All language subtitles for Law.and.Order.S06E19.Slave.1080p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DDP2.0.H.264-playWEB_track3_[eng]

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.

Dad?

Dad?

Dad?

Oh, hi, hon.
You're home already.

Dad, you're going to
burn the place down
some night.

Well, I got it all
under control.

You're going
to wake Mom up.

No, she's not
gonna wake up.

No, Dad, Dad.

What's wet? What's wet?

Come on, get up.

What is...

Mom!

Mrs. Merrick, why don't
we step into the other room
so we can talk, all right?

I was in here
watching some movie.

James Bond movie,
the one with
the painted girl.

Where was your wife?

She goes to bed early.

When did you hit the sack?

After the movie.

Did you talk to her?

She was already asleep.

And you're sure
the front door was locked?

I guess.

She used to lock up,

and now I can't believe this.

You just sit right there,
Mr. Merrick.

We're going to test
for powder residue
on his hands, all right?

The door wasn't locked,
sometimes Mom forgets.

Your parents
keep any money
or jewelry around?

No.

My father paints apartments,
they hardly get by.

You keep a regular schedule
at the hospital, right?

Yeah. In the E.R.

Did I tell you
my father's deaf
in one ear?

So if he sleeps
on his right side,
he can't hear anything,

so if somebody was
in the house...

Yeah, he would've slept
right through it.

Ms. Merrick, how long
has your father
had a drinking problem?

My father doesn't drink.

Neither did I.

Come on,
his hands are shaking,
he reeks of breath freshener.

Why don't you tell us
what really happened?

The door was locked
when I got home.

Dad was asleep in bed.
He'd had too much to drink.

Mom was next to him,
and she was dead.

Did he say anything
about how that happened?

He said he couldn't
remember anything.

How did they get along?

They fought,
but Dad never hit her.

He loves her.
He didn't do this.

That's why I got rid
of the bottles,

because I knew
what you would think.

Daddy's little helper.

Yeah, I used to have
one like that.

I keep telling you,
I can't remember anything.

That happen a lot,
when you can't
remember things?

Yeah, but something
like this I'd remember.

We found gun powder residue
on your hands.
It has to be you.

But I don't have a gun,
so how could
I have killed her?

Well, that's what
we're trying to find out.

So let's take it
step by step.

You were watching
Goldfingeron TV
and drinking rye and ginger?

You're right.
I remember that.

And your wife,
she wasn't happy
you were drinking,

was she?Said it disgusted her.

Well, what's it to her?
You're a grownup.
You can do whatever you want.

Yeah, right, that's what
I kept telling her.

Yeah, fat lot of good
it did.

I bet she just never
shut up about it, right?

No, never.

Yeah, and you just want
to sit there in peace
and watch your movie.

Uh-huh.So you go and you get the gun
from its hiding place.

Well, how could I do that
if I don't have a gun?

We already established
you have a lot of blackouts.

Yeah, I know.

All right,
you're standing there
in front of the bed

with the gun.

Carol's flat
on her back, snoring,
her mouth wide open.

You remember that?

Yeah, I remember that.

And you pulled the trigger.

No.

I don't remember.

That's the way
it happened, isn't it?

I don't know.

Yeah, come on.

I don't...

I don't remember.

I don't know.

I don't remember.

Carol Merrick called in
a complaint against him
two years ago.

She had his handprint
on her face.
She dropped the charges.

Nothing new there.

We find the gun,
it's over.

CSU's opening
the drain pipes
as we speak.

The canvass is batting zero
with the neighbors.
No one heard a shot.

We got to come up
with something
to turn him around.

As soon as he sobers up,
he's going to wonder why
we haven't booked him.

Yeah, and figure out
we were pulling his chain
about the powder residue.

M.E. recovered
a nine millimeter slug
out of Carol Merrick.

They sent it
to Ballistics.

Six with a right twist.
Italian steel,
Beretta 92-series.

Big gun.

Even if he fired it
from across the bedroom,

the slug should've gone
clear through.

Through the headboard
into the wall.

Well, maybe the bullet
had a short load.

They don't quality-test
every one of these
at the factory.

Still would've
exited the skull.

We did a muzzle-
to-first-surface test,

this little piggy was fired
from 50-100 yards away.

Unless Merrick
played a bank shot
around the room

before it hit her,
we got a problem.

Well, it didn't come through
a brick wall, and I didn't
see any broken windows.

But you weren't
the first one
at the scene.

You got the hump
that did it,

does it matter
if he sleeps with the
windows open or closed?

If it didn't,
we wouldn't be keeping you
from your busy schedule.

It was closed.CURTIS: Really?

Well, the daughter told us
her parents had a running
battle on the subject.

Mr. Merrick liked it open.

Well, I guess
that night he lost.

You know what, Wheeler?

We got a couple
of unknown prints
off the window.

We find
they match yours...

All right, all right,
all right. Look, look, look,

I've been coming off
of this flu thing.

The room was freezing.
The window was wide open.
I closed it.

You know, it would've
been nice if you included
that in your report.

Yeah, it would've.

Thanks for the dog.

First, the M.E. ran a probe
into the wound. That gives us
our first calculations.

Then we fire a test shot
into a skull-like object.

That gives us the angle
of the trajectory.

Here, you want to see
what we did?

I'll give it
to Mr. Peabody here.

Yeah,
you take in the velocity,
the drop rate.

Yeah, I got that.
Fast-forward, please.

That roof.

We get this scum up here
all the time.

Smoking dope,
having sex, drinking.

I call the cops,
they're too busy.
I try to keep them out.

I put a new padlock
on the door.
They don't care.

What about last night?

I was fixing the boiler.
I didn't come up for air
until midnight.

You hear that?

You got animals taking drugs
and killing the weak.

See, I'm taking
my son Eddie
to Santo Domingo

to live with
his grandmother.

I don't want him
dying here.

Lennie, nine mil,
just to the right
of the line of fire

into the Merrick's place.

There's also some blood drops
on the ground
near the edge of the roof.

Yeah, you play with guns,
you're going to get hurt.

We got a dozen
sets of footprints around
your shooter's position,

running shoes,
boots, all sizes,
kids to grownups.

Eddie, you ever
come up here
with your friends?

No.

My dad says
it's too dangerous.

But you've seen
other kids
come up here, right?

Sometimes.

How about last night?

Answer the man.

I saw a couple
of older kids,
but they don't live here.

You know them?

I just seen them around
at Mr. Reyes' bodega.

What do they look like?

One's a black kid,
the other one's white,

he had on
a red baseball hat,
you know, backwards.

The black kid
called him Nacho.

The only nachos around here
are for sale, man.
What'd he do?

Nothing, it's what
he might've seen
somebody else do.

A white kid
with a red cap
turned backwards?

Yeah, about 12 or 13.

If he wasn't wearing
a red cap turned backwards,
maybe I would've noticed him.

Sorry.All right, thanks.

Kids, they're like roaches,
for every one you see,

there's a million you don't,
but they're out there.

Well, try to stay focused
on this one kid,
okay, Monty?

He's a white boy,
early teens.

This him?

No, that's my partner.
This kid's name is Nacho.

Nacho?Yeah, like the snack.

Yeah, yeah,
I know Nacho.

He gave me a dollar once
to help him carry
his groceries home.

Where's home?Two blocks.

Ninth Street, fourth floor,
no elevator,
nearly killed me.

You remember
what his name is?

Nacho, like you said.

He got a fine-looking mama.

Listen, you take us
to where she lives,

and maybe you can
buy her some flowers, huh?

I don't know where Lonnie is.
He must be out
with his friends.

What do you want with him?

He may be a witness
to a crime.
We just want to talk to him.

Well, leave your number.
When he gets home,
we'll call you.

It's a little more
urgent than that.

Where does he go
when he's out
with his friends?

I don't get his
appointment schedule.

He's around,
in the neighborhood.

Fine, we'll just
wait here.

Come on, guys,
I got to go now.

See, we really hate
to keep you from your
errands, Ms. Rickman.

Hey, this number
with the pager's prefix,
that's Lonnie's?

No.What's the "L" stand for?

You know somebody else
with a pager?
Maybe your dope connection?

Look, sweetheart,
we're not gonna
hurt your son.

So why don't you
just do us all a favor
and page him, huh?

It's just for emergencies.

Guess what?
You have an emergency.

When he calls back,
tell him to
come home right away.

Mom, what's the matter?
What are they doing here?

They just have
some questions.

I'm Detective Lennie Briscoe.
This is my partner,
Rey Curtis.

Want to take a seat?

So, they call you Nacho
because that's what
you like to eat?

This is what
you want to know?

Some people saw you
going up on a roof
over on Seventh

a couple of nights ago
between 11:00 and midnight.

We just want to know
what you saw up there.

I wasn't up on any roof.

Well, maybe you
weren't supposed
to be up there,

but nobody's making
a big deal
out of that, see?

You're here because
it's no big deal.
I wasn't there, okay?

So where were you?

I was shooting hoops
over in Tompkins Square

with my partner Clayton.

What's his last name?

Clayton Doyle.

So you and Clayton
were shooting hoops
till midnight?

What, on a school night?

Yep.

After we did our homework.

Look, Lonnie,
if you're lying 'cause
you're scared, then...

I'm not lying.
I'm not scared of anything,
and I'm not scared of you.

Okay, all right, all right,
take it easy.

Hey, you take it easy!

I know what you did.
You come down here to hassle
my mom so she calls me.

Who the hell
do you think you are?

You got no right
to do that to her.

Now, get out of here!Sit down.

Hey!BRISCOE: Rey, Rey.

Listen to me.

You can BS us all you want,
but we know
you were up on that roof.

Yeah, you know jack.

We don't have to talk to you,
so why don't you just leave?

There's one kid
who doesn't want
to grow up to be a cop.

If he grows up.
You see the burn marks
on his fingers?

Yeah, kid's on the pipe.

I tell you what, Rey.
That kid's not a witness.

He's the shooter.

He's 13
and smokes crack.

Or he's just clumsy
with matches.

Anyway, it looks like
it's an old
family tradition.

And that makes him
Billy the Kid?

Matches the description,
the street name fits.

Well, that puts him
on the roof, period.

If he saw someone
up there waving a gun,

he might have an incentive
to keep his mouth shut.

Well, he was seen
with a black kid,

could be this Clayton
he mentioned.

Yeah, the one
he supposedly cracked
the books with.

I don't think
we're going to find him
at the library.

Well, maybe they ditched
the same classes.

Check with their school.
Find the kid.

We're not telling you anything
till we know why you want him.

Well, Lonnie Rickman
told us he was with Clayton
on Monday night.

We just want to
verify that.

Lonnie Rickman?
What's he done?

We're not sure yet.

Where was your son
Monday night?

First, answer my question.
Why you looking
at Lonnie Rickman?

He may have been
involved in a shooting
on Seventh Street.

Oh, my God.

Now, how about
answering my question?

Clayton had told us
he was playing basketball.

And was he?

I don't know.

Came home, he had a cut
on the side of his head
just above his ear.

Told us he got it
jumping over the fence
at the playground.

You didn't believe him?

Well, he was shaking,
but he wouldn't tell us why.

But we thought somebody
might have hurt him.

Meaning Lonnie Rickman?

That boy's always been
getting Clayton
in trouble at school.

Cutting class,
being kept after,
kid stuff.

But now...

But now it's what?

Couple of weeks ago,
Luanne found $300
in Clayton's pocket.

Said he found it
on the street.

He's peddling dope,
him and that boy Lonnie.

We weren't anywhere
near that roof.
We were shooting hoops.

Is that right?

Well, your friend Lonnie
told me you were
at the movies.

That is some bull...

You mind your mouth,
if you know
what's good for you.

Mr. Doyle, please.

Clayton.

You know about
blood types, right?
Like type A, type B?

Yeah, I seen it on TV.

Yeah, well we got
your blood type
from your family doctor,

and our lab
is matching it up now

against the blood that
we found up on that roof.

Matter of fact,
their report should be
on my desk right about now.

Think I'll go check.

Listen, Clayton,
I know you want
to do the right thing.

What have you got in there
that looks like
it might be a lab report?

Well, take your pick.
An expense report
or a booking sheet.

Tell the truth now, Clayton.

You wait for him to come back
with those test results,
it's over.

You're going to be
in the same boat as Lonnie.

For God's sake, Clayton,
tell them what
they want to know.

You little punk!
You show your mother respect!

Hey, you're hurting me!Frank! Frank!

You're going
to tell the truth!

You're not going to
ruin your life
for some dope dealer!

Stop, stop!He can't let him do that.

Tell the truth!CLAYTON: Stop!
You're hurting me!

Detective Curtis!

Take Mr. Doyle outside now.

Listen, young man,
this has gone on
long enough.

Now, you're going to tell me
what Lonnie did to you
up on that roof.

He put a gun to my head.

Why?

'Cause Ross told him to.

Ross who?

Ross Morales.
I didn't want to be
in his crew no more.

Selling dope?Yes.

Lonnie got me started.
I wanted to quit, though.

Lonnie did say
Ross told him to kill me.

He shot once
and just missed,
and that's how I got hurt.

And when he pulled
the trigger again,
the gun jammed.

He was gonna kill you?

That's what he said.

Roscoe Morales,
a.k.a. Ross Morales.

Arrests for battery,
possession,
carrying a concealed weapon.

Investigated
for two shootings,
one fatal.

Never charged.
And he's all of 22.

You talk to the D.A.
about murder charges?

Yeah, they okayed it
against Lonnie,
but not Morales.

Well, you heard Clayton.

Lonnie told him Morales
put him up to it.

Well, it's a double-hearsay,
not evidence.

Here's the paper
on the boy.

Lennie, give me a minute
with Detective Curtis?

Your conduct
was unacceptable.

Why? 'Cause I let a father
discipline his kid?

No one lays a hand
on a suspect
in my interrogation room.

Now, that man
was out of control.
It was up to you to manage it.

Well, that kid
was out of control.
And you know what scares me?

That somebody like that
can go to school
with my daughter.

You think
you're the only one
who loses sleep?

Look, if you don't
like the way this place
is run, transfer.

You were out of line, Rey,
just accept it and move on.

As a cop, okay,
I should've stepped in,
but as a parent?

Man, that kid
was selling crack.

That rates a big hug
and a trip to Disneyland?

This really
burns you, huh?

Hell, yes.

The guy's fighting
for his kid's life.

What, by beating up on him?

If it comes to that.

I'm not
one of those parents
who has a problem

taking a strong stand
against drugs.
I never took drugs,

and I don't feel
like a hypocrite
telling my kids not to.

So if I tell my kids
not to drink,
that makes me a hypocrite?

Whatever, Lennie.
I don't want to get
into personalities.

Now I got Pat Buchanan
for a partner.

Hello, again, Cassie.

Don't you people
have phones?

We want to see Lonnie.

He's not here.

We want to
see for ourselves.
We insist.

Look all you want.
He's not here.

It's okay,
they're homicide cops.

All right, then.

I'll see you around.

A new acquaintance?

Whatever.

Look, Lonnie's not here.
I don't know where he went,

and the batteries died
in his beeper.

The story never changes
with you, does it?

I stick with what works.
Now, goodbye.

I'll get a unit
to sit outside,
in case the kid turns up.

Kid's selling crack,
mom's turning tricks,

this is one family
Norman Rockwell never met.

Hey, we arrest Lonnie,
we'll be doing him a favor.

The kid worked for
Ross Morales. We tap Morales,
maybe we get lucky.

Funny, I didn't see Morales
in the business directory.

Clayton would know
where he hangs
his shingle.

According to our informant,
Morales has been operating

out of a ground
floor apartment

on 11th Street
for the past month.

Now, twice a day, he comes by
with Lonnie Rickman
to collect the receipts.

We're aiming
for a 9:00 p.m. pickup.

They're both
considered dangerous.

We've decided to
take them down
inside the building,

the super's cooperating.

You want me inside?

No, I need you outside
with Morrissey to ID Lonnie.

Wilson and Dickerson
will take the back.
Any questions?

Yeah, who's got
a deck of cards?

Come on.

Number one?

Number one.

It's 10 past,
maybe they won't show.

Give it another 30.

Ten minutes.
Is he always that anal?

Hey, I need somebody
around like him,

otherwise I'd never
get out of bed.

Well,
chill him out, please.

You know me.

"I play it cool,
I dig all jive

"That's the reason
I stay alive"

"My motto, as I live and learn
Is dig and be dug in return"

You read Langston Hughes
on a men's room wall?

Back when I was
a beatnik for
about five minutes,

it used to work
pretty good on the
Jewish girls from Riverdale.

It does pretty good
with girls from
Washington Heights.

Number one,
they're coming in.

Police! Freeze!

All right, then!

It wasn't me! Help!

Get over here!

Help me! Get off me!

Get down!
Get back here!

Get up! Get up!

All right, this one's clean.
No weapon.

Same here.
Okay, turn around.

What do we got, huh?
What do we got?

Oh!

Three vials
of rock, okay.

Roscoe Morales,
you're under arrest
for possession.

Lonnie Rickman,
you're under arrest

for the murder
of Carol Merrick

and the attempted murder
of Clayton Doyle.

Get them out of here!

You have the right
to remain silent.

Anything you do say
can and will
be used against you...

This is an outrageous
abuse of authority.

I am taking this
to the Civilian
Review Board.

You say police brutality.
We say resisting arrest.

I didn't resist nothing.
I thought y'all
was heisting me.

And where's my ice pack?
I been waiting here
for an hour.

They didn't tell you?
Somebody stole
our ice cube trays.

Come on, man,
I got baseballs
growing down here.

I'll lend you
my jock

as soon as we get this thing
with you and Lonnie Rickman
straightened out.

Look, the kid
just follows me around
like I'm his big brother.

Yeah. The big brother
who uses him

to keep his other
employees in line.

Mr. Morales is a part-time
auto mechanic.
He has no employees.

He does as a full-time
crack dealer.

I don't know
anything about that.

Let me guess, you were
at that apartment
to visit a sick friend?

Yeah, that's right.

You can't connect him
to any illegal activity
occurring in that apartment.

We've got Clayton Doyle
to do that.

And I would be
very surprised

if your witness has
any first-hand knowledge
of my client's actions.

What about
the three vials of crack
we found in his pocket?

His dry cleaner
left them there?

Look, I got a substance
abuse problem.

I'm working on it.

When you sent Lonnie Rickman
up on that roof with a gun
to kill Clayton Doyle,

you became liable
for everything he did
with that gun,

which includes
shooting Carol Merrick.

Work on that.

Have a seat.

How long is this
gonna take?

First of all, I want to
make sure that
you both understand,

Lonnie has the right
to have an attorney present.

He doesn't need a lawyer.
He'll tell you whatever
you want to know.

Lonnie, are you sure
you don't want one?

Yeah.CURTIS: Okay.

We talked
to Clayton Doyle.

He told us what happened
on that rooftop.

We'd like to hear
your version.

Nothing to say.

Well, he told us
you worked
for Ross Morales,

and that Morales
told you to kill him.

All right,
let me explain something
to you, Lonnie.

We've got an eyewitness
who saw you go up

on that roof 15 minutes
before the shooting,

so we got you dead
to rights for murder.

But if Morales told you
to kill Clayton,

if you were acting
on his orders,

that changes everything.

What do you mean,
it changes everything?

He'll plead
to a lesser charge.

We'll agree
to a reduced sentence,
if you give us Morales.

You understand, Lonnie?

Any time you're ready,
little man.

Go on, tell them
what you did.

Clayton's lying.
I don't work for Morales,

and I wasn't gonna
cap Clayton.

I took him on the roof
on my own account,

just to scare him,
because he pissed me off.

I busted that bullet,
and nobody else
was behind it.

Just me.

Okay.

We'll be back
in a few minutes.

Either Morales
was pulling the strings
or he wasn't.

This kid walks on
his own two feet.

This kid changed
his own diapers, too.

It's moot,
as long as he says
he acted on his own,

I doubt we'll convince
a jury otherwise.

So we send
Mr. Morales home
in a limo?

He stays. Resisting arrest,
possession with intent.

"Case number 456020.
People v. Lonnie Rickman.

"The charge is Murder
in the Second Degree."

Your plea, Mr. Rickman?

Not guilty.

Your Honor,
the People ask

that the defendant
be remanded without bail
to the youth authority.

Without objection,
Your Honor.

Done.

Goodbye, Mr. Rickman.

Does Lonnie know
there's no MTV
where he's going?

There's no Cassie Rickman.
That sold it to me.

Me, too. We're off
to a good start.

Don't get used to it.
Motion to exclude
his confession.

He was denied counsel.
It was nice
while it lasted.

It was by the numbers,
Your Honor.

As the defendant's
legal guardian,
his mother waived counsel.

The defendant himself
acquiesced.

The defendant's 13.

His mother
was high on crack.

Neither of them
was competent
to waive counsel.

The police get waivers
from drunken drivers
every day of the week,

and the courts routinely
uphold them.

Mrs. Rickman wasn't waiving
her own rights,
she was waiving her son's.

He was utterly
at her mercy.

Ms. Kincaid should have
disregarded the waiver

and stopped
the interrogation.

Your Honor,
she wasn't bouncing
off the walls.

She was coherent.
She didn't appear
to be under the influence.

I don't understand
what counsel
expected us to do,

run a drug test on her?

Ms. Rubinoff,
there's nothing
in the case law stating

a defendant has to be
stone cold sober
to waive counsel.

You uphold my motion,
Your Honor,
and there will be.

Well, being first isn't all
it's cracked up to be.

Your motion's denied,
the confession stays.
Sorry to spoil your day.

You can make it up to me,
Your Honor.

I want the case remanded
to Family Court.

Absolutely not,
this is a violent offender.

He's committed a serious crime
without expressing
an iota of remorse.

Family Court's
not equipped
to deal with him.

The issue is,
with proper counseling,

would he still pose
a danger to society?

Mr. McCoy, you prove to me
he should be tried
as an adult, he's all yours.

Have your briefs
on my desk in a week.

And I want this boy
to have a chat
with a court psychiatrist.

I didn't even know
that lady.

I didn't mean it to happen.
It just happened.

Has anything like this
ever happened
to someone you knew?

Yeah.

A friend at school
got shot.

And this other kid
in the neighborhood
was pushed off a building.

Did your parents
ever hit each other?

My dad,
before he dumped us,

he used to hit my mom
when he got high.

Did he ever hit you?No.

How about your mom?
Has she ever...

She's not like that.

Okay.

You want to tell me
what she is like?

What do you
want me to say?

She's funny.

She makes me laugh.

How do you feel
about her taking drugs?

It's not her fault.

My dad got her hooked,
and I'm helping her
get off it.

You think she takes
good care of you?

Yeah.

Because of her,
we got a place to stay.

And this one time,
they tried to put me
into foster care,

but my mom fought
like hell to keep me.

She always says
I'm the most important
thing in her life.

He's seen a good deal
of violence,

but he doesn't seem
preoccupied with it,

so it's possible
he's not dangerous.

What about treatment?
Is he a candidate?

Maybe. I don't know
enough about him.

Good, more hedging.

He's been abused
by his mother,
this I'm sure of.

He told you that?

He denied it
a little too vehemently.

He's very defensive
on the entire subject
of his mother.

That's it?

No, I read
the police reports.

He gave Detectives
Briscoe and Curtis
a very hard time,

in contrast to
how he behaved
toward me or Claire.

He gets angry at men,
but he's very submissive
toward women.

That's the pathology
for maternal abuse.

So what's
your recommendation?

I'd have to say
Family Court.

Because he was abused.

Fine, we send him there,

and when they let him out
in a few years
and he kills again,

we get
another bite at him.

That's right.

What if we got him
to roll on Morales?
He's the one we really want.

We want them both.

Papers are calling
this kid a super-predator.

He's not getting a lollipop
for killing a woman
in her sleep.

A murder he claims
full credit for.

He even denies
he works for Morales.

He's 13. He's probably
terrified of Morales.

He doesn't want to be
the only one pointing
the finger at him.

What do you suggest?

If we find evidence
that he was
Morales' employee,

we convince him
we're going to make
the case against Morales

with or without him.

That should bring
him around.

Who made you
this kid's fairy godmother?

I just know
what Lonnie told me.

I never heard Ross
telling him to do
no drug business.

You ever see him
give Lonnie money
or drugs to sell?

No.

Lonnie said Ross never got
his hands dirty
with the small stuff.

How did you get paid?

Lonnie gave me money
for being a lookout.

So as far as you knew,
you could have
been working for Lonnie.

Lonnie said
Ross was the man.

He even showed me
where Ross beat him
on his back

just for being short
five dollars.

Is that why
he was covering for him?
Because he was scared?

Yeah, for his mom.

Ross said if he ever
went against him,
he'd hurt his mom.

Lonnie is devoted
to that woman.

He does her chores.
He cleans her up.

He's even dragged her
from the crack houses.

It is pathetic.

Now, that boy came home
with Clayton
a couple of months ago.

He had not eaten
in two days.

So what happened?

His mom sold
their food stamps.

She must have owed
a dealer a lot of money.

So I gave him
something to eat.

Who feeds him
the rest of the time?
Morales?

I don't know,
but Ross doesn't like
anybody messing with Lonnie.

How do you mean?

Well, a couple
of weeks ago,

I found Lonnie at the park,
and he couldn't breathe,

so I called an ambulance.

And when Ross found out,
he was real mad.

And what did he do?

He just went off, saying
that I should've called him,
not the ambulance.

And then he wanted to know
what hospital he was at.

Paramedics brought
him in. He was in
cardiac shock, too much crack.

So what's he done?

He's charged with murder.

Great. He was a mess.
We pumped his stomach,
nothing came out.

His back and legs were covered
in bruises. He looked like
he hadn't slept in a week.

Did he say
how he got those bruises?

It was a fight
just to get a name
out of him.

He wouldn't tell us
where he lived.

He didn't want us to call
Child Welfare.

So why did you release him?

We didn't.
This Hispanic guy came in.

He paid the bill in cash,

then before
we could stop them,
he grabbed the kid and left.

Kid didn't say a word.

Just because he paid
the kid's bill

doesn't imply that
Lonnie worked for him.

He could just be
a good Samaritan.

Who beat him like a dog.

And again, it's all just
hearsay unless

we get it directly
from Lonnie's mouth.

Then we're back
where we started.

That's too bad.

Because Morales' attorney
just filed an Article 78
motion to get him released.

He had less than three grams
of rock cocaine,
all for his personal use.

He's willing to plead
to Possession
in the Seventh Degree,

take his time served
and pay a fine.

But Mr. McCoy won't even
take my calls.

Mr. Morales
is a known drug dealer.

He has
numerous convictions.

Only one for possession
with intent, Your Honor.

We arrested him
on the way to one of
his drug outlets.

He was there to collect
the daily take.

He was arrested
in a common-use hallway.

He could have
been going anywhere.

Mr. McCoy, are you willing
to discuss a plea
on Mr. Morales?

Not at this time, Your Honor.
We're looking
at other charges.

For example?

It's a continuing
investigation.

I'm not going to discuss it
in front of the defendant.

He's stalling,
Your Honor.

Mr. McCoy
is punishing my client

because we filed a complaint
of police brutality.

That's nonsense.

But we'll drop the complaint
if Mr. McCoy agrees to a plea.

Sounds reasonable,
Mr. McCoy, how about it?

I'm sorry, Your Honor.

Mr. McCoy, the police
arrest 150 people a day
for simple possession,

there's just nowhere
to put them all.

I'm not adding to the problem.
I don't want Mr. Morales
in jail. Is that clear?

May I approach alone?

Objection.

Your objection is noted.
Come up, Mr. McCoy.

Your Honor, we're developing
another case against him.

He may be facing
murder charges.

If you release him,
the chances are
he'll flee the jurisdiction

and we'll never find him.

You have any direct evidence
connecting him to this murder?

No, Your Honor.

Step back, Mr. McCoy.

I can't order you
to accept this plea.

But if you don't,
I'll dismiss the charge

on grounds
of legal insufficiency.

You have till tomorrow morning
to make up your mind.

We're adjourned.

It doesn't matter whether
Ingles dismisses the charges
or we accept the plea.

Once Morales walks
out the door, it's the
last we'll see of him.

You found him once,
you'll find him again.

When we've got a witness
in custody who can
nail him for murder?

He's jumped bail before.

Besides, Lonnie's more
likely to talk if Morales
is already in jail.

Maybe we can hit him
with another charge.

As far as I know,
you can't walk
into an emergency room

and grab a minor
out of his bed.

That could be kidnapping.

Yeah. It could.

Where'd you come up
with kidnapping, man?

I didn't kidnap
that little slice.

Ross, cool it.

Mr. McCoy, you don't know
the storm of crap
you are in for.

You've just graduated
from police brutality
to malicious prosecution.

Your client forcibly
removed a sick child
from a hospital bed.

The boy went with him
of his own free will.

Not according to
the attending doctor
and nurses.

Lonnie was scared
out of his mind.

Not to mention the fact
that Mr. Morales
has no legal standing

to take the boy anywhere,
willing or not.

That's bull.

I'm his de facto guardian.

My client was acting with
Mrs. Rickman's knowledge
and permission.

You expect us to believe
that she entrusted her son
to a drug dealer?

Well, you ask her, man.

She gave him to me.

You see, I'm like
a father figure
to the local kids.

I'm their hero.

He's right, I asked him
to keep an eye
on Lonnie for me.

You let him
baby-sit your son?

Yeah, out there.

I mean, Lonnie's a kid,
he needs somebody
to protect him.

Morales isn't all bad,
you know.

He turned him
into a gangster.

He did?

I thought
it was the rap music.

I don't see the humor.

No, you're the joke here,
Mr. McCoy.

You bitch and moan
because Morales
owns the street,

when it's you and
your stupid laws
that gave him the power.

I didn't come here
for an argument.

If you think
he's a suitable guardian
for your child...

Yeah, well our last nanny
quit, so it was Morales
or nothing, huh?

Ms. Rickman, if you're
just saying this because
he threatened you...

I've said everything
I'm gonna say.

All right,
keep talking that way.

You'll be facing charges
of reckless endangerment
and child abuse.

Now, that's funny.

Look at me.

I can hardly get myself
through the day,
so who's he better off with?

Now, why don't you
and your skinny
little friend get lost?

Crackhead logic
never ceases to amaze.

Maybe she's right
about one thing.

Don't believe her,
you look fine to me.

I was talking
about Morales.

Right.

Let's all petition
to legalize drugs.

That'll free Mr. Morales
to pursue his true calling,

curing cancer
or Alzheimer's.

How many people does
our office put in jail
every year for drugs?

Five, six thousand?

Not including
repeat offenders,
maybe seven.

And it hasn't
even made a dent.

We're standing on the beach,
bailing out the ocean
with a teaspoon.

You want to reform
sentencing rules,
you get no argument from me.

But legalize drugs,
open the floodgates,
it's not responsible.

Jack, I can make
a couple of phone calls

and have any kind of drug
delivered right here.

Anyone who wants them
can get them.

We have kids being
terrorized by dealers,
innocent people being shot.

We turned a disease
into a war,
and we're losing.

Anyway, here we are,
two grunts in the trenches,

arguing about
whether war is bad.

And we can't even
put scum like Morales
in jail for kidnapping.

Maybe there's
a good reason

that Cassie Rickman
allowed Lonnie to go to work
for Morales.

I'm listening.

Didn't somebody tell you
that she was deeply
in debt to her dealer?

To Morales?

And now, two months later,
she's buying drugs from him?

How did she pay him off?

You're wrong, she wouldn't
do that to me.

How much money
did she owe Morales?
$500? $1,000?

Where did she find
that kind of money?

I don't know.
I don't work
for Morales, anyway.

Can't you
get that straight?

Don't treat us
like idiots, Lonnie.

You're going
to jail for him.

How much dope
is that gonna
buy your mother?

It's not true.
My mom loves me.

Jack, this is cruel.

And selling your kid
to a drug dealer isn't?

Young man, if you want
to protect your mother,
protect her from me.

I can put her in prison
for what she did to you.

But if you testify
against Morales,
I won't charge her,

and you can go
to Family Court.

What exactly would
he have to say?

That he was acting
under Morales' orders
when he fired that gun,

and that he obeyed

because his mother
agreed to let Morales do
what he wanted with him.

It won't make
Mr. Morales a happy man.

We'll make arrangements
for their protection.

Let me talk to him.

Forget it. I'm not talking
against my mom.

Lonnie...No, nobody made me
do anything.

Then you and your mother
can write to each other
from jail.

Empty threat, Jack.

Selling your kid
may be despicable,
but it's not illegal.

As for Family Court,
I think we're halfway
there already.

Come on, Lonnie.

She's right.

No statute against
selling your kid.

His mother put him at risk
for his life.
That rates as a felony.

Yeah.

You want him to testify
against Morales
and risk both their lives.

You're not giving
the kid much of a choice.

He'd rather go to prison
than admit what
his mother did to him.

So we throw in the towel.

Ross Morales goes home,
Cassie Rickman
stays on crack,

and her kid spends
the next 25 years
in a cell.

Is everybody happy?

Didn't you say
that's where he belonged?

That must have been
some other arrogant,
moralistic son-of-a-bitch.

Thirteen and living
in a madhouse, who knows
what any of us would do?

Give him a taste of reality.
He loves his mother.

Does he know
how much she loves him?

It's not going
to be pretty.

I'm not going to do it.
I'd have to be
out of my mind.

It'll prove to the jury
Lonnie had to do
whatever Morales wanted.

First of all, I did not give
my son to Morales, that
is absolutely, 100% untrue.

What kind of mother
do you think I am?

Oh, please. Let's cut through
the bull, lady.

We all know
what kind of mother
you've been to that boy.

Blame it on the ex-husband
or the drugs if
it makes you feel better,

but right now,
you have one chance
to help your son. Take it.

If you testify
against Morales,
Lonnie goes to Family Court.

He gets a lighter sentence.
He gets help.

What do I get?
I get my throat cut.

We can offer
you protection.

Yeah, right.

Lonnie pulled the trigger.
He killed that woman.

You send him
wherever you want,

I don't care,
he's a pain in the ass.

Juvenile detention.

Five years.

Ross said
Clayton was trying
to quit the crew.

He gave me the gun
and told me to take
Clayton upstairs and kill him.

What specifically
did he instruct you to do?

He told me to put the gun
up against the side
of his head and shoot.

Did you follow
these instructions?

I tried to,

but I couldn't.

I couldn't kill him.

The first time,
I missed on purpose.

The second time,
the gun jammed.

If it hadn't,
would you have
killed Clayton?

I don't know.

I like Clayton.
He's okay.

I didn't want to kill him.

Then why did you
take him up on the roof?

Because I was scared
of Ross Morales.

But you could
have run away.

You could have gone
to your mother,
or even to the police.

I couldn't.

Why not?

Lonnie, tell these people
why you didn't run away.

Because of my mom.

She said I had
to stay with Ross
and do what he said.

Why?

She owed him money,
and he was
going to hurt her.

How long were you with him
before you were arrested?

I'm not sure.
It was a lot of weeks.

What did you do
during that time?

I went to
the store for Ross,
I got him cigarettes,

I took his clothes
to the coin laundry.

What else did you do?

I helped him sell drugs.

I carried it for him.

I watched the other kids.

Did he pay you?

No, sir.

Did he feed you?

Sometimes.

Didn't you get hungry?

Yes, sir, but

Ross told me to smoke crack
so my stomach wouldn't hurt.

Didn't you ever complain?

Yes, sir, once.

What happened?

He hit me on my back
and my legs,

and he said
he'd hurt my mom.

How long were you supposed
to stay with him?

I don't know.

As long as
your mother needed drugs?

I don't know.

Lonnie, how much money
did your mother
owe Ross Morales?

$865.

Thank you, Lonnie,
no more questions.

Mr. Foreman,
has the jury
reached a verdict?

Yes, we have, Your Honor.

In the first count
of the indictment,
Murder in the Second Degree,

how do you find?

We find the defendant,
Ross Morales, guilty.

Has Ms. Rubinoff explained
to you the consequences
of taking this plea?

Yes, ma'am.

You realize that
you'll be incarcerated
in a juvenile facility

until your 18th birthday?

Yes, ma'am.

Then in accordance
with the provisions of
the Family Court Act,

I hereby sentence you
to a term of five years.

Per Mr. McCoy's
recommendation,

you will receive
psychiatric counseling during
that term of incarceration

and for a period
of five years thereafter.

We're adjourned.