Original subtitles

[tense music]

♪ ♪

- He come around and knocked her down,

and backed up over her.

- Homicide detectives are known for having thick skin,

but there are times when cases test our resolve.

- In all my years in homicide, these killings are getting

more and more brazen.

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

- This is one of the worst killings I’ve ever seen.

- A neighborhood grieves

for a woman dragged to her death.

- A horrific attack on a mother of three.

- Such a heinous crime.

- And an ongoing gang feud takes

a toll on Miami detectives.

- Unfortunately, this killing may be just a start.

There’s gonna be hell to pay.

[sirens wailing]

[intense music]

♪ ♪

- One of the things that I had trouble with

as a homicide investigator, and still have trouble with today,

is what was the last moments of that victim’s life like?

What were they going through? How much pain were they in?

Did they suffer?

I was a lieutenant in homicide on this case,

so I do remember making the scene.

It’s impossible to get out of your head.

It’s very, very difficult to shake.

♪ ♪

- This happened in Orange Mound.

And that’s also where I graduated

from high school in Orange Mound, so.

[sirens wailing]

♪ ♪

Only thing we have right now is that a female had

been dragged quite a bit and dumped

in the middle of the street.

♪ ♪

It’s a big scene.

♪ ♪

It’s ridiculous. - Hm?

- This is ridiculous. - It is.

- Senseless, man.

♪ ♪

narrator: The victim is 47-year-old Renee Godwin.

She had a daughter and helped the elderly

in the neighborhood.

Lately struggling with a drug problem,

Renee had spent time on the streets.

♪ ♪

The victim’s daughter arrives on the scene.

narrator: But her daughter has no idea

who would have wanted to hurt Renee.

- My heart always go out to them

regardless of the circumstances.

I just...feel for them.

♪ ♪

- He come around and knocked her down,

and backed up over her.

♪ ♪

narrator: The suspect backed over the victim,

and then dragged her down the block under the car.

- Four blocks, 821 feet.

- 821 feet?

- 821 feet total distance. - Oh, my God.

This was no accident.

This guy was trying to kill her.

♪ ♪

This homicide was definitely personal.

♪ ♪

- Well, they seen the car dragging her down the road.

- We need to talk to him.

♪ ♪

narrator: They take the witness down to Homicide.

♪ ♪

- I hope my witness got a good look at this guy

’cause right now, he’s all I got.

♪ ♪

- How are you doing today? - All right.

- I’m Sergeant Merritt.

Tell me what you saw out there today.

- Describe the vehicle that you saw.

- OK.

- Did you see him actually get out?

- Do you know the person’s name, nickname?

- They call him "Big" something?

- What’s your sister’s name?

- OK. OK, all right,

sit tight just for a second, OK?

Well, the woman that might know the name of our suspect

is not answering and her voicemail is full.

Try to run through our database

to see if I can get a real name of this person.

♪ ♪

Big Shot Booster.

Big Un. Big Pimp.

narrator: None of the "Bigs" in the system fit

the description of the heavyset man with an afro.

♪ ♪

- They call him Bundy, but I don’t know his real name.

- So that’s who you were talking about, Big Bundy?

- Yeah, mm-hmm. - OK.

narrator: A man with the street name Big Bundy

fits the description of the suspect.

- It’s just that everybody knew his name because he was known

for, you know...pimps and,

you know, whooping folks, you know.

And she was dating him.

♪ ♪

- The guy may be a pimp in Orange Mound,

nicknamed Big Bundy.

I hear he dated the victim.

♪ ♪

narrator: Back at Homicide, Sergeant Tony Mullins tries

to find Big Bundy in the system.

♪ ♪

- Thank you. You know, I was getting excited

thinking maybe I had a lead, but now I’m back at square one.

♪ ♪

- My man, he in the vice, might know Bundy’s real name.

narrator: Lieutenant Toney Armstrong turns

to his ex-partner on the vice squad for leads.

♪ ♪

- What’s up, man?

Do y’all know of a pimp, so-called pimp,

down in the Mound nicknamed Bundy, Big Bundy?

I need that name really, really bad.

♪ ♪

- What do you think you got?

I still got it,

regardless of what y’all say.

I might be standing on the sideline calling signals now,

but I still got it.

- I like my lieutenant.

♪ ♪

Booyah.

narrator: Darrell Anderson has a long rap sheet

that includes assaulting an officer.

♪ ♪

- Hey, Louis. - Hey.

- How you doing? Sergeant Mason again.

Let me talk to you back here about this.

- All right. - This my partner,

Sergeant Mullins.

He’s gonna go over some things.

- [clears throat]

Do you recognize any of them?

♪ ♪

- All right.

- All right, Louis, thanks for coming back.

♪ ♪

I want to get Bundy and find out

how he could have done this to Renee.

♪ ♪

I mean, this is one of the worst killings I’ve ever seen.

♪ ♪

It definitely wasn’t like this when I was growing up here.

It’s time Bundy answers for his crime.

He needs to answer to Sergeant Mason.

♪ ♪

narrator: Meanwhile, Sergeant Tony Mullins checks

an old address.

- Hey. - Hi.

♪ ♪

- Hey, Caroline.

I just saw a guy over at these apartments over here

that looks like Bundy, but his hair is different.

♪ ♪

- Let’s jump to it. Jump, jump, jump!

♪ ♪

How you doing? - I’m all right.

- Sergeant Mason.

- Do you know a girl named Renee?

- I know a bunch of Renee,

a tall Renee and a short Renee.

- How the short one look?

- She got a big booty.

Uh, she’d be in Orange Mound.

- Had a little incident,

and a person that kind of matches

your description was seen.

- Well, I got proof of where I was.

- Where were you?

- Went and got my hair done.

You can call down to Diamond Hair Gallery.

narrator: Mullins calls the beauty shop

to check Big Bundy’s alibi.

- My name is Sergeant Mullins with the police department.

Do you know a guy they call Bundy?

Was he in the shop?

What did his hair look like when he got there?

Kind of like Don King? Mm-hmm.

♪ ♪

Well, Bundy’s alibi doesn’t check out.

He arrived at the beauty shop at about 1:00,

but Renee was killed around 12:00.

narrator: The hairstylist explains

why Big Bundy no longer has an afro.

She just permed his hair.

♪ ♪

- Thank you very much. Bye.

- I just told you to check out everything from right there.

And everything I told you was the truth.

♪ ♪

I can’t-- - Why you say that?

- I’m just saying--

- Before we can say anything to Bundy

about how Renee was killed,

he’s already mentioning the fact

that he doesn’t even own a vehicle.

♪ ♪

- Waste of time. - If you don’t have a vehicle,

you can’t do nothing to nobody.

Why you say that?

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

- When people do something to people,

you have to drive to ’em,

or they got to come to you.

I’m just talking in general.

- I got you.

♪ ♪

narrator: The team takes Big Bundy to Homicide.

♪ ♪

- All right.

- You don’t want to talk about Renee?

♪ ♪

- All right.

I’m kind of disappointed that Bundy didn’t confess.

But we do have enough to charge him,

and that’s what’s important.

♪ ♪

When you do these killings out here on the street,

it affects the victim’s family,

it affects the suspect’s family,

it affects innocent bystanders who witness it.

You got kids in the neighborhood,

you know, you got people sitting on their porch.

They don’t want to sit out there

and see somebody gets killed.

I love the way the community shows love.

♪ ♪

Getting Bundy brings closure to the family,

the community, and to me

because I’m from Orange Mound.

♪ ♪

[phone line trilling]

♪ ♪

- We know that this is a young female.

She’s gonna be somebody’s sister,

somebody’s daughter, not only killed,

but killed in a brutal fashion.

♪ ♪

narrator: The victim is 30-year-old Christina Lewis,

a Houston area native

and mother of three young children.

♪ ♪

narrator: Christina’s throat was slashed twice.

- Yeah.

- It’s sad when you see the victim tried

to fight back and stay alive.

If you think that they know

the person responsible for this,

you want to bring that person to justice.

And until you do that, it haunts you.

It literally tears at your soul.

♪ ♪

narrator: Clopton turns his attention

to the victim’s roommate, Larry,

who called 911 after discovering her body.

- Apparently, he was saying

that he was asleep on the couch.

And you would think that he would hear something.

♪ ♪

Now Larry, you live in that trailer, correct?

- Yes.

- How’d you meet Christina?

narrator: Larry says that Christina was trying

to get her life together, and that her kids had been

staying with one of her sisters.

- And then you laid on the couch?

- Mm-hmm. - And what happens next?

narrator: Larry says that he awoke

to find a figure standing at the front door.

- And you couldn’t see who it was?

♪ ♪

- I said, "Who is that?"

narrator: The man at the door was Robin Prince,

Christina’s ex-boyfriend.

- And did you hear any commotion in there,

you know, any talking or anything?

- So you didn’t hear if Robin came out of the room

to open the door?

- OK.

narrator: Larry woke up the next morning

and went to check on Christina.

- At this point, I feel a lot better

about him just being there.

You know, his story fits.

Everything is pointing at the ex-boyfriend.

I’ll follow that lead until there’s nothing left.

I just hope justice prevails.

- When I was a homicide investigator,

I relied on my faith.

I relied on a power stronger

than I was to help me.

You take cases home with you, they stay in your head.

If you don’t have some type of outlet

that can take that from you, it can consume you.

♪ ♪

- Wow, he’s got a long criminal record.

This guy’s been in and out of jail

for over half of his life.

He’s got assault,

family assault, assault, assault.

He’s got pages and pages of it.

This is a very dangerous and violent criminal here.

♪ ♪

If he’s there, you know, we’ll take him into custody.

Got our guys pretty geared up just in case

because this guy’s a lifelong crook.

♪ ♪

Should be just right around the corner here.

♪ ♪

- Sheriff’s department.

♪ ♪

- Set him in one of these cars.

narrator: They find Robin Prince.

♪ ♪

He is arrested and taken to Homicide to await questioning.

They also find Prince’s new girlfriend, Katie.

- Come on and sit down.

♪ ♪

All right, Katie, when did you meet Robin?

narrator: Katie says she moved to Harris County

only two weeks ago.

She met Robin the very same day.

♪ ♪

- It’s time to separate yourself from Robin.

I mean, you’ve only known him a few weeks?

narrator: Katie admits to driving Robin

to Christina’s trailer the night of the murder.

- Did he tell you he wanted to go talk to her

because of what?

narrator: Katie says that in the days leading up

to the murder, the victim, Christina,

had been threatening to file rape charges on Robin.

- So what did he tell you once y’all got there?

narrator: Robin was inside the trailer for over an hour,

while Katie waited in the car.

- What did he say when he came back out?

- Did you see him come out with a knife?

- You know how she was killed?

- Her throat was cut almost in half.

♪ ♪

So when a person does that,

they don’t just come out and get in the car like,

"OK, let’s go."

- [sniffling]

- Tell me the truth.

- Katie, I’ve been doing this for 18 years,

working homicides, OK?

So I’ve seen it all and I’ve heard it all, OK?

It’s obvious you’re not telling me something.

♪ ♪

narrator: After speaking with Katie,

Clopton returns to headquarters

to interview suspect, Robin Prince.

♪ ♪

- He’s been in the system so long

that he knows the game,

and he may not want to speak with me at all.

♪ ♪

OK, Robin. It’s Robin Prince, right?

♪ ♪

Do you want to talk to me?

♪ ♪

- You’ve been charged with murder.

- Why have I been charged with murder?

- For murdering Christina Lewis.

♪ ♪

- OK. All right.

We’re just booking you.

♪ ♪

Such a heinous crime.

And her kids, they are just as much victims as Christina.

It feels real good to know

that he won’t be harming anybody else.

We got him.

♪ ♪

- Gang violence literally tears down the fabric

of an entire community.

People live their lives in fear.

They always fear retaliation.

And I have actually cried on the way to these homicides.

I’m getting ready to go and stand over the body

of a kid and tell his family that he’s lost his life.

And the next day, I got to go to do the same thing

and tell his family that he’s responsible for taking a life.

It makes you want to scream.

♪ ♪

- Very large scene stretching from 75th Street

four blocks north to 79th Street.

♪ ♪

- As far as what I’ve heard,

the dead guy was getting on the jitney.

Somebody spotted him and took the opportunity

to shoot at him.

♪ ♪

- Yeah.

narrator: 18-year-old Tyrell Burns

was no stranger to police,

the third of four children in a tight-knit family.

He was also a devoted father to a one-year-old boy.

♪ ♪

- Tyrell Burns runs with a group

that we know as 12th Court,

which is out of the Pork and Bean projects.

And they’re constantly beefing with another

small group called 13th Ave.

♪ ♪

narrator: The two groups live just two blocks

from each other.

- They live close enough that they see each other every day.

So it doesn’t take a lot to track each other down

and shoot each other down.

More than likely, it’s gonna be somebody from 13th Avenue.

♪ ♪

- Show me the casings here.

- Yeah, let me show you.

♪ ♪

- Definitely two shooters ’cause we got 40s and 9s.

♪ ♪

- The driver was hit in the knee and the right ankle.

narrator: One of the surviving victims

was the jitney bus driver.

Ponce spoke with him earlier in the hospital.

He did not see the shooters.

♪ ♪

- He’s shot in the femur.

He had a broken femur.

narrator: The second surviving victim is Tyrell’s

22-year-old cousin who was getting on the bus

when he was shot.

- The victim’s cousin, he’s our primary witness right now.

♪ ♪

- Unfortunately, this killing may be just the start

into multiple shootings throughout the summer.

These guys are gonna go at it.

♪ ♪

There’s gonna be hell to pay.

♪ ♪

- We were just going through these tonight.

♪ ♪

This is him as a baby, eight pounds, nine ounces.

♪ ♪

And here’s 8th grade prom.

♪ ♪

These was, you know, innocent lives,

the innocent times then, you know?

This is my baby.

And I’ma do the best I can

that his son will not go down at the same route.

♪ ♪

And he loved his baby dearly,

but it wasn’t enough love to pull him away, you know,

from what was out there in those streets.

- We don’t judge your son at all.

- No. - We’re here to do our job,

and that is solve his murder.

- He was just a kid.

- Yes.

He had a good heart,

just the wrong choices.

♪ ♪

- And Mom, we are just trying to see what you guys heard.

- Nothing.

I haven’t heard anything.

- Was he beefing with anybody in particular?

- Anyone talked to the cousin that’s in the hospital?

♪ ♪

narrator: Detectives bring in Tyrell’s parents

to make a public plea for help.

♪ ♪

- Please, young man, young men,

turn yourselves in

’cause it doesn’t make any sense.

I forgive you.

Do the right thing, not only for yourself,

but for your family members

’cause one day, your mom gonna have to walk in my shoes.

♪ ♪

- In all my years in homicide, these killings are getting

more and more brazen.

And the reason they’re getting more and more brazen

is ’cause people don’t talk.

♪ ♪

These two men were not masked.

They walked up in front of everybody

and shot these two people, and continued

to shoot into the jitney.

- It has to stop.

♪ ♪

narrator: The next day,

no one has come forward.

- Nobody wants to get involved.

You know, everyone’s in fear of retaliation.

You can’t force anyone to be a witness.

narrator: Detectives decide to interview the mother

of Tyrell’s son separately,

hoping she knows more than she’s saying.

♪ ♪

- What is that beef about, originally?

Do you know?

How long do you think-- - Nobody really know

what the beef is.

Like, 12th Court and 13,

like, they just can’t get along.

Like, the beef will never be over.

narrator: She says Tyrell had been a target

of 13th Avenue for a while.

narrator: Detectives finally get a lead,

Dante Patterson.

- He told you that? - Yeah, he been saying that.

And they also told him that he wasn’t gonna live

to see his birthday and he wouldn’t gonna live

to see his baby turn two.

- Kids resist gangs for as long as they can,

but a lot of kids feel like they don’t have a future.

Every other day I see somebody that I know

either being the victim of a homicide

or committing a homicide, you have the mentality

that sooner or later, what’s so special about me

that I’m not gonna be on one end or the other?

That’s the reality for a lot of our kids,

for a lot of our communities.

And a lot of people in these communities don’t have

the resources to remove themselves.

So a lot of people have become hostage

to those type of situations.

♪ ♪

narrator: 19-year-old Dante Patterson

has no criminal convictions.

He is a member of 13th Avenue.

- We knew all along that it was gonna have

something to do with 13th Avenue.

He’s definitely our main person of interest right now.

Now we need a witness.

♪ ♪

narrator: The next day, Tyrell’s cousin has changed

his mind about talking to police.

♪ ♪

- Can you please describe what you were doing that day

prior to shooting?

narrator: He says ten minutes later, a jitney bus arrived.

- Who goes in the jitney first?

narrator: He says suddenly, two men were shooting

at them at close range.

- And who did you see shooting?

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

- Do you know who the second person was?

Narrator: Now the team has enough probable cause

to issue a warrant for Dante’s arrest.

♪ ♪

Days later, with no sign of their suspect,

Ford turns to Dante’s mother to help find him.

- Did you know Tyrell?

Tyrell was murdered.

- I saw it on the news that morning.

- OK.

Now, there is an arrest warrant for Dante.

Now, the thing is we, as law enforcement,

are looking for him. - My child is no killer.

♪ ♪

- Where’s Dante now?

narrator: Dante’s mother says he was at her house yesterday.

Narrator: She tells Ford she’s scared of Dante’s involvement

in the 13th Avenue group.

- I said, "Son, you cannot stay here."

- Your own son? - Whew.

narrator: She says she doesn’t know where Dante is now.

♪ ♪

- This is really bothering me, killing somebody.

[sighs]

narrator: Ford shows her pictures of Dante’s rivals

from 12th Court.

♪ ♪

- OK, these are the people your sons are feuding with.

- Wait here.

♪ ♪

I’m hoping you guys would cooperate

with me on this ’cause we don’t get involved

until somebody dies.

I’m trying to prevent anybody else from getting hurt.

So if it’s OK with you if you guys--

- Yes, it sure--yes. - I really appreciate this.

- Mm-hmm. - Come on then.

♪ ♪

- I don’t see an end to it until more family members,

more mom and dads take a stand.

- Mm-hmm. - It could start with you guys.

You lost a son, and she’s about to lose hers

’cause he’s gonna be going to jail.

- Mm-hmm. - No one benefits from this.

- Mm-mm.

- Whatever I can do, he will be in jail.

You understand me? And that’s for me.

- Thank you.

- My son may get killed before he get locked up.

I am deeply sorry for your loss

’cause I know your child. I know all your kids.

♪ ♪

- Hopefully, I got through to the moms,

where they’ll be able to sit these boys down.

We’re keeping our fingers crossed.

- I love you, and I’m gonna continue to pray for you,

my sister ’cause I truly, truly, truly

thank you for what you’ve done.

It’s giving me closure,

and it’s giving me more peace now.

I love you. You need to hold on, girl.

Hold on. Hold on.

♪ ♪

[sirens blaring]

[tires screeching]

♪ ♪

- Unfortunately, we’re back here on 13th Avenue.

We’re investigating the murder of a

approximately 30-year-old black male, Mr. Givens.

narrator: The victim, Jerod Givens,

was shot through his bedroom window

shortly after getting home from work.

♪ ♪

[phone rings]

- Ford.

narrator: After hearing the news,

suspect Dante Patterson’s mother calls forward.

She says Dante is related to the victim.

- You ready for this?

Dante Patterson’s sister has a kid with our victim.

♪ ♪

That may explain why our victim was killed.

♪ ♪

narrator: Then...

[phone rings] - Yeah, what’s up boss?

- They just picked up Dante, so it should get

a little bit safer here, OK? - They picked him up?

- Yeah.

[cheers and applause]

narrator: While CSU processes the scene of their new murder,

detectives head back to Homicide to question Dante.

- So what do you think we’re here to discuss?

- So you know a Tyrell?

♪ ♪

- Yep.

♪ ♪

- Dante.

narrator: Before Dante goes to jail, Ford has a request.

- She told me you cursed her out the other day.

- Why don’t you call and apologize to your mama?

- All right, call her.

- Damn, I ain’t never heard nobody cursing out

their damn mama, you know? Come here.

[phone beeping]

[line trilling]

Anita, hold on a second. Dante want to talk to you.

Here you go. Apologize to your mama.

- Hello.

I’m sorry, Mama, for disrespecting you

when--you know I told you I love you after all that.

I’ma get out of jail. I’ma get out, man.

- We’re not being able to get through to these guys.

They family members aren’t able to get through to them.

And the mentality of, "I’m not gonna live to see 24,

25 anyway."

- When someone accepts death,

how do you tell that person,

"Be careful or that might happen,"

when they already expect it to happen?

They’re waiting for it to happen.

♪ ♪

- There are times when homicide investigators

become overwhelmed with emotion.

As disturbing as it is for you and as much as it might

rock you, you have to disconnect the emotion

and say, "You know what?

Let’s start putting together a case."

You have to do your job.

♪ ♪