Law & Order (1990) s16e08 Episode Script

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.
Rápido, boys.
The dumpster gets here in two hours.
Get the hell out of here.
DOA is Clayton Stack.
Shot twice.
Cash and wallet on him.
He called it in? Stuart Bedecker.
Had a cleaning crew in the adjacent alley.
Where's the crew? He said they got spooked and boogied.
I'll take the truck.
Thanks.
Mr.
Bedecker, Detective Green.
Listen, your crew, I need their contact info? This was more of a day crew.
Illegals? I tried to keep 'em here, but you know how it is with these guys.
Not much spine.
Just tell me what you saw and heard.
Box is empty.
Well, we can get a Canine Unit in here to sniff it out.
It's the DOA's rig, and I'm guessing his company.
Guy takes one in the head and one in the chest.
And he's in trucking.
And he lives in Jersey.
What a surprise.
I wish I could help, but I never heard anything about the mob coming around.
That's kind of hard to believe, being in the trucking business and all.
Well, maybe I just didn't know about it.
Well, look, don't you handle the operations around here? Yeah.
The drivers' schedules and bills of lading.
Not payoffs.
You and Stack close? He was the boss.
That's not what he asked.
Stack was kind of a prickly guy.
That make him some enemies? None I know of.
He was okay, just not the type to get in a Santa suit, that's all.
And the business, all above board? Completely.
Nobody came around collecting money for an orphans' fund.
If they had I wouldn't have known.
Look, I have to help his wife plan the funeral.
Are we done? My husband built that company from nothing.
He worked his fingers to the bone.
Twice a month he'd drive cross-country loads he didn't have to.
He was hands on.
He led by example.
That takes a strong personality.
And a good heart.
Did his focus ever rub anyone the wrong way? He got along with everyone.
Employees, too? He pushed 'em hard.
But only to get their best.
Is there anybody he pushed harder than the others? He was well liked by all of them.
Is there anyone that you can think of that he didn't get on with? No.
Did he owe anybody any money? We just started renovations two weeks ago.
Who does that when they're busted? All these questions, it's like It's like you're trying to throw dirt on his memory.
Ma'am, we don't mean to upset you.
We're just We're just trying to find out who killed him.
I don't know anything about anyone who was after him.
But he was having nightmares.
Nightmares? Yeah, nightmares.
His wife said that he would wake up a couple of nights a week screaming.
Since how long? Said it started a few months ago.
On account of what? She had absolutely no idea.
Yeah, well, neither do we.
We're at zero.
TARU is checking surveillance cameras along the route that Stack was driving, and Green is checking on the backgrounds of his employees.
All right.
Re-canvass the crime scene, too.
The Chief of D's wants to know what we got going here and "nightmares" ain't gonna cut it.
Hey, a driver Stack fired took a gun collar last year.
Lester Wilkes.
Yeah.
He drove long-haul.
The Transpo Supervisor said that when Wilkes got fired it came to blows.
Well, there you go.
DOT found the gun in a random inspection outside Dallas.
I never once fired the thing.
Is that why Stack canned you, for carrying the gun? It was Stack's idea.
To scare off hijackers.
Sounds like no love lost between the two of you.
When I got busted he wouldn't post bail or put up for a lawyer.
I spent two months in a Texas jail.
So that's why you gave him a beat down when you got fired? Damn right.
Can you account for yourself, at about 6:00 this morning? I was home.
Alone.
Delivering packages don't pay as much as long haul trucking, huh? You saying that's a reason to kill him? You tell us.
Look, fellas, scratch an inch into Stack's life, you'll find 20 stories like mine.
Damn, look at his lifestyle.
Hey, wait a second.
Are you telling us that it doesn't add up with the business? The man could spend.
Fenced in area at the end of the pier.
Make that fool Cosgrove give you a peek.
Good day in the morning.
Would you look at this? What's this, a '68? .
10' Go ahead, this is gorgeous.
Wow.
My uncle had one of these.
It's a '66 Shelby 289.
He let me drive Keisha Lockwood to the prom in it.
My God, it's beautiful.
Where do you suppose he found all this original chrome? Oh, he spent hours online hunting it down.
Door pulls, window cranks.
We know for a fact that he bought 'em cherry.
showed us the paperwork.
We wanna see your records, and we wanna see 'em now.
Do you understand me? Right now.
Hey, where there's a DH, that's "Dead Head.
" That's an empty truck, right? That's right.
Okay, so I'm looking over these records.
When Stack did his long hauls, he barely carried anything.
Well, all these other drivers hauled nothing but full loads.
So what do you think, he just liked to get out on the road? And tie up one of just eight rigs? Spending what, over a couple of grand in fuel? Not if he wants to keep buying them badass cars he has.
Or renovate a house.
So what do you think he was hauling? Canine Unit didn't find any trace of drugs.
It could be anything, booze, untaxed cigarettes.
Whatever it was got him killed.
And hopefully left some residue in that trailer box.
White urethane auto basecoat and there are flakes embedded in the bumper which would've easily blown off.
So he got in an accident just before pulling over.
Maybe someone ran him off the road.
Well, if you really want to impress us, you'll tell us what kind of car that paint came from.
The lab tech says Honda, Ford and GM all use the brand.
Sorry.
Oh.
What are we doing here? Step inside.
The trailer was washed out pretty good but ls all that blood? Some of it.
The lighter spots over here are human urine and fecal matter.
Sixty sets of fingerprints.
Did this guy make any runs to border towns? He was going back and forth from Arizona.
Close to Mexico? People.
He was hauling people.
My guess, undocumented workers.
And he ran into some serious trouble.
Tissue residue stained into the floor.
Numerous blood types, hair.
And here, blood and nail marks, where someone tried to pry the panel off with their fingers.
So what do you think happened here? I think at some point this trailer overheated and the people inside, the cargo, were literally cooked.
Any idea how many? Ten so far.
Maybe more.
That'll give you nightmares.
So you're telling us that you knew absolutely nothing about Stack hauling illegals? I knew something was going down on his hauls.
Who maintains the rigs? I do.
So when you were cleaning out blood, hair, loose fingernails from people who tried to claw their way out of a boiling hot trailer box, you classify that as "something going down"? Two months ago, Stack brought that rig in.
He said there'd been a problem.
When he was coming back from Arizona, where did he pick these illegals up? The staging area, Sasabe, Mexico.
He'd load up 30, 50 illegals and drop them in Three Points, sometimes as far as Tucson.
How much did he charge? Two grand a head.
All right.
What did he say that this problem was? A freon leak in the refrigeration unit.
He said it was terrible.
What did he do with the dead? Just dropped them in the desert.
Scattered locations.
And you worked with this scumbag? All right.
Who else knew about the dead illegals? I don't know.
His murder was connected to it, wasn't it, Ken? I swear I don't know.
Well, who else was he associated with in the smuggling business? I don't know any of the people down there.
How did he hook up with them? I don't know that either.
You don't know? You don't know nothing! You cooked the books.
He cooked the people.
You're going down, bro.
By the way, you're under arrest.
Hey, Lou, that was the Tucson Police Chief.
He said border patrol pulls a body a day out of the Sonora Desert.
Now, they're decomposed, so they're unidentifiable.
But, he says the most recent John Does could've been from Stack's truck.
So, he's sending DNA info.
Had the Chief ever heard of Stack before? He hadn't heard of most of the truckers who were moonlighting as "coyotes.
" So we got a cold, lowlife DOA who probably has a million enemies.
Hey, listen to this.
A red-light camera caught a white car trailing Stack's rig.
Didn't Crime Scene find white paint scraped on Stack's bumper? Yes, they did.
Did the camera happen to catch a plate number? There was no plate, but there was a Hudson Rent-a-Car sticker on its bumper.
I rented the car to take a drive out to the Island.
I've been looking to find a town to settle in.
Getting out of the rat race, huh? Too many people in the city now.
How did you get into that accident? Ah, I didn't.
The car was parked.
It got sideswiped when I went to get some dinner.
Any reason you didn't call the police, Mr.
Prentiss? I figured I'd let the rental company deal with it.
Did your travels take you anywhere around Duane Park? Uh, no, I don't think so.
Your rental was photographed running a red light in that area.
Swerving close to a big rig.
Is there a fine to pay or something? 'Cause this seems like an awful lot of questions for a dented Aurora.
"Countrymen Borderwatch of America.
" You belong to this organization? Yes.
This isn't a white power thing, is it? No.
Not at all.
No.
We're about border defense.
A citizen auxiliary.
Are you one of those guys who sits on the border looking through binoculars, pointing out illegal crossers? Lam personally responsible for 68 detainees.
Well, there you go.
Hey, you don't happen to know a guy named Clayton Stack, do you? Owns a trucking company? No.
Anything else? No.
Not now.
Yes, please.
Iran Nathaniel Prentiss through E-Justice.
He's clean.
Any calls from him to our DOA? No.
No connection so far.
Look, the DOA smuggled illegals, and this guy's in a border patrol group? I mean, I don't believe in coincidence, there's gotta be a connection.
We feel the same way, but there's no link here.
call from someone reporting a gun dropped in a storm drain near the crime scene.
Good.
Check it out.
Here, you go.
38.
Two spent shells.
I'll bet they match the slugs in the DOA and that this was the gun they used to kill Stack.
To see that gun get planted you'd have to be at a fairly specific angle.
Or looking out one of these windows.
Let's start knocking on some doors.
Thank you.
Thank you.
All these windows look onto the street.
But I didn't make any anonymous call, and my husband was out like a light.
We had a salon last night.
Excuse me? A dinner party with some artists from a gallery we support.
The 911 operator said the anonymous caller was a female with a Spanish accent.
Any of the artists at your Salon.
Yeah.
Any of them Spanish? No.
Any Spanish speaking people in the household? I don't know anything about a gun.
Weren't you cleaning the apartment this morning at 6 a.
m.
? Yes.
Did you do the dishes? Yes.
Don't you do the dishes in front of the window there? I didn't see anyone hide a gun.
I'm sorry.
Do you have children, Ms.
Alvarez? We were wondering because the person who did call the police was concerned that a child from the park nearby might find that gun.
Blanca, did you call the police? Did a man see you maybe? No.
But I can't get involved.
L think she's afraid because she's undocumented.
Ms.
Alvarez, we have no interest in your status.
We just need you to point us in the right direction.
Four.
He put the gun in the drain.
You're certain? Yes.
We appreciate your help, Ms.
Alvarez.
Everybody but four.
I just need you to sign this form.
I want to do what's right, you know? Okay, then just sign right here.
That's what I teach my boys.
Do what's right.
I understand you have concerns, Ms.
Alvarez.
I'm scared of being taken away from them.
Our interest is this homicide, not in sending you away.
Well, the ballistics report came back, and the gun you hid killed Clayton Stack.
I didn't hide any gun.
That's not what our witness says.
Hey, did you kill Stack to make a statement? I didn't kill anybody A statement about what? Hauling illegals into the country.
I mean, it says in here that they're traitors.
Traitors get sentenced to death, don't they? Well, they should be.
Especially traitors who contribute to "one million illegals a year streaming into America," "sapping our food assistance programs," "public schools and hospitals" They do the country a great disservice.
Disservice? That's an understatement.
Hey, how many aliens do you think are in the United States right now? You're kidding me.
I mean, that's crazy.
It's insanity.
And that's up from eight and a half million four years ago.
It makes you wonder whatever happened to the concept of national security? Exactly.
If that's what motivated this shooting we're going to quietly shake your hand and say a job well done.
It's true.
I mean, we considered Stack the lowest form of life, so, as far as we're concerned, he deserved it.
So why don't you help us help you put this thing in the right light.
Maybe they got into an argument.
Things spun out of control, he took a swing at him.
If you did this to make a point, let's let it be heard.
I don't know this guy, Stack.
And I want a lawyer.
Nathaniel Prentiss been arraigned? He posted his quarter million bail.
His attorney's talking self-defense.
Self-defense? He ran Clayton Stack's truck off the road and executed him.
Do you have a witness? A clear motive? No, no witness, but Prentiss is a fanatic.
The defense isn't gonna be selling him, they're gonna be selling the Countrymen.
And the Countrymen have a broader appeal than you might imagine, Jack.
The Governor of California came out in support of border patrols.
You may be looking at a run at nullification.
Camping out in the Arizona desert with a pair of binoculars is not gonna get anyone a pass for committing murder.
The man gives up his time, money and energy to sit in a hostile environment to protect the laws of his country.
In New York, he'll be seen as a vigilante.
I don't know, Jack.
I mean, it could get kind of complicated.
Here you have this guy who despises illegal immigration.
But at the same time, by killing Stack, he's really standing up for the immigrant underdog.
He can't say that if the truck and the people who died in it don't get into evidence.
Well, you got Everett Todd on the bench for this one.
So good luck.
Why don't you just tape my client's mouth shut? Mr.
Stack's past has nothing to do with whether Mr.
Prentiss felt his life was threatened in the moment when he pulled the trigger.
The death of those 12 illegals goes directly to my client's motive for meeting with Stack in the first place.
What's pertinent is the fight and the shooting.
What about the fact that my client only brought a gun because he knew that Stack was a murdering human trafficker.
What matters is Mr.
Prentiss' state of mind in the moment.
What matters is the jury seeing the whole picture.
Nothing happens in a vacuum, especially not this case.
I'm going to allow it.
That look says bad news.
You nailed it.
Some good news.
Latent lifted a thumb print from a bullet in the murder weapon that doesn't match Nathaniel Prentiss.
An accomplice? Possibly.
The print in the system? Not on file.
That's decent news, not good.
We'll need more, especially with Judge Todd.
I looked into him.
He's known to report witnesses he knows are illegals.
Even cooperating witnesses.
Like Blanca Alvarez.
Not before she testifies.
Jack, she's been in the country for So keep her off the stand? She puts the gun in Prentiss' hand.
The defense will use her status to discredit her.
She's not the best witness.
She's better than nothing.
Prentiss' ex-wife agreed to meet with me.
Maybe she knows who he runs with.
Nat and I divorced two years ago.
I'm not so sure how talking to you can help him.
We think there was another person involved, maybe someone more culpable.
Nat's a nice guy.
I don't want to hurt him.
He's a good man.
Can you tell me whether he was involved with the Countrymen during your marriage? He wasn't.
So his zealotry didn't contribute to your divorce? What contributed was infidelity.
After he found out he got all gung ho about homeland invasion.
The Countrymen gave him a society, friends, activities.
Friends like who? I'll tell you up front, Nathaniel Prentiss murdered no one.
Alone or with others.
Well, could you convince me, Mr.
Dorn? Look, he went to meet Stack to encourage him to turn himself into the authorities.
He told you this? Yeah.
We talked about it for the last two months, since Stack showed up on our radar in Sonora.
During a border watch.
One of our members, former law enforcement, he got a tip that Stack was the man responsible for the 12 dead crossers.
So we all got talking around the campfire.
That he should be confronted? And brought to the authorities.
Why didn't you just call the authorities? Well, it's our experience that you folks need your criminals handed to you on a plate.
Do you know why Nathaniel brought a gun to the meeting? Um, he was confronting a killer.
I mean, can you blame him? I'd like the names of the other people who were at the campfire when the plan was hatched.
I can't recall.
Now, if you'll excuse me.
Crime Scene says that the prints on the soda can do not match the bullet in the murder weapon.
Dorn's prints in the system? Nothing popped.
He doesn't have a record.
Well, did you re-canvass the crime scene? Three times.
Look, so far we've got nothing to make this guy your accomplice.
Your witness, Blanca Alvarez, just got assaulted on the street.
She was taking the kids for a walk, a black van pulled up, white guy jumped out with a knife.
Anybody get hurt? Kids are fine.
Nanny got minor scrapes.
Witnesses say she was screaming and clawing at the guy and scared him off.
She fought like hell.
Can you point me towards the witnesses? Ms.
Alvarez, are you okay? I'm okay.
I'm okay.
He just came out of nowhere.
Did you recognize him? No.
No.
Well, can you tell me what happened after he got out of the van? He ran at me.
He tried to pull me away.
I think he was trying to get the babies.
You sure he wasn't trying to pull you into the van? No, no, no, no.
He was pulling me away to try to get to them.
But is it possible he was after you? Is it because of the man I saw who hid the gun? Until we know for sure we'll need to put you in a protected location.
A hotel.
Oh, no.
No, no, no.
No! I just want to go back to my apartment.
Ms.
Alvarez, I'm sorry, but you might not be safe.
Guys, they just pulled over a black van in mid-town.
They think it might be our guy.
Everything will be okay.
You're going to cal! This an attempted mugging? That's about all you can prove.
Ms.
Alvarez is a witness in a homicide case.
Your client's fingerprint was found on a bullet in the murder weapon in that case.
Or are you going to call that a coincidence and make us laugh out loud? He was intimidating our witness.
That's first degree kidnapping.
An A-1 felony.
25 years.
Could it stay a mugging if he had information about the homicide? Very good information.
And we're assured he wasn't the shooter himself.
I was upstate when it went down.
How did your print get on the bullet? I sold a guy the gun.
Terry Dorn.
Dorn? Did he have something to do with the attack on Blanca Alvarez? He paid me to get her to back off her ID of Nathaniel Prentiss.
How'd he find out who made the ID? Maybe Nathaniel's attorney.
He'd know, right? Why is Nathaniel so important to Dorn? 'Cause Terry Dorn believes We believe that Nathaniel Prentiss shouldn't go to jail for protecting this country! You're a Countryman, too, Mr.
Moncrief? You damn right, I am! Nathaniel Prentiss is a hero.
Terry, he was just trying to protect him.
If that's all you got, it's still a kidnapping.
Dorn knew Stack was going to get murdered.
Buying the gun for Prentiss was a little insurance.
When did you know this? He told me yesterday.
When he called me about the housekeeper.
That's not worth something? Terry Dorn? Yeah, just a minute, huh? Just put your hands where we can see them.
Don't move.
What is this crap? You're under arrest.
Accomplice to murder, witness intimidation.
The list is long and distinguished.
And a 'yoke.
You should be ashamed of yourselves.
Huh? What kind of a country locks up its patriots? The kind that gives you the right to remain silent.
Exercise it.
He bought the intimidation of a witness and a gun for a murder.
How does that earn a walk? The essence of what you're asking for is a testimony of brother against brother.
Except Nathaniel Prentiss is not his brother.
These men confronted foreign invaders in the Arizona desert together.
They've dodged live rounds They're also not in a war.
You're deluded, Mr.
McCoy.
There are terrorists crossing, drug dealers Sell that to your elected officials, Mr.
Dorn.
Or get someone elected who agrees with you, but spare me.
You know what percentage of Federal prisoners are illegal immigrants, Mr.
McCoy? Twenty percent.
That's 20% of all federal crime from 3% of the population, and you think we should just sit on our hands? I think you're free to take your chances at trial.
The idea was never to harm Ms.
Alvarez.
What was the idea? To inform her of what Clayton Stack had done to other migrant workers, her people, and hopefully she would, uh, reconsider her testimony.
By having Dan Moncrief kidnap her at knifepoint? He's had survival training.
He's, uh He's overzealous.
Tell me about the gun you bought for Nathaniel Prentiss.
Did you know of his intention to kill Clayton Stack? I can't believe it's come to this.
How did you know Mr.
Prentiss meant to kill Clayton Stack? Well, he would come to me with these scenarios, concepts for hunting Stack down.
Assassination plans? Yes.
Uh, one idea was to phony up a hijacking of Stack's rig.
And what was the desired result? Stack's death.
Uh, you testified that you purchased the gun used to kill Clayton Stack.
That's correct.
And you just testified that you knew the gun was going to be used in a murder.
That's right.
But you're not sitting at the defense table with Mr.
Prentiss because you made a deal with the prosecution, is that right? Yes.
Mr.
Dorn, you own property in Douglas, Arizona, don't you? Camp T-Bird? Isn't that what you call it? My mother owns it, actually.
What kind of activities go on at Camp T-Bird? It's a hunting camp.
It's right there on the Mexican border, isn't it? That's right.
You ever get any illegals crossing onto your property? We have, yes.
You ever detain 'em? Once.
Isn't it true that two illegal crossers you detained and pistol-whipped later sued for the deed to Camp T-Bird? That was a joke of a lawsuit.
They didn't win one dime.
Because the lawsuit was properly defended, wasn't it? Yes, it was.
Who paid for that defense? Nathaniel Prentiss loaned me the money.
How much was it? Fifty thousand dollars.
You paid it back? I plan to.
I will.
Even if he's in jail? Of course.
And this testimony of yours, bought by the prosecution, is an attempt to skirt a massive debt.
Objection, your honor.
Overruled.
That's not true.
Who's to know? Nothing further.
Didn't think that was worth sharing, Mr.
Dorn? It had nothing to do with the case.
It has everything to do with this trial and your testimony, which is all but useless now.
I truly plan to pay him back, and he knows that.
Or did you intentionally allow yourself to be discredited? Of course not.
Out of sympathy for your brother-in-arms, who you're in the hole to for 50 grand? That is an absurd notion.
Is that why you flipped on him so easily? Okay, we're done being insulted.
You'll take the insults and like them.
Your cooperation agreement is in serious jeopardy right now.
My word is my bond, Mr.
McCoy.
On the American flag, on the Bible, I swear I had no idea the loan was important.
No idea.
Dorn walks and his testimony's useless.
(Sharp PW)!- Pull his cooperation agreement.
If I do that without proof of a conspiracy between Dorn and Prentiss, we'll lose all credibility in making deals.
Alex is digging, but no luck so far.
Well, then Dorn skates and maybe Prentiss, too.
Oh, ye of little faith.
A car loan application of Terry Dorn's lists "H and K Heat and AC" as a work reference.
They repair industrial air conditioners.
And? The owner said, in principal, Dorn may know his way around an AC unit like the one that malfunctioned in Clayton Stack's big rig.
Dorn's responsible for the malfunction in the truck? If he was, wouldn't he want Clayton Stack dead, too? If Stack knew who had done the sabotage.
Any proof of that? I'm working on it.
In the meantime, can I suggest calling some filler witnesses to delay Blanca Alvarez's testimony for a day or two? And Judge Todd will be all over us over any delay, and we'll have cost ourselves the jury's interest.
This trial isn't about making life easier for Blanca Alvarez, it's about convicting a murderer.
She's prepped.
Ms.
Alvarez, can you point to the man you saw hide the gun that morning? That's him.
For the record, Ms.
Alvarez has pointed to the defendant, Nathaniel Prentiss.
That's all.
Ma'am, um, how long have you been in the United States? Ten years.
Are you an American citizen? Objection, relevance.
Her status is relevant to establish a motive to fabricate.
I'll allow it.
Are you an American citizen? No.
Have you ever applied for legal status? Yes.
When was the last time you applied? Two weeks ago, but Two weeks ago? Right in the middle of this trial? Isn't that a coincidence? That was the deadline.
Do you apply every year right on the deadline? No.
Isn't it true that you haven't applied for the last eight years? Yes.
Why'd you think you had a better shot this year than the last eight? I don't know.
Because you're helping out the government, and maybe they'd help you out? No.
Looking through a steamed up window at 6:00 in the morning, are you absolutely certain that you saw my client? Yes.
Or did you just see your best shot at citizenship? No.
I saw him, that man.
Ten years in our country, Ms.
Alvarez, you ever pay taxes? Objection, your honor.
Overruled.
Did you ever pay taxes? No.
Redirect, Your Honor? Ms.
Alvarez, did you ever receive any favor or inducement from the DA's office regarding your status in exchange for your testimony? No.
But I knew this would be bad for me.
Ms.
Alvarez, remain in the gallery, and you're not to leave the courtroom.
What's the rush? The records of illegals applying for citizenship aren't public.
Somebody fed the defense Blanca Alvarez's immigration case file.
I've got a friend at Immigration and Customs who owes me.
Somebody's getting their ass nailed to the wall for this.
How long have you been with ICE, Agent McNary? Four years.
Long enough to know the difference between public and confidential? What are we doing here, ma'am? Who approached you for Blanca Alvarez's file? Who's saying that happened? A source.
And your participation in the Countryman Project.
A lot of people are in the Project.
It's not illegal.
Agent, do you want to lose your job? You know, there's only so much ICE can do to stem this flood of illegals.
I'm not interested in a sales pitch.
And the project shouldn't flame-out because one guy overreached.
Nathaniel Prentiss shot someone in cold blood! I'm talking about Terry Dorn.
Dorn wasn't behind the project's passive stance like he says? No.
Did he sabotage trucks? Yes.
Did Clayton Stack know this? He knew it was Dorn who sabotaged his truck.
HOW? 'Cause Dorn had tried once before and failed because Stack caught him in the act.
Since every request to Mr.
Stack for a face to face meeting went unanswered I realized I'd have to track him down.
Did you? I waited outside his truck lot and made myself known.
He drove right past me.
And what'd you do then? I followed him.
I tried to get him to pull over.
And when he finally did stop, I, uh, I informed him of my purpose.
Which was? To get him to admit the truth about the illegals he'd murdered and turn himself in.
Going to meet Mr.
Stack, was it ever your intention to do him harm? No.
Never.
The Countrymen motto is "detect and advise.
" Tell me, the Countrymen, is that a racist organization? No.
We don't single out any race or nationality.
Our sole purpose is to prevent the invasion by illegals.
You know, mixed in with your busboys and your housekeepers and your gardeners are drug dealers, fugitives, possible Al-Qaeda members.
And there's not enough resources or concern in our American government to stop it.
So, we just do a job that they won't do.
Thank you.
When did "detect and advise" become "confront and shoot"? That's what happened with Mr.
Stack, correct? Unfortunately.
A passive operation to which you happened to bring a gun, correct? Smugglers are desperate men.
So are men covering up murders.
Isn't it true that Terry Dorn convinced you to commit this homicide? No, it is not true.
You didn't hatch this plan around a campfire in Arizona? No.
We discussed approaching Stack and giving him an opportunity to surrender under his own terms.
But didn't Dorn have a secondary motive? No.
Isn't it true that Terry Dorn used his contacts in the Countrymen to initiate a campaign of terrorism against human smugglers? I don't I don't know what you're talking about.
And didn't he sabotage the refrigeration unit of Clayton Stack's semi-trailer the day before its malfunction killed those 12 illegals? That is a lie.
Dorn didn't want Clayton Stack killed to prevent illegal immigration but to keep himself out of jail.
Didn't you know that? You weren't aware that he used you to cover up for the murder of 12 innocent people? Mr.
Prentiss? What's on the table? Testimony regarding Dorn's involvement.
Man One.
15 years.
Did Dorn encourage the death of Stack for the good of the country or for the good of Terry Dorn? You didn't know about the dirty tricks, did you? You were used, weren't you, Mr.
Prentiss? It's not good for anyone if Terry Dorn is in jail.
He's key to the project.
Immigration reform is at an "any means necessary" level, Mr.
Prentiss? You're not terrified to see more buildings fall, more planes crash? Lam.
Terry is.
And he's going to see it stops.
By murdering innocent illegals? You know they were innocent? I don't.
And for my money, they shouldn't have been on that truck in the first place.
In the matter of the "People v.
Nathaniel Prentiss, "on the count of murder in the Second Degree," how do you find? We find the defendant, Nathaniel Prentiss, guilty.
These allegations are absurd, McCoy.
I don't know who the hell you've been talking to.
For a plea to conspiracy to murder Clayton Stack we're offering 25 years.
I had nothing to do with it.
And you should be very proud of yourself, Mr.
McCoy.
False allegations convicted Nathaniel Prentiss, and for what? Being a patriot? Or embarrassing the US Government for doing a better job protecting the border.
For being a murderer.
Any more nonsense charges? That's it.
Come on.
Mr.
Dorn, US Marshals.
There's a warrant for your arrest in Arizona.
What, is this a joke? You'll need to come with us.
Agent McNary of ICE will testify that you sabotaged Clayton Stack's truck.
Arizona's 25% Latino and a death penalty state.
No joke.
Good luck at your trial.
Dorn's on a plane for Tucson.
Left at 10:00 this morning.
Good.
And Blanca Alvarez is scheduled to be deported back to Oaxaca in two months.
She hasn't been there in years.
Her mother's here, her husband, her two kids.
Tell her to file an appeal.
She'll be gone before it's considered.
Unless there was a way to influence the process.
Personally, you mean.
The US Attorney for the Southern District used to be the head of INS.
With Congress calling for crackdowns on illegal immigration, calling the US Attorney would draw attention to the case and she'd be deported in two weeks, not months.
She was attacked on the street.
She stood up for us at every turn.
Immigration cases are clogging the federal courts.
It's no time to be making personal appeals.
And even if you could, Judge Todd would think we bought her testimony.
It can't be helped.