Shark s02e08 Episode Script
In The Crosshairs
Jeremy.
Boys, stop fighting! third row, find a couple of honeys, plus the backstage passes Skipping out on breakfast, are we? I've got a really big English exam, and I'm just gonna go meet my study group.
Would that be the same exam that you took last Friday? You're not really giving me much choice, Dad.
So you lying to my face is now somehow my fault? I thought we all agreed that you and Trevor were going to cool things down.
You and Mom agreed.
Jules Look, Trevor feels really badly about what happened last week, okay? But how can he prove himself to you if you won't even give him a chance? Well, for starters,he could try laying off the sauce before 10:00 a.
m.
- And you wonder why I lie to you.
- Look, I'm your father.
I'm allowed to be worried about you.
I'm fine.
Trevor Is out of control.
You may not be able to see that, but I can, and it scares the living hell out of me.
Now, when your mother gets back from New York we are all sitting down and we are talking about this.
There's nothing to talk about.
Victim is a male, 35 to 40.
C-spine is on.
He's been intubated on scene and we're covering Code Three, over.
Well, someone's insurance premiums are gonna go up.
Victim's name is Malcolm Gavin, podiatrist from Hidden Hills.
There's a lead foot joke there somewhere, but I'll let it go.
You got the lead part right; single shot, the bullet missed him, but he lost control of the car.
They had to cut him out, huh? Is he gonna make it? Eh, he's got collapsed lungs, broken bones, but he'll pull through.
What about witnesses, other motorists? I just spoke to the lead detective Nothing on canvass.
Have him recanvass.
Draft CHP if necessary.
I want all available resources on this.
Isaac, what have you got? Crime Lab just pulled a slug out of the driver's side door.
30 caliber.
Long-range ordnance.
Whoever did this was not playing around.
Okay, I want this run out of HPCU.
No one uses the word "sniper" to the media without talking to me first.
Nothing screws up traffic like a freeway shooter.
All right, so where are we? Hey, guys, listen to this.
My boy who covers the gang beat in the OCU says that today's shooting happened near Sixth Street Posse turf.
I prosecuted one of those guys for murder-- very scary.
And random shootings are consistent with gang initiations Sixth Street was running last year.
There was a major accident on the I-10 yesterday.
The driver's name was Ellis Warner.
Now, his car veered into the next lane.
He flipped over and it was totaled.
He's touch and go at Cedars.
And this is relevant how? Well, it's relevant because investigators at the CHP tow yard just pulled a bullet from his dashboard.
It's .
30 caliber.
All right, check the slug against the one they pulled from this morning's car.
Ballistics is already on it.
If this is a serial sniper, this thing is gonna heat up fast.
Isaac, Danny, hook up with the LAPD gang unit.
Find me a member of the Posse who's willing to talk.
Madeleine, you're on hospital detail.
Keep tabs on this Ellis Warner.
There's a chance he saw something.
If he pulls through, we need a statement.
Rain call the lab.
I want full workups of both crime scenes now.
Two crime scenes, same caliber bullet, Mr.
Mayor.
So both shots came from the same gun? I had the lab triple-check.
What are we telling the press? You're not telling them anything.
I'm telling them the shootings are under investation and that a statement will be issued shortly.
- Nice job housebreaking.
- It's your dog.
If there's a freeway sniper out there, I have to disclose that to the public so they can take steps to protect themselves.
Disclose what?! We don't even know what we're dealing with yet, Manny! Two shootings in two days? Same gun? Am I missing something? Divulging information prematurely will lead to panic, it will compromise our investigation and tip our hand to the shooter! Leo? I have to agree.
Initial stages in something like this, close to the vest is best.
If someone gets shot while the lid is on, I'll get crucified.
You go public now, he's gonna change up his MO, and then you can start stocking up body bags.
You've got one day.
End of business tomorrow, I'm issuing a public statement.
At least he gave us some rope.
Just enough to hang ourselves.
You have any idea how we can catch this nut job in 24 hours? No clue.
All right.
Well, if you need me, I'll be working from home.
Ellis promised to take her to Magic Mountain this weekend.
She loves roller coasters.
Lindy, sweetie, Flora's gonna get you some breakfast while Mommy talks to our new friend, okay? She's beautiful.
How could this happen? Was your husband having problems with anyone? Ellis is an insurance adjuster.
Every time he denies a claim, he makes an enemy.
Was there anything specific? Threats, arguments, phone calls? Not that I know of.
We had an argument before he left the house.
It was stupid.
I didn't want to go to his mother's for Christmas.
We're gonna do everything we can to find out who did this.
The only thing I care about is getting Ellis back.
I have to get him back.
These are graphic reconstructions of the two crime scenes.
Can you tell where the bullets came from? It's pretty tough.
Passenger windows are tempered, they shatter on impact, meaning there are no bullet holes to analyze.
But I can calculate trajectory based upon angle of impact with the car.
Add in wind resistance and surrounding topography.
So this guy was sitting on an overpass? Roughly 500 yards away.
Did crime Lab recover any casings? No, and there's no cover at either location, so if he was on foot, somebody would have spotted him.
He was shooting from a car.
Put out an APB on any suspicious vehicles sitting on an overpass.
- Keep it off the wire.
- We've got a leak.
Would you turn to KKJH, please? A confidential source of KKJH has confirmed that today's crash on the 405 southbound, just past the Skirball Center, was caused by a sniper.
And it is related to another freeway shooting on the 110 yesterday that critically injured a Cerritos man.
- Now the LA County Sheriff's Department - Sebastian - it's Jessica.
- has refused comment, You're not gonna like this.
but we will bring you updates on the freeway sniper.
Well, my people sure as hell didn't leak it.
You can't know that.
You went public with it to cover your ass.
Maybe it was the shooter.
These guys live for attention.
Not this guy.
We've gotten no threats, no public statements.
I don't know what to tell you.
Maybe you've got a Deep Throat.
Or maybe I'm looking at him.
We go back a long ways, Sebastian, but don't you forget who you're talking to.
I know exactly who I'm talking to.
So the police gang unit tells us you're looking at a third strike, Louis.
Life in prison for a concealed weapon.
But he had no rit to search me-- I wasn't doing nothing.
Yeah, that would be a first.
I was just standing there, and I get jammed? It ain't right! Yet here you are staring at a life sentence.
Look, buddy, you go down on this, you're done.
But you can still walk away.
You see, all we want is just a little information.
You won't even have to testify.
It's gonna come back to me anyway.
So would you rather die in prison? People are getting shot on the freeway and the Sixth Street Posse looks good for it.
Now, I'm gonna ask you for the last time.
Who in your gang has been running initiations? You had your chance.
Look, all right, wait.
The concealed weapon thing goes away, right? Talk.
The guy you want is Kelvin Barlow.
Kelvin Barlow, Sixth Street Posse OG.
You earn your colors in this crew by shooting someone.
Right.
What else? Word is he's also selling guns.
You hit the daily double.
Get a warrant and search his place.
There's a small matter of probably cause.
We don't have it.
You base your affidavit on information provided by a reliable confidential informant.
- Louis Beeman is not reliable.
- He is now.
Yeah, well, there's one other thing.
That news report about the sniper flushed out a few witnesses.
I overheard this man talking about shooting someone on the highway.
So I went to the window Blue Dodge pickup, tinted windows, must have been doing a hundred.
These aren't random acts of violence.
This is a coordinated conspiracy.
None of us are safe.
If I could get some coffee and maybe a sandwich it might jog my memory.
Driver was Hispanic, or Indian, and a female.
She took the Brand Boulevard exit.
I don't want to scare you, but federal agents are watching us right now.
Freeze! Keep your hands where I can see them! Move, move, move! Kelvin Barlow.
What the hell? You ain't got no right to be here.
This warrant gives us a right.
Hey, that's some pretty heavy artillery, Kelvin.
Expecting trouble? Those not mine.
What are you catching up on your current events? You like shooting people, Kelvin? You know I ain't do nothing.
No? Well you better hope not because now we're gunning for you Rush Hour traffic is unusually light this morning.
It looks like drivers are switching to surface streets or just staying home as the hunt continues for the freeway sniper.
Keep your dial right here for traffic updates and breaking news on the sniper.
This is JetCopter One reporting live.
Mother of twoshot in the face on Hillhurst last October.
High school junior gunned down on Rampart Easter weekend.
What's that got to do with me? That's the way the newbies make their bones in your crew, Kelvin.
The boys who did that got put away.
Yeah, and they all answer to you.
They in jail, not me.
Listen, tough guy, the bullets used in the sniper shooting were consistent with the weapons you're moving.
We're running ballistics on your little arsenal.
Whatever.
If anything comes back on those rifles, it's called "lying in wait.
" That means "dying in jail.
" Nothing's coming back because I ain't do nothing.
I told you I was in Long Beach the whole weekend.
Something tells me a jury is not really going to buy that.
Look at me, Kelvin.
Hey! Scenario one,you or one of your crew is using the interstate for target practice.
If that's the case, we're going to see to it that you rot in prison.
Scenario two, one of your customers went on a little shooting spree.
You give us names right now or we hang those shootings on you.
I do that, then the target's on myback.
You put it there yourself, pal.
You ain't got nothing on me but a damn weapons charge.
- I'll be out in 18 months.
- Let's see, perjury, obstruction of justice, racketeering, attempted murder.
No way you make that stick.
You don't know us very well, do you? I need a pen.
Barlow's got solid alibis for the shootings, and all his weapons clear ballistics.
All right, so he's not our gunman.
But we're checking his list of buyers.
At least those he can remember.
The guy's not much of a bookkeeper.
LASD is running down leads from the hotline we set up.
I got a joint press conference with the mayor in 20 minutes, and I have no idea what to say.
Do that thing where you talk and don't say anything.
That's been working great for you.
If we don't find the shooter soon, Delgado's going to hang us out to dry, and it'll be all of our asses on the line! My team's been working around the clock.
We got every angle covered.
It's just a matter of time before we catch a break.
Meanwhile, it's DefCon Five.
Drivers are in a panic.
Surface streets are backed up.
We're wall-to-wall on CNN.
We'll find him.
Stark.
Yeah.
Good.
Good.
Keep me posted.
Okay, LASD just got an anonymous tip.
A rented black SUV with tinted windows on the 110.
Caller says the guy has a rifle.
Did they pull him over? Low-speed chase.
They just turned onto Hawthorne.
Isaac's on the Westside.
Good.
Have him and Danny be there when the cops take that car.
Do this by the book.
No mistakes.
Show me your hands! Don't shoot! Please! Don't shoot me! Get out of the car.
I'm just in town for the Lakers game.
All right, I'll pay the child support as soon as I get the money, I swear.
Tell my wife I'll get her the money, I swear.
What the hell? There's no gun.
We just nailed ourselves a deadbeat dad.
Yeah.
It's Reyes.
Got it.
There's been another shooting on the 101, near downtown.
Okay, thank you.
Victim's a personal trainer from Valencia named Cory Milton.
- He's already at the hospital.
- You're telling me he lived? Yeah, seat belts and air bags.
Guy's in pretty bad shape, but he's going to make it.
Three shots, three survivors.
Sooner or later, our luck's going to run out.
If we're going to be exercising this early in the morning, you mind if we try a yoga class? Look, sweetheart,I don't think they make leotards in my size.
Muffler.
This sniper thing starting to get to you? Yoga's starting to sound better and better.
Boyd.
Ah, thank you.
- Mr.
Boyd? - Yes? I'm Sebastian Stark, Julie's dad.
Your secretary said you might be down here.
Yes, please.
I gather this is about my son.
My daughter would kill me if she knew I'd come here.
Well, there's not much chance of that.
My wife and I haven't spoken to Trevor in two weeks.
You know, I don't want to interfere, but I think your son is in trouble.
Tell me something I don't know.
My problem is Julie's in love with him.
She's a wonderful girl.
Your son has a drinking problem.
It's drugs, too.
It started when he was 14.
He hung out with his older brothers.
He's been to doctors, counselors, rehab Look, I'm really sorry, and I hope he gets his life turned around, but until he does, he's a danger to himself and to Julie.
I wish that there was something I could do.
You're his father.
I've tried being his father, I've tried being his friend.
I've given him things, I've taken things away.
Do you know what it's like to find your child passed out in a public bathroom, too messed up to recognize you? If your daughter is smart, she'll walk away.
Just like you and your wife.
Just pray you're never in our shoes.
So? Cops grilled our third victim, Cory Milton,he doesn't know a thing.
All right, this is getting old.
What about the victims? Any connections? Nothing yet.
I need you guys to give me something.
What we need is for this psycho to make a mistake.
We may be in luck.
That bogus tip that put us on that deadbeat dad came back to a pay phone on Normandie.
Now, LASD says there have been 11 calls to the hotline from three pay phones in that area since the shootings started.
That hotline gets hundreds of calls.
Yeah, that's right, all of which are recorded.
Voice analysis proves that nine of the 11 calls are from the same guy.
He's creating diversions to throw us off his trail.
All right, you and Danny, go grab our gun dealer,Kelvin Barlow, tell him to bring his client list.
I want us sitting on those phones next time our phantom shooter decides to give us a ring.
What is the deal with this man I could be somewhere We've been in here all day.
My legs are cramping up.
You're getting probation for being a cooperating witness, so shut up and cooperate.
That ain't him either.
We got a call into the hotline-- Crenshaw and Stocker.
Okay, I'll go through it again.
It was two men in a white pickup.
That dude bought a rifle from me.
You sure? Damn straight.
Ammo, too.
He's one of the tipsters who came into the HPCU.
- You got enough? - Take him.
It's a go, it's a go.
I didn't do anything Danny.
30 caliber shells.
Looks like we got a winner.
Sam Purcell, 32, from Torrance.
High school dropout, unemployed.
Folks must be proud.
Ten years in the Army, tank maintenance division, topped out at corporal.
- So much for being all you can be.
- I was a very good soldier.
Then why were all your requests to be posted to Iraq denied? I was told I was more valuable stateside.
Uh-huh.
After your discharge, you moved to Basra, spent three years driving a food supply truck for government contract.
Ten years of duty, the closest you get to combat is meat loaf? I was helping our troops.
I'm proud of my service.
Well, according to your boss in Basra, you were a malcontent, pissed off that you coul't get into the real war.
So pissed off that you came home three months ago, bought yourself a rifle, and started a little war of your own.
You don't know anything about me.
The Army does.
According to your psych evaluation, you exhibit narcissistic personality disorder and anger management issues.
In lay terms, you're a few fries short of a Happy Meal.
Of course, we could be wrong.
You could have a perfectly good explanation for phoning in false leads.
I was just trying to help the police.
Is that a crime? It is if you're the shooter.
I'm not.
You're making a mistake.
We're trying to help you here, Sam.
You plead guilty right now to three counts of attempted murder, and I'll stipulate to mental instability.
- You will get a fair deal.
- You're not listening to me.
This is your last chance to help yourself here.
Listen to me, damn it! Listen to me, damn it! I guess that anger management thing is still a problem, huh? Anyone would be angry if they were falsely accused of trying to kill people.
You are a life sentence waiting to happen, my friend, and we are offering you a chance to get out in 20 years.
It's the last chance you're going to get.
I want a lawyer.
If I were you, I'd get a really good one.
All right,what about the people in Purcell's army unit? I talked to a few of them they said he was a loner, but no one thought he was dangerous.
Well, like Sebastian said, maybe the guy just snapped.
Yeah,"just snapped"doesn't exactly give us an ironclad motive for the jury.
Well, we do have 500 rounds of ammunition.
Yeah, and no gun.
People, we need more.
Which is why Sebastian wanted to plead the guy out.
And why Purcell didn't take the bait.
The guy's crazy, he's not stupid.
I just got off the phone with Purcell's wife.
She's agreed to talk to us.
All right, you and Madeleine get over there.
She's our best shot at getting inside this guy's head.
I never wanted Sam to go to Iraq.
I wanted him to get his diploma, maybe open his own garage.
Leslie,how often were you two in touch when he was away? We e-mailed every day at first.
Then it was the occasional phone call, fewer as time went by.
Guess he got tired of me asking when he was coming home.
Did you notice any changes in Sam when he got back? He was distant, moody.
He'd disappear for days, not say where he was going.
I'd come home from my teaching job and he'd be gone.
So you never had any idea that That my husband was capable of shooting people? Of course not.
Leslie,we're not blaming you and we know how difficult this is.
Sam and I met in high school.
He was so sure of himself, but something happened along the way and you just keep hoping that somehow the person you fell in love with Maybe if I had been a better wife.
This is not your fault.
I just don't know what to do now.
We'd like you to talk to Sam.
And say what? This trial is going to be long and painful for the people he shot at, for you, and it's going to end with Sam dying in jail.
He can spare himself and everyone else a lot of grief if he pleads guilty.
I don't have any influence over Sam.
You have more than anyone else.
He's still your husband.
And I still love him, but I don't know how to reach him anymore.
Sam Purcell spent a lifetime dreaming of being a soldier.
But the Army didn't think he was fit for combat, or, quite frankly, much of anything else, and they let him know it by turning him into a mechanic, failing to promote him and denying his repeated please to get on a battlefield.
So, after a decade of frustration, Sam Purcell resigned his post and moved to Iraq to get near the action, which,in his case,meant delivering canned peaches for a private contractor.
And more frustration.
After three bitter years, he returned home a broken man, and what did he find? Unemployment, a wife that he'd grown estranged from.
Finally, Sam Purcell had reached his breaking point.
So what does he do? You know, he takes control of his life and decides to live out his fantasy.
If he can't kill the enemy, then he will kill innocent civilians.
He will pick them off on their way to work, driving their kids to school.
After all he's been through, everyone has become his enemy.
The facts in this case will show that the defendant had the motive and the opportunity to murder innocent people, but most importantly, he also had the rage, and because of that rage, an innocent man is fighting for his life and a city lives in fear.
You need to make him pay for that, and to stop his campaign of terror.
Sam Purcell was honorably discharged from the Army after ten years of spotless service.
He then put his life on the line by supporting our troops in the most dangerous place on earth.
His reward for being a patriot? He returns home and is accused of heinous crimes by a prosecutor so desperate to calm an anxious public, that he will slander an innocent man.
There is zero physical evidence linking Mr.
Purcell to these shootings.
No eyewitness.
No gun.
No proof.
The Freeway Sniper is still out there, and his latest victim is sitting in this very courtroom.
His name is Sam Purcell.
Word of another shooting just moments ago, Northbound 405 near Rosecrans, and minutes before that attack, KKJH received this anonymous threat.
"I am the Freeway Shooter.
" Sam Purcell is innocent.
"Let him go, or more people will die.
" Let me guess.
Judge's chambers, half an hour? My client, Sam Purcell, should be released immediately.
It's obvious this case should never have been brought.
You already lost that argument, Dan.
Even if your client didn't fire thisshot, it doesn't mean he didn't fire the others.
A second shooter with the exact same MO? That's a bit of a stretch, Mr.
Stark, and it weakens a case that barely met the State's burden to begin with.
You want an offer of proof, Your Honor? A white male matching Purcell's description in an SUV identical to the one he owns is seen fleeing a crime scene, and, the defendant has no alibi for any of the shootings.
He's not obligated to have one.
His client bought a sniper rifle.
According to a gangbanger you rolled.
Purcell placed bogus phone calls to the sniper hotline.
including one just prior to a shooting.
And there's the small matter of the hundreds of bullets found in his possession-- the same specialized ammo the shooter used.
Along with hundreds of recreational hunters across Los Angeles.
He's right, Mr.
Lauter.
Whether your client's responsible for the prior shootings is still a question for the jury to decide.
Then they should be given every fact to make that determination, Your Honor.
We request expedited discovery on the ballistics of the latest bullet.
I'm denying the motion to dismiss.
Thank you, Your Honor.
But the People will produce a certified ballistics report within 24 hours.
No problem.
And, Mr.
Stark, just because I'm not tossing this doesn't mean I won't direct a verdict if all you have is smoke and mirrors.
Thank you, sir.
Thank you, sir.
Talk about your narrow escapes.
We didn't escape anything, Sundance.
Lauter gets the ballistics.
Which we would have had to turn over anyway, right? Yeah, in a week or two, after I'd won over the jury.
Look, if o lousy luck holds, these ballistics are gonna match the previous shootings.
We'll be obligated to turn that over to the jury.
What do you think Lauter's gonna do with that information? Bury us alive? Yeah, got that right.
But Purcell's guilty.
Everything points to him.
Yeah, but listen, if we don't do something soon, he's gonna walk.
Okay? That second shooter may have taken out our entire case.
Is Sam Purcell innocent? Are you gonna release Sam Purcell? So you're telling me the same gun was used for all four shootings? Ballistics just came back.
Meaning you've got the wrong guy.
Meaning Purcell has an accomplice.
Either way, you're letting him go, right? You want to release a dangerous psychopath? You cut this bozo loose, there's a chance the shooting stops.
A chance in hell.
Purcell's our guy, Manny.
Straight up, Leo-- can you guys win this? You want us to predict how a jury will vote? Look, I give non-answers; I don't take them.
I will not cave to an anonymous threat and you are not gonna tell me how to do my job.
The fact is, you can't win this case, so there's no downside in releasing him, and if there's even a remote possibility that freeing Purcell will end this madness, there's only upside.
He's running scared.
You're running scared, and it's clouding your judgment.
I need the public to understand this administration is doing all it can to protect them.
We need a little more time.
You've had enough time.
I want Sam Purcell released today or I go public denouncing a renegade prosecutor and his boss.
Thanks for backing me with Manny.
For all the good it did.
Let's face it, he's the alpha dog.
- If he wants to hold our feet to the fire - I get it.
You can't protect me and I'm not asking.
You sticking around for this debacle? Yeah, I don't see that happening.
Ah the bad news brigade.
Okay, let's hear it.
The last victim was a retiree from Encino on her way to The Grove.
She got her window shot out, but she's okay.
And, before you ask, no connection to any of the other targets.
- Why am I not surprised? - Madeline called.
Ellis Warner just died.
Meaning our favorite sniper has just stepped up to murder.
Let me just say thank you for for coming down.
It's been a difficult experience and we're thrilled that justice was served.
I'd like to thank my wife, Leslie, for standing by me.
And we hope the real killer is brought to justice.
- Thank you.
- So now what? I don't know, but if we don't come up with something fast, I'm gonna shoot that son of a bitch myself.
Tensions are running high and the freeways are almost empty as polic lo thorities hope for a break in the Freeway Sniper case.
You're requesting a wiretap on Sam Purcell's phone? Our application establishes probable cause.
Your office dismissed charges against Mr.
Purcell.
You don't get two bites at the same apple.
This is a preventive measure.
That's sound legal reasoning in North Korea, not here.
We dropped the case for reasons relating to public safety,Your Honor, but Sam Purcell is a continuing threat.
And when that threat materializes, you can come back with new facts.
After someone else is dead.
We're done here, Mr.
Reyes.
Someone else gets shot, that's on you.
What did you just say? The warrant is narrow and noninvasive, Your Honor.
I suggest you withdraw your previous statement.
I wouldn't hold your breath on that.
Officer Phillips.
Escort Mr.
Reyes to lockup.
He's just earned himself a contempt citation.
You're a damn joke.
There was bleeding in his brain.
They said there was nothing else they could do.
I'm so sorry.
I was going through his stuff.
Looking for his insurance card.
Natalie? Receipts.
For a room at the Horizon Motel in Redondo this June.
Ellis was cheating on me.
You can't know that.
There's other explanations.
Like what? You and your husband loved each other and you have a beautiful child together.
You need to hold onto that.
Where the hell have you been? I called you hours ago.
Traffic was crazy.
Supposed to be funny? No, funny is a lawyer who mouths off to a judge and then acts surprised when he's locked up.
He denied a wiretap on a sniper, all right? And you spending the night in jail accomplished what? Here, too? Okay.
By the way, I think the words you're looking for are "thank you.
" You missed "thank you" by about ten hours.
You know, I really want to sign these release forms, but my hand is suddenly cramping up.
Come on.
Yeah, I think it must be those briefs I've been writing.
You've got to be kidding me? I think I'm going to have to come back in a few hours and finish this up.
Thank you.
And? And I'll write your next five briefs.
Ten briefs.
All right.
It's a pleasure doing business with you.
I'm just saying, what if the second shooter is the only shooter? Trust the evidence, okay? We've got the gun, the bullets, the car.
- Circumstantial.
- The phoned-in false leads, - the psychological backsto - Raina's right-- it is all circumstantial, all right? Plus, it's spilled milk.
We dropped charges, game over.
Maybe not.
You know what, Danny? If you're done getting locked up, start drafting an indictment.
We're charging Sam Purcell with the murder of Ellis Warner.
Uh, what about double jeopardy? Doesn't apply.
We dismissed a charge of attemptedmurder.
Premeditated murder is a different crime.
We still have the same problem.
There's a second shooter with the same gun still out there.
The jury is gonna be all over reasonable doubt.
Plus, there's the mayor's ultimatum.
You let me worry about Manny? Do you people watch the news? There's a widow out there who wants justice.
Sam Purcell is now a murderer, and I'm gonna haul his ass off the street.
Anyone got a problem with that? We're bringing murder charges against Sam Purcell.
Then you're gonna like this.
Natalie Warner told me she suspected her husband was cheating on her because she found receipts from a Redondo Beach hotel in his wallet.
I went to the hotel with a picture of Ellis Warner and the dates he checked in.
Now, they keep surveillance video for a year.
That's an image captured from May 12.
Look who Ellis is with.
Leslie Purcell?! - Our defendant's wife.
- Thank you, God.
So, we've got a love triangle.
Which gives us a little thing called motive.
For the first shooting, but how do we explain the others? I bet I could find someone who could shed some light on that subject.
You remember you said you didn't know any of the victims? You and Ellis Warner look pretty chummy here.
It's not what you think.
Ellis Warner died yesterday.
We're indicting you, Leslie, as a co-conspirator.
And here's what I'm gonna tell the jury: You and Ellis began your affair when your husband was in Iraq.
Sam gets home,finds out about it, goes Section Eight and shoots Ellis.
Sam would never do that.
Except your husband wasn't just a lousy soldier; he was also a lousy shot.
Ellis doesn't die, so Sam panics.
If Ellis wakes up, he knows the trail will lead to him.
So, he covers his tracks, begins shooting people at random to make it look like some crazy sniper's on the loose.
- No, it's not that like.
- You're guilt-stricken.
when Sam gets arrested.
You don't want him to go to jail.
So,You come up with a plan.
you decide to take a shot with the same gun and make it look like we're prosecutingthe wrong man.
How we doing so far? Four days after Sam was arrested, you visited him in prison.
Three hours later, there was a shooting.
Where were you? Your principal said you took the afternoon off, and the powder residue test we did on your VW just came back positive.
And here's the best part.
We looked into you.
When Sam joined the Army, you paid for college by enlisting as a reservist in the National Guard, which means you know your way around a rifle.
Please, you don't understand.
There is nothing left but the truth, Leslie.
Grab onto it while you can.
Or I'll argue that you acted in concert with your husband on every single shooting, and the jury will eat it up.
I was lonely.
I didn't think Sam was ever coming back.
Did you know about the shootings beforehand? No.
It's like you said-- I didn't know anything till I went to see Sam in prison and he told me what he did.
Tell me about you and Ellis Warner.
We met at a coffee shop.
It was casual.
I cut it off as soon as Sam wrote me he was coming home.
How did Sam find out about the affair? I forgot to sign off my e-mail.
He started going through my messages, found one from Ellis setting up a time for us to meet.
I know this doesn't mean much, but Sam wasn't trying to hurt anyone else.
I wasn't either.
But he's my husband, and I drove him to this.
Where's the gun? Listen to me.
You're not gonna walk away from your part in all of this, but if you testify against your husband I can't.
Sam loves me.
Sam didn't do any of this out of love.
He did it out of anger.
Sam is sick.
And you have to help us stop him before he hurts someone else.
I won't testify against my husband.
The only person who can tie Sam Purcell to Ellis Warner's killing is his wife, and she won't testify.
So, we indict her for murder-- squeeze her.
She has an alibi for Ellis' murder-- she was at work.
The judge won't let us compel her testimony anyway.
She has a legal right not to incriminate her husband.
Well, then we need to convince her that Sam's a dangerous psycho and not some brokenhearted husband.
You know what? I think I may have a way to do just that.
Oh, God.
Can you get your hands on Leslie's cell phone? It should be easy enough, she's still in lockup, clerk's got her personal effects.
Isaac, I want you to have a text message sent to her husband.
It should read as follows "I'm scared.
" "They just let me out, but I may have said too much.
" "The phone is not safe.
" "Meet me on the patio at Casa Ventura at 4:00.
" Okay, then get the manager, Raphael,on the horn and tell him Sebastian's calling in a favor.
You gonna bring us up to speed here? On the way.
Come on.
Why am I here? There's something you need to see.
Nothing you can do or say is going to make me betray my husband.
Hold that thought.
I told Sam you rated on him of the affair his plan for revenge the riffle He knows I would never do that You can be very convincing We send a text message from your cell phone telling him to meet you here You can't do that Sue us Bottom line Sam thinks he's meeting you here and you gotta tell him why you hung him out to dry He'd never believe that You got a fix on the subject? "You got him?" Got it Look your husband is not a bad guy He's sick That makes him dangerous I understand you love him But don't make me show you what he's capable of If you agree to testify No Have it your way Turn it on See that unsuspected mannequin That's you I have to go This is crazy Exactly Clear Oh! my God That's your husband Leslie Just give me a reason Put the dun down Put it down You're the only one who can stop him Keep your hands right there (reporting over radio) Suspect is in custody Do you see the man who admitted to you that he shot Ellis Warren sitting in this courtroom today Mrs Purcell Yes Excuse me Why don't you join us for a victory lap That's your moment too Well you two look like you got it covered Sebastian Stark ducks the press, say it ain't so You really think I wouldn't figure it out Leo? Figure what out? That you're the one who leaked the sniper investigation to the press I don't know what you're talking about A friend of mine over at KKJA told me their anonymous tip came from your office Yeah I don't know anything about that Right Actually what you did makes perfect sence To you, I'm Manny's boy, UNTOUCHABLE And you have always resented that I hold both of you in the highest regard So you leaked the story? You know I'm gonna blame Manny And while we're at each other's throats Hey you play the good guy And guess who's the only one that comes out ahead Ahh Leo Cuttler What a shock I don't suppose I can buy you a drink bury the hatchet No thanks I prefer to get drunk before I get screwed Hi Hey i have something to tell you and you are gonna like it Why am I not surprised I had a little talk with Trevor's Dad today You what? I just thought it was important we should meet Make sure we're all on the same page You went behind my back? This is unbelievable Even for me? I had to talk to him Jules Why? So you guys can all gang up on us? Look do you know that they closed his bank account? Thay wont even let him inside their house Did you ever think that maybe there is nothing else left for them to do They are his parents and they are just giving up on him You love Trevor you want him to be safe? Yeah Well that's the way I feel about you I know.
So I'll tell you what I'm gonna let you take care of Trevor If you will let me take care of you Deal ? Deal
Boys, stop fighting! third row, find a couple of honeys, plus the backstage passes Skipping out on breakfast, are we? I've got a really big English exam, and I'm just gonna go meet my study group.
Would that be the same exam that you took last Friday? You're not really giving me much choice, Dad.
So you lying to my face is now somehow my fault? I thought we all agreed that you and Trevor were going to cool things down.
You and Mom agreed.
Jules Look, Trevor feels really badly about what happened last week, okay? But how can he prove himself to you if you won't even give him a chance? Well, for starters,he could try laying off the sauce before 10:00 a.
m.
- And you wonder why I lie to you.
- Look, I'm your father.
I'm allowed to be worried about you.
I'm fine.
Trevor Is out of control.
You may not be able to see that, but I can, and it scares the living hell out of me.
Now, when your mother gets back from New York we are all sitting down and we are talking about this.
There's nothing to talk about.
Victim is a male, 35 to 40.
C-spine is on.
He's been intubated on scene and we're covering Code Three, over.
Well, someone's insurance premiums are gonna go up.
Victim's name is Malcolm Gavin, podiatrist from Hidden Hills.
There's a lead foot joke there somewhere, but I'll let it go.
You got the lead part right; single shot, the bullet missed him, but he lost control of the car.
They had to cut him out, huh? Is he gonna make it? Eh, he's got collapsed lungs, broken bones, but he'll pull through.
What about witnesses, other motorists? I just spoke to the lead detective Nothing on canvass.
Have him recanvass.
Draft CHP if necessary.
I want all available resources on this.
Isaac, what have you got? Crime Lab just pulled a slug out of the driver's side door.
30 caliber.
Long-range ordnance.
Whoever did this was not playing around.
Okay, I want this run out of HPCU.
No one uses the word "sniper" to the media without talking to me first.
Nothing screws up traffic like a freeway shooter.
All right, so where are we? Hey, guys, listen to this.
My boy who covers the gang beat in the OCU says that today's shooting happened near Sixth Street Posse turf.
I prosecuted one of those guys for murder-- very scary.
And random shootings are consistent with gang initiations Sixth Street was running last year.
There was a major accident on the I-10 yesterday.
The driver's name was Ellis Warner.
Now, his car veered into the next lane.
He flipped over and it was totaled.
He's touch and go at Cedars.
And this is relevant how? Well, it's relevant because investigators at the CHP tow yard just pulled a bullet from his dashboard.
It's .
30 caliber.
All right, check the slug against the one they pulled from this morning's car.
Ballistics is already on it.
If this is a serial sniper, this thing is gonna heat up fast.
Isaac, Danny, hook up with the LAPD gang unit.
Find me a member of the Posse who's willing to talk.
Madeleine, you're on hospital detail.
Keep tabs on this Ellis Warner.
There's a chance he saw something.
If he pulls through, we need a statement.
Rain call the lab.
I want full workups of both crime scenes now.
Two crime scenes, same caliber bullet, Mr.
Mayor.
So both shots came from the same gun? I had the lab triple-check.
What are we telling the press? You're not telling them anything.
I'm telling them the shootings are under investation and that a statement will be issued shortly.
- Nice job housebreaking.
- It's your dog.
If there's a freeway sniper out there, I have to disclose that to the public so they can take steps to protect themselves.
Disclose what?! We don't even know what we're dealing with yet, Manny! Two shootings in two days? Same gun? Am I missing something? Divulging information prematurely will lead to panic, it will compromise our investigation and tip our hand to the shooter! Leo? I have to agree.
Initial stages in something like this, close to the vest is best.
If someone gets shot while the lid is on, I'll get crucified.
You go public now, he's gonna change up his MO, and then you can start stocking up body bags.
You've got one day.
End of business tomorrow, I'm issuing a public statement.
At least he gave us some rope.
Just enough to hang ourselves.
You have any idea how we can catch this nut job in 24 hours? No clue.
All right.
Well, if you need me, I'll be working from home.
Ellis promised to take her to Magic Mountain this weekend.
She loves roller coasters.
Lindy, sweetie, Flora's gonna get you some breakfast while Mommy talks to our new friend, okay? She's beautiful.
How could this happen? Was your husband having problems with anyone? Ellis is an insurance adjuster.
Every time he denies a claim, he makes an enemy.
Was there anything specific? Threats, arguments, phone calls? Not that I know of.
We had an argument before he left the house.
It was stupid.
I didn't want to go to his mother's for Christmas.
We're gonna do everything we can to find out who did this.
The only thing I care about is getting Ellis back.
I have to get him back.
These are graphic reconstructions of the two crime scenes.
Can you tell where the bullets came from? It's pretty tough.
Passenger windows are tempered, they shatter on impact, meaning there are no bullet holes to analyze.
But I can calculate trajectory based upon angle of impact with the car.
Add in wind resistance and surrounding topography.
So this guy was sitting on an overpass? Roughly 500 yards away.
Did crime Lab recover any casings? No, and there's no cover at either location, so if he was on foot, somebody would have spotted him.
He was shooting from a car.
Put out an APB on any suspicious vehicles sitting on an overpass.
- Keep it off the wire.
- We've got a leak.
Would you turn to KKJH, please? A confidential source of KKJH has confirmed that today's crash on the 405 southbound, just past the Skirball Center, was caused by a sniper.
And it is related to another freeway shooting on the 110 yesterday that critically injured a Cerritos man.
- Now the LA County Sheriff's Department - Sebastian - it's Jessica.
- has refused comment, You're not gonna like this.
but we will bring you updates on the freeway sniper.
Well, my people sure as hell didn't leak it.
You can't know that.
You went public with it to cover your ass.
Maybe it was the shooter.
These guys live for attention.
Not this guy.
We've gotten no threats, no public statements.
I don't know what to tell you.
Maybe you've got a Deep Throat.
Or maybe I'm looking at him.
We go back a long ways, Sebastian, but don't you forget who you're talking to.
I know exactly who I'm talking to.
So the police gang unit tells us you're looking at a third strike, Louis.
Life in prison for a concealed weapon.
But he had no rit to search me-- I wasn't doing nothing.
Yeah, that would be a first.
I was just standing there, and I get jammed? It ain't right! Yet here you are staring at a life sentence.
Look, buddy, you go down on this, you're done.
But you can still walk away.
You see, all we want is just a little information.
You won't even have to testify.
It's gonna come back to me anyway.
So would you rather die in prison? People are getting shot on the freeway and the Sixth Street Posse looks good for it.
Now, I'm gonna ask you for the last time.
Who in your gang has been running initiations? You had your chance.
Look, all right, wait.
The concealed weapon thing goes away, right? Talk.
The guy you want is Kelvin Barlow.
Kelvin Barlow, Sixth Street Posse OG.
You earn your colors in this crew by shooting someone.
Right.
What else? Word is he's also selling guns.
You hit the daily double.
Get a warrant and search his place.
There's a small matter of probably cause.
We don't have it.
You base your affidavit on information provided by a reliable confidential informant.
- Louis Beeman is not reliable.
- He is now.
Yeah, well, there's one other thing.
That news report about the sniper flushed out a few witnesses.
I overheard this man talking about shooting someone on the highway.
So I went to the window Blue Dodge pickup, tinted windows, must have been doing a hundred.
These aren't random acts of violence.
This is a coordinated conspiracy.
None of us are safe.
If I could get some coffee and maybe a sandwich it might jog my memory.
Driver was Hispanic, or Indian, and a female.
She took the Brand Boulevard exit.
I don't want to scare you, but federal agents are watching us right now.
Freeze! Keep your hands where I can see them! Move, move, move! Kelvin Barlow.
What the hell? You ain't got no right to be here.
This warrant gives us a right.
Hey, that's some pretty heavy artillery, Kelvin.
Expecting trouble? Those not mine.
What are you catching up on your current events? You like shooting people, Kelvin? You know I ain't do nothing.
No? Well you better hope not because now we're gunning for you Rush Hour traffic is unusually light this morning.
It looks like drivers are switching to surface streets or just staying home as the hunt continues for the freeway sniper.
Keep your dial right here for traffic updates and breaking news on the sniper.
This is JetCopter One reporting live.
Mother of twoshot in the face on Hillhurst last October.
High school junior gunned down on Rampart Easter weekend.
What's that got to do with me? That's the way the newbies make their bones in your crew, Kelvin.
The boys who did that got put away.
Yeah, and they all answer to you.
They in jail, not me.
Listen, tough guy, the bullets used in the sniper shooting were consistent with the weapons you're moving.
We're running ballistics on your little arsenal.
Whatever.
If anything comes back on those rifles, it's called "lying in wait.
" That means "dying in jail.
" Nothing's coming back because I ain't do nothing.
I told you I was in Long Beach the whole weekend.
Something tells me a jury is not really going to buy that.
Look at me, Kelvin.
Hey! Scenario one,you or one of your crew is using the interstate for target practice.
If that's the case, we're going to see to it that you rot in prison.
Scenario two, one of your customers went on a little shooting spree.
You give us names right now or we hang those shootings on you.
I do that, then the target's on myback.
You put it there yourself, pal.
You ain't got nothing on me but a damn weapons charge.
- I'll be out in 18 months.
- Let's see, perjury, obstruction of justice, racketeering, attempted murder.
No way you make that stick.
You don't know us very well, do you? I need a pen.
Barlow's got solid alibis for the shootings, and all his weapons clear ballistics.
All right, so he's not our gunman.
But we're checking his list of buyers.
At least those he can remember.
The guy's not much of a bookkeeper.
LASD is running down leads from the hotline we set up.
I got a joint press conference with the mayor in 20 minutes, and I have no idea what to say.
Do that thing where you talk and don't say anything.
That's been working great for you.
If we don't find the shooter soon, Delgado's going to hang us out to dry, and it'll be all of our asses on the line! My team's been working around the clock.
We got every angle covered.
It's just a matter of time before we catch a break.
Meanwhile, it's DefCon Five.
Drivers are in a panic.
Surface streets are backed up.
We're wall-to-wall on CNN.
We'll find him.
Stark.
Yeah.
Good.
Good.
Keep me posted.
Okay, LASD just got an anonymous tip.
A rented black SUV with tinted windows on the 110.
Caller says the guy has a rifle.
Did they pull him over? Low-speed chase.
They just turned onto Hawthorne.
Isaac's on the Westside.
Good.
Have him and Danny be there when the cops take that car.
Do this by the book.
No mistakes.
Show me your hands! Don't shoot! Please! Don't shoot me! Get out of the car.
I'm just in town for the Lakers game.
All right, I'll pay the child support as soon as I get the money, I swear.
Tell my wife I'll get her the money, I swear.
What the hell? There's no gun.
We just nailed ourselves a deadbeat dad.
Yeah.
It's Reyes.
Got it.
There's been another shooting on the 101, near downtown.
Okay, thank you.
Victim's a personal trainer from Valencia named Cory Milton.
- He's already at the hospital.
- You're telling me he lived? Yeah, seat belts and air bags.
Guy's in pretty bad shape, but he's going to make it.
Three shots, three survivors.
Sooner or later, our luck's going to run out.
If we're going to be exercising this early in the morning, you mind if we try a yoga class? Look, sweetheart,I don't think they make leotards in my size.
Muffler.
This sniper thing starting to get to you? Yoga's starting to sound better and better.
Boyd.
Ah, thank you.
- Mr.
Boyd? - Yes? I'm Sebastian Stark, Julie's dad.
Your secretary said you might be down here.
Yes, please.
I gather this is about my son.
My daughter would kill me if she knew I'd come here.
Well, there's not much chance of that.
My wife and I haven't spoken to Trevor in two weeks.
You know, I don't want to interfere, but I think your son is in trouble.
Tell me something I don't know.
My problem is Julie's in love with him.
She's a wonderful girl.
Your son has a drinking problem.
It's drugs, too.
It started when he was 14.
He hung out with his older brothers.
He's been to doctors, counselors, rehab Look, I'm really sorry, and I hope he gets his life turned around, but until he does, he's a danger to himself and to Julie.
I wish that there was something I could do.
You're his father.
I've tried being his father, I've tried being his friend.
I've given him things, I've taken things away.
Do you know what it's like to find your child passed out in a public bathroom, too messed up to recognize you? If your daughter is smart, she'll walk away.
Just like you and your wife.
Just pray you're never in our shoes.
So? Cops grilled our third victim, Cory Milton,he doesn't know a thing.
All right, this is getting old.
What about the victims? Any connections? Nothing yet.
I need you guys to give me something.
What we need is for this psycho to make a mistake.
We may be in luck.
That bogus tip that put us on that deadbeat dad came back to a pay phone on Normandie.
Now, LASD says there have been 11 calls to the hotline from three pay phones in that area since the shootings started.
That hotline gets hundreds of calls.
Yeah, that's right, all of which are recorded.
Voice analysis proves that nine of the 11 calls are from the same guy.
He's creating diversions to throw us off his trail.
All right, you and Danny, go grab our gun dealer,Kelvin Barlow, tell him to bring his client list.
I want us sitting on those phones next time our phantom shooter decides to give us a ring.
What is the deal with this man I could be somewhere We've been in here all day.
My legs are cramping up.
You're getting probation for being a cooperating witness, so shut up and cooperate.
That ain't him either.
We got a call into the hotline-- Crenshaw and Stocker.
Okay, I'll go through it again.
It was two men in a white pickup.
That dude bought a rifle from me.
You sure? Damn straight.
Ammo, too.
He's one of the tipsters who came into the HPCU.
- You got enough? - Take him.
It's a go, it's a go.
I didn't do anything Danny.
30 caliber shells.
Looks like we got a winner.
Sam Purcell, 32, from Torrance.
High school dropout, unemployed.
Folks must be proud.
Ten years in the Army, tank maintenance division, topped out at corporal.
- So much for being all you can be.
- I was a very good soldier.
Then why were all your requests to be posted to Iraq denied? I was told I was more valuable stateside.
Uh-huh.
After your discharge, you moved to Basra, spent three years driving a food supply truck for government contract.
Ten years of duty, the closest you get to combat is meat loaf? I was helping our troops.
I'm proud of my service.
Well, according to your boss in Basra, you were a malcontent, pissed off that you coul't get into the real war.
So pissed off that you came home three months ago, bought yourself a rifle, and started a little war of your own.
You don't know anything about me.
The Army does.
According to your psych evaluation, you exhibit narcissistic personality disorder and anger management issues.
In lay terms, you're a few fries short of a Happy Meal.
Of course, we could be wrong.
You could have a perfectly good explanation for phoning in false leads.
I was just trying to help the police.
Is that a crime? It is if you're the shooter.
I'm not.
You're making a mistake.
We're trying to help you here, Sam.
You plead guilty right now to three counts of attempted murder, and I'll stipulate to mental instability.
- You will get a fair deal.
- You're not listening to me.
This is your last chance to help yourself here.
Listen to me, damn it! Listen to me, damn it! I guess that anger management thing is still a problem, huh? Anyone would be angry if they were falsely accused of trying to kill people.
You are a life sentence waiting to happen, my friend, and we are offering you a chance to get out in 20 years.
It's the last chance you're going to get.
I want a lawyer.
If I were you, I'd get a really good one.
All right,what about the people in Purcell's army unit? I talked to a few of them they said he was a loner, but no one thought he was dangerous.
Well, like Sebastian said, maybe the guy just snapped.
Yeah,"just snapped"doesn't exactly give us an ironclad motive for the jury.
Well, we do have 500 rounds of ammunition.
Yeah, and no gun.
People, we need more.
Which is why Sebastian wanted to plead the guy out.
And why Purcell didn't take the bait.
The guy's crazy, he's not stupid.
I just got off the phone with Purcell's wife.
She's agreed to talk to us.
All right, you and Madeleine get over there.
She's our best shot at getting inside this guy's head.
I never wanted Sam to go to Iraq.
I wanted him to get his diploma, maybe open his own garage.
Leslie,how often were you two in touch when he was away? We e-mailed every day at first.
Then it was the occasional phone call, fewer as time went by.
Guess he got tired of me asking when he was coming home.
Did you notice any changes in Sam when he got back? He was distant, moody.
He'd disappear for days, not say where he was going.
I'd come home from my teaching job and he'd be gone.
So you never had any idea that That my husband was capable of shooting people? Of course not.
Leslie,we're not blaming you and we know how difficult this is.
Sam and I met in high school.
He was so sure of himself, but something happened along the way and you just keep hoping that somehow the person you fell in love with Maybe if I had been a better wife.
This is not your fault.
I just don't know what to do now.
We'd like you to talk to Sam.
And say what? This trial is going to be long and painful for the people he shot at, for you, and it's going to end with Sam dying in jail.
He can spare himself and everyone else a lot of grief if he pleads guilty.
I don't have any influence over Sam.
You have more than anyone else.
He's still your husband.
And I still love him, but I don't know how to reach him anymore.
Sam Purcell spent a lifetime dreaming of being a soldier.
But the Army didn't think he was fit for combat, or, quite frankly, much of anything else, and they let him know it by turning him into a mechanic, failing to promote him and denying his repeated please to get on a battlefield.
So, after a decade of frustration, Sam Purcell resigned his post and moved to Iraq to get near the action, which,in his case,meant delivering canned peaches for a private contractor.
And more frustration.
After three bitter years, he returned home a broken man, and what did he find? Unemployment, a wife that he'd grown estranged from.
Finally, Sam Purcell had reached his breaking point.
So what does he do? You know, he takes control of his life and decides to live out his fantasy.
If he can't kill the enemy, then he will kill innocent civilians.
He will pick them off on their way to work, driving their kids to school.
After all he's been through, everyone has become his enemy.
The facts in this case will show that the defendant had the motive and the opportunity to murder innocent people, but most importantly, he also had the rage, and because of that rage, an innocent man is fighting for his life and a city lives in fear.
You need to make him pay for that, and to stop his campaign of terror.
Sam Purcell was honorably discharged from the Army after ten years of spotless service.
He then put his life on the line by supporting our troops in the most dangerous place on earth.
His reward for being a patriot? He returns home and is accused of heinous crimes by a prosecutor so desperate to calm an anxious public, that he will slander an innocent man.
There is zero physical evidence linking Mr.
Purcell to these shootings.
No eyewitness.
No gun.
No proof.
The Freeway Sniper is still out there, and his latest victim is sitting in this very courtroom.
His name is Sam Purcell.
Word of another shooting just moments ago, Northbound 405 near Rosecrans, and minutes before that attack, KKJH received this anonymous threat.
"I am the Freeway Shooter.
" Sam Purcell is innocent.
"Let him go, or more people will die.
" Let me guess.
Judge's chambers, half an hour? My client, Sam Purcell, should be released immediately.
It's obvious this case should never have been brought.
You already lost that argument, Dan.
Even if your client didn't fire thisshot, it doesn't mean he didn't fire the others.
A second shooter with the exact same MO? That's a bit of a stretch, Mr.
Stark, and it weakens a case that barely met the State's burden to begin with.
You want an offer of proof, Your Honor? A white male matching Purcell's description in an SUV identical to the one he owns is seen fleeing a crime scene, and, the defendant has no alibi for any of the shootings.
He's not obligated to have one.
His client bought a sniper rifle.
According to a gangbanger you rolled.
Purcell placed bogus phone calls to the sniper hotline.
including one just prior to a shooting.
And there's the small matter of the hundreds of bullets found in his possession-- the same specialized ammo the shooter used.
Along with hundreds of recreational hunters across Los Angeles.
He's right, Mr.
Lauter.
Whether your client's responsible for the prior shootings is still a question for the jury to decide.
Then they should be given every fact to make that determination, Your Honor.
We request expedited discovery on the ballistics of the latest bullet.
I'm denying the motion to dismiss.
Thank you, Your Honor.
But the People will produce a certified ballistics report within 24 hours.
No problem.
And, Mr.
Stark, just because I'm not tossing this doesn't mean I won't direct a verdict if all you have is smoke and mirrors.
Thank you, sir.
Thank you, sir.
Talk about your narrow escapes.
We didn't escape anything, Sundance.
Lauter gets the ballistics.
Which we would have had to turn over anyway, right? Yeah, in a week or two, after I'd won over the jury.
Look, if o lousy luck holds, these ballistics are gonna match the previous shootings.
We'll be obligated to turn that over to the jury.
What do you think Lauter's gonna do with that information? Bury us alive? Yeah, got that right.
But Purcell's guilty.
Everything points to him.
Yeah, but listen, if we don't do something soon, he's gonna walk.
Okay? That second shooter may have taken out our entire case.
Is Sam Purcell innocent? Are you gonna release Sam Purcell? So you're telling me the same gun was used for all four shootings? Ballistics just came back.
Meaning you've got the wrong guy.
Meaning Purcell has an accomplice.
Either way, you're letting him go, right? You want to release a dangerous psychopath? You cut this bozo loose, there's a chance the shooting stops.
A chance in hell.
Purcell's our guy, Manny.
Straight up, Leo-- can you guys win this? You want us to predict how a jury will vote? Look, I give non-answers; I don't take them.
I will not cave to an anonymous threat and you are not gonna tell me how to do my job.
The fact is, you can't win this case, so there's no downside in releasing him, and if there's even a remote possibility that freeing Purcell will end this madness, there's only upside.
He's running scared.
You're running scared, and it's clouding your judgment.
I need the public to understand this administration is doing all it can to protect them.
We need a little more time.
You've had enough time.
I want Sam Purcell released today or I go public denouncing a renegade prosecutor and his boss.
Thanks for backing me with Manny.
For all the good it did.
Let's face it, he's the alpha dog.
- If he wants to hold our feet to the fire - I get it.
You can't protect me and I'm not asking.
You sticking around for this debacle? Yeah, I don't see that happening.
Ah the bad news brigade.
Okay, let's hear it.
The last victim was a retiree from Encino on her way to The Grove.
She got her window shot out, but she's okay.
And, before you ask, no connection to any of the other targets.
- Why am I not surprised? - Madeline called.
Ellis Warner just died.
Meaning our favorite sniper has just stepped up to murder.
Let me just say thank you for for coming down.
It's been a difficult experience and we're thrilled that justice was served.
I'd like to thank my wife, Leslie, for standing by me.
And we hope the real killer is brought to justice.
- Thank you.
- So now what? I don't know, but if we don't come up with something fast, I'm gonna shoot that son of a bitch myself.
Tensions are running high and the freeways are almost empty as polic lo thorities hope for a break in the Freeway Sniper case.
You're requesting a wiretap on Sam Purcell's phone? Our application establishes probable cause.
Your office dismissed charges against Mr.
Purcell.
You don't get two bites at the same apple.
This is a preventive measure.
That's sound legal reasoning in North Korea, not here.
We dropped the case for reasons relating to public safety,Your Honor, but Sam Purcell is a continuing threat.
And when that threat materializes, you can come back with new facts.
After someone else is dead.
We're done here, Mr.
Reyes.
Someone else gets shot, that's on you.
What did you just say? The warrant is narrow and noninvasive, Your Honor.
I suggest you withdraw your previous statement.
I wouldn't hold your breath on that.
Officer Phillips.
Escort Mr.
Reyes to lockup.
He's just earned himself a contempt citation.
You're a damn joke.
There was bleeding in his brain.
They said there was nothing else they could do.
I'm so sorry.
I was going through his stuff.
Looking for his insurance card.
Natalie? Receipts.
For a room at the Horizon Motel in Redondo this June.
Ellis was cheating on me.
You can't know that.
There's other explanations.
Like what? You and your husband loved each other and you have a beautiful child together.
You need to hold onto that.
Where the hell have you been? I called you hours ago.
Traffic was crazy.
Supposed to be funny? No, funny is a lawyer who mouths off to a judge and then acts surprised when he's locked up.
He denied a wiretap on a sniper, all right? And you spending the night in jail accomplished what? Here, too? Okay.
By the way, I think the words you're looking for are "thank you.
" You missed "thank you" by about ten hours.
You know, I really want to sign these release forms, but my hand is suddenly cramping up.
Come on.
Yeah, I think it must be those briefs I've been writing.
You've got to be kidding me? I think I'm going to have to come back in a few hours and finish this up.
Thank you.
And? And I'll write your next five briefs.
Ten briefs.
All right.
It's a pleasure doing business with you.
I'm just saying, what if the second shooter is the only shooter? Trust the evidence, okay? We've got the gun, the bullets, the car.
- Circumstantial.
- The phoned-in false leads, - the psychological backsto - Raina's right-- it is all circumstantial, all right? Plus, it's spilled milk.
We dropped charges, game over.
Maybe not.
You know what, Danny? If you're done getting locked up, start drafting an indictment.
We're charging Sam Purcell with the murder of Ellis Warner.
Uh, what about double jeopardy? Doesn't apply.
We dismissed a charge of attemptedmurder.
Premeditated murder is a different crime.
We still have the same problem.
There's a second shooter with the same gun still out there.
The jury is gonna be all over reasonable doubt.
Plus, there's the mayor's ultimatum.
You let me worry about Manny? Do you people watch the news? There's a widow out there who wants justice.
Sam Purcell is now a murderer, and I'm gonna haul his ass off the street.
Anyone got a problem with that? We're bringing murder charges against Sam Purcell.
Then you're gonna like this.
Natalie Warner told me she suspected her husband was cheating on her because she found receipts from a Redondo Beach hotel in his wallet.
I went to the hotel with a picture of Ellis Warner and the dates he checked in.
Now, they keep surveillance video for a year.
That's an image captured from May 12.
Look who Ellis is with.
Leslie Purcell?! - Our defendant's wife.
- Thank you, God.
So, we've got a love triangle.
Which gives us a little thing called motive.
For the first shooting, but how do we explain the others? I bet I could find someone who could shed some light on that subject.
You remember you said you didn't know any of the victims? You and Ellis Warner look pretty chummy here.
It's not what you think.
Ellis Warner died yesterday.
We're indicting you, Leslie, as a co-conspirator.
And here's what I'm gonna tell the jury: You and Ellis began your affair when your husband was in Iraq.
Sam gets home,finds out about it, goes Section Eight and shoots Ellis.
Sam would never do that.
Except your husband wasn't just a lousy soldier; he was also a lousy shot.
Ellis doesn't die, so Sam panics.
If Ellis wakes up, he knows the trail will lead to him.
So, he covers his tracks, begins shooting people at random to make it look like some crazy sniper's on the loose.
- No, it's not that like.
- You're guilt-stricken.
when Sam gets arrested.
You don't want him to go to jail.
So,You come up with a plan.
you decide to take a shot with the same gun and make it look like we're prosecutingthe wrong man.
How we doing so far? Four days after Sam was arrested, you visited him in prison.
Three hours later, there was a shooting.
Where were you? Your principal said you took the afternoon off, and the powder residue test we did on your VW just came back positive.
And here's the best part.
We looked into you.
When Sam joined the Army, you paid for college by enlisting as a reservist in the National Guard, which means you know your way around a rifle.
Please, you don't understand.
There is nothing left but the truth, Leslie.
Grab onto it while you can.
Or I'll argue that you acted in concert with your husband on every single shooting, and the jury will eat it up.
I was lonely.
I didn't think Sam was ever coming back.
Did you know about the shootings beforehand? No.
It's like you said-- I didn't know anything till I went to see Sam in prison and he told me what he did.
Tell me about you and Ellis Warner.
We met at a coffee shop.
It was casual.
I cut it off as soon as Sam wrote me he was coming home.
How did Sam find out about the affair? I forgot to sign off my e-mail.
He started going through my messages, found one from Ellis setting up a time for us to meet.
I know this doesn't mean much, but Sam wasn't trying to hurt anyone else.
I wasn't either.
But he's my husband, and I drove him to this.
Where's the gun? Listen to me.
You're not gonna walk away from your part in all of this, but if you testify against your husband I can't.
Sam loves me.
Sam didn't do any of this out of love.
He did it out of anger.
Sam is sick.
And you have to help us stop him before he hurts someone else.
I won't testify against my husband.
The only person who can tie Sam Purcell to Ellis Warner's killing is his wife, and she won't testify.
So, we indict her for murder-- squeeze her.
She has an alibi for Ellis' murder-- she was at work.
The judge won't let us compel her testimony anyway.
She has a legal right not to incriminate her husband.
Well, then we need to convince her that Sam's a dangerous psycho and not some brokenhearted husband.
You know what? I think I may have a way to do just that.
Oh, God.
Can you get your hands on Leslie's cell phone? It should be easy enough, she's still in lockup, clerk's got her personal effects.
Isaac, I want you to have a text message sent to her husband.
It should read as follows "I'm scared.
" "They just let me out, but I may have said too much.
" "The phone is not safe.
" "Meet me on the patio at Casa Ventura at 4:00.
" Okay, then get the manager, Raphael,on the horn and tell him Sebastian's calling in a favor.
You gonna bring us up to speed here? On the way.
Come on.
Why am I here? There's something you need to see.
Nothing you can do or say is going to make me betray my husband.
Hold that thought.
I told Sam you rated on him of the affair his plan for revenge the riffle He knows I would never do that You can be very convincing We send a text message from your cell phone telling him to meet you here You can't do that Sue us Bottom line Sam thinks he's meeting you here and you gotta tell him why you hung him out to dry He'd never believe that You got a fix on the subject? "You got him?" Got it Look your husband is not a bad guy He's sick That makes him dangerous I understand you love him But don't make me show you what he's capable of If you agree to testify No Have it your way Turn it on See that unsuspected mannequin That's you I have to go This is crazy Exactly Clear Oh! my God That's your husband Leslie Just give me a reason Put the dun down Put it down You're the only one who can stop him Keep your hands right there (reporting over radio) Suspect is in custody Do you see the man who admitted to you that he shot Ellis Warren sitting in this courtroom today Mrs Purcell Yes Excuse me Why don't you join us for a victory lap That's your moment too Well you two look like you got it covered Sebastian Stark ducks the press, say it ain't so You really think I wouldn't figure it out Leo? Figure what out? That you're the one who leaked the sniper investigation to the press I don't know what you're talking about A friend of mine over at KKJA told me their anonymous tip came from your office Yeah I don't know anything about that Right Actually what you did makes perfect sence To you, I'm Manny's boy, UNTOUCHABLE And you have always resented that I hold both of you in the highest regard So you leaked the story? You know I'm gonna blame Manny And while we're at each other's throats Hey you play the good guy And guess who's the only one that comes out ahead Ahh Leo Cuttler What a shock I don't suppose I can buy you a drink bury the hatchet No thanks I prefer to get drunk before I get screwed Hi Hey i have something to tell you and you are gonna like it Why am I not surprised I had a little talk with Trevor's Dad today You what? I just thought it was important we should meet Make sure we're all on the same page You went behind my back? This is unbelievable Even for me? I had to talk to him Jules Why? So you guys can all gang up on us? Look do you know that they closed his bank account? Thay wont even let him inside their house Did you ever think that maybe there is nothing else left for them to do They are his parents and they are just giving up on him You love Trevor you want him to be safe? Yeah Well that's the way I feel about you I know.
So I'll tell you what I'm gonna let you take care of Trevor If you will let me take care of you Deal ? Deal