01x13 - Reseda

[bunniefuu]

In the city of Los Angeles,

the people are represented

by two separate yet equally
important groups...

The police, who
investigate crime,

and the district attorneys who
prosecute the offenders.

These are their stories.

Excuse me, sir, can I see
your withdrawal receipt?

Martin, please, he's okay.

Martin! No! Don't!

Call it in.
We just got held up.

What the hell's the
matter with you?

They've got my baby.

He handed me this picture.

He told me to give him $50,000

or his partner would
k*ll my Tony.

He said if I tripped the alarm,

I would never see my son again.

Does your son
have a cell phone?

Have you called him?

He didn't answer.

He was supposed to be at
lacrosse camp this morning,

but they said he
never showed up.

When was the last
time you saw him?

Yesterday afternoon.

He stayed with his
dad last night.

His dad dropped him off at
the bus stop this morning.

But Tony texted me
from the bus stop

to see if he could have
a friend come over.

It's from the security cam.

Not much help.

Yeah. Our suspect's a
better photographer.

Yeah, looks like it's
printed on cheap photo paper.

The kind you get
at a copy store.

Your son, when
did he text you?

It was just after 9:30.

And this bus stop,
where is that?

Ventura and coldwater.

9:30.

The suspect shows
up here at 10:36.

They snatch the kid,
take the photo,

and stop to make a
print at a copy store.

Ventura and coldwater's
only a mile and a half away.

There can't be that
many copy stores

between here and there.

Please don't let
them hurt him.

Promise me you'll
bring him back to me.

I promise.

We'll find him.

Way to hedge our bets.

Law & Order LA
13 Reseda

Adriano_CSI

There is only person
Who sort of could

- have been your guy with the hoodie.
- What time was he here?

We just opened, so 9:30-ish.

Sir, we need that computer.

- I just paid for a half hour.
- She'll refund you.

I see your pc only
takes credit cards.

I'm gonna need your
charge information.

Well, that's the thing.

Your guy wanted to pay cash.

He went all righteous on me.

Like, "money's money,

and it's against the law
to refuse legal tender."

Bingo!

Is it just me, or does he
have the same look on his face?

They photoshopped it.

- They scammed the bank teller.
- And us. Guitar case.

I may be wrong,

but I don't think you use
guitars at lacrosse camp.

Mom always gets it wrong.

Saturday morning is rock.
Saturday afternoon is lacrosse.

Well, you can explain it
to her when you see her.

This morning at the bus stop,

did anybody try and
take your picture?

- Yeah. This guy on a bike.
- What happened?

Nothing.

I was playing a
game on my phone.

He was on a bike and
was like, "hey!"

Right in my face, and
he takes my picture.

Then he rode off.

I just thought he was some perv.

- Is that him?

- I can't tell.

He just had on a white t-shirt,
jeans, and sunglasses.

What kind of bike
was he riding?

- A Mountain bike.
- Color?

- I don't know.

Flying V.

- You any good?
- I k*ll it.

Oh! Uh, it was red
with black stripes!

- That's great.
- My baby!

Go...
Go hug your mother.

I'm just saying, you
can't go to camp for it.

You gotta live it.

Me and my friends spent
three years in my garage.

I still get a ringing
in my left ear.

You know, we opened
for the Offspring.

- The Offspring?
You must be very proud.

There we go.

Ooh, that's gotta hurt.

Yeah, there is no way
he rode that bike home.

They searched a ten-block radius.

No bike.

Maybe he lives in the
neighborhood and walked,

or maybe he had an accomplice
down the street with a car.

- Or my vote-

he took public transportation.

- It's mostly old people
who forget stuff.

You know, bags of yarn
and canned salmon.

But every once in a while you'll
score an iPod or something.

- That right? An iPod?

- I mean, uh, what's not
claimed goes to charity.

Did you say that it was
left on the 150 bus?

- Yeah, in the bike rack.

That's what the driver said.

- Here we go. All nice and safe.

We keep a log- dates,
serial numbers.

- Here we go.

Line 150, Saturday morning.

- Oh, that one.

That's a nice bike.

- Sorry to ruin your Christmas.

- Latent got a set of
prints off the bike.

Stanley Vaughn-40, white,

two priors, one for
bank robbery in '94,

six year bid.

And a second bid in '05.

Two years for involuntary
manslaughter.

- He's got out after two
years on a second strike?

How'd he swing that?

- Isn't that your
department, counselor?

- It wasn't my case.
I'd have remembered.

Stanley's last known- 3501
Enfield Avenue, reseda.

Okay.

- Police! Open the door!

- Hey! That door cost money!

- Hold.

Ma'am, go back inside!

- I own that house.

Stanley's never here
in the daytime.

I can unlock it for you,

unless you'd like to
buy me a new door.

Thanks.

It doesn't make sense.

This place was floor
to ceiling junk.

You couldn't put one foot
in front of the other.

- How did you not
see him move out?

- Who am I, Gladys kravitz?

His rent was paid up till
the end of the month.

As long as he kept that
stink out of here,

I left him alone.

- What stink?

- Something he was
cooking up on the stove.

Smelled to high heaven.

Stanley was a real
quack scientist.

I told him to take
that crap outside

if he wanted to play
junior Einstein.

- It doesn't smell like
he was cooking meth.

Did you notice anything
else odd about him?

Once when he
brought me the rent,

he tells me, "spend
it while you can.

"Pretty soon what you call money

won't be worth anything."

Look at this...
dates, numbers.

"L.F."

- That's gold.

The London Fix

this is the daily
global rate for gold.

Stanley was tracking
gold prices.

Officer down at 3501 Enfield!

Officer down!

I need a rescue unit and
a b*mb squad team now!

What happened?

I don't know!

He was just kicking at the
ground, and it just blew up!

- Officer Brian is gonna make it.
- Yeah, minus a leg.

- Here.
- Thanks.

- Listen, the material in
the backyard was P.E.T.N.,

expl*sive of choice
for I. E.D.S in Iraq.

Someone planted a
b*mb in the yard?

- We don't think it was
a constructed device.

This guy was cooking p.
E.T.N. In his kitchen,

probably dumped some in the
backyard to get rid of it.

It was inert until the
officer kicked at it.

What did he use
to make the stuff?

- We won't have a breakdown
for a couple of days,

but 99% of the stuff he'd need

could be bought at
a hardware store.

And the other 1%?

- The fact that he didn't
blow up the whole block

means he was able
to keep it stable.

He had to use a plasticizer.

- I'm guessing you can't
get a plasticizer

at a hardware store.

- I sure hope not.

- And I'm telling you, there are
many uses for plasticizers,

in, uh, heart medication,

in flooring. It's...

- Mr. gil...

- Well, look, you
can make a b*mb

out of dishwashing liquid,
did you know that?

- One more time.

- Look, he bought a small,

like, six ounces of
shore-a plasticizer.

Hobbyists use it all the time.
It's totally harmless.

- We have a young officer
with half a leg blown off

who might take a different
view of "harmless."

- I, uh...

I don't sell to the
general public,

and I told him that-

- do you have an invoice?

- Uh, yeah.

He-he seemed, uh...

I mean, he even
gave me references.

- Cash, no address. Figures.

- What kind of references?

- Uh, he said he
was a collector.

A gold collector.

Did business all over town.

He gave me the
number of his broker

and said the guy
could vouch for him.

- So this person gives you
my name, and now I'm what?

A suspect?

I have a vast range
of clientele.

- This one may have bought gold.

Maybe a lot of it.

- Somewhere in your
database, who knows?

- This is my database, mister.

- Detective.

Oops.

There goes some of
your clientele.

- Oh, yeah...Stanley.

Is that what you
said his name was?

- No, we didn't.

- Well, if that's him,
the guy in the picture,

his name is Stanley.

He bought one gold eagle
coin off of me, maybe two.

He's very knowledgeable.

He follows the fix-

the daily gold prices.

- Last time he came in?

- A couple of days ago.

- Specifically?
- Monday.

Maybe Monday.

- Every gold seller I know has
paper on every fleck of gold

that's passed through his hands.

This guy's security camera's
not even connected.

- Why should it be, so it can
tape him laundering money?

- 211 in progress,
Western trust bank,

3401 sherman way at haskell
- 211 in progress.

- Another Photoshop job.

She found out 30
seconds after he left

that her daughter
was safe at home.

- This is from the
security camera.

No bike this time.

He got away on foot
with 11 grand.

- The last time, Stanley
bought gold off of Manny

right after the studio city job.

Now he's got even more
disposable income.

- Maybe our boy's
itching to invest.

- And if I don't?

- Then after the state
board of equalization

completes its investigation

and you're convicted
of tax evasion,

instead of getting a
suspended sentence

for cooperating with the police,

you'll go away for ten years.

- You can be pen pals
with Wesley snipes.

- So who's the new guy?

- He's my nephew from Seattle.

Dumber than a box of hammers,

but what can you do?

- You got to admit,
this is priceless.

- How much is
something like this?

- Oh, I think my Uncle could
let you have that for $25.

- Serious?
- You want to take a look at it?

- Yeah.

- Are you Manny?

I'm Emily.

Stanley sent me
here to buy coins.

- Oh, yeah, the double-eagles.

I'm all out of those.

Someone just cleaned
me out this morning.

- Really? You don't have any?

- I'll get some more tomorrow.

I'll have more.
- Thanks.

- Police! Drop the backpack.

Hands behind your back.

- What did I do? What-

- A little over ten grand.

- Bad move, Emily.

- Look, I swear, okay?

I didn't know it was
from a robbery.

Stanley said he was
turning his life around.

- Level with me, Emily. $11,000.

You didn't wonder
where Stanley got it?

- He told me he'd been saving.

I've only known him
three months...

- Three months,

and he trusted you to buy
the gold all by yourself?

- What Stanley and me
have, it's intense.

He trusts me.

Look, I'm an honest person!

- Except for priors for burglary
in '95 and dope in '99.

- She owns a car.

It was in a garage
around the corner.

- All I did was meet
somebody who loved me.

- If she was in
on the robberies,

you'd think she wouldn't
have let Stanley

try and make a getaway
on a busted bike.

- She already has two strikes.

Let's see how bad she
wants to avoid a third.

- I've been clean for
over eight years.

- Miss Watson, I'm
Connie rubirosa

from the d.A.'S office.

Let me lay this out for you.

As an accomplice to
two bank robberies-

- but I'm not an accomplice.

- As an accomplice, you face
prosecution under three-strikes.

That's a sentence of
life without parole.

- My God, please, no.

- But if you agree to help us

catch Stanley Vaughn and
testify against him,

we can talk about
a reduced charge,

maybe even a suspended sentence.

- I have to choose?

Stanley or jail?

- Trust me.

If a man really loves you,

he doesn't want to
see you go to jail.

- Oh, damn.

- Sit, boy.

Sit.

- Detective, I need
you not to move.

- There's something
flashing in here.

- Hoover's reacting.
He detected expl*sives.

I need you to turn
off your lights.

Now your phones and
electronic devices.

You need to remain
perfectly still

until we figure out
how to disarm this.

- You're the boss, sergeant.

- Hoover, retreat.

Everybody else, out.

- I'm staying with my partner.

- That's your call.

All personnel and
vehicles back 500 feet.

- I'll bet the d.A.'S office

is looking pretty
good about now.

- Her boyfriend took a job in D.
C.,

so she moved with him.

- I didn't realize
Stanton had a boyfriend.

- Come on, really?

- She looked pretty good
in those gray skirts.

- Yeah, she did.

- Right about now, I
wish I'd taken a sh*t.

- I'm beginning to regret
that fourth cup of coffee.

- You guys okay in there?

- Yeah, couldn't be better.

- We have a visual
on the suspect

ten blocks away on a bicycle.

We're gonna apprehend.

- No. Let him through.

Push all your people back,
let him come in the house.

- Got it.

- Emily?

You here, sweetmeat?

- Hey, Stanley, don't move.

L.A.P.D.
Put your hands on your head.

Okay, come on.

Snug little place you got here.

Let's go.

- How you doin', sweetmeat?

- Okay, here's the deal.

You get my partner out of
there safely or you die.

- Uh, yeah, okay.

Come back out of the room,

only make sure to
step on the decals.

You step on the decals, okay?

Or, uh...

Boom!

- So everything's cool, right?

- Oh, yeah, we're cool.

But you?

You're under arrest.

People V Stanley Vaughn:

Two counts robbery, one count
as*ault on a police officer,

one count possession
of expl*sives.

- Your plea, Mr. Vaughn?
- Not guilty, ma'am.

I would never set
foot in a bank.

It is a dying institution.

The Betamax of finance.

Save it for your blog, Mr. Vaughn.

- People on bail?
- We ask for remand to custody.

Mr. Vaughn is a thr*at
to the community.

He booby-trapped his
house with expl*sives.

I was defending my castle!

Mr. Vaughn, my
castle has a dungeon,

and I'm going to throw you in
it if you don't keep quiet.

Your honor, since the police

haven't actually
searched his house yet,

it's premature to claim
it's booby-trapped.

- They haven't
searched his house

because it's booby-trapped.

And Mr. Vaughn has refused

to help the police
disarm the expl*sives.

- My client denies
there are expl*sives.

- You're giving me
a headache, Mr. limpett.

Bail is $1 million.

- I hope that house
is the jackpot

because, frankly, we're
light on evidence

to sustain four counts.

- Fire department and b*mb squad

won't let our people in yet.

- Unless we find the
plasticizer Vaughn bought,

we can't make a match
with the expl*sive

that blew up officer briar.

- No match, no as*ault charge.

Bottom line, we've got
to get into that house.

- I don't know about
any booby-traps.

Stanley just kept saying there
are alarm systems everywhere

and I shouldn't touch anything
when he's not around.

- Miss Watson, if we find
out later you're lying

and someone gets hurt,
our deal is off.

- I didn't know Stanley
was making bombs.

He told me he was an inventor.

- An inventor?
Really, miss Watson?

- Emily's a high
school drop-out.

She's no chemistry major.

- She knows enough
chemistry to be

a two-time convicted
drug dealer.

- I'm not the kind
of person you think.

My last boyfriend...

The reason I got arrested
that second time was,

I found out he was HIV positive,

then I found out I was pregnant.

I didn't have insurance.

I figured if I sold
a little weed,

I'd get enough money to
get it taken care of.

I lost the baby
in prison anyway.

Stanley knew what
it was like for me.

He'd been in twice, too.

But he got lucky.

They gave him a pretty light
sentence the second time,

so he told me

he was gonna be my lucky charm.

I sure can pick 'em, huh?

- Emily's held the
same job for six years

at a car parts store.

I have letters from
her parole officer,

testifying to her
complete rehabilitation.

You don't need to hammer her.

- If her testimony's
going to mean anything,

The gold,

the chemicals he used
to make the expl*sives.

Where are they?

- I don't know.

- Fair warning, Ms. fynley.

We have a seriously injured cop.

We're not gonna tolerate any
nonsense from your client.

- We understand.

- How'd it go with your mom?

- Um, it's okay.

She started speech
therapy this morning.

I know her first words will be

a seven-letter one followed
by the word "stroke."

- She's really lucky
to have you here.

- Thank you.

Stanley Raymond Vaughn...

- The bank robber.

What about him?

- He took a plea

on a manslaughter
charge six years ago.

- Right.
- His second offense.

He got two years.

On manslaughter.

It was your case.

- I know.

Make it plain.
You think I was too lenient?

- You declined to charge
it as a second strike.

- Vaughn said that
he was held up

at knifepoint outside a bar.

Now, his lawyer argued that he
acted in reasonable response.

The eyewitnesses, the forensics,
were contradictory.

If I had applied a second
strike against Vaughn,

he would've served a
mandatory eight years.

- For k*lling a man.

- Yeah, arguably
in self-defense.

Now, you may not be familiar

with California three-strikes
sentencing guidelines.

- Hey, I passed the bar
first in California.

- I know you know the theory.

I'm talking reality.

A second-strike conviction means
double the standard sentence.

A third strike is 25 to life.

Now, six years ago,
people with two strikes

were getting life for
stealing a slice of pizza.

Vaughn had only one prior,

and he had been straight
for five years.

- I wasn't second-guessing you.

- Yes, you were.

And you
were right to do so.

Dekker.

What the hell did you say?

- We still don't know
what's in there,

and I'm not risking
the neighborhood.

- Sergeant, we have a warrant

allowing the police to
search the premises.

- Well, frame it.

The governor declared
this neighborhood

a state of emergency.

We're doing a controlled burn
so we don't risk an expl*si*n.

- Our whole case
is in that house.

- Let us get what we need
before you burn the place.

We'll risk it.

- I won't.

The amount of expl*sives that
took that cop's leg was minute.

There could be enough
material in there

to make this a beachfront.

This is how it's gotta be.

Let's go, boys. Let's go.

- District attorney hardin.

- Hi, Rachel, how are you?

- Sir, can I get your
reaction to the critics

who suggest that
the bank robberies

and the wounding
of officer briar

are the result of
your negligence?

- I beg your pardon?

- Isn't it true Stanley
Vaughn was out of jail

because you declined
to prosecute him

to the fullest when you had
the chance six years ago?

- I'll have to get back
to you on that, Rachel.

- The governor declared
a state of emergency,

prompting the fire department

to conduct a controlled
burn of the premises

rather than risk it.
- Joe.

- Vaughn's house.

- Yeah.

Stay tuned.
It gets better, thanks to you.

Did you let a repeat offender
walk on a second strike?

Because I just heard
that from a reporter.

- Jerry...Yes.

I declined Vaughn's
second strike.

- You have any idea how that
makes this office look?

- I know that, six years ago,

this office was catching heat

about how unfair the
three-strikes law was.

- The law is made for
guys like Vaughn!

Repeat offenders!

So that stuff like
this doesn't happen!

- I didn't put the pen
in your hand, Jerry.

You signed off on Vaughn's deal.

- And that makes me a fool
for taking your advice!

How many counts do
we have on Vaughn?

- Four-two for the robberies,

one for as*ault and
one for expl*sives.

- Make them stick.

I want Vaughn put away
for good this time.

- The people presented
no evidence

my client manufactured
the expl*sives

that injured the police officer.

- That evidence was in a
house that was condemned

by the state of California
as a safety risk.

- On the word of a dog.

- His client's booby-traps
caused the house

and the evidence to be
destroyed in the first place.

He shouldn't profit from it.

- I didn't write the
law, your honor.

They had ten days to
come up with something.

They haven't.
The charges should be dismissed.

As for the robberies,

where's the money my client
is accused of stealing

or the gold he allegedly
bought with that money?

- Again, your honor,

the evidence was
hidden in the house.

But we do have the
defendant's fingerprints

on a bicycle that was used
in the first bank robbery.

And we are confident

that we will find
traces of the gold

in the ashes of his house.

- And I'm confident the clippers
will win their division.

What matters is what's
on the table now.

Mr. Dekker, he's right.

There's insufficient evidence

to hold him on the
second robbery count

or for the as*ault and
possession of expl*sives.

Those charges are dismissed.

- One lousy count of robbery?

Even as a second strike,
it's ten years Max.

- Yeah, well, I can get 15.

- Still not good enough.

The bank robbery is
the second strike.

We need a third strike to put
him away once and for all.

- The one robbery
is all we have.

- Find me something else.
- What for example?

Like he stole a pen on
the way out of the bank?

- If it'll get me a life
sentence, I'll take it.

- Aw, Jerry, you
know as well as I do

that that would violate
the spirit of the law.

- The spirit of the law
is protecting the people.

The three-strikes law has cut
crime in this city in half.

- That's debatable.

I think you want
Vaughn sentenced

not for what he did today,

but for what we didn't
do six years ago.

- Joe, I am not too proud
to admit my mistakes,

and I'm not too particular
about how I correct them.

The only people we
should be worried about

staring in the face
are the victims

of Stanley Vaughn's crimes.

Get me the third strike.

- What do you want to do?

- I think I need to take a walk.

- Hey, I reviewed the evidence.

I don't see another charge.

- Yeah, well, count the pens
at the bank if you have to.

We're giving the
boss what he wants.

Honest, he didn't say anything
About robbing any second bank.

- He used a digital camera

to take a photograph
of the teller's kid.

You know where that camera is?

- Stanley only had
the one camera.

It was in the house.

- This bike. It's a $2,000 bike.

Do you know where
Stanley got it?

- Emily, you agreed
to tell us the truth.

- You're not gonna be happy.

Stanley stole it.

- How do you know?

- Because I kinda helped him.

I was coming back from costco,

the one on mission, off
the pomona freeway,

and I stopped for gas at a 76.

After Stanley pumped, this
guy, he leans his bike

against the door of the
mini-mart and goes in.

Stanley tells me
to start the car

and meet him at this
McDonald's we passed.

I told him don't do it.

I said I was gonna leave him
out there if he did it.

- But you didn't.

- It just happened so fast.

Stanley said whoever
doesn't lock up his bike

deserves to get it stolen.

I should've just left him out
there like I said, shouldn't I?

- My client is charged with
possession of stolen property,

which the district attorney

has decided to apply
as a third strike.

- The actual theft took place

at a gas station in San
Bernardino county.

But thanks to fingerprints
and a bank photo,

we can prove Vaughn possessed
the bike in our jurisdiction.

- My client now
faces the certainty

of spending the rest of his life

in prison over a stolen bicycle.

- That's what you had in mind?

- It's exactly what
I had in mind.

- ...Rejected as unjust

by the majority of the
states in this country.

- I drove to McDonald's
and waited for Stanley.

He rode up real
fast on the bike.

He put the bike on
the back seat and...

And told me to drive off.

- Is that the bike that
Stanley put in your car?

- Yes, that's the one.

- Thank you.

No more questions.

- Look, I just want to say,
when I first met Stanley,

I thought we could be like a
safe place for each other,

where we could have a
good life, nothing fancy,

maybe make a family.

Look, I'm sorry it didn't
work out between us.

- Miss, you may step down.

Court is adjourned.

This preliminary hearing will
resume tomorrow morning.

- Emily,

that man sent you
out there alone

with stolen money
to do his bidding.

He didn't protect you.

That's not love.

- I know. I know...

From now on, I'm only gonna go
out with doctors and lawyers.

- Oh, let me tell you what's
wrong with that plan.

- Emily Watson,

we're from the San Bernardino
county sheriff's office.

We have a warrant
for your arrest.

Please place your hands
behind your back.

- What?

- I'm her lawyer.
I want to see that warrant.

She's being charged
with grand larceny

for a stolen bicycle?

What the hell kind
of stunt is this?

- Deputy, this
woman is a witness

in an ongoing court proceeding.

- This warrant is straight out

of the San Bernardino county d.
A.'S office, sir.

You'll have to take
it up with them.

- Yeah, I read her testimony.

She drove the getaway car.

In San Bernardino, we call
that a bona fide accomplice.

- She testified under
a grant of immunity.

- For crimes committed
in your jurisdiction.

The bike was stolen in mine.

I don't see what
all the fuss is.

You're prosecuting Vaughn

for possession of the
same stolen bike.

- Vaughn is in a
class by himself.

He's got a prior
for manslaughter,

he robbed two banks, he
blew up a police officer.

We're trying to put
him away for life.

- That's a good thing.

Emily Watson is a felon
with two strikes,

including one for drug dealing.

If we can put her away for life,
that's another good thing.

- Wait, wait, what are you
talking about, for life?

- I intend to apply the third
strike to this larceny.

- For a stolen bike?

You can't be serious.

- Jerry hardin is not the only
district attorney in socal

who's tough on crime.

- Mr. exley,

you can make your point without
applying a third strike.

I'm not playing politics, Mr.Dekker.

I'm sending a law
enforcement message.

You commit a crime
in San Bernardino,

you're gonna pay for it.

Now, you might want
to get back to L.A.

Before the 10 turns
into a parking lot.

- Joe, this is wrong.

- Of course it's political.

Exley got re-elected by
the skin of his teeth.

- Well, you have to talk
him out of it, Jerry.

Emily Watson cooperated
fully with this office.

She doesn't deserve prison,
let alone a life sentence.

- Our responsibility stops
at the county line.

What exley decides to do in
San berdoo is his business.

- And ours.

If we weren't prosecuting
Vaughn for the bike,

exley wouldn't have a
case against miss Watson.

- Nothing we can do, Joe.

- There's something we can do.

We can withdraw the charge
against Vaughn for the bike.

- That charge is
his third strike.

That's what'll put
him away for life.

- We still have the
bank robbery count.

He's still looking at 15 years.

Listen, Jerry,

Emily Watson is the reason

that we have the third
strike against Vaughn.

That girl trusted us.

It's worth it to lose the strike
in order to save her life.

- Worth it?

For whom, Joe?

Officer briar?

His family?

Emily Watson played in the dirt.

She got dirty.

- Yeah, well, you're in
the dirt now, Jerry.

You know, I thought that morales
was just too thin-skinned,

but maybe he got it right.

- Before you do something rash,

let me remind you what you
said when you took this job.

You said you wanted to work
for change from the inside.

You quit, you're an outsider.

You are ineffective.

- You promised she
wouldn't be prosecuted.

- We can't control Mr. exley.

Emily's testimony is part
of the public record,

and he can use it against her.

- I swear, if there was a way
to make this right, I'd do it.

- And while we'll answer
the people's evidence

on the bank robbery
charge at trial,

we dispute that the
people have shown cause

to proceed to trial

on the charge of possession
of stolen property,

namely the bike.

The charge requires the intent
to possess stolen property.

The only evidence
the people have

that my client knew
the bike was stolen

is the testimony of a
former girlfriend,

a convicted drug dealer.

- The credibility of a witness

is for a jury to
decide at trial.

- The flimsiness of their
evidence would be laughable

if it weren't for the fact that
they're trying to bootstrap

a third strike on my client.

This is a transparently
political prosecution.

It shames the office of
the district attorney

and this court.

Mr. Dekker, would
you like to respond?

- Your honor, my response to Mr.
limpett's charges...

Is the testimony of the person

who decided to apply

the third strike against Mr.
Vaughn.

I call to the stand district
attorney Gerald hardin.

- Mr. hardin, will
you take the stand?

Swear the witness in.

- Do you swear to
tell the truth,

the whole truth, and
nothing but the truth?

- I do.

- State your name
and occupation.

- Gerald hardin,

district attorney,
Los Angeles county.

- Thank you, Mr. hardin.

Please explain the decision

to apply the third strike against Mr.
Vaughn.

- Mr.
Vaughn is a repeat offender,

and while possession
of a stolen bicycle

is not of the same order as
the bank robbery charges,

it is a felony

and it falls within the
sentencing guidelines

of the three-strikes law.

- So you were guided by the law.

- And the facts of the case.

- And what do you say
to the defense's claim

that this attempt to
get life in prison

for Mr.
Vaughn by any means necessary

is for political gain?

- Well, that would be a
very cynical calculation

on our part if it was the case.

But as you pointed
out, counselor,

our office was
guided by the law.

- And the facts of the case.

- Yes.

- And wouldn't you agree

that's why you were
elected to your office,

to enforce the laws?

- Yes.

- To do what's right,
not what's popular?

- I try to do that.

- So you disregarded
the public outcry

when it became known that Mr.
Vaughn

had been released years ago

because your office
decided not to apply

a second strike to a
manslaughter conviction?

- I don't know about
"disregarded."

- Well, you were upset
by the public reaction?

- Well, I felt
that we had failed

the people of Los Angeles
in that instance.

- And justice
hadn't been served.

- That's right.

- And you were intent

on correcting that mistake
this time around,

no matter the facts of the case,

as long as Mr. Vaughn spent
the rest of his life in jail.

- Maybe.

- Mr. hardin,

as the chief law enforcement
officer of the county,

as one who sets the example

for every prosecutor
in your office,

is that what you
mean by justice?

- No, it's not.

- No more questions.

- No cross, your honor.

- The witness is excused.
- Thank you.

You made your point.

Withdraw it.

- Your honor, at this time,

the people withdraw the charge

of possession of
stolen property.

- The charge is dismissed.

As for the remaining
charge of robbery,

the court rules there's
sufficient evidence

to proceed to trial.

- You can send Vaughn on
an all-expense-paid trip

to Disneyland for all I care.

It doesn't affect my case against Ms.
Watson.

I still have her statement

admitting she helped
steal that bike.

- About that statement...

- When the police and
I questioned Emily,

we were looking for evidence
to use against Vaughn.

Emily wasn't a suspect.

But when she started talking
about the bike theft

and her involvement in it,

at that point, she
became a suspect.

- So you mirandized her.

- Since we had no intention
of prosecuting her,

no, we didn't.

- Her lawyer must have
known she was a suspect.

- She didn't have
a lawyer present.

- That would make
her statement-

and any evidence derived
therefrom-inadmissible.

- Mmm.

- I am so sorry about your case, Mr.
exley.

- You better hope you never
get a ticket in San berdoo.

- You know I wanted Vaughn
down for life, too.

- Mm-hmm.

- But 15 years,

it's something.

- Well, by the time he gets out,

it'll be some other D.A.'S problem.

Let's hope whoever it
is is up to the task.

- Oh, he will be.

- Is that right?