The Closer s05e05 Episode Script
Half Load
- Take a look at our freeways.
Trouble in the Culver City area.
Southbound 405 at Jefferson disabled tractor trailer cleared off to the right side - Ooh.
- Can we just? - No, no.
Careful.
- It's okay.
Northbound 5 at Alameda accident in the fast lane, backed up - You know, we don't have to do this today.
- No.
No, no.
These things could be used by other cats.
Good morning, Sergeant Gabriel.
Morning, chief.
We just landed a body at the Crenshaw Community Center.
- Oh, no.
Isn't that Father Jack's place? - Yeah.
You want me to pick you up, or give you directions, or? - I know where it is.
- No, no.
I'II, um I'll be right there.
- Doesn't look like much.
- Maybe I'll wait, then.
Chief's here.
Appreciate it.
Chief.
Agent Howard.
Sorry to cut into your weekend.
Our victim is a 35-year-old male, black.
Single gunshot to the back of the head.
Was discovered around 7 a.
m.
This morning.
Take a guess who found him.
Father Jack.
Victim's name is Reginald Gray.
He did maintenance work for the community center.
He's paid by Father Jack's church which is where he was living.
- This is a major crime because? The community center's city-owned, which immediately makes it our problem.
- Where's SID? - I told them not to come, chief.
- Why? - There's nothing for them to do.
Victim was shot once.
There's no casings, no weapon, no witnesses.
And, uh, Father Jack over there says that the victim, Reggie Gray Who's still on parole, by the way.
- Is some kind of, like, ex-con turned saint.
What the father said is that Reggie had no known enemies and was well-liked in the neighborhood, lieutenant.
Yeah? Well, he doesn't look very popular to me.
- Ricardo, this is Father Jack.
- Nice to meet you, Father Jack.
- Be right back.
- I got a few questions for you.
Why is Commander Taylor forever bringing that reporter around? Morning, chief.
I know how it looks, but Chief Pope believes if Ramos is getting Father Jack's side, he should get ours too.
Well, I don't know what our side is yet.
Look, just keep him away from me as long as possible, please.
All right.
Haven't touched a thing.
Called the coroner.
Gave me a one-hour ETA.
Looks like Reggie's been dead for a while.
- Why is he damp? - Sprinklers go off every night at 10:00.
So he must've been murdered before that.
- Neighbors didn't hear gunfire.
- Around here, they never do.
Look, I can't go anywhere until the body's taken away.
Why don't I take Kitty's things down to the shelter, save you the trip? - No, no.
We should do it together.
- You finish your simple investigation.
I'll dispose of Kitty's earthly effects.
Okay.
Thanks.
Looks like he's got a wallet in his back pocket, so it wasn't a robbery.
If it wasn't a robbery, why else would someone wanna kill him? - You want an alphabetical list? - Fire away.
- A, asshole.
B, because.
C, criminal.
- Excuse me, lieutenant? Do you always begin a murder investigation by assassinating the victim's character? Actually, Father, what Lieutenant Flynn here meant to say is how sad it is that we're always meeting up again under such tragic circumstances.
Any reason why someone might wanna see this man dead? No.
And I'm not just saying that because Reggie worked for me.
Reggie was dedicating his life to improving this community.
See that wall there? Reggie painted over the graffiti on it constantly with supplies he bought himself.
And he mentored several middle schoolers, keeping them out of gangs.
Yeah, that's right, lieutenant, that's the kind of wretched human being he was.
I understand that Reggie lived in your church.
- We have to search through his room.
- Do you have a warrant? Well, no, but since he's a parolee, we can search through his quarters anytime we like.
- Oh, no, no, no.
Now, wait a minute.
No.
You're allowed to search his quarters when Reggie was alive.
Now he's dead.
- Is he Reggie Gray? - Excuse me? Commander Taylor's point, Father, is that, until the coroner arrives we can't remove the victim's wallet and check his driver's license.
Officially, we don't know who this man is.
I just identified him for you.
He worked for me.
I'm afraid that doesn't work as an official identification.
Well, I'm a little confused, because his nametag says "Reggie.
" Well, if there's one thing you've taught me, it's don't believe everything you read.
While we sort through the legal ins and outs of searching the victim's room Commander Taylor, walk through the community center.
It's city-owned, so we don't need a search warrant.
Make sure that nothing's broken into or missing.
- I need to be present for that.
- Fine.
Feel welcome to join me, Father.
Ricardo, you too.
You too.
- Still have that parole officer's number? - Sure do, chief.
All right.
Lieutenant Provenza, when the parole officer arrives would you and Lieutenant Flynn please supervise the search of Reggie's room? Sergeant Gabriel, would you handle the notification of the victim's family? Thank you.
And, Detective Sanchez what else do I need to know about this neighborhood? Oh, thank you.
Okay.
- So, what do we have here? - It's gang central, L.
A.
, chief.
There's a big overlap out there of black, brown and a little white.
There's three regular gangs and one made up of the gang rejects.
That's what we call affirmative-action gangsters.
Okay.
And who does what? Well, over there dope.
Over there, weapons.
And over there, chief, car theft.
Over there, more dope.
Gang.
Gang.
Gang.
Gang.
I'm guessing Reggie's death had something to do with gangs which is why no one in the neighborhood will talk to us.
Reggie's room at the church? Oh, outreach pamphlets, handymen books, a Blessed Mother statue.
Now, Father Jack was right about one thing.
Reggie painted over some graffiti three times last month, including yesterday.
So you can bet some gangsters were unhappy about that.
There's a new sandblast technique for removing a layer of paint.
- Want me to order it up? - I think we should, lieutenant.
The last time we dealt with him everyone said Father Jack's place was off-limits to gangs.
It still is.
But Reggie's older.
He did time.
Maybe he made some enemies we don't know about, chief.
How did the notification go? Well, Reggie's mother was devastated.
But she confirms what Father Jack said, that Reggie had turned his life around.
- No problems with anyone.
- Then how did he end up dead? Did Commander Taylor notice anything missing at the community center? Father Jack said there was nothing out of place.
And Reggie's known associates from his gang years are all dead and buried.
- So every cloud does have a silver lining.
- I'm sorry to interrupt.
But I I applied for this federal grant to upgrade our surveillance equipment.
And I think I got it, but I need help translating this letter.
- What language is it in? - Government.
Ah, yeah.
Here, Buzz.
I read government.
Uh, "In accordance with the terms of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act" Here it is.
"For new surveillance equipment, you have on accounts $70,000.
" Really? - Oh, my God.
- Now, why would the feds give you that kind of money? Well, I promised to spend it really fast, and I can.
Speaking of fast, chief, the morgue has a prelim ready.
The bullet entered the soft tissue right below the skull.
But for a.
32 caliber, didn't penetrate very deeply.
Thirty-two caliber's a semiautomatic.
Would've kicked out a casing.
We didn't find one.
Maybe a professional hit.
They grabbed the casing and took it.
What else do you know? Our victim is a former gang member, out on parole.
And I've got a priest who thinks he's a saint.
I don't know about saint but he meets the first big requirement for martyrdom.
And he was having this tattoo removed.
Maybe somebody felt insulted by that.
Because when I see this type of injury, we're talking execution.
But no stippling, no sooting, which means the shooter wasn't close when he fired.
Hey, doc, what if the, uh, shooter stood like 20, 30 yards away like, you know, from across the street? With a.
32? That'd be a hell of a shot.
What if the gun malfunctioned or the bullet was a half-load? Well, a bad primer could account for some of this.
But, honestly, the bullet doesn't tell me much.
Well, it's gotta tell us something, doctor.
Look, we'll take it to Ballistics.
Hey, uh, chief, the people in that neighborhood know something.
They always do.
Set up a meeting at the community center and see if they can help us find the gun.
We talk to them directly.
You wanna share information with civilians? - Yes.
- Absolutely not.
I'm not doing that, ever.
Just as well, really.
- Why is that? - You don't have any information to share.
So you chose my day off to execute an illegal search of Father Jack's church? There was nothing illegal about it.
A parole officer visited the victim's quarters.
We went along to make sure it went smoothly.
Are you deliberately trying to antagonize this guy? He is deliberately antagonizing me.
I am looking for a killer and, as usual, Father Jack has been uncooperative every step of the way.
What am I supposed to do? Well, for starters, you can help me calm His Holiness even if it means you have to behave like a nun to do it.
It's bad enough the L.
A.
P.
D.
won't respect our outreach program to these children and gangs.
When one of our own becomes a target, and we're being treated like suspects that's another thing altogether.
We don't need more suspicion.
- We need answers.
- We're searching for those answers.
In my church, and without a warrant and without responding to any of our questions.
We just got this case six hours ago.
We can't pluck witnesses and guns out of thin air.
Miracles like that fall more under your jurisdiction than mine.
- Look, we are all after the same thing here.
- Now, what makes you say that? You wanna find Reggie Gray's killer, don't you? Of course I do.
But how do I know the L.
A.
P.
D.
isn't using his murder to start another witch-hunt in my parish? Let's bring your community together.
We'll talk to them directly.
- Seriously? - Absolutely.
Humph, you'd be willing to speak with my people in an open dialogue? Oh, I don't think a community meeting is really a good idea.
- That is a fantastic idea.
We can tell the people what we know, and they could do the same for us.
It'll show the community how seriously we're taking this crime.
Well, I have to warn you, my community feels abandoned.
They're angry about Reggie's death, and trust me, they won't go easy on you.
We can take it, Father.
Try us.
We see the same things day in and day out.
People getting shot, getting their cars stolen.
Drugs sold on the corner.
Now, why can't the police stop that? I understand your frustration.
We came here specifically tonight to find ways that we might help each other put an end to that.
I saw you guys taking paint off the wall outside.
Do you think some gang member shot Reggie for covering up their graffiti? We checked into that, ma'am, and that was done by a local tagger not a gang member.
But, like all of you, we are trying very hard to figure out why this happened to Mr.
Gray.
And anything that you know about the shooting last night even the smallest detail, could help us.
Ahem, Chief Johnson, have you narrowed down any possible motives yet? No, uh, but thank you for asking that because I'm especially interested in motives.
Sometimes knowing why someone was shot can take us a very, very long way into figuring out Somebody got murdered.
You want us to figure it out? How do we know we'll even be protected? You can't even protect this community center.
I bet this has something to do with Reggie's stint in prison.
No.
No, it didn't.
My son, Reggie he paid his debt.
He straightened out his life.
He didn't deserve this.
He was trying to make something better for hisself to make up for all the wrong he did with humility and love and hard work.
And if we can't turn this place around with spirit like that then one of you is gonna be sitting where I am tomorrow or next week, or next year mourning the loss of your only child.
How many children do we have to bury before this ends, huh? When is this going to end? When? - The police don't care.
- No, sir, we do.
We care very much.
- That's why we're here.
- Yeah, you say that.
But last night, we had another run-in at the Central Food and Gas Mart.
I mean, someone started shooting at people, and the police just drove through and left.
Sir, many times, if there's no one there when the officers arrive they move on to their next call.
You tell us to call when people put up graffiti.
We go back and paint over it.
Someone else comes back, does it all over again.
- Psst.
Provenza.
- Police paint over 95 percent Would you please call Buzz and send everyone over to this gas station? Check it out for signs of a shooting, and see if there was a radio call or a report made about it.
Thanks.
- Yes, ma'am.
Why don't you tell them about the crimes that you are seeing? What crimes can we talk about with protection? Have you thought about that? Ma'am, I assure you, the entire force is doing everything we can to keep your neighborhood safe.
I won't even take my family out at night.
- We're afraid to go out after dark.
- And that should not be the case.
Now, we want you to know who you can turn to.
So tonight, we have two of the officers here who patrol your neighborhood standing there at the back.
After the meeting feel free to address any specific concerns you may have with them.
- Did you guys find anything yet? - Not yet.
Buzz.
Over here.
I think I found something.
Thirty-two caliber.
Oh, we got three more over here.
You wanna get this, Buzz? Two in here, and you got one down here.
Lieutenant Tao.
Do you still carry around those geeky lasers? Yeah, yeah.
I promise we're gonna do everything we can to find out why this happened.
I hope so, Chief Johnson.
And not just for my sake.
People here need to believe in you.
They need to know you're going to do something.
They need to see it.
Please.
Yeah, yeah.
- Chief.
- Yes? I just talked to Flynn.
No report was filed of any shooting last night at that Food and Gas Mart.
But there was a 911 reported from their phone.
Caller said shots were fired.
Patrol car was sent.
No one was there, so they kept going.
Now, get this.
Flynn says they just found some.
32 casings in their parking lot.
- Okay.
- You need to be shaking hands with people.
Not you, lieutenant.
- I need to run out just for one quick minute.
- No.
Chief Johnson, you're not going anywhere now.
- There are casings - You can't invite these people to meet you, and then just leave.
Chief, chief.
Why don't you stay here and press the flesh? And I'll keep you posted on anything going on.
Okay.
Here we go.
Hey, Julio.
We're ready.
- Okay.
Flynn, are you in position? - I'm at the community center.
- Okay.
You ready to film this? - All set.
Okay.
Lieutenant Tao, point it away from your body like a gun and go to your left towards Flynn at the community center.
Okay.
Good.
Keep going.
Good.
Good.
Tao, Julio, are you guys still there? I don't see anything yet.
Tao, lower it just a little.
Oh, I see it now.
It's hitting me, and I'm right where Reggie was standing.
Tao, I see a direct path for the bullet that killed Reggie Gray.
Looks like he was shot in somebody else's gunfight.
What kind of sense does that make? I mean, come on.
Hey.
Aah! Oh.
Sure is quiet in here.
Doesn't have to be this quiet, you know.
We could use this bedroom for something other than your unsolved cases.
After last night, this room may not be big enough for my unsolved cases, honestly.
But it could hold a kid.
We could turn this room into a nursery in just a few months, maybe.
You should've seen my victim's mother last night.
She stood up and talked about how much she loved her son.
She never gave up on him through prison and parole.
She was helping him turn his life around.
And then one night shot dead, probably by a random bullet, for no better reason than he was just standing in the wrong place at the wrong time.
When I know how easily these things happen how can I even think about having children? The same way ER doctors do.
And undertakers.
And soldiers.
Now, you could ask the same question about getting married.
How many times have you stepped up to some poor woman to say her husband isn't coming home? And we still said, "I do.
" That I couldn't help.
You're so great at imagining the worst.
That's part of why you're good at your job.
But try, just for a minute imagining something better.
911.
What's your emergency? These guys are in our parking lot fighting.
- Someone just fired a gun.
- Hold on, sir.
- What's your name? - Tommy Martinez.
- What's your location, Tommy? - 20th and Crenshaw.
The Central Food and Gas Mart.
Okay, Tommy, I'm gonna dispatch a unit to your location.
Stay on the line, please.
Oh, wait, wait, wait.
I think they're leaving.
- Hello? Are you still there? - I'm still here.
A patrol car is coming.
It was very brave of you to make that call, Tommy.
So thank you for that.
What else can you tell me about that night? The boys in the parking lot.
How many were there? - I don't remember.
- Do you remember who fired the gun? - I didn't see anything.
I just heard shots.
- Were they older than you? Younger? Listen, lady, the only reason I took this job is so I could save up money for college.
That call I made that's just because there was kids around.
So why don't you leave me alone? I'm in enough trouble as it is.
I wouldn't ask you these questions if it wasn't a matter of life and death for someone.
Life and death.
Okay, look I saw a guy with a nice Cadillac screaming at some other guys to get away from it.
That's it.
Did they threaten him or try to shoot him? No, no.
No, the guy in the car, he's the one who fired the gun.
I thought you said you didn't see that.
All right.
I'll tell you about the guy in the car that shot his gun.
But I'm not gonna say anything about those gangsters.
If they knew that I was sitting here talking to you, they'd come after me.
Come on, man.
You know.
Tell her.
What gang? NDs.
Two of them.
I don't know their names but I recognized their faces from the neighborhood.
NDs are the 19th Street Destroyers the affirmative-action gang I was telling you about.
They have a big chop-shop operation, mostly high-end car parts.
You recognized these boys? Okay.
How about this? What color was the Cadillac? Look, Tommy, I understand that growing up in your neighborhood you must get really good at imagining how bad things can be.
But try just for a minute, to imagine something better.
Because that's what we're trying to do.
Make a safer place for you and your family.
You can make a difference.
You can.
How about this instead? I wrote down the license-plate number of the Cadillac.
You? You wrote down the license-plate number, and you didn't show it to the police? I never had a chance.
By the time you guys got there, everyone was gone.
Cops just rolled through.
They didn't even stop.
Don't look so surprised, lady.
See, that's the way you always do us.
His name is Kelvin Blake.
Registered owner of the vehicle.
Age 38.
He lives over on Arlington about a mile and a half from the service station.
Honestly, chief, seems like a nice guy.
Mm-hm.
Who has a rap sheet, even though it's from 20 years ago.
Still, drugs, petty theft.
Works as a foreman for M&F Construction Company now.
Employed there for the last 10 years.
So at least Kelvin can hold down a job.
And he turned in his gun voluntarily.
Ballistics finished their report.
The bullet that killed Reggie came from that gun.
Still doesn't prove he pulled the trigger.
- Chief Johnson.
- Yes? - I spoke to my Robbery guys.
- Mm-hm.
There's been a string of high-end carjackings recently within a few miles of Father Jack's community center.
- I bet mostly with the NDs.
- So, uh, you think this Kelvin Blake guy is responsible for the shooting? Well, hopefully we'll know soon enough.
- Chief.
- Yes? I talked Tommy into unofficially ID'ing the two gangsters from the parking lot.
- Enrique Santos and Alonso Garcia.
- How'd you do that? Put together some photo lineups.
And I told him if our shooter here picks out the same guys then he would never have to go to court.
- And he believed you? Why do people ever talk to us? All right.
Uh, thank you.
These IDs will be very helpful.
Now, if you and Lieutenant Flynn could track down Mr.
Santos and Mr.
Garcia, bring them in here.
Thank you.
Yes, ma'am.
Good evening, Mr.
Blake.
I'm Deputy Chief Johnson.
I wanna thank you so much for being so cooperative with my detectives.
I'm happy to help out.
Tell you the truth these gangsters got friends.
I'd rather forget about the whole thing, ha, ha.
Unfortunately, discharging a firearm in a public place is against the law.
So just forgetting about the whole thing isn't an option.
I understand you were read and waived your rights.
Yeah, yeah.
Yeah, I was just protecting myself.
Why don't you start by walking us through what happened last Friday night? Oh, okay.
Um I got off work late.
Didn't feel like making dinner, so I thought I'd go by the Gas Mart and grab a hot dog.
- And what time was that? - Uh, 9.
Little after 9.
- Okay.
And so? - Well, so I pulled in.
And I'm standing at the register when I look out, I see two boys coming from across the street.
I recognized the look on their faces, because it's my hood.
And I'm thinking, "I gotta get back in my car before they steal it.
" So I ran out, jumped in the driver's seat.
But they stood behind me.
See, they wouldn't let me back out.
- Now, did they threaten you in any way? - Yes.
Ha, ha.
They told me to get out of the car.
This is the gun that you gave my detectives, correct? Yes, ma'am.
I mean, I knew people were gonna be after my car.
I mean, the rims alone I thought I needed firepower to hold on to it.
So wait.
You bought a car that you thought you needed a gun to hang on to? Wait a second.
Wait a second.
Let's back up.
You gotta understand I mean, I worked my whole life to be able to have a car like that.
There was no way I was gonna let them gangsters take my Cadillac from me.
I mean, you would've done the same thing, right, man? - What happened next, sir? - So they told me to get out the car.
So I did.
Only, they didn't know I was armed, you know? So right away, I point the gun at them, I told them to back off.
They just laugh at me, like I'm joking.
Tell me to give them my keys, or else One of them said, "Homey, I'm gonna look great in your car.
" I thought, "The hell you are," so I just capped off a few rounds over their heads.
- And what'd they do? - They ran, both of them.
Talking about, "I'm gonna get you.
I'm gonna get you.
" I want you to think about this very carefully, Kelvin.
What was going on in your mind when you pulled out the gun? I was afraid.
You know? I'm still afraid.
I mean, I gotta drive down that street every day.
I knew they'd probably remember what I look like, and my car.
I knew they'd remember that too.
Probably come and find me, just like you guys did.
Which is why it's so important that you identify these men so that they can't come and find you.
So if you could please take a look at these gentlemen.
Tell me if you recognize anyone.
Yeah, that's one of them right there.
That's the other one.
- You sure? - Yeah, yeah.
That's them.
Okay.
Thanks.
So, Kelvin, tell me, uh, when you fired those rounds did you ever wonder where they were gonna end up? No.
Why? What happened? When you shot at those boys one of the bullets went on for a while, two whole blocks and ended up in the back of the head of a man by the name of Reginald Gray.
- He died instantly.
- Oh, no, no, no! Oh, my God.
Oh, my I'm sorry.
I didn't mean to hurt nobody.
I didn't Oh, my God.
Oh, man.
Did he have a family? Did he? Probably shouldn't be too much longer.
So Sanchez and I spent all night looking for these two dirtbags.
We found them this morning walking up to the same service station.
Probably gonna jack another car.
What's this? We can now monitor the electronics room and the interview room from out here.
And from two angles.
Or just one.
Or this one.
And it's wireless.
Pretty cool, huh? Tao, would you stop moving the picture around, damn it? You're making me dizzy.
Settle somewhere.
- Man, I want something to eat.
- Yeah.
I'm not your waiter.
You have the right to remain silent.
Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.
- You have the right to an attorney.
- It's amazing.
- If you can't afford a lawyer, one - Excuse me.
Settle someplace, Tao.
Now I'm not kidding.
Did you understand what I just told you? Ahem, Alonso and Enrique's rap sheets.
And we just got positive IDs on both of them for three other recent carjackings.
One at the same gas station a few weeks ago.
Thank you, sergeant.
Let's see what our busy little gangsters have to say for themselves.
Gentlemen, thank you so much for joining us.
Stand up.
You're welcome, bitch.
Well, so much for hello.
Do you have any idea why we asked you to pop by here today? - Alonso.
- You wanna have my baby? I'll tell you this one time.
You better show some respect.
Or else Stand here.
Let's, uh, let's start over, shall we? I believe that you gentlemen were shot at in the parking lot at the Central Food and Gas Mart on Crenshaw the night before last.
Does that ring any bells? I I Det I think we found the guy who shot at you.
That's why you're here.
- You talking about that fool? - Do you recognize him, Enrique? Yeah, crazy bastard was at the filling station the other night.
He was waving his gun around, shouting some bullshit.
- But we left after he started shooting.
- Shooting? - At who? - What do you mean, "at who"? At us.
Now, why would this man fire his gun at you? Did something happen? Did you maybe pay too much attention to his brand-new Cadillac? Hey, it's a nice car, yeah.
But look, lady, he's the crazy one.
Pointing his piece at us because we said we liked his car? What kind of a compliment did you pay his vehicle? She means, how did you tell him you liked the car? Oh.
I just said, you know, "I'd look real good driving that Cadillac around.
" - Because I would.
- I bet you would.
Do you think that's what this guy thought you were gonna do? Jump in his car and drive off in it? Look, let me explain.
Uh, as interested as I normally am in grand theft what I really wanna know about today is who killed Reggie Gray? - Reggie who? The guy who was shot at the community center last Friday night by this man here.
Oh.
Oh, okay.
Oh, you see? I told you that dude was crazy.
Tried killing us too.
Isn't that against the law? Huh? Yeah, he came after us.
I was gonna mess him up.
I wanted to.
Well, you can forget about settling scores, because I'll be handling that.
All I wanna know from you boys is exactly what happened last Friday night.
Look, even if you were, say, trying to drive off in this man's car murder is the only crime I care about today.
Isn't that right, Detective Sanchez? We're asking you to help us deal with this guy who shot at you.
I mean, come on, how often does that happen? I wanna know about the moment he started shooting at you.
- Okay? Yes? - Okay.
Look, we only said something about About taking the car.
We didn't actually do it.
That's when he pulled the gun.
Surprised you didn't grab it and shove it down his throat.
Hey, man, we thought about that, - Bam, bam, bam.
Just like that.
You know, we knew he was serious.
Tell her that's the truth.
We didn't even get in that car, and that son of a bitch started shooting.
- Can you believe that? We didn't get in it.
- That's exactly what I thought happened.
Now, if you could just write it all down, just what you said and, uh, sign it, and we'll be finished.
- Write what down? Just that you wanted to take this man's car and for no other reason than that he illegally discharged his weapon at you, and that you, uh, fled the scene.
Okay, wait a minute.
Okay.
We only tried to steal the car.
- We didn't take it.
- I completely understand.
In fact, just describe it that way.
Say it just like that.
You only tried to steal this man's car.
And underline the word "try" so it's clear that it was just an attempt.
That's a good idea.
Why is the chief unhappy? That was the confession, wasn't it? I mean, am I missing something here? She's probably thinking about how she's gonna explain all this to Reggie's mom.
- You spelled "Cadillac" wrong.
- It's two L's.
We rigged this up in a day.
- Imagine what we could do in a week.
- I'm breathless.
Okay.
Let me take a look at that.
All right, uh, if you could just sign the bottom.
All right, gentlemen.
- I put the date right there too.
- Good idea.
Now, I I I should probably explain the felony-murder rule to you.
We don't care.
As long as you got that fool, we're good.
I'm starving.
You ought to understand about your future responsibilities in regards to Reggie Gray.
What? We didn't agree to any responsibilities.
Shut up, Alonso.
Look, I gotta eat, okay? Can't this wait? I hate to hold you up but, um, you really should understand what's gonna happen next.
When you're involved in a robbery like only trying to steal this man's Cadillac and someone gets shot whether the victim is in front of you or two blocks away if that person dies as a result of your actions, it's murder.
Wait, wait.
Wait a minute.
Wait.
So we're like witnesses now or what? - Only if you decide to testify.
- All right.
- We gotta go to court? - I'm afraid so.
You don't have to testify if you don't want to because that's a right that you have under the Fifth Amendment.
Don't worry.
- Your lawyer will explain it all to you.
- Lawyers? We can't afford no lawyers.
If you can't afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you.
Enrique Santos and Alonso Garcia you're under arrest for murder.
Hands on the table.
You'll figure it all out by the time you're arraigned.
Lookie here.
Now she's starting to perk up.
If you boys are still hungry we can rustle you up some bologna sandwiches and powdered eggs.
And I hope you like them, because that's all you're gonna eat for the rest of your life.
Hey, you get back here, you bitch! We didn't kill nobody! So you think Mrs.
Gray's gonna be okay? I think you defined "transferred intent" and "felony murder" as well as anyone could have.
Guiding her through the mourning process, well, that's more my job than yours.
Yeah.
It's just as well.
Having your child shot dead because someone was trying to steal a car two blocks away seems awfully random to me.
No.
I wouldn't say that, no.
Oh, please don't tell me you think that Reggie's murder was, what part of God's grand design? "God's grand design.
" Ha, ha.
That's a little bit over my head.
But I don't believe in random.
But there was no motive in Reggie's death.
And where there's no motive, there's no meaning.
Well, you only think there's no meaning because you're looking for it.
But meaning isn't something you find, Chief Johnson.
It's something you give.
Making sense out of Reggie's murder, well, that's up to us.
So, what meaning would you say it had? I'd say that Reggie's death had brought this community together don't you think? Including the neighborhood and the police.
Including you and me.
Now, that's something you don't see every day.
I can't believe you're falling for this.
What's a little paint, Flynn? It's not gonna change anything.
And tomorrow or next week this wall's gonna be covered in graffiti again.
Well, till then
Trouble in the Culver City area.
Southbound 405 at Jefferson disabled tractor trailer cleared off to the right side - Ooh.
- Can we just? - No, no.
Careful.
- It's okay.
Northbound 5 at Alameda accident in the fast lane, backed up - You know, we don't have to do this today.
- No.
No, no.
These things could be used by other cats.
Good morning, Sergeant Gabriel.
Morning, chief.
We just landed a body at the Crenshaw Community Center.
- Oh, no.
Isn't that Father Jack's place? - Yeah.
You want me to pick you up, or give you directions, or? - I know where it is.
- No, no.
I'II, um I'll be right there.
- Doesn't look like much.
- Maybe I'll wait, then.
Chief's here.
Appreciate it.
Chief.
Agent Howard.
Sorry to cut into your weekend.
Our victim is a 35-year-old male, black.
Single gunshot to the back of the head.
Was discovered around 7 a.
m.
This morning.
Take a guess who found him.
Father Jack.
Victim's name is Reginald Gray.
He did maintenance work for the community center.
He's paid by Father Jack's church which is where he was living.
- This is a major crime because? The community center's city-owned, which immediately makes it our problem.
- Where's SID? - I told them not to come, chief.
- Why? - There's nothing for them to do.
Victim was shot once.
There's no casings, no weapon, no witnesses.
And, uh, Father Jack over there says that the victim, Reggie Gray Who's still on parole, by the way.
- Is some kind of, like, ex-con turned saint.
What the father said is that Reggie had no known enemies and was well-liked in the neighborhood, lieutenant.
Yeah? Well, he doesn't look very popular to me.
- Ricardo, this is Father Jack.
- Nice to meet you, Father Jack.
- Be right back.
- I got a few questions for you.
Why is Commander Taylor forever bringing that reporter around? Morning, chief.
I know how it looks, but Chief Pope believes if Ramos is getting Father Jack's side, he should get ours too.
Well, I don't know what our side is yet.
Look, just keep him away from me as long as possible, please.
All right.
Haven't touched a thing.
Called the coroner.
Gave me a one-hour ETA.
Looks like Reggie's been dead for a while.
- Why is he damp? - Sprinklers go off every night at 10:00.
So he must've been murdered before that.
- Neighbors didn't hear gunfire.
- Around here, they never do.
Look, I can't go anywhere until the body's taken away.
Why don't I take Kitty's things down to the shelter, save you the trip? - No, no.
We should do it together.
- You finish your simple investigation.
I'll dispose of Kitty's earthly effects.
Okay.
Thanks.
Looks like he's got a wallet in his back pocket, so it wasn't a robbery.
If it wasn't a robbery, why else would someone wanna kill him? - You want an alphabetical list? - Fire away.
- A, asshole.
B, because.
C, criminal.
- Excuse me, lieutenant? Do you always begin a murder investigation by assassinating the victim's character? Actually, Father, what Lieutenant Flynn here meant to say is how sad it is that we're always meeting up again under such tragic circumstances.
Any reason why someone might wanna see this man dead? No.
And I'm not just saying that because Reggie worked for me.
Reggie was dedicating his life to improving this community.
See that wall there? Reggie painted over the graffiti on it constantly with supplies he bought himself.
And he mentored several middle schoolers, keeping them out of gangs.
Yeah, that's right, lieutenant, that's the kind of wretched human being he was.
I understand that Reggie lived in your church.
- We have to search through his room.
- Do you have a warrant? Well, no, but since he's a parolee, we can search through his quarters anytime we like.
- Oh, no, no, no.
Now, wait a minute.
No.
You're allowed to search his quarters when Reggie was alive.
Now he's dead.
- Is he Reggie Gray? - Excuse me? Commander Taylor's point, Father, is that, until the coroner arrives we can't remove the victim's wallet and check his driver's license.
Officially, we don't know who this man is.
I just identified him for you.
He worked for me.
I'm afraid that doesn't work as an official identification.
Well, I'm a little confused, because his nametag says "Reggie.
" Well, if there's one thing you've taught me, it's don't believe everything you read.
While we sort through the legal ins and outs of searching the victim's room Commander Taylor, walk through the community center.
It's city-owned, so we don't need a search warrant.
Make sure that nothing's broken into or missing.
- I need to be present for that.
- Fine.
Feel welcome to join me, Father.
Ricardo, you too.
You too.
- Still have that parole officer's number? - Sure do, chief.
All right.
Lieutenant Provenza, when the parole officer arrives would you and Lieutenant Flynn please supervise the search of Reggie's room? Sergeant Gabriel, would you handle the notification of the victim's family? Thank you.
And, Detective Sanchez what else do I need to know about this neighborhood? Oh, thank you.
Okay.
- So, what do we have here? - It's gang central, L.
A.
, chief.
There's a big overlap out there of black, brown and a little white.
There's three regular gangs and one made up of the gang rejects.
That's what we call affirmative-action gangsters.
Okay.
And who does what? Well, over there dope.
Over there, weapons.
And over there, chief, car theft.
Over there, more dope.
Gang.
Gang.
Gang.
Gang.
I'm guessing Reggie's death had something to do with gangs which is why no one in the neighborhood will talk to us.
Reggie's room at the church? Oh, outreach pamphlets, handymen books, a Blessed Mother statue.
Now, Father Jack was right about one thing.
Reggie painted over some graffiti three times last month, including yesterday.
So you can bet some gangsters were unhappy about that.
There's a new sandblast technique for removing a layer of paint.
- Want me to order it up? - I think we should, lieutenant.
The last time we dealt with him everyone said Father Jack's place was off-limits to gangs.
It still is.
But Reggie's older.
He did time.
Maybe he made some enemies we don't know about, chief.
How did the notification go? Well, Reggie's mother was devastated.
But she confirms what Father Jack said, that Reggie had turned his life around.
- No problems with anyone.
- Then how did he end up dead? Did Commander Taylor notice anything missing at the community center? Father Jack said there was nothing out of place.
And Reggie's known associates from his gang years are all dead and buried.
- So every cloud does have a silver lining.
- I'm sorry to interrupt.
But I I applied for this federal grant to upgrade our surveillance equipment.
And I think I got it, but I need help translating this letter.
- What language is it in? - Government.
Ah, yeah.
Here, Buzz.
I read government.
Uh, "In accordance with the terms of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act" Here it is.
"For new surveillance equipment, you have on accounts $70,000.
" Really? - Oh, my God.
- Now, why would the feds give you that kind of money? Well, I promised to spend it really fast, and I can.
Speaking of fast, chief, the morgue has a prelim ready.
The bullet entered the soft tissue right below the skull.
But for a.
32 caliber, didn't penetrate very deeply.
Thirty-two caliber's a semiautomatic.
Would've kicked out a casing.
We didn't find one.
Maybe a professional hit.
They grabbed the casing and took it.
What else do you know? Our victim is a former gang member, out on parole.
And I've got a priest who thinks he's a saint.
I don't know about saint but he meets the first big requirement for martyrdom.
And he was having this tattoo removed.
Maybe somebody felt insulted by that.
Because when I see this type of injury, we're talking execution.
But no stippling, no sooting, which means the shooter wasn't close when he fired.
Hey, doc, what if the, uh, shooter stood like 20, 30 yards away like, you know, from across the street? With a.
32? That'd be a hell of a shot.
What if the gun malfunctioned or the bullet was a half-load? Well, a bad primer could account for some of this.
But, honestly, the bullet doesn't tell me much.
Well, it's gotta tell us something, doctor.
Look, we'll take it to Ballistics.
Hey, uh, chief, the people in that neighborhood know something.
They always do.
Set up a meeting at the community center and see if they can help us find the gun.
We talk to them directly.
You wanna share information with civilians? - Yes.
- Absolutely not.
I'm not doing that, ever.
Just as well, really.
- Why is that? - You don't have any information to share.
So you chose my day off to execute an illegal search of Father Jack's church? There was nothing illegal about it.
A parole officer visited the victim's quarters.
We went along to make sure it went smoothly.
Are you deliberately trying to antagonize this guy? He is deliberately antagonizing me.
I am looking for a killer and, as usual, Father Jack has been uncooperative every step of the way.
What am I supposed to do? Well, for starters, you can help me calm His Holiness even if it means you have to behave like a nun to do it.
It's bad enough the L.
A.
P.
D.
won't respect our outreach program to these children and gangs.
When one of our own becomes a target, and we're being treated like suspects that's another thing altogether.
We don't need more suspicion.
- We need answers.
- We're searching for those answers.
In my church, and without a warrant and without responding to any of our questions.
We just got this case six hours ago.
We can't pluck witnesses and guns out of thin air.
Miracles like that fall more under your jurisdiction than mine.
- Look, we are all after the same thing here.
- Now, what makes you say that? You wanna find Reggie Gray's killer, don't you? Of course I do.
But how do I know the L.
A.
P.
D.
isn't using his murder to start another witch-hunt in my parish? Let's bring your community together.
We'll talk to them directly.
- Seriously? - Absolutely.
Humph, you'd be willing to speak with my people in an open dialogue? Oh, I don't think a community meeting is really a good idea.
- That is a fantastic idea.
We can tell the people what we know, and they could do the same for us.
It'll show the community how seriously we're taking this crime.
Well, I have to warn you, my community feels abandoned.
They're angry about Reggie's death, and trust me, they won't go easy on you.
We can take it, Father.
Try us.
We see the same things day in and day out.
People getting shot, getting their cars stolen.
Drugs sold on the corner.
Now, why can't the police stop that? I understand your frustration.
We came here specifically tonight to find ways that we might help each other put an end to that.
I saw you guys taking paint off the wall outside.
Do you think some gang member shot Reggie for covering up their graffiti? We checked into that, ma'am, and that was done by a local tagger not a gang member.
But, like all of you, we are trying very hard to figure out why this happened to Mr.
Gray.
And anything that you know about the shooting last night even the smallest detail, could help us.
Ahem, Chief Johnson, have you narrowed down any possible motives yet? No, uh, but thank you for asking that because I'm especially interested in motives.
Sometimes knowing why someone was shot can take us a very, very long way into figuring out Somebody got murdered.
You want us to figure it out? How do we know we'll even be protected? You can't even protect this community center.
I bet this has something to do with Reggie's stint in prison.
No.
No, it didn't.
My son, Reggie he paid his debt.
He straightened out his life.
He didn't deserve this.
He was trying to make something better for hisself to make up for all the wrong he did with humility and love and hard work.
And if we can't turn this place around with spirit like that then one of you is gonna be sitting where I am tomorrow or next week, or next year mourning the loss of your only child.
How many children do we have to bury before this ends, huh? When is this going to end? When? - The police don't care.
- No, sir, we do.
We care very much.
- That's why we're here.
- Yeah, you say that.
But last night, we had another run-in at the Central Food and Gas Mart.
I mean, someone started shooting at people, and the police just drove through and left.
Sir, many times, if there's no one there when the officers arrive they move on to their next call.
You tell us to call when people put up graffiti.
We go back and paint over it.
Someone else comes back, does it all over again.
- Psst.
Provenza.
- Police paint over 95 percent Would you please call Buzz and send everyone over to this gas station? Check it out for signs of a shooting, and see if there was a radio call or a report made about it.
Thanks.
- Yes, ma'am.
Why don't you tell them about the crimes that you are seeing? What crimes can we talk about with protection? Have you thought about that? Ma'am, I assure you, the entire force is doing everything we can to keep your neighborhood safe.
I won't even take my family out at night.
- We're afraid to go out after dark.
- And that should not be the case.
Now, we want you to know who you can turn to.
So tonight, we have two of the officers here who patrol your neighborhood standing there at the back.
After the meeting feel free to address any specific concerns you may have with them.
- Did you guys find anything yet? - Not yet.
Buzz.
Over here.
I think I found something.
Thirty-two caliber.
Oh, we got three more over here.
You wanna get this, Buzz? Two in here, and you got one down here.
Lieutenant Tao.
Do you still carry around those geeky lasers? Yeah, yeah.
I promise we're gonna do everything we can to find out why this happened.
I hope so, Chief Johnson.
And not just for my sake.
People here need to believe in you.
They need to know you're going to do something.
They need to see it.
Please.
Yeah, yeah.
- Chief.
- Yes? I just talked to Flynn.
No report was filed of any shooting last night at that Food and Gas Mart.
But there was a 911 reported from their phone.
Caller said shots were fired.
Patrol car was sent.
No one was there, so they kept going.
Now, get this.
Flynn says they just found some.
32 casings in their parking lot.
- Okay.
- You need to be shaking hands with people.
Not you, lieutenant.
- I need to run out just for one quick minute.
- No.
Chief Johnson, you're not going anywhere now.
- There are casings - You can't invite these people to meet you, and then just leave.
Chief, chief.
Why don't you stay here and press the flesh? And I'll keep you posted on anything going on.
Okay.
Here we go.
Hey, Julio.
We're ready.
- Okay.
Flynn, are you in position? - I'm at the community center.
- Okay.
You ready to film this? - All set.
Okay.
Lieutenant Tao, point it away from your body like a gun and go to your left towards Flynn at the community center.
Okay.
Good.
Keep going.
Good.
Good.
Tao, Julio, are you guys still there? I don't see anything yet.
Tao, lower it just a little.
Oh, I see it now.
It's hitting me, and I'm right where Reggie was standing.
Tao, I see a direct path for the bullet that killed Reggie Gray.
Looks like he was shot in somebody else's gunfight.
What kind of sense does that make? I mean, come on.
Hey.
Aah! Oh.
Sure is quiet in here.
Doesn't have to be this quiet, you know.
We could use this bedroom for something other than your unsolved cases.
After last night, this room may not be big enough for my unsolved cases, honestly.
But it could hold a kid.
We could turn this room into a nursery in just a few months, maybe.
You should've seen my victim's mother last night.
She stood up and talked about how much she loved her son.
She never gave up on him through prison and parole.
She was helping him turn his life around.
And then one night shot dead, probably by a random bullet, for no better reason than he was just standing in the wrong place at the wrong time.
When I know how easily these things happen how can I even think about having children? The same way ER doctors do.
And undertakers.
And soldiers.
Now, you could ask the same question about getting married.
How many times have you stepped up to some poor woman to say her husband isn't coming home? And we still said, "I do.
" That I couldn't help.
You're so great at imagining the worst.
That's part of why you're good at your job.
But try, just for a minute imagining something better.
911.
What's your emergency? These guys are in our parking lot fighting.
- Someone just fired a gun.
- Hold on, sir.
- What's your name? - Tommy Martinez.
- What's your location, Tommy? - 20th and Crenshaw.
The Central Food and Gas Mart.
Okay, Tommy, I'm gonna dispatch a unit to your location.
Stay on the line, please.
Oh, wait, wait, wait.
I think they're leaving.
- Hello? Are you still there? - I'm still here.
A patrol car is coming.
It was very brave of you to make that call, Tommy.
So thank you for that.
What else can you tell me about that night? The boys in the parking lot.
How many were there? - I don't remember.
- Do you remember who fired the gun? - I didn't see anything.
I just heard shots.
- Were they older than you? Younger? Listen, lady, the only reason I took this job is so I could save up money for college.
That call I made that's just because there was kids around.
So why don't you leave me alone? I'm in enough trouble as it is.
I wouldn't ask you these questions if it wasn't a matter of life and death for someone.
Life and death.
Okay, look I saw a guy with a nice Cadillac screaming at some other guys to get away from it.
That's it.
Did they threaten him or try to shoot him? No, no.
No, the guy in the car, he's the one who fired the gun.
I thought you said you didn't see that.
All right.
I'll tell you about the guy in the car that shot his gun.
But I'm not gonna say anything about those gangsters.
If they knew that I was sitting here talking to you, they'd come after me.
Come on, man.
You know.
Tell her.
What gang? NDs.
Two of them.
I don't know their names but I recognized their faces from the neighborhood.
NDs are the 19th Street Destroyers the affirmative-action gang I was telling you about.
They have a big chop-shop operation, mostly high-end car parts.
You recognized these boys? Okay.
How about this? What color was the Cadillac? Look, Tommy, I understand that growing up in your neighborhood you must get really good at imagining how bad things can be.
But try just for a minute, to imagine something better.
Because that's what we're trying to do.
Make a safer place for you and your family.
You can make a difference.
You can.
How about this instead? I wrote down the license-plate number of the Cadillac.
You? You wrote down the license-plate number, and you didn't show it to the police? I never had a chance.
By the time you guys got there, everyone was gone.
Cops just rolled through.
They didn't even stop.
Don't look so surprised, lady.
See, that's the way you always do us.
His name is Kelvin Blake.
Registered owner of the vehicle.
Age 38.
He lives over on Arlington about a mile and a half from the service station.
Honestly, chief, seems like a nice guy.
Mm-hm.
Who has a rap sheet, even though it's from 20 years ago.
Still, drugs, petty theft.
Works as a foreman for M&F Construction Company now.
Employed there for the last 10 years.
So at least Kelvin can hold down a job.
And he turned in his gun voluntarily.
Ballistics finished their report.
The bullet that killed Reggie came from that gun.
Still doesn't prove he pulled the trigger.
- Chief Johnson.
- Yes? - I spoke to my Robbery guys.
- Mm-hm.
There's been a string of high-end carjackings recently within a few miles of Father Jack's community center.
- I bet mostly with the NDs.
- So, uh, you think this Kelvin Blake guy is responsible for the shooting? Well, hopefully we'll know soon enough.
- Chief.
- Yes? I talked Tommy into unofficially ID'ing the two gangsters from the parking lot.
- Enrique Santos and Alonso Garcia.
- How'd you do that? Put together some photo lineups.
And I told him if our shooter here picks out the same guys then he would never have to go to court.
- And he believed you? Why do people ever talk to us? All right.
Uh, thank you.
These IDs will be very helpful.
Now, if you and Lieutenant Flynn could track down Mr.
Santos and Mr.
Garcia, bring them in here.
Thank you.
Yes, ma'am.
Good evening, Mr.
Blake.
I'm Deputy Chief Johnson.
I wanna thank you so much for being so cooperative with my detectives.
I'm happy to help out.
Tell you the truth these gangsters got friends.
I'd rather forget about the whole thing, ha, ha.
Unfortunately, discharging a firearm in a public place is against the law.
So just forgetting about the whole thing isn't an option.
I understand you were read and waived your rights.
Yeah, yeah.
Yeah, I was just protecting myself.
Why don't you start by walking us through what happened last Friday night? Oh, okay.
Um I got off work late.
Didn't feel like making dinner, so I thought I'd go by the Gas Mart and grab a hot dog.
- And what time was that? - Uh, 9.
Little after 9.
- Okay.
And so? - Well, so I pulled in.
And I'm standing at the register when I look out, I see two boys coming from across the street.
I recognized the look on their faces, because it's my hood.
And I'm thinking, "I gotta get back in my car before they steal it.
" So I ran out, jumped in the driver's seat.
But they stood behind me.
See, they wouldn't let me back out.
- Now, did they threaten you in any way? - Yes.
Ha, ha.
They told me to get out of the car.
This is the gun that you gave my detectives, correct? Yes, ma'am.
I mean, I knew people were gonna be after my car.
I mean, the rims alone I thought I needed firepower to hold on to it.
So wait.
You bought a car that you thought you needed a gun to hang on to? Wait a second.
Wait a second.
Let's back up.
You gotta understand I mean, I worked my whole life to be able to have a car like that.
There was no way I was gonna let them gangsters take my Cadillac from me.
I mean, you would've done the same thing, right, man? - What happened next, sir? - So they told me to get out the car.
So I did.
Only, they didn't know I was armed, you know? So right away, I point the gun at them, I told them to back off.
They just laugh at me, like I'm joking.
Tell me to give them my keys, or else One of them said, "Homey, I'm gonna look great in your car.
" I thought, "The hell you are," so I just capped off a few rounds over their heads.
- And what'd they do? - They ran, both of them.
Talking about, "I'm gonna get you.
I'm gonna get you.
" I want you to think about this very carefully, Kelvin.
What was going on in your mind when you pulled out the gun? I was afraid.
You know? I'm still afraid.
I mean, I gotta drive down that street every day.
I knew they'd probably remember what I look like, and my car.
I knew they'd remember that too.
Probably come and find me, just like you guys did.
Which is why it's so important that you identify these men so that they can't come and find you.
So if you could please take a look at these gentlemen.
Tell me if you recognize anyone.
Yeah, that's one of them right there.
That's the other one.
- You sure? - Yeah, yeah.
That's them.
Okay.
Thanks.
So, Kelvin, tell me, uh, when you fired those rounds did you ever wonder where they were gonna end up? No.
Why? What happened? When you shot at those boys one of the bullets went on for a while, two whole blocks and ended up in the back of the head of a man by the name of Reginald Gray.
- He died instantly.
- Oh, no, no, no! Oh, my God.
Oh, my I'm sorry.
I didn't mean to hurt nobody.
I didn't Oh, my God.
Oh, man.
Did he have a family? Did he? Probably shouldn't be too much longer.
So Sanchez and I spent all night looking for these two dirtbags.
We found them this morning walking up to the same service station.
Probably gonna jack another car.
What's this? We can now monitor the electronics room and the interview room from out here.
And from two angles.
Or just one.
Or this one.
And it's wireless.
Pretty cool, huh? Tao, would you stop moving the picture around, damn it? You're making me dizzy.
Settle somewhere.
- Man, I want something to eat.
- Yeah.
I'm not your waiter.
You have the right to remain silent.
Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.
- You have the right to an attorney.
- It's amazing.
- If you can't afford a lawyer, one - Excuse me.
Settle someplace, Tao.
Now I'm not kidding.
Did you understand what I just told you? Ahem, Alonso and Enrique's rap sheets.
And we just got positive IDs on both of them for three other recent carjackings.
One at the same gas station a few weeks ago.
Thank you, sergeant.
Let's see what our busy little gangsters have to say for themselves.
Gentlemen, thank you so much for joining us.
Stand up.
You're welcome, bitch.
Well, so much for hello.
Do you have any idea why we asked you to pop by here today? - Alonso.
- You wanna have my baby? I'll tell you this one time.
You better show some respect.
Or else Stand here.
Let's, uh, let's start over, shall we? I believe that you gentlemen were shot at in the parking lot at the Central Food and Gas Mart on Crenshaw the night before last.
Does that ring any bells? I I Det I think we found the guy who shot at you.
That's why you're here.
- You talking about that fool? - Do you recognize him, Enrique? Yeah, crazy bastard was at the filling station the other night.
He was waving his gun around, shouting some bullshit.
- But we left after he started shooting.
- Shooting? - At who? - What do you mean, "at who"? At us.
Now, why would this man fire his gun at you? Did something happen? Did you maybe pay too much attention to his brand-new Cadillac? Hey, it's a nice car, yeah.
But look, lady, he's the crazy one.
Pointing his piece at us because we said we liked his car? What kind of a compliment did you pay his vehicle? She means, how did you tell him you liked the car? Oh.
I just said, you know, "I'd look real good driving that Cadillac around.
" - Because I would.
- I bet you would.
Do you think that's what this guy thought you were gonna do? Jump in his car and drive off in it? Look, let me explain.
Uh, as interested as I normally am in grand theft what I really wanna know about today is who killed Reggie Gray? - Reggie who? The guy who was shot at the community center last Friday night by this man here.
Oh.
Oh, okay.
Oh, you see? I told you that dude was crazy.
Tried killing us too.
Isn't that against the law? Huh? Yeah, he came after us.
I was gonna mess him up.
I wanted to.
Well, you can forget about settling scores, because I'll be handling that.
All I wanna know from you boys is exactly what happened last Friday night.
Look, even if you were, say, trying to drive off in this man's car murder is the only crime I care about today.
Isn't that right, Detective Sanchez? We're asking you to help us deal with this guy who shot at you.
I mean, come on, how often does that happen? I wanna know about the moment he started shooting at you.
- Okay? Yes? - Okay.
Look, we only said something about About taking the car.
We didn't actually do it.
That's when he pulled the gun.
Surprised you didn't grab it and shove it down his throat.
Hey, man, we thought about that, - Bam, bam, bam.
Just like that.
You know, we knew he was serious.
Tell her that's the truth.
We didn't even get in that car, and that son of a bitch started shooting.
- Can you believe that? We didn't get in it.
- That's exactly what I thought happened.
Now, if you could just write it all down, just what you said and, uh, sign it, and we'll be finished.
- Write what down? Just that you wanted to take this man's car and for no other reason than that he illegally discharged his weapon at you, and that you, uh, fled the scene.
Okay, wait a minute.
Okay.
We only tried to steal the car.
- We didn't take it.
- I completely understand.
In fact, just describe it that way.
Say it just like that.
You only tried to steal this man's car.
And underline the word "try" so it's clear that it was just an attempt.
That's a good idea.
Why is the chief unhappy? That was the confession, wasn't it? I mean, am I missing something here? She's probably thinking about how she's gonna explain all this to Reggie's mom.
- You spelled "Cadillac" wrong.
- It's two L's.
We rigged this up in a day.
- Imagine what we could do in a week.
- I'm breathless.
Okay.
Let me take a look at that.
All right, uh, if you could just sign the bottom.
All right, gentlemen.
- I put the date right there too.
- Good idea.
Now, I I I should probably explain the felony-murder rule to you.
We don't care.
As long as you got that fool, we're good.
I'm starving.
You ought to understand about your future responsibilities in regards to Reggie Gray.
What? We didn't agree to any responsibilities.
Shut up, Alonso.
Look, I gotta eat, okay? Can't this wait? I hate to hold you up but, um, you really should understand what's gonna happen next.
When you're involved in a robbery like only trying to steal this man's Cadillac and someone gets shot whether the victim is in front of you or two blocks away if that person dies as a result of your actions, it's murder.
Wait, wait.
Wait a minute.
Wait.
So we're like witnesses now or what? - Only if you decide to testify.
- All right.
- We gotta go to court? - I'm afraid so.
You don't have to testify if you don't want to because that's a right that you have under the Fifth Amendment.
Don't worry.
- Your lawyer will explain it all to you.
- Lawyers? We can't afford no lawyers.
If you can't afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you.
Enrique Santos and Alonso Garcia you're under arrest for murder.
Hands on the table.
You'll figure it all out by the time you're arraigned.
Lookie here.
Now she's starting to perk up.
If you boys are still hungry we can rustle you up some bologna sandwiches and powdered eggs.
And I hope you like them, because that's all you're gonna eat for the rest of your life.
Hey, you get back here, you bitch! We didn't kill nobody! So you think Mrs.
Gray's gonna be okay? I think you defined "transferred intent" and "felony murder" as well as anyone could have.
Guiding her through the mourning process, well, that's more my job than yours.
Yeah.
It's just as well.
Having your child shot dead because someone was trying to steal a car two blocks away seems awfully random to me.
No.
I wouldn't say that, no.
Oh, please don't tell me you think that Reggie's murder was, what part of God's grand design? "God's grand design.
" Ha, ha.
That's a little bit over my head.
But I don't believe in random.
But there was no motive in Reggie's death.
And where there's no motive, there's no meaning.
Well, you only think there's no meaning because you're looking for it.
But meaning isn't something you find, Chief Johnson.
It's something you give.
Making sense out of Reggie's murder, well, that's up to us.
So, what meaning would you say it had? I'd say that Reggie's death had brought this community together don't you think? Including the neighborhood and the police.
Including you and me.
Now, that's something you don't see every day.
I can't believe you're falling for this.
What's a little paint, Flynn? It's not gonna change anything.
And tomorrow or next week this wall's gonna be covered in graffiti again.
Well, till then