Original subtitles

[ominous music]

♪

- How y'all doing today?

Do you guys have any cameras?

I was curious if we could take a look-see.

- In today's world, cameras are everywhere.

[camera beeps]

And with that, a detective's chance

of catching a crime in action is better than ever.

- He's got a crowbar.

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

- There he goes. - Oh, shot in the head.

- Video hides nothing.

- Then...

- Boom. He just walks off.

- Multiple cameras help crack open a case.

[dramatic music]

- And... - Oh, my gosh.

[camera shutter clicking]

- Detectives hunt for a hit-and-run driver...

- He hit another homeless person.

- Before he kills again.

- This guy's not gonna stop until we stop him.

[dramatic music]

♪

[sirens wailing]

♪

- In a homicide investigation,

surveillance footage is like an extra set of eyes and ears,

an unbiased witness that can be rewound,

replayed, and zoomed in on.

[ominous music]

♪

- Headed up to the northeast of Tulsa out by the airport.

It's--there's a convenience store.

The worker there, employee of the store,

has been shot

and has died there at the scene.

♪

[doorbell chimes]

♪

- Is he back here? - Yeah.

♪

- Well.

♪

Who's--do we know who our victim is, what his name is?

- Yeah.

♪

narrator: 51-year-old Aftab Ahmed Khan

was originally from Pakistan.

He worked at the convenience store

to support his family and send money back home.

[solemn music]

He is survived by his live-in girlfriend of nearly 20 years

and three children.

♪

- He's got two bullet holes in the top left shoulder.

narrator: Aftab was shot three times,

twice below the neck and once in the forehead.

♪

- Have you seen that?

narrator: On the counter...

[camera shutter clicking]

- There's a bullet shot in the register.

[camera shutter clicks]

narrator: A .40-caliber projectile.

♪

- That's stinking crazy.

- And there's a gun below him,

like he was going for a gun or something.

♪

[camera shutter clicks]

narrator: They find a 9-millimeter handgun

on the floor.

- Most likely the victim's.

[ominous music]

♪

[indistinct radio chatter]

narrator: Two hours in...

- There was a blue...

narrator: Word come in about a robbery at a bakery

just ten miles up the road.

- We need to finish up here,

get some guys broke away so we can go out

and start looking for that vehicle.

- OK.

[pulsing dramatic music]

- Nate Schilling?

Any luck? - Yes.

♪

See if we can pull up the actual murder.

See if we can get a good view of our suspects.

Find out who's doing what.

- There it is, right there. - Yeah.

[ominous music]

- Coming right up to the counter.

♪

Glasses, gun.

♪

- Gloves on both hands.

♪

- Here's where the witness comes in.

♪

- Oh, there he goes.

♪

- The guy getting his gun? - Yeah.

♪

[dramatic music]

- Oh, shot in the head. - One in the head.

♪

Two.

Three. Well.

♪

♪

- He shoots the register to try to open it.

♪

- He got nothing. - Coward.

♪

narrator: Then...

♪

- Two robberies, same type of vehicle.

- I'll let patrol know that

that vehicle may be connected to our murder.

[ominous music]

♪

[indistinct radio chatter]

[dramatic music]

narrator: Patrol is in pursuit

of the possible suspect vehicle.

♪

♪

- We need to figure out who these two guys are

that are with the shooter.

I'm gonna go over to the bakery that they held up.

Hopefully they've got some video.

- Okeydoke. I am headed back to the office.

- Let's bolt.

[ominous music]

[car door clicks shut]

- Breaking news:

the Tulsa police now in a standoff

with suspects wanted for robbery and possibly a murder.

- Police believe the suspects are in an attic right now

at the Meadows Apartments in East Tulsa.

[dramatic music]

narrator: While the standoff continues...

- Here. You wanna see the video?

- Yes, sir.

narrator: Detective Jason White

returns with surveillance video

from the robbery at the bakery.

♪

- Here they come in, right here.

[indistinct radio chatter]

- He's got a gun.

♪

- Got those khaki shorts.

♪

- The old cargo britches? - Yeah.

♪

Got his gloves on still.

♪

- Takes a good amount of cash there.

♪

- Check out the second suspect.

[ominous music]

♪

- He's got a crowbar.

♪

- I think it's the big guy, Jose.

- He's a lot bigger than the other.

♪

- [bleep].

♪

[dramatic music]

- Just a minute ago,

police started firing pepper balls into the attic.

We could actually hear it.

This could end in two minutes.

This could end in 20 hours.

[dramatic music]

♪

- The little fella was identified

as Bayle Snell.

The other individual

was Jose Mata.

♪

narrator: 19-year-old Jose Mata

has a conviction for larceny.

- Gonna talk to Jose Mata.

We'll see if he wants to save his butt

and go from there.

[ominous music]

Jose.

[grunts]

- OK. Listen to me and do me a favor.

Answer with me a "Yes, I understand"

or "No, I don't understand."

OK?

You have the right to remain silent.

You do not have...

narrator: Brown reads Jose his Miranda Rights.

- You wanna talk to me?

- Well why you're down here with handcuffs on.

[inaudible speech]

♪

- OK. Jose, here's the deal.

♪

There was an incident that happened tonight...

- Mm-hmm.

- Where a guy shoots and kills a convenience store clerk.

♪

OK?

And the guy's face is on video.

I know it's not you.

♪

OK?

But I also know this:

the story you just said

is a bunch of bull[bleep] and you know it.

[dramatic music building]

♪

- Obviously a murder captured on video

is gonna show you who the shooter is.

But it's also gonna show you who their accomplices are.

And so when you're looking

at trying to get information from that person,

you can look at 'em, and you can look 'em in the eye,

and you can say, "Look, hey. I know you didn't do this."

[dramatic music]

♪

- Jose.

All I want from you is the truth.

♪

- Well...

- Who's he?

♪

narrator: Jose claims he was hanging out

at Bayle's apartment

when Cesar asked him for a ride

to the convenience store.

- Yeah, at first, I was like, "I'm just gonna park in front."

And then he was like, "No, no, no, what are you doing?"

narrator: He says Cesar insisted

they park in the back of the store.

narrator: After waiting a few minutes

for Cesar to return...

♪

♪

- He gets back in the car. And then what?

narrator: He claims they fled

and drove directly to the apartment complex.

- You go halfway.

You're just stuck out there in the middle.

You gotta tell the whole truth...

- Yeah. - Or none of it.

- Yeah.

- You guys go on and rob another place.

Am I right?

[tense music]

♪

- Whose idea was it for that one?

♪

♪

- And I'll agree with you.

But instead of, you know, being like

a cat in a freaking sandbox,

just trying to bury it, you're putting it out there,

and saying, "Man, this is what happened.

I screwed up. I wanna fix it."

♪

And this is how you go about fixing it.

♪

We'll make a run at Cesar Espinoza.

See what he can tell us to confirm what we already know.

[ominous music]

♪

Mr. Espinoza.

♪

Why are you down here, sir?

♪

[sighs]

- Where'd you hide?

- [scoffs]

♪

[dramatic music]

- Well, let me tell you. There is video.

Yeah. And you're on it.

[dramatic music]

- Sounds like a plan.

- If you decide you do wanna tell the truth and confess,

we have to listen to you.

- Here we go.

♪

- [sighs]

- Yes, sir.

- Yeah. You wanna know now?

Murder.

♪

- Hang tight for just a second. - All right. Appreciate it.

♪

- I didn't like him when I saw the video at the store.

And I really don't like him now.

- I concur.

[dramatic music]

♪

- You can just stand right here.

- Dang, gonna be on TV with a bunch of...

♪

[dramatic music]

♪

- When investigating a case,

we rely on the local community for our tips.

One of the best ways to enlist their help

is by releasing footage or photos

of the suspect to the news media,

as you will see in this next case out of Atlanta.

♪

- Looks like it. How sad.

His ID?

- Last name Williams.

[solemn music]

narrator: 23-year-old Mantrzes Williams

was the oldest of four siblings.

♪

He leaves behind two young children.

Mantrzes worked at an organic grocery store

and dreamed of one day having his own business.

♪

- So as far as cameras, what do we have?

- Out here, OK.

- Excellent.

- They got cameras across the street,

but no contact made.

Probably have to wait till Monday when they open up.

- Hey, man, we got a witness outside.

[ominous music]

♪

♪

- So the perp's out for, like, ten seconds and comes back in.

And he said the guy unloaded--

he said maybe three shots, so-- - Wow.

So he just, "Pow, pow, pow," and the dude falls

and then he leaves?

- And then he just casually walks on out.

♪

- This is a senseless, brutal,

blunt, old, blatant killing.

Video's gonna play a huge part in this.

Once we get the best shot of him that we can get,

we'll release it to the news media.

We'll make him famous.

[dramatic music]

♪

Right now, we're taking a look at the surveillance video

from the Quik Mart.

♪

Here's the victim right here.

♪

narrator: Minutes before the shooting...

[ominous music]

- This is our outside view of the store.

♪

The guy here in the yellow and white jacket

matches the description provided by the witnesses.

♪

The victim's just kind of standing there.

♪

Suspect approaches him.

♪

He's having words with him.

♪

He talked [bleep] to him.

[dramatic music]

Leaves.

See his hand in his pocket right there.

♪

narrator: The suspect pulls a gun from his pocket.

- Walks in.

♪

Victim looks toward him.

Boom.

Suspect just came in and shot him.

♪

Three times, like it was nothing.

♪

- Video evidence is a great piece of the puzzle

in a homicide investigation.

While it can show detectives what a suspect did,

they still need to identify who they are.

[dramatic music]

♪

- He just walks off.

Cool, calm, collected.

♪

Human life means nothing to him.

♪

But yeah, he's definitely skinny, tall.

♪

He's got a--distinct clothing.

This is great video.

I mean, as far as for identification purposes,

I mean, it ain't the greatest.

But it shows his carefree attitude towards life.

♪

[shutter sound effect plays, keyboard keys clacking]

Right now, I'm just composing an email

to send out department wide.

There's a chance an investigator, officer,

someone may have come in contact with this cat,

kind of recognize him.

[dramatic music]

♪

I'm sorry to keep you waiting.

All right, so...

you gave us a call 'cause you were watching the news.

And what'd you see?

- Mm.

narrator: "Bell" is a nickname for Danney Marshall Jr.

- Mm-hmm.

[ominous music]

- Mm-hmm.

- Yeah, 'cause our goal is for Danney to be safe.

I wanna hear his side of the story

'cause there's two sides to every story.

Do you know where he is right now?

♪

♪

- Let me just see

what his license photo looks like real quick.

[ominous music]

♪

narrator: 34-year-old Danney Marshall Junior

has multiple convictions for drug dealing and battery.

- That's enough for an arrest warrant.

We'll have the Fugitive Unit hunting him down.

♪

narrator: Three weeks after Mantrzes Williams' murder...

♪

- Mr. Marshall was apprehended in North Carolina.

We received intel from the family

of his whereabouts.

Detective Berhalter's in training.

So I'm going to go ahead and conduct his interview.

♪

- All right.

- Mm-hmm.

- Mm-hmm.

♪

[dramatic music]

- Mr. Marshall, I can understand.

There's rules to the game.

You don't threaten a man and his kid.

♪

But I can see it in your face.

Your whole actions right here, man, tells it all.

♪

Man, you set out to take somebody's life that night.

♪

♪

♪

♪

OK?

♪

- But have you seen the video?

- OK. And that is you?

[ominous music]

[dramatic sting]

- Yeah.

[papers rustle, door clicks open]

♪

- He said they was arguing as they got inside the store.

Dude told him,

"I should've murked you and your son yesterday."

So he said that's when he went off the deep end.

He said next, you know, he went in.

He said everything went black after that.

- So he admitted to everything? - Yeah.

[pulsing ominous music]

♪

[ominous music]

♪

- In this next case from Tulsa,

video played a critical role in determining

whether the victim's hit-and-run death

was a murder or a careless accident.

♪

[camera shutter clicks]

[camera shutter clicking] - Oh, my gosh.

[ominous music]

- Victim that's dead is a Shawn Birdo.

♪

narrator: 46-year-old Shawn Birdo worked odd jobs

and often stayed with family members,

but sometimes chose to sleep in shelters or on the street.

He was known for his sense of humor and kindness to others.

[dramatic music]

- Mm-kay. The girl's in the hospital?

- Yeah, she's stable condition now.

[indistinct radio chatter]

[solemn music]

♪

♪

- So did three people get hit? - Yes.

narrator: Officers discovered a third victim

with minor injuries

and transported him to Homicide.

♪

- Yeah?

- I think that looks new.

[camera shutter clicks]

There's one new little track.

♪

Turned, hit the curb a little bit

as he's trying to turn onto the sidewalk.

♪

Goes through here.

Goes in between the pole and the wall.

Like, he avoided this?

Oh!

You couldn't do this unless you tried.

- I would've thought

if he came off at all, he'd have got stuck right here.

- Right, he would've been stuck.

So he's intentionally sober enough

not to hit the wall,

'cause I haven't seen a mark yet on the wall from a car.

And he didn't fall in this.

So that's some pretty meticulous driving.

[ominous music]

This is an intentional act.

I mean, I thought--well, at first,

maybe we got a drunk driver

who just accidentally did something,

but this is too specific.

- Someone who knew what he was doing.

[pulsing dramatic music]

♪

- There's a camera on the corner.

There's one right up there.

- The top one, I think,

is the one that shoots back this way.

- Cool.

- We'll get the video.

♪

- I have no idea why you'd wanna kill homeless people.

That's the million-dollar question right now.

♪

[ominous music]

♪

OK. We got video.

narrator: The team has the surveillance video

from the homeless mission next to the crime scene.

- 6:15, I think, is the time the officers got the call.

♪

♪

Whoa.

That's the truck.

♪

God!

- We rarely think of a vehicle as a murder weapon.

But cars are like a multi-ton missile.

Using one to kill homeless people is hard to believe.

But the Tulsa detectives have it all on video.

[ominous music]

- [gasps]

♪

- See if you can just roll that back.

♪

- There's a couple sleeping right here.

The third guy's against the wall.

♪

He's right in between that pillar and the wall.

♪

He is actually on the curb.

♪

God, he just gunned the hell out of it and took off.

[ominous music]

- Here. Go back.

♪

- Oh, he's casing.

This was a true murder.

♪

- Is that even a full-size truck?

- It's a little one.

- It looks like an older Toyota Tacoma.

[intriguing music]

- Looks like it's got a bed liner in the back.

- Yeah. - Maybe.

[ominous music]

♪

- I think that the top right of that windshield is broke.

You can barely tell.

I think a rock hit it,

and I think that circle you see is the spider.

It's like a tattoo.

We're gonna know we have the right car because of that.

♪

- Right now looks like just victims for no reason.

There could be more to it, obviously.

We don't know.

[cell phone ringing]

- Yeah?

narrator: Ryden gets a call from Patrol.

- [bleep]. OK.

I'm headed out there.

Same car hit another person downtown.

[tense music]

♪

We're going on the assumption right now

it's the same vehicle we already have a picture of.

♪

[sighs] How many people got hit on this?

- Sitting right there eating a salad,

doing her thing.

He come up on the curb and ran over the girl.

[indistinct]

- Did she already go to the hospital?

[solemn music]

♪

[dramatic music]

- OK.

♪

- So I'm gonna have to have you guys come out and talk to me

at the detective division

because someone died earlier

and this man is trying to target homeless people.

- Yeah.

- I gotta get him off the streets.

And it's witnesses like you

that are gonna make me able to do that.

[dramatic music]

♪

Michael, I appreciate you coming down.

So tell me in your words

what happened before the police got there.

- The girl that got hit was your girlfriend?

- Yes, sir.

Me and her was sitting down, eating.

She's sitting right here. I'm sitting here.

She was on the curb.

And I turned to get a--

I'm not gonna lie to you-- my drink.

♪

I seen the truck.

When he came around the corner, he was turning real slow.

But when he seen her on the curb,

looked like he just floored it, just--I mean, man,

he just ran over her like a dog or something, man.

- And did she go right underneath the front?

- Yes, she went under the truck.

- It's amazing she's alive.

Is there any reason this man should have run her over?

- Not at all. - OK.

- She don't even know him.

- Could you tell what race he was?

- White.

narrator: He says the driver appeared to be in his mid-30s

and wore a baseball cap.

- OK. The vehicle.

- A white--it had to be a Toyota or Chevy,

but it was a short bed.

[ominous music]

♪

That's the truck right there.

- OK. - I remember the tires on it.

These. - Kay.

- Just like it. - OK.

[dramatic music]

narrator: Ryden turns to the second witness.

- OK, Jackie.

I appreciate you coming down.

- No problem.

- Tell me what you saw

in reference to what just happened at the QuikTrip.

[speech inaudible]

[solemn music]

♪

- That's a psycho.

- We have three different incidents.

This guy's not gonna stop until we stop him.

[dramatic music]

♪

narrator: Ten hours in, Corporal Schilling returns

with surveillance video from the QuikTrip.

♪

- So here's...

[ominous music]

♪

He pulls off Denver.

Goes on the street. - Yep.

- Heads north.

♪

- Then you see him come up here and take the left.

♪

- I believe it's this one.

- Where's she at?

- Right here.

♪

- They said he went real slow around the corner,

then he gunned it.

♪

[dramatic music]

- [sighs]

♪

The coldness and the callousness you see here,

she actually saw it coming.

You can see her lean back at the very last minute.

♪

[ominous music]

♪

- Can you go back to 5:30 this morning?

Jackie was attacked at the bus stop

and thinks it's the same truck.

narrator: On another camera angle from the store...

- I believe it's this one.

- Let's see.

[ominous music]

Yeah, that's definitely the same car.

♪

♪

- Dude's laying down on the bench.

[ominous music]

♪

- Right here he says, "Hey, man. What's up?"

And then he pulls out the rod immediately.

♪

Yeah, there he goes. He hit him in the shoulder.

♪

He's big enough he was able to fight him off.

♪

- I think now we blow up the media.

- We begin Fox 23 News at 10:00 with two hit and runs

within the last 12 hours,

one of them deadly

but both sending people to the hospital.

Police are still searching for the driver of this truck

who they believe to be involved in both accidents.

[driving music]

♪

- Smashed windshield.

♪

[camera shutter clicks]

♪

- It's got the black wheels...

[camera shutter clicks]

And the bed liner.

♪

- It's gonna be our truck.

- '91 Toyota.

[ominous music]

It's registered to a house quarter mile from here.

- We got officers on scene.

Ran the tag and it checks to a Jeremy Thacker.

He's a 40-year-old white male.

I think we the vehicle for sure and possible suspect.

♪

But he's dangerous for sure.

I mean, tried to kill five people.

Hopefully we'll get him in custody pretty soon

and see what he has to say for himself.

[pulsing music]

narrator: Detectives meet the warrants squad

at Jeremy Thacker's address...

[dramatic music]

♪

- He in custody yet?

♪

narrator: And place him under arrest.

♪

- It's Jeremy, right? Jeremy Thacker?

[ominous music]

Yep. He's got a history.

[dramatic music]

narrator: 40-year-old Jeremy Thacker

has prior convictions for assault

with a dangerous weapon,

public intoxication, driving under the influence,

speeding, and resisting arrest.

- Hey, Jeremy. - How are you doing?

- All right. How about you?

- Pretty good.

- There's your Coke, and I'm gonna have one myself.

It's been a long day.

Jeremy, I'm Detective Ryden.

This is Detective Schilling.

- What's going on?

- We're working some cases,

and you've come up in those investigations,

and I'd like to get your side of the story

if you're willing to give it.

- What's going on?

- Well, I'll go into that,

but first I need to ask you some questions.

No questions I ask are meant to be insulting.

I ask everybody.

Do you understand that

I'm a detective with the police department?

- Mm-hmm.

- Do you understand you're at the police station?

- Yes. - OK.

- Today, have you had any alcohol?

- No, I just woke up. - OK.

Have you taken any illegal drugs?

- Uh, no.

- Are you prescribed any medication

you're supposed to take from a doctor?

- Yes, sir.

- OK. And what is that for, sir?

- That is for bipolar two.

A rare disorder.

It's on the lines of schizophrenic.

[dramatic music]

- OK, and how many times

do you take that medication a day?

- You're supposed to take it one time a day.

- When was the last time you took that medication?

- When you're not taking that medication,

does that affect the way you're thinking,

talking to me?

Do you understand what I'm talking about?

- Yes. - OK.

I've done this for over 20 years.

There's always two sides to every story.

And I like to not go with just one side of the story.

If you're willing to talk to me today,

I'm gonna talk about my investigation.

[ominous music]

- If I want to talk to you today?

- If you wanna start answering--talking to me,

and if at any point you say no--

- I think I'm gonna go ahead and get an attorney.

- That's totally fine.

♪

- So you know the damage to the windshield?

Everyone that we've looked at so far

went under the truck.

Is that... - Right.

- The impact team found a report

of a guy that got hit on Sunday night.

narrator: Schilling discovers another hit-and-run victim

who was run over the night before Shawn Birdo was killed.

- We went up to the hospital.

He's got a broken pelvis, three broken ribs.

He says, "Man, I was walking down the sidewalk."

So that's gonna fit with... - Right.

- The intentional acts on these other ones.

Don't have a very good vehicle description.

But he says that he rolls up

on the vehicle into the windshield.

- So that would explain why

Mr. Thacker's windshield's all messed up.

- [clicks tongue]

[dramatic music]

- This is an extraordinary case.

Usually people don't start running over innocent people

for absolutely no reason.

I mean, he knows the difference between right, wrong.

Some mental issues plays a part in it

but I don't think that excuses what he did.

♪

- The first time you watch a murder on video,

nothing can prepare you.

You see the anger. You see the rage.

You see the crazy.

In the heat of the moment,

people don't care whether cameras are rolling or not.

If it's something that they're determined

that they're gonna do,

they're gonna do it.

And I think that's the most disturbing part of it.

[birds chirping]