Original subtitles

Steven had hopes and dreams,

and nobody deserves to experience

what Steven was apparently experiencing.

We quickly realized that this was not

gonna be an open and closed case.

We don't know where the suspect is.

We don't know what we're walking into.

Are we walking into an ambush?

I'm looking for someone who has no care about human life.

Two minutes later, clearlake police officers

respond to the scene.

A house on the south side of town.

When I'm responding to a call like that,

I'm thinking of the safety of myself and my fellow officers.

We don't know where the suspect is.

We know there's a gun, at least in play.

We don't know if that subject is still hiding out in the area.

If we get into the area, and we confront this suspect,

I don't know if he's going to

turn that gun on me or another officer.

As I arrived, I noticed some people

standing in their driveways and in the roadways.

They weren't scared.

They weren't running, which led me to believe

that the shooter was no longer on scene.

So the focus was on the male subject

laying in the front yard.

I activate my body camera,

so the whole incident is documented.

He seemed to be having, like, deep, labored breaths.

He definitely was disorientated

and seemed to be having some sort of medical need.

Initially, when I got there,

my focus was, you know, tending to a gunshot victim.

And then immediately when I started checking him

and couldn't find any blood,

any holes, any injuries, several things start going

through our mind of, you know,

what is actually happening here?

So medical was requested to respond to the scene.

As I approached, I recognized the person,

but I could not remember his name.

One of the officers asked him for his name,

and he repeated his name of Steven Galvin.

And my lightbulb went on, and I said,

I know this guy from prior context.

Steven wasn't an angel,

but no matter his background, nobody --

nobody deserves to experience

what Steven was apparently experiencing,

and our job as police officers is to figure out

what happened and try to help him.

Back at the scene,

lake county fire and rescue medics arrive

to evaluate Steven.

Eventually, they find a small, like,

red Mark on his bottom, like, right torso area.

Upon further review, they find, like, another

small red Mark on his back left area.

There was no blood.

There was no obvious holes.

Sometimes in shootings,

there's quite a bit of bleeding,

bullet holes, exit wound, some sort of a trauma.

And not always does that happen -- in this case,

it was not obvious initially that there was

any type of wound on this male.

So at that point, I'm overly concerned, because we're trying

to paint the picture of what actually happened

in the little bit of timeframe that we have,

because we don't know what's going on.

Clearlake police detective Ryan Peterson

steps in to speak with Steven.

It wasn't really clear what he said,

and I said, "cyclops?" He goes, "yeah."

Cyclops.

That's David Cox,

a person with a street name of cyclops.

He had some very distinctive tattoos.

Had a somewhat violent background.

He was on parole, had recently moved to clearlake.

Based on the totality of the circumstances,

it gave me a reasonable belief or probable cause

to send officers to start locating David.

But before they can look for David,

the immediate priority is keeping Steven alive.

Okay, we got one.

At this time, Steven's as safe as he can be.

He's getting the medical treatment that

can be rendered to him.

Now the investigation can really begin.

We have to find David, get him off the street.

He's our suspect, and the potential of violence

and risk to the community is pretty great.

So we wanted to make sure that we get him

in custody to prevent any more people being injured.

While the hunt to find David begins,

officers speak with the 911 caller.

So not only were we looking for David,

we were also looking for a white truck associated with him,

because if they're mobile, then, you know, they --

they literally could be anywhere.

As investigators piece together

what happened at the crime scene,

medical staff at the hospital continue to treat Steven.

They tried numerous different techniques to save Steven,

but he died of his injuries.

It was determined that he died

to a single gunshot wound to his abdomen.

Seeing situations like this

that Steven was in is -- is tough.

It's tough.

It was -- it's tough for me.

Steven died alone in the hospital.

There was no family.

There were -- there was nobody there.

He was placed into a body bag, um...

For evidentiary purposes.

That's sad, I mean, that's, a sad way to end one's life.

Steven had

hopes and dreams,

and, you know, in the end, he wasn't able to fulfill those,

and it's a sad ending,

because ultimately, we want to protect,

and in this particular case, we --

we couldn't save Steven.

With the death of Steven,

it now made it a full homicide investigation,

and it was very important that we locate David,

because he's a danger to the community.

This could potentially happen again.

And so it was very imperative that we locate him.

Detectives in clearlake, California,

have just been informed

their shooting victim, Steven Galvin, has died.

He was a very friendly guy, infectious laugh,

fun to be around,

good -- good to his friends.

He liked to tinker with his hands.

He liked to make improvements around his house.

He was hoping to get out of clearlake,

because he didn't really have any ties here.

He died alone.

He didn't have friends or family with him.

However, he did have with him clearlake police officers.

So, from that point on, the officers would become

his protectors.

They would be the ones documenting his life,

trying to get answers,

trying to find out who was responsible, and ultimately

the ones trying to get justice for him.

But before his death, Steven named

his supposed killer,

David "cyclops" Cox.

So officers head to one of his last known addresses.

We had our weapons drawn.

We believed that David was possibly armed,

and we don't know what we're walking into.

Are we walking into an ambush?

Is he waiting for US? Does he know we're coming?

There's a lot of emotions going through you.

You're nervous about what you're about to encounter.

Whenever you enter a home,

you have no idea what you're going into.

It's somebody else's home.

You don't know what they have hiding,

what weapons they might have.

So, at this point, I'm relying on my k-9 partner,

his training, his nose, his eyes,

you know, he is my -- my go-to.

If he starts noticing anything,

if he hears anything, if he smells anything,

he's gonna start giving me indications

that there's something wrong.

Officer cook clears the house, finding no one inside.

Once we were back outside, myself and sergeant Joseph

spoke with David's ex-girlfriend trying to get

further information if possible.

Does she know where David was

or any information we can gather from her to move on.

Um...

When we're conducting an investigation,

it's always a balancing act,

trying to put enough pressure on people without giving

too much of our information out,

and in this particular case,

when I told her the seriousness of the crime,

that we had a shooting,

I think she realized the seriousness of what

we were investigating and became

a little bit more cooperative with US.

And she gave me his phone number

and gave me an address

where he was possibly at at the moment

in another part of the city.

Officers head to the address David's ex-girlfriend provides

while sergeant Joseph continues

to question her in his patrol car.

All right.

As she and I are talking in my car,

I'm overhearing radio chatter from

the officers that are on the scene -- we're stretched thin.

We have me interviewing here,

and I have several other officers

that are down the street,

you know, other part of town.

We're taxed -- we're taxed with our personnel.

But it is -- it's very stressful for me, because now they're

walking into another situation where we believe

David is located.

Again, we still believe that he's armed

with a weapon, and we don't know what his --

we don't know what his mindset is.

Police in clearlake, California,

have just discovered a possible motive for why

David Cox may have murdered Steven Galvin

and are surrounding a house where

they believe he may be hiding way.

I'm looking for someone who has, obviously,

no care about human life.

Now I'm the threat to them.

I'm what's gonna prevent them from being able

to be free.

So the danger level for something like that's

extremely high,

and the propensity of violence is just...

You know, astronomical.

The things that go through my head at that time are,

are they preparing themselves to have a shootout?

Are they arming themselves?

Are they holding people hostage?

Yeah, it's like a Jack-in-the-box.

As the crank's going,

you're just waiting for it to open.

Well, David finally comes out of the house.

As he comes out,

he has his arms extended.

We start giving him commands.

He looked at US and just nodded as --

as if he knew exactly what was going on.

Good.

This way.

At the clearlake police station,

officers process David.

David seemed like he was a very intelligent man.

He had lots of street smarts

and had been exposed to the criminal justice system.

He was quite adamant about trying to find out

facts of the case and different various details.

But as standard practice,

we do not release information to any witnesses

as to prevent any cross-contamination.

Back at the scene where David was arrested,

officers round up other individuals

from inside the house.

When we're dealing with these other people in the house,

is it typical that people of violence associate

with other people of violence? Yes.

So at this point, we need to make sure

that -- that we're still keeping the community safe,

and that's why we end up

pulling each person out with -- at gunpoint,

um, because we don't know.

Officers bring some of them

to the station for questioning.

So where this leads the investigation now is,

you know, now I have David,

but there's a lot of work and a lot of -- just a lot more

interviews that -- and evidence that I have to collect now.

But first, sergeant Peterson

must break the news of Steven's death

to those closest to him.

Before I was able to even speak to Steven's mother

to get information of who Steven

associated with and -- and why this may have occurred to him,

she ended up, unfortunately, passing away.

So,

you know, I got a chance to, um,

speak to Steven's girlfriend.

She didn't know what had happened.

Um,

she didn't know what Steven's condition was.

Having to tell people that someone's dead

that they care about is not --

not easy for an officer.

It's not easy for me.

I try to remember that when --

when I'm doing my job, I don't have to,

you know, I don't have to do my job.

I can add my own empathy and compassion in it.

Steven may have had a criminal history.

He may have not always made the best or right choices

in life,

but he's still a human being.

While Steven's girlfriend mourns,

detectives press forward with the investigation.

At that time, David was currently in custody

at the station,

and then we were approached by another person

that we had detained,

and he wanted to speak to US about the incident.

It was definitely a -- almost a shock,

but a turn in the case.

Now we have

a real conflicting statement with what

the victim had said during the dying declaration,

and now the suspect

and now our prime witness saying that no,

he was with him.

He didn't commit this crime.

So it's really hard to Gauge on who's telling the truth.

But we were leaning more towards that

there was potentially something wrong

with the investigation or identification of the suspect.

So after several minutes of speaking with him,

he was quite adamant that David was not responsible

for the killing of Steven.

Now we potentially have another person

out there that hasn't been identified.

We quickly realized that this was not

gonna be an open and closed shut case.

Detectives investigating Steven Galvin's murder

believed they have captured his killer,

David "cyclops" Cox.

But testimony from a surprise witness is

moving the investigation in a different direction.

So detectives decide to confront David directly.

From talking with David,

he is very adamant that he doesn't

know what he is in custody for,

that he wasn't involved in it.

He knew Steven but left it very generic

of how he knew who Steven was.

David became very anxious at this point, and...

For me to see a grown man who is supposed to be

this big thug criminal start crying --

I made it very clear to him

that that wasn't going to dissuade me

in my efforts of solving this crime.

I know -- for murder.

Okay?

Knowing my history with David and knowing his history,

it was clear that there was a high potential that he was

lying to me.

So now I need to take that information

that he's given me and either prove or disprove

what he told me.

As detectives consider their next move,

Steven is quietly laid to rest.

In Steven's case,

you know, he died alone,

and he had nobody there to be able to grieve him,

you know, in the end.

Unfortunately, when someone dies and they don't have

a family member to collect their remains,

the state has that person cremated,

and then they're generally scattered at sea.

He, unfortunately, got a really sad end to his life.

He didn't have a chance, you know,

that was stolen from him.

Detectives must solve this case for Steven,

so they turn their attention back to David's ex-girlfriend,

who shares with them some startling new information.

I'd been in contact with David's ex-girlfriend.

She had found out that maybe it wasn't David

who pulled the trigger and shot Steven

and was willing to provide me information regarding this.

So detectives bring her into the station

for an interview.

David's ex-girlfriend, she was very nervous,

and it was clear that she was scared for her safety.

Now this is another person telling me David

didn't do this,

so it was extremely important that I get this name from her

so I can get this person

off the street and make sure that

the rest of the public is safe.

I've had contact with Billy in the past.

He has a quite lengthy criminal history,

a history of violence,

and he's not very law enforcement friendly

or cooperative.

It really threw this investigation into

a real difficulty,

if you know -- was Billy the trigger man?

David's ex-girlfriend mentioned that she actually

saw Billy earlier that day at the house on maple.

Okay.

It was clear that David's ex-girlfriend

believed Billy mount was the person who murdered Steven Galvin,

so now we're gonna be transitioning to hunting

Billy mount.

It raises a little bit of anxiety,

because he is extremely dangerous

and now a prime suspect in a murder investigation.

Three days after the murder of Steven Galvin,

clearlake detectives are on the hunt

for a new person of interest --

Billy mount.

I was contacted and advised that patrol

had located Billy walking along the roadway.

So I directed the officer to transport Billy

to the police department so I could interview him.

I told Billy essentially that he's being named in

this investigation as being involved.

Billy is very arrogant, very confrontational.

He makes statements that it's because people hate him

that they're naming him and they're trying to frame him,

essentially trying to dissuade me from believing

that he's involved in this at all.

At this point, I have nothing to corroborate anybody's

statement, including his,

because from talking to David's ex, Billy was lying.

She said she saw Billy

over at the house on maple the day the murder happened.

The more I challenged him, the more upset and angry he got.

And he finally -- he, at some point, said,

"if you're gonna charge me, charge me,"

and that he wanted a lawyer.

I have to be able to provide that to him before I can

continue any further interview.

At this point, I still don't have any evidence.

I don't have the vehicle.

I don't have the gun.

I have nothing but hearsay and statements,

which aren't evidence.

It makes the investigation just that much more difficult.

So I'm here at the police department,

it's been two days now,

and I get a phone call from a lady who tells me

that her son was involved in the killing of Steven,

and that he wants to come forward.

Unsure how this man is involved,

detectives bring him into the station

and question him about the day of the murder.

He is a very timid guy and doesn't really have

a violent background or much of a criminal history.

He didn't want anything to do with this.

He wanted to distance himself as much as possible.

He knew that he didn't do it and figured that

we were gonna be looking for him.

Now that the witness came forward,

I don't need to find a white truck,

because I have the driver of the truck, it matches

the description provided by all the witnesses,

and it was clear that it was involved in this case.

At this point, everything is now leading me to Billy.

So I asked him, can you show me where you first met Billy,

where you drove him, and where you ended up

when you last saw Billy that day?

And he agreed to go with me.

But that's not all

the man had to show detective Peterson.

Okay.

I ended up walking over, and I saw a culvert

right on the edge of the road.

It was one of those,

"I'm gonna look just because,"

and I reached my hand in, pulled out a bag

that ultimately had the firearm.

I had the firearm sent to the department of justice

for latent print and DNA processing.

Some of what they call tandem repeats matched Billy mount.

And then I dusted the truck for any fingerprints,

and a cd had been found inside the truck.

The cd case actually had Billy's fingerprint on it.

So now I have physical evidence

showing this happened, and that moment,

when I had the firearm, I had the truck,

I knew that Billy mount was the one who did this.

Investigators are confident the driver had

nothing to do with Steven's death.

He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

And based on that testimony,

Billy is arrested and charged with the murder of

Steven Galvin.

But the motive for this murder

still remains a mystery for some.

You know, when I talked to the driver of the white truck,

I decided to ask him if Billy had said anything,

because I'm trying to figure out why did he just

randomly shoot Steven?

And he essentially made some kind of comment that, you know,

he had shot Steven because he had hurt somebody

that wasn't able to defend themselves.

Other than that one statement, I've never heard of

and never had anybody

come forward with Steven having any kind of allegations

of that type of crime.

After a two-month trial,

Billy is convicted of second degree murder.

He is sentenced to life with the possibility of parole.

Many of the cases that officers work,

these are memories that we keep with US and take

with US all the time for the rest of our lives,

and they're never easy.

They're difficult, but ultimately, that's our job,

and that's what we have to do.

We have to speak for those that can no longer speak.

At the end of the day,

I was able to do the right thing for Steven.

Even though Steven's not here anymore, I was able to create

that closure for him,

knowing that he wasn't going to be just a forgotten number,

and I was able to prove who did this to him and allow,

you know, if you believe in that, his soul to kinda rest.