American Crime (2015) s01e02 Episode Script

1 Mr.
Skokie, this is Chuck Palmer with the city of Modesto Robbery/Homicide division.
You're going to see a table with a body on it.
I need you to tell me if the body you see is your son.
That's Matt.
Is Gwen dead? Gwen's at the hospital.
She's in critical condition.
There are indications she was sexually assaulted.
- Have you called his mother yet? - No, sir.
Well, what are the police doing? They have a description of a car.
They think it might be an hispanic kid.
- Some illegal? - Tony Gutiérrez? I have some other officers that would like to speak with you.
Mr.
Gutiérrez, we need your son to tell us what's going on.
You have something to say, you say it.
Adam, he knows this guy that's looking for a car for the night.
You were renting our car? Look, Hector, it's on somebody else, or it's on you.
- I didn't kill nobody.
- Who did? There's this black dude.
Him and his girl are a couple of meth heads.
Says there's this white guy that owes him.
We didn't do nothing! We have four suspects in custody, two who facilitated and one who we believe is the shooter.
Mr.
Skokie, you had a good relationship with your son.
In our search of his property, we recovered a large quantity of crystallized methamphetamine and cannabis.
Would your son have told you if he was a drug dealer? I'm Judge Sean Henlow, and this is the arraignment calendar for felonies, misdemeanors, and infractions filed in stanislaus county superior court.
Before we deal with each case on the calendar today, I'm going to talk to you about our court procedures so that you have at least some idea of what to expect today and in the future.
The court clerk provided you with our arraignment information sheet.
An arraignment is generally your first appearance in court on a citation or complaint Whereupon you will be asked by a judge to enter your plea.
The judge or prosecuting attorney will read the citation or complaint to you Only thou art holy There is none beside thee - the judge will inform you - Perfect in power In earth and sky and sea Holy, holy, holy Merciful and mighty God in three persons Blessed trinity Mr.
Nix.
Mr.
Nix.
I'm going to read the items you've been charged with.
Mr.
Nix, do you understand what I'm saying? You are charged with first-degree felony murder with the use of a firearm, causing death or great bodily injury, enhancement with special circumstances.
You are also charged with violations of the penal code, Sections 212.
5, Subdmsion "A" First-degree robbery, 206 torture, 261 rape, and 289 penetration with an instrument.
I'm going to appoint the public defender to represent you and enter pleas of not guilty.
Bail is denied, and you are remanded to the custody of the sheriff.
Give me your hand.
Press down.
Your son is being processed at the county juvenile hall pending court proceedings.
- Tony's potentially facing a real serious situation.
- Now to your left.
- Back of the line.
- Come on, little bitch.
If he's directly connected to the crime, he's gonna be charged with murder.
This is a pretty brutal act.
I would expect that they would try him as an adult.
Bitch! That's if he is connected to the crime.
If not, then it's wide open.
He can be incarcerated as a juvenile offender on a lesser charge.
He could just get probation.
What do What do I have to do to get my son out of here? What do I What do I do? The juvenile system is not the same as the adult system.
But what do I have to do, okay? What about bail? Can we get bail? - There's no bail.
- We should be able to get bail.
There is no bail.
Tony will be assigned a probation-intake officer to investigate all the circumstances - relating to the charges.
- Charges for what? - He didn't do anything.
- He made voluntary statements.
But the police lied to me.
They didn't tell me why they wanted to talk to Tony.
The detective asked you if he could question Tony.
- You gave him permission.
- Yeah.
Why didn't you tell Tony to ask for a lawyer? The second he asks for a lawyer, everything stops.
- I didn't know.
- You run a business.
How can you run a business and not know how lawyers work? Up.
Let's go.
- Got a hold on that.
- Move.
Come on.
Hey, man! What's up, boys? Damn! Look what we got here, Wes.
What the hell is this? Who the hell are you? What's your name, bitch? It's Tony.
It's what? Did you just say "bitch"? Are you kidding me? I said Tony.
That's a messed-up name.
Did your mama name you that? Is your mama a bitch? D-don't look at him.
I'm talking to you.
Is your mama a bitch? You named after your mama? Hey, man, chill out.
We just playing.
Grab your bunk.
We're just having fun.
Naw, bitch.
That's my bunk.
That's your bunk.
Wes, get up out of his bunk.
Yeah, bitch can come make me get up.
Damn, girl! You gonna let him talk to you like that? Come on, bitch.
Go all "Machete Kills" on that white boy.
Am I gonna see a doctor or what? You hear me? Huh? Am I seeing a damn doctor or what? You can't hear me or what? Scott.
So, after work on Friday, Matt's like, "come on out and get a beer.
" And getting beers on Friday, that's, uh that's what me and him did Friday before that, Friday before that.
So I figured, "what's - what's the big deal?" You know, one Friday we don't go for beers.
And then I come in work Monday morning, and I find out he's dead, and and Gwen's I'm sorry as hell, Mr.
Skokie.
You know, you should know he was all about you.
He was always like, "Sunday, man.
Got to get on the phone with my dad on Sunday.
" How was Matt? Was he getting along? - He was.
- He was getting along okay.
No no problems? Everybody's got problems.
Yeah, did he ever Did he ever talk about when he was growing up? He, uh he told me that you ran off or something, and that it was mainly just him and his mom and brother.
Yeah, well, you know, I-I put them through a lot, you know? And when I was coming out of it, when I was getting through my problems, uh, the only thing I had were those phone calls with Matt and his brother.
And, you know And it was a year of trying.
Year of trying before Matt would even, um, you know, even respond to me, and then, you know, I don't know how long before he'd even You know, he'd really talk to me.
Having having some kind of a relationship with them, that's what saved me.
And I mean that how I say it.
It saved me.
So, um you know, if there's anything that you can tell me about Matt It doesn't matter.
Whatever.
It doesn't It doesn't matter now.
I, uh Was Matt on drugs? D-did did he Did he deal drugs? - What? - Did I mean, 'cause No, but they're saying things about Matt.
They're saying things about him, and I need to know.
He had some grass around.
Everybody does.
So so, yeah, just a little - A little weed, and then some beers on Friday - Yeah? Like I said, but that doesn't make anybody a dealer.
Okay, s-s-so he just smoked a little marijuana? Is is that what you're saying? Look, your your son, he had a lot going on.
And I figure, you go to war, the crap you put up with So when you come back, you know All I know for sure is he really liked talking to you on Sunday, okay? And I am sorry for what you're going through.
So, I got to get back to work, man.
- Take care.
- Appreciate it.
Yeah.
After this, we're done? After this, you stop calling us all the time? I've called you twice, sir.
If I tell you something, you'll leave us alone? People just want to know how you feel.
My wife and I are thankful the police have made an arrest.
That's not gonna change what happened to our daughter and Matt.
But everything else, that's up That's up for the courts and the juries, and that's as it should be.
The only thing I ask for is that people pray for our daughter.
And respect our privacy.
We're done.
The the suspects were black and hispanic.
- Does that have any - We are done! I want to talk to you.
We want your testimony.
Screw that.
They're cutting me loose.
The judge gave you probation, and when you break it, you're gonna be right back here.
You're an addict and a punk.
When you get in trouble, you're gonna need help.
Why do you care? 'Cause your boy raped and killed.
He's going away.
You want me? Is that why you keep coming after me? I can look like a boy if you want.
I can let you call me Greg.
He didn't do it.
Why you have to say anything? Shut up.
No, you're the one couldn't keep your mouth shut.
Shut up, man.
Shut the hell up! You're a dumbass, you know that? You think you just ended up in here with me.
They put you here.
They want us to say something stupid.
I don't know how bad you got it, but if you want it worse, keep talking.
All I'm saying is what they already know, you a stupid meth head.
You got yourself screwed, not me.
I didn't say anything more than what I had to.
I don't snitch.
Not for nothing, I don't snitch.
So, come on.
I ain't playing.
I told you I ain't playing! Let's go! Come on! Where you at?! We need to start thinking about the future.
The only way to get through what's going on now is to think about what's next.
So, when Gwen's released, um she's going to need help.
She's going to need therapy, and she's going to need to be near us.
But we want her to be near Matt, too.
We'd like Matt to be buried close.
Where? In Oakland.
It's where we're all from.
It's where they met.
They lived here in Modesto.
Would you really want to come back here to visit his grave after this? Hey, Dad.
How's it going? When Gwen is better, we never want to see this city again.
Now, w-with the exception of Russ, Oakland, it's close to us all.
It j It just makes sense.
Maybe we should wait and see how Gwen progresses.
She's going to be fine.
So, we need to start planning now.
We are just asking you to consider it.
- Mm-hmm.
- Just consider it.
Mm-hmm.
It would have been good for you to have been at the arraignment.
We were with Gwen.
We were at prayer services.
We were praying for our daughter's recovery.
It's the kind of thing people notice Relatives of the victims not being in court.
It was an arraignment.
- It wasn't the trial.
- Tom.
There are gonna be these various hearings and things, and if we're not there, people will notice.
You talk about doing things together, taking care of our children.
But honest to God, you could pray anywhere.
You want to support our children, do it by being in the courtroom.
Russ, thanks for your time.
Eve, I think we're finished.
Just think about it.
Yes.
Is burying Matt in Oakland I mean, is that something you would even No.
It's where we're from.
It's everything I had to get Matt and Mark away from.
Uh, th-then where? I will take Matt with me, get him a plot in Simi Valley.
And you get to decide that? Yes.
- We need to talk.
- No.
No, we don't.
Uh, we we need to talk about Matt.
I mean, Matt was having problems.
Matt was having problems, and he was doing things he probably sh They found drugs in his house.
Who found drugs? Lots of them.
A lot more than he could have possibly used himself.
Who found drugs? I talked to, uh, Detective Thompson.
It's not true.
- I don't know.
I mean - You don't know what? How would you know anything about Matt? Uh, well, I talked to one of his friends.
Why would you spread lies to people? I didn't spread Do you even know his friends? What do you think you know about Matt? I And you know everything about Matt because you called up one of his friends out of an address book? Did you know about any drugs? Go back to Arizona.
You can't see him.
Why not? Your name got kicked back.
You're a felon.
I-I'm not a felon.
I'm on probation.
You're on felony probation.
You're a felon until you complete probation.
No prison visitations.
How am I supposed to see him? I don't know.
You don't know or you don't give a? Yeah, that's what I mean.
I want I want I want I want to see him.
You want to get arrested? You can leave or you can get arrested.
Which do you want? You got to be Did any of the boys make physical contact with you in any way? No.
In any way were you assaulted or molested? They said I was a bitch.
They said that was my name.
They kept telling me to move to a different bunk.
Okay.
I'm gonna make an official notation regarding the wards, and I'll make sure that the floor officers are aware of the problem.
But if they're not making physical contact with you, there's not much I can do.
Move me to a different place.
Unit housing is the most secure environment that we can provide for you.
Now, all the units have an intercom that rings directly to the watch desk.
Every unit has a night light.
I don't need night lights! Not that you need I-I'm not a baby! I just want to go home! Tony.
After you speak to your probation-intake officer Tony.
After you speak to your P.
I.
O.
, then we'll have a better idea of what's going to happen next.
All right? All right? Okay.
Can I go? Yeah.
How come you didn't answer your phone? - Didn't you see it was me calling? - I saw.
Well, you answer your phone when I call you.
- Yeah, whatever.
- What did you say? Hey! Hey, I'm talking to you! Don't walk away.
Did you tell Tony to say all those things to the police? Mija, that was not my fault.
They lied to me.
You keep blaming them.
Why would you let Tony tell them anything if you didn't know what they were talking about? Mija, I didn't let him do anything.
You were sitting right there.
You trust them more than you trust Tony? You're like a sellout.
Are you out of your mind talking to me like that? - Huh? - You're just like them.
You see someone brown with a hoodie, they're a thug.
You need to stop running your mouth right now.
You see someone with tattoos, they're a cholo.
You're not gonna stand here and tell me about me! You wish you were white! You do.
You wish you were white so they would like you better.
You hate yourself and you hate us for looking like you.
Naw, get out.
You need to get the hell out.
- Yeah, out and go where? - Yeah, not my problem.
- You bring the police around? - Are you kidding me? I paid for this place.
We paid for this place.
I'm telling you right now, get your crap and go! - You can't just kick me out! - Yes, I can! - We're not leaving! I am not! - I'm gonna throw your ass Look, we are in a hard place right now.
And we need help with all this.
Well, sure.
I mean, anything I can do to help.
Need help with Barb.
Mm-hmm.
Now, I know that she doesn't want Matt buried close to us.
Oh, no, no.
Yes, she thinks that Eve and I are a pair of zealots who were out to brainwash your child.
Uh, well, no, no.
I mean, I-it's not about that.
I made thing Things were really bad for her in Oakland, and she can't go back to that part, see? - So, anyplace else - You have a say in this.
If there's maybe another place, I could maybe talk to her.
How you feel matters.
- Well - It matters.
- Were Matt and Gwen happy together? - Yes.
Please don't just say what you think you're supposed to say.
I'm really asking.
Well, I I know Gwen, and I know Matt.
Look, I-I read that garbage that Barb was saying in the papers about them being a perfect couple.
Well, t-they weren't perfect.
Nobody is.
But they were real.
Mm.
Our kids were real, and they deserve to be near one another.
Now, you have just as much a claim on your son's body as Barb does.
So, please, for him, for his wife, for his family, do what is right, what is decent.
Now, you fight her however you have to fight her, but do what's right.
Can we count on you? Excuse me, Mrs.
Skokie.
It's, uh, Hanlon.
Chris Thompson.
I got a message you wanted to speak with me.
Yes.
I'm sure you talked to your husband about the situation we have regarding your son.
We recovered drugs from your son's house A good quantity.
So, obviously, we have questions about that.
If there's anything that you can tell us about your son's activities, anything that you're personally aware of you want me to do what? - If you have any information regarding your so - Y-you want you want You want me to help you lie about my son? Where is the other one? Excuse me? Where's, uh Palmer? Where is he? Excuse me? Could you, uh hi.
I'm looking for Detective Palmer.
Hey, I'm looking for a detective.
Have you seen Detective Palmer? - Ah.
Detective Palmer.
- He's not here.
Detective Palmer isn't here.
- You know, I'm not stupid.
- If you want to talk to somebody, - you have to deal with me.
- I'm not stupid.
I know what you're doing.
Blame my son, blame the victim, make it his fault so so you don't look bad.
- Those people shot my son.
- "Those people"? Yes, they shot my son, and they raped my daughter-in-law.
And if you keep spreading your lies, there is going to be a problem.
- Okay.
- Okay.
- Okay.
- Ma'am, at this point, what we know is that on your son's property You know what? We recovered a large quantity - of crystallized - You.
Face me it's easy in my memory hold me I remember you face me it's easy in my memory hold me I remember hold me I remember Various charges you're facing in the county Transporting stolen property, accessory after the fact They're being set aside.
So, what does that mean? I get to walk? Local charges are secondary.
A warrant's come up for you.
From Sinaloa.
In Mexico.
I know where Sinaloa's at.
It's for murder.
You know about that? No, I know - You know anything about that? - I know that.
I know it's some bull Okay, well, there's a warrant, and we're gonna extradite you.
What about all this mess up here? I'm a witness, right? They already have your statement.
You got to do something to fight that.
I can't.
What do you mean you can't? You're a lawyer.
Extradition is federal, you understand? You're wanted for murder.
They're sending you back.
¿Que es habla en español o inglés? - English is cool.
- Okay.
They explain to you what we're doing? They said you're gonna talk to me.
I'll be your probation-intake officer.
I'm gonna interview you as part of the, uh, investigation concerning the circumstances of your case.
Based on the investigation, we're gonna make certain recommendations.
You're gonna put me in jail.
We're gonna do what's best under the circumstances, Tony.
And what's that mean? Let's just talk about the situation, okay? Now, the car that you lent Hector Tontz, did you know what he was using it for? No.
But you suspected he was in a gang.
You told the police you thought he was in a gang.
So, what did you think he was doing with the car? Tony This may be your only chance to speak up for yourself.
That's what they told me before.
And they put me in here.
Look, I don't know what they told you before, but I'm telling you now you need to speak up for yourself, okay? Now, you knew that Hector was doing something illegal.
I didn't know somebody got killed.
But you also never told anyone about Hector.
You didn't tell your father.
- I couldn't tell him.
- And why not? 'Cause everything everything we do You and your sister? You got to work harder.
You got to try harder.
He's a parent, Tony.
That's what parents do.
He's just trying to encourage you.
It's not about being better, it's about being better than them.
He's always telling you, "you're just gonna be a Mexican to them.
" That "if you do drugs, if if you get in trouble, "you're just gonna be a Mexican.
You're just gonna be a Mexican.
" So, how am I supposed to tell him about this? He's gonna find out sooner or later.
You didn't care? I cared.
But Kind of made me happy, you know? happy that I was doing something that'll piss him off.
This phone's just for business.
We don't It's just a collect call.
- It's not gonna cost you anything.
- It's company policy.
I just need to use the phone.
Even if it's a collect call, I I-I just need to use the phone, please.
- It's a collect call.
I don't really - Hello? I have a collect call from Aubry Taylor.
- Will you - Aubry? - Will you accept the charges? - Where's she calling from? Just say yes.
Say yes.
I need you to accept the charges.
I'll take the charges.
- Go ahead with the call.
- It's company policy.
Please.
- Where are you? - I need money.
- Where are you? - I need money.
If I wire you money, you're just gonna buy drugs.
Look, I can get drugs.
I need money.
- Where are you? - Modesto.
I'm in California.
God.
God, how long have you been I'm kind of in trouble, and if I get in trouble again, they're gonna send me to jail.
I need the money.
If I send you money, will you stay there? Will you call and tell me where you are? I'm not doing this again, understand? I'm not doing it.
I'll call.
How much money do you need? A lot.
You're gonna be fine.
You're strong.
You just hang in there, honey, okay? You hang in there.
We're still not sure how the other two individuals are involved, but we're working on it.
How do you know what you're telling me is true? I'm not telling you this.
The evidence that we got back is telling us this.
Samples were sent out to a lab Oh, labs don't make mistakes.
Would you like me to explain things to your wife? And what exactly are you gonna explain? You don't even know what you're telling me.
What are you gonna tell her? You okay? What's going on? Taylor.
Three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, $2,000.
Thank you.
I need a room.
Hello? I'm at the Ceres Court hotel.
You gonna stay Hey.
Hey! Come here.
Where are you going? Uh, going inside.
No, you're not.
- I have to.
I have to see - The house is sealed.
- You're not going inside.
- It's it's my son's house.
- Your son? - Mm-hmm.
- What's your name? - It's Russ Skokie.
- Is your name on the lease? - Uh, no.
Then you're not going inside unless you get a court order.
- No, but it's It's my son's house.
- I understand that.
- W-why would I need permission to get - I under I understand that it belongs to - Into my own son's house? - I understand that it belongs to your son.
- Why would I possibly need It's my own son - But you you don't own - Sir! - Five minutes.
- Sir, listen to me.
- Only five minutes.
So, my conversation with the police detective Gwen's rape kit came back from being tested.
Came back negative for any evidence that She wasn't assaulted? It's negative.
She wasn't assaulted? It came back negative for any evidence that the man who shot Matt assaulted her.
But there is evidence that she had intercourse with somebody else.
I don't understand.
- She was raped.
- No.
No, they don't think it was rape anymore.
They think it was some kind of consensual sex.
- A kind? - Mm-hmm.
What kind? - What kind of sex do they confuse for rape? - But they're running other tests.
Okay? They're running other tests.
But the detective said they think that, um There was more than one man.
I can't talk about this.
- No, we need to know what happened.
- And do what? What changes? Russ was asking me questions about Matt and Gwen, - if they were all right.
- Leave that family out of it.
- If they were happy.
- All of them.
They're damaged.
I don't want to hear about any of it.
So, please.
Please just leave it, okay? Something happened with our daughter.
She's holding on to her life.
That's what's happening.
And you want to talk about whether she was raped, - whether she wasn't raped.
- Yes, I do.
Why? What difference does it make? - Because that is not the child that I raised.
- Don't do it! Don't do it to her! Don't! Oh, my God.
The very thought of her with with other men, - just makes me sick to my stomach.
- Give me your phone.
- What? - Give it to me.
- Why? - Give me your phone! I want it.
Give it Get Give it to me.
That's her.
That's our daughter.
Daddy.
That's her.
Look.
Look at her.
That's all you need to know.
That's all.
While she's laying there That's how you remember her.
So, I heard about your son and his wife on the news.
You should know that I'm a survivor, too.
When I tell you that I know what you're going through, I mean it.
I've been there.
I reached out to you to your organization because I need help.
And that's not easy for me to ask.
Everything I've done for m-my boys I-I-I've done everything on my own.
You're not letting anyone down by asking for help.
What you're facing is complicated.
As the survivor of a victim, there are rights you're entitled to.
On your website, I read that you will advocate in the court If you haven't been properly informed about any aspect of the legal proceedings, - if you've been denied an impact statement - No, I need something else.
I need Look, I'm gonna say what I'm gonna say, and you can react however you If you had three whites who went into a black's house and murdered him, raped his wife, you would have all these black leaders on Anderson Cooper talking about how it's a hate crime and how there ought to be some special treatment.
But But it happens to my son and his wife? Who's out there for them? I mean, nobody.
Because You know, hate crimes can't happen to white people.
- That's not true.
- They're blaming my son.
They're trying to blame my son.
I'm - I'm tired.
- Mm-hmm.
I'm I'm tired.
You you need to know what's ahead of you.
It's gonna be slow, long.
Might be a year, maybe even more than a year before the case even goes to trial.
The other side will do anything, say anything about your son, you, your family to walk away from what they did.
You need to advocate every day, all the time.
But you also need to decide what you can put yourself through.
Can you handle it? It's not about me.
All this is about my son.
I need help.
I need people with me.
But whatever I have to do, however I have to do it, there is nothing I won't do for my child.