Original subtitles

[dramatic music]

♪

[siren wailing]

- There's cameras all inside the store.

- Here she comes.

- And here he goes.

[gunfire]

- When investigating a murder,

sometimes the best evidence

is what's caught on camera.

Tonight on "The First 48: Critical Minutes"...

- I feel the guy come running like this.

"Don't move!"

- A robbery gone wrong.

- The victim, 20 seconds from now,

is gonna be dead.

It's like we're counting down.

♪

- Oh, my God, he put the gun right up to her.

- A mother shot at work.

- I know what he looks like. I just need a name.

♪

- And a murder that is not as clear as it appears.

- We have it on video!

- You are seen on tape

having an argument with this man.

Ten seconds later, he's shot to death.

♪

[siren wailing]

♪

- Video evidence can be crucial for detectives,

especially when the suspect

is caught on camera.

- In this first case from Cleveland, Ohio,

detectives responded to a shooting

in a convenience store.

[tense music]

♪

- How you doing?

Who's got the word?

♪

- What's the victim's name?

- Duane.

Last name is Jacobs.

[somber music]

male narrator: 57-year-old Duane Jacobs

worked at the convenience store

and was well-liked throughout the community.

He leaves behind seven children,

11 grandchildren, and a girlfriend of 20 years.

[tense music]

narrator: The store owner was working the register

at the time of the attempted robbery.

- Once we're done, we'll take him inside

so he can kind of point out where everything's at.

- OK.

♪

- Hat there.

♪

- One casing there.

narrator: In front of the checkout counter

is a .22 caliber casing.

♪

- Got money and stuff scattered around the counter.

♪

narrator: Behind a cooler

is a .38 caliber projectile.

[suspenseful music]

♪

- There's cameras all inside the store.

♪

- Let's talk to the store owner.

See what we got.

Hi, how you doing? I'm Detective Carlin.

narrator: Detectives speak with Ayed Kanaan,

known to his customers as "Eddie."

A Palestinian immigrant, Eddie and his wife

opened the convenience store ten years ago.

[tense music]

- What happened at the store tonight?

♪

♪

narrator: He says when the heavyset man

stepped aside, a second man rushed the counter.

[imitating gunfire]

♪

- We're gonna bring you inside and have you show us

where everybody was at.

♪

narrator: Eddie says the two men fled together.

♪

- OK.

- I see you have video cameras.

- Yeah.

♪

♪

♪

- Now it's not.

♪

[suspenseful music]

- We need these cameras.

♪

We're gonna have to come back tomorrow.

♪

narrator: Their only hope

of retrieving the video files

is to bring in a specialist.

♪

- There was a waiting vehicle down the street.

So there had to have been a third suspect.

♪

narrator: With little to go on,

the team will have to wait until morning

to try to download the video.

♪

- Damn.

I hope those cameras work.

♪

[dramatic music]

♪

- Let me show you what we got.

♪

These are some good images.

♪

Here's our victim.

[suspenseful music]

- That's his hat we found by the door.

♪

narrator: Just before the shooting...

♪

♪

- This is our first guy.

♪

- There's number two. - The other guy, two.

♪

- This one's starting the distraction.

♪

narrator: The victim continues working,

unaware that something's about to happen.

♪

- He wasn't expecting trouble. - No.

- He was just kicking back.

Hands in the pocket, watching TV.

- Hands in the pocket.

♪

There you go.

♪

- There was a shot fired there.

- Right.

- And boom, there he goes.

♪

Our victim.

He's looking at our guy coming at him.

♪

- Backing away.

- He is probably hit here.

♪

narrator: The victim is shot

before the suspect gets out the door.

♪

- Suspect at the counter is kind of off to the side.

♪

The first suspect is kind of holding the door.

♪

- So there's no doubt they're acting in concert.

♪

- Wish we had video of the person

driving that getaway van.

[somber music]

It's just scary, watching something like that,

knowing that the victim's, you know,

20 seconds from now, he's gonna be dead,

and then, you know, 15 seconds.

It's like you're counting down.

This guy just happened to move

from one part of the store to the other,

be by that front door, watching the TV.

♪

Next up, let's get some good stills

and put 'em out in the media.

Try to work some things that way.

♪

[suspenseful music]

♪

- Neighbors are upset that Jacobs was killed

while trying to earn an honest living.

Take a good look at these men.

Police are hoping those pictures

will lead to the killer's arrest.

♪

narrator: Six weeks after releasing

the surveillance stills...

[phone rings]

- This is Carlin from Cleveland Homicide.

[tense music]

Yes.

Great, thank you very much.

♪

We just got an anonymous tip.

A caller viewed the video

then called in and said, "That's Steven Mongo."

♪

narrator: 25-year-old Steven Mongo

has been convicted of drug possession

and receiving stolen property.

- He matches our description.

We'll try and bring him in and put some pressure on him.

[dramatic music]

♪

narrator: After searching for a week...

♪

[tense music]

Mongo is picked up during a raid

for an unrelated case.

♪

- I'm Detective Carlin. - Yeah.

- All right, my partner is Detective Entenok.

- How you doing? - Fine.

♪

- Your name has come up in our investigation.

♪

I don't know if you're aware,

but this Ya-Ya Market has video.

♪

We're gonna show you the video.

♪

- Who's that?

- That's me.

♪

[tense music]

♪

- Who's this dude in the back, walking up?

narrator: Mongo claims his friend,

Darrell, walked in while he was buying a cigar.

narrator: He insists he didn't know

Darrell was going to rob the store.

♪

♪

- Is that Darrell again, coming back in?

- Yeah.

♪

- Why's he holding the door wide open like that?

♪

♪

- I told him, I don't know.

♪

- Come on.

You knew Darrell was gonna rob that store.

- We have witnesses that say that the two people

that ran out of the store got into a van together.

♪

- Who's this third guy that was driving the van?

♪

- No, you're the setup guy. - Yeah.

- You move off to the side, he does the robbery.

♪

You may not be the one with the gun,

you may not be the one who fi--

- Right now, you're at an aggravated murder

and an aggravated robbery.

♪

- Absolutely.

♪

We're not trying to screw you, here.

We're just trying to get some justice

for this guy's family.

♪

- Think right now, he's told us enough

that we can get a warrant out for Darrell.

♪

- Sure looks like our guy.

narrator: 24-year-old Darrell Coleman

has been convicted of drug possession

and aggravated robbery.

- We believe he's armed and dangerous,

so we're gonna call in SWAT to track him down.

[suspenseful music]

[tense music]

- I don't even know why I'm in here.

- Mm-hmm. - For real, 'cause...

like, I know what Homicide means, man.

But I've never killed nobody in my life.

- Uh...sh--I don't know.

- Who? Who's that?

- Steven Mongo? - Steven Mongo?

- Oh, man. Who is--who is that? - Come on.

- You know who he is.

Here you go.

♪

- For real? - That's Steven Mongo.

♪

And you see this guy walking in?

♪

That's you.

♪

- Dude, I don't know what I'm in here for, man.

For real.

I have never killed nobody in my life.

♪

- You're not even talking to us.

- I am talking to you, ma'am! - No!

- I'm telling you! - All you're doing is--

- Look in my eyes, ma'am!

I'm not no killer!

I have never killed nobody a day in my life!

That's the God's honest truth, ma'am.

- OK.

- I have never killed nobody in my life.

♪

- Keep telling yourself that.

♪

[somber music]

- From everything we learned,

Mr. Jacobs was well-liked in the neighborhood.

Hard worker and a good family man, so...

it's a tragic loss

and something that didn't need to happen.

♪

- Surveillance video

is most often used

to try to identify a suspect.

They can be useful in other ways.

Sometimes, they can reveal motive,

as it did in this next case from Dallas, Texas.

[suspenseful music]

- Shots were heard.

People come out and see.

All we know is it's a female.

♪

- It's a semi-affluent area of town.

A lot of businesses, restaurants.

♪

- Ah, shoot.

- Dude, this doesn't look [indistinct].

- Mm-mm.

♪

- What do you got?

♪

- Witnesses heard the shots, but nobody actually saw it.

- She have ID?

Somebody go through her pockets?

[somber music]

♪

narrator: The victim is 51-year-old Karen Lafon,

a single mother with two adult sons.

She worked for 26 years

at an agency that helps the blind.

♪

- We got items...

that are still here that weren't taken.

[tense music]

It just appears to me that somebody

was waiting for her specifically,

and not for a random victim.

♪

You can see her keys are still in her hand.

All intention of probably going to her car.

Then all of a sudden, she was blindsided.

♪

narrator: The victim has been shot twice

in the head.

♪

- Right now, as far as motive, we don't know

if it's a personal thing

or if it's a hijacking that's gone wrong.

♪

It's hard to say.

♪

I guess, $10 million question.

Why?

- There's a camera right there.

narrator: The team notices that

the building has a surveillance system.

♪

- There's a couple cameras

aimed at this lobby area.

- They just got access to the tape.

You want to look at it?

[suspenseful music]

♪

- Go from 5:00.

We'll need the east entrance, and we'll need the lobby.

♪

♪

- Here she comes.

♪

- Oh, my God. He put the gun right up to her.

[suspenseful music]

- Go back again.

♪

- Yeah, that's robbery.

But he doesn't take anything.

- He tries. - He touches--

he touches that bag. - He grabbed her bag.

- He grabs the bag.

♪

He goes for the purse, it's tangled up in her arm,

pulls it, doesn't get it, and he's gone.

[somber music]

- He's already made too much noise.

- He would've had better luck

just trying to snatch it and run.

♪

- This is a lot more difficult.

[suspenseful music]

♪

- OK, here he comes.

[tense music]

- I got him entering the building

at 5:18:52.

♪

- Oh, he is in the elevator! He's does get in the elevator.

- We got all of 'em, man.

♪

- I'm looking for ID.

I'm looking for...

what he touched.

Whereabouts he went to.

People that might have seen him

in the elevators.

♪

He went up to seven.

♪

- Look at him sweat.

- And he touched the--

- Somebody had to notice him yesterday.

He's just too antsy.

♪

- I think he's looking for a victim.

♪

- He's all over that...

building.

♪

- He's shopping.

Looking for people, and...

- See who he's gonna victimize.

♪

- He probably sees her coming.

♪

- There she is. - There he is.

♪

- I think it's 5:26.

♪

♪

- Can we print one photo from that?

- I would think so.

Got a real good shot of him there.

- What we can do is get one of them still photos.

And then go back over there

and start hitting the floors he got off on,

and see if, by chance, somebody...

knows him, or he was visiting, or...

- Oh, yeah. Yeah.

- Right there.

♪

- We have a totally innocent victim.

We all do what she does every day.

Getting up, going to work, and...

trying to earn a paycheck.

♪

That's scary.

♪

- What happened was just unreal.

♪

This guy was prowling around, looking for...

♪

Someone to victimize, and...

when he came across Miss Lafon.

Just without a thought...

her life is ended.

At--in seconds.

♪

Right now, I've got an image of him.

I know what he looks like.

♪

I just need a name.

♪

[dramatic music]

narrator: Ibarra and his team

return to the crime scene

to see if anyone recognizes the shooter.

- My big question is what drew him to that building?

Why was he there?

♪

[suspenseful music]

Did you see anybody that kind of looked

out of the ordinary or lost?

- No, we just heard the shots.

- You recall seeing anybody...

suspicious?

- Seen this guy before? - No, sir.

♪

- We're not getting anything from the businesses here.

♪

♪

- Has he been down there a lot?

narrator: Then the team gets a break.

- I want someone who's gonna look at that guy

and go, "Oh! It's so-and-so!" You know what I mean?

narrator: An anonymous caller

gives the team an address for the suspect.

♪

- They recognized that person on the video,

and we're gonna go out there and knock on the door.

♪

- I'll call you in a minute, Ed.

[dramatic music]

♪

How you doing?

[line trilling]

Yeah, that's Jose Castro.

♪

- Hey, Palmer just got ID on him over there.

His name is Jose Castro.

♪

[tense music]

♪

Whoa.

♪

That looks very close.

- That's him there.

♪

- He's got high cheeks.

- What's he been arrested for?

narrator: Jose Castro

has a record of aggravated assault

and robbery.

- It's close. Very, very close.

- We can't let him run off.

We have to contain him.

[suspenseful music]

- Is that them?

That's him. Take him down. Take him down.

- Let me see your hands!

- I'm at the door!

♪

- Jose.

We want to search your apartment.

Would you let us search?

- Oh, yeah, that's fine.

narrator: As CSI arrives to look for evidence...

Palmer sends Jose Castro

down to Homicide for questioning.

[tense music]

♪

- Outstanding. This may be it.

♪

- How's it going, man?

- You were at home? OK.

♪

What did you do all day?

♪

- That's all? All day?

♪

♪

[suspenseful music]

- Did you go out for anything?

♪

- Mm-kay.

♪

Hey, maybe you're forgetting something?

You're leaving something out?

♪

- OK, well, listen.

Face me.

I want us to be straight.

I want you to be honest with everything, OK?

I don't want you to leave anything out.

You didn't step out of the house for no reason?

With the exception of,

to the parking lot to throw the trash.

- So there wouldn't be any reason

to say that you were somewhere else.

♪

- If I talk to your mom,

she'd be able to verify all this?

- Yes. - OK.

[suspenseful music]

♪

- He says that, uh...

he was at home all day.

He did not leave for anything.

narrator: According to his parents,

when they came home at 5:30,

Jose was gone.

- OK.

Jose. Um...

I was talking to some of the detectives.

They're out there with your dad.

And...

He's not telling me the same story that you are.

- OK.

- Is there any reason for that?

♪

♪

[tense music]

♪

♪

♪

They found the jacket.

That was a critical piece of evidence

because that links Castro to this office.

♪

- That's the cleanest one we can get.

♪

This video does not lie.

And that's why I'm telling you,

I have no doubt in my mind that that's you

in that building.

♪

♪

- OK.

I'll be right back.

♪

[melancholy music]

♪

I have enough physical evidence

and probable cause to arrest him.

The confession would've just been icing on the cake.

♪

There's two families that have been victimized on this.

Karen's family and Castro's family.

♪

Just sad all around.

♪

- Video evidence may often

appear to be cut and dry.

But it's not always.

Sometimes, it can be misleading.

[tense music]

- OK, I'm pulling up on the scene now.

Two or three squad cars.

♪

Several shell casings out here on the scene

in the victim's car.

Gunshots fired where the door was shot out.

- Victim was shot outside the store.

♪

- Do you have a-- they got a camera?

- Got a camera. - They got video?

- Got video. Got video. - Good. Wonderful.

narrator: Sergeant Caroline Mason

heads inside to look at the surveillance footage

with Lieutenant Toney Armstrong

and her partner, Eric Hutchison.

[unsettling music]

♪

narrator: The victim is 27-year-old LaAunzae Grady,

a store regular.

- Mm-hmm. - Yeah.

[tense music]

♪

[indistinct chatter]

[gunfire]

♪

- It's eerie to hear the sound of someone being killed.

- Lieutenant, show me out back. This doesn't look good.

That's fine. Right there, right there.

- I said, "Hey, dude, where's my weed?"

I said, "Hey, dude, what's up with you?"

I got that pistol, too, mother[bleep]!

You know it! - He tells him he has a pistol.

narrator: Detectives make a discovery.

- Apparently the victim got into an argument

inside the store.

- Back this up a little bit.

narrator: Detectives believe the man

in the black skullcap is provoking the victim.

♪

narrator: Moments later,

LaAunzae Grady walks out the door

and is shot dead.

[gunfire]

- That's him.

♪

- I don't think it was a physical fight.

I think it was just a verbal altercation

between two gentlemen.

They exchanged words, and, uh...

Hold up.

- I'm trying to talk to you, man.

Let me holler at you. - What is--what is--

what is going on, sir? I don't even know...

- This is a murder investigation.

- What did I do--I ain't got nothing to do with--

[indistinct arguing] - Well, sit your ass down!

Sit your ass down!

narrator: Mason and Hutchison

hold the suspect until patrol cars arrive

to take him to the station.

[siren wailing]

♪

- [sighs]

He doesn't know that we have him on video

being at the store.

So we'll go in and listen to him,

see what he has to say.

♪

♪

- We have it on video!

- The person who was last seen

was involved in a verbal altercation

with the victim prior to his death.

That's you!

♪

- You are seen on tape

having an argument with this man.

Ten seconds later, he's shot to death.

He tells you...

"I got my pistol with me.

You make sure you got yours."

narrator: Ernest claims that what

may have appeared to be an argument

was simply LaAunzae talking trash.

♪

[suspenseful music]

♪

- Oh!

- Yeah. - Uh-huh.

♪

Victim looking out the door.

He's going to the door, and they're looking out.

He's looking out as well.

- Then they stood and watched a man in a ski mask.

- Mm-hmm.

narrator: Detectives believe

both LaAunzae and another man

could be looking out at the man in the ski mask.

[tense music]

- That's the victim now. Peeping out again.

The way they were looking out the door,

it looks like they're concerned about something.

Like they're concerned about the guy outside

with the ski mask on.

♪

And here he goes.

[gunfire]

♪

narrator: Mason believes this other man

saw who killed LaAunzae.

♪

- Because he was looking out the front door,

he should be able to tell us what he saw.

♪

[suspenseful music]

- Hello?

Hey, this is Sergeant Mason from Homicide.

We're trying to find [bleep].

Do you know how we can reach him?

♪

- Did you see the guy in the ski mask

do the shooting?

♪

- Hear from some people on the scene

that dude left in a white Cherokee.

narrator: The witness corroborates Cory's statement.

Ernest drove away before the shooting went down.

- I thought we had our guy.

But that kind of eliminates Ernest Prince.

- All right.

♪

- The more we know who our victim is,

the better chance we are to understanding

who would want to see him dead.

Seems like he was just released from prison.

[tense music]

- Apparently he shot and killed a 16-year-old, Eric Ragland.

♪

- We're trying to put the pieces of the puzzle

together about who may have done this.

narrator: Word on the street

is that the killer is the brother

of the young man LaAunzae shot six years ago.

♪

- Where were you Friday night?

- Um...

♪

- You were feeling a little sick?

What can you tell me about LaAunzae?

- So you didn't have a problem with him?

- You had no animosity toward him whatsoever?

- That's not the word on the street.

Barely do the streets lie.

Rarely do the streets lie!

♪

- What are you thinking?

- He has motive.

♪

You just gotta get past his shell.

♪

I'm gonna go ahead and see if he'll talk to me alone.

Maybe I can reach him that way.

♪

Hypothetically, if you did kill LaAunzae--

just hypothetically.

It wasn't right, but...

you have a reason.

You had a reason 'cause he took away somebody

that was a part of you.

You know, killing somebody is not right,

but [bleep] happens.

♪

And I've lost somebody real close to me before.

♪

So I can empathize what you're going through.

♪

I am a woman and a human being

before I am the police.

♪

Everybody got feelings.

♪

You been carrying a torch for a long [bleep] time.

And sometimes, [bleep] just [bleep] builds up.

And you have enough. You be fed up.

♪

And sometimes, Black men

don't know how to deal with things.

It's hard out here for a Black man.

I know this.

♪

Probably never had a role model in your life.

Just your mom.

- [sniffs]

- I know it seems like every time

you open a [bleep] door, another one close in your face.

I understand.

- [crying]

But...

But this is your chance.

And I promise you...

I'ma help you.

But you gotta tell me everything.

You gotta tell me what happened.

[ambient music]

- [sniffs]

♪

- [crying]

♪

[suspenseful music]

[phone rings]

- You saw his face?

- I did. - OK, appreciate it, man.

♪

- Which one?

♪

- Picked him out right off the bat.

Number five.

His eyes went straight to him.

This is what we needed.

Because here's someone that saw the gunman

after he shed his ski mask.

[tense music]

Everybody loses in this case.

You know?

When they pull the trigger,

changes their lives as well as everybody else's.

Don Don's mother has lost two sons, so...

that little...

♪

15-second decision.

Changes everything and forever.

♪

[suspenseful music]

- Well, I don't care who you are.

You watch somebody else take another human's life,

it's gonna affect you.

Your senses are on high alert.

Your adrenaline's rushing.

♪

You know what you're getting ready to watch,

but nothing can prepare you

for what you're gonna see.

♪

It's immediately followed by...

"What can we take from this right now?

Just let's go get this person."