Law & Order (1990) s09e03 Episode Script
Bait
NARRATOR: In the criminal justice system the people are represented by two separate yet equally important groups, the police who investigate crime and the district attorneys who prosecute the offenders.
These are their stories.
That's what happens, you don't go to college you end up with a PhD in booze.
Dad, I'm just talking about taking a year off.
Not on my nickel.
You want to work in the store that's one thing.
Oh, look at this one.
Come on, let's move it.
People trying to make a living here.
I said move it.
Dad, I think he's bleeding.
Don't touch him.
Dad, it's just a kid.
These two found him when they came to open up.
One shot in the chest.
Lucky for him Hudson General's at the end of the block.
Paramedics could've walked him in.
Any ID? Wallet, no cash, no plastic.
Kevin Stanton, Ridgefield, Connecticut.
Seventeen years old.
Anybody see anything? You be the judge.
Good morning, gentlemen.
Any of you see anything last night? I saw Big Sally's butt.
BRISCOE: Besides that.
Oh! Her butt's so big that I can't see nothing else.
Anything relating to the kid who got shot? He walked himself here.
From where? From down the street.
I got up to shake the snake, you know, and I saw him.
Was he by himself? Yes, sir.
He fell in that doorway, looked to me like one of them junkie club kids.
All right.
You guys find a blood trail? Yeah, we followed it around the corner to Second Avenue, then it disappears.
Bodega owners hosed down the sidewalks.
Oh, the mayor will be happy.
Kevin has a red Mazda.
We're going to need the plate number.
What about the people who did this to him? We're looking for them.
Now, what time did your son leave home last night? Right after dinner.
At 7:30.
He said he was going to the movies in Stamford.
With his friend, Eric Pope.
When he wasn't home this morning, we called Eric.
He told us Kevin asked him to cover for him.
Kevin do this sort of thing very often? Oh, no.
He's a good boy.
It doesn't make any sense.
Does he know anybody in New York? Not that we know of.
It isn't like Kevin to lie to us.
DR.
LESSER: Mr.
And Mrs.
Stanton? Yes.
Is Kevin all right? He will be.
He's lucky the shot just missed his left ventricle.
Can we speak to him? Sure, he's conscious.
I'm sorry, ma'am, we'll have to go first.
You recover a slug? Passed right through him, back to front.
I figure a.
38.
You figure? Eight years in the ER.
I wanted to go to the East Village check out some clubs, and meet some girls.
CURTIS: The girls in Ridgefield aren't your type? I guess not.
My parents out there? Yeah, you can see them in a minute.
So what happened to you? I got carjacked.
CURTIS: By who? Black guys, two of 'em.
BRISCOE: You think you could recognize 'em? I'm I'm not sure.
They They kept telling me not to look at 'em.
Where'd this happen? I I just got off the FDR at 14th street.
I stopped to get gas.
BRISCOE: What, the station over by Avenue C? I guess.
I I went back to my car after I paid and the two guys, they got in with me and they had a gun and they told me to To drive.
Where did you go? I don't know.
I don't I don't really know the city that well.
Okay, so after you drove around, what happened then? Why'd they shoot you? They had me max out my ATM card.
CURTIS: Where? I don't I don't remember.
I thought they were going to let me go, but they just shot me.
I just remember being Being put in the back of the ambulance.
And I was so scared.
God, what am I gonna tell my parents? (SNIFFLING) Tape was taken at a branch of the Republic National Bank on West 14th about a half an hour after Kevin says he was carjacked.
Maybe I'm missing something, but I don't see two black men.
The kid says they stayed out of camera range.
He doesn't look stressed or in a hurry.
How'd he do with the mug books? CURTIS: Couldn't pick them out.
The gas station attendant remembered the kid, but didn't remember any black guys.
And Kevin says he wasn't familiar with the city, but two weeks ago his car was ticketed on the Lower East Side for an expired meter.
So his story has chinks.
Well, his car is missing and he was shot.
By the all purpose two black guys with a gun.
(DOOR OPENS) We got a hit on the kid's Mazda.
Liquor store break-in, Queen's Village.
Perp's enjoying the hospitality of the 116th.
Male, black.
Wasn't no break-in.
I was just leaning against the storefront, catching a smoke, and the window just fell in.
And when the cops showed up 10 minutes later, you were still in there? Hurt my shoulder.
Can I get my pants back? The guys who arrested you found blood on those pants.
And we're betting it's this kid's blood leaked out of a bullet hole in his chest.
Any idea how it got there? You think I shot him? You tell us, Levon.
His car was found in front of the liquor store that you fell into.
The keys were in your pocket.
Small world, yeah? Kid's in Intensive Care, Levon.
This could turn into a homicide.
I don't know nothing about no shooting.
You got to believe me.
You stop lying, we'll start believing.
Okay, look I broke into the store, for the money, but I didn't shoot nobody.
Check my sheet, I got no violent priors.
How'd you get a hold of the car? I found it this morning on Bowery, near Second.
Door open, keys in the ignition.
Christmas came early this year, huh? I swear, I didn't shoot nobody.
I just boosted a car.
Can I please have my pants back? My johnson's gonna catch a cold.
Levon's telling it straight.
This sheet's nothing but burglaries, smash, and grabs.
No weapons.
So he just happens to find the car half a block from where the kid got dumped? Well, maybe the car tells a different story.
(DRILL WHIRRING) CATALANO: We got blood on the driver's seat, lots of it.
No bullet hole in the seat-back? Nope, no bullet holes anywhere in the car.
Oh, I get it.
They shot him, then they got back in the car with him and let him drive.
Any finger prints? Latent came up with the victim's and your break-in artist.
What's this? A drugstore receipt.
We found it tucked beside the gear box.
An hour after the carjack.
I don't think I recognize either of them.
But you were working Saturday night? Yeah.
Marty, that's my boss, he doesn't give me a break from 10:00 till closing.
Can you tell what was bought from this receipt? Four boxes of condoms, three to a box.
Different colors.
Oh, now you remember? We sell a lot of condoms.
Does that camera up there work? KEVIN: Sorry, I don't know who she is.
Her receipt was in your car.
Well, maybe she knows the guys who jacked my car.
And maybe it's time you told us what really happened.
I already did.
I got shot, they stole my car.
I don't know anything else.
Maybe his buddy Eric Pope does.
What does Kevin say? Look, kid, either you know her or you don't.
I don't know, this is pretty fuzzy.
Oh, yeah? We got some nice magnifying glasses down at the station.
You wanna try 'em out? Hey, why are you guys banging on us? Isn't Kevin, like, the victim here? Well, we're not sure about that.
And if you're covering for him, then we're not sure about you either.
(BELL RINGING) (SIGHS) Okay, her name's Sarah Teasdale.
She's from Long Island, East Meadow I think.
Some girl Kevin liked to go clubbing with, you know.
I only met her a couple of times.
Was Kevin clubbing with her Saturday night? I don't know.
But you know where they went in the city.
You'd have to ask Kevin about that.
We did.
Any idea why he wouldn't tell us? I don't know.
It's his life.
Look, I'm gonna be late for class.
See ya? Go to your class.
You think any of these kids can go I hope this girl can.
(DOOR OPENS) Mrs.
Teasdale? We're detectives from the New York City Police Department.
Did you find out what happened? Actually, we're here to see your daughter, Sarah.
Excuse me? We'd like to ask her a few questions.
Sarah's dead.
We just got back from the city, from the morgue.
They found her Sunday morning.
She was shot dead.
Parks Department came to pick up the bases Sunday morning, found the Teasdale girl.
She'd caught one in the chest.
No ID, took us till Monday to match her to a missing person's report.
Parents reported her? Yeah, she'd told them some malarkey about going to the movies on the Island.
What kind of weapon? .
38.
The slug was still in her.
Parks and Rec says about every two weeks somebody breaks in, drunks, horny kids.
Any idea which category this girl fit into? None of the above, according to her folks.
And according to the M.
E.
? Tox screens show methamphetamine in the blood stream and there were signs of intercourse.
Bad drugs, bad guy, bad scene all around.
Two types of blood? Yeah, we figure she tried to defend herself, made the perp pay a price.
Yeah, we think we know who that is.
You keep looking, you're gonna find a second slug.
Thanks.
It's funny how you didn't recognize her, but your friends did.
Come on, Kevin, you both got shot on Saturday night with a.
38.
That's some coincidence.
Well, that's what it is.
You're making things hard on yourself, kid.
Kevin, we're all men of the world here, we know how things go with the ladies.
Yeah, sometimes they go a little rough, things get out of hand.
No, I wasn't with her.
Look, kid, this doesn't have to go down as a murder.
The gun was just part of the game, right? I mean, it went off by accident, yeah? I wasn't there.
Then how did your blood get there? We're trying to help you out here, Kevin.
I don't want to talk about this anymore.
Well, you have that right.
You also have the right to an attorney, because now you're under arrest for Sarah's murder.
So, what's his story now? The girl was shot by Puff Daddy & the Family? This time, he's not even bothering to pin it on the brothers.
So these kids get high, mix guns with condoms.
Yeah, she shoots him either by accident or in self-defense, then he kills her, by accident or in anger.
Then he tries to drive himself to the hospital.
Well, let's wrap this up nice and neat for the D.
A.
s.
Find someone who saw the two of them together.
CURTIS: LT, it's a big island.
Well, start with where you know he's gone before, that parking ticket he got a couple of weeks ago.
Overdue meter on Second and Avenue B.
The boy looks familiar.
I don't know about the girl.
CURTIS: When did you see him? Two or three times in the last month, running up and down the stairs like some maniac.
Where was he going? Up to 6B.
You're sure? Yeah, I'm sure.
He goes up to where them bums live, a real bunch of bananas.
Yeah? How so? I used to hear them stomping around and yelling.
Are they up there now? They're gone, thank God.
Moved out Sunday.
I don't know what Mrs.
Kessler's complaining about.
I run a good building.
First class.
(RATS SQUEAKING) BRISCOE: The rats aren't complaining.
Well, if I knew they were leaving I would've had the place cleaned up.
You know, painted, exterminated.
Lennie.
Dime bags and I found some powder on the sink.
Did you know your tenants were dealing drugs? Oh, no.
I I do credit checks, I got references.
Who's the tenant? Monica Sheppard, she's from Jersey, she's got a young baby.
That's not baby powder in there.
She pays the rent.
Well, maybe she sublet.
Latent pulled up Kevin's prints on a door frame in the apartment.
He wasn't there to buy term papers.
So this Monica Sheppard was dealing to him? CURTIS: Well, we asked around the building, she hasn't been living there for the last six weeks.
Couple of humps took over her crib.
Yeah, they de-camped on Sunday.
Left behind a lot of goodwill.
They could be candidates for the shooting.
Instead of Kevin? You run this past him? He's got a lawyer, he's not talking to us.
Then you'd better find Miss Sheppard.
Well, she's someplace in New Jersey.
State Police are tracking her down.
Latent pulled up another set of prints belonging to a Reginald Mathis.
Got out of Rikers two months ago.
Ninety days possession of narcotics.
Current address? An SRO over on St.
Marks, but he hasn't been seen there for a while.
Well, who made the possession case on him? Maybe they know his favorite hiding places.
You want to put a body on Reggie Mathis? That's not the way he does business.
The criminal element's always full of surprises, Rivera.
So, where can we find him? I got other fish in the fryer.
And we got a dead high school girl.
Look, we caught the case, we'll do the work.
Just point us in the right direction.
Look, this isn't NORAD.
We don't have every mope up on the radar.
CURTIS: You mind we look at your file on him? For what? Known associates, relatives, you know, police procedure 101.
You can really hook him up to this? The Stanton kid's prints are in his apartment.
Yeah, but he was just a customer, right? I mean, he could've been there anytime.
Is he saying it's Mathis? He's not saying anything, but Mathis did a ghost a few hours after the kids got shot.
Well, here, help yourself.
I gotta check something.
Guy protects his turf.
Yeah, he probably pees a circle around his desk every morning.
Here we go.
Reggie Mathis, the early years.
Parents live in Binghamton.
We'll send a bulletin up there.
This creep started in grammar school, selling airplane glue.
I know a couple of guys sold coke in the '80s.
Now it's Cuban cigars.
And they didn't even have to change their rolodexes.
Hey, you guys wanna pick up Mathis? Say what? Where'd you get this? It's solid.
And you can have the collar.
I just want to be there to see his face.
I'll have Carmichael issue a warrant.
(MOTORBIKE REVVING) Go! Go! Go! Police! Got him! Put it down! Freeze! I said put it down! Hold up.
Give it in.
Is that you, Mathis, you worthless piece of crap? MATHIS: Hey, I ain't got a weapon.
BRISCOE: Put your hands where I can see 'em! MATHIS: Okay, here, here they come.
OFFICER: All right, let's go.
(GROANS) I want a lawyer.
Yeah.
Me, too.
I want a lawyer.
BRISCOE: You know this kid? No.
His fingerprints were in your apartment.
Your neighbors saw him in the building.
I get a lot of company, you know.
Friends bring friends who bring friends.
Everybody's welcome.
I don't remember this kid.
You have company last Saturday night? No, just me and Oscar.
You want to tell me what this boy has to do with my client? I thought this was an intent-to-sell rap.
This boy and his 16 year old girlfriend were shot in Seward Park Saturday night.
And you think Mr.
Mathis killed them? Killed her.
He's still alive and talking.
Has he implicated my client and Mr.
Mathis? You think we picked their names out of the phone book? I think if you had all your ducks in a row you wouldn't be wasting your time talking to us.
They're running a game on you, Oscar.
It's not us he should be worried about.
You're a first time offender, Oscar.
Mathis is a three-peat.
So if I were him, I'd be looking to catch a break right about now.
BRISCOE: You're the only one who can take the weight off, Mathis.
Otherwise, persistent felon like you, you don't stand a chance.
The public's gonna be lining up to give you the hot shot.
I don't know this kid, I was nowhere near the park and I'm done talking.
Okay, suit yourself.
(DOOR OPENS) Lennie, this just came in from Latent.
(SIGHS) Well, Mathis, you sure picked the wrong time to clam up.
Why? What is that? BRISCOE: His buddy, Oscar's prints were on the door of the shed where the two kids were shot.
I'm about to walk this in to Oscar.
Would you like to bet I come out with a confession? BRISCOE: I think Oscar's gonna make you the main player.
So, what's it going to be, Mr.
Mathis, you or Oscar? All right, my guy talks, Murder One is off the table and he gets a sentence recommendation.
We'll square it with the D.
A.
It was Oscar.
Him and his grease-ball temper.
That and stickin' a straw up his nose every five minutes.
That kid Stanton was scoring off me, for like the last couple of months, but I didn't want him bringing his girlfriend to my crib, so I told him I'll meet him in the park.
Then Oscar decides he has to tag along.
So we're down the park, we're all about to go in the shed to do business, then Oscar pulls his piece.
Boom! Shoots the kid.
Then bang, same story for the girl.
And I didn't know what to do.
I just booked out of there.
Why did he do it? For the money.
The kid was holding a grand.
You know that Oscar, he's got a bad head, man.
Reggie said that? SELIG: Mr.
Benvenidez.
VAN BUREN: I'm giving you one last chance to go on record with the truth.
Nothing Mr.
Mathis might have said means anything in court without corroboration.
That fingerprint isn't it.
And we're certainly not gonna hand it to them.
Book him for murder and attempted murder.
CURTIS: Come on, hump, time to take some snapshots.
Is this true? You were buying dope from these people? What were you doing? Where did you get that kind of money? From friends.
I was just doing them a favor.
Of all the stupid PATTON: Warren! Now is not the time.
The statement says it all.
One dope dealer implicates the other.
Don't worry, Miss Carmichael, we won't insist on an apology.
None will be forthcoming.
If Kevin had told the truth from the beginning He felt responsible for putting his friend in harm's way.
He was scared.
He was confused.
Not to mention he was damn nearly killed by these animals.
And he didn't want his parents to know he was a speed freak.
It's very touching.
But if we're going to convict Benvenidez and Mathis, I need him to tell me what happened.
I don't think Kevin has any problem with that.
Long as you dispense with any drug charges against him.
Fine.
It's like Mathis said.
I was gonna buy from him and this other guy Oscar was with him.
I went into the shed and then nothing.
I woke up.
And Sarah was laying next to me.
And she was dead.
And somehow I got to my car.
I wanted to get help.
I I tried to drive.
And that's That's all I can remember.
I'm so sorry I got Sarah into this.
Who shot you? Benvenidez or Mathis? I don't know.
I walked into the shed, and next thing I remember, I'm face down on the floor with a bullet in my back.
It's not the most helpful statement ever given.
It corroborates enough of what Mathis said to put Benvenidez on death row.
One conviction's good.
If you believe Benvenidez cooked up this rip-off on his own.
After four years in Special Narcotics, Jack, I believe you take what you can get.
Have you seen this? Benvenidez is moving to suppress Mathis' statement.
His lawyer claims their arrest was the result of an illegal search.
He's dreaming.
I got that warrant myself.
And on the application, where it says "source of information," is that what you put down? Benvenidez' lawyer claims you found out where they were hiding from an illegal wiretap.
I didn't get it off a wiretap.
I got it off an informant.
A registered CI? No, just your garden variety street snitch.
Has he got a name? I have to talk to him to confirm he was your source.
I'd love to talk to him, too, but he hasn't returned my pages in a week.
If he shows, I'll call you.
Not good enough, Detective Rivera.
It was a good bust, make it stick.
Judge, an anonymous tip led me to a wiretap on a phone in the garage where my client was arrested.
A request pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act revealed no warrant for that tap.
It doesn't matter the police got their information from an informant.
I'd like to meet this informant.
He's not available.
Make him available.
I can make available the detective who received the information.
So he can corroborate his own lie? That's no protection for my client.
I'll gauge his credibility for myself, Miss Selig.
Mr.
McCoy, have him in my chambers tomorrow morning.
I told Mr.
McCoy.
I called one of my snitches and he gave me the goods on Mathis and Benvenidez.
And this alleged snitch just disappeared into thin air? Miss Selig, I am conducting this examination.
Detective Rivera, I'm gonna look into this wiretap, and if you've lied to me, you better pray I never find out.
So I'm asking you once more, where did you get your information? Wiretap.
Did you have a warrant for this wiretap? No, no, the garage owner is a known drug figure, Your Honor.
I'm not impressed, Detective.
Thank you for your candor.
You can leave us now.
Your Honor, the illegality of the wiretap taints this arrest and any evidence, including statements by either defendant, arising out of that arrest must be suppressed.
Even if her client had standing to object to the wiretap of a third party, which he doesn't Mr.
McCoy, I'll decide who has standing.
Regardless, Your Honor, Detectives Briscoe and Curtis obtained their warrant in good faith.
They had no knowledge of where Detective Rivera got his information.
It's their obligation to ask.
They had no reason to doubt Detective Rivera.
Just because he's a cop? Willful ignorance can't excuse a gross abuse of civil rights.
JUDGE: No, it can't, Miss Selig.
This is an egregious example of the police overstepping their authority.
A cop placed the wiretap, a cop made the arrest.
That's enough for me.
Mr.
Mathis' statement is out.
What kind of a case do you have without his statement? We can probably sustain the indictment, but at trial? There's no weapon, no direct evidence.
The boy doesn't even remember being shot.
So Mathis and Benvenidez can say the man in the moon did it and we can't refute it.
That's about right.
Bite the bullet, make them an offer.
That won't satisfy Sarah Teasdale's parents.
I'd love to have Rivera along when I break the news to them.
All the times I've seen Narcotics detectives shade the truth on the stand.
How'd this defense lawyer know about the wiretap? Detective Rivera didn't put up any flyers, did he? Well, the way it works in Narcotics, a detective will install a tap himself and maybe his partner will know about it, that's it.
What kind of history did Rivera have with Mathis and Benvenidez? Rivera arrested Mathis for possession last year.
Wouldn't be any more to their relationship, would there? Rivera's been in Narcotics the last eight years.
He hasn't broken any records.
Decent number of arrests leading to convictions, but it's all penny ante.
We can't all be Mark McGwire.
Mathis' name come up? Only in connection with last year's arrest.
Standard buy and bust in Tompkins Square.
I checked to see if Rivera turned him, but Mathis isn't one of his registered Cls.
We already know he keeps some of his informants off the books.
I pulled all of his grand jury testimonies from last year, nothing about Mathis.
I'm about half way through Rivera's activity reports for the same period.
Would you mind giving me a hand? I'm looking for a DD-5 for last May 12th.
Any particular reason? I found a copy of a search warrant application, to be executed the night of May 12th in expectation of finding a half kilo of methamphetamine.
Except I can't seem to find a report on the raid.
Maybe Rivera blew it off.
Mmm, he put in nearly on the location, and requisitioned a back-up unit.
And then nothing.
No arrest report, no evidence voucher.
May 10, 11.
No May 12th.
He made it disappear.
Who shared the surveillance duties with him? Rivera's always looking to make the big bust, tries to turn every nickel bag collar into the French Connection.
So this May 12th thing was supposed to be a career boost? Could've, should've.
Rivera was hoping for major weight.
Ended up with three juveniles with 20 grams of crystal between them.
Rivera too embarrassed to write it up? I don't know that he didn't.
Rivera took one collar, and gave me the other two.
Then why didn't he file an arrest report? Hey, I filed reports on my two.
His probably got lost in the department's space-age filing system.
Do you know what happened to his collar? No, mine are doing a bullet apiece at Crossroads.
Thanks.
EDDIE: Whole thing was a hook, man.
I wasn't doing nothing but holding and they get me for intent to sell? It's a total hook.
Detective Rivera framed you? Yeah, he singled me out because I wouldn't work for him.
Doing what? Informing, right? I told him he could stick it and then he passed me off to his partner and now here I sit.
And Rivera runs the same game on my cuz Ricky.
And here he sits, Eddie.
Framed just like you.
That's right.
It's an injustice.
What about the other kid who was arrested with you? Mr.
Weekend? He ain't here.
Mr.
Weekend? Yeah.
He only comes to the city on the weekends.
He's from some suburb in Connecticut.
Kev.
We hooked up at a rave.
He's a big speed fiend.
You know where he's at? Eddie ID'd Kevin Stanton from a photo.
I checked the records again.
There is no report of Kevin being picked up, let alone arrested.
There can only be one reason Rivera kept him off the books.
He turned him, he used him as an informant.
How old is he? Don't the police have rules about underage informants? Yeah, they have to get the okay from the parents, the Narcotics Bureau, the kid's lawyer.
None of which Rivera did.
Didn't he just torpedo your case against the people who tried to kill his informant? Now, why would he do that? We don't know exactly what Rivera is up to.
But he's protecting the people who tried to kill you.
Happen to know why? We know he arrested you last May.
You and two other boys.
They went to juvenile hall, you went home.
What deal did you make with him? I don't care what Rivera told you, you have to talk to me.
Ask your lawyer.
When he busted me, he told me I was gonna go to jail for five years.
And not at some juvie hall, I was gonna be tried as an adult.
First offense? That just isn't true.
Well, what did I know? He He told me if I became his snitch, my parents would never even know I got busted.
He'd keep me out of trouble, he'd protect me.
So you went to work for him? I gave him names, did some small buys, gave him locations.
He kept pushing me to move up the food chain.
He said that I should get to know this dealer named Mathis.
And he had some connection with a speed lab baking 10 kilos of crystal a week.
I thought Mathis was just a lot of hot air.
Detective Rivera forced me to work a relationship with him.
What about the night you were shot? I was supposed to meet Mathis at his apartment for a buy.
But last minute, he changes it to the park.
He said his apartment was compromised.
He was real paranoid.
And I wasn't gonna leave Sarah sitting in the car in that neighborhood, so I had her come with me.
And Oscar and Mathis were there.
And I went into the shed first and I heard Mathis call me a rat bastard.
And then I heard the shot.
Then it's like I told you.
Kevin, why didn't you tell the police this after you were shot? Detective Rivera called me at the hospital.
He said if I opened my mouth, he couldn't protect me.
Mathis' buddies would finish the job he started.
(DOOR BUZZES) SELIG: Am I hearing this right? All of a sudden you don't think Mr.
Benvenidez was the trigger man? We think it more likely it was Mathis.
He's the one with the motive.
The motive.
Mmm-hmm.
You have a whole new theory about that, too? He was getting rid of a police informant.
What informant? CARMICHAEL: Kevin Stanton.
The girl was just an innocent witness.
We're prepared to take the death penalty off the table.
Death penalty? I didn't shoot nobody.
JACK: You were an accomplice to a murder in furtherance of an attempted murder.
Your lawyer can read you the statute.
But I wasn't in for no murder, man! Oscar.
I I tried to stop it.
I swear.
Looks like your client is ready to deal.
He'll plead to Criminal Possession Three.
He won't plead to anything relating to the shootings.
That's not in the cards.
If I were him, I'd ask for a medal.
Hear what he has to say first.
Off the record.
Mathis said the police had a snitch on him.
Wouldn't tell me who.
Just that somebody got seen coming out of the 8th Precinct.
Said we were gonna have to make the guy disappear.
Well, hell, I'm just trying to make a living.
I ain't about killing nobody.
I called up the Narc squad at the precinct.
Who did you talk to? I don't know.
I told 'em I had information on Mathis.
They passed me to some detective there.
I told him the clock was running on one of their snitches.
That's it? That's all I knew.
Where did you call from? Payphone.
On Houston or Broadway, I think.
Look, I swear I didn't know who or how it was goin' down.
Mathis just up and blasted those kids.
It's still accomplice testimony until we can corroborate it, his medal will have to wait.
I'll be sitting by the phone.
(DOOR BUZZES) Have Briscoe and Curtis track down the Benvenidez call.
From some payphone on Houston or Broadway? Benvenidez isn't even sure which day he made the phone call? I say it was going to be easy? I got to tell you, I'm real sorry about that wiretap business.
Department come down on you? Slap on the wrist and my promise that I won't do it again.
Well, that's not why we're here.
The D.
A.
Knows the Stanton kid was your snitch.
Benvenidez says that Mathis found out.
He says he sent up a flare, put in a call to your precinct.
Yeah, so some mope facing a capital charge says that, so what? So we found a record of a call from a payphone on West Broadway.
The phone logs downstairs show a corresponding call being forwarded to the Narcotics unit.
And the duty roster shows you catching calls at your desk.
Maybe I was in the john.
But I did not get a call from Benvenidez.
Are you for real, Rivera? You're gonna deny it? You're gonna take the word of a dope dealer over a cop? Wearing a badge doesn't make you a cop.
You let your snitch catch a bullet.
BRISCOE: Rey.
Rey.
(SIGHS) My partner tends to see things in black and white.
Yeah? How do you see them? Me? I try to put myself in the other guy's shoes.
I mean, you get an anonymous tip, about some vague threat to some unnamed informant and weigh that against putting a speed lab and a whole bunch of bad guys out of business.
You gotta go with your gut.
Right or wrong.
That's part of the job description, yeah.
That's right.
And no matter how it comes down, you got to stand by your decision.
You can't run away from it.
I mean, people have to respect that.
You know what I'm saying? This D.
A.
, McCoy, I hear he's got cops in his family.
His old man was on the job in Chicago.
I thought it was worth a shot.
I feel bad about the girl, you know, I got two daughters myself.
CARMICHAEL: His testimony is crucial to our case against Mathis.
He can corroborate Benvenidez' story, he can account for Kevin Stanton's lies to the police and rehabilitate him as a witness.
In other words, you want him to admit that he improperly used an underage informant, he threatened that informant, and placed him at risk, and that he obstructed justice.
Anything else you want him to admit to? Like maybe the Lindbergh kidnapping? Is your client on board, yes or no? What does he get in return? He stays out ofjail.
And his job? He's two years away from vesting in his pension.
There's nothing I can do there.
If it was just a matter of months Forget it.
You'd rather have a felony conviction for obstruction? Based on the testimony of a high school dope dealer and a murder suspect? One, I never made a deal with the kid.
I let him go because I felt sorry for him.
He's the one that called me every week trying to sell me information.
Two, I never got a call from Benvenidez.
You won't dig yourself out of this hole by lying, Detective.
You think I'm lying? Prove it.
You got your witnesses, I got my record.
(DOOR OPENS) (DOOR CLOSES) Arrogant bastard thinks he can get away with it.
It's not arrogance, he just doesn't see that he's done anything wrong.
I can make it real simple for him.
Nothing's simple over in Narcotics.
You spend eight years like Rivera trying to empty an ocean of dope with a teaspoon.
You start to look for shortcuts.
And it doesn't just happen to cops, it happens to the D.
A.
's, too.
Anybody I know? Lucky for me, I bailed before the quicksand got past my knees.
Rivera is a grown-up, he knew the rules and he knew what he was getting into.
Maybe, but, Jack, without him on our side, Benvenidez' testimony is worthless against Mathis.
Against Mathis, not against Rivera.
Let's convene a grand jury.
For obstruction ofjustice? That hardly seems worth it.
For Manslaughter, Second Degree.
He put his brilliant career above the lives of two kids.
If you can prove he got the warning call.
It's still Rivera's word against Benvenidez.
You told me he practically admitted getting the call.
Is there a problem here, Lennie? Yeah, I didn't get this cop to open up so you could pin a homicide on him.
He coerced a minor into becoming an informant.
He made a bad decision.
I got no argument with you there.
And he terrorized him into lying in a murder investigation.
That's obstruction not manslaughter.
And he let two kids walk into a death trap.
That's reckless endangerment, Lennie.
That's manslaughter.
He made a judgment call, Jack.
You and I make 'em every day.
Sometimes people get hurt.
That doesn't make us killers.
His judgment was impaired by career considerations.
Hey, not everybody's in it for truth, justice and the American way.
I mean, the taxpayers want the drug problem to go away, so they lean on the politicians.
The politicians want to keep their jobs, so they lean on you guys.
The D.
A.
S lean on the cops, the cops lean on their snitches.
And sometimes somebody leans a little too hard and somebody gets hurt.
And then it's time to hold somebody accountable.
Well, hold Reggie Mathis accountable.
I'll be happy to testify at his trial.
Against him, your testimony is hearsay against Rivera, it's evidence.
Once he's indicted for manslaughter, Rivera will deal.
Then we can get to Mathis.
That's how the dominoes line up.
I'm sorry, Jack.
I'm not gonna help you make 'em fall.
I'm putting you before the grand jury.
You know somethin', I haven't been eating my Wheaties lately.
My memory's getting hazy.
I'm starting to forget what Rivera told me.
Lennie, please.
I don't want to have to cite you for contempt.
You do what you got to do.
I'm not helping you pin a body on a cop just for doing his job.
I felt scared all the time.
I felt guys like Mathis could see right through me.
But Detective Rivera'd say that it was okay because no one would think I was a snitch because of my age.
What else did Detective Rivera tell you? All kinds of things.
Like I was paying off my debt to society.
Or I was doing a valuable service.
I was the best snitch he had.
Did he ever use threats to keep you in line? Yeah.
He'd say if I didn't do what he said, then I'd go to prison.
My whole life would be ruined.
But if I did what he told me, he wouldn't let anything bad happen to me.
He'd watch over me.
Like your guardian angel, isn't that the phrase he used? Yeah.
And you came to trust him? He He'd ask how things were with school, with my parents.
This one time I wanted to take this girl to a Foo Fighters concert.
And he He got me tickets in the 14th row.
Tell us about the last time you saw him, before you and Sarah were shot.
It was the night before.
He gave me $1,000 to make a buy off Mathis and I told him I was getting this weird vibe off Mathis, but he told me, you know, don't worry about it.
That everything was gonna be okay as long as I did what I was supposed to.
He would watch over you.
Yeah.
Like your guardian angel.
Yeah.
(CHATTERING) He did fine.
I'll be in touch with you.
Hey, Kev.
If I'm not out in an hour, call for back-up.
Did your review of the duty roster for that day indicate that Detective Rivera was in the squad at the time of the call? Yes, it indicated that.
And when questioned about that call, what did Detective Rivera tell you? He said that he had received no call from Mr.
Benvenidez, that he may have been in the restroom at the time.
This is before your partner left you alone with Detective Rivera, is that right? Yes.
And after your partner left the room, you continued to question Detective Rivera about the call? Yes.
And you reminded Detective Rivera of his responsibilities as a police officer? In a manner of speaking, yes.
Thank you, Detective.
I have no more questions.
I remind you that you are not to discuss your testimony with anyone.
Wait for me outside.
Thank you, Detective.
You did the right thing.
Hey, what did you say in there? He can't discuss his testimony.
You rat me out, you son-of-a-bitch? Lay off, Mark.
I wanna talk to the grand jury.
It's too late for that.
I've given them the case, they're deliberating.
I have a right to testify.
He does, Mr.
McCoy.
Your Honor, pursuant to CPL 190.
50.
My client has an absolute right to tell his story to the grand jury.
Mr.
Golding never filed notice.
If he wants to rely on the CPL, he should comply with it.
With all due respect, Mr.
McCoy, what's the harm in letting Detective Rivera testify? Your Honor, the jury began its deliberations an hour ago.
I'd have to withdraw the charges from this panel and re-submit to another grand jury.
GOLDING: People v.
Evans, "A defendant's right to testify before the grand jury "must be afforded every consideration.
" JACK: In that case, the grand jury was convened without the defendant's knowledge.
Detective Rivera had ample warning and every opportunity to file notice to appear.
What are you afraid of, McCoy? Your Honor, you got to give me a chance here.
The grand jury indicts me for manslaughter, my career's over.
My career is my life.
Your Honor, you bend the rules for a defendant who happens to be a police officer, what message does that send? GOLDING: Your Honor Your client had his chance, Mr.
Golding, you could've filed earlier.
I'm not going to make an exception here.
I'm sorry, Detective.
Request denied.
If you'll excuse me.
Criminal negligence with a sentence recommendation of one to three years to cover all counts after he's testified against Mathis.
A felony conviction and jail time? Minimum time.
It's a better deal than he'll get once the grand jury indicts him for manslaughter.
GOLDING: We'll take it.
You'll stop the grand jury's deliberations? I'll suspend them until after he testifies.
You know, McCoy, you want to put the bad guys behind bars, sometimes you got to get your hands dirty.
The problem is, Detective, sometimes it doesn't stop at the hands.
(DOOR SLAMS) That jury seemed happy the trial was over.
That makes 13 of us.
It took them just half an hour to vote the death penalty for Mathis.
That's got to be some kind of record.
Some decisions are more obvious than others.
Have you heard from Briscoe? No, I don't expect to.
He has other cases, so do we.
These are their stories.
That's what happens, you don't go to college you end up with a PhD in booze.
Dad, I'm just talking about taking a year off.
Not on my nickel.
You want to work in the store that's one thing.
Oh, look at this one.
Come on, let's move it.
People trying to make a living here.
I said move it.
Dad, I think he's bleeding.
Don't touch him.
Dad, it's just a kid.
These two found him when they came to open up.
One shot in the chest.
Lucky for him Hudson General's at the end of the block.
Paramedics could've walked him in.
Any ID? Wallet, no cash, no plastic.
Kevin Stanton, Ridgefield, Connecticut.
Seventeen years old.
Anybody see anything? You be the judge.
Good morning, gentlemen.
Any of you see anything last night? I saw Big Sally's butt.
BRISCOE: Besides that.
Oh! Her butt's so big that I can't see nothing else.
Anything relating to the kid who got shot? He walked himself here.
From where? From down the street.
I got up to shake the snake, you know, and I saw him.
Was he by himself? Yes, sir.
He fell in that doorway, looked to me like one of them junkie club kids.
All right.
You guys find a blood trail? Yeah, we followed it around the corner to Second Avenue, then it disappears.
Bodega owners hosed down the sidewalks.
Oh, the mayor will be happy.
Kevin has a red Mazda.
We're going to need the plate number.
What about the people who did this to him? We're looking for them.
Now, what time did your son leave home last night? Right after dinner.
At 7:30.
He said he was going to the movies in Stamford.
With his friend, Eric Pope.
When he wasn't home this morning, we called Eric.
He told us Kevin asked him to cover for him.
Kevin do this sort of thing very often? Oh, no.
He's a good boy.
It doesn't make any sense.
Does he know anybody in New York? Not that we know of.
It isn't like Kevin to lie to us.
DR.
LESSER: Mr.
And Mrs.
Stanton? Yes.
Is Kevin all right? He will be.
He's lucky the shot just missed his left ventricle.
Can we speak to him? Sure, he's conscious.
I'm sorry, ma'am, we'll have to go first.
You recover a slug? Passed right through him, back to front.
I figure a.
38.
You figure? Eight years in the ER.
I wanted to go to the East Village check out some clubs, and meet some girls.
CURTIS: The girls in Ridgefield aren't your type? I guess not.
My parents out there? Yeah, you can see them in a minute.
So what happened to you? I got carjacked.
CURTIS: By who? Black guys, two of 'em.
BRISCOE: You think you could recognize 'em? I'm I'm not sure.
They They kept telling me not to look at 'em.
Where'd this happen? I I just got off the FDR at 14th street.
I stopped to get gas.
BRISCOE: What, the station over by Avenue C? I guess.
I I went back to my car after I paid and the two guys, they got in with me and they had a gun and they told me to To drive.
Where did you go? I don't know.
I don't I don't really know the city that well.
Okay, so after you drove around, what happened then? Why'd they shoot you? They had me max out my ATM card.
CURTIS: Where? I don't I don't remember.
I thought they were going to let me go, but they just shot me.
I just remember being Being put in the back of the ambulance.
And I was so scared.
God, what am I gonna tell my parents? (SNIFFLING) Tape was taken at a branch of the Republic National Bank on West 14th about a half an hour after Kevin says he was carjacked.
Maybe I'm missing something, but I don't see two black men.
The kid says they stayed out of camera range.
He doesn't look stressed or in a hurry.
How'd he do with the mug books? CURTIS: Couldn't pick them out.
The gas station attendant remembered the kid, but didn't remember any black guys.
And Kevin says he wasn't familiar with the city, but two weeks ago his car was ticketed on the Lower East Side for an expired meter.
So his story has chinks.
Well, his car is missing and he was shot.
By the all purpose two black guys with a gun.
(DOOR OPENS) We got a hit on the kid's Mazda.
Liquor store break-in, Queen's Village.
Perp's enjoying the hospitality of the 116th.
Male, black.
Wasn't no break-in.
I was just leaning against the storefront, catching a smoke, and the window just fell in.
And when the cops showed up 10 minutes later, you were still in there? Hurt my shoulder.
Can I get my pants back? The guys who arrested you found blood on those pants.
And we're betting it's this kid's blood leaked out of a bullet hole in his chest.
Any idea how it got there? You think I shot him? You tell us, Levon.
His car was found in front of the liquor store that you fell into.
The keys were in your pocket.
Small world, yeah? Kid's in Intensive Care, Levon.
This could turn into a homicide.
I don't know nothing about no shooting.
You got to believe me.
You stop lying, we'll start believing.
Okay, look I broke into the store, for the money, but I didn't shoot nobody.
Check my sheet, I got no violent priors.
How'd you get a hold of the car? I found it this morning on Bowery, near Second.
Door open, keys in the ignition.
Christmas came early this year, huh? I swear, I didn't shoot nobody.
I just boosted a car.
Can I please have my pants back? My johnson's gonna catch a cold.
Levon's telling it straight.
This sheet's nothing but burglaries, smash, and grabs.
No weapons.
So he just happens to find the car half a block from where the kid got dumped? Well, maybe the car tells a different story.
(DRILL WHIRRING) CATALANO: We got blood on the driver's seat, lots of it.
No bullet hole in the seat-back? Nope, no bullet holes anywhere in the car.
Oh, I get it.
They shot him, then they got back in the car with him and let him drive.
Any finger prints? Latent came up with the victim's and your break-in artist.
What's this? A drugstore receipt.
We found it tucked beside the gear box.
An hour after the carjack.
I don't think I recognize either of them.
But you were working Saturday night? Yeah.
Marty, that's my boss, he doesn't give me a break from 10:00 till closing.
Can you tell what was bought from this receipt? Four boxes of condoms, three to a box.
Different colors.
Oh, now you remember? We sell a lot of condoms.
Does that camera up there work? KEVIN: Sorry, I don't know who she is.
Her receipt was in your car.
Well, maybe she knows the guys who jacked my car.
And maybe it's time you told us what really happened.
I already did.
I got shot, they stole my car.
I don't know anything else.
Maybe his buddy Eric Pope does.
What does Kevin say? Look, kid, either you know her or you don't.
I don't know, this is pretty fuzzy.
Oh, yeah? We got some nice magnifying glasses down at the station.
You wanna try 'em out? Hey, why are you guys banging on us? Isn't Kevin, like, the victim here? Well, we're not sure about that.
And if you're covering for him, then we're not sure about you either.
(BELL RINGING) (SIGHS) Okay, her name's Sarah Teasdale.
She's from Long Island, East Meadow I think.
Some girl Kevin liked to go clubbing with, you know.
I only met her a couple of times.
Was Kevin clubbing with her Saturday night? I don't know.
But you know where they went in the city.
You'd have to ask Kevin about that.
We did.
Any idea why he wouldn't tell us? I don't know.
It's his life.
Look, I'm gonna be late for class.
See ya? Go to your class.
You think any of these kids can go I hope this girl can.
(DOOR OPENS) Mrs.
Teasdale? We're detectives from the New York City Police Department.
Did you find out what happened? Actually, we're here to see your daughter, Sarah.
Excuse me? We'd like to ask her a few questions.
Sarah's dead.
We just got back from the city, from the morgue.
They found her Sunday morning.
She was shot dead.
Parks Department came to pick up the bases Sunday morning, found the Teasdale girl.
She'd caught one in the chest.
No ID, took us till Monday to match her to a missing person's report.
Parents reported her? Yeah, she'd told them some malarkey about going to the movies on the Island.
What kind of weapon? .
38.
The slug was still in her.
Parks and Rec says about every two weeks somebody breaks in, drunks, horny kids.
Any idea which category this girl fit into? None of the above, according to her folks.
And according to the M.
E.
? Tox screens show methamphetamine in the blood stream and there were signs of intercourse.
Bad drugs, bad guy, bad scene all around.
Two types of blood? Yeah, we figure she tried to defend herself, made the perp pay a price.
Yeah, we think we know who that is.
You keep looking, you're gonna find a second slug.
Thanks.
It's funny how you didn't recognize her, but your friends did.
Come on, Kevin, you both got shot on Saturday night with a.
38.
That's some coincidence.
Well, that's what it is.
You're making things hard on yourself, kid.
Kevin, we're all men of the world here, we know how things go with the ladies.
Yeah, sometimes they go a little rough, things get out of hand.
No, I wasn't with her.
Look, kid, this doesn't have to go down as a murder.
The gun was just part of the game, right? I mean, it went off by accident, yeah? I wasn't there.
Then how did your blood get there? We're trying to help you out here, Kevin.
I don't want to talk about this anymore.
Well, you have that right.
You also have the right to an attorney, because now you're under arrest for Sarah's murder.
So, what's his story now? The girl was shot by Puff Daddy & the Family? This time, he's not even bothering to pin it on the brothers.
So these kids get high, mix guns with condoms.
Yeah, she shoots him either by accident or in self-defense, then he kills her, by accident or in anger.
Then he tries to drive himself to the hospital.
Well, let's wrap this up nice and neat for the D.
A.
s.
Find someone who saw the two of them together.
CURTIS: LT, it's a big island.
Well, start with where you know he's gone before, that parking ticket he got a couple of weeks ago.
Overdue meter on Second and Avenue B.
The boy looks familiar.
I don't know about the girl.
CURTIS: When did you see him? Two or three times in the last month, running up and down the stairs like some maniac.
Where was he going? Up to 6B.
You're sure? Yeah, I'm sure.
He goes up to where them bums live, a real bunch of bananas.
Yeah? How so? I used to hear them stomping around and yelling.
Are they up there now? They're gone, thank God.
Moved out Sunday.
I don't know what Mrs.
Kessler's complaining about.
I run a good building.
First class.
(RATS SQUEAKING) BRISCOE: The rats aren't complaining.
Well, if I knew they were leaving I would've had the place cleaned up.
You know, painted, exterminated.
Lennie.
Dime bags and I found some powder on the sink.
Did you know your tenants were dealing drugs? Oh, no.
I I do credit checks, I got references.
Who's the tenant? Monica Sheppard, she's from Jersey, she's got a young baby.
That's not baby powder in there.
She pays the rent.
Well, maybe she sublet.
Latent pulled up Kevin's prints on a door frame in the apartment.
He wasn't there to buy term papers.
So this Monica Sheppard was dealing to him? CURTIS: Well, we asked around the building, she hasn't been living there for the last six weeks.
Couple of humps took over her crib.
Yeah, they de-camped on Sunday.
Left behind a lot of goodwill.
They could be candidates for the shooting.
Instead of Kevin? You run this past him? He's got a lawyer, he's not talking to us.
Then you'd better find Miss Sheppard.
Well, she's someplace in New Jersey.
State Police are tracking her down.
Latent pulled up another set of prints belonging to a Reginald Mathis.
Got out of Rikers two months ago.
Ninety days possession of narcotics.
Current address? An SRO over on St.
Marks, but he hasn't been seen there for a while.
Well, who made the possession case on him? Maybe they know his favorite hiding places.
You want to put a body on Reggie Mathis? That's not the way he does business.
The criminal element's always full of surprises, Rivera.
So, where can we find him? I got other fish in the fryer.
And we got a dead high school girl.
Look, we caught the case, we'll do the work.
Just point us in the right direction.
Look, this isn't NORAD.
We don't have every mope up on the radar.
CURTIS: You mind we look at your file on him? For what? Known associates, relatives, you know, police procedure 101.
You can really hook him up to this? The Stanton kid's prints are in his apartment.
Yeah, but he was just a customer, right? I mean, he could've been there anytime.
Is he saying it's Mathis? He's not saying anything, but Mathis did a ghost a few hours after the kids got shot.
Well, here, help yourself.
I gotta check something.
Guy protects his turf.
Yeah, he probably pees a circle around his desk every morning.
Here we go.
Reggie Mathis, the early years.
Parents live in Binghamton.
We'll send a bulletin up there.
This creep started in grammar school, selling airplane glue.
I know a couple of guys sold coke in the '80s.
Now it's Cuban cigars.
And they didn't even have to change their rolodexes.
Hey, you guys wanna pick up Mathis? Say what? Where'd you get this? It's solid.
And you can have the collar.
I just want to be there to see his face.
I'll have Carmichael issue a warrant.
(MOTORBIKE REVVING) Go! Go! Go! Police! Got him! Put it down! Freeze! I said put it down! Hold up.
Give it in.
Is that you, Mathis, you worthless piece of crap? MATHIS: Hey, I ain't got a weapon.
BRISCOE: Put your hands where I can see 'em! MATHIS: Okay, here, here they come.
OFFICER: All right, let's go.
(GROANS) I want a lawyer.
Yeah.
Me, too.
I want a lawyer.
BRISCOE: You know this kid? No.
His fingerprints were in your apartment.
Your neighbors saw him in the building.
I get a lot of company, you know.
Friends bring friends who bring friends.
Everybody's welcome.
I don't remember this kid.
You have company last Saturday night? No, just me and Oscar.
You want to tell me what this boy has to do with my client? I thought this was an intent-to-sell rap.
This boy and his 16 year old girlfriend were shot in Seward Park Saturday night.
And you think Mr.
Mathis killed them? Killed her.
He's still alive and talking.
Has he implicated my client and Mr.
Mathis? You think we picked their names out of the phone book? I think if you had all your ducks in a row you wouldn't be wasting your time talking to us.
They're running a game on you, Oscar.
It's not us he should be worried about.
You're a first time offender, Oscar.
Mathis is a three-peat.
So if I were him, I'd be looking to catch a break right about now.
BRISCOE: You're the only one who can take the weight off, Mathis.
Otherwise, persistent felon like you, you don't stand a chance.
The public's gonna be lining up to give you the hot shot.
I don't know this kid, I was nowhere near the park and I'm done talking.
Okay, suit yourself.
(DOOR OPENS) Lennie, this just came in from Latent.
(SIGHS) Well, Mathis, you sure picked the wrong time to clam up.
Why? What is that? BRISCOE: His buddy, Oscar's prints were on the door of the shed where the two kids were shot.
I'm about to walk this in to Oscar.
Would you like to bet I come out with a confession? BRISCOE: I think Oscar's gonna make you the main player.
So, what's it going to be, Mr.
Mathis, you or Oscar? All right, my guy talks, Murder One is off the table and he gets a sentence recommendation.
We'll square it with the D.
A.
It was Oscar.
Him and his grease-ball temper.
That and stickin' a straw up his nose every five minutes.
That kid Stanton was scoring off me, for like the last couple of months, but I didn't want him bringing his girlfriend to my crib, so I told him I'll meet him in the park.
Then Oscar decides he has to tag along.
So we're down the park, we're all about to go in the shed to do business, then Oscar pulls his piece.
Boom! Shoots the kid.
Then bang, same story for the girl.
And I didn't know what to do.
I just booked out of there.
Why did he do it? For the money.
The kid was holding a grand.
You know that Oscar, he's got a bad head, man.
Reggie said that? SELIG: Mr.
Benvenidez.
VAN BUREN: I'm giving you one last chance to go on record with the truth.
Nothing Mr.
Mathis might have said means anything in court without corroboration.
That fingerprint isn't it.
And we're certainly not gonna hand it to them.
Book him for murder and attempted murder.
CURTIS: Come on, hump, time to take some snapshots.
Is this true? You were buying dope from these people? What were you doing? Where did you get that kind of money? From friends.
I was just doing them a favor.
Of all the stupid PATTON: Warren! Now is not the time.
The statement says it all.
One dope dealer implicates the other.
Don't worry, Miss Carmichael, we won't insist on an apology.
None will be forthcoming.
If Kevin had told the truth from the beginning He felt responsible for putting his friend in harm's way.
He was scared.
He was confused.
Not to mention he was damn nearly killed by these animals.
And he didn't want his parents to know he was a speed freak.
It's very touching.
But if we're going to convict Benvenidez and Mathis, I need him to tell me what happened.
I don't think Kevin has any problem with that.
Long as you dispense with any drug charges against him.
Fine.
It's like Mathis said.
I was gonna buy from him and this other guy Oscar was with him.
I went into the shed and then nothing.
I woke up.
And Sarah was laying next to me.
And she was dead.
And somehow I got to my car.
I wanted to get help.
I I tried to drive.
And that's That's all I can remember.
I'm so sorry I got Sarah into this.
Who shot you? Benvenidez or Mathis? I don't know.
I walked into the shed, and next thing I remember, I'm face down on the floor with a bullet in my back.
It's not the most helpful statement ever given.
It corroborates enough of what Mathis said to put Benvenidez on death row.
One conviction's good.
If you believe Benvenidez cooked up this rip-off on his own.
After four years in Special Narcotics, Jack, I believe you take what you can get.
Have you seen this? Benvenidez is moving to suppress Mathis' statement.
His lawyer claims their arrest was the result of an illegal search.
He's dreaming.
I got that warrant myself.
And on the application, where it says "source of information," is that what you put down? Benvenidez' lawyer claims you found out where they were hiding from an illegal wiretap.
I didn't get it off a wiretap.
I got it off an informant.
A registered CI? No, just your garden variety street snitch.
Has he got a name? I have to talk to him to confirm he was your source.
I'd love to talk to him, too, but he hasn't returned my pages in a week.
If he shows, I'll call you.
Not good enough, Detective Rivera.
It was a good bust, make it stick.
Judge, an anonymous tip led me to a wiretap on a phone in the garage where my client was arrested.
A request pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act revealed no warrant for that tap.
It doesn't matter the police got their information from an informant.
I'd like to meet this informant.
He's not available.
Make him available.
I can make available the detective who received the information.
So he can corroborate his own lie? That's no protection for my client.
I'll gauge his credibility for myself, Miss Selig.
Mr.
McCoy, have him in my chambers tomorrow morning.
I told Mr.
McCoy.
I called one of my snitches and he gave me the goods on Mathis and Benvenidez.
And this alleged snitch just disappeared into thin air? Miss Selig, I am conducting this examination.
Detective Rivera, I'm gonna look into this wiretap, and if you've lied to me, you better pray I never find out.
So I'm asking you once more, where did you get your information? Wiretap.
Did you have a warrant for this wiretap? No, no, the garage owner is a known drug figure, Your Honor.
I'm not impressed, Detective.
Thank you for your candor.
You can leave us now.
Your Honor, the illegality of the wiretap taints this arrest and any evidence, including statements by either defendant, arising out of that arrest must be suppressed.
Even if her client had standing to object to the wiretap of a third party, which he doesn't Mr.
McCoy, I'll decide who has standing.
Regardless, Your Honor, Detectives Briscoe and Curtis obtained their warrant in good faith.
They had no knowledge of where Detective Rivera got his information.
It's their obligation to ask.
They had no reason to doubt Detective Rivera.
Just because he's a cop? Willful ignorance can't excuse a gross abuse of civil rights.
JUDGE: No, it can't, Miss Selig.
This is an egregious example of the police overstepping their authority.
A cop placed the wiretap, a cop made the arrest.
That's enough for me.
Mr.
Mathis' statement is out.
What kind of a case do you have without his statement? We can probably sustain the indictment, but at trial? There's no weapon, no direct evidence.
The boy doesn't even remember being shot.
So Mathis and Benvenidez can say the man in the moon did it and we can't refute it.
That's about right.
Bite the bullet, make them an offer.
That won't satisfy Sarah Teasdale's parents.
I'd love to have Rivera along when I break the news to them.
All the times I've seen Narcotics detectives shade the truth on the stand.
How'd this defense lawyer know about the wiretap? Detective Rivera didn't put up any flyers, did he? Well, the way it works in Narcotics, a detective will install a tap himself and maybe his partner will know about it, that's it.
What kind of history did Rivera have with Mathis and Benvenidez? Rivera arrested Mathis for possession last year.
Wouldn't be any more to their relationship, would there? Rivera's been in Narcotics the last eight years.
He hasn't broken any records.
Decent number of arrests leading to convictions, but it's all penny ante.
We can't all be Mark McGwire.
Mathis' name come up? Only in connection with last year's arrest.
Standard buy and bust in Tompkins Square.
I checked to see if Rivera turned him, but Mathis isn't one of his registered Cls.
We already know he keeps some of his informants off the books.
I pulled all of his grand jury testimonies from last year, nothing about Mathis.
I'm about half way through Rivera's activity reports for the same period.
Would you mind giving me a hand? I'm looking for a DD-5 for last May 12th.
Any particular reason? I found a copy of a search warrant application, to be executed the night of May 12th in expectation of finding a half kilo of methamphetamine.
Except I can't seem to find a report on the raid.
Maybe Rivera blew it off.
Mmm, he put in nearly on the location, and requisitioned a back-up unit.
And then nothing.
No arrest report, no evidence voucher.
May 10, 11.
No May 12th.
He made it disappear.
Who shared the surveillance duties with him? Rivera's always looking to make the big bust, tries to turn every nickel bag collar into the French Connection.
So this May 12th thing was supposed to be a career boost? Could've, should've.
Rivera was hoping for major weight.
Ended up with three juveniles with 20 grams of crystal between them.
Rivera too embarrassed to write it up? I don't know that he didn't.
Rivera took one collar, and gave me the other two.
Then why didn't he file an arrest report? Hey, I filed reports on my two.
His probably got lost in the department's space-age filing system.
Do you know what happened to his collar? No, mine are doing a bullet apiece at Crossroads.
Thanks.
EDDIE: Whole thing was a hook, man.
I wasn't doing nothing but holding and they get me for intent to sell? It's a total hook.
Detective Rivera framed you? Yeah, he singled me out because I wouldn't work for him.
Doing what? Informing, right? I told him he could stick it and then he passed me off to his partner and now here I sit.
And Rivera runs the same game on my cuz Ricky.
And here he sits, Eddie.
Framed just like you.
That's right.
It's an injustice.
What about the other kid who was arrested with you? Mr.
Weekend? He ain't here.
Mr.
Weekend? Yeah.
He only comes to the city on the weekends.
He's from some suburb in Connecticut.
Kev.
We hooked up at a rave.
He's a big speed fiend.
You know where he's at? Eddie ID'd Kevin Stanton from a photo.
I checked the records again.
There is no report of Kevin being picked up, let alone arrested.
There can only be one reason Rivera kept him off the books.
He turned him, he used him as an informant.
How old is he? Don't the police have rules about underage informants? Yeah, they have to get the okay from the parents, the Narcotics Bureau, the kid's lawyer.
None of which Rivera did.
Didn't he just torpedo your case against the people who tried to kill his informant? Now, why would he do that? We don't know exactly what Rivera is up to.
But he's protecting the people who tried to kill you.
Happen to know why? We know he arrested you last May.
You and two other boys.
They went to juvenile hall, you went home.
What deal did you make with him? I don't care what Rivera told you, you have to talk to me.
Ask your lawyer.
When he busted me, he told me I was gonna go to jail for five years.
And not at some juvie hall, I was gonna be tried as an adult.
First offense? That just isn't true.
Well, what did I know? He He told me if I became his snitch, my parents would never even know I got busted.
He'd keep me out of trouble, he'd protect me.
So you went to work for him? I gave him names, did some small buys, gave him locations.
He kept pushing me to move up the food chain.
He said that I should get to know this dealer named Mathis.
And he had some connection with a speed lab baking 10 kilos of crystal a week.
I thought Mathis was just a lot of hot air.
Detective Rivera forced me to work a relationship with him.
What about the night you were shot? I was supposed to meet Mathis at his apartment for a buy.
But last minute, he changes it to the park.
He said his apartment was compromised.
He was real paranoid.
And I wasn't gonna leave Sarah sitting in the car in that neighborhood, so I had her come with me.
And Oscar and Mathis were there.
And I went into the shed first and I heard Mathis call me a rat bastard.
And then I heard the shot.
Then it's like I told you.
Kevin, why didn't you tell the police this after you were shot? Detective Rivera called me at the hospital.
He said if I opened my mouth, he couldn't protect me.
Mathis' buddies would finish the job he started.
(DOOR BUZZES) SELIG: Am I hearing this right? All of a sudden you don't think Mr.
Benvenidez was the trigger man? We think it more likely it was Mathis.
He's the one with the motive.
The motive.
Mmm-hmm.
You have a whole new theory about that, too? He was getting rid of a police informant.
What informant? CARMICHAEL: Kevin Stanton.
The girl was just an innocent witness.
We're prepared to take the death penalty off the table.
Death penalty? I didn't shoot nobody.
JACK: You were an accomplice to a murder in furtherance of an attempted murder.
Your lawyer can read you the statute.
But I wasn't in for no murder, man! Oscar.
I I tried to stop it.
I swear.
Looks like your client is ready to deal.
He'll plead to Criminal Possession Three.
He won't plead to anything relating to the shootings.
That's not in the cards.
If I were him, I'd ask for a medal.
Hear what he has to say first.
Off the record.
Mathis said the police had a snitch on him.
Wouldn't tell me who.
Just that somebody got seen coming out of the 8th Precinct.
Said we were gonna have to make the guy disappear.
Well, hell, I'm just trying to make a living.
I ain't about killing nobody.
I called up the Narc squad at the precinct.
Who did you talk to? I don't know.
I told 'em I had information on Mathis.
They passed me to some detective there.
I told him the clock was running on one of their snitches.
That's it? That's all I knew.
Where did you call from? Payphone.
On Houston or Broadway, I think.
Look, I swear I didn't know who or how it was goin' down.
Mathis just up and blasted those kids.
It's still accomplice testimony until we can corroborate it, his medal will have to wait.
I'll be sitting by the phone.
(DOOR BUZZES) Have Briscoe and Curtis track down the Benvenidez call.
From some payphone on Houston or Broadway? Benvenidez isn't even sure which day he made the phone call? I say it was going to be easy? I got to tell you, I'm real sorry about that wiretap business.
Department come down on you? Slap on the wrist and my promise that I won't do it again.
Well, that's not why we're here.
The D.
A.
Knows the Stanton kid was your snitch.
Benvenidez says that Mathis found out.
He says he sent up a flare, put in a call to your precinct.
Yeah, so some mope facing a capital charge says that, so what? So we found a record of a call from a payphone on West Broadway.
The phone logs downstairs show a corresponding call being forwarded to the Narcotics unit.
And the duty roster shows you catching calls at your desk.
Maybe I was in the john.
But I did not get a call from Benvenidez.
Are you for real, Rivera? You're gonna deny it? You're gonna take the word of a dope dealer over a cop? Wearing a badge doesn't make you a cop.
You let your snitch catch a bullet.
BRISCOE: Rey.
Rey.
(SIGHS) My partner tends to see things in black and white.
Yeah? How do you see them? Me? I try to put myself in the other guy's shoes.
I mean, you get an anonymous tip, about some vague threat to some unnamed informant and weigh that against putting a speed lab and a whole bunch of bad guys out of business.
You gotta go with your gut.
Right or wrong.
That's part of the job description, yeah.
That's right.
And no matter how it comes down, you got to stand by your decision.
You can't run away from it.
I mean, people have to respect that.
You know what I'm saying? This D.
A.
, McCoy, I hear he's got cops in his family.
His old man was on the job in Chicago.
I thought it was worth a shot.
I feel bad about the girl, you know, I got two daughters myself.
CARMICHAEL: His testimony is crucial to our case against Mathis.
He can corroborate Benvenidez' story, he can account for Kevin Stanton's lies to the police and rehabilitate him as a witness.
In other words, you want him to admit that he improperly used an underage informant, he threatened that informant, and placed him at risk, and that he obstructed justice.
Anything else you want him to admit to? Like maybe the Lindbergh kidnapping? Is your client on board, yes or no? What does he get in return? He stays out ofjail.
And his job? He's two years away from vesting in his pension.
There's nothing I can do there.
If it was just a matter of months Forget it.
You'd rather have a felony conviction for obstruction? Based on the testimony of a high school dope dealer and a murder suspect? One, I never made a deal with the kid.
I let him go because I felt sorry for him.
He's the one that called me every week trying to sell me information.
Two, I never got a call from Benvenidez.
You won't dig yourself out of this hole by lying, Detective.
You think I'm lying? Prove it.
You got your witnesses, I got my record.
(DOOR OPENS) (DOOR CLOSES) Arrogant bastard thinks he can get away with it.
It's not arrogance, he just doesn't see that he's done anything wrong.
I can make it real simple for him.
Nothing's simple over in Narcotics.
You spend eight years like Rivera trying to empty an ocean of dope with a teaspoon.
You start to look for shortcuts.
And it doesn't just happen to cops, it happens to the D.
A.
's, too.
Anybody I know? Lucky for me, I bailed before the quicksand got past my knees.
Rivera is a grown-up, he knew the rules and he knew what he was getting into.
Maybe, but, Jack, without him on our side, Benvenidez' testimony is worthless against Mathis.
Against Mathis, not against Rivera.
Let's convene a grand jury.
For obstruction ofjustice? That hardly seems worth it.
For Manslaughter, Second Degree.
He put his brilliant career above the lives of two kids.
If you can prove he got the warning call.
It's still Rivera's word against Benvenidez.
You told me he practically admitted getting the call.
Is there a problem here, Lennie? Yeah, I didn't get this cop to open up so you could pin a homicide on him.
He coerced a minor into becoming an informant.
He made a bad decision.
I got no argument with you there.
And he terrorized him into lying in a murder investigation.
That's obstruction not manslaughter.
And he let two kids walk into a death trap.
That's reckless endangerment, Lennie.
That's manslaughter.
He made a judgment call, Jack.
You and I make 'em every day.
Sometimes people get hurt.
That doesn't make us killers.
His judgment was impaired by career considerations.
Hey, not everybody's in it for truth, justice and the American way.
I mean, the taxpayers want the drug problem to go away, so they lean on the politicians.
The politicians want to keep their jobs, so they lean on you guys.
The D.
A.
S lean on the cops, the cops lean on their snitches.
And sometimes somebody leans a little too hard and somebody gets hurt.
And then it's time to hold somebody accountable.
Well, hold Reggie Mathis accountable.
I'll be happy to testify at his trial.
Against him, your testimony is hearsay against Rivera, it's evidence.
Once he's indicted for manslaughter, Rivera will deal.
Then we can get to Mathis.
That's how the dominoes line up.
I'm sorry, Jack.
I'm not gonna help you make 'em fall.
I'm putting you before the grand jury.
You know somethin', I haven't been eating my Wheaties lately.
My memory's getting hazy.
I'm starting to forget what Rivera told me.
Lennie, please.
I don't want to have to cite you for contempt.
You do what you got to do.
I'm not helping you pin a body on a cop just for doing his job.
I felt scared all the time.
I felt guys like Mathis could see right through me.
But Detective Rivera'd say that it was okay because no one would think I was a snitch because of my age.
What else did Detective Rivera tell you? All kinds of things.
Like I was paying off my debt to society.
Or I was doing a valuable service.
I was the best snitch he had.
Did he ever use threats to keep you in line? Yeah.
He'd say if I didn't do what he said, then I'd go to prison.
My whole life would be ruined.
But if I did what he told me, he wouldn't let anything bad happen to me.
He'd watch over me.
Like your guardian angel, isn't that the phrase he used? Yeah.
And you came to trust him? He He'd ask how things were with school, with my parents.
This one time I wanted to take this girl to a Foo Fighters concert.
And he He got me tickets in the 14th row.
Tell us about the last time you saw him, before you and Sarah were shot.
It was the night before.
He gave me $1,000 to make a buy off Mathis and I told him I was getting this weird vibe off Mathis, but he told me, you know, don't worry about it.
That everything was gonna be okay as long as I did what I was supposed to.
He would watch over you.
Yeah.
Like your guardian angel.
Yeah.
(CHATTERING) He did fine.
I'll be in touch with you.
Hey, Kev.
If I'm not out in an hour, call for back-up.
Did your review of the duty roster for that day indicate that Detective Rivera was in the squad at the time of the call? Yes, it indicated that.
And when questioned about that call, what did Detective Rivera tell you? He said that he had received no call from Mr.
Benvenidez, that he may have been in the restroom at the time.
This is before your partner left you alone with Detective Rivera, is that right? Yes.
And after your partner left the room, you continued to question Detective Rivera about the call? Yes.
And you reminded Detective Rivera of his responsibilities as a police officer? In a manner of speaking, yes.
Thank you, Detective.
I have no more questions.
I remind you that you are not to discuss your testimony with anyone.
Wait for me outside.
Thank you, Detective.
You did the right thing.
Hey, what did you say in there? He can't discuss his testimony.
You rat me out, you son-of-a-bitch? Lay off, Mark.
I wanna talk to the grand jury.
It's too late for that.
I've given them the case, they're deliberating.
I have a right to testify.
He does, Mr.
McCoy.
Your Honor, pursuant to CPL 190.
50.
My client has an absolute right to tell his story to the grand jury.
Mr.
Golding never filed notice.
If he wants to rely on the CPL, he should comply with it.
With all due respect, Mr.
McCoy, what's the harm in letting Detective Rivera testify? Your Honor, the jury began its deliberations an hour ago.
I'd have to withdraw the charges from this panel and re-submit to another grand jury.
GOLDING: People v.
Evans, "A defendant's right to testify before the grand jury "must be afforded every consideration.
" JACK: In that case, the grand jury was convened without the defendant's knowledge.
Detective Rivera had ample warning and every opportunity to file notice to appear.
What are you afraid of, McCoy? Your Honor, you got to give me a chance here.
The grand jury indicts me for manslaughter, my career's over.
My career is my life.
Your Honor, you bend the rules for a defendant who happens to be a police officer, what message does that send? GOLDING: Your Honor Your client had his chance, Mr.
Golding, you could've filed earlier.
I'm not going to make an exception here.
I'm sorry, Detective.
Request denied.
If you'll excuse me.
Criminal negligence with a sentence recommendation of one to three years to cover all counts after he's testified against Mathis.
A felony conviction and jail time? Minimum time.
It's a better deal than he'll get once the grand jury indicts him for manslaughter.
GOLDING: We'll take it.
You'll stop the grand jury's deliberations? I'll suspend them until after he testifies.
You know, McCoy, you want to put the bad guys behind bars, sometimes you got to get your hands dirty.
The problem is, Detective, sometimes it doesn't stop at the hands.
(DOOR SLAMS) That jury seemed happy the trial was over.
That makes 13 of us.
It took them just half an hour to vote the death penalty for Mathis.
That's got to be some kind of record.
Some decisions are more obvious than others.
Have you heard from Briscoe? No, I don't expect to.
He has other cases, so do we.