04x11 - Right Man, Wrong Man

[bunniefuu]

♪♪

Narrator: a devoted family man gunned down in his own driveway.

Beatriz: why my husband?

He didn't do nothing to nobody.

Narrator: police have no witnesses...

[ Dog barking ] ...and no motive.

I need to see my uncle!

Simoneau: a upstanding citizen with three rounds

Put in the back of his head.

Narrator: cctv footage could reveal the shocking truth.

Like a shark just circling the boat.

Narrator: they must track their k*ller street by street.

[ Siren wailing ] our jaws dropped.

Man: stop, stop, stop! You're under arrest!

We had our k*ller.

♪♪

--Captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

Captions paid for by discovery communications

♪♪

♪♪

Narrator: wednesday, june 12, 2013.

Providence, rhode island.

It's a typical morning in the arenas household --

For richard; his wife, beatriz; and their son.

Beatriz: richard was everything to my kids.

My son, richard always was there for him and my daughters.

What do you got going on today, honey?

I'm finally gonna tackle that engine.

[ Chuckles ] you never sit still, do you?

All right, let's go.

Beatriz works as a teaching assistant at a nearby preschool.

Love you. Let's go. Love you, too.

Beatriz: I was running late.

My son didn't want to go to school.

I said, "no, hurry up. I'm gonna be late to work. Let's go."

Narrator: richard is a forklift driver,

But is spending the day at home.

♪♪

The 46-year-old is a well-known figure

In the mount pleasant community.

Hey, mr. Beasley.

My dad was very outgoing, very friendly.

Even if he didn't know you or they didn't know him,

He would still say hi.

He was just that type of person.

My husband used to love to fix cars,

Anything that anybody needed to be fixed.

Narrator: that morning, richard's nephew hector

Arrives to lend a hand.

Hey. Uncle rich.

Hey, hector.

My dad was a great uncle, especially to his nephews.

Hey, can you hand me that small wrench?

Yeah.

When are you gonna get rid of this piece of junk?

Oh, I don't know.

♪♪

Narrator: around 11:00 a.m.,

Beatriz is headed home after work.

♪♪

But as she nears the house on leah street,

She's confronted by an ominous scene.

Beatriz: the cops was there. They had the yellow tape.

Usually, when they've got the tape, something bad happened.

♪♪

[ Police radio chatter ]

♪♪

I couldn't believe it.

I said, "that cannot be my husband.

No."

♪♪

I was crying, but, most of all, I was in shock.

I was like -- couldn't believe it.

Narrator: beatriz's husband of 22 years

Lies dead on their driveway.

♪♪

Detective jay simoneau quickly responds to the call.

My first thought was, "leah street on a wednesday morning

Is typically not a place

You would expect a sh**ting to happen."

What do you got?

Narrator: this is simoneau's first case

As lead homicide detective,

And the k*ller already has a head start.

I have nothing to go on, so I was -- I was nervous.

I have an upstanding citizen lying dead in a driveway

With three rounds put in the back of his head.

Who called it in?

That gentleman.

There was a lot of blood.

He was lying eyes open.

My first impression was, "this is some sort of hit,"

That this could be a potential assassination.

Narrator: the first person detectives want to question

Is richard's nephew hector.

Hector had stated that he and the victim, richard arenas,

Were working on a vehicle...

I don't know. I-i honestly don't.

...and that hector wanted to light a cigarette

And that they had no lighter on them.

Lighter inside?

Yeah, second drawer in the kitchen.

Hector then went into the home in order to light the cigarette.

♪♪

[ g*nshots ]

And that's when he heard the three pops.

Narrator: at 10:32, hector hears shots

And runs outside to a horrific scene.

His uncle richard had been shot in the head.

Then he called 911.

So, you were inside when you heard the g*nshots?

It's quite a coincidence.

I was inside, and I ran out.

Narrator: and police don't believe in coincidences.

It kind of seemed very suspicious

That he was in the house at the exact time

That his uncle, richard, had gotten shot.

Do you know anyone that may have wanted

Your uncle dead?

I don't know.

I honestly don't know.

Immediately, my radar's up.

Was this a setup?

Did he know what was coming?

Narrator: with police still puzzling over a motive,

Richard's loved ones rush to the house...

...including his brother raul and daughter jesenia.

Mom!

Raul: I felt heartbroken.

I started shaking.

[ Crying ]

He was always a nice guy.

He never did nothing bad to nobody.

So why does he deserve this?

Jesenia: it felt like everything was going like slow motion.

Like if you're dizzy and you feel everything spinning.

I was just in shock.

♪♪

-Why my husband? -I'm sorry.

Simoneau: I learned through the family members

That richard arenas had no criminal history,

He had no enemies...

Everybody loved him!

...and nobody looking to target him, at all.

[ Voice breaking ] everybody loved him.

The family had nothing but praise and love for him,

And by no accounts is there any reason to see

That he would be shot and k*lled.

Narrator: suddenly, there's a commotion outside.

A vehicle pulls up, and a man jumps out of it

And begins running towards the crime-scene tape,

And he's extremely angry.

Get out of my way, man.

Who was this kid? Get out of my way!

Corrigan: he was trying to push the police out of the way

So he could see the victim.

He identified himself as richard velez,

Nephew of the victim.

I need to see my uncle!

Let me see him!

He was absolutely out of control.

Narrator: so much so that police are forced to arrest him.

I was extremely suspicious of richard velez.

♪♪

I'm thinking that this could just be a ploy.

You know, sometimes the guilty parties are the loudest ones,

And this could just be an attempt to throw us off

By acting angry.

♪♪

He gave the alibi that he was at the gym, working out.

He told us he didn't know why his uncle was shot,

Who would want to hurt him.

Narrator: detectives aren't taking velez's word for it.

But while they check out his alibi,

He must be released without charge.

♪♪

Back at the m*rder scene, police fan out to search for witnesses.

Simoneau: the difficult part with locating witnesses

Was the fact that it was between 10:00 and 11:00

On a wednesday morning.

Everybody was at work.

Corrigan: so, as we're canvassing the area

For witnesses,

We also start looking for video cameras.

Narrator: three doors down from the arenases' home,

Police get a lucky break.

Surveillance cameras on all sides of the house.

[ Knocking ]

Narrator: hopefully, one of these cameras

Caught a glimpse of the k*ller.

Do your cameras work?

The resident told me his cameras were working and recording.

The homeowner has the video system set up on his television.

The screen was nice and big.

You get a lot of detail on this video footage.

Narrator: detective simoneau has him queue up the footage

To about 10 minutes before the g*nshots.

What detectives are about to see

Will give them a haunting glimpse at richard's k*ller.

You see that?

♪♪

♪♪

Narrator: in providence, rhode island...

Love you. Love you.

...46-year-old richard arenas

Has been gunned down in his own driveway,

And detectives are hoping

A neighbor's three security cameras

Might have captured his k*ller.

The first camera is at the side of the house,

Facing chaucer street,

Just around the corner from the m*rder scene.

It's running 27 minutes slow.

Simoneau: I begin viewing the camera feed.

It is a ghost town.

I see nothing there.

♪♪

♪♪

Narrator: nine minutes before richard arenas is gunned down,

A man walks through frame.

♪♪

Simoneau: a male subject enters the camera,

Approaching the intersection with leah.

Narrator: it's a young man of average height and build.

♪♪

He's wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt

And gray jogging pants.

Corrigan: this guy was just casually walking down the street,

But whether we know he's a suspect or not,

He could be a potential witness to our case.

Let's check the corner cam, please.

Simoneau: I then switch to the camera

Which is on the corner of the house,

Capturing the intersection to see which way does he go.

Does he take a right onto leah street,

Towards the victim's home?

♪♪

♪♪

I see him enter the camera, taking a right onto leah street.

I'm thinking, "he's getting closer and closer

To the house of my victim,

And I certainly want to talk to this individual."

Go to the front camera, please.

Narrator: the third and final camera

Points directly onto leah street.

The arenases' house is on the opposite side,

Three doors down, offscreen right.

The seconds tick by.

Where does he go?

The man has seemingly disappeared between cameras.

♪♪

Eight minutes go by...

...but still nothing.

♪♪

Then, a minute before the m*rder,

Their mystery man appears.

But, this time, something's different.

♪♪

Simoneau: I see a subject wearing the same clothing,

Except now he's got a hood pulled over his head

And he's on the same side of the street as the victim.

♪♪

Narrator: as he walks past the camera

With one hand in his right pocket,

He raises the other hand to adjust his hood.

♪♪

Less than 30 seconds later, around 60 yards away,

Richard arenas will be shot dead.

Detectives let the footage roll.



♪♪

...the same figure sprints past the camera

In the opposite direction.

Corrigan makes a disturbing observation.

You can see the subject holding his stomach area

Where the pocket of a sweatshirt would be.

I'm thinking he has a g*n inside his sweatshirt.

He obviously doesn't want anyone to see him running with a g*n

To get away from the crime scene.

Bring up the intersection again.

I switch back to the corner camera.

♪♪

Narrator: sure enough, the figure runs through.

So, now I got a guy that approached the scene walking,

And now he's running back in the same exact direction

He came from at the moment of the sh**ting.

Narrator: the man runs back down chaucer street.

To all units.

Corrigan radios patrol units

To try and pick up the suspect's trail.

We need to start knocking on doors

And seeing if there's any potential witnesses

Down in that area

To give us a direction of where the suspect fled.

♪♪

Narrator: back at richard arenas' home,

His family is struggling to make sense of his m*rder.

[ Crying ]

Jesenia: we didn't think anyone would hurt our father,

Just because he had so much love and respect.

Who would want to do this to my dad

When he had absolutely no enemies?

Everyone kind of putting the pieces together.

[ Both crying ]

Who could have done this?

I was scared because I got my kids,

And I said, "imagine if he comes back."

I was still in shock.

I still couldn't believe he was gone.

Why?

♪♪

Narrator: detectives now follow up on the alibi

Of their other suspect, nephew richard velez.

They head to the gym where he claims he was

At the time of the m*rder.

The manager confirms that richard velez is a member.

Narrator: the gym manager queues the footage from 10:00 a.m.,

Around half an hour before the m*rder...

The time velez claimed he was working out.

But this video will only raise more questions in the hunt

For a cold-blooded k*ller.

♪♪

♪♪

Narrator: detectives investigating the m*rder

Of family man richard arenas

Are following up on one of their two suspects --

The victim's hotheaded nephew, richard velez.

Get out of my way, man.

Get out of my way!

They need to know if velez's claim that he was working out

At the time of the m*rder is true.

♪♪

♪♪

At 10:10 a.m.,



There are just three people in the gym.

But none of them is velez.

Can you fast-forward it?

♪♪

Narrator: then, at 10:25...

That's him.

...velez walks into frame.

If velez is still in the gym at the time of the m*rder,

He's in the clear.

They fast-forward.

♪♪



And pulls out his phone.

There's the call.

Simoneau: right around the time of the m*rder,

He receives a phone call and immediately leaves the gym,

Which tells us he definitely wasn't at the scene

At the time of the sh**ting.

He's clear.

Simoneau: at that point, it became apparent to me

Exactly why he was acting the way

He was acting on the scene.

He was just angry and frustrated.

This was another family member,

And he was emotional, as they all were.

Narrator: a day after the m*rder,

The arenas family is desperate for answers.

♪♪

Beatriz: why my husband?

Why they took his life.

He didn't do nothing to nobody. He never did.

♪♪

Mabelyne: it just doesn't feel real.

You feel the pain every day.

[ Voice breaking ] you relive that day all over again.

[ Sniffles ]

[ Sobs ]

♪♪

[ Police radio chatter ]

♪♪

Narrator: police return to the suspect they've seen on cctv

And look for more cameras.

And just across the street, they find one.

We came across this house on the opposite side

That had several video cameras.

One camera captures the side of the house

And a little bit of the sidewalk.

There's one directly in front of the home

Which captures the front of the victim's home.

And then there's one, it looks straight at a portion

Of the victim's home.

Narrator: the time code on these cameras

Is around 25 minutes fast.

What I'm hoping to see on this video

Is the k*ller, who may be the same subject

We've been tracking on the other video footage.

This could be the key piece of evidence

That we need to find the k*ller.

Can you show me the south side camera?

Narrator: detectives queue the side-camera footage

To 12 minutes before the m*rder.

[ Clock ticking ]

♪♪

♪♪

They watch and wait.

♪♪

Eight minutes before the m*rder...

♪♪

...a familiar figure saunters by.

Suddenly, I do see him walking on the opposite side of the road

From the victim's house.

Switch over to the porch camera.

Thanks.

♪♪

Narrator: this camera has a diagonal view

Of the arenases' driveway,

Where richard's working on his car with hector.

♪♪

♪♪

He can clearly be seen looking into the driveway of the victim.

♪♪

Glancing slightly over in the direction

Of where the m*rder took place.

Narrator: the predator and his prey are now just yards apart.

Simoneau: I suddenly realize that it was almost like a dry run.

He's walking by. He's scoping the area.

Narrator: the third camera looks onto the right-hand portion

Of the arenases' driveway.

Richard now has just minutes to live.

♪♪

They switch back to the porch camera

At the time of the m*rder.

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

To their horror, police realize the camera

Has captured the moment of the attack.

♪♪

♪♪

He appears to duck because his entire view

Was now obstructed by the van.

♪♪

And within seconds,

He bursts out from in between the two vehicles,

Running north on leah street.

♪♪

What I just saw was richard arenas lose his life.

♪♪

Someone lost a father, someone lost a husband,

At that very moment.

Narrator: a m*rder's been caught on camera,

But there's no way to solve it yet.

Simoneau: I didn't think video from either house

Was good enough to make an identification.

So I still have nothing.

[ Police radio chatter ]

Narrator: then, two blocks away,

Police searching backyards make a key discovery.

Corrigan: we found a g*n wrapped in a sweatshirt.

Narrator: the g*n could potentially be

The m*rder weapon.

The gray sweatshirt matches the one

The man seen fleeing the scene was wearing.

Where did he go after he dumped the g*n behind this house?

Narrator: in this maze of streets,

The k*ller could have gone anywhere.

I'm worried I lost this guy.

Corrigan: we're trying to figure out, "which direction did he take?"

We had to broaden our horizon to where we were looking for video.

Narrator: their hunch is, he cut through backyards

To the next street.

Simoneau: we come into this major intersection,

One of the busiest parts of the city.

No way.

And we're doomed.

At this point, this guy could have just blended in

Like jason bourne.

He could be anywhere.

I'm thinking right there, "it's over.

I'll never find him."

♪♪

Narrator: then they catch a break.

♪♪

Simoneau: we saw, across the intersection,

There's this liquor store,

And it is surrounded in cameras.

Narrator: their only hope of catching richard arenas' k*ller

Lies with what this camera has seen.

♪♪

♪♪

Narrator: investigators have discovered cctv

Revealing the horrific execution of richard arenas.

Police have found the k*ller's sweatshirt and g*n

And are on his trail.

Where did he go after he dumped the g*n behind this house?

Narrator: their hunch has led them to a liquor store.

Their only hope is that one of these cameras

Will show the k*ller.

The manager loads up the footage from 10:32 a.m.,

When the k*ller was last seen on camera,

Fleeing the m*rder scene.

Corrigan: we're hoping that we see our suspect

So we can possibly i.d. This person

And see which direction he went.

♪♪

I didn't think there was a chance in hell

We were going to see him again.

Might have lost him.

♪♪

Narrator: at 10:52, a figure walks into frame.

♪♪

Corrigan: we were pretty excited.

We were confident this is the same guy that we observed

Leaving the crime scene.

Simoneau: I couldn't believe it.

Now he's wearing a white t-shirt,

Which is hanging over a pair of gray sweatpants.

Narrator: it's a huge breakthrough.

We're looking directly in his face.

I felt it was good enough to make an i.d.

We need copies of this.

♪♪

Narrator: a screen grab of the suspect's face is circulated

Throughout the police department.

And they're in luck.

We got four names of people that this person could be.

Narrator: the first mug shot matches the cctv image.

Simoneau: that might be our guy.

Wow. That looks just like him.

Narrator: then the next one.

Looks exactly like him, as well.

Narrator: and the final two mug shots.

The four suspects all look similar to the cctv.

Simoneau: we went from gold to now another mystery.

Which one of the four could it be?

Now we got to dig deeper.

Narrator: detectives turn back to the liquor store camera...

♪♪

...hoping to see where their suspect went next.

♪♪

Corrigan: what we discovered was that the subject,

After he approached the liquor store,

He went behind the liquor store.

So we made our way down manton avenue

Looking for video cameras,

And we came across a welding supply company.

Simoneau: and I'm just crossing my fingers, praying to god

I got something here.

Narrator: they queue up the footage to 10:52 and hit "play."

The welding store camera overlooks manton avenue,

Just a block from the liquor store.

♪♪

Simoneau: I fear that I'm going to lose him

And never find out who he is.

Narrator: then, at 10:53, a passerby crosses the street.

♪♪

But something in the top left-hand corner

Catches their eye.

♪♪

This man is dressed just like their suspect.

Simoneau: it's clear enough

Where you can tell this is the same guy.

Narrator: the man continues along the sidewalk...

Where's he going?

...then turns towards an apartment house...

...and ducks into a doorway.

Simoneau: we just followed a person from the scene of a m*rder

Directly to what we believe now to be his own home.

And it's right there on camera.

♪♪

Narrator: if this is the suspect's home,

There's a chance he might be inside.

At this point, I'm getting pretty anxious.

Jay and I both were apprehensive about not knowing

What we're going to encounter,

Considering that this person just m*rder*d somebody.

Narrator: they approach the first apartment.

We showed them the screenshot photo we had.

Wondering if you recognize the gentleman in the photo?

No?

Narrator: they strike out on the second floor, too.

Corrigan: the third floor is our only place we had left

For this suspect to go to.

Simoneau: and we knock on the door,

And I can hear footsteps,

And they're getting closer and closer and closer.

Ready?

The door opens. [ Dog growling ]

And the biggest beast of a dog comes flying out of that house.

[ Barking ]

Just as the teeth of this monster are reaching my face,

The owner comes into view and pulls it back.

Down! -Easy, carnage!

Easy! Stay!

Narrator: but it's not the suspect.

Control him, man.

Look, I'm sorry.

The resident gives his name as steven mangum.

Have you seen this man before? No.

Steven says he was out at work the day of the m*rder.

I haven't heard of anything.

So far, there's no way to prove otherwise.

What their suspect was doing inside this building

And how long he stayed there remains a mystery.

Corrigan: we had to go back to the drawing board

And come up with a new plan.

We went back to the welding supply house,

And we watched more video of that day of the m*rder.

Narrator: they start watching from 10:53,

When the suspect ducked into the building,

And wait for him to reappear.

♪♪

Minutes tick by.

♪♪

♪♪

The door to the building swings open, and out comes a male.

He's dressed in a white shirt with black cargo shorts,

And he's walking a dog.

My suspicions are immediately raised,

Because steven told me he was working that day.

And now it appears he may be walking his dog.

Something doesn't fit here.

The subject ends up walking back towards the liquor store.

Narrator: investigators turn back to the liquor store camera,

And they're in for a shock.

♪♪

♪♪

Simoneau: I can tell this is my suspect.

This is him.

Now his jogging pants are gone,

And he's wearing black cargo shorts.

Same white shirt, though.

♪♪

Narrator: but steven mangum must have known

Who was walking his dog.

Simoneau: steven either lied to me

Or knows more without realizing it.

We knew at that point that we had to talk

To this person again.

We knew somebody had his dog

On that day the m*rder was committed.

Narrator: and that somebody is the likely k*ller

Of richard arenas.

♪♪

Mangum is brought into the station

To i.d. The man who was walking his dog.

♪♪

We then show him the welding video,

And then I just sit in silence

At the moment this person emerges with his dog.

He freaked out.

Narrator: mangum says his brother is the only other person

Who has keys to his apartment.

He calls his brother to find out

Who was walking his dog the morning of the m*rder.

♪♪

I hear, through the phone, the brother say,

"That's my boy judier."

And my heart stops, because that's the first name

Of one of the suspects we were given.

Narrator: mangum is in the clear and released.

[ Siren wailing ]

An arrest warrant is issued for 19-year-old judier dixon.

But before they can finally discover why dixon

Gunned down richard arenas, they have to find him.

♪♪

♪♪

Narrator: investigators have tracked down

Richard arenas' k*ller street by street on cctv.

[ Siren wailing ]

Now the hunt is on for suspected g*nman judier dixon.

♪♪

Dixon was already out on bail for a previous offense --

A sh**ting, in fact.

He shot somebody, who, luckily, lived.

It immediately told me that he not only carries firearms --

He's not afraid to use them.

Narrator: detectives track down a relative of dixon

And formulate a plan to flush out their suspect.

We decided to just do a simple door knock and state,

"Hey, we're looking for judier dixon.

Is he here? Do you know where he is?"

Knowing full well he wasn't there,

But hoping that that person would immediately call him

As soon as we left.

Hello, there.

Narrator: dixon's uncle answers the door.

-All right. -We're looking for judier dixon.

He is not here.

I ain't seen him in a long time.

And, sure enough, as soon as we walked off the property,

We monitor an outgoing call to a location in alabama.

Narrator: more than 1,200 miles away,

U.s. Marshals descend on a house in greene county.

They immediately moved on the home.

♪♪

Man: stop, stop, stop! You're under arrest!

Simoneau: I was notified that dixon was apprehended.

I was relieved that I could tell the family at least

That we have him.

Narrator: dixon may be in custody, but he doesn't confess.

However, police have a theory

About how the execution-style m*rder

Of richard arenas played out.

♪♪

A couple of weeks prior to this incident,

There was a disturbance,

And judier dixon wanted to settle the score with him.

Narrator: police believe that richard arenas

Was not dixon's intended target,

And that his m*rder was a tragic case of a mistaken identity.

Can you hand me that wrench?

I'm gonna tell you what I told my aunt, all right?

You got to get rid of this piece of junk.

Simoneau: on dixon's first pass,

You can tell that he's circling the area.

He's doing this dry run, like a shark just circling the boat.

Richard arenas in that driveway

Only has minutes to live.

You have a lighter inside?

Yeah, second drawer in the kitchen.

All right.

When hector entered the home to light a cigarette...

...dixon comes in for the second pass.

Narrator: with his unsuspecting nephew now inside,

Richard arenas is alone in the driveway.

♪♪

♪♪

Simoneau: hopefully, he didn't know it was coming,

No time to view his attacker, no time to be afraid,

And that he died instantly.

♪♪

Narrator: in 2015, judier dixon

Pleads guilty to first-degree m*rder

And is sentenced to life in prison,

Along with 20 years for an unrelated sh**ting in 2012.

Simoneau: certainly, without video surveillance,

We could not have gotten a conviction.

There would have been zero chance.

Absolutely zero.

♪♪

Raul: it's very hard.

It's very hard.

And I always miss him.

Always.

There ain't a day that goes by that I don't think about him.

Jesenia: this situation had a big effect on my family.

We just feel broken.

♪♪

Words can't explain.

♪♪

[ Sniffles ]

♪♪

Narrator: to this day, richard's wife, beatriz,

Still wrestles with what judier dixon

Stole from her family.

He took my whole life.

I want to tell him, "you took everything from me, my backbone.

You took the person that provided everything

For me and my kids."

I lost my husband, my soul mate.

♪♪