Law & Order (1990) s10e06 Episode Script
Marathon
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.
This guy was camped out here, wouldn't me park.
I'm reserving this space for a friend.
This Neanderthal tried to run me over.
This isn't the Four Seasons.
You can't reserve a space, sir.
I should have run over this little twerp.
All right.
Take it easy.
Bring it on.
Hey, settle down! Settle down! (GUN FIRING) (WOMAN SCREAMING) Shots fired.
Female down.
Send an ambulance.
Send it fast.
How long ago? Twenty minutes.
ED: Close range, Lennie.
Lady's got a wedding ring and a purse.
Leather's torn near the strap.
BRISCOE: She played tug of war with the shooter.
He missed out.
Couple hundred bucks in fresh twenties.
That's worth dying for.
Eva Harrison.
Let's try to find her husband.
Got two witnesses.
Shooter was a Hispanic kid on a silver mountain bike.
Every unit in the sector's looking for him.
Daytime stick-up.
Haven't seen one of those in a while.
Yeah.
A real blast from the past.
He rode by me before the shooting.
It was a silver Cobra, the 812 model.
It just came out this year.
And then what happened? I just heard shots and turned around.
Which way did he go? He burned a right on 105th.
That's a fast bike.
Titanium frame, XTR derailleurs.
Yeah, what about the guy? I don't know, light-skinned.
Spanish, I think.
What about his clothes? I don't know.
Something dark.
But his bike had the flake paint job.
Again the bike? Hey, look, the guy rode by me on an $800 mountain bike.
I didn't know he was gonna kill somebody.
Thanks.
I heard the gun go off and I saw the guy riding away.
Which direction? Umm Left on 105th.
Another witness said right.
Well, I didn't want to look at him too close.
Did you see what color hair he had? I couldn't tell.
I'm pretty sure he was wearing a hat.
Pretty sure? Well, you want me to be accurate, right? We'd like one answer with no maybes.
I saw him from the back.
Why don't you talk to the blonde couple.
They were a lot closer.
Where's this blonde couple now? WOMAN: We hear the shots, we run.
We don't know where he goes.
He had a What is the word? Beard? BRISCOE: You mean mustache? No, Heinrich, he had a empty face, he had nothing.
How can you say this? Did he have a hat? Yes.
No.
He had a black hat.
That was his hair.
All right.
What was he wearing? A blue shirt.
No, his shirt was black.
His hair was black.
His shirt was blue.
No wonder they needed a wall.
Detective, we located the husband.
BRISCOE: Nobody got a real good look.
Then how are you going to find him? That's why we wanted to talk to you.
Do you remember if your wife's pocket-book was torn before this happened? I never paid much attention to her pocket-books, why? It looks like it might have been a purse-snatching.
PETER: Eva never carried around much money.
ED: We found $250 in her purse.
You did? You live on 68th Street.
Now, what would she be doing way up at Manhattan Avenue and 104th? Nothing that would get her killed.
She taught art at the Morningside Community Center.
She ever talk about her students? Yes.
They liked art.
She was murdered in broad daylight with a cop right there, and you don't have any idea who did this? Not at the moment.
We'll get the guy.
I hope so.
I have to call my family.
Standard procedure.
His wife's dead, he's taking it out on us.
The Borough Commander wants to know how 15 units in hot pursuit missed this guy.
Maybe he should be calling Patrol, not Detective Squad.
Maybe the Detective Squad should be getting him off my back.
NURSE: These are Eva's students.
Stone killers, all of them.
What time was her class over? It was supposed to be at 11:00, but she stayed till 12:00.
Her students love her.
I don't know how I'm gonna tell them.
Any idea where she went when she left? The ATM at the bank on Manhattan Avenue.
She was leaving money for me for supplies, out of her own pocket.
She was supposed to come right back.
BRISCOE: Thanks.
She got followed from the bank.
The bank's only two blocks from the Douglas projects.
Somebody had to notice a kid on an $800 bike.
(KIDS CHATTERING) Hey.
What y'all playing? Yo, Mister Rogers.
Gimme the ball.
We're looking for a mountain bike.
A shiny silver one.
Tough crowd.
Yo, mister.
I seen that bike.
Where? I tell you for $20.
Sweetheart, it's been a long day.
Who's got the bike? I forget.
But it's coming back to you now, right? Danny Ruiz.
ED: Where's he live? I don't know.
GIRL: East tower.
One more Ruiz.
Yeah, that's Ruiz number five.
It'd be a lot easier if you had everybody's full name.
We can't keep track.
They multiply like roaches.
Gimme the list.
Meet us outside.
(MAN CHATTERING) Security! MAN: Yeah, hold on.
You're not security.
Sure we are.
You Danny Ruiz? Ruiz, yeah.
Do you have a silver mountain bike? No.
You sure? I swear, all right? But you can leave now.
Who lives in this apartment? My uncle's on the lease.
He's a close personal friend of Johnnie Cochran.
So I'll ask you one more time, politely Keep your boxers on.
The guy we're looking for is a light-skinned Hispanic.
Just show us some ID, so we know you are who you say you are.
Yeah, all right.
Silver Cobra, with the fancy derailleurs.
Where'd you get it? RUIZ: I bought it.
ED: So you have a receipt.
Look, I found it this afternoon.
Someone left it behind the building.
BRISCOE: Who? I didn't see him.
I swear.
Yeah.
Just like you swore you didn't have a bike? Get dressed.
Shooter had 20 cops after him, might be a smart move to ditch it.
Yeah.
And blend in with the rest of the roaches.
Ed gave the bike to Latent.
Ruiz is sticking with "finders keepers.
" Well, you check the video at the bank ATM? We saw the victim, but nobody matching the perp.
And we did get a.
25 slug from the M.
E.
, if we can find the gun.
So, all you have is a bike that might have been ridden by the shooter? This case is harder than it looked.
Well, maybe you better look harder.
Print matches from the bike.
Got hits for a Bobby Sabo.
Busted 12 times, two convictions for purse-snatching.
Last-known, 32 West 128th.
Pick him up.
I'll handle the search warrant.
(POLICE RADIO CHATTER) All right, Sabo's apartment's right down the hall.
Now, the lease is in his grandmother's name, so he may have company.
We know he's there, radio car spotted him coming in from the basketball court.
All right.
You cover the back.
Right.
LaMotte, you take the front.
You got it.
BRISCOE: Let's get him.
(KNOCKING) (SPEAKING IN SPANISH) (WOMAN REPLYING IN SPANISH) (WOMAN SPEAKING SPANISH) Police! Stop! We had him! Guy's too fast.
Should've had somebody cover the roof, Lennie.
My fault.
Don't worry about it.
Right.
And how do I know where my grandson went? Hey! You need a warrant to look around here, you know that! It's on the way.
What's this? That's my personal mail.
It was forwarded here? You used to live the Jefferson houses? What do you care? I worked gang intel.
9-B.
You got evicted for gang activity.
Yeah.
You have another grandson named Victor, right? Victor is a good boy.
ED: Yeah.
When he's not running with Los Gordos.
Is Bobby in the gang, too? This is Section 8 housing.
You want to get evicted again? I want you, both of you, out of here.
Search warrant.
Now they're gonna wreck my place.
I thought you had this guy.
Yeah.
We did.
How'd he get away? He ran.
ED: We got a lead on his whereabouts.
Bobby's cousin ran with Los Gordos.
LaMotte can toss the place and keep an eye on on the building.
I hope this lead pans out.
Hey, fellas.
How's business? We ain't got no business with you.
Don't be so sure.
Where's Victor Sabo? Yo, let's break out.
Nice talkin'.
Hey! You ever hear ofjaywalking? You gonna write me a ticket? For you and your friends.
It means we have to check for outstanding warrants.
Come on, man.
All right? ED: Or you can tell us about Victor.
He ain't here, all right.
He got beeped a little while ago.
How many warrants do you think we'll find on these misdemeanants? Said he was going to his abuela's house to pick something up.
Back to Grandma's.
Let's call LaMotte.
I think the guy you're looking for went in 15 minutes ago.
Was he wearing black and silver? Yeah.
Double-parked a late-model blue Taurus, came right out with a black gym bag.
I got the tag number on the car.
Call the station, have 'em run it.
Yeah, that's my Taurus.
My boyfriend Victor borrowed it.
Is something wrong? Where was he going? To get flowers for his grandma.
And when's he coming back? He's supposed to get back here so I can drive to my job.
BRISCOE: Where's that? Roosevelt Mall.
Victor say anything about his cousin Bobby? Look, he borrowed my car, that's all.
(PHONE RINGING) Hello? (SPEAKING SPANISH) (CONTINUES SPEAKING SPANISH) (SPEAKING SPANISH) Victor took her car and a hundred bucks.
Star 69.
He could have asked first.
What do you want, a quarter? Where am I calling, please? No, this isn't a joke.
This is police business.
Thank you.
Phone booth outside a Port Authority bus terminal.
MAN: (ON PA) Now boarding platform 24.
Philadelphia local, stopping at Newark Hands on the wall, Bobby! Okay, let me finish.
Now! Just a second.
Let me see your hands! Relax, man.
I said show me your hands! Oh, is that what you wanna see, you old maricón? Zip it up, Sabo.
You're under arrest.
Ah, you're lucky he showed up.
You're lucky I didn't shoot it off.
You're a tough guy, right? Is that your boyfriend? Shut up! No weapon.
ED: We got your bike, Bobby.
Your prints are all over it.
Witnesses are on the way.
You know, once we write this up as murder one, there's no turning back.
You think I'm scared? ED: You should be.
She wouldn't give it up, would she, Bobby? Pissed you off, huh? This white lady fighting back? What'd I shoot her with, my finger? Know what? You got kind of an old man smell.
You know, Lennie, I think he was just trying to scare her.
Is that right, Bobby? You let him watch your back? Man, I went by him like he was my grandma.
Get the line-up ready, Ed.
Let's see him get by the eyewitnesses.
I'm not sure.
BRISCOE: Take your time.
Uh-uh.
No do-overs.
She already whiffed.
I'm sorry.
I told you this would be a waste of time.
Thanks, Ms.
Palmer.
Makes you 0-for-2.
What about the German couple? Back home in Stuttgart.
Well, then my client's going home, too.
Can't we hold him on something? Resisting arrest? Or flashing? I'm not bringing this to the D.
A.
What's plan B? Maybe we rattle the cousin's cage.
See what shakes loose.
VAN BUREN: That's it? Hey, don't worry.
We got enough to turn this guy.
Victor Sabo? Leave us alone already.
I just want to talk to your boyfriend here.
Yeah? What for? Come on, let's take a walk.
Look, man, Bobby told me he was the clear, all right? And you believed him? You're an accessory to murder.
Oh, whoa.
Wait, you can't keep him so you're coming after me? You picked up his bag.
You gave him a ride to the bus station.
Look, man, he said he needed some clothes.
I don't know nothing about no murder.
What'd he do with his gun? I don't know about no gun.
You do know where you picked him up.
Before you got his bag.
You know what, I ain't sayin' nothing, so you might as well arrest me.
Look, man, I can respect that he's your cousin, but if you want to worry about your family worry about your grandmother.
What's she got to do with this? You want her to lose her apartment because you're acting stupid? It's no big deal.
You're not gonna be able to help her.
We're gonna charge you.
Man, I didn't do nothin'.
We gave you a shot, Victor.
This accessory deal's legit.
All right.
Look, he was staying with some guy named Diego in the Bronx.
They were together in Rikers.
Yeah.
I was on the rock with Bobby for eight months.
I'm trying to get away from that.
Then why did you let Bobby stay here? It's hard to say no.
Me and him, you know, we been through a lot.
He tell you he was running from a murder rap? I figured it was something serious.
He had a gun.
I didn't know.
You want to think about that some more? BRISCOE: What do you think your parole officer is going to say when we tell him you opened a rooming house for armed fugitives? All right.
Yeah.
He had a burner.
I made him take it out of here.
He didn't have it with him at the Port Authority.
Well, I told him he was stupid to be carrying it.
Maybe he ditched it between here and the bus station.
The Taurus.
Hey, don't put your shoes on my seat.
Back seat's clean.
You satisfied now? You like Pizza Land? What do you care? Well, maybe you want to eat what's in bag.
.
25.
That stupid Bobby, I'm gonna kill him.
Be our guest.
(PLAYERS CHATTERING) Nowhere to go, Bobby.
Man, I beat this stinkin' case already.
Hey, you try to go over that fence, I'm gonna have to stop you with this.
See, fellas, all these cops wanna do is take me out.
ED: All right, let's go! What you lookin' at? Get on the fence! OFFICER: Put your hands up on the fence.
Let's go! Now! Toss 'em for weapons.
If they're clean, send 'em home.
Don't move! We all set, Lennie? Yeah, we're all set.
Our boy here just confessed.
If you keep harassing my client like this, we'll get a restraining order.
Save it, Counselor.
We found his.
25.
Now, that ain't mine.
Take it easy, Bobby.
It doesn't matter whose gun it is.
Your client confessed.
Confessed to what? To murder and robbery.
I don't know what he's talking about.
I'm talking about what you said on the basketball court.
About giving the lady what she deserved.
I didn't say nothin' about no lady.
Look he's tryin' to frame me.
Now why would he do that? 'Cause I burned their asses two times already.
Yeah.
Now we got yours nailed to the wall.
Yeah, right.
Yo, you got a dirty cop in your house.
You said it, you son of a bitch! Gonna put a beat-down on me now? Any witnesses to this so-called confession? I'm gonna finish writing my report.
You just gonna stand there and let this cracker frame me? Shut up.
Did you hear this confession? No.
Hmm.
You want to look over this DD-5 before I file it? Sure.
Lucky he 'fessed up.
Yep, lucky.
How'd you get it out of him so quick? What's that mean? I'm just saying, it's pretty amazing.
You're alone with the guy for 10 seconds and he gives it up.
You don't believe it happened? Hey, I'm just asking how.
I've been doing this for 25 years.
I think I've earned the right not to be second-guessed.
We are charging Sabo with the murder? Let's see what ballistics says about his gun.
(GUN FIRES) All right.
You got a Raven Arms MP-25.
Recently fired.
Four rounds in the clip.
Now then, Ravens have got five lands and grooves, with a right twist.
Same as the slug from your victim.
All right.
You got a live perp on this? Yeah.
Now all we need is a little evidence.
Take a look.
The striations on the slugs don't match.
Mmm-hmm.
That's not your murder weapon, guys.
At least you got him on gun possession.
(SIGHS) VAN BUREN: Sabo's the shooter.
So why'd the judge let him walk? Talk to the judge.
I don't have to.
You only charged him with possession.
The gun didn't match.
Your problem isn't with the gun or with the judge.
You just can't put together a case.
It's taking time.
Time for what? This woman was gunned down on a busy street, for God's sakes.
Where are the eyewitnesses? We found two.
They couldn't make ID's.
We still have the guy's confession.
You have a confession? Well, do you or don't you? The guy said he did it.
What's the problem? Nobody heard it except Detective Briscoe.
So? You don't believe him? VAN BUREN: We need corroboration.
We have other leads I wanna to see your write-up.
I'll make sure you get the write-up.
You know anything about this confession? VAN BUREN: Will you excuse us? (DOOR OPENING) (DOOR CLOSING) Forget corroboration.
Just make the arrest.
It won't stick.
Let the D.
A.
Worry about that.
They can take the heat.
I won't work a case that way.
I don't see you working this case at all.
Your own detectives are lying to you.
Detective Briscoe said the suspect confessed, then that's the way it happened.
Sabo is the guy.
You better be right.
Especially about Briscoe.
Thanks for all your wonderful support in there.
I don't want to hear it, Lennie.
Do we have other leads? Well, to tell you the truth You know what? Why don't we shake this up a little bit? Lennie, you can work the phones with Sanders and you and LaMotte can look for the murder weapon.
Hey, nothing against LaMotte, but Lennie and me is not the problem.
You sure? Because I'm not doing that again.
Don't do me any favors.
I'm not.
LaMotte's working a ten by six.
I don't need a double shift tonight.
Yeah, nobody's calling you a liar.
I never called you a liar.
The hell you didn't.
What was all that back in the squad room? You got it wrong, Lennie.
I'm not the enemy here.
Yeah? I don't know what you are.
Joey.
What time you going? Sounds good.
Pick me up at the usual spot.
I'm out of here.
Can't say I'm surprised.
What, you got something better to do? Bobby's gun was found in a Pizza Land bag.
Yeah? Well, there's 12 Pizza Lands in Manhattan open till midnight.
(SLAMMING) This pizza better taste right.
BRISCOE: His name's Bobby Sabo.
Maybe he's been in here recently? This is the guy.
What guy? The guy doing business in our bathroom.
Why don't you tell us what you're talking about? Monday night.
I go in there to wash my hands, you know, like the sign says, and, uh, I see this guy in there with Roger.
BRISCOE: Yeah, what were they doing? Looked like they were making some kind of deal or something.
I seen him give Roger a bunch of money.
Which one of these guys is Roger? Over there by the oven.
ED: Your boss witnessed a felony, Roger.
What are you talking about? The gun you sold Bobby Sabo? I'm gonna get fired.
BRISCOE: I don't really care.
If you come clean with us, maybe you're not gonna get arrested.
All right.
So I know Bobby from the old neighborhood.
He comes by, flashing some green.
Says he wants to buy a new piece.
What do you mean, "new"? Well, I asked him where he got all the money, he said he sold his old.
25 to some Dominican dude.
We need a name.
I don't know his name.
Don't play dumb with us, Roger.
We've been doing this all night.
I'm being straight with you, okay? All I know is I seen him at the bodega up on There's our guy.
Which one? Red jacket.
He's carrying heavy on the right side.
Hold on, Lennie.
We guess wrong, we spook the guy that bought Bobby's piece.
It's not a guess.
Hey, you.
Step over here.
What's your name? They call me Flaco.
Flaco what? What's this about? It's about the gun in your pocket.
What, you got X-ray eyes or something? Yeah, that's right.
I got X-ray eyes.
Check his right pocket.
Whoa! You gotta be kidding me, man! I wish I was.
I I didn't do nothing! BRISCOE: Oh, looks like a.
25.
Damn.
Too bad, Flaco.
You had to run into Superman today.
So you got the hardware, how about letting me walk? We sent the gun to ballistics.
It was used to kill a lady on Manhattan Avenue.
I don't shoot people.
We don't think you're the shooter.
Maybe just an accessory.
Oh, so I go down for murder even though I got nothing to do with it? Our boss is kicking our asses here.
We'd put this on you in a second.
I'm figuring there's something in it for me, Papa.
We're gonna take care of you.
No, forget about that.
You give us the guy who sold you the gun or we charge you with murder.
Oh, you're doing that good cop, bad cop thing, right? Oh, you don't wise up, it's gonna be bad cop, bad cop.
I want a deal on the gun possession.
You're gonna have to testify against the seller.
Plus you do the 30 days you owe on the fare-beat.
I'll do the 30 days.
But I ain't gonna testify.
Fine.
Then you're being charged with murder in the second degree.
ED: You're looking at the difference between life in prison and some kind of city time.
Puerto Rican guy.
Name is Bobby.
Check it out.
These boys never learn.
I'll do the honors.
What's up now? Yo, they're too tight! BRISCOE: Ah, too bad, Bobby.
Yeah.
Bring it on, man.
You're just making my lawsuit fatter.
Keep talking, smart-ass.
We got your gun.
We're finally on solid ground.
Sabo's been indicted.
We have his murder weapon.
Prints? It was wiped clean, but we have a witness who bought it from Sabo.
Mr.
Ochoa has a few misdemeanor convictions.
Our circumstantial evidence bolsters his credibility.
This man couldn't get work as a used car salesman.
Well, we made a deal with him to testify against Sabo.
(KNOCKING ON DOOR) What now? Ochoa's moving to suppress the gun.
You have a deal? We did.
Wonderful.
Detective Briscoe served three years in anti-crime.
He was trained to recognize individuals who carry guns.
The detective played a hunch.
The police can't pat down law-abiding pedestrians on intuition.
This was more than intuition.
The suspect was walking in an unusual manner which indicated he had a handgun Or a cell phone, or hemorrhoids.
Did your detective have reason to think Mr.
Ochoa was engaged in any criminal conduct? It was possible Mr.
Ochoa bought the weapon from a murder suspect.
He was a possible accessory to murder.
Possible, possible, possible.
It turned out the detective was right.
No.
I don't buy it, Ms.
Carmichael.
The Fourth Amendment requires a little more than just a funny walk.
This police tactic has been accepted in other cases.
Not in my court.
I'm suppressing the gun, dismissing the indictment.
And releasing Mr.
Ochoa? He owes 30 days on a turnstile jump.
Nothing I can do about that.
(BUZZER BUZZING) BRISCOE: You're still gonna testify against Bobby.
Why would I wanna do that? Because he gunned down a nice lady in cold blood.
What's he gonna do to me if I drop a dime? We can move you.
I ain't going to no Staten Island, Papa.
Yo, I'm happy with my life right now, yo.
Then we tell Bobby you gave him up.
(SCOFFS) I don't testify, I'm cool.
Then you leave the D.
A.
No choice.
They're charging you as an accessory to murder.
All I did was buy a gun.
Nothing to do with no murder.
You want to bet Ain't much of a bet, yo.
We had a deal.
Hey, my lawyer beat the case! Your lawyer's not here! I'm talking to you! Lennie! Lennie, come on! (BREATHING HEAVILY) Damn.
Your boy's wound up too tight, yo.
Do the right thing here, Flaco.
I do my 30 days, I'm done.
(BUZZER BUZZING) Next time you lay a hand on me when I'm with a suspect I was afraid you were gonna mess the guy up.
Oh! Oh, only you can do that? This guy was our last chance, Lennie.
He was gonna help us.
All the guy was giving us was attitude.
Fine.
Let's just keep doing it your way.
We'll be chasing this case till next year.
You want out, say the word.
Ochoa's gun case was tossed.
He refuses to testify against Sabo.
And now Sabo's lawyer is moving to suppress the confession.
Yeah, the one Detective Briscoe heard.
The one only he heard.
He says Sabo copped to it, that should be good enough for us.
Lennie Briscoe has kicked the ball out onto the fairway before.
BRISCOE: My partner and I arrived at the playground to arrest Mr.
Sabo.
We observed him playing basketball along with several other individuals.
What did you do next? I went to place handcuffs on Mr.
Sabo.
My partner and some uniformed officers moved his friends off to one side to keep them from interfering.
JACK: How far away? About 30 feet.
JACK: Then what happened, Detective? While I was cuffing Mr.
Sabo, he blurted out a statement.
What did he say? He said, "I gave that white bitch what she deserved.
" JACK: He just said that out of the blue? He was responding to a comment I made.
JACK: What was that? I said, "You little bastard, I'm arresting you for the murder of Eva Harrison.
" You were the only one to hear Mr.
Sabo say this, even though your partner was 10 yards away? There was a lot of commotion at the time.
And 20 minutes after you claimed he said this, Mr.
Sabo told your lieutenant that you were trying to frame him? BRISCOE: He said a lot of things, most of it You can take with a grain of salt.
Isn't it true that you illegally seized evidence you were planning to use against Mr.
Sabo? That's what a judge said.
And doesn't that demonstrate the lengths that you would go to to incriminate Mr.
Sabo? Mr.
Sabo incriminated himself.
The first time you tried to arrest my client, he eluded you? Right.
And there was a problem the second time you tried to arrest him? He exposed himself to me.
You don't like my client very much, do you, Detective? I don't usually get along with murderers, no.
Mr.
Sabo gave you a lot of attitude.
Your client's a hump, but he said what he said.
I'm not making up evidence.
Would it be fair to say that you've been accused of cutting corners before? Accused? My personnel file is clean.
This is a big case, isn't it, Detective? A lot of pressure to bring in a suspect? To bring in the killer.
Your superiors were all over you.
You were failing.
Isn't it true that the only reason my client made this immaculate confession is because you can't cut legitimate police work anymore? Objection.
JUDGE: Sustained.
No, I wanna answer that.
You can ask my superiors.
The quality of my work is just fine.
This is not about me, it's about him.
He said he did it.
He killed that lady.
First time I met this Detective Briscoe, I knew he didn't like me.
Why did you think that? Well, I know I shouldn't have run away from the cops, but that's what we have to do where I live.
I think he has some kind of grudge against me 'cause of that.
When Detective Briscoe apprehended you, at the Port Authority, did you expose yourself to him? All I was doing was taking a leak.
He wouldn't even let me finish.
He made me do it all over my brand new AJ's.
And when he arrested you later on the basketball court, did you ever say, "I gave that white bitch what she deserved?" No, ma'am.
No way.
What did you say? I said, "Don't hook me up too tight," 'cause I knew that's what he was gonna do.
You've been arrested how many times, Mr.
Sabo? You got the sheet.
Six, seven.
Maybe it was 12? Yeah, all right.
You have eight misdemeanor convictions and two felony convictions? Something like that.
All of which were for robbery or larceny? If that's what it says.
And who should we believe about this, Mr.
Sabo, you or Detective Briscoe? Me.
The one who ran from the police? I explained that already.
Hid from the authorities in a friend's apartment? They're trying to frame me.
Tried to hop a bus out of town? Man, he's the one who's lying.
Why would I say I did something I didn't do? It don't make sense.
It's normally not my inclination to value the word of a convicted felon over a police officer.
But here, there's evidence of animus by Detective Briscoe that turns everything on its head.
He has conducted an illegal search, he was indignant with the defendant for eluding capture, and he has a palpable attitude of dislike which I detected from the witness stand.
The final straw is this confession is uncorroborated.
Therefore, I'm suppressing the statement.
With the confession excluded, there's no evidence against Mr.
Sabo.
We have a bike similar to the one used in the murder.
We have evidence of flight.
It's a house of cards, Judge.
She's right, Mr.
McCoy.
I'll give you 24 hours.
If you can't marshal any legitimate evidence here, I'll dismiss the indictment.
I heard the news.
We get the gun, they toss it, we get the confession We? I've been saying "we" to cover your ass.
Out of respect for you.
I don't need that kind of respect.
Good, 'cause I've been walking on egg shells ever since we caught this case.
It's about as long as you've been pissing me off.
Pissing you off? Why? Because I don't blend in with the rest of the roaches? Oh, is that what this is about? Because you know that's not how I meant that! No, no, no.
I will tell you what I know.
If it wasn't for your screw-ups, we'd have nailed this guy a long time ago.
My screw-ups? Your stuff's been getting thrown out of court ever since you got here.
Well, maybe I take chances because my partner can't get it up! Well, maybe you just get off on taking chances VAN BUREN: Briscoe! In my office.
What's going on? I'm done working with Green.
The hell you are.
I don't need him second-guessing everything I do.
Green's not your problem.
Then what is my problem? You tell me.
That's what I'm trying to figure out.
You think I'm too old to cut it? Whoa! Now where's that coming from? From the flavor of the month out there.
You've been here six years.
You know I don't play favorites.
Well, six years should count for something more than my pension.
Look, I'm behind you, Lennie.
But I believe this case is messing with you.
This case pans out the same whether I'm 25 or 75.
Right.
I'm glad you feel that way.
So pull yourself together because it isn't over.
(DOOR OPENING) Uh, can I have that transcript I threw at you? What you thinking? Sabo testified in court that he took a leak on a brand new pair of sneakers.
Yeah, his cousin brought him clothes from their apartment.
So what happened to his old felony flyers? Yeah, Bobby left a pair of shoes here.
He booked out quick.
What'd they look like? Uh, running shoes.
Gray and black.
You still have them? Size 10.
Too big for me.
I'm saving them for my nephew.
All right.
Let's take a look.
Here you go.
We found blood spatters on the laces of the right shoe.
Aren't you people tired of playing cat and mouse yet? Must be.
They always lose.
These shoes could've come from anywhere.
The lab matched the DNA to the woman you murdered.
We have 10 witnesses who'll testify they saw you in those shoes.
Yeah, right.
Latent matched a thumb print on the heel to your client.
There are no suppression issues this time, Ms.
Torres.
Your client's run out of miracles.
So how do we make this go away? It's not going away.
We have a capital case.
Let me ask you something.
(WHISPERING INAUDIBLY) In his recent travels through the criminal justice system, my client's met some interesting characters.
No doubt.
I'm sure they'll miss him.
They've told him stories.
He has information on the Murray Hill rapist.
He'll give it up in exchange for man one, How do we know the information's reliable? This loco, he takes souvenirs, right? He told me about them.
You could have read that in newspapers.
I didn't read where he takes their short and curlies.
But, hey, if you want him to do another schoolgirl TORRES: Look, we'll make it easy for you.
His information doesn't click, we're both free agents.
He'll have to admit the shooting in his allocution.
No problem.
One other thing.
Detective Briscoe.
What about him? You really shook him up.
Yeah, I guess I did.
You went one on one and you beat him.
Hey, we ain't all stupid.
So what did you say to him when he arrested you? What I told the old cop? That I gave that bitch what she deserved.
(DOOR CLOSING) I cannot believe you're seriously considering this.
The police had a task force on this serial rapist for five months.
Seven knife-point rapes in Murray Hill.
Every other week another young woman is assaulted.
We can talk to Sabo's cellmates, everyone he came in contact with.
It is only a matter of time before something breaks.
Explain that to his next victim.
CARMICHAEL: Sabo gunned down a woman in cold blood.
Briscoe and Green went through hell to nail this guy.
That's their job.
Make the deal.
I just heard from the D.
A.
They cut a deal with Bobby Sabo.
No needle? Big surprise.
VAN BUREN: No.
Six-to-12.
(SCOFFS) What, years or weeks? Sabo gave up the Murray Hill rapist.
They collared the guy two hours ago.
And Lennie.
McCoy says Sabo copped to the confession.
How nice of my pal Bobby.
And tell him I plan on doing this job from my wheelchair.
(DOOR CLOSING) Don't draw to any inside straights.
These are their stories.
This guy was camped out here, wouldn't me park.
I'm reserving this space for a friend.
This Neanderthal tried to run me over.
This isn't the Four Seasons.
You can't reserve a space, sir.
I should have run over this little twerp.
All right.
Take it easy.
Bring it on.
Hey, settle down! Settle down! (GUN FIRING) (WOMAN SCREAMING) Shots fired.
Female down.
Send an ambulance.
Send it fast.
How long ago? Twenty minutes.
ED: Close range, Lennie.
Lady's got a wedding ring and a purse.
Leather's torn near the strap.
BRISCOE: She played tug of war with the shooter.
He missed out.
Couple hundred bucks in fresh twenties.
That's worth dying for.
Eva Harrison.
Let's try to find her husband.
Got two witnesses.
Shooter was a Hispanic kid on a silver mountain bike.
Every unit in the sector's looking for him.
Daytime stick-up.
Haven't seen one of those in a while.
Yeah.
A real blast from the past.
He rode by me before the shooting.
It was a silver Cobra, the 812 model.
It just came out this year.
And then what happened? I just heard shots and turned around.
Which way did he go? He burned a right on 105th.
That's a fast bike.
Titanium frame, XTR derailleurs.
Yeah, what about the guy? I don't know, light-skinned.
Spanish, I think.
What about his clothes? I don't know.
Something dark.
But his bike had the flake paint job.
Again the bike? Hey, look, the guy rode by me on an $800 mountain bike.
I didn't know he was gonna kill somebody.
Thanks.
I heard the gun go off and I saw the guy riding away.
Which direction? Umm Left on 105th.
Another witness said right.
Well, I didn't want to look at him too close.
Did you see what color hair he had? I couldn't tell.
I'm pretty sure he was wearing a hat.
Pretty sure? Well, you want me to be accurate, right? We'd like one answer with no maybes.
I saw him from the back.
Why don't you talk to the blonde couple.
They were a lot closer.
Where's this blonde couple now? WOMAN: We hear the shots, we run.
We don't know where he goes.
He had a What is the word? Beard? BRISCOE: You mean mustache? No, Heinrich, he had a empty face, he had nothing.
How can you say this? Did he have a hat? Yes.
No.
He had a black hat.
That was his hair.
All right.
What was he wearing? A blue shirt.
No, his shirt was black.
His hair was black.
His shirt was blue.
No wonder they needed a wall.
Detective, we located the husband.
BRISCOE: Nobody got a real good look.
Then how are you going to find him? That's why we wanted to talk to you.
Do you remember if your wife's pocket-book was torn before this happened? I never paid much attention to her pocket-books, why? It looks like it might have been a purse-snatching.
PETER: Eva never carried around much money.
ED: We found $250 in her purse.
You did? You live on 68th Street.
Now, what would she be doing way up at Manhattan Avenue and 104th? Nothing that would get her killed.
She taught art at the Morningside Community Center.
She ever talk about her students? Yes.
They liked art.
She was murdered in broad daylight with a cop right there, and you don't have any idea who did this? Not at the moment.
We'll get the guy.
I hope so.
I have to call my family.
Standard procedure.
His wife's dead, he's taking it out on us.
The Borough Commander wants to know how 15 units in hot pursuit missed this guy.
Maybe he should be calling Patrol, not Detective Squad.
Maybe the Detective Squad should be getting him off my back.
NURSE: These are Eva's students.
Stone killers, all of them.
What time was her class over? It was supposed to be at 11:00, but she stayed till 12:00.
Her students love her.
I don't know how I'm gonna tell them.
Any idea where she went when she left? The ATM at the bank on Manhattan Avenue.
She was leaving money for me for supplies, out of her own pocket.
She was supposed to come right back.
BRISCOE: Thanks.
She got followed from the bank.
The bank's only two blocks from the Douglas projects.
Somebody had to notice a kid on an $800 bike.
(KIDS CHATTERING) Hey.
What y'all playing? Yo, Mister Rogers.
Gimme the ball.
We're looking for a mountain bike.
A shiny silver one.
Tough crowd.
Yo, mister.
I seen that bike.
Where? I tell you for $20.
Sweetheart, it's been a long day.
Who's got the bike? I forget.
But it's coming back to you now, right? Danny Ruiz.
ED: Where's he live? I don't know.
GIRL: East tower.
One more Ruiz.
Yeah, that's Ruiz number five.
It'd be a lot easier if you had everybody's full name.
We can't keep track.
They multiply like roaches.
Gimme the list.
Meet us outside.
(MAN CHATTERING) Security! MAN: Yeah, hold on.
You're not security.
Sure we are.
You Danny Ruiz? Ruiz, yeah.
Do you have a silver mountain bike? No.
You sure? I swear, all right? But you can leave now.
Who lives in this apartment? My uncle's on the lease.
He's a close personal friend of Johnnie Cochran.
So I'll ask you one more time, politely Keep your boxers on.
The guy we're looking for is a light-skinned Hispanic.
Just show us some ID, so we know you are who you say you are.
Yeah, all right.
Silver Cobra, with the fancy derailleurs.
Where'd you get it? RUIZ: I bought it.
ED: So you have a receipt.
Look, I found it this afternoon.
Someone left it behind the building.
BRISCOE: Who? I didn't see him.
I swear.
Yeah.
Just like you swore you didn't have a bike? Get dressed.
Shooter had 20 cops after him, might be a smart move to ditch it.
Yeah.
And blend in with the rest of the roaches.
Ed gave the bike to Latent.
Ruiz is sticking with "finders keepers.
" Well, you check the video at the bank ATM? We saw the victim, but nobody matching the perp.
And we did get a.
25 slug from the M.
E.
, if we can find the gun.
So, all you have is a bike that might have been ridden by the shooter? This case is harder than it looked.
Well, maybe you better look harder.
Print matches from the bike.
Got hits for a Bobby Sabo.
Busted 12 times, two convictions for purse-snatching.
Last-known, 32 West 128th.
Pick him up.
I'll handle the search warrant.
(POLICE RADIO CHATTER) All right, Sabo's apartment's right down the hall.
Now, the lease is in his grandmother's name, so he may have company.
We know he's there, radio car spotted him coming in from the basketball court.
All right.
You cover the back.
Right.
LaMotte, you take the front.
You got it.
BRISCOE: Let's get him.
(KNOCKING) (SPEAKING IN SPANISH) (WOMAN REPLYING IN SPANISH) (WOMAN SPEAKING SPANISH) Police! Stop! We had him! Guy's too fast.
Should've had somebody cover the roof, Lennie.
My fault.
Don't worry about it.
Right.
And how do I know where my grandson went? Hey! You need a warrant to look around here, you know that! It's on the way.
What's this? That's my personal mail.
It was forwarded here? You used to live the Jefferson houses? What do you care? I worked gang intel.
9-B.
You got evicted for gang activity.
Yeah.
You have another grandson named Victor, right? Victor is a good boy.
ED: Yeah.
When he's not running with Los Gordos.
Is Bobby in the gang, too? This is Section 8 housing.
You want to get evicted again? I want you, both of you, out of here.
Search warrant.
Now they're gonna wreck my place.
I thought you had this guy.
Yeah.
We did.
How'd he get away? He ran.
ED: We got a lead on his whereabouts.
Bobby's cousin ran with Los Gordos.
LaMotte can toss the place and keep an eye on on the building.
I hope this lead pans out.
Hey, fellas.
How's business? We ain't got no business with you.
Don't be so sure.
Where's Victor Sabo? Yo, let's break out.
Nice talkin'.
Hey! You ever hear ofjaywalking? You gonna write me a ticket? For you and your friends.
It means we have to check for outstanding warrants.
Come on, man.
All right? ED: Or you can tell us about Victor.
He ain't here, all right.
He got beeped a little while ago.
How many warrants do you think we'll find on these misdemeanants? Said he was going to his abuela's house to pick something up.
Back to Grandma's.
Let's call LaMotte.
I think the guy you're looking for went in 15 minutes ago.
Was he wearing black and silver? Yeah.
Double-parked a late-model blue Taurus, came right out with a black gym bag.
I got the tag number on the car.
Call the station, have 'em run it.
Yeah, that's my Taurus.
My boyfriend Victor borrowed it.
Is something wrong? Where was he going? To get flowers for his grandma.
And when's he coming back? He's supposed to get back here so I can drive to my job.
BRISCOE: Where's that? Roosevelt Mall.
Victor say anything about his cousin Bobby? Look, he borrowed my car, that's all.
(PHONE RINGING) Hello? (SPEAKING SPANISH) (CONTINUES SPEAKING SPANISH) (SPEAKING SPANISH) Victor took her car and a hundred bucks.
Star 69.
He could have asked first.
What do you want, a quarter? Where am I calling, please? No, this isn't a joke.
This is police business.
Thank you.
Phone booth outside a Port Authority bus terminal.
MAN: (ON PA) Now boarding platform 24.
Philadelphia local, stopping at Newark Hands on the wall, Bobby! Okay, let me finish.
Now! Just a second.
Let me see your hands! Relax, man.
I said show me your hands! Oh, is that what you wanna see, you old maricón? Zip it up, Sabo.
You're under arrest.
Ah, you're lucky he showed up.
You're lucky I didn't shoot it off.
You're a tough guy, right? Is that your boyfriend? Shut up! No weapon.
ED: We got your bike, Bobby.
Your prints are all over it.
Witnesses are on the way.
You know, once we write this up as murder one, there's no turning back.
You think I'm scared? ED: You should be.
She wouldn't give it up, would she, Bobby? Pissed you off, huh? This white lady fighting back? What'd I shoot her with, my finger? Know what? You got kind of an old man smell.
You know, Lennie, I think he was just trying to scare her.
Is that right, Bobby? You let him watch your back? Man, I went by him like he was my grandma.
Get the line-up ready, Ed.
Let's see him get by the eyewitnesses.
I'm not sure.
BRISCOE: Take your time.
Uh-uh.
No do-overs.
She already whiffed.
I'm sorry.
I told you this would be a waste of time.
Thanks, Ms.
Palmer.
Makes you 0-for-2.
What about the German couple? Back home in Stuttgart.
Well, then my client's going home, too.
Can't we hold him on something? Resisting arrest? Or flashing? I'm not bringing this to the D.
A.
What's plan B? Maybe we rattle the cousin's cage.
See what shakes loose.
VAN BUREN: That's it? Hey, don't worry.
We got enough to turn this guy.
Victor Sabo? Leave us alone already.
I just want to talk to your boyfriend here.
Yeah? What for? Come on, let's take a walk.
Look, man, Bobby told me he was the clear, all right? And you believed him? You're an accessory to murder.
Oh, whoa.
Wait, you can't keep him so you're coming after me? You picked up his bag.
You gave him a ride to the bus station.
Look, man, he said he needed some clothes.
I don't know nothing about no murder.
What'd he do with his gun? I don't know about no gun.
You do know where you picked him up.
Before you got his bag.
You know what, I ain't sayin' nothing, so you might as well arrest me.
Look, man, I can respect that he's your cousin, but if you want to worry about your family worry about your grandmother.
What's she got to do with this? You want her to lose her apartment because you're acting stupid? It's no big deal.
You're not gonna be able to help her.
We're gonna charge you.
Man, I didn't do nothin'.
We gave you a shot, Victor.
This accessory deal's legit.
All right.
Look, he was staying with some guy named Diego in the Bronx.
They were together in Rikers.
Yeah.
I was on the rock with Bobby for eight months.
I'm trying to get away from that.
Then why did you let Bobby stay here? It's hard to say no.
Me and him, you know, we been through a lot.
He tell you he was running from a murder rap? I figured it was something serious.
He had a gun.
I didn't know.
You want to think about that some more? BRISCOE: What do you think your parole officer is going to say when we tell him you opened a rooming house for armed fugitives? All right.
Yeah.
He had a burner.
I made him take it out of here.
He didn't have it with him at the Port Authority.
Well, I told him he was stupid to be carrying it.
Maybe he ditched it between here and the bus station.
The Taurus.
Hey, don't put your shoes on my seat.
Back seat's clean.
You satisfied now? You like Pizza Land? What do you care? Well, maybe you want to eat what's in bag.
.
25.
That stupid Bobby, I'm gonna kill him.
Be our guest.
(PLAYERS CHATTERING) Nowhere to go, Bobby.
Man, I beat this stinkin' case already.
Hey, you try to go over that fence, I'm gonna have to stop you with this.
See, fellas, all these cops wanna do is take me out.
ED: All right, let's go! What you lookin' at? Get on the fence! OFFICER: Put your hands up on the fence.
Let's go! Now! Toss 'em for weapons.
If they're clean, send 'em home.
Don't move! We all set, Lennie? Yeah, we're all set.
Our boy here just confessed.
If you keep harassing my client like this, we'll get a restraining order.
Save it, Counselor.
We found his.
25.
Now, that ain't mine.
Take it easy, Bobby.
It doesn't matter whose gun it is.
Your client confessed.
Confessed to what? To murder and robbery.
I don't know what he's talking about.
I'm talking about what you said on the basketball court.
About giving the lady what she deserved.
I didn't say nothin' about no lady.
Look he's tryin' to frame me.
Now why would he do that? 'Cause I burned their asses two times already.
Yeah.
Now we got yours nailed to the wall.
Yeah, right.
Yo, you got a dirty cop in your house.
You said it, you son of a bitch! Gonna put a beat-down on me now? Any witnesses to this so-called confession? I'm gonna finish writing my report.
You just gonna stand there and let this cracker frame me? Shut up.
Did you hear this confession? No.
Hmm.
You want to look over this DD-5 before I file it? Sure.
Lucky he 'fessed up.
Yep, lucky.
How'd you get it out of him so quick? What's that mean? I'm just saying, it's pretty amazing.
You're alone with the guy for 10 seconds and he gives it up.
You don't believe it happened? Hey, I'm just asking how.
I've been doing this for 25 years.
I think I've earned the right not to be second-guessed.
We are charging Sabo with the murder? Let's see what ballistics says about his gun.
(GUN FIRES) All right.
You got a Raven Arms MP-25.
Recently fired.
Four rounds in the clip.
Now then, Ravens have got five lands and grooves, with a right twist.
Same as the slug from your victim.
All right.
You got a live perp on this? Yeah.
Now all we need is a little evidence.
Take a look.
The striations on the slugs don't match.
Mmm-hmm.
That's not your murder weapon, guys.
At least you got him on gun possession.
(SIGHS) VAN BUREN: Sabo's the shooter.
So why'd the judge let him walk? Talk to the judge.
I don't have to.
You only charged him with possession.
The gun didn't match.
Your problem isn't with the gun or with the judge.
You just can't put together a case.
It's taking time.
Time for what? This woman was gunned down on a busy street, for God's sakes.
Where are the eyewitnesses? We found two.
They couldn't make ID's.
We still have the guy's confession.
You have a confession? Well, do you or don't you? The guy said he did it.
What's the problem? Nobody heard it except Detective Briscoe.
So? You don't believe him? VAN BUREN: We need corroboration.
We have other leads I wanna to see your write-up.
I'll make sure you get the write-up.
You know anything about this confession? VAN BUREN: Will you excuse us? (DOOR OPENING) (DOOR CLOSING) Forget corroboration.
Just make the arrest.
It won't stick.
Let the D.
A.
Worry about that.
They can take the heat.
I won't work a case that way.
I don't see you working this case at all.
Your own detectives are lying to you.
Detective Briscoe said the suspect confessed, then that's the way it happened.
Sabo is the guy.
You better be right.
Especially about Briscoe.
Thanks for all your wonderful support in there.
I don't want to hear it, Lennie.
Do we have other leads? Well, to tell you the truth You know what? Why don't we shake this up a little bit? Lennie, you can work the phones with Sanders and you and LaMotte can look for the murder weapon.
Hey, nothing against LaMotte, but Lennie and me is not the problem.
You sure? Because I'm not doing that again.
Don't do me any favors.
I'm not.
LaMotte's working a ten by six.
I don't need a double shift tonight.
Yeah, nobody's calling you a liar.
I never called you a liar.
The hell you didn't.
What was all that back in the squad room? You got it wrong, Lennie.
I'm not the enemy here.
Yeah? I don't know what you are.
Joey.
What time you going? Sounds good.
Pick me up at the usual spot.
I'm out of here.
Can't say I'm surprised.
What, you got something better to do? Bobby's gun was found in a Pizza Land bag.
Yeah? Well, there's 12 Pizza Lands in Manhattan open till midnight.
(SLAMMING) This pizza better taste right.
BRISCOE: His name's Bobby Sabo.
Maybe he's been in here recently? This is the guy.
What guy? The guy doing business in our bathroom.
Why don't you tell us what you're talking about? Monday night.
I go in there to wash my hands, you know, like the sign says, and, uh, I see this guy in there with Roger.
BRISCOE: Yeah, what were they doing? Looked like they were making some kind of deal or something.
I seen him give Roger a bunch of money.
Which one of these guys is Roger? Over there by the oven.
ED: Your boss witnessed a felony, Roger.
What are you talking about? The gun you sold Bobby Sabo? I'm gonna get fired.
BRISCOE: I don't really care.
If you come clean with us, maybe you're not gonna get arrested.
All right.
So I know Bobby from the old neighborhood.
He comes by, flashing some green.
Says he wants to buy a new piece.
What do you mean, "new"? Well, I asked him where he got all the money, he said he sold his old.
25 to some Dominican dude.
We need a name.
I don't know his name.
Don't play dumb with us, Roger.
We've been doing this all night.
I'm being straight with you, okay? All I know is I seen him at the bodega up on There's our guy.
Which one? Red jacket.
He's carrying heavy on the right side.
Hold on, Lennie.
We guess wrong, we spook the guy that bought Bobby's piece.
It's not a guess.
Hey, you.
Step over here.
What's your name? They call me Flaco.
Flaco what? What's this about? It's about the gun in your pocket.
What, you got X-ray eyes or something? Yeah, that's right.
I got X-ray eyes.
Check his right pocket.
Whoa! You gotta be kidding me, man! I wish I was.
I I didn't do nothing! BRISCOE: Oh, looks like a.
25.
Damn.
Too bad, Flaco.
You had to run into Superman today.
So you got the hardware, how about letting me walk? We sent the gun to ballistics.
It was used to kill a lady on Manhattan Avenue.
I don't shoot people.
We don't think you're the shooter.
Maybe just an accessory.
Oh, so I go down for murder even though I got nothing to do with it? Our boss is kicking our asses here.
We'd put this on you in a second.
I'm figuring there's something in it for me, Papa.
We're gonna take care of you.
No, forget about that.
You give us the guy who sold you the gun or we charge you with murder.
Oh, you're doing that good cop, bad cop thing, right? Oh, you don't wise up, it's gonna be bad cop, bad cop.
I want a deal on the gun possession.
You're gonna have to testify against the seller.
Plus you do the 30 days you owe on the fare-beat.
I'll do the 30 days.
But I ain't gonna testify.
Fine.
Then you're being charged with murder in the second degree.
ED: You're looking at the difference between life in prison and some kind of city time.
Puerto Rican guy.
Name is Bobby.
Check it out.
These boys never learn.
I'll do the honors.
What's up now? Yo, they're too tight! BRISCOE: Ah, too bad, Bobby.
Yeah.
Bring it on, man.
You're just making my lawsuit fatter.
Keep talking, smart-ass.
We got your gun.
We're finally on solid ground.
Sabo's been indicted.
We have his murder weapon.
Prints? It was wiped clean, but we have a witness who bought it from Sabo.
Mr.
Ochoa has a few misdemeanor convictions.
Our circumstantial evidence bolsters his credibility.
This man couldn't get work as a used car salesman.
Well, we made a deal with him to testify against Sabo.
(KNOCKING ON DOOR) What now? Ochoa's moving to suppress the gun.
You have a deal? We did.
Wonderful.
Detective Briscoe served three years in anti-crime.
He was trained to recognize individuals who carry guns.
The detective played a hunch.
The police can't pat down law-abiding pedestrians on intuition.
This was more than intuition.
The suspect was walking in an unusual manner which indicated he had a handgun Or a cell phone, or hemorrhoids.
Did your detective have reason to think Mr.
Ochoa was engaged in any criminal conduct? It was possible Mr.
Ochoa bought the weapon from a murder suspect.
He was a possible accessory to murder.
Possible, possible, possible.
It turned out the detective was right.
No.
I don't buy it, Ms.
Carmichael.
The Fourth Amendment requires a little more than just a funny walk.
This police tactic has been accepted in other cases.
Not in my court.
I'm suppressing the gun, dismissing the indictment.
And releasing Mr.
Ochoa? He owes 30 days on a turnstile jump.
Nothing I can do about that.
(BUZZER BUZZING) BRISCOE: You're still gonna testify against Bobby.
Why would I wanna do that? Because he gunned down a nice lady in cold blood.
What's he gonna do to me if I drop a dime? We can move you.
I ain't going to no Staten Island, Papa.
Yo, I'm happy with my life right now, yo.
Then we tell Bobby you gave him up.
(SCOFFS) I don't testify, I'm cool.
Then you leave the D.
A.
No choice.
They're charging you as an accessory to murder.
All I did was buy a gun.
Nothing to do with no murder.
You want to bet Ain't much of a bet, yo.
We had a deal.
Hey, my lawyer beat the case! Your lawyer's not here! I'm talking to you! Lennie! Lennie, come on! (BREATHING HEAVILY) Damn.
Your boy's wound up too tight, yo.
Do the right thing here, Flaco.
I do my 30 days, I'm done.
(BUZZER BUZZING) Next time you lay a hand on me when I'm with a suspect I was afraid you were gonna mess the guy up.
Oh! Oh, only you can do that? This guy was our last chance, Lennie.
He was gonna help us.
All the guy was giving us was attitude.
Fine.
Let's just keep doing it your way.
We'll be chasing this case till next year.
You want out, say the word.
Ochoa's gun case was tossed.
He refuses to testify against Sabo.
And now Sabo's lawyer is moving to suppress the confession.
Yeah, the one Detective Briscoe heard.
The one only he heard.
He says Sabo copped to it, that should be good enough for us.
Lennie Briscoe has kicked the ball out onto the fairway before.
BRISCOE: My partner and I arrived at the playground to arrest Mr.
Sabo.
We observed him playing basketball along with several other individuals.
What did you do next? I went to place handcuffs on Mr.
Sabo.
My partner and some uniformed officers moved his friends off to one side to keep them from interfering.
JACK: How far away? About 30 feet.
JACK: Then what happened, Detective? While I was cuffing Mr.
Sabo, he blurted out a statement.
What did he say? He said, "I gave that white bitch what she deserved.
" JACK: He just said that out of the blue? He was responding to a comment I made.
JACK: What was that? I said, "You little bastard, I'm arresting you for the murder of Eva Harrison.
" You were the only one to hear Mr.
Sabo say this, even though your partner was 10 yards away? There was a lot of commotion at the time.
And 20 minutes after you claimed he said this, Mr.
Sabo told your lieutenant that you were trying to frame him? BRISCOE: He said a lot of things, most of it You can take with a grain of salt.
Isn't it true that you illegally seized evidence you were planning to use against Mr.
Sabo? That's what a judge said.
And doesn't that demonstrate the lengths that you would go to to incriminate Mr.
Sabo? Mr.
Sabo incriminated himself.
The first time you tried to arrest my client, he eluded you? Right.
And there was a problem the second time you tried to arrest him? He exposed himself to me.
You don't like my client very much, do you, Detective? I don't usually get along with murderers, no.
Mr.
Sabo gave you a lot of attitude.
Your client's a hump, but he said what he said.
I'm not making up evidence.
Would it be fair to say that you've been accused of cutting corners before? Accused? My personnel file is clean.
This is a big case, isn't it, Detective? A lot of pressure to bring in a suspect? To bring in the killer.
Your superiors were all over you.
You were failing.
Isn't it true that the only reason my client made this immaculate confession is because you can't cut legitimate police work anymore? Objection.
JUDGE: Sustained.
No, I wanna answer that.
You can ask my superiors.
The quality of my work is just fine.
This is not about me, it's about him.
He said he did it.
He killed that lady.
First time I met this Detective Briscoe, I knew he didn't like me.
Why did you think that? Well, I know I shouldn't have run away from the cops, but that's what we have to do where I live.
I think he has some kind of grudge against me 'cause of that.
When Detective Briscoe apprehended you, at the Port Authority, did you expose yourself to him? All I was doing was taking a leak.
He wouldn't even let me finish.
He made me do it all over my brand new AJ's.
And when he arrested you later on the basketball court, did you ever say, "I gave that white bitch what she deserved?" No, ma'am.
No way.
What did you say? I said, "Don't hook me up too tight," 'cause I knew that's what he was gonna do.
You've been arrested how many times, Mr.
Sabo? You got the sheet.
Six, seven.
Maybe it was 12? Yeah, all right.
You have eight misdemeanor convictions and two felony convictions? Something like that.
All of which were for robbery or larceny? If that's what it says.
And who should we believe about this, Mr.
Sabo, you or Detective Briscoe? Me.
The one who ran from the police? I explained that already.
Hid from the authorities in a friend's apartment? They're trying to frame me.
Tried to hop a bus out of town? Man, he's the one who's lying.
Why would I say I did something I didn't do? It don't make sense.
It's normally not my inclination to value the word of a convicted felon over a police officer.
But here, there's evidence of animus by Detective Briscoe that turns everything on its head.
He has conducted an illegal search, he was indignant with the defendant for eluding capture, and he has a palpable attitude of dislike which I detected from the witness stand.
The final straw is this confession is uncorroborated.
Therefore, I'm suppressing the statement.
With the confession excluded, there's no evidence against Mr.
Sabo.
We have a bike similar to the one used in the murder.
We have evidence of flight.
It's a house of cards, Judge.
She's right, Mr.
McCoy.
I'll give you 24 hours.
If you can't marshal any legitimate evidence here, I'll dismiss the indictment.
I heard the news.
We get the gun, they toss it, we get the confession We? I've been saying "we" to cover your ass.
Out of respect for you.
I don't need that kind of respect.
Good, 'cause I've been walking on egg shells ever since we caught this case.
It's about as long as you've been pissing me off.
Pissing you off? Why? Because I don't blend in with the rest of the roaches? Oh, is that what this is about? Because you know that's not how I meant that! No, no, no.
I will tell you what I know.
If it wasn't for your screw-ups, we'd have nailed this guy a long time ago.
My screw-ups? Your stuff's been getting thrown out of court ever since you got here.
Well, maybe I take chances because my partner can't get it up! Well, maybe you just get off on taking chances VAN BUREN: Briscoe! In my office.
What's going on? I'm done working with Green.
The hell you are.
I don't need him second-guessing everything I do.
Green's not your problem.
Then what is my problem? You tell me.
That's what I'm trying to figure out.
You think I'm too old to cut it? Whoa! Now where's that coming from? From the flavor of the month out there.
You've been here six years.
You know I don't play favorites.
Well, six years should count for something more than my pension.
Look, I'm behind you, Lennie.
But I believe this case is messing with you.
This case pans out the same whether I'm 25 or 75.
Right.
I'm glad you feel that way.
So pull yourself together because it isn't over.
(DOOR OPENING) Uh, can I have that transcript I threw at you? What you thinking? Sabo testified in court that he took a leak on a brand new pair of sneakers.
Yeah, his cousin brought him clothes from their apartment.
So what happened to his old felony flyers? Yeah, Bobby left a pair of shoes here.
He booked out quick.
What'd they look like? Uh, running shoes.
Gray and black.
You still have them? Size 10.
Too big for me.
I'm saving them for my nephew.
All right.
Let's take a look.
Here you go.
We found blood spatters on the laces of the right shoe.
Aren't you people tired of playing cat and mouse yet? Must be.
They always lose.
These shoes could've come from anywhere.
The lab matched the DNA to the woman you murdered.
We have 10 witnesses who'll testify they saw you in those shoes.
Yeah, right.
Latent matched a thumb print on the heel to your client.
There are no suppression issues this time, Ms.
Torres.
Your client's run out of miracles.
So how do we make this go away? It's not going away.
We have a capital case.
Let me ask you something.
(WHISPERING INAUDIBLY) In his recent travels through the criminal justice system, my client's met some interesting characters.
No doubt.
I'm sure they'll miss him.
They've told him stories.
He has information on the Murray Hill rapist.
He'll give it up in exchange for man one, How do we know the information's reliable? This loco, he takes souvenirs, right? He told me about them.
You could have read that in newspapers.
I didn't read where he takes their short and curlies.
But, hey, if you want him to do another schoolgirl TORRES: Look, we'll make it easy for you.
His information doesn't click, we're both free agents.
He'll have to admit the shooting in his allocution.
No problem.
One other thing.
Detective Briscoe.
What about him? You really shook him up.
Yeah, I guess I did.
You went one on one and you beat him.
Hey, we ain't all stupid.
So what did you say to him when he arrested you? What I told the old cop? That I gave that bitch what she deserved.
(DOOR CLOSING) I cannot believe you're seriously considering this.
The police had a task force on this serial rapist for five months.
Seven knife-point rapes in Murray Hill.
Every other week another young woman is assaulted.
We can talk to Sabo's cellmates, everyone he came in contact with.
It is only a matter of time before something breaks.
Explain that to his next victim.
CARMICHAEL: Sabo gunned down a woman in cold blood.
Briscoe and Green went through hell to nail this guy.
That's their job.
Make the deal.
I just heard from the D.
A.
They cut a deal with Bobby Sabo.
No needle? Big surprise.
VAN BUREN: No.
Six-to-12.
(SCOFFS) What, years or weeks? Sabo gave up the Murray Hill rapist.
They collared the guy two hours ago.
And Lennie.
McCoy says Sabo copped to the confession.
How nice of my pal Bobby.
And tell him I plan on doing this job from my wheelchair.
(DOOR CLOSING) Don't draw to any inside straights.