In the criminal justice system...
the people are represented by two separate yet equally important groups:
The police who investigate crime...
and the district attorneys who prosecute the offenders.
These are their stories.
Blast him, Angel.
No, man, he's gone down the hole.
Well, drop down to green level. Nuke 'em. Nuke 'em.
Yes! 827 kills. I think that's a record.
Come on, man. I gotta go. My mom's gonna kill me.
She can't stand it anymore. Says they're too big.
My Joanna's always wanted to be bigger, since high school.
She is kind of flat, dear. The boys used to call her button-boobs.
Now, I tell her God made them that way. She still wants them bigger.
How old's Joanna now, 34?
Here we go again.
She'll never find love, okay?
I'll see you tomorrow, Ida.
She thinks I'm talking love, Trixie. I was talking husband.
Angel.
Help me!
Somebody call the cops.
Help me!
Oh, my God.
He knocked me down. Animals! Don't move. Don't move.
He didn't shoot me. It's my hip. My hip hurts.
Ida, look.
I know you're in pain, but can you tell me anything about the man who pushed you?
How's your breathing, Mrs. Abel?
I'm fine.
My hip hurts. He ran right at me. He didn't see me.
He was looking over his shoulder.
Did you get a good look at him?
I think he was Puerto Rican, but they never used to bother us.
My husband says it's worse than Beirut.
Let's get her out of here.
I wanna go with her. Officer Banks will take you.
You'd tell me if he was selling drugs, right?
No way.
Honest, man, we were just going home.
Then, bam, bam, Angel was down.
He didn't do nothing.
He was talking about going to San Juan to visit his uncle.
Fellas, stick around. Reynolds, let them keep warm in the car.
Sure. They didn't see anybody.
They think the shots came from across the street...
but there's no shell casings.
Angel Ramirez, 14 years old.
Park North Junior High.
His friends say he was a good student. No drugs, if you believe them.
Well, what is it? A drive-by? A hit? The latter.
Right through the neck. Hit the carotid artery.
No line, no waiting, you're gone.
Let's get him up. Got it.
Fourteen years old.
Pretty soon we'll be passing out vests in kindergarten.
No, it's not true. Not my Angel.
Lila, he was with Alex and Leon.
I'm calling Leon's mother now. I'm sure it's a mistake.
I'm sorry, Mrs. Ramirez.
I'm sorry.
Angel, he doesn't hang with no bad kids.
He didn't have no troubles.
It is possible someone was out to get him.
Was your son a member of a gang?
Was he into drugs at all? Please, listen.
He's Prefect of Sodality at the church.
He gets good grades.
They say maybe he even gets a scholarship. NYU.
He can stay at home.
He can stay.
Oh, God. He can stay.
Angel Ramirez was a saint.
Park North says he never even got detention.
Some saints were sinners first. A contract on a 14-year-old?
A shot clean through the neck. That's a drive-by, an accident?
No, I think it's more like a thunderstorm. You know, like an act of God.
You take a walk, you get rained on...
but you take another walk, you get a bullet through your skull.
Kid had no record. I met his parents. I don't buy it.
No one put a hit on this kid.
What's with him? It was a long night.
Aren't they all? CSU found one of the slugs.
Nine-millimeter, but it was smashed into the concrete.
It's untraceable. What about this witness?
She spent the night at Saint Theresas.
It's hard to tell what she saw.
If she can move, get her in here.
Show her every picture we've got. While she's looking, you pray.
Mrs. Abel is gonna pull our man for us, aren't you?
Can I get you some more tea? No, thank you.
Now, my eyesight's good. It runs in the family.
But he was going very fast.
You see anybody in there you like?
Maybe him.
It could be him.
And maybe this one, too.
You go out and arrest those animals, right now.
Hey, Navarez is dead, hit by the DEA.
Yeah, is he still there?
You sure? All right, next case: Domingo, Juan.
Thanks a lot, Joey. SID 59643.
Melendez is in Greenhaven. Murder and rape.
Thank you very much, Mrs. Abel.
Yeah?
He had what?
Right.
Right. Thank you.
Juan Domingo...
a couple of misdemeanors, marijuana, criminal possession weapon four.
Guess what the weapon was? Colt Anaconda.
Hey, that's a nice snake. You shoot down planes with that sucker.
Now, guess where he lives. Seven blocks from the shooting...
103rd and Lex. Thank you very much, Mrs. Abel.
Juan Domingo. Police. Open up.
Go! Go! Go!
Go!
Clear! Hey, what the hell?
Hey, hold it! Don't even breathe.
I'm cool. Don't shoot. Mike.
No nine-millimeter.
What did you do, Juan? Take down some gun dealer?
Chill. I am a dealer.
Let me put my hands down. I'll prove it.
Go ahead.
Hey, that's not a good idea.
He's not kidding. Federal firearms license...
State of New York, permit to possess and sell.
Good till '96.
Hold it. It says you're from Monticello? Yeah, I got customers here.
My FFL says I transport to sale location.
Now, what do you want?
Where were you yesterday afternoon? Minding my own business.
Delivered a Mauser to a customer on 91 and Lex.
Yeah, and then you went to the antiques show at the armory.
Don't quit your day job, man. Look, I didn't shoot that kid on 95th.
I was just walking up the 'ard, and, wham, kid got whacked...
so I'm moving. Right into a little old lady.
And, of course, you were alone.
Look, ask the dudes with the homeboy.
It's too bad. He was just a kid, you know?
It's a crazy jungle out there.
Rule number one: Scram when they jam.
You're gonna be jamming at the precinct with us.
Look, I'm a businessman. Yeah and your state license says...
your guns must be secured by locks at all times. Let's go.
Get Mr. Domingo the executive suite down at central booking.
Come on, kid.
No felony record, $30...
and a social security number gets you a resale license.
For $75, you can sell Howitzers to Qadhafi.
How does he get a state license? Lives in Monticello?
A lot of Hispanics up there. They work the resorts.
I'm sure Mr. Domingo looks respectable.
Excuse me. This gun dealer, Domingo...
Now, I don't know if this fits, all right? But I talked to the 33.
Ten days ago there was a hit. 107 and Lex.
Some sleaze who deals in hot guns.
Domingo lives there.
The shooting took place in an alley.
There was a witness, Ricky Morales.
Any joy for us here?
This kid was supposed to come in and look at a police line-up.
Then, bang, drive-by in front of his school, Saint Matthews Prep.
Who do you think the suspect was in the hit?
Your noted entrepreneur, Juan Domingo.
The Morales kid is supposed to identify Domingo...
and now he's dead? Mount Sinai.
Bullet's gone, and so are the use of his legs.
And, big surprise, so is his memory.
Go. Go.
I got nothing to say.
Last time I talked to badges...
look what it got me.
Hey, slow down. We're on your side. I'm slow.
I'm going to be slow for the rest of my life.
Listen, we know what happened.
You saw Juan Domingo shoot another gun dealer.
Unfortunately, he shot you so you wouldn't tell the cops.
And it looked like you were buying a gun from Domingo.
We're not busting you for a hot gun, Ricky, but you can put Domingo away.
Look, I never saw this Domingo guy. I didn't buy a gun.
Well, did you ever hear of a kid named Angel Ramirez?
It's the kid who got killed, right? Yeah, I saw it on TV.
He didn't go to Saint Matthews, and I don't know him.
Funny thing, the night Angel Ramirez got killed...
Domingo was there, too. Right next to him.
We thought maybe you could tell us why, huh?
I told you, we didn't see Domingo shoot anybody.
We?
I thought you said you were the only one there.
Look, I meant we, us, everybody on the block.
Who's "we," Ricky?
Who else saw Domingo shoot the other dealer?
Look, I wanna go back to the sunroom. Nurse?
Nurse?
He said, "we."
We didn't see Domingo shoot anybody. Yeah, so who's "we"?
And how does it tie in with the kid we saw dying on the street?
Wait a minute, Lennie. Wait a minute.
Two weeks ago, the kid upstairs witnesses a murder.
He had to be with somebody else. Then he gets shot.
Yeah, then the other witness gets scared...
because he thinks maybe he's next. Right.
So the other witness shoots first, but he misses...
hits the kid on the street.
Right? Right.
The Morales kid, upstairs. He goes to Saint Matthews.
Let's see who his friends are.
It's terrible about Ricky. He's a good student. Very popular.
His father is a subway motorman.
He works two jobs to send him here.
Could any of Ricky's friends have guns...
maybe even bring them to school?
This is Saint Matthews, Detective.
Charles, I was just telling the detectives about our security.
Charles uses one of those metal-detector wands...
on the boys as they come in.
We've never found any guns, have we?
Just that switchblade last fall.
The boy had detention for a month...
and we kicked him off the swim team.
Ricky's homeroom teacher says these are his friends.
It's just not possible any of these boys could have anything to do...
with a murder investigation. Easy gig, huh, Charles?
We got our hands full, what with fights after school and all.
So maybe the Monsignor here is a little bit optimistic about no guns?
I'm not saying he's wrong, but I wouldn't be surprised at anything.
I know our boys don't carry guns, and I know what else we'll do.
Let's take this list of Ricky's friends...
and check their lockers. Will that make you happy?
It's not about being happy, Father, but since you offered.
"Number 462, Jimmy Todd."
Detective, be my guest.
"Number 447, Kevin Parker."
Detective? Nothing here.
Nothing here, either. I told you.
Charles, "Number 441, Billy Wojak."
The boy's 16. He's never been in trouble. This is trouble, Counselor.
Four guns, four charges, Billy.
Stop scaring him.
Suppose he just holds guns for other kids.
I assure you, you won't find his prints on them.
Billy doesn't have a gun. I would know.
Aileen.
Bill, they don't wanna arrest you.
Just tell them who the guns belong to.
I don't know how they got there. I never saw them before.
This is a nine-millimeter Glock.
We think this is the gun used to kill a boy named Angel Ramirez.
How do you feel about that Billy?
Maybe somebody did put the guns in his locker.
I don't rat on my friends.
Explain it to your client, Counselor.
If we find out this gun was used to commit a crime...
you're looking at accessory to murder.
Come on.
Without prints, it's barely possession.
I guess we need prints.
Billy rides with us. You know the address. Let's go.
He say anything after you book him? Only a lot of tears.
He's covering. His mother's covering. Ricky's covering.
Ballistics says the Glock was fired recently.
They lifted prints...
but my hunch tells me they won't match with a record.
Yeah, just to make it easier, the serial number is acid-burned.
Oh, good.
A gun with no home, prints we can't ID...
and slugs we can't connect to a killing.
Whose turn to play genius? She just said "slugs."
CSU came back with one.
The old ladies and the kids said two shots were fired.
You have to find that second slug.
I don't know. The thing is, it's so open.
If the shooter was over there, how come nobody noticed him?
Looks like a 45. Yeah, we're looking for nine-millimeter.
Four hours overtime. What are we doing here, the Holy Grail?
If it was your 14-year-old in the freezer, you'd think it was worth it.
I got a 22, old.
What the hell is this, a firing range?
Logan.
Nine-millimeter. Clean. Not here long.
Bravo. Get it over to ballistics right away.
Lennie, where was Angel Ramirez? He was right there.
Now, we thought the shooter was across the street in the middle of the block.
Follow the shots.
The shooter was at the corner.
Yeah, that's where the other old lady was, Mrs. Sugarman.
Impossible. She's standing right there...
and doesn't see a kid with a gun?
No. No, she was walking away from him. She had her back to him.
All I could think about was getting to Ida.
Well, that was the right thing to do.
We need to know. Did you see anyone after you heard the shooting?
Anyone running? Everybody was running.
All right, try this, Mrs. Sugarman. Close your eyes.
Go ahead.
Okay, you're walking toward Park, and you hear the shots.
Now, what happened then?
Well, I think about Ida.
I turn around to...
A boy ran into me from the parochial school, Saint Elys.
He was wearing one of those jackets.
He even said, "sorry," when he bumped into me.
You saw Saint Elys on the jacket? No, it was the color.
All the boys wear them. They're red and black.
Okay, yeah. That's Saint Matthews.
Do you remember what he looked like?
He had dark hair and the jacket.
Yeah, I'm sure he was wearing that jacket.
Thanks, Mrs. Sugarman.
You hear what she say? Yeah.
One of those nice parochial school boys shot an innocent 14-year-old to death.
It's not gonna make the Monsignor very happy.
Let's check Ballistics on that second slug.
What do you mean, "maybe"?
This slug went through Angel Ramirez's neck.
This you found in the wall, same alloy. They came from the same batch.
This is the Glock from Saint Matthews.
Now, the first slug is smashed. I can't match it to the gun.
The second slug, I can match to the gun 85%...
and the second slug looks to be the same alloy as the first one.
Ipso facto, the slug that killed Angel Ramirez comes from that Glock.
That's a long-distance call, but you get through.
What about the serial number? The acid erase was done by a pro.
I could try and raise it, but...
Send it to Quantico by courier. On your budget?
She said the slug that killed the Ramirez kid came from that Glock.
I said, "probably." I didn't hear that...
and neither did the kid with the gun in his locker.
We have a body on the gun. But not my client's prints.
A body on the gun. What does that mean?
It means it was used to kill somebody.
They're re-dusting the Glock, now. With magic powder?
Amazing stuff, forensics.
They find a corner of Billy's pinky finger on that gun...
he can be brave in Dannemora. Stop it.
This is my son, not some delinquent from the slums.
I don't care what they think about you at school.
You are not going to jail.
You better come up for air, Billy, or you're gonna drown.
Tough guys do okay at school, but you're not tough enough for prison.
I can take it.
Can you take it for five years?
Who belongs to that nine-millimeter?
It was Ricky's gun. Ricky bought it.
He bought it with somebody else...
and then they used it later.
Right?
Kevin. Kevin, who?
Parker. Kevin Parker.
You don't have to talk if you don't want to, Kevin.
The school called your father. He's on his way.
Listen, Kevin. This is what we know.
Now, you stop me if I say something that's not true, okay?
We know you used the gun. We know Ricky Morales is your best friend.
Juan Domingo either had him shot or did it himself.
We think you shot at Domingo and missed. The gun's not mine.
I never shot anyone. Even if I did...
Even if what, Kevin?
I didn't do it. I didn't shoot anybody. I didn't do it.
We heard you did, Kevin.
Another tough guy. We gotta get prints. Let's book him.
We can't lock the slug to the gun.
Stone's gonna laugh us out of office.
Not with motive. Let me work on him.
The kid's father's here. You're gonna love this.
Ex-cop. Detective in the 33.
Ted Parker?
Terrific.
He's pretty scared.
I'm sorry, but you know how it is. We had to pick him up.
You know, you aged better than me.
Well, you dress better than me.
I'm in corporate security now, brokerage firm. Beats the street.
Well, after six years, I wish we could've met under better circumstances.
How are the girls?
Two daughters, right?
They're fine, thanks.
Can we talk alone?
What do you got?
Maybe you want to wait for your attorney. I didn't call him.
I was hoping we could work this out.
I got a dead kid.
I got two slugs, and I got a gun we can tie to Kevin.
These slugs, definite match?
I didn't think so.
Now, suppose, just suppose...
there's a kid named Ricky.
Goes to buy a gun.
His neighborhood is lousy and he's scared.
Takes a friend with him. Big boy.
Strong. Strong boy named Kevin.
Lennie, I didn't say that.
Now, suppose...
this Ricky...
sees the gun dealer whack some piece of scum.
Now, the friend didn't see the killing...
but the gun dealer pops Ricky, and the word on the street is...
the friend is gonna get it, too...
so the friend decides to strike first...
totally out of the belief that his life was in danger.
And if his father's an ex-cop, he tells his son to call the local precinct.
Suppose, at this time...
the boy's father didn't know any of this happened.
The boy's father...
his wife split.
He works long hours...
so he puts his kid in a parochial school...
so he stays out of trouble.
You want to destroy that boy for one mistake?
Ted... Lennie.
There are lots of ways of looking at this.
Right...
and if some sleaze-bag gun dealer had taken a bullet...
maybe I wouldn't be beating my brains out trying to put somebody away for it...
but the problem I got is the gun dealer's still walking around...
and some kid named Angel Ramirez took a slug in his neck.
This is my son.
Then, please, tell me that Domingo...
pointed a gun someplace in the general direction of your son.
Then I'll tell you what I gotta do.
I got to take Kevin down, print him, put his name on a yellow sheet.
And if the prints match, I gotta put him in a line-up for our witness.
What if you don't book him?
What if he does the line-up now?
If she doesn't pick him, he goes home.
He'll do the line-up.
Don't rush, Mrs. Sugarman. Take your time.
The important thing is to be sure.
Could I see Number Two again?
Number Two, step forward.
They're so young.
No, it's not him.
Let me try Number Three.
Number Two, step back. Number Three, step forward.
Oh, yes.
Now, I'm sure.
That's the boy that bumped into me.
Thank you, Mrs. Sugarman. If we need you, we'll call you.
Well, hope I was helpful.
Mr. Parker, step forward, please.
Kevin Parker you're under arrest...
for the murder of Angel Ramirez.
You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say...
can and will be used against you in a court of law.
Do you understand that?
"Docket number 97473.
"The People of the State of New York v. Kevin Parker.
"The charge is murder, second degree."
Mr. Schell? Your Honor...
the People have really stretched this one.
In view of what the grand jury heard...
Do you have this speech on tape, Gordon?
I hear it every time I see you.
But this case cries out for dismissal, Your Honor.
This case cries out for taking every gun in the city...
and melting them down.
I'm not going to dismiss. Let's get a plea.
Not guilty. Miss Kincaid?
Considering the seriousness of the crime, Your Honor...
the People request $150,000 bail.
Granted.
Cash or bond. Short date. Next?
Gordon, I'm sympathetic, but no matter how I look at it...
the reality is- Murder two...
you call that sympathy? This was an accident.
The gun went off by itself?
Your client fired two shots, and it doesn't matter who he aimed it at...
it's still murder two. He's a child.
Come on, Ben, have some mercy here.
Angel Ramirez was 14.
Now, I will consider manslaughter one. It was self-defense.
No, Mr. Parker. Self-defense is when someone aims a gun at you...
not threatens to aim it.
You don't know what it's like out there.
I didn't have any choice. Kevin.
They all got guns. He shot Ricky. He was gonna shoot me.
Kevin. I don't get it.
Juan Domingo was booked for murder and back on the street in six hours.
Mr. Parker, your son should've called the police.
Oh, my fellow cops.
They did a great job protecting Ricky Morales.
Mr. Parker, please.
As an ex-cop, I assume you understand what it means...
that your son and Mr. Morales left the scene of a crime.
Now, if they had gone to the line-up...
maybe Mr. Morales might still be walking...
and maybe Angel Ramirez might not be dead.
A lot of maybes. I've got some better ones.
Maybe you convince a jury he had a gun.
Maybe you convince them he had a motive.
Manslaughter two, juvenile facility.
It's not his fault that the streets are a war zone, Ben.
It is his fault that he joined the army.
Maybe it's not his fault. Because he felt threatened?
Do we know what these kids live with?
When I was in school, they searched you for marijuana not a 45.
We have one boy dead, another paralyzed...
and a 16-year-old who thinks he's Wyatt Earp...
and you wanna deal him because he's a nice kid...
and his father's a cop. It has nothing to do with that.
I'm just not sure we convict.
She's right, Adam. We can put Kevin Parker there.
We just can't put a gun with the right bullets in his hand.
Only way to get Kevin Parker is with Juan Domingo.
He saw Parker shoot at him.
I love cases where a homicidal gun dealer is our best witness.
If we could get his testimony.
If he tells the truth, he puts himself away.
Yeah, but that's not a bad idea.
Domingo lied on his firearms application, right?
He said he didn't do drugs, and he had a pot bust...
and he transported firearms. He sold the Glock to Ricky Morales.
If, God willing...
we can raise that serial number, trace it back to him...
Domingo does three years on federal charges, four on state...
and I don't know why he wouldn't roll.
We're making a deal with the wrong side.
This gun dealer shot two people and paralyzed a kid.
But we can't get Domingo for murder.
Ricky Morales would have to testify against him...
and implicate his friend Kevin Parker. He's not gonna do that.
Let's get what we can out of Domingo.
Oh, this whole case.
God bless the FBl.
That number was almost burned flat. We have the gun back?
Tomorrow by courier. I'm taking no chances with your evidence.
"Nine-millimeter Glock, semi-automatic.
"Purchased from Casey Distributors, Charlotte, North Carolina.
"Sold to Juan Domingo, Monticello, New York."
I don't know nobody named Parker.
Easy, Juan. Put a lid on it. What do I pay you for?
Get me bail, man. I don't like the food here. Mush and beans.
Please tell my client about the gun.
Mr. Domingo, we traced the Glock you sold to Ricky Morales.
You couldn't trace that gun to Mars.
You bought it from a dealer in North Carolina.
It was used to kill Angel Ramirez.
Add it up, young man. You're looking at seven years, minimum.
And I'd start enjoying the food because with your attitude...
I don't think you're gonna see parole.
What I see is two district attorneys who want something.
Well, that's right.
What we'd like you to do is testify...
that Kevin Parker shot at you.
You set up every gun dealer you ever knew for the Feds...
and you make the Feds happy, you do four years in Ossining.
I set up anybody, I'm lucky I survive four minutes.
That doesn't break my heart, young man.
I'll make sure you get solitary. You'll get out in one piece.
All right, you want some dealers? I gotta make some calls.
Of course, I don't like it.
Juan Domingo shot Ricky Morales. We just handed him a gift.
If Ricky Morales...
doesn't want to identify his shooter, I can't help him.
Besides... Thanks. If Domingo doesn't testify...
Kevin Parker goes free.
Oh, no.
Since when do cops break into school lockers?
No one broke in. The principal had a key.
Don't have a stroke, Gordon.
The Fourth Amendment doesn't always apply to school children.
His cops didn't have a search warrant. They didn't need one.
School security does not require strict adherence to the Fourth Amendment.
Supreme Court New Jersey v. TLO.
Ben, in that case, there were no cops. A principal opened the locker.
There were no cops in this case.
Excuse me? I seem to recall, two detectives were in the hallway.
They didn't ask for a search. The principal...
he searches lockers all the time. He offered to do it.
It's also a juggling act.
Would he have opened it without the cops?
Unfortunately, the Supreme Court didn't address that.
Maybe kids should have the same rights as adults.
The law says no.
It makes me uncomfortable, but I'm admitting the gun.
The technique is well established.
Matching lands and grooves on a bullet with a gun isn't difficult.
I understand, Miss Schrier, but how closely...
do the two bullets that you're talking about...
How closely do they match this Glock semi-automatic?
The slug found in the wall matched with 85% certainty...
and the slug that went through Angel Ramirez...
was consistent with the same gun. Thank you.
Your witness.
"Consistent," what exactly does that mean?
It means that there's a good probability that it was fired from the Glock.
Oh, I see.
So, then, we have some certainty and some probability.
Isn't that a fairly long way from absolute certainty?
Within the limits of ballistics - Really, Miss Schrier...
the defendant's on trial for murder.
I mean, the degree of certainty is fairly important.
Can you conclude absolutely...
that bullets from the gun found in the school locker...
were fired at Angel Ramirez?
With absolute certainty? Yes.
No.
He made her look foolish.
I understand, Mrs. Ramirez, but this is the beginning of the trial.
There are a lot of setbacks ahead of us. You're a policeman.
Tell your son to do right, to confess.
My son is dead. Come on.
I'm sorry. I wish I could change it. I wish I could go back.
Nice try with the gun. Let's move on to your line-up witness.
Based on new information, I'm filing a motion to exclude her testimony.
New information from where? What's wrong with the line-up?
See you in chambers.
This better be good, Gordon.
I'm sorry, Your Honor, but this afternoon my client's father...
saw the line-up report for the first time.
Your client's father was at the line-up.
What the hell are you talking about?
The police report jogged his memory.
Jogged his memory? Yes.
The witness told the cops...
that a boy went past her, wearing a black and red jacket.
Kevin wore his at the line-up. I say that that taints her ID.
Read the reports again. All the kids wore jackets.
All red and black. No, no.
According to my client, all of the jackets did not have leather on the arms...
and some of the reds were not the same.
Ben, they shouldn't have used jackets if they weren't identical.
Three of them were, and two of them were virtually the same.
So, at the worst, it's a minor mistake.
No, at the worst, it's prejudicial.
Your witness doesn't testify.
Dumb, stupid, and idiotic.
I think of her as generally fair. Judge Sally Norton?
You seen the latest figures on her reversal rate, Ben?
Shows you what reading Bar Association reports will do to your judgment.
She gets overturned any more, she'll be walking upside-down.
This is terrific.
We still have the gun dealer. Yeah.
A picture of delight and charm.
Without our sweet old lady to back him up, good luck.
I knew Ted Parker when he was a New York City police detective.
Did Det. Parker ever ask to speak to you privately?
Yes. What did he say?
He asked if I could do something to help his son.
I said no. Yes, but, how did you respond to that?
Well, he asked me to think about...
how some kid might have shot somebody when he thought that his life was in danger.
And he asked me to think about a kid like that...
how one mistake could ruin his whole life.
And what did you say?
I said, I supposed he was talking about his son.
Objection, Your Honor. Conclusory.
Sustained.
The jury will disregard the witness's answer.
Thank you, Detective. Your witness.
Det. Briscoe, you say Ted Parker spoke in hypotheticals.
Did he ever, in any way...
directly tell you that his son was involved in a crime?
No, Mr. Parker never told me directly that his son was involved in a crime.
Thank you. No further questions, Your Honor.
The gun was Ricky's. Ricky Morales.
I was holding it when he got shot.
Kevin told me I had to keep it a while. Why was that, Mr. Wojak?
Kevin couldn't bring it home.
He didn't want his dad to know that he had helped Ricky buy it.
But why did you have to hold the guns for the other students?
I... I guess it kind of made me feel important, you know?
They have these, you know, searches, you know?
They run the wand over you, and I never got checked.
Everyone said it's 'cause I was kind of a nerd, you know?
This weapon of Ricky Morales...
did there ever come a time when Kevin Parker...
asked you to give it to him?
Yeah...
a couple days after Ricky got shot.
Now, did Kevin Parker ever tell you why he had to have the gun?
Well, he said that this guy who shot Ricky was gonna shoot him, too...
and he had to strap some power.
A lot of my friends do, you know? You gotta carry or else.
Did Kevin give the gun back to you? Yes.
When?
About a week later.
You know, just after the kid got shot. Right. Thanks.
It has to be substantial time. It can't be a slap on a wrist.
Is this about public relations?
It's about a dead 14-year-old.
Maybe we shouldn't be here. No, Ted.
Be reasonable, Ben.
Any judge takes circumstances into account.
The boy was afraid. Manslaughter one, three-to-nine.
Listen to his story, Ben.
Maybe you'll make a better offer.
When Ricky was shot...
I went to the hospital. He didn't see who did it.
He just felt it in his back.
I knew if we'd gone to the cops...
We couldn't do it.
Ricky would have to say he was with me when he bought the gun.
If my dad found out...
When Ricky went down...
he heard somebody say, "I'll get your friend, too."
I had to do something. I was scared.
Stone. Yeah.
Yes?
When?
Thank you, Sally. I'll be in the office in an hour.
The statement is over. We'll take this case to the jury.
Your eyewitness, Mr. Domingo, was shot an hour ago...
doing an undercover buy for the Feds.
He died on the table at Bellevue.
Let's go, Ted. Kevin. Hey, Gordon, wait a minute.
We have an agreement. Oh?
You made an offer. Did you hear us accept it?
Oh.
By the way, Ben, the Defense rests.
I don't have to put on a case.
Sometimes, tragedy brings out the best in people.
We cope.
We deal with our sadness somehow. We move on.
For the prosecution, unfortunately...
tragedy brings out the worst...
and in the face of this senseless death of Angel Ramirez...
Mr. Stone finds a scapegoat...
to convince you...
that he is going to do something...
about the war zones in which our children are living.
But he can't.
He can't, so he finds...
circumstantial connections.
A bullet that might have come from that gun.
A young boy who might have wanted revenge.
But, ladies and gentlemen, did that prove beyond a reasonable doubt...
that Kevin Parker shot Angel Ramirez? No.
All they prove is what we already know.
Too many children have guns.
We allowed this to happen. All of us.
Don't make an innocent boy pay for our mistakes.
And, yes, Mr. Schell, you're right.
There are too many guns in the hands of children.
Kids in a big hurry to say, "I got the power now...
"look what I'm packing."
So, yes, sir, our streets have become a war zone...
but does that mean that we must excuse anyone who picks up a gun?
Does that mean that we have to particularly excuse him...
if he's a good kid...
and if he's the son of a cop...
a kid who just tried to do the right thing?
But what Kevin Parker did do was shoot...
a 14-year-old who was just out for a walk with his friends.
Now, did he mean to do it? Of course not.
And though justice must be tempered with mercy...
it can never lose a sense of retribution...
or it is no longer justice.
Kevin Parker shot and killed Angel Ramirez.
However sad you feel for the defendant or for the accidents...
that brought him here, you must still find him guilty.
Nine hours. What are they debating? Not debating.
They're worrying about how guilty they'll feel if they convict him.
Yes?
They're still out? Yeah.
You know, I was thinking, how did Gordon Schell's office...
find out Juan Domingo was shot before we did?
What? I talked to Schell's secretary.
The call came from the 33rd Precinct.
They were helping the Feds set up Domingo's undercover buy.
Oh, no.
Domingo was shot before the Feds even got there.
The gun dealer they were supposed to bust got away.
Or he was never there.
It's possible the cops from Ted Parker's old precinct did him a favor.
Not that you'll ever prove it.
Yes?
Tomorrow?
Thanks.
The verdict? Not quite.
Your Honor, I respectfully suggest...
It's hopeless. We're deadlocked.
We have a hung jury.
We have a mistrial.
The People will have to retry Mr. Parker.
The court thanks the jury for its service.
Move to continue bail, Your Honor. Granted. Court is adjourned.
It's not worth it. We'd never get a conviction.
So they win?
If anyone won anything, I'm not quite sure of what it is.
Mr. Parker, are you teaching your son what is right by getting a witness shot?
Dad? Come on.
Some night.
Lucky break, that dealer getting shot.
You sleeping all right? I'm sleeping fine.
And your friends in the 33? They're sleeping fine, too.
Lennie, it's over.
What if it was one of your kids?
I don't know...
but there's no statute of limitations on murder.
Sweet dreams, pal.