All language subtitles for The First 48 Presents Critical Minutes S01 E07_track3_[eng]

[dramatic music]

♪

♪

- Tonight on "The First 48:
Critical Minutes,"

we look back
at three homicides

that erupted in the heat
of the moment.

- A confrontation
turns deadly.

- That's my love of my life.

- You know who was involved
in this homicide.

- And an Easter visit
ends in murder.

- Were you mad
about her hitting you?

female interpreter:
Oh, yeah.

- Then...

- A mother caught in the
middle of a lethal dispute.

[dramatic musical sting]

[dramatic music]

♪

- As a homicide detective,

I've seen how an impulse

like rage or jealousy

can turn out badly
for everyone involved.

In our first case
in Kansas City,

an altercation between a man's
girlfriend and his ex-wife

spun out of control.

♪

[radio chatter]

♪

- Ready?
- We're ready.

- Mark, what's going on, man?

How are you?
- Good.

- All right,
catch you up to speed.

He's shot in the face.

He's still alive
and still has a pulse

and all that kind of thing.

They said they're concerned
about his brain, though.

Andrew Harman.

male narrator:
37-year-old Andrew Harman

worked at
a marble-countertop company

and loved carpentry
and fixing cars.

He leaves behind
a large family,

including two daughters
and two sons.

♪

- Where is she at?

- I think she is en route
with her daughter.

narrator: Andrew's wife
and stepdaughter

have been transported
to Homicide for questioning.

♪

- Oh, God.

♪

♪

- What's the deal
with the baseball bat?

- I don't know.

♪

- This wasn't
a random shooting.

They had an intended target.

And his wife was sitting
right next to him

when this happened,

so hopefully she can
identify the shooter.

♪

Sorry to meet you guys

under these circumstances,
obviously.

We really need to know
what happened.

[sobbing]

♪

[sniffles]

- Had you've ever seen
that car before?

- Can you describe
what the car looked like?

- It was a black
four-door sedan,

and it was a newer car.

Shiny and very new--
it was nice.

I remember that.

- Did you see the people
inside the car?

- Yeah, I seen
the driver perfectly.

♪

- So what did the driver
of that car look like?

- Short hair,
buzzcut.

♪

- Who all was outside
right before this happened?

- I had gotten
into a confrontation

with the girl
across the street, Jennifer.

Jennifer Cooper is his ex-wife.
[chuckles]

She's still trying to say
she's his wife.

- Jennifer...

narrator: Sarabeth says
Andrew's first wife

lives right across the street.

- She sells dope.
[sniffles]

I [bleep] hate that house
across the street.

Bright-red hair, glasses.

She's so doped out.

♪

She keeps on driving
through my field,

spinning her tires
and screwing up my yard.

And I have been letting it go,
letting it go.

narrator:
She says earlier that night,

she went across the street
to confront Jennifer.

[sniffles]

♪

- You think this was
this Tray person?

♪

[sniffles]

- So you think you'd definitely
be able identify him?

- For sure.

[cell phone ringing]

- Hey, Sarge.

♪

- I told you I'd keep you
updated on everything,

and I'm sorry to tell you,
but he did die.

- [sobbing]

♪

- One of the hardest things
about this job

is telling people that somebody
they care about

has been murdered,

but it does give us motivation

to go out and find the person
that did this.

♪

This is Jennifer.

narrator:
30-year-old Jennifer Cooper

has been convicted
of dealing methamphetamines

and has an outstanding warrant

for failing to register
as a drug offender.

♪

- Since she has
an outstanding warrant,

we can pick her up
if we can find her.

♪

narrator: Patrol heads out
to look for Jennifer Cooper...

♪

And tracks her down
near her mother's house.

♪

- OK, yesterday
there was a altercation

out in front
of your mother's house.

Is that correct?
- Yes, sir.

- Can you describe
what happened?

- My husband
and his new girlfriend

had come out the fence
with baseball bats

and broke out my friend
Tray's taillight.

- And your husband is...?
- Andrew Harman.

- OK, and then who's his...

- Sarabeth Ross.
- And then who's Tray?

- A friend of mine.
- OK.

Did Tray threaten--
- Yes, yes, Tray did.

He told Andrew
that he would kill him.

"I will kill you

'cause you guys just broke out
my taillights to my car."

♪

Tray left, and I took off
walking up the street.

And next thing I know,
I started hearing gunshots.

And I thought I was shot.

I looked down,
and I felt my chest,

make sure I wasn't bleeding.

- What happened next?

- I left,
and I contacted my mama.

That's when they told me
my husband was dead.

- OK, what did you do then?

- [voice breaking]
I started crying.

[cries]

That's my husband of 13 years.

♪

- OK.

And have you seen Tray
since all this happened?

- No.

♪

I just want
to let you guys know

that I loved my husband
very much.

♪

- OK.

♪

- [sighs]

- It's hard to believe that all
this is over a broken...

- [chuckles]
both: Taillight...

- But it's on a Cadillac.
- That's true.

♪

narrator:
The team books Jennifer

on her outstanding warrant.

♪

- Hey, I'm gonna
go through her phone.

I'm gonna hook it up
to the machine.

Yeah, getting all of it.
- That's a good call.

♪

- It's gonna take a lot
to download all the data.

Once we do, we'll
take a look at it

and see if it matches up
with her story.

She gave us permission
to go through it

because she wants us
to catch the guy

that murdered her husband.

♪

narrator: Detectives track
down Tray and bring him in.

♪

Do you know who was involved
in the murder of Drew?

♪

- Do you remember
any conversations

that happened
right before you left there?

♪

- Who is she?

♪

- Do you know who she made
that phone call to?

♪

narrator: No longer believing
Tray had anything to do

with Andrew's murder,
detectives let him go.

- We need to go
to the county jail

and talk to Jennifer again.

Her story isn't adding up.

♪

- Can we talk
to Jennifer Cooper?

♪

- Hey, Jennifer.
- Hello, sir.

Please tell me you caught him.
- Not yet.

- No, not yet?

♪

- We're kind of hoping
you can help with that, though.

- OK.

- Here's the thing.

I don't think that
you wanted this to happen.

Obviously, this is
your husband--

- That's my love of my life,

and that's why
I'm still married.

Still to this day, I will
always be married to Andrew

because that's my husband
of 13 years.

- But here's the thing.

The other day, you have
this disturbance

that happens there
at the house.

You guys all get into it, and
you're in love with this man.

Everybody knows that, which
means when you're in love,

that means anything can happen.

♪

- Yes, I love that man
with everything I got, sir.

- Let's show that now, OK?

♪

You know who was involved
in this homicide.

- OK.

♪

- No doubt.

♪

- Isaiah Butler's the one
who pulled the trigger.

♪

♪

- How do you know Butler?
- I don't know him very well.

♪

- I'm just trying to put

why Isaiah would come down the
street and shoot him after--

- I couldn't tell you.

You guys, I wasn't there.
I don't know.

And I loved that man
with everything I got.

- Just because Jennifer says
somebody else did it

doesn't mean
that she's not involved.

With her being the ex-wife
and living across the street,

you've always got to keep
Jennifer in mind as a suspect.

♪

narrator:
The next morning...

- There you go.
That's him.

♪

- Could you see if--
which one of the people

in the car was shooting?

- Both.

I saw both their arms hanging
out the passenger window.

- Can you tell me
who the person is

that I'm showing you
in the photo here?

- It's time
to go find this guy.

♪

narrator: Two days later,
with no sign of Isaiah,

the team finally gets a look
at Jennifer's phone records.

- At 17:20, there's
a outgoing text message

from Jennifer Cooper
to Isaiah Butler

that's saying, "Call me."

About 9:20 in the evening,

there is
an incoming text message

from Isaiah Butler,
and it's a screenshot

of a post about Andrew Harman
being killed.

He comments,
"Is this the same guy?"

With question marks
underneath it.

It appears that
he didn't necessarily know

who the victim was
before all this happened,

which makes me believe
even further

that Jennifer probably
set this up.

♪

narrator:
The next morning...

- There's some other
information that's come up

that makes me concerned
about some things

that I'd have to ask you.
- OK.

- I do want to read you
your rights, OK?

- OK, am I in trouble?

- I'll explain to you,
and you can explain to me.

- OK.
- OK?

Have you ever had someone read
their rights to you before?

- "You have the right
to remain silent.

"Anything you say, can
and will be used against you

"in a court of law.

You have the right
to an attorney."

So I will ask for my attorney
right here.

- OK.
- OK.

- I understand.
- Thank you.

♪

- I do feel good
about the fact

that we've got
three very violent people

that we're gonna be able
to get off the streets

of Kansas City.

♪

[solemn music]

- There's a fine line
between love and hate.

And when you're dealing
with a crime of passion,

that line can be crossed
in the blink of an eye.

♪

♪

- Yeah, not exactly the way
you want to spend Easter.

♪

- Pockets?
- Pockets.

♪

- Well, she got one
to the forehead

and then one to the right side
of the head.

She's shot one time
in the back.

narrator:
The two shots to her head

were fired at close range.

- Yeah, she's also got one
in the left wrist, too.

♪

Yeah, the arms.

It seems indicative
of her being on her back

trying to protect her face

and those are
probably the shots

that, you know, entered
through her hands

and then hit her in the head.

narrator:
Two feet from the victim,

they find a cell phone.

[metal detector beeping]

- [sighs]

narrator: They find no other
evidence at the scene.

- Once we know who she is,

that'll give us
a place to start

as far as finding out
who she was with last

and what she was doing.

♪

The only evidence so far
is a cell phone.

We're hoping that leads us
to some information.

♪

[cell phone beeping]

narrator:
Brown checks the phone

and finds several voice mails.

♪

[indistinct chatter]

The callers are
expressing concern

for a woman named Chandra.

♪

- Man, there's some interesting
phone calls on here.

There's some voice mails
saying, "Where are you at?"

♪

I was about to see if there's
a missing person called in.

narrator:
Brown checks to see

if anyone in the victim's
family reported her missing.

♪

- Well, a call just came in
about 15 minutes ago

in the same area
where we were at.

And someone is calling in
a female as missing--

Chandra Belton.

♪

It looks like
our missing female.

♪

"40-year-old Chandra Belton

went to the store...
to exchange some fish."

narrator: The report states
Chandra was last seen

five hours earlier when she
left for the grocery store.

She never came back.

♪

Brown calls
the Missing Persons Unit,

who was
with the victim's family.

- Don't let them know that it's
being worked as a homicide.

Wait till we get out there.

♪

- They don't know it yet,

but, unfortunately,
we'll have to, you know,

break the news to them
that she's deceased.

♪

- Most murder victims are
killed by somebody they know.

That's why the victim's family
can be key

to cracking a case.

♪

- Love is a dangerous thing.

♪

"Love" is probably not
the right word.

That's not love.

It's machismo, I guess, ego.

Lots of people die over it.

♪

- That guy.

♪

- Have a positive ID
by Reynolds.

narrator:
51-year-old Jerry Belton

has a prior conviction for
stabbing a former girlfriend

and her 11-month-old baby
in Louisiana.

♪

Brown calls the local police
in Jerry's hometown

of Amite, Louisiana,
300 miles away.

- Name's Jerry Belton.

♪

Right.
OK, cool.

Thanks, man.

♪

They knew exactly who he is,

and they're gonna try
to put their hands on him.

♪

Jerry, we're here to get
your side of the story.

That's the reason I've driven

all the way from Houston here
just to talk to you.

♪

interpreter: I need
a cigarette--after I smoke.

♪

narrator: Jerry says
he was enjoying the visit

until he found out

that Chandra
was dating another man.

interpreter: I mean...

narrator:
He says on Easter Sunday,

Chandra asked him to go
to the store with her.

♪

♪

- Well, Jerry,
there's a big difference

between someone
that makes a plan

to kill someone else

and goes and executes it.
interpreter: No, no, no, no.

No, no, no.
Uh-uh, uh-uh. I didn't do that.

No, no, no.
No, no, no, no, no.

- Well, then I need you
to explain to me

how this incident came about.

I need to know if you planned
to kill Chandra this weekend.

interpreter: No, no."

- I didn't say
I didn't believe you.

I didn't say
I didn't believe you,

but we got some things we have
to clear up if that's the case.

♪

♪

- I want your side
of the story.

♪

♪

♪

♪

♪

♪

narrator: He says
then Chandra lashed out.

♪

♪

♪

interpreter:
I think he wants to...

Act like you're sitting.
Act like you're sitting.

♪

- Were you mad
about her hitting you?

interpreter:
Oh, yeah.

♪

♪

narrator: Jerry later
confesses to shooting Chandra.

♪

- He's about as truthful
as you'd expect

a murder suspect to be
in a situation like that.

♪

He admits that he got angry

and shot her several times,

so it's a good confession
on our part.

♪

- This next case from Atlanta

features a different kind
of love

that went wrong
in a moment of fury.

♪

♪

- How are you?
- I'm OK, tired.

- Yeah.

♪

narrator:
51-year-old Barry Hawkins,

known to his friends
and family as Paco,

lived in the apartment
with his wife, Sabrina.

They'd been together
nearly 30 years,

and he helped raise
her three children.

- What they're telling me

is that the wife is inside.

narrator: Paco's wife,
Sabrina, was in her bedroom

when the shooting occurred.

- She can't get out
'cause of the crime scene.

- I'm gonna go take a look
at the scene and...

♪

- This is dark back here.

♪

Take a quick video
and get the lay of the land.

♪

A lot of blood.

♪

narrator: While Leonpacher
examines the scene...

narrator:
Detective John Egbert

interviews
the victim's wife, Sabrina.

♪

narrator: Sabrina says
she was in her bedroom

when she heard some men
shoving her husband

in the next room.

♪

narrator: Sabrina
is physically disabled

and was unable to get up
to see what was going on.

♪

♪

narrator: Egbert breaks
the news to Sabrina

that her husband
didn't survive.

♪

- I'm so sorry for your loss,

and I'm gonna do everything
in my power

to make sure that
whoever's responsible

for his untimely death
is held accountable for it.

♪

narrator:
Leonpacher spots a rifle case

on Sabrina's bed...

♪

and blood nearby on the floor.

♪

- I need to know,
are there any guns in here?

- But the case is on the bed.

The fact that the case
is on the bed

tells me someone came and
retrieved a gun from the case.

♪

- I want to collect the case
for prints.

♪

- Someone came in there
and took that gun.

- Mm-hmm.

♪

- She says no one came
into the back bedroom,

yet these gun cases
are on her bed.

They're not under the bed.
They're not in the closet.

They're on her bed right
next to where she's sitting.

It doesn't make any sense.

It appears
as if someone came back there

and retrieved that weapon.

She's as much of an eyewitness
as I've ever seen.

- Anger is a powerful emotion,

and when you combine
a moment of extreme anger

with access to a gun,

it can have
devastating consequences.

♪

- Hey, there.
I'm Detective Egbert.

narrator: The team turns
to the neighbors.

♪

- Your neighbor here
just got shot.

I just want to know
if you heard anything.

♪

She looked out the window

and saw four people getting

into a gray smaller Mercedes.

♪

She thinks that she's seen
that same gray Mercedes here

two or three times
before today.

- OK.

♪

- Back to the shop.
[grunts]

♪

[line trilling]

♪

Who drives the silver Mercedes?

♪

♪

- Do you know
the stepson's name?

♪

♪

- Here we go.

♪

There he is.

♪

narrator: Javoris Hurston
is 25 years old.

♪

- He's the registered owner
of a silver Mercedes.

Witnesses saw someone
running from the scene

get into a silver Mercedes
and flee

right after the shooting
occurred.

Why would she be
withholding the identity

of the man that
killed her husband

unless it were someone
that were as important to her

as her son?

♪

narrator: Leonpacher checks
Sabrina's apartment complex

for Javoris' Mercedes.

♪

narrator:
To get a warrant for Javoris,

Leonpacher needs Sabrina
to cooperate.

- I've got a single photograph
of her son.

If she makes the ID,
then that's enough.

[knock at door]

[lock clicks]

Hello.

- Thank you.
- Uh-huh.

- Y'all getting cleaned up?

Sabrina?

♪

narrator:
Leonpacher shows Sabrina

a photo of her son Javoris.

♪

♪

- I know you're
in a tough spot.

♪

narrator: Sabrina admits
it was Javoris who shot Paco.

♪

♪

[Leonpacher sighs]

♪

- You know, it's
just a sad situation.

It's a traumatic situation
for her and for her family.

I mean,
her family's destroyed.

She's lost someone
that she loved,

and she may lose a second
person that she loves,

so I feel for her.

It just sounds
like an argument

that spiraled out of control.

♪

narrator: After searching
for three weeks...

[elevator bell blares]

♪

[door opens]

♪

- I'm Detective Young.
- Hey.

- So the night
that Barry was killed...

- [inhales deeply]

- Tell me what happened, bro.

- [breathing heavily]

♪

♪

- I know.
Get it out, man.

Just get it off your chest.

- [snorts, exhales deeply]
All right.

[snorts]

♪

So...

narrator: Javoris says
he felt his mother

was being taken advantage of.

♪

narrator: He says he gave the
rifle to Paco a few months ago

for protection.

♪

♪

Like...

Like...
[imitates gunshots]

♪

♪

♪

[sniffles]

- Did he say anything to you?
[crying]

[sobs, snorts]

- How long you known him?

[sobbing]

Bro...

[sniffles]

[snorts]

[snorts, exhales deeply]

♪

- I'm not saying he's
a stone-cold murderer,

but damn.

Like, you only know how
to solve your problems one way,

with a gun?

♪

- The suspect in this case
made a terrible decision,

and I think that when you do
these things to a person

that you love
that you immediately regret.

There is going to be guilt.
There's going to be remorse.

You're never going
to see them again.

That's the ultimate
punishment, right?

I mean, for me, personally,

that would be worse
than going to jail.

♪