Stray Bullet (2018) Movie Script
1
[crying]
[people chattering]
[Golda Rincon] My sister was killed
on July 5th, 2014.
We actually were having fun that day
and we were kind of out at my mom's friend's house
for a barbecue.
We were going to the store,
and that's when everything happened.
Like, it all changed.
[boy 1] I like chicken, do you?
[boy 2 laughing]
- [boy 2] No. -[both laugh]
-This is where it happened. -[dog barking]
Right here.
The shots came from over there.
[barking continues]
[Alexis Rincon] Soon after the murder
of my daughter Genesis,
Jhymiere Moore turned himself in,
surrendered himself.
Jeffry Ellerbee also surrendered himself
for being an accomplice there.
And Marshae Anthony was picked up
about a month and a half after all of that.
And he was picked up on gun charges
that were linked to the murder.
[Jack DeSalvo] All right, Jah, why don't you tell us
where you were that night.
That night, at that crime scene,
I had to be in the house 'cause
I stayed in the house that whole day,
I didn't go outside one bit.
Okay.
Well, I wasn't there.
People are putting you out there.
And I'm not just saying one person,
I'm not just saying two people,
I'm saying a lot of people
and you know the city, the city's got cameras everywhere.
We don't have a camera, a city camera,
there's a house camera, there's a liquor store camera,
there's a bodega camera. There's cameras everywhere.
-No I wasn't over there-- -No, listen to me.
You know what happened.
A 12-year-old girl
was accidentally shot
-and she died because of this. -Yes.
Again, like I said, we weren't there. We don't know.
Right now, it's always coming back to you.
But I wasn't there.
It can come back to me as much as they have to,
-but I wasn't there, that's all. -Okay.
-I promise you, I wasn't there. -And I want you to be honest.
And that's why I respect what you did tonight.
-Yes, sir. -You came to us.
We didn't have to go looking for ya, driving around.
And that shows us, you know what?
You want to get in front of this.
You want to tell us the truth
and you're telling us your truth.
-Yes. -Okay, that's important.
-I'm telling you the truth. -The truth.
-Not my truth. The truth. -All right.
There's a difference between my truth and the truth.
I'm telling you the truth.
[ethereal theme playing]
[Janny Calderon] "Detective Rico, Detective Alba,
"on ceasefire, arrived on scene as well as Detective DeSalvo,
"Detective Liebson and Detective Seabrooks,
"and Detective Gilmore.
"This officer filed a witness, Jordi Perez,
"and he stated that he went to the bodega,
"and it was closed, so they were returning back
"when him and the victims were in front of 35 Rosbrook,
"he heard loud pops, and he thought it was fireworks.
And then he saw the victim drop to the floor."
That's everything?
[Javier Castellanos] It created so much turmoil,
when Genesis got shot.
It was just like this devastating news.
And not to undermine what happened with Genesis,
because it's tragic, losing a child has gotta be
the worst thing, but these stray bullets
have been going around forever.
In 2010, they had documented close to 140 different gangs.
The uniqueness about the gang culture
in the Paterson area is that you can cross
from one block to the other,
and you're in another gang's territory.
[Shermaine Jones] Everybody hustle
for different reasons.
You've got some dude want to hustle for clothes.
You've got some dudes want to hustle for they house.
And then you got some dudes who really hustling
because you go to they household, they need,
you know, they taking care of they family.
What's a 12-year-old supposed to do
to help his mom feed his brothers and sisters?
There's only one option.
You go pick up some drugs and sell it.
This is a baby New York City now,
and you know what makes that worse,
because New York is big.
Paterson, if I'm beefing with some,
I'm from the fourth and beefing with somebody
from down the hill, we gonna see each a lot sooner.
It's like we in a cage.
When you in a cage tight, there's nowhere to run.
You got to get him or he gonna get you.
Point blank, baby.
[man] Nigga you ain't know
From 17 nigga
Mother fucking glow nigga
Shit
Pakistan, Pakistan
Packing nothing grand
Not a man, not a man
Yeah niggas we got it cocked and loaded
Talking bullshit going half exploded
Bang at your brain
Bang at your brain
I heard these nigga stains
Heard these niggas play
These niggas in my lane
These niggas ain't in my lane, nah
They ain't been down
They do not feel my pain, shit
Now we in the club about to perform, yeah
[siren blaring]
[people chattering]
[man 1] My brothers and sisters,
we stop on this corner
because this is one of the places where the blood
of our youth cries out from the ground.
Father, we pray for healing on this corner.
For prosperity on this corner.
For life on this corner.
-For hope on this corner. -[man 2] That's right,
that's right.
-Hope of a better day. -That's right.
Of a brighter day.
Of a more prosperous day.
In the name of Jesus.
[Alexis] Before I had Genesis,
I wasn't a bad kid.
You know, growing up in the hood is pretty messed up.
You do things you don't think you would do.
You know, you steal cars.
Being on the block, we used to sell crack, you know.
It wasn't like a career, it was just like,
you do what you do.
So then, met Jenny, Genesis' mom,
then we started dating, and then she came out pregnant.
That changed me.
When I held Genesis, that's when it hit me, like,
holy shit, I'm a father.
[laughter]
They're acting like total fools on the bus.
[vocalizing]
[Alexis] Did you just press that?
Oh.
[indistinct chatter]
[Alexis] Put this on the side and sit right.
Here.
Jesus Christ, y'all act like
you've never been on a bus before.
How much do you think this lawyer,
how much does the lawyer cost?
A lawyer can't be more than $20,000.
Twenty, thirty thousand dollars.
For murder?
I don't need it for murder, I just need it
to get my name out of the situation.
No, no, no, this is a murder charge.
[Harley Breite] Okay...
So, you realize
your whole entire future is at stake here.
You get that, right? So here's what I'm going to do.
I'm going to save you from all of this.
Now, you want to know, Harley, how much is my freedom worth?
Yeah, I can't put a price on your freedom.
But here's the deal.
You want the best, you're here, I'm the best.
Someone shot a bullet through my house
and it wasn't very nice.
This is a Benelli M4 tactical.
Scope, lights, everything.
Red dot laser.
Light with the laser.
You know, it becomes an issue when you're walking around
and people recognize you, and gang members
are upset with you because maybe you lost a trial,
and their gang member friend blames you.
This is small for the home.
[light dramatic theme playing]
Why did I decide to leave?
Because I'm scared to be here.
And because I need my kids to be raised somewhere else.
Not here, it's too much going on here.
Scary.
I want them to be able to play outside...
...without me having to worry about getting them
getting hurt or somebody's coming for us, you know?
So I'd rather just leave and leave everything behind.
As long as they're good, I'm good.
I don't want to lose another one.
Florida is ready for you.
Or you're ready for Florida.
-[laughter] -Really.
-Are you excited? -You're gonna be fine.
Yeah.
-Are you? -Yeah.
Really? Like you're not gonna miss--
Yeah, I'll gonna miss you guys.
-Oh, you guys. -Us guys.
But you're not gonna miss the dump.
-No. -Not at all.
It stinks.
[Alexis] I look at it as
being a blessing.
It's a new beginning, it's a new start.
This, out here, this town is just devastating.
Everywhere she turns, it's a memory.
Everywhere she turns, she hears,
"Okay, there was a shootout here."
Or something happened here.
And it's like, no 11-year-old should grow up like that.
[male bailiff] All rise.
[Judge] All right, good morning,
please be seated.
All right, hearing the matters
of March state versus March the entity,
State versus Jhymiere Moore.
State versus Jeffry Ellerbee, indictment 15030149.
All right, but here's the thing, you know,
it's a very important case.
As I've stated this in the past, to both the defense
and the prosecutor. We've got to get this case moving.
What about, any, Mr. Bright?
Yes, Judge, I would think it only be fair to all parties
to set this matter down for a trial date.
My client's been sitting in a jail a year and a half.
[Judge] Absolutely, absolutely.
Mr. Barnett Perview, I know you want a trial date
in this case, but here's what I'm gonna do.
I'm gonna give this a pre-trial conference plea cut off,
the first week of February and we will set the trial date
at that time. Any further?
No, thank you, Your Honor.
[Harley] Interestingly enough, as if the state could not delay
this case further, or put more pressure on my client,
his bail was $3,000,000, I believe, cash only.
That's not a bail.
That's just code for we're gonna keep you here
as long as it takes for your trial to come.
[Niechia MacPherson] The streets probably
got Jhymiere when he was
probably about 15, 16.
And that's when we found out that his dad
was gone, like, that's when we got the news
that his dad was arrested and it didn't look good,
and he was possibly gonna be gone for about 30 years,
and Jhymiere just felt like his father
like didn't care about him.
[Benita Gray] Jeffry's a good kid.
His father committed suicide when he was one.
He's always been a great kid.
Always helped with the rest of my kids.
Never got in trouble.
Always went to school, never gave me a hard time.
He was always a really good kid with a good attitude.
-[Harley] A few minutes. -[Judge] Yeah, I think that's--
-[Harley] That's fine. -[Judge] All right then.
[Harley] Very good, thank you.
[Niechia] Jhymiere's state of mind
right now is more or less like he knows that
he's gonna be cleared.
I said to Jhymiere, "I'm with Harley on this."
They're gunning for you.
[Harley] The public was screaming for a scapegoat.
The police needed a scapegoat.
So why not choose Jhymiere Moore,
a 19-year-old black kid with a criminal record?
Who better to pin this on than him?
[Jacques Jones] They didn't look into
this investigation properly.
They just went off word of mouth.
In their eyes, he guilty.
Especially because that's a little girl.
If I had to shoot somebody,
I would walk up to them, point blank, and shoot 'em
in the fucking face.
You have that big of a problem
that you gotta kill somebody, right? Right?
You have that big of a problem, that big of a problem,
that you gotta take somebody's life?
Well, take their life.
It's been happening since the beginning of time, right?
People been killing people since the beginning of time.
Cain and Abel.
But you walk up to 'em and you do 'em in.
You just don't do it from across the street,
where there's a bunch of kids playing on a scooter.
[Shermaine] I just went to a funeral last month.
This happened.
I know a lot of people, it's common.
It's like you been to fucking Vietnam
or something, you know?
Your war wounds.
You either got stab marks or gunshots,
jumping out of Paterson.
To properly police these individuals and these gangs,
you have to know their culture, you have to know
what the gangs are about.
The general make up, the hierarchy.
Identifying them, monitoring them is getting harder
and harder because there has been a decrease
in the police force, due to cutbacks and things like that,
but we're tasked to do more.
So sometimes those specialized humans
that were focusing on that, they're not there anymore.
[police radio chatter]
[Camelia Valdes] We have to talk about how gangs
are being able to make money.
Heroin is five dollars a bag.
It's fueling the drug trade,
and so when we talk about gangs,
we have to talk about not only gun violence,
reducing gun violence, but we have to keep focus on
what drugs now are being abused.
[man] He's bringing community down.
Everybody's coming up here for a needle exchange,
for needles, clean needles.
Fuck, why you gotta get clean needles?
Don't shoot up.
Shouldn't shoot up, right, right,
but it's for the people,
it's for the people in the backyards,
start thinking about that.
[chattering]
[Golda] I live in Tampa, Florida.
I am living with my uncle, my aunt, and my three cousins.
And then my aunt's grandmother and her daughter.
[laughter]
My mom is trying to get an apartment and a job.
She wants to work two jobs so she can make enough money
to get her own apartment.
I want to get the hook out, I want to get the hook out,
I want to get the hook out.
[laughter]
My life here in Florida is better
than actually being in Paterson.
Paterson, I'd be terrified to go even,
even across the street by myself.
It's... It's...
But here, I guess, like, I don't know,
it's calm, so I go anywhere.
[ethereal theme playing]
This is the room, the room's intact.
No holes, no damages, just a little wiping down.
Everything is intact.
[Alexis] It really sucks getting evicted.
You know, being homeless.
Destroyed.
My daughter's in Florida.
My other daughter is a buried in a cemetery.
I'm going to court.
It really messes with your head.
It really messes you up, as a man, you know?
[chattering]
A year ago today, I was at work,
getting paid, like, I was doing what I graduated school for.
My life was going where I wanted it to go,
to the point where I was like, oh right,
I'm gonna be where I got to be,
and I'm gonna be able to support my family, my children,
everything is gonna be okay now,
this is what I went to school for.
And then everything just fucking crumbles
from your fingertips.
You folks are the folks that are leaving?
-You're all moved? -[Alexis] Yes.
-Here's your copy of this. -Thank you.
A little wet, but, since you're moving,
you're not gonna need it anymore.
[people chattering]
[woman laughs]
[Judge] Statement 15030149.
We conferenced this case in chambers,
and it's my understanding there were still
some open discovery issues.
Defense Council, any other issues right now?
With regard to discovery?
Or any other issues in this case?
-I'd like to raise an issue-- -[Judge] All right, sure.
The last time we were here, I most vociferously
requested a trial date of April 1st.
-That's correct. -There seemed to be
some resistance from some of the parties on that.
I am respectfully requesting that the court put down
September 20th, Tuesday, as a real trial date.
There should be no reason why myself and co-council,
all co-council, the state as well, cannot be ready
by that time to try this case.
These are three young men who've been incarcerated,
been denied their pre-trial liberty by a massive,
excessive bail that nobody in this courtroom could make,
they've waited long and hard for a trial,
they deserve a trial, the state deserves a trial,
and we're sitting here again not able to do that.
I would love to set a trial date and say,
"That's the day and we're gonna proceed on that day."
But the state has to make its final plea offer
and the defendants then have to make an informed decision
as to whether they want to try this case
or they want to take the plea, so we're getting closer
to that point, but we're not there yet.
And Judge, if I may, I appreciate that,
and again, just as a practical matter,
if this trial doesn't go in the very beginning
of October, at the latest, this case will not
go to trial in 2016.
The earliest we can hope for
is a mid-January 2017 trial.
I agree with you. And just, you know,
we talked about this in chambers, just being practical,
there's still some more work to do in this case, obviously.
-Not much. Not much. -Well, that you feel
that way, your co-council don't necessarily feel that way.
[Judge] All right, anything else?
-No, sir. -[Judge] All right then.
-[Paul] Thank you. -[Judge] You're welcome.
[Harley] Look, everybody has an interest.
The prosecutor has an interest in preserving justice,
the other attorneys have an interest in ensuring
that their clients get a fair trial,
I have that same interest.
But we need to get things done.
And sometimes when people are getting paid by the hour
or they're on salary even, one has a different motivation
than the other.
And that's creating, I think, a partial conflict here.
Mad, upset.
Sad, confused, lost.
Like, what the fuck is going on?
Like, what is going on?
From day one, it was said, yeah, hey, yeah,
we got 'em, we this, we that, yeah, we got all this,
we got all that.
And then today you have nothing to say.
You late.
You're not even prepared.
What's going on?
Now, it's at the point where,
are these guys really who did it,
or it was just randomly picked out from the street?
They wear you down.
It's a war of attrition.
Well, guess what?
We don't tap out.
We don't submit.
We're going to trial.
If they want to delay this trial
one more year, two more years,
three more years, that's on them.
But we're going to trial.
My client wants a trial.
And one day, one day, there will be no more delays.
That jury will come up the elevator, walk through
the hallway, walk into that courtroom,
and take their rightful seats.
And then the prosecutor will have to get up
and prove his case beyond a reasonable doubt.
That day is coming.
One day.
[melancholy theme playing]
[people chattering]
[digital shutter clicks]
[Golda] We left everything behind.
We left Genesis' tombstone behind.
We left my family behind.
We left a lot of things behind.
I feel confused, happy, and upset.
Because like, I don't know, like, confused,
confused, I don't even know what to feel.
I'm happy that we left, but like, I don't want to leave.
I don't want to leave my dad, my brothers, my cousins.
She hasn't cried. She didn't cry.
She cried with me the first time, and that's it.
The first day. Never cried again.
Okay, hi everybody, it's Genesis, and I'm gonna be--
[Janny] I don't know, she doesn't want to make friends.
It's like hard for her to make friends.
She says, how can she make friends
if the only friend and best friend she had
was her sister, Genesis.
He's still on level two.
Okay, now he's on level three. Which is a scary one anyway.
[Golda] I want it to be over.
Yeah, I want them to plead guilty.
I don't want them to be going to trial anymore,
or others, I want it to be done.
It's just too much now.
We've been at this for two years almost.
And it's still going.
It's ongoing.
All right, good afternoon. Please be seated.
All right, we're here for the pre-trial conference
and matters of Jhymiere Moore, Marshae Anthony,
Jeffry Ellerbee, indictment 15030149.
Judge, do you have everybody up there?
-I think you do. -[Judge] Yeah.
[Judge] All right, why don't we start out
with Jhymiere Moore?
[Paul] The charges include murder.
They include weapons offenses.
These three defendants, the state's allegations
are that they were part of a crew that was hitting back
and looking for, specifically, maybe, Mr. Shakeen Ricks.
Mr. Shakeen Ricks, as we know, is a defendant now
in Burgham County for the murder of Nasira Bug,
another young girl, and he will be going to trial,
just like his co-defendants, sometime in December.
So this matter has been not able to resolve
by way of plea or cooperation,
and there is no further negotiations.
[Judge] What was the state's final plea offer in this?
The state's original plea offer was 40 years
for Mr. Moore, 40 years for Mr. Ellerbee,
and eight with four for Mr. Anthony.
[Judge] The maximum sentence we expose,
if convicted on all counts in this case,
Mr. DeGroot, can you set forth, what that would be?
-[Paul] Life in prison. -[Judge] Right.
All right, Mr. Moore, you understand all that?
-[Jhymiere] Yes. -Mr. Moore. You had enough time
-to think about it? -Yes.
-Talk to your attorney about it? -Yes.
[Judge] You understand that after today,
there will be no more plea offers.
You okay with that?
-Yes. -All right.
So, what do you want to do?
You want to go to trial in this case?
-Yes. -Okay, fine.
[Judge] Anything further?
-[man] No. -[Judge] All right, very well.
[Judge] Set it for September 7.
All right, thank you.
-[lawyers] Thank you. -You're welcome.
[chattering]
[Niechia] Nobody really is considering the fact that
what if these boys are innocent?
Y'all just ruined their lives.
Like I told my child, their life is forever ruined.
Whether you get found innocent.
Whether you get found guilty.
Whether it's a mistrial or dismissal,
whatever it is, your life is forever ruined.
Jeffry never even got a ticket, let alone now
the first crime he commits is a murder, that's ridiculous.
So yeah, it's a shock.
It's been very depressing.
It's been hard on the rest of my kids.
To explain to them that their brother might not
come home for something he didn't do.
So it's been hard.
In this situation, in this situation,
you got to take that chance.
This is life, now.
Now, if he know he didn't do it,
why take 25, 40 whatever, they offer him 40 years.
[police radio chatter]
[David Kennedy] There is no way
that any amount of routine application
of policing criminal justice will stop what's going on.
The routine experience of people in the neighborhood
is that they're subjected
to a huge amount of law enforcement.
Man, feel my twists.
[David] And they're not safe.
You recording me?
[KnowledgeBorn] Man, the street life,
a thug cannot even learn how to spit, man.
And I'm sharp with the hands.
Even better with the hawk.
A vicious dude with a reckless bark.
Psychotic with the hammer, don't get caught in that spark.
Late night creeping, yeah, I be that shadow in the dark.
40 cal with something to silence the pop
and this thing's slick talking, dawg,
this is coming from the heart.
90 dog, understand what's up, and then you spar
with my boss, open your face with the hawk.
Or a slug in your chest, man, to silence your heart.
[Shermaine] You know, it's a sad situation,
but that stuff happen out here.
A kid should be able to go out and play.
But that's just, that's just not the reality
of what's going on in Paterson.
Cory is my first cousin. Her father was murdered.
My other first cousin, her father was murdered.
My son was murdered.
All in the same calendar year.
What's the chances of that?
That's almost like hitting the lottery of death.
I know too well what these parents are going through.
With their juveniles.
Because at 14, my son started.
[Shermaine] The younger kids, that's getting the guns.
They not aiming.
They see somebody they looking for in the crowd,
they shoot at the crowd.
Could hit five kids.
I went to the cops, I called them every day.
Every night they didn't come in, I got the same thing.
Until it gets in the system, we can't help you.
Maybe you want them to survive.
That way, so you can throw them in the prison system
and make money off of 'em.
[applause]
Maybe it's a business.
Maybe it's a business.
[woman] So at 18 he decided to go out and join a gang.
First charge, two sets of guns.
At 17.
Second charge, two sets of guns.
Third charge, attempted murder.
But he's in the system now, huh?
You guys talk about everything that's around
the buck and the dollar, but at the end of the day,
when they start shooting up your car, your house,
when heroin comes to your block,
you're gonna turn around and say,
"You know what, that guy with the dreads made a lot of sense."
-All right, Mom, bye. -Good luck.
Love you.
See ya.
[Janny] I wasn't gonna come.
Over here.
I wasn't gonna try to miss it, either.
Broke my belt.
All right.
[ominous theme playing]
[Judge] "Ladies and gentlemen,
"defendants have pleaded
"not guilty to the charges.
"The defendants are on trial, and they are presumed
"to be innocent, unless each and every essential element
"of the offenses are charged, offenses charged,
"are proven beyond a reasonable doubt
"as to each defendant;
"each defendant must be found not guilty
of that particular charge."
It's a summer evening.
Genesis Rincon is 12 years old.
Innocent, pure.
Society, our society, we failed that little girl.
Just couldn't stop them.
Genesis came upon, that moment in time,
when his enemy
and his enemy and his enemy appeared
in the figure of a white van.
Bam, bam, bam, bam, bam.
Bam.
Shot after shot was fired.
They're on trial here today.
And the state is going to prove to you,
beyond a reasonable doubt, that guilty on those counts
for murder should be entered against each
and every one of those.
We will have justice for the Rincon family.
Thank you.
[Judge] Thank you, Mr. DeGroot.
Mr. Breite.
[Harley] Ladies and gentlemen, we do not need to decide
whether this killing was terrible.
We know that it was.
And we know that it was tragic.
Your purpose is different.
It is to decide if the state has proved that my client
killed Genesis Rincon.
I am confident that when you hear the evidence,
you'll find that there is not just one reasonable doubt,
but there exists many, many reasonable doubts
throughout the state's entire case.
We don't know who killed Genesis Rincon,
and at the end of this trial, unfortunately,
you, too, will still not know who killed Genesis Rincon.
Thank you.
[Judge] Thank you, Mr. Breite.
[Judge] After swearing in
of the witness,
let's have...
[indistinct dialogue] [woman]
Raise your right hand, please.
You do solemnly swear that the testimony
about to be given
in this case will be the truth,
the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
-Yes. -Please state
your name for the record.
-Keshawn Carter. -You may be seated.
[Paul] On July 5th, 2014, do you remember
-a significant event that day? -Yes.
-And what happened that day? -The shooting.
[Paul] In the area of 35 Grand Ave.,
in the city of Paterson,
have you identified various neighborhood gangs
-in that area? -Yes, we have two
neighborhood gangs that we identified within that area.
The first neighborhood gang that we've identified
is 230 Boys.
And the other group that we've identified
is a group called the So Icy Boys.
[Paul] I'd ask you to look toward the defense,
and do you see the person that you
identified as the shooter?
-Yes. -Can you indicate
what color shirt that person's wearing?
White shirt.
[Judge] Identifying the defendant.
[Nancy] Defendant Moore has been identified
by law enforcement sources as a member of So Icy
by his self proclamation, as well as his tattoo
that he has on his markings that say SIB,
meaning So Icy Boys.
[Paul] Now on July 5th, 2014,
what time did that family barbecue begin?
I'm not sure.
I mean, it was around 4.
[Paul] The police asked you if Jeffry Ellerbee
-was there that day, correct? -[Aalyiah] Yes.
[Paul] Originally, what did you first tell them?
[Aalyiah] I told them that he came around 8.
[Paul] Did you finally change your story?
[Aalyiah] Yes.
-[Paul] Good morning, Detective. -Good morning.
[Paul] Were you involved in the homicide investigation
-of Genesis Rincon? -Yes.
[Paul] In that investigation,
was there an application to search
-one of the phones? -Yes.
[Paul] Was that phone of Jeffry Ellerbee?
Correct.
Agent, based on your expertise,
can you conclude to a reasonable degree of certainty
whether that cellular number was in the area
of the homicide on July 5th, 2014,
at approximately 8:30 in the evening?
I can tell you that the usage of that phone
at that particular time is consistent with
the coverage area of that crime scene at that time.
[Paul] Were you able to establish where the phone was
at approximately 8:30 in the evening on August 5th, 2014?
-[Harley] Objection. -[Judge] Sustained.
[Paul] Who asked you to say that Jeff was with you
at that time?
-Jeffry. -[Paul] Thank you.
[Nancy] Defendant Ellerbee has been identified
by law enforcement sources through a self proclamation
of stating that he, in fact, was a So Icy Boy.
-[Paul] No tattoos, though? -No tattoos.
-[Paul] Thank you. -[Judge] All right, thanks.
[Judge] All right, Detective, you're still under oath.
We'll have Mr. Breite's cross examination.
[Harley] Detective, you testified that my client,
Jhymiere Moore, is a member of a street gang,
-is that correct? -[Nancy] That is correct.
You didn't have any role, whatsoever,
in the investigation of this case involving
the murder of Genesis Rincon, correct?
-That is correct. -You have no personal
information, whatsoever, with regard
to how this murder took place, do you?
No, sir.
-You weren't there, were you? -No, sir.
You didn't see who fired the shots, did you?
-No, sir. -Nothing further.
[Judge] All right, thanks.
[Harley] Mr. Carter, let's talk
about some pending charges.
You were arrested on September 21st, 2015,
for the distribution of possession with the intent
to distribute drugs, correct?
-Yes. -That case is still pending,
it's not been resolved, correct?
-Yes. -Another pending charge.
You were arrested on July 6th of 2016
for selling heroin, correct?
-Yes. -Okay, and that's not
yet been resolved either?
-Yes. -As you sit here today,
testifying, on behalf of the state,
those two pending charges have not yet been resolved,
-is that correct? -Yes.
Mr. Carter, this document is S57.
-You recognize that, don't you? -Yes.
That's your statement to the police, correct?
Yes.
[Harley] When you said that to them,
you said that you were sweeping up
-a little bit, correct? -Yes.
Well, but the fact is you weren't sweeping,
you were selling drugs, correct?
-I was doing both. -Ah.
[light chuckles in courtroom]
Nothing further, Judge.
[Judge] All right, thank you.
[Judge] Let's take 5. Well, we said we were gonna be here
until 3:30, so let's take till 3:30.
[people chattering]
Right now Jhymiere is, he's not 100% confident,
you know what I'm saying, it's like,
he feels like, right now, he feels like me,
like he has a 60-40 chance.
I feel good.
You know, I feel good about it.
It's not something like I'm worried if,
or it could just be that my emotions are going crazy
right now and you know, I just can't, but,
like I just feel inside, it's like,
it's a calming feeling, it's a good feeling.
[Harley] I like to train in a place that's a bit rural.
When you're done giving everything you can physically
and mentally, as well, get in a car
and you're driving through an area with beautiful foliage,
there's something very cathartic about it.
It's very quiet, and you can really spend time
introspecting, and that's one of the hardest things
in life to do is introspect.
[breathing heavily]
When I do well in the cage, I can extrapolate
that experience into the courtroom,
into other areas of my life.
But I don't fear things the way that perhaps I did
when I was younger.
A judge is yelling at me, I just zone out,
because there's nothing that person can do to hurt me.
I've already faced the most terrifying event
I could ever face in my mind, and that's getting
on the mat or getting in the cage.
And once I conquered that,
conquering the courtroom was so easy.
So easy.
[bell rings]
[woman] You do solemnly swear that
the testimony about to be given
in this case will be the truth,
the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
-Yes, Your Honor. -Please state your name
-for the record. -Detective John Scully.
[Paul] How many shell casings were recovered?
There was six shell casings.
Four that were nine millimeters.
One was a .380 caliber.
-Item A, I didn't know. -You guys did anonymous?
-It could have been, yes. -No further questions.
-[Judge] Mr. Breite? -[Harley] Sir.
Detective, with regard to the shell casings
found at the scene, you were never able to connect
those shell casings with any specific gun, were you?
I don't know if a gun was ever recovered, sir.
Thank you, nothing further.
All right, any questions?
I'm very confident, as I said--
Listen, then you can strut like a peacock, brother,
that you're confident, but the evidence that we have
says that you were there, that's the problem.
That's the problem.
So, me, personally, I ain't rolling dice.
I'm not letting people decide my fate
and making their own opinions on what went down.
That's not what I want. I want to be like,
you know what?
Let me get in front of this. This is what happened.
I was fucking around and some little girl got killed
by accident.
There's a big difference.
I'm not letting them fucking choose what I did.
-I'm gonna-- -I didn't do nothing, though.
I'm gonna talk for me.
[woman] Please state your name for the record.
-Jack DeSalvo. -You may proceed
to the witness stand.
-[Paul] Good morning, Detective. -Good morning.
Detective, who are you employed by?
-The city of Paterson. -Okay.
Did you take statements in this case?
Yes, I did.
Was that statement, were statements taken
by Detective Leishman and yourself?
-Yes. -Were you involved
in the statement of John E. Moore?
-Yes, I was. -What was his answer
when you said that
you couldn't get over that last response
that he wasn't there and wasn't involved?
"I don't know why they would like put me at the scene,
"want me to be at that scene, because I, like,
"whatever cameras you say you got at the liquor store
"or whatever, check 'em, and it will show you
I was not put there."
[Paul] Detective, during this investigation,
were cameras attempted to be located?
-Yes. -Were any working cameras
found to be in that area?
-No. -Were any cameras
from businesses found to be in that area?
-No. -Thank you.
[Judge] Detective, you can step down.
You're released for today.
Rest and have a nice night.
All right.
[Harley] Detective, you went to a press conference
to make a public announcement of the first arrest
in this case, correct?
-Yes. -And that first arrest
pertained to my client, Jhymiere Moore, didn't it?
-Yes. -Detective, you testified
earlier about these shell casings that were found
-on the scene, right? -Yes.
It's a fact, isn't it, that you were never able
to connect any of those casings with my client,
Jhymiere Moore, correct?
-Correct. -[Harley] Nothing further.
All right, thanks.
-Detective, good morning. -[Steven] Good morning.
For the record, I'm Matthew Cavaliere,
I'm representing Jeffry Ellerbee,
and I have some questions.
As lead investigator, are you the one who directs
the CSI people to send bullets out for fingerprinting,
for example?
For stuff that goes to the lab, it would be
my responsibility to have certain items
requested to be examined, yes.
[Matthew] Okay. Now, in this case, by analyzing
the firing pin fingerprint on the back
of the spent shell casings from the Genesis case,
it shows that the same gun was used
in the April 1st, 2014 case, correct?
-Yes. -And as a Paterson
Police Department case number for the shooting event
that happened on April 1st, 2014,
involving the same gun, right?
-Yes. -Now, would it surprise you
to know that the person arrested and charged
by your department for using that gun,
his first name is Eli?
Are you familiar with that shooting case now?
-Yes. -It turns out your department
interviewed him in this case.
-[Matthew] True? -[Steven] Yes.
[Matthew] That was right after he got arrested
-for the other shooting, true? -Yes.
How long did that interview take?
I was actually not part of that interview,
that was two other detectives that spoke to him.
[Matthew] Would it surprise you to know
that the interview of Eli took six minutes?
I don't know, I wasn't there.
Would it surprise you to know that that interview
did not ask him about the Genesis case
other than to tell him that you had developed
information indicating that he was there?
You know that, right?
-Yes. -It's in your report.
-Yes. -The guy who used
the same gun that was used to kill Genesis
was there at the time of the shooting,
and that's why you brought him in?
-Yes. -You never asked him
about the same gun, did you?
-No. -No further questions.
-Thank you. -[Judge] All right, thank you.
[low chattering]
[needle buzzing]
[chattering]
[Alexis] I was a Marshae,
I was a Moore, I was an Ellerbee, I was.
I was.
I don't hate them.
They're kids.
They're kids. I was a kid, too.
I was that kid.
I was that kid that my family members would tell
their kids, "Don't hang with Alexis."
"Don't hang with Alexis.
Alexis is bad news."
I'm no different than these guys.
It's just that I had the right people,
-I had the right support. -[video game beeping]
My parole officer, Mr. Williams,
I violated at least twice,
and he said that he was not gonna lock me up
because I was a smart kid and he met my mom
and he said, "Your parents are good parents.
And they don't deserve that from you."
I would like to be a counselor.
Because if you can take one kid,
whether it be a kid that was born on East 19
in Paterson, named Alexis Rincon,
people know him as Chooser, or Choose One,
or that kid that lives on 10th Ave.
that goes by the name of Marshae Anthony.
Then you did something.
[woman] Raise your right hand, please.
You do solemnly swear
or affirm that your testimony you're about to give
in this case will be the truth,
the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
-Yes. -Please state
your name for the record.
-Caurie Swinger. -You may proceed to the stand.
[Judge] You may proceed over here
to the witness stand.
Mr. Swinger, do you recall being in the city of Paterson
-on July 5th, 2014? -Yes.
[Paul] Do you recall being arrested at a house
in the city of Paterson on about that day?
-Yes. -Ultimately, the charges
you plead guilty to,
-were they possession of CVS? -Yes.
-Third degree? -Yes.
-And animal cruelty fourth degree?
-Yes.
Did you receive probation for this charge?
An agreement that you will be receiving probation?
-Yeah. -Did it require you
-to be here today to testify? -Yes.
[Paul] On July 5th, 2014, is this the point of view
-you would have had? -Yes.
I'll ask you to point to where you were,
using this picture.
He's indicating the back porch of Photo 3.
Did you notice a particular type of vehicle
that traveled down that got your attention?
-Yes. -And why did it
get your attention?
It was firing at it.
[Paul] Okay. They was firing at it?
-Yes. -Okay.
And what type of vehicle was this?
-White van. -[woman coughs]
-[Paul] White van? -[Caurie] Yes.
[Paul] How many people were firing at that van?
-Two. -Okay.
[Paul] Now do you see those people in court?
-Yes, with the braids. -[Paul] Okay.
[Judge] Identifying the defendant, Jhymiere Moore.
[Paul] What about the next person, the other person--
-Who was the other shooter? -Jeffry.
[Paul] What's Jeffry wearing,
or what does he look like today?
[Caurie] With the short haircut.
-What about the color of shirt? -[Caurie] Blue.
[Judge] Identifying the defendant, Jeffry Ellerbee.
[Paul] Can you describe what you saw?
One of them went in the street and started firing.
[Harley] I'm sorry, I can't hear him.
[Judge] One of them went in the street
-and started firing? -Yes.
[Judge] You said three of them
went in the streets?
No, no. I said they went in the middle of the street
-and started firing. -[Judge] They went in the middle
of the street and started firing, okay.
[Paul] You said Mr. Warrant Ellerbee was standing,
hand guns are passed off at that point.
The white van, did you see the white van?
-Yes. -Where's
the white van traveling?
[Caurie] Down Rosa Parks towards King.
[Paul] You said that Ellerbee and Moore,
-you said they had the guns? -Yes.
What were they doing with the guns?
[Caurie] Firing them.
[Paul] And you said they were in the street?
-Yes. -The van was in front of 'em?
-Yes. -The van was moving?
Yes.
[Paul] What was it they were running?
[Caurie] Running towards the van shooting.
Running towards the van shooting.
[Paul] "Running towards the van shooting."
Do you remember describing them to the police?
[Judge] Sir, I'm going to interrupt you for a second.
There's an issue I have to deal with.
We're going to take, there will be a very short break,
I have to address an issue that's come up.
[Judge] Do me a favor, put the phone
on top of the stand, please, all right?
All right. Can Council approach, please?
Just leave the phone there. Why don't you just
step outside, please?
Just leave the phone, leave the phone.
[people chattering]
[Judge] Someone is texting on the phone,
and I asked the witness now, and apparently it's him.
[Harley] Earlier in the trial, there was evidence
that came out that the gun used
to kill Genesis Rincon was used,
three months earlier to her killing,
in a shooting incident.
The person who used that gun was caught.
His name is Eli Hanes.
Today, the state's star witness, it's discovered
that he's texting while on the stand.
He texted someone saying, "Eli is here."
And the response came back, "What's Eli doing there?"
Which leads us to conclude only one thing.
Calvary Swinger testified today under the pressure
of pointing the finger at my client
because he knows that Eli Hanes is the true killer.
[Judge] We're going to recess at this time.
[Harley] Today, I would say we received what I like to call
a nugget, a golden nugget.
If I'm successful in using
and implementing that nugget,
then I'm hopeful that the jury will use
that bit of information in my favor--
in my client's favor--
when they deliberate as to whether or not my client
committed this crime.
[people chattering]
[Harley] All right, how we doing tonight, all right?
-[light cheering] -[woman] All right!
All right, I want to thank everybody for coming
to our annual St. Paddy's Day party.
[Harley] I have a charity, it's called Harley's Kids.
And, I guess, for the last 25 years,
I started with 32 mentally
and physically challenged children,
and right now, I've built it up,
with the help of other people, of course, to 200.
So I have 200 kids,
and I have parties
every two, three months.
We make an occasion.
We have a St. Paddy's Day party.
We have a Halloween party, a Christmas party.
Things like that.
We come up with an excuse to have parties.
Yeah, usually I take two at a time bowling.
Let me show you amateurs how it's done.
I'm just saying, if you miss this,
you might lose the whole game. No pressure.
[Harley] I usually take Scott Donkersleugh.
I've known Scott at least 25 years.
And we usually bring Joey.
He's got severe down syndrome.
In fact, you can't understand what he says.
Nobody can.
[Harley] Oh no, come on.
[Harley] Those kids bring me several things.
One, they remind me I'm blessed.
So it calms me.
I realize that as bad a day as I'm having,
I'm still blessed.
Two, it reminds me that there are some people out there
who like me for me.
They just like me, Harley, the guy.
They remind me that there's so much goodness out there,
despite the disadvantages and the tragedies.
The injustice of the universe is far more
than the injustice of any court system.
[ethereal theme playing]
[people chattering]
[indistinct conversation]
[Judge] Mr. Breite, closing arguments.
Now, ladies and gentlemen, let me begin by saying
that in a criminal trial, sometimes there's a moment.
Not only has every piece of evidence presented
by the prosecution been discredited
or rendered meaningless,
we have also shown that there is
a far more believable suspect in this killing
who is not on trial here.
We know who that is.
That's Eli Hunt.
He used the gun that killed Genesis three months earlier,
and then showed up here in court to make sure that
Calvary Swinger went through with his false testimony.
Ladies and gentlemen, a trial is a search
for the truth, that's why we're here.
We want to know what really happened that night.
And we don't. There was lazy
and poor detective work.
What might it cost to run a fingerprint analysis
on the casings?
Who cares what it cost?
Justice doesn't have a price.
The life of that 12-year-old girl is not equated
with a price for running a simple fingerprint test.
You shouldn't tolerate an investigation
that fell short, whether it's due to incompetency
or laziness.
And I would ask you ladies and gentlemen,
when you go back into that jury room,
to ask yourself, is there a reasonable possibility
that Swinger and Carter
simply lied to protect themselves
and gain an advantage
with the extremely serious crimes
they were each facing?
If there's a reasonable possibility
that they were lying, then there's reasonable doubt,
and the verdict must be, must be not guilty.
-Thank you. -[Judge] Thank you, Mr. Breite.
All right, Mr. Prosecutor, closing statements.
[Paul] Ladies and gentlemen, this case
comes down to Calvary Swinger and Keyshawn Parton.
Their statements, I submit, are truthful, reliable,
and credible based on other things that we have shown.
We talk about deals given,
deals taken, the dogs, the drugs.
That deal had to be done.
And unfortunately, in Paterson,
in that area where the homicide happened,
these are the witnesses you get.
These are the witnesses that you have.
They are people from the street,
they live out there, they try to raise families out there.
They deal drugs out there.
And they shoot weapons.
And you know why Eli's here?
Because these guys ended up getting that weapon,
getting that first weapon, community handgun,
a shared handgun.
Eli Hines was never arrested with a handgun.
He never had a handgun that was taken off his possession
because he got rid of it.
You don't throw a perfectly good handgun in the river.
You sell it, you give it away. That's the game.
Don't get caught with it twice.
I want to thank you for your paying attention.
Once again, I think, beyond a reasonable doubt,
the state has proven its case and I ask you
to return a verdict on each and every one of those charges
in the affirmative, guilty.
-Thank you. -Thank you, Mr. DeGroot.
[Judge] All right, ladies and gentlemen,
we come to the end of the day,
the only thing left for me to do is to charge you,
that's gonna take about an hour.
So what I'm going to do now is,
I'm going to recess for the day.
[people chattering]
[melancholy theme playing]
How are the other kids doing?
-Taken? -My kids are horrible.
Because I guess it's hard because they know
the type of person that Jeffry is,
and as far for them to explain to them
what actually happened...
I mean, they talk to Jeffry every day,
but it's not the same.
They're used to Jeffry being at the basketball games
and they're really close.
He would never do that.
But I'm hoping, I'm praying.
That's why, I guess, right now,
that's all we have, is because like,
like I said, sometimes, we're forgotten in the background.
I mean, they're going through their whole new issues
and back and forth and everything,
but nobody really takes that consideration
and says, "You know what?
"We need to come to something, the parents can't keep
"going through, the parents can't keep losing work,
they can't keep," you know?
I told my mother, I said, because I said
I look to her every day, I see your pain every day,
and I told my mother, I said I had to say something
because I really do feel bad, I really do.
We as parents, our kids really don't know
what we do for them, they don't know what headaches
we have in our heads and how we try to give them
the best, even that,
even if we can't give the best, we go there.
Because this was a shock to me, and I told Jeffry,
"If you have to go to jail for this,
you just have to deal with the consequences."
I mean, at the end of the day, I said, "I'm still gonna
be your mother, at the end of the day, I'm still..."
Gonna be there for you.
Yeah, but I said, "At the end of the day,
"they lost their daughter, so you just have to have
some kind of compassion for that."
Yeah.
He said he understands.
I don't hate them, 'cause I don't.
I'm just mad.
[melancholy theme playing]
[crying]
[sobbing]
[Janny] Whether they go to jail or not,
I can't see her, I can't talk to her,
I can't hug her, I can't hear her calling me Mommy anymore.
Because it's never gonna happen.
I like chicken.
[Janny] When Genesis passed away,
-they took half of her. -[laughter]
I have never seen a bond like that with two sisters.
Chillin' with Grandma.
Do I look like your grandmother?
[laughter]
[Genesis] You look old.
-Your momma. -Your momma.
-I'm telling Mom. -[Golda] No!
-Mom, Golda said you're old! -[Golda] No, I didn't.
[bailiff] If anyone pulls out their cell phones,
they will be confiscated and they will be kicked out.
[people chattering]
[bailiff] Remain seated.
So we have 12 jurors seated.
The jury, I reviewed your note and I think your message
to the court has been clear.
I just want to ask the foreperson,
I want to ask you a question.
Foreperson, do you feel that further deliberations
would be beneficial, do you feel you've reached a point
in which further deliberations
-would be futile? -[woman] I do.
-You feel that they would be futile?
-Yeah.
[Judge] Considering all of that,
I find the determination
of this trial is necessary because the jury
has failed to agree upon a verdict
within a reasonable time,
after reasonable time for a deliberation has been allowed.
I'm going to declare a mistrial.
[people murmuring]
[Judge] Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, the function
you have performed is one of the most important
civic duties which you will ever be called upon to fulfill.
With the declaration of a mistrial in this matter,
your service is now complete.
On a personal note, every day I see how citizens
such as you respond to the responsibility,
the decision making that is jury service.
It is truly remarkable witnessing that reality.
And I say that even though you didn't reach a verdict.
I know how hard you worked at this case.
We've been at this case for over two months.
So with that, I now discharge you with
the sincerest of thanks of all of us
who serve in our court system, you're now free to go.
I wish everybody the best.
[people chattering]
A hung jury, it's like, it's a non-decision.
It's not a decision.
So the charges are still there.
Now, in theory, we could...
These boys still got to sit in jail.
While we are elated at the result of a mistrial,
it in no way diminishes the tragedy that the family
of the victim still has to endure.
Immediately after Jhymiere was arrested,
and incarcerated for the murder of Genesis Rincon,
he was then also charged with another murder case,
and that entire case, the police investigated
my client, believed he had nothing to do with it,
and left him out of it, and now, lo and behold,
they indict him on that murder case.
Very, very curious circumstances.
-Processing what's going on? -Yes, ma'am.
[man] Do you know how long you'll be going away for?
[Harley] So he'd have to win two trials in order
to walk away scot free.
Trials are risky businesses.
And anything can happen at a trial,
and even though he felt empowered in one sense
by the hung jury, he was smart enough to know
that it's not a guarantee next time.
In the end,
we were able to come to a deal,
in which Jhymiere pled to 20 years.
He would have to serve 85% of that time,
so 17 years, before he can apply for parole.
He's been in for three,
so he gets credit for all of that.
So he'll be out in 14 years.
He'll be 36 years old.
He can resume his life with his, right now he has
a three year old son, he can marry, he can go to college,
he can have a life, and he ultimately decided that
pleading to being responsible for the death
of Genesis Rincon and Raji Clark was in his best interest.
He went in an open forum, took an oath to tell
the truth and said, "I shot the bullet
that killed that girl."
Somewhere, the truth exists.
[Genesis] Hey, everyone, it's Genesis, and I want to wish
you all a happy Easter.
Today is Sunday and the 20th, which is nearly Easter.
They say it was the straight
But it didn't have a name
But that was called my family and things aren't the same
I remember when I first found out, I almost went insane
All the pain and all the agony, is too much to explain
She was riding on a scooter around Independence Day
Now she's riding in the heavens
She's very far away
I'll give it away, just so I can see her face
But deep down in my heart I know you in a better place
Got needed Him an angel so He had to pick the best
I took it as a curse but in reality you're blessed
Because you're flying through his kingdom
And this life you passed the test
Well I'm jotting down these words
I get this knot up in my chest
Because knowing you not hearing me
Leaves me blinded, full of stress
They say that you're a legend
More and nothing less
I wish it was a nightmare, and it could all just go away
But I'm forced to see reality every single day
Where the fuck is all the tough cops
That killing let us pray?
Where the fuck is all the heroes
That plainly see the day?
We ain't got that out in Paterson
Why children got to pay?
That's why I'm riding strap
With this 40 and this gauge
All I feel is anger, but I'm fighting against my rage
Because my children need a future
And I have to pay their way
Because I know karma's a bitch
And she riding around the way
When you do dirt in this world
And this hell is where you pay
I'm just running through this world
And I feel so alone without you
Until we meet again
I know this is not the end
Whoa, whoa, yeah
[Genesis] Hey everyone, it's Genesis,
and today I'm going to be showing you my collection.
Who doesn't love collections, like, right?
But, let's go back to serious mode.
In this life you had a purpose
Because you helped people survive
Donation and your organs helped save a lot of lives
You're a legend, you're a hero
You're my angel in the sky
It ain't about your race
It ain't about your pride
It's all about the youth
And keeping our children alive
And to our family's name you'll forever be alive
To the day of my demise
And my heart you stay alive
And through all this pain and chaos
Together we shall rise
I'm just riding through this world
And it feels so alone without you
Till the day we meet again
I know this is not the end
Whoa, whoa, yeah
Hey everyone, this is Genesis, and today,
I'm going to be doing a shout out video.
I know the lighting is very bad. I'm in my room.
It's about 10 o'clock in the morning.
And the lights are off, so I just want to make this video.
This shout out video to my friend Rosanna, so--
[Golda] Stop! Edit!
[crying]
[people chattering]
[Golda Rincon] My sister was killed
on July 5th, 2014.
We actually were having fun that day
and we were kind of out at my mom's friend's house
for a barbecue.
We were going to the store,
and that's when everything happened.
Like, it all changed.
[boy 1] I like chicken, do you?
[boy 2 laughing]
- [boy 2] No. -[both laugh]
-This is where it happened. -[dog barking]
Right here.
The shots came from over there.
[barking continues]
[Alexis Rincon] Soon after the murder
of my daughter Genesis,
Jhymiere Moore turned himself in,
surrendered himself.
Jeffry Ellerbee also surrendered himself
for being an accomplice there.
And Marshae Anthony was picked up
about a month and a half after all of that.
And he was picked up on gun charges
that were linked to the murder.
[Jack DeSalvo] All right, Jah, why don't you tell us
where you were that night.
That night, at that crime scene,
I had to be in the house 'cause
I stayed in the house that whole day,
I didn't go outside one bit.
Okay.
Well, I wasn't there.
People are putting you out there.
And I'm not just saying one person,
I'm not just saying two people,
I'm saying a lot of people
and you know the city, the city's got cameras everywhere.
We don't have a camera, a city camera,
there's a house camera, there's a liquor store camera,
there's a bodega camera. There's cameras everywhere.
-No I wasn't over there-- -No, listen to me.
You know what happened.
A 12-year-old girl
was accidentally shot
-and she died because of this. -Yes.
Again, like I said, we weren't there. We don't know.
Right now, it's always coming back to you.
But I wasn't there.
It can come back to me as much as they have to,
-but I wasn't there, that's all. -Okay.
-I promise you, I wasn't there. -And I want you to be honest.
And that's why I respect what you did tonight.
-Yes, sir. -You came to us.
We didn't have to go looking for ya, driving around.
And that shows us, you know what?
You want to get in front of this.
You want to tell us the truth
and you're telling us your truth.
-Yes. -Okay, that's important.
-I'm telling you the truth. -The truth.
-Not my truth. The truth. -All right.
There's a difference between my truth and the truth.
I'm telling you the truth.
[ethereal theme playing]
[Janny Calderon] "Detective Rico, Detective Alba,
"on ceasefire, arrived on scene as well as Detective DeSalvo,
"Detective Liebson and Detective Seabrooks,
"and Detective Gilmore.
"This officer filed a witness, Jordi Perez,
"and he stated that he went to the bodega,
"and it was closed, so they were returning back
"when him and the victims were in front of 35 Rosbrook,
"he heard loud pops, and he thought it was fireworks.
And then he saw the victim drop to the floor."
That's everything?
[Javier Castellanos] It created so much turmoil,
when Genesis got shot.
It was just like this devastating news.
And not to undermine what happened with Genesis,
because it's tragic, losing a child has gotta be
the worst thing, but these stray bullets
have been going around forever.
In 2010, they had documented close to 140 different gangs.
The uniqueness about the gang culture
in the Paterson area is that you can cross
from one block to the other,
and you're in another gang's territory.
[Shermaine Jones] Everybody hustle
for different reasons.
You've got some dude want to hustle for clothes.
You've got some dudes want to hustle for they house.
And then you got some dudes who really hustling
because you go to they household, they need,
you know, they taking care of they family.
What's a 12-year-old supposed to do
to help his mom feed his brothers and sisters?
There's only one option.
You go pick up some drugs and sell it.
This is a baby New York City now,
and you know what makes that worse,
because New York is big.
Paterson, if I'm beefing with some,
I'm from the fourth and beefing with somebody
from down the hill, we gonna see each a lot sooner.
It's like we in a cage.
When you in a cage tight, there's nowhere to run.
You got to get him or he gonna get you.
Point blank, baby.
[man] Nigga you ain't know
From 17 nigga
Mother fucking glow nigga
Shit
Pakistan, Pakistan
Packing nothing grand
Not a man, not a man
Yeah niggas we got it cocked and loaded
Talking bullshit going half exploded
Bang at your brain
Bang at your brain
I heard these nigga stains
Heard these niggas play
These niggas in my lane
These niggas ain't in my lane, nah
They ain't been down
They do not feel my pain, shit
Now we in the club about to perform, yeah
[siren blaring]
[people chattering]
[man 1] My brothers and sisters,
we stop on this corner
because this is one of the places where the blood
of our youth cries out from the ground.
Father, we pray for healing on this corner.
For prosperity on this corner.
For life on this corner.
-For hope on this corner. -[man 2] That's right,
that's right.
-Hope of a better day. -That's right.
Of a brighter day.
Of a more prosperous day.
In the name of Jesus.
[Alexis] Before I had Genesis,
I wasn't a bad kid.
You know, growing up in the hood is pretty messed up.
You do things you don't think you would do.
You know, you steal cars.
Being on the block, we used to sell crack, you know.
It wasn't like a career, it was just like,
you do what you do.
So then, met Jenny, Genesis' mom,
then we started dating, and then she came out pregnant.
That changed me.
When I held Genesis, that's when it hit me, like,
holy shit, I'm a father.
[laughter]
They're acting like total fools on the bus.
[vocalizing]
[Alexis] Did you just press that?
Oh.
[indistinct chatter]
[Alexis] Put this on the side and sit right.
Here.
Jesus Christ, y'all act like
you've never been on a bus before.
How much do you think this lawyer,
how much does the lawyer cost?
A lawyer can't be more than $20,000.
Twenty, thirty thousand dollars.
For murder?
I don't need it for murder, I just need it
to get my name out of the situation.
No, no, no, this is a murder charge.
[Harley Breite] Okay...
So, you realize
your whole entire future is at stake here.
You get that, right? So here's what I'm going to do.
I'm going to save you from all of this.
Now, you want to know, Harley, how much is my freedom worth?
Yeah, I can't put a price on your freedom.
But here's the deal.
You want the best, you're here, I'm the best.
Someone shot a bullet through my house
and it wasn't very nice.
This is a Benelli M4 tactical.
Scope, lights, everything.
Red dot laser.
Light with the laser.
You know, it becomes an issue when you're walking around
and people recognize you, and gang members
are upset with you because maybe you lost a trial,
and their gang member friend blames you.
This is small for the home.
[light dramatic theme playing]
Why did I decide to leave?
Because I'm scared to be here.
And because I need my kids to be raised somewhere else.
Not here, it's too much going on here.
Scary.
I want them to be able to play outside...
...without me having to worry about getting them
getting hurt or somebody's coming for us, you know?
So I'd rather just leave and leave everything behind.
As long as they're good, I'm good.
I don't want to lose another one.
Florida is ready for you.
Or you're ready for Florida.
-[laughter] -Really.
-Are you excited? -You're gonna be fine.
Yeah.
-Are you? -Yeah.
Really? Like you're not gonna miss--
Yeah, I'll gonna miss you guys.
-Oh, you guys. -Us guys.
But you're not gonna miss the dump.
-No. -Not at all.
It stinks.
[Alexis] I look at it as
being a blessing.
It's a new beginning, it's a new start.
This, out here, this town is just devastating.
Everywhere she turns, it's a memory.
Everywhere she turns, she hears,
"Okay, there was a shootout here."
Or something happened here.
And it's like, no 11-year-old should grow up like that.
[male bailiff] All rise.
[Judge] All right, good morning,
please be seated.
All right, hearing the matters
of March state versus March the entity,
State versus Jhymiere Moore.
State versus Jeffry Ellerbee, indictment 15030149.
All right, but here's the thing, you know,
it's a very important case.
As I've stated this in the past, to both the defense
and the prosecutor. We've got to get this case moving.
What about, any, Mr. Bright?
Yes, Judge, I would think it only be fair to all parties
to set this matter down for a trial date.
My client's been sitting in a jail a year and a half.
[Judge] Absolutely, absolutely.
Mr. Barnett Perview, I know you want a trial date
in this case, but here's what I'm gonna do.
I'm gonna give this a pre-trial conference plea cut off,
the first week of February and we will set the trial date
at that time. Any further?
No, thank you, Your Honor.
[Harley] Interestingly enough, as if the state could not delay
this case further, or put more pressure on my client,
his bail was $3,000,000, I believe, cash only.
That's not a bail.
That's just code for we're gonna keep you here
as long as it takes for your trial to come.
[Niechia MacPherson] The streets probably
got Jhymiere when he was
probably about 15, 16.
And that's when we found out that his dad
was gone, like, that's when we got the news
that his dad was arrested and it didn't look good,
and he was possibly gonna be gone for about 30 years,
and Jhymiere just felt like his father
like didn't care about him.
[Benita Gray] Jeffry's a good kid.
His father committed suicide when he was one.
He's always been a great kid.
Always helped with the rest of my kids.
Never got in trouble.
Always went to school, never gave me a hard time.
He was always a really good kid with a good attitude.
-[Harley] A few minutes. -[Judge] Yeah, I think that's--
-[Harley] That's fine. -[Judge] All right then.
[Harley] Very good, thank you.
[Niechia] Jhymiere's state of mind
right now is more or less like he knows that
he's gonna be cleared.
I said to Jhymiere, "I'm with Harley on this."
They're gunning for you.
[Harley] The public was screaming for a scapegoat.
The police needed a scapegoat.
So why not choose Jhymiere Moore,
a 19-year-old black kid with a criminal record?
Who better to pin this on than him?
[Jacques Jones] They didn't look into
this investigation properly.
They just went off word of mouth.
In their eyes, he guilty.
Especially because that's a little girl.
If I had to shoot somebody,
I would walk up to them, point blank, and shoot 'em
in the fucking face.
You have that big of a problem
that you gotta kill somebody, right? Right?
You have that big of a problem, that big of a problem,
that you gotta take somebody's life?
Well, take their life.
It's been happening since the beginning of time, right?
People been killing people since the beginning of time.
Cain and Abel.
But you walk up to 'em and you do 'em in.
You just don't do it from across the street,
where there's a bunch of kids playing on a scooter.
[Shermaine] I just went to a funeral last month.
This happened.
I know a lot of people, it's common.
It's like you been to fucking Vietnam
or something, you know?
Your war wounds.
You either got stab marks or gunshots,
jumping out of Paterson.
To properly police these individuals and these gangs,
you have to know their culture, you have to know
what the gangs are about.
The general make up, the hierarchy.
Identifying them, monitoring them is getting harder
and harder because there has been a decrease
in the police force, due to cutbacks and things like that,
but we're tasked to do more.
So sometimes those specialized humans
that were focusing on that, they're not there anymore.
[police radio chatter]
[Camelia Valdes] We have to talk about how gangs
are being able to make money.
Heroin is five dollars a bag.
It's fueling the drug trade,
and so when we talk about gangs,
we have to talk about not only gun violence,
reducing gun violence, but we have to keep focus on
what drugs now are being abused.
[man] He's bringing community down.
Everybody's coming up here for a needle exchange,
for needles, clean needles.
Fuck, why you gotta get clean needles?
Don't shoot up.
Shouldn't shoot up, right, right,
but it's for the people,
it's for the people in the backyards,
start thinking about that.
[chattering]
[Golda] I live in Tampa, Florida.
I am living with my uncle, my aunt, and my three cousins.
And then my aunt's grandmother and her daughter.
[laughter]
My mom is trying to get an apartment and a job.
She wants to work two jobs so she can make enough money
to get her own apartment.
I want to get the hook out, I want to get the hook out,
I want to get the hook out.
[laughter]
My life here in Florida is better
than actually being in Paterson.
Paterson, I'd be terrified to go even,
even across the street by myself.
It's... It's...
But here, I guess, like, I don't know,
it's calm, so I go anywhere.
[ethereal theme playing]
This is the room, the room's intact.
No holes, no damages, just a little wiping down.
Everything is intact.
[Alexis] It really sucks getting evicted.
You know, being homeless.
Destroyed.
My daughter's in Florida.
My other daughter is a buried in a cemetery.
I'm going to court.
It really messes with your head.
It really messes you up, as a man, you know?
[chattering]
A year ago today, I was at work,
getting paid, like, I was doing what I graduated school for.
My life was going where I wanted it to go,
to the point where I was like, oh right,
I'm gonna be where I got to be,
and I'm gonna be able to support my family, my children,
everything is gonna be okay now,
this is what I went to school for.
And then everything just fucking crumbles
from your fingertips.
You folks are the folks that are leaving?
-You're all moved? -[Alexis] Yes.
-Here's your copy of this. -Thank you.
A little wet, but, since you're moving,
you're not gonna need it anymore.
[people chattering]
[woman laughs]
[Judge] Statement 15030149.
We conferenced this case in chambers,
and it's my understanding there were still
some open discovery issues.
Defense Council, any other issues right now?
With regard to discovery?
Or any other issues in this case?
-I'd like to raise an issue-- -[Judge] All right, sure.
The last time we were here, I most vociferously
requested a trial date of April 1st.
-That's correct. -There seemed to be
some resistance from some of the parties on that.
I am respectfully requesting that the court put down
September 20th, Tuesday, as a real trial date.
There should be no reason why myself and co-council,
all co-council, the state as well, cannot be ready
by that time to try this case.
These are three young men who've been incarcerated,
been denied their pre-trial liberty by a massive,
excessive bail that nobody in this courtroom could make,
they've waited long and hard for a trial,
they deserve a trial, the state deserves a trial,
and we're sitting here again not able to do that.
I would love to set a trial date and say,
"That's the day and we're gonna proceed on that day."
But the state has to make its final plea offer
and the defendants then have to make an informed decision
as to whether they want to try this case
or they want to take the plea, so we're getting closer
to that point, but we're not there yet.
And Judge, if I may, I appreciate that,
and again, just as a practical matter,
if this trial doesn't go in the very beginning
of October, at the latest, this case will not
go to trial in 2016.
The earliest we can hope for
is a mid-January 2017 trial.
I agree with you. And just, you know,
we talked about this in chambers, just being practical,
there's still some more work to do in this case, obviously.
-Not much. Not much. -Well, that you feel
that way, your co-council don't necessarily feel that way.
[Judge] All right, anything else?
-No, sir. -[Judge] All right then.
-[Paul] Thank you. -[Judge] You're welcome.
[Harley] Look, everybody has an interest.
The prosecutor has an interest in preserving justice,
the other attorneys have an interest in ensuring
that their clients get a fair trial,
I have that same interest.
But we need to get things done.
And sometimes when people are getting paid by the hour
or they're on salary even, one has a different motivation
than the other.
And that's creating, I think, a partial conflict here.
Mad, upset.
Sad, confused, lost.
Like, what the fuck is going on?
Like, what is going on?
From day one, it was said, yeah, hey, yeah,
we got 'em, we this, we that, yeah, we got all this,
we got all that.
And then today you have nothing to say.
You late.
You're not even prepared.
What's going on?
Now, it's at the point where,
are these guys really who did it,
or it was just randomly picked out from the street?
They wear you down.
It's a war of attrition.
Well, guess what?
We don't tap out.
We don't submit.
We're going to trial.
If they want to delay this trial
one more year, two more years,
three more years, that's on them.
But we're going to trial.
My client wants a trial.
And one day, one day, there will be no more delays.
That jury will come up the elevator, walk through
the hallway, walk into that courtroom,
and take their rightful seats.
And then the prosecutor will have to get up
and prove his case beyond a reasonable doubt.
That day is coming.
One day.
[melancholy theme playing]
[people chattering]
[digital shutter clicks]
[Golda] We left everything behind.
We left Genesis' tombstone behind.
We left my family behind.
We left a lot of things behind.
I feel confused, happy, and upset.
Because like, I don't know, like, confused,
confused, I don't even know what to feel.
I'm happy that we left, but like, I don't want to leave.
I don't want to leave my dad, my brothers, my cousins.
She hasn't cried. She didn't cry.
She cried with me the first time, and that's it.
The first day. Never cried again.
Okay, hi everybody, it's Genesis, and I'm gonna be--
[Janny] I don't know, she doesn't want to make friends.
It's like hard for her to make friends.
She says, how can she make friends
if the only friend and best friend she had
was her sister, Genesis.
He's still on level two.
Okay, now he's on level three. Which is a scary one anyway.
[Golda] I want it to be over.
Yeah, I want them to plead guilty.
I don't want them to be going to trial anymore,
or others, I want it to be done.
It's just too much now.
We've been at this for two years almost.
And it's still going.
It's ongoing.
All right, good afternoon. Please be seated.
All right, we're here for the pre-trial conference
and matters of Jhymiere Moore, Marshae Anthony,
Jeffry Ellerbee, indictment 15030149.
Judge, do you have everybody up there?
-I think you do. -[Judge] Yeah.
[Judge] All right, why don't we start out
with Jhymiere Moore?
[Paul] The charges include murder.
They include weapons offenses.
These three defendants, the state's allegations
are that they were part of a crew that was hitting back
and looking for, specifically, maybe, Mr. Shakeen Ricks.
Mr. Shakeen Ricks, as we know, is a defendant now
in Burgham County for the murder of Nasira Bug,
another young girl, and he will be going to trial,
just like his co-defendants, sometime in December.
So this matter has been not able to resolve
by way of plea or cooperation,
and there is no further negotiations.
[Judge] What was the state's final plea offer in this?
The state's original plea offer was 40 years
for Mr. Moore, 40 years for Mr. Ellerbee,
and eight with four for Mr. Anthony.
[Judge] The maximum sentence we expose,
if convicted on all counts in this case,
Mr. DeGroot, can you set forth, what that would be?
-[Paul] Life in prison. -[Judge] Right.
All right, Mr. Moore, you understand all that?
-[Jhymiere] Yes. -Mr. Moore. You had enough time
-to think about it? -Yes.
-Talk to your attorney about it? -Yes.
[Judge] You understand that after today,
there will be no more plea offers.
You okay with that?
-Yes. -All right.
So, what do you want to do?
You want to go to trial in this case?
-Yes. -Okay, fine.
[Judge] Anything further?
-[man] No. -[Judge] All right, very well.
[Judge] Set it for September 7.
All right, thank you.
-[lawyers] Thank you. -You're welcome.
[chattering]
[Niechia] Nobody really is considering the fact that
what if these boys are innocent?
Y'all just ruined their lives.
Like I told my child, their life is forever ruined.
Whether you get found innocent.
Whether you get found guilty.
Whether it's a mistrial or dismissal,
whatever it is, your life is forever ruined.
Jeffry never even got a ticket, let alone now
the first crime he commits is a murder, that's ridiculous.
So yeah, it's a shock.
It's been very depressing.
It's been hard on the rest of my kids.
To explain to them that their brother might not
come home for something he didn't do.
So it's been hard.
In this situation, in this situation,
you got to take that chance.
This is life, now.
Now, if he know he didn't do it,
why take 25, 40 whatever, they offer him 40 years.
[police radio chatter]
[David Kennedy] There is no way
that any amount of routine application
of policing criminal justice will stop what's going on.
The routine experience of people in the neighborhood
is that they're subjected
to a huge amount of law enforcement.
Man, feel my twists.
[David] And they're not safe.
You recording me?
[KnowledgeBorn] Man, the street life,
a thug cannot even learn how to spit, man.
And I'm sharp with the hands.
Even better with the hawk.
A vicious dude with a reckless bark.
Psychotic with the hammer, don't get caught in that spark.
Late night creeping, yeah, I be that shadow in the dark.
40 cal with something to silence the pop
and this thing's slick talking, dawg,
this is coming from the heart.
90 dog, understand what's up, and then you spar
with my boss, open your face with the hawk.
Or a slug in your chest, man, to silence your heart.
[Shermaine] You know, it's a sad situation,
but that stuff happen out here.
A kid should be able to go out and play.
But that's just, that's just not the reality
of what's going on in Paterson.
Cory is my first cousin. Her father was murdered.
My other first cousin, her father was murdered.
My son was murdered.
All in the same calendar year.
What's the chances of that?
That's almost like hitting the lottery of death.
I know too well what these parents are going through.
With their juveniles.
Because at 14, my son started.
[Shermaine] The younger kids, that's getting the guns.
They not aiming.
They see somebody they looking for in the crowd,
they shoot at the crowd.
Could hit five kids.
I went to the cops, I called them every day.
Every night they didn't come in, I got the same thing.
Until it gets in the system, we can't help you.
Maybe you want them to survive.
That way, so you can throw them in the prison system
and make money off of 'em.
[applause]
Maybe it's a business.
Maybe it's a business.
[woman] So at 18 he decided to go out and join a gang.
First charge, two sets of guns.
At 17.
Second charge, two sets of guns.
Third charge, attempted murder.
But he's in the system now, huh?
You guys talk about everything that's around
the buck and the dollar, but at the end of the day,
when they start shooting up your car, your house,
when heroin comes to your block,
you're gonna turn around and say,
"You know what, that guy with the dreads made a lot of sense."
-All right, Mom, bye. -Good luck.
Love you.
See ya.
[Janny] I wasn't gonna come.
Over here.
I wasn't gonna try to miss it, either.
Broke my belt.
All right.
[ominous theme playing]
[Judge] "Ladies and gentlemen,
"defendants have pleaded
"not guilty to the charges.
"The defendants are on trial, and they are presumed
"to be innocent, unless each and every essential element
"of the offenses are charged, offenses charged,
"are proven beyond a reasonable doubt
"as to each defendant;
"each defendant must be found not guilty
of that particular charge."
It's a summer evening.
Genesis Rincon is 12 years old.
Innocent, pure.
Society, our society, we failed that little girl.
Just couldn't stop them.
Genesis came upon, that moment in time,
when his enemy
and his enemy and his enemy appeared
in the figure of a white van.
Bam, bam, bam, bam, bam.
Bam.
Shot after shot was fired.
They're on trial here today.
And the state is going to prove to you,
beyond a reasonable doubt, that guilty on those counts
for murder should be entered against each
and every one of those.
We will have justice for the Rincon family.
Thank you.
[Judge] Thank you, Mr. DeGroot.
Mr. Breite.
[Harley] Ladies and gentlemen, we do not need to decide
whether this killing was terrible.
We know that it was.
And we know that it was tragic.
Your purpose is different.
It is to decide if the state has proved that my client
killed Genesis Rincon.
I am confident that when you hear the evidence,
you'll find that there is not just one reasonable doubt,
but there exists many, many reasonable doubts
throughout the state's entire case.
We don't know who killed Genesis Rincon,
and at the end of this trial, unfortunately,
you, too, will still not know who killed Genesis Rincon.
Thank you.
[Judge] Thank you, Mr. Breite.
[Judge] After swearing in
of the witness,
let's have...
[indistinct dialogue] [woman]
Raise your right hand, please.
You do solemnly swear that the testimony
about to be given
in this case will be the truth,
the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
-Yes. -Please state
your name for the record.
-Keshawn Carter. -You may be seated.
[Paul] On July 5th, 2014, do you remember
-a significant event that day? -Yes.
-And what happened that day? -The shooting.
[Paul] In the area of 35 Grand Ave.,
in the city of Paterson,
have you identified various neighborhood gangs
-in that area? -Yes, we have two
neighborhood gangs that we identified within that area.
The first neighborhood gang that we've identified
is 230 Boys.
And the other group that we've identified
is a group called the So Icy Boys.
[Paul] I'd ask you to look toward the defense,
and do you see the person that you
identified as the shooter?
-Yes. -Can you indicate
what color shirt that person's wearing?
White shirt.
[Judge] Identifying the defendant.
[Nancy] Defendant Moore has been identified
by law enforcement sources as a member of So Icy
by his self proclamation, as well as his tattoo
that he has on his markings that say SIB,
meaning So Icy Boys.
[Paul] Now on July 5th, 2014,
what time did that family barbecue begin?
I'm not sure.
I mean, it was around 4.
[Paul] The police asked you if Jeffry Ellerbee
-was there that day, correct? -[Aalyiah] Yes.
[Paul] Originally, what did you first tell them?
[Aalyiah] I told them that he came around 8.
[Paul] Did you finally change your story?
[Aalyiah] Yes.
-[Paul] Good morning, Detective. -Good morning.
[Paul] Were you involved in the homicide investigation
-of Genesis Rincon? -Yes.
[Paul] In that investigation,
was there an application to search
-one of the phones? -Yes.
[Paul] Was that phone of Jeffry Ellerbee?
Correct.
Agent, based on your expertise,
can you conclude to a reasonable degree of certainty
whether that cellular number was in the area
of the homicide on July 5th, 2014,
at approximately 8:30 in the evening?
I can tell you that the usage of that phone
at that particular time is consistent with
the coverage area of that crime scene at that time.
[Paul] Were you able to establish where the phone was
at approximately 8:30 in the evening on August 5th, 2014?
-[Harley] Objection. -[Judge] Sustained.
[Paul] Who asked you to say that Jeff was with you
at that time?
-Jeffry. -[Paul] Thank you.
[Nancy] Defendant Ellerbee has been identified
by law enforcement sources through a self proclamation
of stating that he, in fact, was a So Icy Boy.
-[Paul] No tattoos, though? -No tattoos.
-[Paul] Thank you. -[Judge] All right, thanks.
[Judge] All right, Detective, you're still under oath.
We'll have Mr. Breite's cross examination.
[Harley] Detective, you testified that my client,
Jhymiere Moore, is a member of a street gang,
-is that correct? -[Nancy] That is correct.
You didn't have any role, whatsoever,
in the investigation of this case involving
the murder of Genesis Rincon, correct?
-That is correct. -You have no personal
information, whatsoever, with regard
to how this murder took place, do you?
No, sir.
-You weren't there, were you? -No, sir.
You didn't see who fired the shots, did you?
-No, sir. -Nothing further.
[Judge] All right, thanks.
[Harley] Mr. Carter, let's talk
about some pending charges.
You were arrested on September 21st, 2015,
for the distribution of possession with the intent
to distribute drugs, correct?
-Yes. -That case is still pending,
it's not been resolved, correct?
-Yes. -Another pending charge.
You were arrested on July 6th of 2016
for selling heroin, correct?
-Yes. -Okay, and that's not
yet been resolved either?
-Yes. -As you sit here today,
testifying, on behalf of the state,
those two pending charges have not yet been resolved,
-is that correct? -Yes.
Mr. Carter, this document is S57.
-You recognize that, don't you? -Yes.
That's your statement to the police, correct?
Yes.
[Harley] When you said that to them,
you said that you were sweeping up
-a little bit, correct? -Yes.
Well, but the fact is you weren't sweeping,
you were selling drugs, correct?
-I was doing both. -Ah.
[light chuckles in courtroom]
Nothing further, Judge.
[Judge] All right, thank you.
[Judge] Let's take 5. Well, we said we were gonna be here
until 3:30, so let's take till 3:30.
[people chattering]
Right now Jhymiere is, he's not 100% confident,
you know what I'm saying, it's like,
he feels like, right now, he feels like me,
like he has a 60-40 chance.
I feel good.
You know, I feel good about it.
It's not something like I'm worried if,
or it could just be that my emotions are going crazy
right now and you know, I just can't, but,
like I just feel inside, it's like,
it's a calming feeling, it's a good feeling.
[Harley] I like to train in a place that's a bit rural.
When you're done giving everything you can physically
and mentally, as well, get in a car
and you're driving through an area with beautiful foliage,
there's something very cathartic about it.
It's very quiet, and you can really spend time
introspecting, and that's one of the hardest things
in life to do is introspect.
[breathing heavily]
When I do well in the cage, I can extrapolate
that experience into the courtroom,
into other areas of my life.
But I don't fear things the way that perhaps I did
when I was younger.
A judge is yelling at me, I just zone out,
because there's nothing that person can do to hurt me.
I've already faced the most terrifying event
I could ever face in my mind, and that's getting
on the mat or getting in the cage.
And once I conquered that,
conquering the courtroom was so easy.
So easy.
[bell rings]
[woman] You do solemnly swear that
the testimony about to be given
in this case will be the truth,
the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
-Yes, Your Honor. -Please state your name
-for the record. -Detective John Scully.
[Paul] How many shell casings were recovered?
There was six shell casings.
Four that were nine millimeters.
One was a .380 caliber.
-Item A, I didn't know. -You guys did anonymous?
-It could have been, yes. -No further questions.
-[Judge] Mr. Breite? -[Harley] Sir.
Detective, with regard to the shell casings
found at the scene, you were never able to connect
those shell casings with any specific gun, were you?
I don't know if a gun was ever recovered, sir.
Thank you, nothing further.
All right, any questions?
I'm very confident, as I said--
Listen, then you can strut like a peacock, brother,
that you're confident, but the evidence that we have
says that you were there, that's the problem.
That's the problem.
So, me, personally, I ain't rolling dice.
I'm not letting people decide my fate
and making their own opinions on what went down.
That's not what I want. I want to be like,
you know what?
Let me get in front of this. This is what happened.
I was fucking around and some little girl got killed
by accident.
There's a big difference.
I'm not letting them fucking choose what I did.
-I'm gonna-- -I didn't do nothing, though.
I'm gonna talk for me.
[woman] Please state your name for the record.
-Jack DeSalvo. -You may proceed
to the witness stand.
-[Paul] Good morning, Detective. -Good morning.
Detective, who are you employed by?
-The city of Paterson. -Okay.
Did you take statements in this case?
Yes, I did.
Was that statement, were statements taken
by Detective Leishman and yourself?
-Yes. -Were you involved
in the statement of John E. Moore?
-Yes, I was. -What was his answer
when you said that
you couldn't get over that last response
that he wasn't there and wasn't involved?
"I don't know why they would like put me at the scene,
"want me to be at that scene, because I, like,
"whatever cameras you say you got at the liquor store
"or whatever, check 'em, and it will show you
I was not put there."
[Paul] Detective, during this investigation,
were cameras attempted to be located?
-Yes. -Were any working cameras
found to be in that area?
-No. -Were any cameras
from businesses found to be in that area?
-No. -Thank you.
[Judge] Detective, you can step down.
You're released for today.
Rest and have a nice night.
All right.
[Harley] Detective, you went to a press conference
to make a public announcement of the first arrest
in this case, correct?
-Yes. -And that first arrest
pertained to my client, Jhymiere Moore, didn't it?
-Yes. -Detective, you testified
earlier about these shell casings that were found
-on the scene, right? -Yes.
It's a fact, isn't it, that you were never able
to connect any of those casings with my client,
Jhymiere Moore, correct?
-Correct. -[Harley] Nothing further.
All right, thanks.
-Detective, good morning. -[Steven] Good morning.
For the record, I'm Matthew Cavaliere,
I'm representing Jeffry Ellerbee,
and I have some questions.
As lead investigator, are you the one who directs
the CSI people to send bullets out for fingerprinting,
for example?
For stuff that goes to the lab, it would be
my responsibility to have certain items
requested to be examined, yes.
[Matthew] Okay. Now, in this case, by analyzing
the firing pin fingerprint on the back
of the spent shell casings from the Genesis case,
it shows that the same gun was used
in the April 1st, 2014 case, correct?
-Yes. -And as a Paterson
Police Department case number for the shooting event
that happened on April 1st, 2014,
involving the same gun, right?
-Yes. -Now, would it surprise you
to know that the person arrested and charged
by your department for using that gun,
his first name is Eli?
Are you familiar with that shooting case now?
-Yes. -It turns out your department
interviewed him in this case.
-[Matthew] True? -[Steven] Yes.
[Matthew] That was right after he got arrested
-for the other shooting, true? -Yes.
How long did that interview take?
I was actually not part of that interview,
that was two other detectives that spoke to him.
[Matthew] Would it surprise you to know
that the interview of Eli took six minutes?
I don't know, I wasn't there.
Would it surprise you to know that that interview
did not ask him about the Genesis case
other than to tell him that you had developed
information indicating that he was there?
You know that, right?
-Yes. -It's in your report.
-Yes. -The guy who used
the same gun that was used to kill Genesis
was there at the time of the shooting,
and that's why you brought him in?
-Yes. -You never asked him
about the same gun, did you?
-No. -No further questions.
-Thank you. -[Judge] All right, thank you.
[low chattering]
[needle buzzing]
[chattering]
[Alexis] I was a Marshae,
I was a Moore, I was an Ellerbee, I was.
I was.
I don't hate them.
They're kids.
They're kids. I was a kid, too.
I was that kid.
I was that kid that my family members would tell
their kids, "Don't hang with Alexis."
"Don't hang with Alexis.
Alexis is bad news."
I'm no different than these guys.
It's just that I had the right people,
-I had the right support. -[video game beeping]
My parole officer, Mr. Williams,
I violated at least twice,
and he said that he was not gonna lock me up
because I was a smart kid and he met my mom
and he said, "Your parents are good parents.
And they don't deserve that from you."
I would like to be a counselor.
Because if you can take one kid,
whether it be a kid that was born on East 19
in Paterson, named Alexis Rincon,
people know him as Chooser, or Choose One,
or that kid that lives on 10th Ave.
that goes by the name of Marshae Anthony.
Then you did something.
[woman] Raise your right hand, please.
You do solemnly swear
or affirm that your testimony you're about to give
in this case will be the truth,
the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
-Yes. -Please state
your name for the record.
-Caurie Swinger. -You may proceed to the stand.
[Judge] You may proceed over here
to the witness stand.
Mr. Swinger, do you recall being in the city of Paterson
-on July 5th, 2014? -Yes.
[Paul] Do you recall being arrested at a house
in the city of Paterson on about that day?
-Yes. -Ultimately, the charges
you plead guilty to,
-were they possession of CVS? -Yes.
-Third degree? -Yes.
-And animal cruelty fourth degree?
-Yes.
Did you receive probation for this charge?
An agreement that you will be receiving probation?
-Yeah. -Did it require you
-to be here today to testify? -Yes.
[Paul] On July 5th, 2014, is this the point of view
-you would have had? -Yes.
I'll ask you to point to where you were,
using this picture.
He's indicating the back porch of Photo 3.
Did you notice a particular type of vehicle
that traveled down that got your attention?
-Yes. -And why did it
get your attention?
It was firing at it.
[Paul] Okay. They was firing at it?
-Yes. -Okay.
And what type of vehicle was this?
-White van. -[woman coughs]
-[Paul] White van? -[Caurie] Yes.
[Paul] How many people were firing at that van?
-Two. -Okay.
[Paul] Now do you see those people in court?
-Yes, with the braids. -[Paul] Okay.
[Judge] Identifying the defendant, Jhymiere Moore.
[Paul] What about the next person, the other person--
-Who was the other shooter? -Jeffry.
[Paul] What's Jeffry wearing,
or what does he look like today?
[Caurie] With the short haircut.
-What about the color of shirt? -[Caurie] Blue.
[Judge] Identifying the defendant, Jeffry Ellerbee.
[Paul] Can you describe what you saw?
One of them went in the street and started firing.
[Harley] I'm sorry, I can't hear him.
[Judge] One of them went in the street
-and started firing? -Yes.
[Judge] You said three of them
went in the streets?
No, no. I said they went in the middle of the street
-and started firing. -[Judge] They went in the middle
of the street and started firing, okay.
[Paul] You said Mr. Warrant Ellerbee was standing,
hand guns are passed off at that point.
The white van, did you see the white van?
-Yes. -Where's
the white van traveling?
[Caurie] Down Rosa Parks towards King.
[Paul] You said that Ellerbee and Moore,
-you said they had the guns? -Yes.
What were they doing with the guns?
[Caurie] Firing them.
[Paul] And you said they were in the street?
-Yes. -The van was in front of 'em?
-Yes. -The van was moving?
Yes.
[Paul] What was it they were running?
[Caurie] Running towards the van shooting.
Running towards the van shooting.
[Paul] "Running towards the van shooting."
Do you remember describing them to the police?
[Judge] Sir, I'm going to interrupt you for a second.
There's an issue I have to deal with.
We're going to take, there will be a very short break,
I have to address an issue that's come up.
[Judge] Do me a favor, put the phone
on top of the stand, please, all right?
All right. Can Council approach, please?
Just leave the phone there. Why don't you just
step outside, please?
Just leave the phone, leave the phone.
[people chattering]
[Judge] Someone is texting on the phone,
and I asked the witness now, and apparently it's him.
[Harley] Earlier in the trial, there was evidence
that came out that the gun used
to kill Genesis Rincon was used,
three months earlier to her killing,
in a shooting incident.
The person who used that gun was caught.
His name is Eli Hanes.
Today, the state's star witness, it's discovered
that he's texting while on the stand.
He texted someone saying, "Eli is here."
And the response came back, "What's Eli doing there?"
Which leads us to conclude only one thing.
Calvary Swinger testified today under the pressure
of pointing the finger at my client
because he knows that Eli Hanes is the true killer.
[Judge] We're going to recess at this time.
[Harley] Today, I would say we received what I like to call
a nugget, a golden nugget.
If I'm successful in using
and implementing that nugget,
then I'm hopeful that the jury will use
that bit of information in my favor--
in my client's favor--
when they deliberate as to whether or not my client
committed this crime.
[people chattering]
[Harley] All right, how we doing tonight, all right?
-[light cheering] -[woman] All right!
All right, I want to thank everybody for coming
to our annual St. Paddy's Day party.
[Harley] I have a charity, it's called Harley's Kids.
And, I guess, for the last 25 years,
I started with 32 mentally
and physically challenged children,
and right now, I've built it up,
with the help of other people, of course, to 200.
So I have 200 kids,
and I have parties
every two, three months.
We make an occasion.
We have a St. Paddy's Day party.
We have a Halloween party, a Christmas party.
Things like that.
We come up with an excuse to have parties.
Yeah, usually I take two at a time bowling.
Let me show you amateurs how it's done.
I'm just saying, if you miss this,
you might lose the whole game. No pressure.
[Harley] I usually take Scott Donkersleugh.
I've known Scott at least 25 years.
And we usually bring Joey.
He's got severe down syndrome.
In fact, you can't understand what he says.
Nobody can.
[Harley] Oh no, come on.
[Harley] Those kids bring me several things.
One, they remind me I'm blessed.
So it calms me.
I realize that as bad a day as I'm having,
I'm still blessed.
Two, it reminds me that there are some people out there
who like me for me.
They just like me, Harley, the guy.
They remind me that there's so much goodness out there,
despite the disadvantages and the tragedies.
The injustice of the universe is far more
than the injustice of any court system.
[ethereal theme playing]
[people chattering]
[indistinct conversation]
[Judge] Mr. Breite, closing arguments.
Now, ladies and gentlemen, let me begin by saying
that in a criminal trial, sometimes there's a moment.
Not only has every piece of evidence presented
by the prosecution been discredited
or rendered meaningless,
we have also shown that there is
a far more believable suspect in this killing
who is not on trial here.
We know who that is.
That's Eli Hunt.
He used the gun that killed Genesis three months earlier,
and then showed up here in court to make sure that
Calvary Swinger went through with his false testimony.
Ladies and gentlemen, a trial is a search
for the truth, that's why we're here.
We want to know what really happened that night.
And we don't. There was lazy
and poor detective work.
What might it cost to run a fingerprint analysis
on the casings?
Who cares what it cost?
Justice doesn't have a price.
The life of that 12-year-old girl is not equated
with a price for running a simple fingerprint test.
You shouldn't tolerate an investigation
that fell short, whether it's due to incompetency
or laziness.
And I would ask you ladies and gentlemen,
when you go back into that jury room,
to ask yourself, is there a reasonable possibility
that Swinger and Carter
simply lied to protect themselves
and gain an advantage
with the extremely serious crimes
they were each facing?
If there's a reasonable possibility
that they were lying, then there's reasonable doubt,
and the verdict must be, must be not guilty.
-Thank you. -[Judge] Thank you, Mr. Breite.
All right, Mr. Prosecutor, closing statements.
[Paul] Ladies and gentlemen, this case
comes down to Calvary Swinger and Keyshawn Parton.
Their statements, I submit, are truthful, reliable,
and credible based on other things that we have shown.
We talk about deals given,
deals taken, the dogs, the drugs.
That deal had to be done.
And unfortunately, in Paterson,
in that area where the homicide happened,
these are the witnesses you get.
These are the witnesses that you have.
They are people from the street,
they live out there, they try to raise families out there.
They deal drugs out there.
And they shoot weapons.
And you know why Eli's here?
Because these guys ended up getting that weapon,
getting that first weapon, community handgun,
a shared handgun.
Eli Hines was never arrested with a handgun.
He never had a handgun that was taken off his possession
because he got rid of it.
You don't throw a perfectly good handgun in the river.
You sell it, you give it away. That's the game.
Don't get caught with it twice.
I want to thank you for your paying attention.
Once again, I think, beyond a reasonable doubt,
the state has proven its case and I ask you
to return a verdict on each and every one of those charges
in the affirmative, guilty.
-Thank you. -Thank you, Mr. DeGroot.
[Judge] All right, ladies and gentlemen,
we come to the end of the day,
the only thing left for me to do is to charge you,
that's gonna take about an hour.
So what I'm going to do now is,
I'm going to recess for the day.
[people chattering]
[melancholy theme playing]
How are the other kids doing?
-Taken? -My kids are horrible.
Because I guess it's hard because they know
the type of person that Jeffry is,
and as far for them to explain to them
what actually happened...
I mean, they talk to Jeffry every day,
but it's not the same.
They're used to Jeffry being at the basketball games
and they're really close.
He would never do that.
But I'm hoping, I'm praying.
That's why, I guess, right now,
that's all we have, is because like,
like I said, sometimes, we're forgotten in the background.
I mean, they're going through their whole new issues
and back and forth and everything,
but nobody really takes that consideration
and says, "You know what?
"We need to come to something, the parents can't keep
"going through, the parents can't keep losing work,
they can't keep," you know?
I told my mother, I said, because I said
I look to her every day, I see your pain every day,
and I told my mother, I said I had to say something
because I really do feel bad, I really do.
We as parents, our kids really don't know
what we do for them, they don't know what headaches
we have in our heads and how we try to give them
the best, even that,
even if we can't give the best, we go there.
Because this was a shock to me, and I told Jeffry,
"If you have to go to jail for this,
you just have to deal with the consequences."
I mean, at the end of the day, I said, "I'm still gonna
be your mother, at the end of the day, I'm still..."
Gonna be there for you.
Yeah, but I said, "At the end of the day,
"they lost their daughter, so you just have to have
some kind of compassion for that."
Yeah.
He said he understands.
I don't hate them, 'cause I don't.
I'm just mad.
[melancholy theme playing]
[crying]
[sobbing]
[Janny] Whether they go to jail or not,
I can't see her, I can't talk to her,
I can't hug her, I can't hear her calling me Mommy anymore.
Because it's never gonna happen.
I like chicken.
[Janny] When Genesis passed away,
-they took half of her. -[laughter]
I have never seen a bond like that with two sisters.
Chillin' with Grandma.
Do I look like your grandmother?
[laughter]
[Genesis] You look old.
-Your momma. -Your momma.
-I'm telling Mom. -[Golda] No!
-Mom, Golda said you're old! -[Golda] No, I didn't.
[bailiff] If anyone pulls out their cell phones,
they will be confiscated and they will be kicked out.
[people chattering]
[bailiff] Remain seated.
So we have 12 jurors seated.
The jury, I reviewed your note and I think your message
to the court has been clear.
I just want to ask the foreperson,
I want to ask you a question.
Foreperson, do you feel that further deliberations
would be beneficial, do you feel you've reached a point
in which further deliberations
-would be futile? -[woman] I do.
-You feel that they would be futile?
-Yeah.
[Judge] Considering all of that,
I find the determination
of this trial is necessary because the jury
has failed to agree upon a verdict
within a reasonable time,
after reasonable time for a deliberation has been allowed.
I'm going to declare a mistrial.
[people murmuring]
[Judge] Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, the function
you have performed is one of the most important
civic duties which you will ever be called upon to fulfill.
With the declaration of a mistrial in this matter,
your service is now complete.
On a personal note, every day I see how citizens
such as you respond to the responsibility,
the decision making that is jury service.
It is truly remarkable witnessing that reality.
And I say that even though you didn't reach a verdict.
I know how hard you worked at this case.
We've been at this case for over two months.
So with that, I now discharge you with
the sincerest of thanks of all of us
who serve in our court system, you're now free to go.
I wish everybody the best.
[people chattering]
A hung jury, it's like, it's a non-decision.
It's not a decision.
So the charges are still there.
Now, in theory, we could...
These boys still got to sit in jail.
While we are elated at the result of a mistrial,
it in no way diminishes the tragedy that the family
of the victim still has to endure.
Immediately after Jhymiere was arrested,
and incarcerated for the murder of Genesis Rincon,
he was then also charged with another murder case,
and that entire case, the police investigated
my client, believed he had nothing to do with it,
and left him out of it, and now, lo and behold,
they indict him on that murder case.
Very, very curious circumstances.
-Processing what's going on? -Yes, ma'am.
[man] Do you know how long you'll be going away for?
[Harley] So he'd have to win two trials in order
to walk away scot free.
Trials are risky businesses.
And anything can happen at a trial,
and even though he felt empowered in one sense
by the hung jury, he was smart enough to know
that it's not a guarantee next time.
In the end,
we were able to come to a deal,
in which Jhymiere pled to 20 years.
He would have to serve 85% of that time,
so 17 years, before he can apply for parole.
He's been in for three,
so he gets credit for all of that.
So he'll be out in 14 years.
He'll be 36 years old.
He can resume his life with his, right now he has
a three year old son, he can marry, he can go to college,
he can have a life, and he ultimately decided that
pleading to being responsible for the death
of Genesis Rincon and Raji Clark was in his best interest.
He went in an open forum, took an oath to tell
the truth and said, "I shot the bullet
that killed that girl."
Somewhere, the truth exists.
[Genesis] Hey, everyone, it's Genesis, and I want to wish
you all a happy Easter.
Today is Sunday and the 20th, which is nearly Easter.
They say it was the straight
But it didn't have a name
But that was called my family and things aren't the same
I remember when I first found out, I almost went insane
All the pain and all the agony, is too much to explain
She was riding on a scooter around Independence Day
Now she's riding in the heavens
She's very far away
I'll give it away, just so I can see her face
But deep down in my heart I know you in a better place
Got needed Him an angel so He had to pick the best
I took it as a curse but in reality you're blessed
Because you're flying through his kingdom
And this life you passed the test
Well I'm jotting down these words
I get this knot up in my chest
Because knowing you not hearing me
Leaves me blinded, full of stress
They say that you're a legend
More and nothing less
I wish it was a nightmare, and it could all just go away
But I'm forced to see reality every single day
Where the fuck is all the tough cops
That killing let us pray?
Where the fuck is all the heroes
That plainly see the day?
We ain't got that out in Paterson
Why children got to pay?
That's why I'm riding strap
With this 40 and this gauge
All I feel is anger, but I'm fighting against my rage
Because my children need a future
And I have to pay their way
Because I know karma's a bitch
And she riding around the way
When you do dirt in this world
And this hell is where you pay
I'm just running through this world
And I feel so alone without you
Until we meet again
I know this is not the end
Whoa, whoa, yeah
[Genesis] Hey everyone, it's Genesis,
and today I'm going to be showing you my collection.
Who doesn't love collections, like, right?
But, let's go back to serious mode.
In this life you had a purpose
Because you helped people survive
Donation and your organs helped save a lot of lives
You're a legend, you're a hero
You're my angel in the sky
It ain't about your race
It ain't about your pride
It's all about the youth
And keeping our children alive
And to our family's name you'll forever be alive
To the day of my demise
And my heart you stay alive
And through all this pain and chaos
Together we shall rise
I'm just riding through this world
And it feels so alone without you
Till the day we meet again
I know this is not the end
Whoa, whoa, yeah
Hey everyone, this is Genesis, and today,
I'm going to be doing a shout out video.
I know the lighting is very bad. I'm in my room.
It's about 10 o'clock in the morning.
And the lights are off, so I just want to make this video.
This shout out video to my friend Rosanna, so--
[Golda] Stop! Edit!