All language subtitles for Law and order S14E16 - Can I Get a Witness

the people are represented by two separate
yet equally important groups-

the police, who investigate crime,

and the district attorneys,
who prosecute the offenders.

These are their stories.

I feel stupid takin' him back.
Everybody knows I dumped him.

It's embarrassin' I mean, me
and Tommy got back together.

I know. I'm sorry, Chantal.
I didn't mean you guys.

[Gunshots]
[Girl Screaming]

Neighborhood kid.
Henry Ware, 19.

Shot twice in the chest.
Wallet, keys... and this in his pockets.

Coke?
Looks like. Good luck.

We'll let you know how it turns out.
Meantime, voucher that.

Hey, are those the witnesses?

The ones that stuck around.
Friends of the deceased.

Hey, uh, you want to tell us
what happened over here?

Man, I don't know. We were just
sittin' here, talkin' with Bigboy.

Bigboy?
That's what we call Henry.

Anyway, we were
just chillin' you know?

Dude rides up outta nowhere,
fires off a couple.

- The dude say anything to Bigboy?
- Yeah, like, "Keep your hands off the goods.”

Something like that.
And then what happened?

Then we were screamin' and stuff,
and we couldn't believe it.

Henry just grabs his chest
and falls down.

What about the shooter?
Rode off that way.

You think they knew each other?
I don't know. Never seen him before.

What'd he look like?
[Girl] Kinda dark-skinned

About our age.
Older, maybe. Twenty, twenty-one.

Anything else?

[Green] What? What's wrong?
He had, like, a weird eye.

A weird eye?
Somethin' wrong with it.
His right eye.

It was all white.
White?

Messed up. Kinda milky-looking.

You got any idea what this was about?
[Girl] No idea.

What about drugs? Was he dealing?
[Boy] Dealing?

Nah. Noway.

[Woman]
Detectives? We got something here.

All right. Stick around
and give your numbers
to the sergeant, all right?

We gotta make sure these kids
are on the level.

I mean, if he was dealing,
this is an ordinary drug killing.

I got a C.I. in this neighborhood
we could talk to.

Yeah, we got some
pretty good tire tracks here.

Yeah. That's where the witnesses said
the shooter rode off that way.

Well, we can take pictures, make a cast.
Maybe we'll get something.

All right, cool. Thanks.
Okay.

We might as well start
canvassing the neighborhood.

See if anybody saw a kid on a bike?
That oughta narrow it down.

Sorry I never seen a dude
with a weird eye...

sellin' coke or smack
or anything else around here.

What about this guy?

Fat kid. I seen him around.

Wait. Uh, Bigboy.
That's what they call him.

Yeah. But he's small time,
nickel and dime.

You're right. He was dealing.

I guess his friends were just trying
to protect his good name.

Hey, any idea who'd
wanna take him out?

Like I said,
that dude was small time.

“Keep your hands off the goods."
Maybe Bigboy was stepping
on somebody else's turf.

You know who controls the corner
where he got shot?

Bigboy never sold nothing, all right?
Kid was strictly a mule.

[Briscoe] We heard he was selling
a little on the side.

Nickels and dimes.
His friends said he liked
a little taste too, now and then,

so maybe he was
dipping into your goods.

Listen, I caught Bigboy
skimmin' on my stuff,

you think I would have
some mook on a bicycle
take him out?

I'll slap him up and down
the street myself,
make an example out of him.

And what about the shooter?
Don't know no black kid with a bad eye.

If we find out you were ever even
on the same subway car with him,

- you're gonna wish you never
dropped out of high school.
- I look worried to you?

You wanna keep working
this drug angle?

Much as I love mingling
with the lower crust,

why don't we find out if the lab's
got anything on those bike tracks?
All right.

These don't look at all alike.
How can you be sure
they're from the same bike?

You know, I thought the same thing, too,

but after comparing mold offset,
sipe pattern and center rib appearance--

You passed out from boredom?
I determined that
they're both Sinclair Cool J's.

The only difference between
the two tracks is tread wear.

So one tire's
less worn than the other.

Not less worn. Brand-new.

Being as how you're
such a cycling enthusiast,

would you happen to have
a list of all the places
that sell these things?

Milky, kinda cloudy?
Right.

So, was he in here or not?
Kid said it was glass.

You know what?
I had a neighbor that had a glass eye.

If you looked at it in the right light
it was white.
Did you sell this kid a tire?

A Sinclair Cool J.
And while I'm taking it off the hook,

he tries to stuff a couple of
Shimano pedals under his jacket.

I told him if he ever came back,
I'd stick a Kooka crank
right up his you-know-what.

When was this?
Three, four weeks ago.

I don't suppose he used a credit card.

Now, that's funny.

On the other hand, how many black males,
16 to 25, have a glass eye?

These days,
they're mostly acrylic plastic.

Same as everything else.
Glass eyes aren't glass.

They still have to be maintained.
Maintained?

Well, you see, the eye's natural fluid
eats away at the artificial eyeball.

Now, this guy's eye is white,
kinda milky.
Oh, yeah. That can happen...

if you try to clean it yourself
with rubbing alcohol, for example.

- What kind of records do you keep?
- Basic stuff: name, age.

Race?
No, but we file by eye color.

Okay, brown-eyed patients, 16 to 25.
How many are we talking about?

[Typing]
Here we go.

Uh, about 400-plus patients
in that category.

Oh, God, I really thought
this was gonna be a whole lot easier.

Now, this guy probably didn't have insurance.
You take those kind of cases?

Oh, Medicaid? Sure.

Um, how's 50 or so sound?

[Knocking]
Prison guards don't talk to
as many felons as we have today.

[Laughs]
That's what you get for being so brilliant.

Yeah?
We're looking for Foster Keyes.

He ain't in right now.
Who are you?

I'm his cousin, man.
What's this all about?

A shooting.
What you tryin' to say,
Foster shot somebody?

We think maybe
that he saw something.

Hmm. You got a card or something?
I'll give it to him when I see him.

You happen to know
where he is now?

I'll tell him to give you a holler.
Yeah, you do that.

Mm-hmm.

You check out the prison tats
on that dude?

If Keyes is our man,
Cousin Helpful here...

is gonna tip him off faster than
you can say "aiding and abetting."

Yo. Hey, uh, what's up?
Y'all know Foster Keyes?

Look, we already know where he lives.
We just wanna know where he hangs out.

I hear he got a new girl.

You crazy?
I ain't afraid of him. I hate that punk.

Other day I was sitting
right outside on the stoop,
wasn't bothering nobody.

Fos, he come up
and jack my Game Boy.

- You know the girl's name?
- No, but I seen her hanging out
at the projects on 168th.

Yo, am I gonna get my Game Boy back?

We'll do our best.

Later, y'all.

I been here six years.
Believe me, if he lived here, I'd know.

Not him.We think
his girlfriend lives here.

[Girl] Who is it?
It's the police. Can you open up?
I just need to ask you a question.

Hold on.

[Whispering]

Lennie.
Thanks anyway. Never mind.

It's the police! Open the door!

What's goin' on?
[Briscoe] Where is he?

- Who? I'm the only one here.
- I heard voices. Your boyfriend.

- Boyfriend? I ain't got no boyfriend.
- Foster Keyes! Where is he?

Kitchen's clear.
Is that the bedroom?

How long you known Foster?

- Ed!
- Stay right here.

I ain't do nothing.
Good Then you can
come out of the closet.

The witnesses are waiting outside.
Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum.
What's up with the pirates?

The witnesses said
the shooter had a weird eye.

I figured this would rule out a bad I.D.

Oh, hey, y'all. This is Shayna.
Shayna, this is Lieutenant Van Buren.

Hey, Shayna.
They can't see me, right?

Not even with two eyes.
just take your time.

He wasn't wearing a patch
when I saw him.

We know. Take a good look.
You see the shooter?

Number three.
You sure?

That's the one. He shot Bigboy.

I don't even need to see
his bad eye. That's him.

You'd be willing to say that in court?

It's the truth.

It wasn't me.
[Briscoe] Two witnesses
saw you pull the trigger.

What were they, hallucinating?
Maybe they're trying to frame me up.

Now, why would they do that?
I don't know. A mistaken identity?

[Chuckles]
Yeah, right.

So where were you that day,
around 3:30 in the afternoon?

Hanging with my boys.
Hanging out where?

La Guardia Houses.
That's 150th Street.

Yeah.
The whole time?

All day, all night.
Till midnight almost.

You were there the whole time?
You didn't go anywhere?

No.

Okay.

So who was riding your bike
20 blocks away, hmm?

I don't know.

Foster, you can't be two places at once.

See, we got a scientist who can prove
100% beyond a reasonable doubt...

that your bike made the tracks
that we found at the crime scene.

And whoever was riding that bike
shot and killed Bigboy.

And since we got two witnesses
that saw you...

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
And unless you can
prove it wasn't you...

Well, how am I
supposed to do that?

You're going down. Murder two.
That ain't right.

I can't help it
if somebody took my bike!
Then help us out here, man.

Maybe we can help you
get out from under this.

[Door Opens]
Mr. Keyes's attorney, Gerard Wills.

Foster thanks you for the hot coffee
but the interview's over, Detectives.

I heard about your charade of a lineup.

Two eyewitnesses identified
Mr. Keyes as the shooter.

How do you know they didn't see
some guy with an eye patch
pull the trigger?

Mr. Wills, their initial I.D.'s
said nothing about an eye patch.

They were all about a guy with a bad eye.
Milky white. Sound like anyone you know?

[Southerlyn]
Argue misidentification
until you're blue, Mr. Willis.

Do you really think that a jury's
going to believe your client
with his record...

over two eyewitnesses
who are solid citizens?

Nobody else saw Mr. Keyes
allegedly in the park
when Mr. Ware got shot.

We got forensic evidence puts
your client's bicycle at the scene.

Junk science. Those tracks could
have been made any time that day.

We found drugs
on the dead boy,

and your client has
a well-documented history
of dealing in narcotics.

Not in that neighborhood
He never sold or bought drugs
from Henry Ware.

Sounds like your two eyewitnesses
are your whole case.

Tell your client that he would be
smart to plead this one out.

I'll convey your offer, Miss Southerlyn.

Don't hold your breath.

We think this was about drugs.
Some sort of dispute over
territory, customers.

We're still working it.
How good are your eyewitnesses?

Jimmy Gordon's got a steady job
and the other one, Shayna Rosario,

is going part-time to Lower
Manhattan Community College.

What about forensics?
We never found the gun.
We have the bike tracks.

But Wills is right.
It really rests on these witnesses.

Teenagers. You never know
how they'll hold up in court.

Better shore up the drug angle.

I knew something like this
would happen sooner or later.

I told Henry he needed
to stop what he was doing
and get a real job like his boy Jimmy.

But you know kids.
They think they bulletproof.

They think they gonna live forever.

Do you know if your brother
ever bought or sold drugs...

up at the 168th Street projects?
I don't.

Sorry. It's not like
he would've told me if he did.

As far as I know, he didn't know
anybody up there. Why?

It's where the police found Keyes.
Keyes?

Foster Keyes. The man charged
with Henry's murder.

He was staying with some girl.
Jannette Richards?

Jannette?

Maybe Henry hung out with
a girl named Jannette sometimes.

Um... Ask Jimmy.

- Jimmy Gordon.
- Yeah. He and Henry have been
best friends since forever.

If anybody would know, he would.

Yo, Ma, calm down.
I am not going to calm down,
not after what happened this morning.

What happened this morning?
First, he gets another one
of those phone calls.

Jimmy, you've been
threatened?

Yeah.
Saying he's gonna die
if he keeps talking to you all.

How many of these calls have you gotten?
Three, four a week maybe,

since they arrested
the dude that shot Bigboy.

You recognize the voice?
Just some guy. I don't know who.

The calls are the least of it.
He's leaving the house this morning,

some kid walks up to him with a gun,
waving it in his face.

- Never seen him before.
- I've been telling him
this is not worth dying for.

He won't be the only witness,
Mrs. Gordon.

Shayna Rosario has agreed to testify too.

If she wants to put her life on the line,
that's her choice.

I gotta do this, Ma.
Bigboy was my best friend.

How would it look
if Shayna testified and I didn't?

We'll investigate the threats,
Mrs. Gordon.

I'll talk to the D.A.'s office.

They'll arrange some protection
for your son during the trial.

- What kind of protection?
- He'll get a police escort...

to and from the courthouse.
That ain't much.

What about when he goes to the corner
to get me a quart of milk?

Is there anyone he could
stay with for a while,
outside the neighborhood?

- You could go to your aunt's in Brooklyn.
- All right.

Now listen to me, Jimmy.

You need to stay at your aunt's
till the trial is over.

Do not go back
to your old neighborhood.

Do you hear what I'm sayin'?

I ain't afraid of these guys.
Bunch of punks.

Jimmy.

All right. Okay.

I heard they found the shooter
hidin' in some girl's closet.

Jannette Richards.
Jannette?

You know her?

That's Foster's girl. Bigboy was
messin' with her the other night

I told y'all it wasn't about no drugs.

I've changed my mind.

[Van Buren]
What happened, Shayna?
Were you threatened?

The more I thought about it,
the more I realized I wasn't sure
who pulled the trigger.

She just doesn't want
the wrong guy goin' to jail.
We can protect you.

She doesn't 't need protection.
She's not testifying.

Shayna, how are you gonna feel
if Henry's killer goes flee?

If he kills somebody else?

You don't need me.
You got Jimmy.

I already told the lieutenant
I ain't scared.

[Southerlyn]
Yeah, well, it's all right if you are.

But I ain't.

The grand jury's gonna be
the easy part.

There won't be a defense attorney
there to attack your story
and try and trip you up.

But when we get
to the actual trial,

Foster Keyes is gonna be there
staring at you.

Yeah, with his one good eye.
And his friends and his family
are gonna be there.

The defense attorney
is really gonna go after you.

He's gonna practically call you a liar.
He'll challenge everything you say.

Bring it on. I can handle it.

All I got to do is tell the truth, right?

You'll be fine.

Bigboy was real easy-going.

Jannette just pushed him too far.
She kept saying he was so fat
he could never hook up with a girl...

even if he did find one
that would have him.

That's when he slapped her.
How did she react to that?

She was angry?
Real angry.

She kept screaming at him,
saying he was gonna be sorry
he ever laid a hand on her.

What else did she say?

Said she was gonna tell her boyfriend.
He'd make it all right.

Was that the end of it?
Couple weeks later,
we were hangin ' out in the park.

Dude rides up and shoots Bigboy.

I mean... Henry.

Do you see that person
in the courtroom?

Him. The defendant.

[McCoy] Foster Keyes.

Did Mr. Keyes say anything
before he shot your friend?

He said, “Keep your hands off the goods."

Then he shot him.

No more questions.

Where are the police
on the threats to Jimmy Gordon?

All of the calls
came from various pay phones.
There's no way to trace them.

As soon as we convict Mr. Keyes
of murdering Henry Ware,

I'm going to indict him
for witness intimidation.

Isn't that a little overkill?
Keyes will be serving 20 to life.

We're sending a message.
We protect witnesses.
[ Phone Ringing]

Go ahead. Sorry.
Southerlyn.

Neighbor heard shots,
saw a black male
walking from the scene.

We found your card
in the dead boy's pocket.

Thanks. I told him to call me
if he needed anything.
I wish he had.

Counselor!
What the hell happened?

We don't know yet.
Maybe he came back to see a girl

I thought that the police
were keeping an eye on him.

We were. He was supposed
to be in Brooklyn.

Your Honor, Jimmy Gordon's testimony
was the crux of our case.

He was an eyewitness to the shooting
and to the event that precipitated it.

Since I never had the opportunity
of cross-examining him, his...

His testimony can't come in.
Are there any more witnesses?

There was one,
but she was too frightened
to appear before the grand jury.

I doubt she'll come forward now,
in light of what's happened.

As I see it, Your Honor,
Mr. McCoy's just admitted he's got no case.

Consider this my motion to dismiss.
Motion to dismiss?

Your client just added
another murder to his rap sheet.

I'm afraid I'm going
to have side with Mr. Wills.

I still have Jimmy Gordon's
grand jury testimony.

People v. Hellenbrand
The minutes of a witness's
grand jury testimony...

can be read into evidence
if the witness is no longer available.

Hellenbrand only applies
if it's clear that the defendant
is behind the witness's absence.

How much clearer could it be?
What more do you want?
A sign from God?

I would settle for some proof.

Res ipsa loquitur, Your Honor.

That's Latin for “They got nothin'."

If you want a few more days
to shore up your case...

A few days won't do me any good.

If you're not going to allow
the grand jury testimony,

at least give me leave to re-present
when and if I have a new case.

Jeopardy has already attached,

which means that the charges will
have to be dismissed with prejudice.

Why not give the defendant
a pat on the back on the way out?

Out of line, Mr. McCoy

If you find evidence that Mr. Keyes was
involved in the murder of this witness,

you can charge him for it.

And if that happens,

Mr. Keyes better pray that he
doesn't draw me as his judge.

Charges are dismissed.
[Gavel Bangs]

Dismissed?
You gotta be kidding me.

We'll keep workin' on him. Try him again.
Double jeopardy. He can't be
tried again for killing Bigboy.

He has a witness killed,
and he gets off?

We have to prove he's involved.

Then we can ring him up
for the murder of Jimmy Gordon.

But he walks on Henry Ware.
Fraid so.

Makes me wanna accidentally
discharge my weapon.

The only way we're gonna get Foster Keyes
is to tie him to whoever shot Jimmy Gordon.

Aside from the description
of a “young black male"...

and the two .38 slugs
they dug out of Gordon's back,

we got zip from the crime scene.

What about the death threat list?
Keyes's friends and associates?

Keyes did a stint in juvie, a year in Attica,
had three narcotics arrests.

I gotta say, the list goes on and on.

Let's start with the sign-in sheet at Rikers.

See if Keyes had any visitors while
he was in custody for Bigboy's murder.

Maybe that's how they arranged
the hit on Jimmy Gordon.

Who would've thought so many guys
named “Bernard” visit prisons?

I've seen three already.

Keyes was in custody for four weeks,
and all we have so far on visits
are who again?

Three from his mom, one from Grandma,
one from his sister.

Right, but no known felons.
Wait a minute.

“December 7, 3:06 p.m.
Inmate: Foster Keyes.

Visitor...
“X"...They signed with an “X”?

So the security guard
checked the driver's license
and it had an “X” on it?

Yeah, that and a picture of Benjamin Franklin
was all the I.D. he needed.
Hmm.

Sometimes I'm doin' three things at once.
Maybe I didn't look at his signature
close enough.

All right, bro,
maybe we didn't make this clear.

Keyes may have hired your Mr. X
to kill a witness in his trial.

[Briscoe]
At best, you screwed up big time.

Besides losing your job and your pension
you might be looking at a civil suit,
wrongful death...

I swear, if I remembered
anything about the guy...

[Briscoe] Think. Is there any other way
we can track him down?

No. These are the only records in here.

You know, some of the inmates
arrange to bump into somebody
on the way to the courthouse.

Or in the courthouse.

I only worked the first couple days
of the Keyes trial. Appendicitis.
Okay.

Sometimes the judge
allows courtroom visitors.

Come to think of it, Keyes did have
some family in the gallery.

Judge allowed them
to visit for a few minutes one day
before they sent Keyes back to Rikers.

[Green] Anybody look suspicious?
They all did.

I recognized one of 'em.
He was a defendant in another case.

About your complexion
maybe a little lighter,

built like a tank,
jailhouse tattoos.

Did he have one on his neck?

Cousin Helpful.

You're in a world
of trouble now, Mr. X

Why? 'Cause I went
to go visit my little cousin?

Because the only witness
in your little cousin's case
took two bullets.

You didn't think that was going
to come back on you, genius?

You've been arrested twice for homicide
and the only reason you ain't
spending time in a 6-by-9 now...

is those witnesses
happened to go away.

6-by-9. [ Laughs]
Hey, that's... that's cute, man.

What, that's supposed
to make me confess or something?

You can laugh all you want to,
but we don't need
a confession from you.

And we're gonna add witness intimidation
to your case. The jury's gonna eat that up.

Man, I ain't intimidate nobody.
And I definitely ain't killed this
Gordon kid you talkin' about.

You got an alibi?

When'd it go down?
Between 8:00 and 10:00 last night.

Boom. I was hanging out
up at Ray's Famous up on 126th.

Matter of fact, I'll even chill with you
down at the station
while you check on that,

long as I ain't under arrest.

All right. Boom.
Get your ass in the car.

He was at Ray's from 8:00 to midnight.
The counter man, the owner and
two regulars all remember him.

He made sure everybody
got a good look at him.

We sure he's the one behind
Jimmy Gordon's shooting?

He's Keyes's cousin.
Homey plays the system
like a Stradivarius.

Visits Rikers under the table,
has his crew intimidate witnesses.

He's got the whole neighborhood
under his thumb.

You know what his street name is?
Slug. And it ain't 'cause he moves slow.

[Briscoe] We've been
lookin' through his arrest reports.
Any luck?

A couple of years ago Slug was
picked up for an armed robbery
with a guy named Calvin Jacob Rivers.

They knocked over a bar.
[ Green ]Allegedly

- Let me guess.
- Yup. Two dozen witnesses suddenly
developed simultaneous amnesia.

This guy's a walking epidemic.

- Yeah, he's a public health menace.
- Go lean on this Rivers character...

and see if we can use him
to get any leverage on Mr. Slug.

What's gain ' on?
You don't mind if we come in do you, Mr. Rivers?

Your P.O. told us you'd be
crashing at your grandma's crib.

Yeah. She ain't here right now.
You know, you haven't talked
to your P.O. in quite a while.

That's a parole violation.
You ought to give him a call.
I've been busy.

Yeah, murder has a way of screwing up
your whole schedule, doesn't it?

Murder? What are you talkin' about?
Hey, where's he going?

Oh, we just wanna make sure
you don't have any illegal substances
stashed on the premises.

That's a parole violation too, remember?
I ain't done nothing wrong.

Look what I found under the mattress:

a .38 and a stack of 20s.

Cat got your tongue? That's okay,
'cause you have the right to remain silent.

Anything you do say can and will
be used against you in a court of law.

We have your client's prints
all over the gun.

I have no doubt that ballistics
will identify it as the weapon
that killed Jimmy Gordon.

Even if you prove it is the gun,
you can't connect it to my client.

The police found the gun
under the mattress.

In his grandmother's apartment, not his.

So what, Granny did it?

- [Attorney] Whats the deal?
- Shooting a witness
is a capital crime in New York.

You give us Ronald Duggan,

and I'll knock it down
to murder two, 20 to life.

Who's Duggan?
Slug.

Look, I'll be candid.
My client has certain...

Let me put it this way.
He might not fully understand
the ramifications here.

Ronald Duggan, a.k.a. Slug,
hired your client, Calvin Rivers,

to murder Jimmy Gordon,
a witness against Foster Keyes,
Duggan's cousin.

No, he didn't.
He testifies against Mr. Duggan...

- I ain't gonna do that.
- Calvin, please don't say anything.

This was all about
a pair of kicks. That's it.

Are you saying
you killed Jimmy Gordon
over a pair of shoes?

Not another word
I think this meeting's over. Come.

[Door Opens]

Remind me again.
Who are the bad guys?

Slug masterminded
the intimidation of witnesses...

and the murder of Jimmy Gordon,
the star witness in the Foster Keyes case.

Rivers was the triggerman.

You got the goods on Rivers?

Ballistics identified the gun we found
in his grandmother's apartment
as the one used to shoot Gordon.

Can you connect him back
to Slug and Keyes?

Without his testimony,
our case is thin.

We know that Rivers and Slug were
accomplices in an armed robbery once.

Other than that...
And Rivers won't deal?

Apparently, he's more afraid of Slug
than he is of the State of New York.

Who was that other witness?

You know, the one that got
cold feet before we could
get her before a grand jury.

Shayna Rosario.
If Slug threatened her,

and we can convince her to testify,

we might be able to establish him
as the mastermind behind
the Jimmy Gordon murder.

I'll take another crack at her.

Look, I told you.
Nobody threatened me.

As soon as you give us a statement,
we can arrest Slug.

Jail won't stop him. You don't think
I know what happened to Jimmy?

As long as I keep my mouth shut,
I'll be safe.

Not necessarily.
Slug may reach out and try to silence you
on the chance you might testify.

Yeah, now he might,
somebody sees you here.

- If my father knew you were here right now...
- We're going to protect you.

Like you protected Jimmy?

We'll move you
and your family outside the city.

Someplace safe.

Police! Open up!
[Slug] Yo, hold on.

Now!
[Cocks Gun]

All right, drop the cards
and get your hands up.

Come on, man, I got aces over eights.
That's a Hickok.

A what?
A dead man's hand.

Detective. Train ticket.

Oh, you going someplace, Slug?
Yeah. I was gonna go
visit my aunt in Virginia.

No, you ain't. You're under arrest
for the murder of Jimmy Gordon.

You too, Foster.
Man, I'm getting tired of you.

Well, you might as well get used to it
'cause we're gonna keep doin' this
till you get it right.

Docket ending 235.

People v. Calvin Rivers,
Foster Keyes, Ronald Duggan.

Charges are
murder in the first degree,

witness intimidation
and bribing a witness.

Defendants, how do you plead?

Mr. Rivers pleads not guilty.
Mr. Keyes pleads not guilty.

I thought Mr. Wills
was representing Mr. Keyes?

Not anymore. I'm Mr. Keyes's
attorney now, Your Honor.

Mr. Wills, I assume
you're here for a reason.

I'm representing Mr. Duggan,
who pleads not guilty, Your Honor.

People on bail?
The police found a duffel bag and
a train ticket in Mr. Duggan's apartment.

He was going to visit his aunt.
[Judge] Not today

Defendants are remanded.
[Southerlyn] Your Honor,
because of the nature of these crimes,

we're going to request a lockdown.

I need to make a sealed record
before you in support of that.

Your Honor, is that really necessary?
Apparently so, Miss Xiao.

I'll hear from the People, ex parte.
[Gavel Bangs]

You will hear how these
three defendants,

Ronald Duggan,
Foster Keyes and Calvin Rivers,

murdered Jimmy Gordon.

You will hear how Ronald Duggan,
known on the street as “Slug,”

arranged to have
the State's star witness...

in the murder trial of his cousin,
Foster Keyes, killed.

In order to accomplish this,

he enlisted the third defendant,
Calvin Rivers,

to pull the trigger.

Their plan worked.

Jimmy Gordon was murdered
before he could finish testifying,

and the charges against
Foster Keyes were dismissed

This is a crime,
the murder of a witness,

that threatens the foundation
of our judicial process.

A crime so heinous it is punishable
by death in the State of New York.

Make no mistake.
All three men are guilty of this crime,

which tears at the very fabric
of our civil society...

and our system of laws.

But Ronald Duggan...

Slug...

is the man behind this murder.

A man who cast
a pall of fear and violence
over an entire neighborhood.

You will hear how
he has bribed witnesses,

intimidated them...

and finally killed them...

in furtherance
of his criminal activities.

It's up to you
to end his reign of terror.

[McCoy] Ms. Rosario,
when were you first approached
about the murder of Henry Ware?

A few weeks before I was supposed
to testify before the grand jury.

Against Foster Keyes?
Yes.

Did you recognize the man
who approached you?

No. I'd never seen him before.

What did he say?
Said he had a message.

Said somebody was
gonna come talk to me
and give me some money.

Did that in fact happen?
Yes.

Did you recognize this second person
who approached you?

- No.
- What did he say to you?

He started asking me
about Bigboy's shooting,
asking me what I saw.

Did you tell him?
I tried to,

but every time I said something
about seeing the shooter
with the weird eye,

he said I was wrong,
said I must've made a mistake.

He said you were mistaken
about your identification
of the man who shot Henry Ware?

Said I picked the wrong man
out of the lineup.

He said I should tell the police
I didn't see who did it.

Do you see the man
who intimidated you
in the courtroom?

Objection, Your Honor.
I never heard the witness say
she was intimidated.

Rephrase, Mr. McCoy.

Do you see the man who talked to you
about Bigboy's murder,

the man who said you were mistaken
when you identified Foster Keyes...

as the person who shot Henry Ware?

Ms. Rosario,

do you see the person
who approached you?

I'm not sure.

My chambers. Now.

Ms. Rosario, can you identify
one of the defendants as the man
who approached you or not?

This morning I got a call on my cell.

What kind of a call?
A threat

He said I was gonna die.

Shayna, why didn't you tell us?

Because if I thought about it,
I knew I couldn't go through with this.

And then when I saw Slug
sitting next to Mr. Wills, I just--

I don't understand, Ms. Rosario.
What has Mr. Wills got to do with this?

Mr. Willis, please step back
in the courtroom.
Your Honor...

Now! Take your colleagues with you.

[ Door Closes ]
What's this about?

Slug was the one who talked to me
about Bigboy's murder.

Mr. Duggan.
Right.

And the last time I saw him,
he took me to see Mr. Wills.

Let me see if I understand this.
Mr. Duggan took you to see Mr. Wills...

while Mr. Wills was representing
Mr. Keyes for murder.

- Yes.
- Your Honor...

Let's go join Mr. Willis
in the courtroom, Mr. McCoy.

What do you say?
I want this on the record.

So do I.

A witness came to me
and recanted. It happens.

Slug was sitting next to her,
telling her what to say.
What did you think was going on?

I don't know who I'm more
appalled by right now, Mr. Wills,
you or your clients.

I know who I'm more appalled by.
He said he was a friend of hers,

supporting her while she came forward
to say that she had made a mistake.

He was not intimidating her.

Mr. Wills, if you were complicit
in any sort of witness intimidation...

Absolutely not, Your Honor!

And I will stake my professional
reputation of 22 years on it!

Whatever that's worth!

I intend to question Ms. Rosario
about this meeting...

and about why she didn't identify
the defendant on the stand!

[Wills] If he is talking about this morning?
alleged threatening phone call,

he can't prove that it came
from any of the defendants.

In fact, seeing as they were in lockdown
it would be impossible!

Let's not be naive!
It's obvious where the call came from!

I'll give you a day, Mr. McCoy.

If you can prove that the call
originated from the witnesses
or anyone acting on their behalf,

you can question the witness about it
tomorrow on the stand.

If not...

Let's just hope she isn't dead by then.

Excuse me?

That's what I thought.

At least he didn't
charge you with contempt.

He knows my contempt is for Wills
and his clients, not the court.

What about the girl?
Will she be ready to testify?

I'm gonna meet with her in the morning
and go over everything one last time.

And the phone call?
The police traced it
to a disposable cell phone.

Well, so much for lockdown.

And they bribed the guard?
Probably.

Which means we can't prove
the defendants made the call.

Not before tomorrow anyway.
The jury won't hear about the threat.

Even with Shayna's testimony,
Slug's insulated himself from Rivers.

If we're not careful,
Rivers will end up taking the load
for Slug and Keyes.

I'm sure that's exactly
what they have in mind.

You'll have to remind the jury
that Slug's calling the shots.

[McCoy] Yesterday you started
to tell us about a man who talked to you
about the murder of Henry Ware.

Do you see him here today?

That's him. Slug.

[McCoy]
The co-defendant, Ronald Duggan.

Between the time
you identified Foster Keyes
as the shooter to the police...

and when you decided not to testify
before the grand jury,

how many times did Mr. Duggan
come to see you?

Five, maybe six.

Yesterday you mentioned money

It was always the same deal.

Slug would come up to me
on the street, act all friendly.

He'd talk to me about Bigboy's shooting,
and then he'd walk away.

And when I got home,
there'd be money in the mailbox
or under my door.

- How much money?
- In all, almost $3,000.

Ms. Rosario,

yesterday you failed to identify
Mr. Duggan.

When I saw Slug sitting with Mr. Wills,
it startled me.

You know, took me back.

Why?
I met Mr. Wills before.

Under what circumstances?
Slug took me to his office.

I told Mr. Wills
what Slug wanted me to say...

that I didn't see who shot Bigboy
and that I made a mistake...

when I picked his cousin
out of the lineup.

Were you scared?

I felt like I was trapped.

I didn't want to lie to Mr. Wills,
but Slug was sitting right there.

So yesterday when I asked you to identify
the man who approached you...

It was partly seeing them together.

But mostly it was the way
Slug looked at me,

like I was already dead.

I don't think anyone's ever accused me
of being scary before, Ms. Rosario.

Are you sure you were scared
when you were in my office that day?

You didn't seem scared.
I was scared of Slug.

Did Mr. Duggan ever say
he was going to hurt you?
He didn't have to.

I knew what it meant when he
asked me to change what I saw
and then gave me money.

He gave you the money personally?

No.
Then how do you know
where it came from?

I just knew. It was obvious.

One time he said I was pretty,
said pretty girls needed pretty things.

Another time he said he heard
my uncle was in the hospital,

and he knew that
it would cost a lot of money.

He always said stuff like that.

And every time after I talked to him
somebody left me money.

Did you ever see who left the money?

No, but I knew it was him because
he was asking me all the time
about Bigboy's shooting

telling me I didn't see what I saw.
Doesn't it make sense
that he'd want to know...

why his cousin
was being falsely accused?

It wasn't false.
I saw Foster Keyes shoot Bigboy.

That is not what you
told me in my office.

Slug wanted me to say that.

He was friendly.

He never... harmed you
or threatened to harm you?

No, but Jimmy Gordon's dead, isn't he?
Yes.

But Calvin Rivers's fingerprints
are on that gun, not Mr. Duggan's.

Have you reached a verdict?
We have, Your Honor.

On the first count of the indictment,
murder in the first degree,

as to the defendant, Calvin Jacob Rivers,
how do you find?

We find the defendant guilty.

On the first count of the indictment,
murder in the first degree,

as to the defendant, Foster Keyes,
how do you find?

We find the defendant not guilty

On the first count of the indictment,
murder in the first degree,

as to the defendant Ronald Duggan,
how do you find?

We find the defendant not guilty

On the counts of intimidating a witness
and bribing a witness,

as to the defendant, Ronald Duggan,
how do you find?

We find the defendant,
Ronald Duggan, not guilty.

[Spectators Murmuring]
[Gavel Raps]

[Howling]