"Ladies and gentlemen, let me ask you a very important question." "Are you ready to pass judgment on one of your peers?" "And today, you must do what you think is right to find true justice." "Now, the prosecution has painted a picture of my client, and they've told some very very interesting stories." "But I'm not here to paint any pictures and I'm not here to tell you any stories." "Because my client is not made of canvas, and my client is not made of paper." "He is made of flesh and blood." "And he has a heart and he has a soul." "And right now he has a future." "You have the power to change all of that, so what I need you to do is I need you to be strong, to feel with your heart, to feel with your soul and to do what's right." "Not what's popular, but what is good." "His life..." "His life is what's on the line here." "He's innocent." "You know it." "I know it." "Let's set him free." "Have you reached a verdict?" ""We, the jurors in the above-titled case, find the defendant Ramon Rios not guilty of murder in the first degree."" "Do you know if court's let out yet?" " You know what?" "I'm not sure." " All right, thank you." "Alberto, how are we doing, buddy?" "Doing all right?" " Doing fine, my friend." " Good good, man." "Good good." "How's the wife?" "How's the kids?" " Doing great, sir." " Awesome, man." "Justice prevails, as always, right?" "Mr. Stone?" "Mr. Stone." "My name is Megan Smith." "I work for K.T.A.C." "I was wondering if I could get an exclusive interview." " Megan Smith, absolutely." " After the miracle in there, you're sure to be at the top of everyone's list." " Ah ha, I don't..." " Do you have anything that you'd like to share with the viewers at home?" "Absolutely." "It's not about being on top of the list, it's not about a miracle." "It's about our justice system, setting a man free who was wrongly accused of a murder... is one of the greatest things in the world." "And tonight, a free man will get to go home and reunite with his daughter, and..." "Let me tell you something, that's an amazing feeling." "Go U.S.A., God bless America, and the right man won tonight." " I need to talk to you, Mr. Stone." " Excuse me." "Sir, if you don't get your hands off me, I'm calling security." " We're in the middle of an interview." " Hey hey, sir!" " Guard!" "Guard." " I have to talk to you." "Make sure you're getting this on camera." " Whatever the problem is..." " He was my son!" " Hey, please!" "Please, stop!" "Sir!" " He has a gun." "Shut up, girl." "Oh, you... no!" "Where are we?" "Where are we?" "Where are we going?" " No." "Let me go, let me go." " You stay over there." "Here's 75." " Wait a minute, I thought it was..." " 75." "I'll see you tomorrow." "I'm so sorry." "Just promise to get out of here, okay?" "If you get a chance, okay, just run." "Don't think about me in here." "Just run." "If you can get out of here, okay?" "Go." " I need water, please." " Shh, shh, shh." "Olivia, run!" "Go!" "Now!" "Run!" "Get out, Olivia!" "Don't hurt her!" "Okay, okay, okay, okay, okay." "You don't listen to her anymore." "Do you understand?" " Yes." " Please, she's only 12." "She's just 12." "She's just a baby." " Please." " Okay, now you just stay right there." "And you." "You'd better start praying to God right now, 'cause you're dealing with the devil." "Please don't hurt her." "I'll do whatever you want." "Please." "No, she's my family." "I'm your family." "I own you." " Every bit of you." " You own me?" " Now, do you love your little sister?" " Yeah." " Do you wanna see her get hurt?" " No, please, no." "All right, then you will do everything I say." "Okay." "Okay, okay." " I love her." " Be quiet, be quiet." "She'll be all right." " Please, Olivia, no." " Is that your name, Olivia?" " Do you love your sister?" " Yes." "You don't want to see her get hurt?" " No." " You will do everything I say." "Do you understand?" "If I tell you to be nice to somebody..." " Olivia, don't." " ..." "You'll be nice to 'em." "Remember." "You have to do everything I say... or I'll kill your sister." "No, don't listen to him." "It's okay." "Don't worry about me." "I'll be fine." "Oh God." "It's gonna be okay, Olivia." " What can I get ya?" " Uh, you know what?" "I would love some kind of a shot." "You look like..." "a Johnny Walker black." "Yeah?" "How's that?" "It's smooth... deep... and bold." "Not a lot of people can take it." "You see, that's definitely not me, because I'm clumsy, shallow and I can take just about anything." " Ryan?" " Huh?" "Sorry." "Are you Ryan?" "Why, are you looking for a Ryan?" " Yeah." " There's a guy that actually was sitting right there, his name might've been Ryan." "What's your name?" " Amanda." " Amanda, I am Jaxon Stone." "It's really nice to meet you." " To Ryan..." " Absolutely." " ...not being here." " To Ryan." "Here's my card." "Give me a call." "I'll be up all night." " Do you have a driver's license?" " Yep." "Ms. Torres, is this your correct address?" "Yeah." "It's my current address." "How much have you had to drink tonight?" "Well, I went in, like, a couple hours ago." "I had one drink." "I think you've had more than just one drink." "I smell alcohol very strongly on your breath." " Very strongly?" " Mm-hmm." " Officer Hill." " Jaxon Stone." "How are you, sir?" "...Help her out a little..." "Ms. Torres, looks like this is your lucky day." "Jaxon's going to buy you a cab to take you home." "You have a nice evening and be safe." "You know, drinking and driving can get you a year in prison, right?" " Thank you." " Probably shouldn't do that." "So if you're an attorney, can I ask you something?" " Well..." " I need my brother out of jail." " What's your brother in jail for?" " Murder." "He didn't do it." "I'm a good person, but it does take money." " We're talking 50, 75 grand." " I can find you $50,000." "I'll talk to your brother." "I'll talk to the prosecutor." "I'll find out some facts, and I'll see what I can do to help." "Don't worry about payment." " We'll figure something out." " That's not a problem." "My cab's here." "Would you like to take that, or..." "Yeah, 'cause I'm sick of hearing you talk." "Prisoner to the front." "Prisoner to the back." "Back up." "Thank you, sir." "Ah, Mr. Torres." "What's going on?" "I am Jaxon Stone and I am your attorney." "First of all, anything you tell me is covered under attorney-client privilege, meaning that nothing we talk about can go further than this room and it's not admissible in court." "Do you understand?" "Okay?" "Now let's start off with a few basics." "Um, what is your official birth name for the record?" "I didn't hire an attorney." "Okay, Mr. Torres, you don't know me, I don't know you, but let's come to some sort of agreement here, okay?" "I'm pleading guilty." "Your sister hired me to help you out, to keep the needle out of your arm." "I'm good." "That's what I do." "I need you to trust me." "Now..." "let's talk about the night of the murder." "Can you tell me exactly what happened?" "I killed a man with these hands." "If that's the case, we need to talk about a plea deal." "Can maybe get you 15..." "I don't know maybe even 12 years." "Are you listening?" " All right." " Hey, guard?" "I'm done." "I'm pleading guilty." "That's all you need to know." "Your brother's not telling me anything." "I mean, he's knows I'm here to help him, right?" "Sometimes he can be a little difficult." "Difficult I get." "Difficult I even understand." "But what I don't understand is why a guy that I'm trying to get out of jail is withholding crucial information." "I'm on his team." "Look, I don't know." "If he doesn't help me, I'm gonna have to dig up the information by myself and build a case without him." " Got it." " Let me tell both of you guys... we've got a lot of work ahead of us." "I mean, this is some serious shit." "You have to have a plan or something though, right?" "Yeah, of course I've got a plan." "We're gonna review the documentation." "I'm gonna talk to some people that know your brother, talk to some people that knew the victim, find out some information on the wife and we're gonna prepare for trial." "Okay, we're gonna get your brother out." "I'm here to help, okay?" "Maybe you can talk to him." "All right." "I should really head back." "I mean, you don't have to head back." "Why do you want to leave?" "Why don't you..." " Wanna just hang for a little bit?" " Look, I just..." "I just need some time to think, and you should really get to work, anyway, so..." "All right." "I'll talk to my brother." "I'll get you an update in a couple of days." "Okay." "That'll work." "Mr. Vincent De La Cruz is insisting on meeting with you today." "Yeah, thanks." "Gentlemen, come on in." "What's good?" "Mr. Stone, Mr. Vincent De La Cruz." " Mr. De La Cruz." " Salvadore." "Salvadore, you wanna pull up that chair?" "Okay, standing is fine." "What can I help you fine gentlemen with?" "I need an attorney for a civil case." "What... what kind of case are we talking about?" "I wanna sue a gun shop." " Okay." "For what?" " Negligence." "What kind of negligence?" "Recently, I lost a son, and he bought the gun from Mountain sport." "I'm sorry for the loss of your child." "I know that's tough, but I have to tell you... negligence is something that's very hard to prove." " My sources tell me that..." " Your sources?" "That's correct." "The owner of the gun shop is notorious for not following protocol." "Didn't follow the proper protocol?" "Well, he just sells guns straight out the back." "Okay, well, Mr. De La Cruz, why don't we get started with what exactly is it that you do for a living?" "I own a chain of jewelers." "You might've seen one down on Olympia." "Yeah, I'm familiar with one or two of those." "Are they both you guys?" "All right, well, um, I don't have to tell you then, you know there's a cost, obviously, to run a business, and that's what I'm doing here." "So, you know, a case like this could get really expensive and fast." "What do you estimate?" "I'd say 75 to 100 grand for a retainer." "I think we have a good case." "And that's just getting us started." "550 an hour is my billing rate." "So, just wanna let you know." "Can I borrow your pen?" "Yes, you can." "You can keep the pen." "I presume we can get started today." " Just like that?" " Just like that." "I don't like wasting people's time." "I don't like my time being wasted." "All right." "I think we can make this happen." "I've just got one more question." "A guy like you could obviously afford any attorney he wants." " Why me?" " Quite simple." "My sources tell me you're the best in this field." " Oh, I don't know about the best..." " I only hire the best." "I was just bumped up to felony division last month." " Lisa, congratulations." " Rios assigned it to me this morning." "You've never handled a first-degree murder case before." "Well, Jaxon, there's a first time for everything." "Are you sure that you wanna dance with me on this one?" "I think the real question here is, are you ready to put one in your "L" column?" " This is a clear-cut case." " Okay." "Let's talk about a deal." " 30." " 30?" "Whoa, whoa, you're dreaming." " 15." " I'll take your 15." "You've got a deal." "Jaxon." "Walter." "It's good to see you, buddy." "Listen, I need a huge favor, okay?" "I have a piece of paper to give you." "All right, all right, all right." "I'll call Kelly at the clerk of courts right away, see what I can do, okay?" "All right." "Thank you." "Mr. Stone, can we have a chat?" " I insist." " Okay, sir, but..." "Get in." "So where are you headed?" "I'm actually going to the courthouse right up the road, sir." "You got that, Salvadore?" "So where have you got to on my case?" "Well, sir, I was actually gonna have my assistant call you tomorrow." "You know, there's some information we need to find out like, uh..." "Well, maybe I'll make another appointment and bring you up to speed with all the details." "You're just probably overwhelmed the first time we met." "Yes sir, and I'm sorry about that." "You see, I'm trying a big murder case right now, and we've got a lot of other things going on." "You know how it is, just... my son's been murdered by his wife's lover." "Now I'm hearing that you intend to take the case and represent him." "Wait a minute." "Wait a minute, your son... are you trying to tell me that your son is Alberto Lopez?" "One step behind, aren't you, counselor?" "Okay, well, sir, then we've got a big problem, because I can't represent you and Ms. Torres at the same time." "You know that." "Well, a well-prepared man is always two steps ahead." "I think you should read this." "It might be of interest." " You're waiving conflict of interest." " Exactly." "Okay, well, you know what?" "Let's make this simple." "I don't accept." "Can you open the door for me please?" " Look, sir..." " No, you look, sir." "It's come to my attention that you plan on taking a plea for Torres and that is unacceptable." "What?" "I think you're still messed up with seeing Mr. Harper take his own life in front of you." "Okay, look, Mr. Harper has nothing to do with this." "And second, we are taking the plea, so let's just let things happen." "No." "He's interrupted my bloodline and that's unacceptable." "I wanna meet him in person." "Okay, so what, you want me to defend him, set him free and then what?" "Deliver him to you?" "Yeah, and I'll handle the rest." "Okay, and what if I refuse?" "What if I say no?" "If you refuse?" " I'm not a murderer." "Fuck no." " Well, that's easy." "Two choices... your law license or your life." "Now, Mr. Stone, let's get this straight." "We're both on the road to justice." "I suggest we try and meet in the middle." " What do you say?" "Huh?" " Do I have a choice?" "Salvadore, open the door." "We're done here." "Your file, sir." "State of California versus Torres." "Lisa Thomas, assistant state attorney, appears on behalf of the state of California." "Thank you, counselor." "Mr. Torres, do you speak English?" "When you're asked a question in my courtroom, the response is "yes sir,"" "or "no sir," or "yes, your honor" or "no, your honor."" " Understood?" " Yes sir." "I speak English." "Did you hire a lawyer, or do we need to appoint one for you?" "I..." "I thought I had one, sir." "You can appoint me." "You are charged with murder in the first degree and sexual assault." "Not guilty on all counts, your honor." "And, uh, if I could have it noted for the record, we are planning on requesting a trial by jury." " Nice to see you, Mr. Stone." " It's my pleasure, your honor." "You represent Mr. Torres?" " Yes, your honor, I do." " Excellent." "What are you doing?" "I thought we had a deal." "We did have a deal, but I had time to think about it and you know what they say," ""if the glove doesn't fit..."" "What the hell are you doing here?" "Just look forward, okay?" "Trust me." "The longer we hold out, the better deal you get." "Based on the allegations contained in the arrest affidavit, and the fact that the defendant resides near the alleged victim and has ties in other states and other countries, the court denies bail and sets this matter for a pre-trial hearing." "The court clerk will notify you of the date." " Oh, and Mr. Stone." " Yes, your honor?" " I expect you to show up on time." " I apologize." "I'll be in touch, okay?" "Jesus fucking Christ, Jax!" "I could've fucking killed you, man." "Come on, you know better than to just bust the fuck in here." " You alone?" " Yes, I'm fucking alone, man." "God, you need to watch where you point that gun." "Fuck." " You want a drink?" " No, man, I'm good." "Oh, glad you got your head finally screwed on, huh?" " Yeah." " What the fuck are you doing over this side of town?" "I haven't seen you in months, man." "I need some background work done." " Not a problem." "Who's the mark?" " His name is Vincent De La Cruz." "This is the check he gave me." "It's got all the account numbers on there." " This is gonna help." " Think you can find something?" "Come on, Jax, remember who you're talking to, okay?" "With this kind of shit, I can access anyone's fucking life." "It's all electronic now, man." "You just gotta know where to look." "Okay, let's cast out that fucking net and reel the shit in, right?" " Look at this." " What am I looking at?" "Right here... multiple large fucking transactions." "All of the same amount." "It's bullshit." "Look at this." "All recipients are ghosts, just like the companies." "They don't exist, either domestically or internationally." " Okay." "And you know that for a fact?" " It's right there, man." " Okay." "Okay." "That's a good start." " Uh-huh." " Do me one more favor, okay?" " Uh-huh." "Selena Lopez." "She is the key witness for the prosecution." "I need to find out some information on her before she hits the stand." " You hear me?" " I'll get it." "I can't talk to her myself, man, so if you can do this, this would be huge." " You got it." " Thank you, sir." " I'll call you." " Perfect." " Hey, Stone." " Yeah?" "Be fucking careful, okay?" "Yeah." "You need to lay off the whiskey too, all right?" "Cheers." "Okay, so, what we have here is we have a full print and a partial print." "Full print meaning 100% partial print meaning..." "I don't know, somewhere around 10 to 15%." "Now, don't get me wrong." "I've won a case before with a full print." "But in that situation, I had the client's help." "And in yours, your brother's not helping me." "Okay, so what we need to do is we need to find a way to..." "I don't know... place someone else at the crime during the time of the murder." "Okay, so I need you to tell me what you know" " about Alberto Lopez." " Nothing." "Nothing?" " No?" " No, I mean, I've seen him around." "He kept to himself." "We didn't really talk that much." "Okay, well, what about the wife?" "You know anything about her?" "You guys ever..." "I don't know..." "have dinner, lunch, breakfast?" " No, same thing." " Okay, so you've never met her?" "No, I mean, I met her." "I saw her, but we didn't..." "Talk." "I mean, we're not friends." "Okay, so you weren't friends." "You were more like acquaintances." " Right?" " Yeah." "Okay." "Sure." "Okay." "On to the next thing." "Back to work." "So what we're getting ready to look at is actual photos." "Beware, they are gruesome." "Prosecution, call your first witness." "Your honor, the state calls officer Tucker to the stand." "Do you swear to speak the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God?" "I do." "Can you introduce yourself to the jury?" "I'm officer Byron Tucker." "I am an officer with the Los Angeles police department." "Now, officer Tucker, on February 13th, you were called to 1155 tenth street, the scene of an alleged rape and homicide." "And when you arrived, did you make contact with anyone?" "Yes, there was a deceased adult male and a distressed adult female." "Did you ascertain the identity of these individuals?" "The female was Selena Lopez, and the male was Alberto Lopez." "Can you describe Mrs. Lopez's demeanor?" "The female was wrapped in a blanket, laying in the fetal position on her couch." " Was she injured?" " She had bruising on her face, which appeared recent." "She was very upset as well." "Did you speak with this Mrs. Lopez?" "Yes, the victim said that her neighbor Juan broke into her place, physically assaulted her, raped her, stole her wallet, her rings, and shot her husband when he caught him raping her." "Thank you." "No further questions." "Your witness, Mr. Stone." "Officer Tucker, you did not process" " the alleged crime scene, did you?" " No." "So it's safe to say that you are not an investigator, are you, officer Tucker?" "No." "Well, what about the bruising you said you saw?" "Do you know exactly when that happened?" " They were recent." " Officer, that is not what I asked you." "I said, do you know exactly when that happened?" " An exact time?" "No." " Well, what about some pictures?" "Do you have pictures of these so-called bruises that the jury can see?" "Pictures?" "I didn't take any pictures." "You didn't take any pictures of the bruises." "Okay." "Well, what about the alleged point of entry?" "Obviously, you took pictures of those, correct?" " No." " You were the first law enforcement agent to arrive on the scene at the first point in time after the alleged crime." "Yet you're telling me that these fine people here have no evidence other than your word so they can make their decision." " Is that correct?" " Yeah, I..." "I guess so." "Officer Tucker, do you believe that the truth today" " is the same that it was yesterday?" " Objection." "Badgering." " Sustained." " Officer Tucker, you did write a report in this case, right?" "I see that you have it in front of you." "Can you do me a favor?" "Can you look at it and..." "Find the place where you talked about the bruises?" "It's not there." "Are you sure it's not there?" "You wanna take another look?" " It's not there." " Is it not there because it disappeared, or is it not there because it never existed?" " Sergeant Smith..." " Sergeant Smith is not here," "Sergeant Smith is not on the stand, and Sergeant Smith was not there when you saw what you said you did." "Officer Tucker, I wanna ask you one final question." "Were you suspended for falsifying evidence during your training?" " Hey, wait a minute... that's sealed!" " Objection." "Your honor, officer Tucker is not the one on trial here." "I request that the jury disregard that last question." "This objection is overruled, Ms. Thomas." "You sponsored this witness." "You should have known his professional background." "Mr. Stone, you may ask your question again." "Thank you, your honor." "I'd like to ask you one more time, officer Tucker." "Did you get suspended for falsifying evidence during training?" "Yes." "Can you say that a little louder, please, so the jury can hear you?" " Yes." " "Yes." "Yes."" "No further questions, your honor." "I'm probably completely making an ass out of myself right now." "Maybe I am a little drunk." "I think it's really, really cool too, that you can be as calm and relaxed as you are, especially in the situation you're in." "I admire that." "I'm being serious." "You see, that's what's crazy about life." "I mean, life, luck, everything... it just..." "The guys that are trying to do the right thing are catching the shaft." "The guys that are doing the wrong thing are getting away with it." "It's luck." "You know what?" "You can have the best luck in the world, or you can have the worst." "And it seems like the guys that are trying hard and you try to do things... you know, that's when your luck's at its absolute worst." "It's that bad luck that just keeps following you around over and over and over, and you keep pushing and pushing and pushing." "It just... life..." "life keeps knocking you down." "It sucks." "It's bad luck." "Bad luck." "Bad luck." "Fuck it, let's just get drunk." "God damn." "You are very sexy." "You see that pool?" "We can go swim." "Hey, Jaxon, it's Walter calling." "Listen, I got that discovery file you asked about." "I'm gonna leave it in my mailbox..." "12-m." "I really got to get out of town." "It's about the Torres case." "All right, I'm gonna leave the key under my mat." "Just go there and pick it up." "Call me if you have any questions." "All right." "Law offices of Jaxon Stone." "This is Vanessa." "How may I assist you?" "Hey, Vanessa, can you do me a favor?" "Cancel all my clients for the day." "Okay?" " Okay." " 'Cause I'm gonna be incognito." " I'm playing hooky." " I'll take care of it." "All right, thanks." "Bye." "Now I hear you have a friend that's a lawyer." "I haven't said anything." " What was that?" " I haven't said anything." "You'd better not have." " You got something for me?" " Sorry to keep you waiting, man." "I just had to make sure I got everything straight." " No worries." " First things first, man." " There's no Selena before 2001." " What do you mean "no Selena"?" "There's no birth certificate." "There's no social." "There's no driver's license." "No bank accounts." "There's nothing before she married Lopez." "Check out the folder, man." "A picture of Lopez in there two days before he died... with another woman." "That look like a happily-married man to you?" "That's not all, man." "I've been doing some digging around on the fake companies De La Cruz has been giving money to." "It turns out there's this little souvenir shop right outside of T.J., on the border... been on the C.I.A.'S radar now for a while for both drug and human trafficking." " God." " Spoke to my guy in T.J., he said it's fucking ugly, Stone." "I mean real fucking ugly." "They've been going to these border towns, getting these poor girls, tellin' their parents they'll give them an advance on the work they'll do in these textile factories." "Same bullshit, man, as always." "Then they smuggle 'em across the fucking border." "This is not a small operation, man." "My guy told me they got everyone from border patrol to fucking government officials in their pocket." "We gotta take this motherfucker down, man." "How can we take this dude down?" " No way." " We got to, man." "Look, seriously..." "Okay, we've been friends awhile, but no fucking way." "This is a bad fucking idea." "It's a big no." "Listen to me, man." "There is no other way, okay?" " Trust me." " They will kill you dead, Stone." "This is not a fucking game." "All right." "Now, let's just make this easy on us." "Especially on you, all right?" "Don't try to run and definitely don't try to scream." "We've just got a couple of questions to ask you." "Okay?" "Okay?" "Let's go." "How quickly they grow up." "Come on." "Come on." "Come on." "I don't think he's gonna like this one bit." "I really don't give a damn." "Listen to me." "Your bravery is misplaced, and it really turns me on." "Now I'd hate to be the one to have to cut that gorgeous body into little pieces." "You're gonna be a good playdate for somebody." "Yeah, Spike knows." "He might even fall in love with ya." "But I doubt it." "You a dirty thing." "Get all that sludge off of you." "Yeah." "You've got the wrong fucking guy." " I'm sending you to hell." " Fuck going to hell." "How's that?" "You want to fuck with us?" "I didn't fuck with anybody." "You've got the wrong..." "Up." "Up." "Up, up, up, up." "Yeah, yeah, yeah." "Fuck you." "You know who you were playing with, huh?" "!" " Yeah?" " Boss." "The jewelry needs cleaning." "Which one?" "Hmm?" "The other diamond." "There's a blemish." "I can't seem to clean it." "Can it be fixed?" "I've tried." " Any hope for repair?" " I think it's a permanent stain." " Take care of it." " Understood." "You think you're in a bad spot now?" "Gonna get worse." "Who have you been talking to?" "Think we're playing games?" "Wanna mess my day up?" "Eh?" "!" "Who have you been talking to?" "Who you been talking to?" "!" " No." " You know the payment for protection." " No." " It's time to ante up." "I don't need your protection." "Please, don't!" "She didn't do anything to you." "Who's going to protect you?" "She looks so sweet." "Give me some of that candy." "No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no." "Hey!" "Hey!" " So you check your messages, huh?" " Yeah, I came as soon as I could." "You know, this is not working." "This is not gonna work." " You're lying to me." " I never lied." "You don't know the Lopezes." "You just met 'em once, right?" "I just spent two hours digging for information, trying to do you a favor." " Now, stop playing games." " Don't talk to me like that." "I need to get back to work." "I'll defend your brother." "I'll do my job." "There's a lot of things you don't understand." "Just..." "I want you out of here now, please." "Detective Pritchard." "Did you make contact with an individual named Juan Torres?" "Yes, I did." "Where was he when you made contact?" "Well, based on the victim's identification of the perpetrator," "Sergeant Smith and myself traveled to 1148 Pierce Street." "While at that location, we made contact with an individual who identified himself as Juan Torres." "Do you see that person in the courtroom today?" "Yes, I do." "Can you please identify him for the record?" "He is the individual seated at the table next to counsel wearing dark pants and with dark hair." "Your honor, let the record reflect that the Sergeant has pointed out the defendant." "It will so reflect." "Sergeant, when you contacted the defendant, did you search" " his person and his residence?" " Yes, I did." "And before you made contact with the defendant, did the victim, Mrs. Lopez, identify any missing items that were forcibly removed from her home?" "Yes, it was reported to us by the victim that a number of items had been taken... a couple of rings, a knife and a wallet... the knife, more specifically, being the knife that was held to her" "during the time of the crime." "That was taken as well." "And did you ever recover any of these items?" "Yes, I did." "Upon searching him, I found two rings and a pocket knife, both of which were consistent with the victim's statement as to what was taken." "And upon searching the defendant's bedroom, we found a wallet." "The contents of this wallet contained the victim's personal identification." "So it was at that time that we placed him under arrest and transported him to the law enforcement center." "Thank you." "No further questions." " Your witness, Mr. Stone." " Thank you, your honor." "Sergeant Pritchard." "Would you say that it is your responsibility to do a thorough and complete job of every investigation?" "Yes, of course." "I always do." "And you always do." "You see, that's what I'm interested in." "I..." "I'm interested in how you do such an incredible job and such a complete job." "What I'm really interested in is your theory on how my client made it through the alleged point of entry, especially considering that alleged point of entry was a 9x16 hole next to a window with an air conditioning unit in it." "Now, Detective Pritchard, was that air conditioning unit still in the window when you arrived?" " Yes, it was." " It was." "And, um, had anyone called and, you know, complained and said the air conditioner had been stolen or maybe removed?" " Not to the best of my knowledge, no." " Not to the best of your knowledge, no." "Okay, so it's your theory that my client... a six-foot, 225-lb grown man... fit through a 9x16 hole." "Now how do you think that's possible?" "What do you mean?" "He crawled through it." "He crawled through it." "That's really, really interesting, 'cause... this is a 9x16 hole." "And as you can see, it is physically impossible..." " For my client..." " Objection, your honor." "This exhibit was not introduced to the state in discovery or properly introduced." " It's inappropriate." " Your honor, please, please," " if I could just speak..." " No." "Objection sustained." "No further questions, your honor." "Dear God." "Law offices of Jaxon Stone." "This is Vanessa." "How may I assist you?" "Hey, it's me." "Listen, um..." "Hang on a minute." "Can you hear me?" " I'm in an elevator." "I'm losing service." " Mm-hmm." "Look, I need a huge favor." "I need you to find out what hospital" "Selena Lopez went to and what doctor she saw, okay?" "We need to get ahold of this rape kit." "I am getting my ass kicked right now, and if we don't do something, I'm gonna lose this fucking trial." "All right, um, give me a few minutes." "I will see what I can dig up, all right?" "Whatever you can do, okay?" "You can call anybody." " Just figure something out, okay?" " Yes, sir." "Look what the cat drags in." "Yeah, get over here." "What's going on, man?" "I thought our terms were clear, but obviously they're not." "All right, look, I'm withdrawing, okay?" "I'm not his attorney anymore, and this shit's over with, okay?" " You need to leave their family alone." " This is non-negotiable." "What do you mean, "non-negotiable"?" "Let me tell you what is negotiable." "What if I go to the feds and tell them all about your little operation?" "Can we negotiate then, or do you wanna negotiate now?" "I'll negotiate now." "I suggest that you'd better do what you're good at" " and get this fucker off!" " Okay." "'Cause I don't think you can fly, motherfucker." "We'll let ourselves out." "Fuck!" "What's going on?" "So what's going on?" "Why are you here?" "If you answer one question for me, then I'll answer whatever you ask." "Okay, shoot, ask the question." " What happened?" " What do you mean, "what happened?"" ""What happened?" Is a very vague question." "Who was that guy who shot himself on TV?" "That guy..." "That guy was Tom Harper, okay?" "And my client Raymond Ramos killed his wife and his son." "And you want me to tell you the worst part of all of it?" "I knew he did it." "I knew he was guilty." "I fucking knew he was guilty since the first day I met him." "You know why?" "He confessed to me." "But hey, you know what I was interested in?" "I wanted to fucking win." "I wanted the money." "You know why?" "'Cause I'm a goddamn winner!" "That's why I'm here right now!" "I win!" "And you know what?" "I might as well have sold my fucking soul that day too, 'cause that guy might be alive right now." "But hey, you know what?" "That's life." "Let's take a fucking shot to it." "Now, what do you have to say?" "There's my confession." "Please, I need you to tell me what's going on." "If you tell me, I can help you." "If you don't tell me, I can't do anything." "Okay?" "This entire thing with you and your brother... it doesn't make sense." "It hasn't made sense." "Like, he tells me one thing, you tell me something else." "You guys are hiding something, and if you don't come clean, I can't help you." "Now, do I look like a toy?" "Do I look like something you just fucking sit on the ground and play with?" "I'm not a fucking toy." "Now please, God, tell me what's going on." "De la Cruz." "Bitch, get in the car." "Fuck." "No." "I don't know." "I don't know." "Let me go." "Please let me go." "Please let me go." "We can stop this." "Please." "No no." "No!" "This is Melissa Applegate, reporting live from downtown Los Angeles." "According to a statement released by police chief Rob Green," "Metcalf was due to return from vacation to try several cases in both criminal and the civil courts." "Authorities were notified when the normally... prompt defense attorney failed to report to a pre-trial hearing." "Authorities are asking anybody with any information to contact the number on the screen." "This is Melissa Applegate." "Detective Pritchard." "I can come in 45 minutes." "Text me the address." "I'll be there." "That's page one." "That's how he looked last night." "Page two." "That's how he looked this morning." " Give me something." " Give you what?" "Give me something that helps me get to De La Cruz." "You know, in the real world all of us can't wear a gun and hide behind a badge, you know?" " Let me help you, Stone." " You can't help me." "Maybe I can get to him before he gets to you." "I think that sounds like a pretty sweet deal." "I'm a dead man walking." " You Jake?" " You a cop?" " No, I'm not." " How would I know if you are?" "Why would I be here if I was a fucking cop?" " Come on, man." " What, are you looking for trouble?" "I don't wanna cause any problems." "I'm here to handle some problems." "I'm looking to solve my own trouble." "Well, that's too bad, 'cause I got plenty of trouble." "It just depends." "I got big trouble." "Something smaller." " Something like this?" " Anything with a little less flash?" "But if I was a suggestion man, which oftentimes I am..." "I'd say this is something you're looking for." "De la Cruz says do your fucking job, or you end up like your friend." "Now I know this is hard, Mrs. Lopez, but please, can you tell the jury what you were doing before you were attacked?" "I was sleeping, and I woke up, and he had a knife to my throat." "I screamed..." "But he didn't stop." "It's okay." "You're doing good." "He told me if I screamed, that he would kill me." "And what happened next?" "I told him, "please don't kill me." "I don't wanna die."" " And what did he do?" " He took off my clothes." "It's okay." "He can't hurt you." "No further questions." "Court will recess for lunch." "When we return, we will resume with your cross-examination of this witness, Mr. Stone." "Oh, for the love of God, please tell me you got something." "Am I the best or am I the best?" "Hey, you are the best." "Now tell me, what am I looking at here?" "The smoking gun." "The silver bullet." "The nail in the coffin." "Or actually, it's more like the crowbar that pulls the nails out of the coffin." "Okay okay, I get it, I get it, I get it." "What exactly am I looking at?" "Incident report, rape kit, hospital records... it's all right there." "You are the best." "No trauma." "Perfect." "Thank you so much." " Hello?" " Mr. Stone." "To ensure that you fulfill your obligations," "I decided to provide you with a little motivation." "When the verdict is read, proceed to your residence with Mr. Torres." "If any law enforcement is involved, your precious friend here will suffer the consequences." "When will you get a conscience and start doing the right thing?" "Not now, Sergeant Pritchard." "Please." " Not now, huh?" " Not now!" " Did you not hear me?" " Oh, I heard you." "Boy, hope that day comes soon." "Sergeant Pritchard." "Yeah?" "326 Market Street." " You may proceed, Mr. Stone." " Thank you, your honor." "Mrs. Lopez, were there any cuts found on you the night of the murder?" "I don't remember." "Okay." "There was no blood that was found in the bed either." "Now if you had been cut, or he put a knife up to your throat, wouldn't there be some blood that was found in the bed, Mrs. Lopez?" "How is it that if he put the knife up to your throat, and it didn't scratch you, it didn't cut you," " how is it that you woke up?" " I'm a light sleeper." "So you expect this jury to believe that you're such a light sleeper that you slept through an intruder trying to break in to your home, but when a guy gets close to you, puts a knife up to your throat that doesn't cause a scratch," "that doesn't draw any blood or anything you just woke up?" " Where was your wallet, Mrs. Lopez?" " I don't remember." "What about your jewelry?" "Your rings?" "Your earrings?" "I don't remember." "Then why is it that he only took..." "one diamond earring?" "With all that jewelry, all that money, why not take more?" " I don't know." " Let's talk about the rape kit." "Why weren't there any signs of trauma found on the rape kit?" "I don't know." "It sounds to me like a story... from a woman without a way out." "Mrs. Lopez..." "It's gotta be tough to stay that strong." "It's gotta be tough to wake up every morning and to lie to yourself, to tell yourself that it's gonna be okay, things are gonna be all right." "The truth is, Mrs. Lopez, your husband beat on you." "Your husband physically and mentally abused you over and over and over again." "And every day you woke up, you took it." " Am I correct?" " No." "So your husband never laid a hand on you?" " He never physically abused you?" " Never." "Did your husband physically abuse you?" "Never." "I'd like to present to the court exhibit 4." "Mrs. Lopez, is it true that on June 22nd at 9:23 p.m. you called 911, and you said that your husband had assaulted you... hit you in the head, kicked you in the stomach and used deadly force?" " That's not true." " Your husband beat you." "He abused you." "He raped you over and over." "He went in night after night and you had no choice but to give it to him!" "You killed your husband." "You were trying to protect yourself." "It's okay, you don't have to fight it anymore." "You did what you had to do." "And now you have to do something else, you have to tell the truth." "You have to, so my client... so my client can be free." "And so the world can know that justice..." "That justice was served here today." "Please, tell the truth." "You killed Alberto Lopez." "No, that's wrong!" "Okay, that's not the truth." "I did it!" "I did it!" "I fuckin' raped her!" "I fucking killed him!" "I fucking killed him!" "I fucking killed him!" " Order!" " I killed him!" "I did it, okay?" "I fucking killed him and I'd do it again!" "No further questions, your honor." "Hey." "Hi." "You got everything packed?" "I don't know if we should do this." " Well, do you trust me?" "Okay?" " But you don't know him." "You're with me." " When is he coming home?" " Tomorrow morning." " I love you." " Love you too." "Alberto!" " "Alberto" what, bitch?" " It's not what you think!" "You're sucking somebody else's dick in my bed." "What the fuck do you think I'm supposed to think, huh?" "The fuck are you gonna do, motherfucker?" "Get up." "Get up, motherfucker." " Please, please, I beg of you." " You stupid fucking bitch." "Fuckin' bitch!" " Die, motherfucker!" " Alberto!" " I'm not your property." " You gonna shoot me, bitch?" "I'm not your property." " I'm not your property!" " Come here." "Come here." "I'm not your property!" "It's over, okay?" "Now I need you to do everything that I tell you to do, okay?" " Okay?" " Okay, baby." "You got it?" "God, I love you." " I love you too." " I love you." "Has the jury reached a verdict?" "Yes, we have, your honor." "The bailiff will take the verdict." "What say the jury?" ""In the case of the people of the state of California versus Torres, on count one, the charge of rape, we, the jury, find the defendant" "Juan Torres not guilty." "On count two, for the charge of murder in the first degree, we, the jury, find the defendant Juan Torres not guilty."" "Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I want to thank you for your very hard and diligent work." "We appreciate it." "Mr. Torres... you are free." "This proceeding is ended." "Tharseo." "Hey, Jaxon, glad I got you, man." "You headed to the house?" "Yeah." "And Torres?" "Yeah, he's... he's being released anytime." "Okay, good, looks like everything's going to plan." "Hey, did you get that stuff we talked about?" "Hey, look, man, you sure you wanna go through with this?" "No other way?" "I don't see any other way, man." "You have a better plan?" "See, I didn't think so." "I don't do this, they kill her." "What choice do I have, okay?" "Hey, look, Stone, be careful out there, okay?" "The feds have been trying put something on this De La Cruz for some time now." "I mean, they just can't get anything to stick on this fucker, that's all." "Okay." "Look, if for some reason I don't, y'know, I don't come out of this..." "Hey, listen, man, you will." "Okay?" "I need you to get an envelope ready for Lisa Thomas." "I need you to put the things we talked about in that envelope and make sure it gets to her safely." "Can you do that?" " Will do, man." " Okay." " I'll see you soon." " All right, later." "You sure you wanna do this?" " Do we have a choice?" " Does anybody have a choice?" "Let's do it." "Look at me." "Shh!" "Shut the fuck up, bitch." " You think you can fu..." " Hey!" "You guys have a chance to walk away..." " Screw you." " ...and leave this alone." "This doesn't have to happen, okay?" "Look." "It's not too late." "Please, please listen to me." " We can work something out!" " Look who's here, bitch." "Look, it doesn't have to end like this, okay?" "It's not too late." "Okay, look." "I brought you what you wanted, so nobody's gotta die tonight." "You let her go, okay?" "I'm sorry." "You're fucking wrong, counselor." "I promise you someone will die today." "We'll make it interesting for you:" "You get to choose." "This fucking bitch or this piece of shit." " Choose." " You want to float?" "Can you float?" "Oh no, baby?" "How about if I try to do this?" "You can't." "Well, try it then." "Get over here." "Get on your fucking knees." " Fuck you." " You motherfucker." "I'll blow you to fucking hell." "Eh?" "Look, I'm going to do this." " Choose!" " You motherfucking piece of shit." "Hey, asshole." "Remember this pen?" "Come and get it." "How about this one?" "Get him." "Does this hurt?" "Get up!" "Pick this motherfucker up." "You got no more pistol, do you?" " Get over there." " Come over here, you asshole." "You want to play?" "Huh?" "I'm going to fucking show you who is the man." "Here you go." "How about I going to..." "Oh my God, no." "You need your ears?" "I'm going..." "Clean this shit up." "Piece of shit." "Lawyer my ass." "Whoa, whoa, stop!" "Let her go." "You want her to die?" "It's up to you." "Don't be stupid." "You got two choices: you can walk out of here or in a body bag." "Your choice." "Let her go." "Tat, come on." "Don't be fucking stupid." "Drop it." "On your knees." "Slowly." "Hands behind your head and lock your fingers." " Clear?" " Clear!" "Hands behind your back." "Oh, man." "Up." "It's over." "This way." "This is for you." "What is it?" "He hid it here for you." "Also... we received a recording of De La Cruz shooting your brother." "Where's Selena?" "Witness Protection." "Do you wanna join her?" "No." "I'll be fine." "Good luck." "...Over at 60 First Avenue." "Six-zero First Avenue." "Received a complaint in apartment 18-C, like in Charlie." "18-C."