.
Maria must be going out of her mind wondering why Luis hasn't come home.
What's next on the list? Liberty Knick Knacks.
If Liberty's not the name of the place where she's staying, well, maybe it's where she's got a new job.
I'm not seeing anybody.
Right there.
Maria.
Go down that aisle.
Can I help you? Maria Ramos? You get away from me.
Calm down, Maria.
We're the police.
We need you to come with us.
Why? Why? You left Miguel in the hospital.
Well, I had to.
What's wrong? My baby, is he okay? Let's talk privately.
No, no, no, tell me.
What's going on? Well, tell me, how is my baby? Miguel's dead.
What are you talking about? What are you talking about? He's fine.
He's in a good hospital.
We're sorry, Maria.
No, no, no! You're wrong.
You're so wrong.
He's fine.
The doctor told me he was gonna be okay.
Why don't we talk somewhere else? No.
Please, please.
Sorry.
No, you're not sorry.
You never help us.
Stop it! Does Luis know about Miguel? We haven't said anything yet.
Where is he? I have to tell him.
He's here.
Safe.
Let me see him.
Maria, Luis is going to a shelter until we can place him in a foster home.
You can't take him away from me.
He's my son.
So was Miguel, but where were you when he needed you? I loved him.
It's a hell of a way to show it, leaving him in that hospital like that.
I thought he would be safe there.
From the person who shot him, or whoever used him as a punching bag? Healed fractures in both arms and ribs.
He had a broken nose.
His jaw was cracked twice.
Was it you? I never laid a hand on my kids.
Her word against his.
Whose word? Fredo.
You talked to Fredo? He knows I'm here? He knows Luis is here? How did Fredo treat your kids? He loved them.
So why don't you want us to talk to him? Maria, someone beat up your boy.
Now if it's not you, then it must be Fredo.
You've got to stop covering for him.
We can protect you and Luis.
You just don't get it.
I can't.
Fredo has her spooked.
How many times have we seen this, Counselor? Woman trapped in a violent relationship and doesn't want to press charges.
Yeah, but she left him.
That takes courage.
And no doubt pissed off the bastard.
Now he wants revenge, so he shoots her kid.
But he doesn't count on Miguel surviving, so he sends somebody to the hospital to shut him up.
That seems pretty extreme for a family squabble.
Unless that's not all this is.
John, any luck? No rap sheet under the name Fredo Garcia.
Check with Narcotics Task Force.
If this guy's a player, they got to know about him.
I just got off the phone with them.
I asked about Fredo, guy says they never even heard of him.
Then he starts questioning me like he doesn't think I'm a cop.
The only thing he didn't ask me was whether I wear boxers or briefs.
Sounds like they know something they don't wanna share.
I'll call my office and see if anybody knows anything.
Thanks.
Any other back doors we can open? Fin bolted a couple of minutes ago, didn't say where.
That usually means a covert meeting with one of his operatives in the drug netherworld.
What did Maria say? Nothing.
We're gonna have to talk to Luis.
Let me take a run at him.
I speak 10-year-old.
All right.
You didn't finish.
Was the burger okay? Full.
Sorry.
I didn't mean to treat you like a baby.
Just the way I was brought up.
My mom, you know, she'd kind of hover over me.
Just the opposite of you and your mother.
What do you mean? When I was your age, I wasn't allowed to ride my bike around the corner.
You, you pick up your little brother at school every day, ride the subway alone.
You're a pretty independent guy.
Yeah, someone's got to do it.
I have a lot of respect for you, Luis.
I live by myself.
I only have myself to worry about.
You take care of your mother, your brother.
I didn't do that too well.
What makes you say that? Miguel got shot.
That's not your fault.
Yes, it is.
My stomach hurts.
You don't have to be scared, Luis.
I don't want to talk about it.
Talking can be good.
Make you feel better.
It'll get you into trouble.
You don't have to keep everything to yourself.
He'll hurt my mom if I say anything.
Luis, look at me.
Your mom turns to you for help, doesn't she? We take care of each other.
I'm a detective.
I want to take care of you, too.
I can't do that unless you talk to me.
But I promised her I wouldn't.
Your mom's confused, Luis.
She needs your help.
You can't protect her unless you tell me what Fredo did.
I saw one of Fredo's men in the car where the shots came from.
What do you want with me anyhow? Fredo Garcia mean anything to you? You trying to get me killed? I'm out of here.
Don't move.
If the guy's in the trade, why don't I know anything about him? He's new, since you stopped being a narc.
Keeps a low profile, my own personal mantra.
Here's my mantra.
I scratched your back, now I got a major itch.
Unless you want to be keeping a low profile in some cell in Rikers.
You got to watch my back.
Talk! Two years, Fredo's got the dope market cornered.
How? By killing off the local competition.
Joey Stapleton was the main supplier in the Bronx till Fredo capped him.
How'd he take over the building? He hears we had this talk, I'm a dead man.
Listen, the evidence I have on you is good for two years.
He forced out some of the tenants and paid off the rest.
Moved in with some woman and her kids.
It's a nice little front for him.
I wouldn't want to be that bitch right now, though.
Why not? Word is, he's got a hit out on her.
For ratting him out to you cops.
Fin's guy says Fredo charmed his way into Maria's life, into her apartment.
He used the whole damn building for his drug business.
While the rest of his rats crawl around the city.
We're ready.
Let's do it.
It may be the only way to nail Fredo.
How's Miguel? No! It's not your fault, Mijito.
No, It's Fredo's fault, I told them, No, no, no! Tell them you lied, Tell them! Please, he takes it back, He's a child, You tricked him, You made him tell you lies, Mom! Luis, please, listen to me, No, Mommy, tell them, Tell them it was Fredo, Don't be afraid, Fredo's not just some jealous lover Maria's trying to escape from.
He happens to be one of the city's biggest drug lords.
As long as she and Luis are breathing, they're in danger.
We can keep them in protective custody.
Safest bet is to get them out of town.
I need them here to prep the case, go before the grand jury.
Now we're talking about a hotel.
We got no budget for witness protection.
Any chance the D.
A.
's office can pony up the bucks? You know how it works.
You pay before indictment, we pay after.
Come on, 1PP's down our throats on money ever since the attacks.
Help us out here.
I'll see what I can do.
In the meantime, try to find someplace that isn't The Plaza.
What about Miguel's funeral? Crime Victims Board will pay.
And we do the arrangements.
Find a church as far away from her neighborhood as you possibly can.
Immediate family and us only.
I was in love with Fredo, He was wonderful.
Until I came home from work one night.
He was at my kitchen table with his friends, cutting heroin.
Where were the boys? Watching them.
I told Fredo to stop, and he hits me with his gun and tells me to never embarrass him in front of his friends.
Later he apologized and said he wouldn't do it again.
It usually gets worse.
He started to beat Miguel and Luis, too.
Then he would beg us to forgive him.
Bring us presents and promise he will never do it again.
Until the next time.
Maria, did you ever try to leave before now? I had no place to go, no money.
He would only give me enough to buy food and spend the rest on himself and other women.
But, Maria, you were arrested for drugs.
Were you using? I never used.
Never.
Fredo degraded me.
He made me carry his drugs inside of me so the police wouldn't find them, forced my boys to run drugs, told me he would kill them if we didn't do as we were told.
But you stayed.
Something must have made you realize that you had to get away from him.
One day, Fredo took Luis' baseball bat and beat a man unconscious while Luis and I watched.
I knew we could be next.
Your boss at the restaurant said that somebody recognized you.
That's how Fredo found you, isn't it? It was the man I delivered the dope to.
He runs Fredo's operation in Brooklyn.
Everybody decent? Yeah, come in.
You look so handsome.
We ready? Yeah.
We'll start in just a moment.
Gracias, Father.
What are they doing here? Said it couldn't wait.
Detectives Milton And Tatum, yeah, from the Bronx.
What's the problem? She didn't tell you? Tell us what? Oh, my God.
She and her son Miguel witnessed Fredo Garcia off one of his competitors, a dealer named Joey Stapleton.
I mean, she came to us, but disappeared before we got her statement.
Fredo's men follow you, and that's how he found me.
Maria, it's time to start telling the truth.
Yes, we did see it.
We saw how Fredo killed that man, and I did call the police.
But I run when they said I had to testify in court.
I couldn't face Fredo.
Down! Down! Maria's hit! Shots came from the back.
Stay with them! the church on Broadway and 177.
We got a civilian down.
We need an ambulance now.
Police! Freeze! Show us your hands! Show me your hands.
Show me your hands! Black Lexus with silver paint scrapings.
I've been looking for one of these.
Look at this.
It's good enough to fool the manager at Maria's restaurant.
Where'd you get that? Shove it.
I'm sorry? Shove it.
You know something? Running your mouth like that, you're gonna wish you'd shot me.
What's your answer now? No answer.
Come on.
How bad? She got it in the arm.
Okay, let's get her out of here.
This way over here, please.
You can't keep us safe.
You can't help us.
We will never be safe.
Go.
Do you recognize anyone? Number three.
Where do you recognize him from? He's the one I saw passing the Nurses' Station wearing the maintenance man's uniform.
He killed Miguel Ramos.
You didn't see him kill anyone.
We're not in court.
Thank you.
Thanks.
Maria's turn.
Number three.
His name is Eddie Fuentes.
Where do you recognize him from? He works for Fredo.
I saw him driving the car when Miguel was shot.
Driving? He wasn't one of the shooters? You can't lead her like that.
Okay, Maria, if Fuentes was driving, who shot Miguel? Fredo.
From the back seat of the car.
My client wishes to exercise his right to remain silent.
He'd better say something if he has any hope of staying alive.
Staying alive? Miguel was a murder witness.
Killing him in that hospital means a needle in your arm, Eddie.
You can't prove I did that.
Moron, we got a witness places you 10 feet from Miguel's room just before they found him with a pillow over his face.
Your '98 black Lexus left skid marks and paint scrapings at the scene of the crime.
And we matched the slug in Miguel to the one you put in his mother.
That's attempted murder of another witness and six cops.
And if you think the jury is going to care that nobody actually saw you smother Miguel, I can assure you, they won't.
I don't talk for nothing.
Murder one, life without parole.
What kind of deal is that? The kind that keeps you breathing.
You give us Fredo, we take the death penalty off the table.
You gotta protect me.
We'll keep you out of the general pop.
Fredo It was all his idea.
I told him he was crazy, that doing the kid in the hospital was too risky.
Why'd he want Miguel dead? Miguel and Maria.
They saw him whack Joey Stapleton.
Fredo gave me How did you find Maria and her boys? First time, we followed her to the diner where she met those two cops.
We lost her when she split, so we followed the cops.
They led us right to the church.
Followed us? That's crap.
Fuentes lies and the deal's off.
He's looking at death row.
Even he's not that stupid.
We need to interview him.
No, he's our catch.
He already rolled on Fredo for your case.
Now, who told you that we had Maria? Narcotics Task Force said you were asking questions.
Someone in your own squad told us about the funeral.
And your going there almost cost us Maria and Luis.
Not to mention four of my detectives and your own sorry asses.
Come on, let us talk to the girl.
You want in, you follow my orders.
Did you go to Maria's hotel first? Before the church.
Which means Fredo could know we have Maria and Luis there.
We gotta move them.
You wanna talk to Maria? We work together to protect her, and you two just drew the graveyard shift.
Where's this new hotel? Rockland County.
You can't take us there.
I don't drive, and we'll be trapped in that hotel, and Luis needs to be in school.
Maria, you're gonna have to trust us.
The only way that we can keep you safe from Fredo's people is to get you out of this city.
You have Eddie Fuentes.
Let Luis and me go.
I'll be back to testify.
That's what you told the other detectives before you ditched them and took off.
I did what I had to do to protect my family.
You almost got yourself killed.
Please, get in.
I never should have gone to those cops or talked to you.
We could have disappeared, and Miguel would still be alive.
I killed my own son because I didn't know what to do.
Let us help you.
You can't help me.
He could be one of Fredo's people.
Or him, or them, or anybody.
You can't stop them.
If you just work with us, we can protect you.
That's what the other cops said and look what happened.
I'm not testifying against Fredo.
Listen to me, as long as you're out there, you're a threat to Fredo.
He can't afford to leave you alive.
He'll never leave you alone.
Now, you refuse to testify, we'll subpoena you.
If you still refuse to testify, you go to jail and you lose Luis to a foster home.
Then take him! Put him in someplace where they can never find him.
We can't live like this anymore.
She has to testify.
Well, you can't blame her.
Fredo killed Miguel because Maria talked to the Bronx detectives.
Maria doesn't nail him, he wins.
You'd cut her loose? I'm just saying that we're part of her problem.
She thinks that we're punishing her by making her a moving target, and she's right.
She's in more danger having us around.
Is there any way to do this without Maria and Luis? They saw Fredo shoot Miguel.
Maria watched him murder Joey Stapleton.
We have Eddie Fuentes.
He's a co-conspirator.
Without corroboration, I can't even indict.
You know, if we were the Feds, we could give her a whole new identity, new life.
No honor among thieves.
Fuentes squealed like a pig.
Gave up Fredo's operation including the layout of Fredo's crib complete with all the escape routes.
Maria's not talking till we get Fredo out of the picture.
We'd better do it quick.
They go to the grandmother's house to get Luis' asthma medicine.
Luis fakes sick.
Maria and Luis go into the bathroom, close the door behind them, and Maria bolts out the fire escape.
Tatum and his partner lost her.
Couple of square-badge security guards wouldn't have fallen for that.
Yeah, we better pick up Fredo before he finds out.
Decision time, Counselor.
I'll wake up a judge.
The warrant will be for the drugs only.
What you want, man? Trying to get a taste, player.
we're closed.
Open up.
Yo, you rob for that? Do you really care? You gonna turn down this business? Yo, I've never seen you before, man.
I ain't never seen you before, man.
Come on.
Inside.
Follow me.
You trying to take me off, man? You in big trouble.
Shut up.
Police.
We're all clear.
Police! Don't move.
Police.
We've got the building surrounded.
Open the door slowly and throw the gun out.
Get out! I'm taking care of this.
Maria.
Maria, it's Detective Stabler.
Are you all right? Go away.
Do it.
Maria, put down the gun.
The bitch shot me! Maria, Maria, he's never gonna hurt you again.
Now give us the gun.
Shoot her! I didn't do anything! You killed my son, you bastard! Don't listen to him.
Listen to us.
Killing him won't bring Miguel back.
Maria, you have another son.
Think about Luis.
He will be safe.
But he won't have a mother.
Now just put down the gun, and this will all be over.
Come on, Maria, make Luis proud.
Come on, Maria.
How bad? It's killing me.
That's good.
It's just the knee.
I'll call EMS.
Where's Luis? He's at my mother's house.
He was going for the gun, the one he keeps in the bedroom.
The bitch is a liar.
Shut up.
Maria, calm down.
Calm down.
Look at me.
Look at me.
Where did you get the gun? On the street.
I bought it.
Come on.
Alex, this is a big mistake.
Maria bought a gun with our money.
To protect herself and her son.
To assassinate her ex-boyfriend.
What's going on? Alex wants to indict Maria.
For what? Attempted murder.
Are you kidding me? Fredo terrorized Maria and her sons for two years.
That doesn't give her the right to become a vigilante.
This isn't about revenge, Alex.
It's self-defense.
No, Olivia, Fredo's gun was two rooms away.
Unless Maria had reason to believe her life was in immediate danger, she had no justification for shooting him.
How about extreme emotional distress? Doesn't apply here.
Maria knew exactly what she was doing.
She dropped Luis off at her mother's.
She ditched the Bronx detectives.
She bought the gun, and she went to kill Fredo.
We put her in that position because we couldn't protect her.
No one could guarantee Maria's safety 100%.
Look, she is scared for her life and her boy's.
Maria committed a crime.
Which we are partly responsible for.
Alex, cut her a break.
I have to enforce the law.
Maria is your only eyewitness to Fredo executing Joey Stapleton.
Convict her and her credibility is shot, along with your murder case against Fredo.
The law is not always about justice.
Your words, remember? Maria didn't kill anybody.
But, Fredo, Fredo's got two bodies to his name that we know about.
We don't lop his head off now, he will kill again, and if anything happens to Maria or Luis, it's on you.
Get on the bus, Mijo, Okay.
Take care of yourself, Luis.
Bye.
Would you tell my mother? That you've left town, yes, but not where you've gone.
You'll have to call us.
I will.
Thank you.
Good luck.
Thank you.
He murdered her child.
She'll be back.