Original subtitles

[dramatic music]

♪

- She saw the white female walking over toward this car.

- Only about 10% of all murders

are committed by women.

- It's crazy.

- It may be rare, but it's no less brutal

for the victims and their loved ones left behind.

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

- She does not look like a killer.

- Detectives are shocked by the suspect

in a woman's shooting.

- Chick's wearing yoga pants.

She's still able to conceal a gun.

- An argument in a parking lot explodes into violence, and...

- A couple makes a plan that goes deadly wrong.

[dramatic music]

♪

narrator: Tulsa, Oklahoma, 1:51 p.m.

[sirens wailing]

narrator: Paramedics arrive...

And find a woman on the ground

with a gunshot wound to the chest.

They rush her to the hospital, but she dies.

♪

- Sounds like they've got a car leaving the scene,

so that could be a definite lead

on figuring out who the shooter could be.

Who's the victim?

narrator: 31-year-old Jade Jones,

a Missouri native,

lived with her boyfriend

near the lot where she was shot.

She leaves behind four children.

- She gets shot and walks back up here and drops?

- Yeah.

- All right, so who do we have out here?

- We've got the boyfriend.

He's that guy over there.

narrator: The victim's boyfriend was on the scene

when first responders arrived.

- He said he saw a white SUV leaving...

- Yeah. - After he heard the shot.

- This lady over here...

- Her husband supposedly got on a bike

and chased after the stolen Denali.

- The guy whose girlfriend got shot,

that was his bike. - His bike.

narrator: The woman's husband attempted to follow

the suspects when they stole his SUV.

- We need to find that guy.

- And see if we can try to find this damn Denali.

- I'm gonna go start interviews, dude.

narrator: Detectives Ritter and Max Ryden

will head back to interview witnesses.

♪

- And how do you know Jade?

narrator: She says that, according to Jade,

the husband fell asleep on the couch.

narrator: She said she quickly drove to Jade's house

and found paramedics trying to save her.

- Was your husband there?

- What car is that?

- And was it there?

- OK. Sit tight here.

We're gonna do something real quick.

Then we're almost done, OK?

narrator: Ritter goes in to speak with

the victim's boyfriend.

- Man, I think you kind of know,

and I just wanna be completely honest with you

about Jade, OK?

You know it's not good, right?

- Yeah, she passed away. I just wanted to--

- I'm super sorry. I really am.

It's a terrible deal.

Walk me through-- when you got up, who was there?

- OK.

- And what did she say?

- Have you seen her before?

- Does this Sevyn chick and Jade have a beef from before?

- Do they even know each other?

- Like, in a good way, a bad way? What?

- Do you think this could be as simple as

she went out there lipping off about the phone,

and this other chick thought she was a badass and shot her?

- I can only think about a handful of homicides

that I've ever worked

that a female has been a suspect.

Women don't tend to be as violent as men,

and women don't tend to react as violently

to different situations as men.

Very rarely do you catch a woman

that would've reacted in that manner--

will allow a situation to escalate in a manner

where she shoots somebody for no reason.

- The victim told him that Sevyn is the shooter.

He said he thinks her first name is Ashley.

So I'm trying to run it and get a real name.

- Hey, Ritter, we just got--

narrator: An officer still at the scene calls in.

- Ashley Good.

narrator: 24-year-old Ashley Good

has several prior convictions,

including theft and assault and battery.

- She has an Irish mob affiliation.

- With the Irish mob,

the thing I'm seeing is that

the women are more dangerous than the men.

narrator: Detectives track down the owner of the Denali

four blocks from the crime scene.

- So today, you went over to Jade's?

- [distorted voice] Yeah.

narrator: He says he picked up Ashley Good

on the way over to see the victim.

- So what was the reason for picking her up?

- And Sevyn is still in the car?

- OK.

- What did she say on the phone?

- What did she say exactly?

- Any idea where she would go right now?

- All right, man, I appreciate you.

Come with me.

[tense music]

♪

This is her right here. June 6th, five days ago.

Man, she does not look like a killer.

Both the victim and the suspect,

they're females, which is not typical.

It's also not very common

where the female suspect's using a firearm.

Usually, it's more of a fight or a stabbing.

I've got an arrest warrant issued for her now

for murder and did an auto theft report,

so if some officer in some other city runs across it,

it'll come up as stolen.

Right now, we just need to find her.

♪

- This Sevyn chick,

she thinks she's a little gangster.

We need to catch her as soon as we can.

She's dangerous.

♪

- Do you know Ashley--Sevyn?

- If she ended up coming by here,

would you call the police?

♪

narrator: The Denali turns up nearly 50 miles away.

- She's in freakin' Muskogee now.

So Muskogee finds the truck.

It's in a field. - Like, burned?

- Nah, but I mean, like, definitely not

"I'm coming back for this thing."

♪

[phone rings]

- Hey, how you doin'?

narrator: A tip comes in.

- All right, man. Have a good one.

- What'd he say, Justin?

- She is at a house.

It's directly next-door to the fire station,

and it's a white house, and she's there right now.

- Ashley, we got Ashley maybe.

- Just got a call that Ashley is over at a house.

This chick is like a ghost.

♪

[knocking on door]

[knocking continues]

♪

- Hey, come here. - Come here.

- Come on.

narrator: Detectives clear four people from the house.

♪

- Who else is in there?

- A girl that goes by "Sevyn," Ashley Good...

- Is she in your house?

She obviously is, because you haven't said "no" yet.

- Let's go.

Police! Anyone else in here, come out!

Let me see your hands.

Get your hands up. - Hands up!

- Ashley, come here.

Get down on the ground.

[handcuffs click]

Go.

♪

Hey, I haven't patted her down. She's got cuffs on.

♪

- Look at this thing.

♪

- She had a pistol, like, in her waistband.

Chick's wearing yoga pants.

She's still able to conceal a gun.

♪

- It is important not to underestimate

a potential threat because it's a woman,

because you're still talking about a woman

that took somebody's life.

You're still talking about a woman

that's very, very volatile.

You're still talking about a homicide

that made absolutely no sense at all.

So it shows that this person

could possibly be out of control,

and one thing they've already demonstrated

is that they're violent.

That could've been very, very bad,

had they not discovered that firearm.

♪

- Ashley, I'm Detective Ritter.

Obviously, we're investigating a homicide,

and we've been looking for you,

and I wanna talk to you about it.

But before I can,

I need you to sign and date there.

You don't wanna talk to us? - Mm-mm.

Not without a lawyer. - OK.

You're a curious individual to me.

I'd like to talk to you about the path you ended up on

and so-- - I know that the past--

like you said, the path I ended up on--

- Mm-hmm. - Like, the things

I read, like-- - No, I'm not--

- Do stuff and whatnot? That's not who I am at all.

- OK. When you do get a lawyer,

if you wanna talk to me,

I would be up to doing that.

You're gonna be booked today.

You're going to jail for the murder.

I'm not surprised that she lawyered up.

There's not really any reason for her to talk at all.

She's in a pretty tough spot.

♪

♪

narrator: Birmingham, Alabama, 11:00 p.m.

A man rushes his girlfriend into the emergency room.

She has been shot in the head.

Doctors try to save her,

but she doesn't survive.

- We got a call of a female being shot

inside of a car.

So the car is supposed to be our crime scene.

narrator: According to responding officers,

the victim was shot once in the head.

- The victim was shot through

the driver's side window of the car.

narrator: The victim's boyfriend

and three young children

have already been transported to Homicide.

They were in the car with her when she was shot.

- Kids were in the back seat.

♪

narrator: The victim is 23-year-old Rosetia Smith.

She was known for her sense of humor

and her devotion to her three boys.

♪

- In your own words,

you wanna tell me what you saw tonight?

- They were hittin' at your mom?

Oh, they were?

narrator: He says some women were hitting his mother

through the driver's side window.

- Was it one or two or more than two?

- More than two.

- And of course, in my career in homicide,

I have had to interview very young witnesses

as to what they had seen

or what they had witnessed in a homicide.

It takes a certain skill to be able to do that.

You have to be careful in the way that you do that.

You can't lead them. Kids are very honest.

So the information that you get from this kid

is gonna be as accurate as they know how

to deliver that information,

and more than likely, it's gonna be truthful.

It's a heartbreaking situation

to have to sit in a room with a kid

and ask him about witnessing a homicide.

- I'm not sure whether the other adults have told him

that his mama's not gonna be with him anymore.

Sad story right now.

- Mm-hmm.

narrator: He explains that they were driving home

from a friend's house

when Tia spotted a car in a parking lot

with four women inside.

- You ever seen 'em before?

- Tonight's the first time?

narrator: He says Tia pulled over to confront the women,

but he doesn't know why.

- All right.

narrator: Tia started arguing with the women

through their car windows.

Then the women in the other car got out.

- Mm-hmm.

- Were you present when all this happened?

- Tell me what you know about what's been going on.

narrator: She says that the group of women who called

had been arguing with her over a man.

Tia was over at her house during the argument.

- OK.

Did they have a problem with Rosetia?

- No. No. - No?

narrator: She says Tia left to go home

before the women came over.

She thinks Tia ran into them

while driving out of her neighborhood.

narrator: They find all four women.

None of them have criminal records.

- [sighs]

It's just crazy.

I mean, the victim didn't have anything to do with

the beef that was going on.

Didn't really even know the suspect.

Doesn't make any sense to me.

- We're gonna come back in the morning

and try to get some good addresses on these girls.

and then go pick them up.

You're gonna tell me exactly what happened,

and you, do not tell me a lie, OK?

narrator: She says that she and three other women

pulled into a parking lot on the way to confront

the victim's friend.

A little while later,

the victim drove up and started yelling at them.

- OK.

narrator: She says the car started pulling away.

That's when she heard a gunshot.

- When did you first see the gun?

- A'ight, now-- [clears throat]

This where I'ma stop. - Mm-hmm.

- Child who was sittin' in the back seat

told me about the gun.

So I'ma ask you again.

When did you first see the gun?

♪

- A'ight.

Who we talkin' 'bout that said,

"I think I done shot somebody"?

narrator: She says her friend LaQuintta Turk

was the shooter.

- And you're fighting over what, a boy?

Basically?

- You never thought that "Maybe we just need to

just let this go"?

- I tend to want to know a whole lot more about a woman

than I would a man-- whether or not she has kids,

what's her connection to her family.

Does she have a criminal history?

I found that women probably have not had

the amount of encounters

with law enforcement than men have,

and you can kind of play on that a little bit.

You know, "Hey, you're not necessarily a criminal.

"You probably made a bad decision,"

versus a man who's been hounded by law enforcement

multiple times.

So you know, the preparation for it can be

a little bit different.

narrator: In the next room,

the other witness confirms LaQuintta Turk

as the alleged shooter.

- And that's her.

narrator: 22-year-old LaQuintta Turk

has never been arrested.

[suspenseful music]

♪

- You ended up with three other girls.

Start at that point, when you met up.

♪

narrator: She confirms that they were on their way

to talk to the victim's friend when they pulled over.

narrator: LaQuintta says she and her friends

jumped out of their car.

narrator: She says two of her friends

started fighting with the victim

through her car window.

- OK.

narrator: She claims that the victim's boyfriend

reached under his seat for something.

- What'd you guys do?

- OK.

Um...

Tell me what was going through your mind

when you pointed that gun and pulled the trigger.

[sniffles]

- Based on the way this situation happened,

that's a capital murder offense.

- [sniffles]

- Now I've got your statements,

all the other witnesses',

even the child that was in the back seat, OK?

- But I tell you,

there's a mother of three children dead tonight.

That's messed up.

There ain't-- there ain't nothing--

nothing pretty about this situation.

A'ight.

narrator: Charlotte, North Carolina, 1:00 p.m.

- [speaking Spanish]

[sirens wailing]

narrator: Officers respond and find the green Honda

in the apartment complex parking lot with a man inside.

- "Oscar A. Chavez, Alvarado."

♪

narrator: 22-year-old Oscar Alvarado,

born in El Salvador,

came to the U.S. four years ago,

leaving behind his parents and five siblings.

- [sighs]

Oh, look at that. - I know.

narrator: Detectives find stab wounds

in the victim's abdomen and neck.

- She notices a white car,

a white Camaro pull up over there where my car is at.

narrator: According to the caller,

she saw a white car pull in

and a white female get out.

- She saw the white female walking over toward this car.

narrator: The caller says the woman got into Oscar's car

and immediately began fighting with him.

- And then the white male gets out.

A young kid, a short haircut.

narrator: The caller says that a second suspect,

a white male, got out of the white car

and ran over and began fighting with Oscar.

- They're not sure what's going on

until they start seeing him, like,

with some stabbing motions.

narrator: The 911 caller says both suspects then fled

in the white car.

- Our witnesses were able to get a tag number,

so we're kind of banking on a registered owner

is also gonna be the suspect.

- Yeah.

narrator: The case takes a surprising turn.

Adam Richardson has come forward

to speak with detectives.

♪

Detective David Osorio and Detective Susan Sarvis head in

to speak with Adam Richardson.

- Tell us what happened today, just in your own words.

narrator: According to Adam,

a friend named Jonathan Fitzgerald called him

and asked for a ride.

- OK.

narrator: Adam says he picked up Jonathan

and Jonathan's girlfriend

around 10:30 this morning.

narrator: He says Jonathan received a call

from an alleged drug dealer,

who told him where to meet.

narrator: He says the dealer's delivery man, Oscar,

led them to the apartment complex.

narrator: Adam says he parked next to Oscar's car.

Jonathan's girlfriend got out.

narrator: He says when Jonathan and his girlfriend

got back in his car,

Jonathan showed him drugs

that he had taken from the victim.

- Where did you guys go from there?

- OK, at the Sleep Inn.

- You got two people, albeit, they are a couple,

that's involved in a drug deal,

a drug transaction with someone else,

attempts to rob him, and it goes bad.

Most women have a boyfriend or a significant other

that either ties them to this underworld,

or they enjoy being in this underworld

because of this other person.

You know, good girls like bad boys, so to speak.

So typically, women get themselves

caught up in these situations because of--

someone else is drawing them into it.

- What's going on, guys?

narrator: Burkard finds Jonathan and his girlfriend

at the hotel.

- "Fitzgerald"? - Mm-hmm. With a Z.

narrator: Detective Mike Burke

looks up Jonathan Fitzgerald in the police database.

- Here's our first identification photo.

narrator: Jonathan is 18 years old.

- How you doing today?

And then...

narrator: According to Jonathan,

his mother put him up at the hotel

for two days

because he is about to go back into rehab.

- For what?

- OK.

narrator: Jonathan says he and his girlfriend,

Danielle, spent the morning at the mall.

Then he called his dealer to score drugs.

- To what he-- I mean, since he's--

since he's lawyered up,

you want to just go ahead and shackle him

and let him-- - Oh, yeah, yeah.

- Something to get him thinking.

- Yes.

- Say "you're under arrest for murder."

♪

- Stand up.

You're under arrest for murder.

♪

Have a seat.

- What about Danielle? - What about her?

- Y'all arrest her?

♪

- We can't have a conversation with you at this point.

- All right.

I didn't do nothing.

- All right. Any questions, anything else?

You good? All right.

- Need anything, just holler.

- That's up to you, man.

- Yeah, I'll talk to you. - OK.

- No? All right.

narrator: Jonathan says he spoke with

his drug dealer this morning

and made arrangements to meet up with a delivery guy.

- Yeah.

- Mm-hmm.

- Yeah.

- All right.

- Um...

♪

- Mm-hmm.

narrator: Jonathan says after stabbing Oscar,

he grabbed about $200 worth of heroin from the car.

Y'all have--

♪

narrator: Burkard looks up Jonathan's girlfriend,

Danielle Holmes,

in the police database.

She is 17-years-old

and has never been arrested.

- You ready?

Hey.

- Wake up. Wake up, smell the coffee.

It's time to snap out of this-- this spell that you're in.

This high that you're on

or this is gonna hurt you.

This is not looking good for you.

If you didn't plan

or you didn't know that this guy was gonna get killed today

then you need to tell the truth.

You are not fooling me.

You're not fooling her.

And you are not gonna get out of this mess

by doing what you're doing right now.

- I didn't know it was gonna happen like that.

♪

- Your intention was to rob this Mexican for the heroin.

Yes or no? - [crying] Yes, sir.

- OK. We're you supposed to rob him

or was Jonathan supposed to rob him?

- I was supposed to do it because I figured that

if a girl went in there, like,

he wasn't gonna attack me... - Right.

- As he was going to a guy.

- And you've got a knife. - Yes, sir.

- OK and-- - And I got in the car

and he turned around

and he was, like, smiling at me and stuff.

And all of a sudden, I just grabbed his head

and pulled it back and I was like--

I was like, "nothing's gonna happen.

"Please just cooperate with me.

Like, I'm not gonna hurt you or nothing."

And he just started, like, jumping on me.

Then I looked over and Jonathan's in the seat.

narrator: Danielle claims that when Oscar started

fighting with her,

Jonathan came to her aid.

- He opened the car door and he was like--

he was, like, yelling at him and stuff.

And I got scared, so I had pulled the knife out.

And, um, the guy--

I mean, I guess I accidentally cut him.

- You say you think you're the one that cut him on the neck?

- Yes, sir.

- Then what happened after that?

Who else-- who stabbed him again?

- Uh, I think Jonathan then stabbed him again.

- You didn't think to call 911?

- I was scared. I mean, I didn't know.

- Well, this guy's dying in the car.

- I--I didn't know it was as bad as it was.

We have never done anything like this before.

The only reason I did it

because I knew, like, nothing was gonna go wrong

and it was gonna go easy and it didn't at all.

Or else I wouldn't have done it.

I mean, I've never done anything wrong.

You can look at my record.

It is completely clean.

[crying]

[continues crying]

- Oh, she broke and she admitted to being there

and being involved in the robbery.

She admitted to

planning the robbery with her boyfriend, Jonathan.

- As of right now, Adam's not being charged.

His whole intention was to go take Jonathan and Danielle

to this drug deal.

He didn't know what was gonna transpire after that.

So Adam's just going on home.

- Take a seat.

I gotta be able to shut the car door

so just slide all the way back.

- OK, Danielle.

You're gonna be charged with murder

and armed robbery.

You got any questions?

- Is there any way I can say bye to Jonathan before I go?

- I don't even think he's here anymore.

- He's not?

All right.

- You got two people that care about each other

and both basically say, "I'll take the charge"

to allow the other one

to go on with their life or whatever.

You got drugs involved, you got weapons involved.

I've often said and I'll continue to say

for the rest of my life,

any time that you get kids

involved with drugs and weapons,

it's a recipe for disaster.

♪