Ladies, what's going on?
Y'all are looking real good.
That's one of ours, right?
( music continues ) Oh, look who's here.
How are you, hey.
Man, wait, wait, wait!
Slow down, man!
This a no-wake zone!
Come on, what's wrong?
Are you crazy? Slow down!
It's a no-wake zone! Slow down!
You gonna hurt somebody one of these days.
Idiots, man.
Can't have nothing nice these days.
You know what I'm saying?
Oye, Stevie.
Not too close to the water, okay, Honey?
All right, Mom.
okay, Honey?
All right, Mom.
More champagne?
It's a party, man.
( automatic gunfire ) Stevie!
Yo, is anybody a'ight?
STEVIE: Mom?
Horatio?
Yeah?
The name of our vic is Jennifer Valdez, 26.
She was a guest of the owner of the house, a Dennis De Labeque, a.k.a. "Deuce Deuce."
Awful lot of guests at this party, Frank.
Well. Mr. De Labeque is an entrepreneur.
He got famous producing parties in South Beach for movie stars and pro athletes.
He was hosting his own party today to launch his new fashion line.
Anyone see anything?
Uh, yeah.
Possibly two suspects.
A driver and a shooter, but you know how that goes.
Everybody runs for cover...
So, no hard IDs.
What about the owner?
Well, Mr. De Labeque is only saying that the gunfire came from the bayside from a passing cigarette boat.
CAINE: Okay, but that's a whole lot of gunfire to kill one woman though.
Well, it's unlikely our victim was the target.
Not from that distance either.
So that means the shooter was aiming at the whole party, and not the individual.
Which basically means we've got a drive-by.
A drive-by... Miami style.
♪ Yeah! ♪
Captioning sponsored by CBS, C.S.I. PRODUCTIONS
♪ We don't get fooled again ♪ ♪ Don't get fooled again ♪ ♪ No, no! ♪
( camera shutter clicking ) Looks like she was killed by a single gunshot.
Got an exit wound.
Through-and-through.
DUQUESNE: Broken glass, multiple bullet strikes, sporadic gunfire.
Sporadic is right.
Guy didn't care who he hit.
( automatic gunfire ) Stevie!
He's going to care.
He bought himself a murder charge.
All right, I'm going to go find that through-and-through.
Amen.
Mr. De Labeque, do you have any enemies?
Make a list.
Lot of haters out there, they don't like to see a brother that's doing good.
TRIPP: Any of these "haters" ever threaten you?
Come on, man, I stay in the positive, a'ight.
Unfortunately, Jennifer Valdez doesn't have that luxury anymore, does she?
You know what's killing me about Jennifer?
What's that?
It's that she got dealt a bad hand.
But now it all falls on Stevie.
Who is Stevie?
It's her little shorty, man.
Excuse me, gentlemen.
Stevie, my name's Horatio Caine and I was wondering how you're doing?
Okay.
All righty.
Um, I want to get you a ride home, but I don't know if you have a relative in the area, do you?
All right, I'll work on that.
Did you, Stevie, see the man who did the shooting?
No?
Okay, all right, partner.
I'll, um, I'll go see about that ride, okay?
He had a black gun.
Stevie?
Do you think you could come with me and take a look at some pictures?
Will they put the siren on?
You want the siren?
Okay, I'm going to tell them that Stevie wants the siren.
All right.
Okay, pal.
H.
Yeah?
Coast Guard just spotted our cigarette boat headed out towards open water just past Key Biscayne.
Okay, get Frank and go.
♪ ♪
Vessel off our port bow.
Heave to and be prepared to be boarded.
Why you coming at me all hard for, man?
Huh? What, no, no, no.
Like I'm a criminal or something, dawg.
Aside from the fact that you have no registration for that boat, it was involved in a shooting over by Star Island today.
What? Man, I ain't blast nobody.
Driving a boat that was used in a murder?
Doesn't make much difference if you pulled the trigger or not, does it?
I found that boat, like, a half hour ago, man.
It was sitting there running.
I took it for a ride.
Where was it just sitting?
I ain't going to do your job for no One Time.
All right.
Suit yourself, Eight Mile.
Turn around.
Whatever, man.
Officer.
He'll give it up eventually.
Doesn't really matter.
We've got his boat.
I thought I was going to look at pictures of a gun.
Well, you know, sometimes, Stevie, when somebody is very scared, all they see is the gun.
But if they think really hard, they can see the face behind the gun.
Okay.
I shouldn't have been so close to the water.
Stevie.
This is not your fault.
That's not why this happened.
You get that?
Okay.
You continue to look at the pictures.
I'll be back.
♪ ♪
TRIPP: Hey, Delko?
Get anything?
Couple of partials.
Might give us one of our suspects.
Somebody was getting busy.
Must be 30 cartridges down there.
Yeah, it's all nine mil.
Guy thought he was Tony Montana.
There's no gun on board, so I'm thinking he dumped it somewhere in the Bay.
Hey, Delko, take a look at this.
Two bullet strikes on the outside.
Maybe someone from the party.
House full of urbanites, you know, probably all packing.
What, am I wrong?
Easy, big fella, all right?
Well, somebody took a couple pops at this boat.
It's got to be somebody from the party.
Well, the question is, were they returning fire, or initiating it?
Hold on a second, man.
So wait, I get shot at, but yet I'm treated like a suspect?
Someone from your party, Dennis, shot at the boat.
Lieutenant.
That is gun shot residue.
Who, Dennis, were you shooting at?
I was defending myself.
So they shot first?
Of course they shot first.
But if a punk busts off on me, you better believe I'm going to bust back.
( music playing ) ( people screaming )
Dennis, you're holding out on me.
You know who did the drive-by, don't you?
Look, man, I handle my own business, all right?
Our victim just made this my business.
If I get caught up in a murder trial, that means I got to testify.
I got a clothing line now.
I got housewares.
You don't see Calvin Klein caught up in no Star Island murder.
It's bad for business, man.
I suggest that you start thinking about what's best for this little boy.
So who am I looking for?
( sighs ) He's an old partner of mine from back in the day.
We used to produce parties and stuff together, you know, trying to out-puff Puffy.
What's his name?
Byron Middlebrook.
Calls himself "B. Slick."
I need B. Slick's address, and I need your gun.
Stevie?
It's him.
Are you okay, partner?
Yes.
Are you sure?
Stevie...
I'm sorry.
There's no need to apologize.
Is he going to get me, too?
Stevie, he is never going to hurt you again.
Okay?
All right.
That's Detective Salas.
You're going to go with her and get cleaned up, and I'll talk to you later.
Okay.
All right.
He can make an ID?
Yes, but I'd like to keep it between you and I for the time being, if you don't mind.
Okay?
All right.
I'll be back, partner.
Hey.
The boat thief?
Vanilla Ice?
Threatened to throw his ass in a holding tank with real gangsters.
He folded like it was laundry day.
Where'd he get the boat?
Virginia Key.
Delko and I are headed over there right now.
How 'bout you?
I am going to go get the shooter.
Where you goin'?
Wow, hey.
MIDDLEBROOK: There we go. It's all good.
Byron Middlebrook.
You are under arrest, my friend.
You got the wrong guy, man.
That's not what You got the wrong guy, man.
That's not what your ex-partner Deuce Deuce says.
Why you believe what he's sayin'?
Because he's the one that's talking.
♪ ♪
Horatio, I caught your case.
Byron Middlebrook, a.k.a. "B. Slick,"
is going in propria persona.
He's defending himself?
Yeah. I'd say he has a fool for a client, except for the fact that he spent three years behind bars.
In the law library, right, Don?
Well, he knows enough to ask for arraignment, prelim and bail all in one hearing.
So the clock is ticking.
Whether we have our evidence ready or not.
Don, my witness will be there.
HAFFMAN: Mr. De Labeque, can you identify the man who shot at Jennifer Valdez?
Is he in the courtroom?
Yes, he is.
He's right there.
HAFFMAN: Let the record reflect that the witness identified the defendant, Byron Middlebrook.
No further questions.
Cross?
Thank you, Your Honor.
Mr. Middlebrook, I caution you one more time against defending yourself.
Are you sure you want to continue without an attorney?
Judge... I done spent more time in courtrooms than this here legal secretary you assigned to baby-sit me.
I'm an attorney with the Public Defender's Office.
Ms. Reynoso is not baby-sitting.
She is assisting you in court procedure.
That's all good, Judge.
So, uh, procedurally, I got no questions for this...
witness... today.
If there's no affirmative defense, I'm holding you to answer for the murder count.
Bail is set at $500,000.
The defendant will post said bail forthwith.
JUDGE: The witness may step down.
Hey, fool, I'll see your sorry ass at trial.
You see me right now.
Punk, what you wanna do?
You talkin' all that smack.
Mr. De Labeque, take a seat outside in the hall.
You need to control your witness.
Yeah, you need to control your punk-ass snitch.
Man, I got your...
JUDGE: Mr. De Labeque.
Bailiff, take the witness into custody.
I'm holding you in contempt.
Three days in County lockup.
Dennis, you need to stay calm now.
Okay?
DE LABEQUE: Man, this is bogus.
You're locking me up and letting the killer go.
JUDGE: I will not have any more violence in my courtroom. Are we clear?
Crystal, Your Honor.
Kid makes a point.
Our witness is behind bars, and the defendant posts bail and goes back out on the street.
Not for long.
I want to believe you, Horatio. Just get me the evidence.
Coming up.
GSR on our defendant's shirt.
He was in close proximity to a recently- fired weapon.
But it doesn't prove he's our shooter.
Not in a court of law.
Neither does the gun that I recovered.
Superglued it.
No prints.
Yes, but you found it No prints.
Yes, but you found it at the bottom of the bay, so that is not surprising.
Expended rounds, please?
I recovered a dozen nine-millimeters, including one with Jenny Valdez's blood on it.
I'm going to put it all in the report.
Take your time.
No report, no discovery for our Pro Per.
We can play Middlebrook's game.
He has moved We can play Middlebrook's game.
He has moved for a motion to suppress.
What?
Yep.
We haven't even finished processing.
What's he going to suppress?
Evidence from the boat.
It's a stall tactic.
Yes, but it's within the letter of the law.
We'd better cover our bases.
Legal defense for Byron Middlebrook.
Who's in charge?
I'm CSI Duquesne.
Can I help you, Mr. Middlebrook?
Yeah.
( clears throat ) I got a court order here, says I can peep my evidence.
This court order only gives you the right to look at the crime scene reports and the photographs.
No, no, no, baby.
Pictures is bunk-- I want to see y'all bullets, the casings, the gun, dead girl's property, everything.
Sir, you have no right to come into this lab.
Law says as a Pro Per defendant, I can inspect this facility.
The law says that you can hire a court- certified expert to examine the evidence and the procedure in the lab.
Who's the best one? Give me some names, Britney.
Look, your legal aide can help you out with that.
You need to leave.
Apparently, all y'all are not hearing me.
You need to leave.
Apparently, all y'all are not hearing me.
No, I'm hearing you just fine.
Okay, then just get out of my way, Jack.
Allow me to exercise my rights.
Oh!
Oh-ho, whoo!
Now you done did it.
You messed up.
You just assaulted an officer of the court.
You know what, Mr. Middlebrook?
We will be happy to forward all of the appropriate legal documentation through the right channels, and you have every right to use your power of subpoena.
Power of subpoena, a'ight.
I'm going to play your little game.
I'll get with you.
You undermined me.
What?
You made it look like I couldn't stand my ground.
Well, I thought you could use a little help.
I know, but I had it under control.
From my point of view, it looked like he was going to run a blitz on you.
I-I'm sorry that I tried to help.
So am I.
Hi.
Thought you'd want to know I got a hold of Stevie's aunt.
She's driving here from Oregon.
I didn't mention to her he'll have to stick around to testify at trial.
We already have a witness.
There is strength in numbers.
This kid had a physiological reaction to Middlebrook's picture, and now you're going to put him in court with the man?
The boy saw the killer.
Yes. He also saw his mother get killed, too.
I know you want to protect him.
We may not have a choice, Horatio.
States attorney's going to want to see both eyewitnesses up there.
Not if there's one name in the report.
Blood?
Yeah.
That's a high-velocity spatter from a bullet hit.
Our defendant didn't have a mark on him.
No, and we haven't located the driver of the boat, have we?
We may have a second victim.
And our witness may have just become a murderer.
Yo, man, I told you.
I didn't shoot nobody at my party.
You've already admitted to returning fire.
Maybe it was you who shot the driver.
Hold up, man, all I know is that I saw that punk Slick letting off at my house.
Besides, I'd know if I shot somebody.
You see, the problem is that the blood in the boat tells me a different story.
This ain't right, man.
So, you mean to tell me Slick lets off on my house, and he's on the street.
Meanwhile, I fire two shots in self-defense, hit the vehicle, and I'm the one locked up?
You fired two shots?
Yeah, man-- double tap.
Hit the boat both times.
Mm-hmm.
It's the truth, man.
He jumped off on me.
Okay. I'm going to take a look into that.
But if I find out that you're lying to me, B. Slick is going to be the least of your problems.
STETLER: Good news?
The eyewitness checks out.
How can I help you?
Other way around, actually.
I heard about your pro per.
He's going to have your lab under a microscope.
Worse than IAB?
Exactly my point.
I thought I would drop by, offer any help I can in dealing with unorthodox scrutiny.
I think we're going to be okay, Rick.
Yelina said you'd say that.
She could have saved you the trip.
It's not a problem.
My door's always open.
Appreciate that.
Horatio.
It's Tripp; we got a problem.
What happened?
Court line officers put him in here for transport.
Suspect was already inside.
Witnesses?
Four other inmates, a whole slew of custody personnel.
Said the killer could've cared less who saw him.
This guy is too yoked up for County.
He's a lifer.
He's a three-striker from State Pen.
Transferred from Rayford this afternoon.
Brought down here to testify in the Middlebrook case, right?
As a character witness.
Middlebrook brought him down here to hit our guy.
Knew eventually they'd run into each other.
But at least we've still got the boy.
Listen to me.
I am not going to put this kid in further danger.
Yeah, well, even if you don't, Middlebrook's got a long reach.
So do I.
CAINE: Yelina, I was hoping that Stevie could stay with you.
SALAS: How long?
Just a day or two.
Till his aunt gets here.
Because Middlebrook would look for him at your place, and you don't want to dump him in the system.
I know it's a lot to ask.
That's why it's called a favor.
Thank you.
How's he doing?
He says he can't remember what his mother's voice sounds like.
♪ ♪
I don't believe this.
What's up?
I told this guy what do to do, and he did it.
A subpoena?
My pro per's putting me on the stand.
He's some sort of legal Neanderthal, He thinks he's Johnny Cochran.
It's harassment.
He's trying to throw you off your game.
When are you on call?
I'm not; it's a "be there" subpoena.
What should I do?
Be there?
You contend that this bullet was recovered from that house?
The southwest-facing wall.
And you contend that those red marks on that there bullet are blood?
I'm not contending anything.
DNA indicates a match.
This is the bullet that killed Jennifer Valdez.
Stevie!
What about this gun?
I want to know specifically where you recovered this gun from.
I cannot testify to that.
I did not recover that gun.
But you're an expert on firearms.
You're sitting here today trying to put this gun in my hands.
I am not trying to do anything.
The evidence will speak for itself.
Mr. Middlebrook, get to your point, and stop wasting the court's time.
You run a tight ship, Judge.
So...
were there any marks on that bullet?
Markings indicate the bullet was a six right.
Looks messed up.
You could tell all that from this?
The projectile was damaged, but it wasn't messed up.
You mean "mutilated."
Misshapen.
But there were enough characteristics to determine that's a six right nine-millimeter.
Six right.
According to the FBI's manual on general rifling characteristics, ain't that the most common rifling used in a firearm?
Yes, but this particular bullet is consistent with the firearm recovered in this case.
"Consistent."
But can you match this bullet with this gun?
Not at present.
Boo-ya! I'm done with her, Judge.
Hey, did you use small-particle reagent on Middlebrook's weapon?
Yeah, and I got zero prints.
What about Sudan black?
Did it. Nothing.
Gentian violet?
I tried them all, Calleigh, and there are no prints on that gun.
If I didn't know better, I'd think you were trying to undermine me.
Oh...
I'm sorry.
I probably played right into Middlebrook's hand by squabbling with you like that.
It's okay, we're cool.
You know, I admire you.
This case is falling apart, and you are staying right on keel.
It's because I just found something interesting.
Fingerprints?
Four digits.
I pulled these off of the boat.
They're interrupted.
That's not the interesting part.
Try a look through the loupe.
There's foreign residue.
I can barely see it.
I've still got to test it.
Blood. Wiped away part of that print.
Whose print?
Is it Byron Middlebrook's?
Nope.
But it's probably the person who helped him clean up his mess.
Bob Davenport.
"Eminem."
DELKO: Bob, you're a smart guy.
Take a look at that.
What's up with this?
What's up with that is that it's your handprint on the boat with a blood smear over it.
So?
So, that means you were there first, Bob, then the bleeder.
And since we know someone got shot on the boat...
Hey, man, when I found that boat, that body was already there.
Whose body?
I don't know, man.
I kind of freaked out.
What you want me to do?
I took the boat, dead homie and all.
What'd you do with the body?
I gave him the slip.
Look, man, that's how it went down.
I'm telling you the truth.
Be the first time you told me the truth since I met you.
( nervous chuckle ) Look, man, homeboy is probably still out there.
It's Rum Point, this side of Catcher's Marina.
Why don't you go look for yourself?
I got a better idea.
You're going to show me.
Nothing, Frank.
That's it.
Hold on, dude.
I swear on my mama, man, this is exactly where I dumped homeboy.
Listen, you little cracker, I've about had it with your minstrel act.
Frank, take it easy.
He could be telling the truth.
Bottom's all damaged.
Coral's broken up.
Where you going with this?
Shrimp trawlers.
They attach these metal chains called "ticklers"
to the bottom of their nets.
They drag them along, scare up the shrimp.
I thought this area was off limits to shrimpers.
Doesn't mean they don't do it.
All right.
I'll call Fish and Game, get a list of their favorite poachers.
Illegal trawling?
I don't know what you're talking about.
TRIPP: Well, according to Florida Fish and Game, Captain Pine, your outfit's the worst offender in the marina.
Four citations in six months?
Yeah, Fish and Game got it in for me.
We need to see your catch, please.
So, you don't trawl in the no-fishing zones?
That's right.
Then how do you explain this?
It's black coral, a protected species.
You know, last year, it was a sea snail.
This year, it's coral.
They keep on shrinking the areas we can shrimp.
Law's the law, sir.
Yeah, I still got to make a living, though.
Hey, Jacques Cousteau, why don't you open this other net here?
God.
Well, Captain, looks like you just went over your limit.
WOODS: Our floater is one Wesley Simmons.
He's a known associate of Byron Middlebrook.
Three GSWs to the upper torso...
...back to front.
All through-and-throughs.
Bled out internally.
But Dennis De Labeque's weapon Bled out internally.
But Dennis De Labeque's weapon only discharged twice.
I confirmed that.
Maybe there was another shooter, someone else at the party?
♪ ♪
I got your page. What's up?
I need you and Eric to string the boat.
Sure. What are we looking for?
Well, I don't want to bias you, all right?
Ooh, I love a mystery.
Horatio, look what Mr. Pro Per just hung on me.
Motion for sanctions.
Sanctions?
Middlebrook's claiming we held back information concerning our eyewitnesses.
Now, he wins this, Judge could toss our evidence, maybe even dismiss the whole damn case.
"Eyewitnesses."
Plural.
Yeah.
Frank, Yeah.
Frank, you sanitized these reports, right, and deleted any reference to Stevie Valdez, didn't you?
Blacked out every line by hand. Me and Yelina both. Why?
He's written "eyewitnesses" in his motion.
He knows about the kid.
This is Horatio Caine. I need 315s, 1805 Palmfrond.
Detective Salas' residence.
( sirens wailing ) Miami-Dade Police!
( tires screeching) ( gunshots ) ( tires screeching) ( gunshots ) Get him! Get him!
I, um...
I-I don't... I don't know what to say other than I'm sorry that I put you and Ray Jr. in the middle of this.
Thank you for your call.
We were, uh, able to take cover.
Okay, well, that's good.
There's... there's obviously a leak here, and I'm going to move Stevie to another location with round-the-clock security, okay?
I think that's good.
If you don't mind, I'm going to just...
I'm going to stay put, stay out here tonight, uh, in case Ray Jr. wants to...
Um, no. No, that's...
It's fine. It's okay. We're, um...
We're going to be fine.
No, I get it.
Horatio...
Okay, uh... so I... Okay. ( chuckles ) Yes.
All right. Good night.
Yep.
TRIPP: Horatio.
Yes, sir?
Found our leak.
Surprise me.
So we're clear, you're the, uh, legal aide to Byron Middlebrook?
I work with the Public Defender's Office, Judge appointed me to the case.
You make it a habit of giving sensitive police information to all your clients?
Pertinent information.
CAINE: According to the visitors' log, you were in MDPD yesterday.
It's just for a day or two, until his aunt gets in town.
SALAS: Because Middlebrook would look for him at your place.
CAINE: I know it's a lot to ask.
That's why it's called a favor.
I informed my client of a potential eyewitness.
I won't apologize for that.
The eyewitness is a boy who was almost killed in a drive-by.
Two guesses who arranged it.
I can't be responsible for what a client might arrange.
Is that how you sleep at night, Monica?
Hey, I was just doing my job.
Well, we're going to do everything in our power to get you disbarred.
What do you think about that?
Are you guys serious?
We're just doing our jobs, Monica.
You can relate to that.
( phones ringing ) Judge wants us back at court at 10:00.
Sanction hearing.
I suppose you teed this up for Middlebrook, too, huh?
Calleigh, get me everything you have on this case, please.
It's about to go south.
BAILIFF: All rise.
People vs. Byron Middlebrook.
Honorable Judge Veracruz presiding.
The court is hereby in session.
Upon further review, I believe Mr. Middlebrook's motion for sanctions has merit.
The People withheld the existence of a material eyewitness.
Prudent, in that we believe he arranged the murder of our first eyewitness in his jail cell.
B. SLICK: Man, I didn't arrange nothing.
You defaming my character.
JUDGE: Mr. Middlebrook, this is a court of law.
Please keep your comments to yourself.
And let me say that I am disappointed with the conduct of the prosecution in this matter.
I certainly hope that this will be the last time that such actions are perpetrated by the State attorney's office.
Withholding key evidence is a grave matter regardless of the motivation behind it.
And so, based on the information before me, I'm going to grant the defendant's motion and exclude the eyewitness, a Steven Valdez...
although something tells me that that will please both the defense and the prosecution.
So, Wesley Simmons was driving the boat when he got shot, right?
Mm-hmm. H found the blood on the console.
And Alexx said he was shot three times back to front, left to right.
The trajectory's inconsistent.
There is no way that he could've been shot from the shore.
That's what Horatio was talking about.
You drive.
I'll write the report.
Are the People able to proceed with their case against Byron Middlebrook in the shooting death of Jennifer Valdez?
No, Your Honor, the People are not.
Then I have no choice but to dismiss this case without prejudice.
Court is in recess.
( gavel bangs ) Ho!
MAN: Good job, man. Props, props.
Yeah, brother, word.
Here we go.
Word, yo! Money!
Thank you.
Good job, man. Props, props.
Thank you, ma'am.
Uh, Your Honor, could we have a moment?
Ain't you gonna congratulate me?
On the contrary, Byron. Hook him up, Frank.
Gladly.
You better get this cowboy off of me.
Mr. Haffman, would you like to, uh, enlighten the court?
Yes, Your Honor, we're filing a new case against Mr. Middlebrook for the murder of Wesley Simmons.
Like hell.
This is harassment.
Who is Wesley Simmons?
His crime partner.
And the driver of the boat.
CAINE: We can prove that Wesley Simmons was shot by you from inside the boat.
That's ridiculous, Judge.
Why would I shoot the dude that's driving?
It's called tunnel vision, my friend.
Too bad he ain't around to testify.
CAINE: Here's the beautiful part, Byron.
He doesn't have to be.
You got nothing.
That's not true, either.
You got nothing.
That's not true, either.
Take a look at this.
I have his blood on your shirt.
It's called high- velocity spatter.
Proves you shot him.
Judge, what's my bail?
Your case is no longer before this court, Mr. Middlebrook.
There is no bail.
TRIPP: You're under arrest, Slick.
Byron, have a nice stay.
Thank you.
Come on...
The policeman said you got the guy who hurt my mom.
We did. We got him.
I keep on trying to remember her voice.
Well, you know, partner, it'll come back to you.
All the good things about your mom are going to come back to you.
I... I have something for you.
This belongs to you now.
You don't have to wait with me.
Stevie... there's no other place I'd rather be.
Captioning sponsored by CBS, C.S.I. PRODUCTIONS Captioned by Media Access Group at WGBH access.wgbh.org