Original subtitles

...

- In the criminal justice system,

sexually based offenses

are considered especially heinous.

In New York City, the dedicated detectives

who investigate these vicious felonies

are members of an elite squad

known as the Special Victims Unit.

These are their stories.

- Is everything all right?

[ominous music]

- Dominick Carisi is being held hostage.

[gunshot] - [groans]

- If we can't breach,

we have to hear their demands.

- I don't want any more blood on my hands.

Do you?

- What do we have here? - [whimpering]

- I've been gone a long time.

- Boyd! Boyd, you gotta focus right now!

- I am sick and tired of listening to your big mouth!

- Your friend is dangerous.

You are going to be held criminally liable

for whatever he does today.

Help me, and I will go to bat for you.

- Hey, Counselor. Will I do time?

- You kidding me?

- If you're acting in the defense of others,

that is self-defense.

[gunshot]

Here we go. That's it, that's it.

Get on your knees! Get down right now!

- I thought you said you were going to help me!

- You're safe now. We got you. - [sobbing]

[screaming]

♪ ♪

- He's not OK, is he?

[tense musical crescendo]

- Mr. Carisi, hi.

Thanks for coming all the way over to Brooklyn.

- Yeah, of course.

This is my wife, Amanda Rollins.

- Hi.

Hope you didn't take the morning off,

because I'm in a bit of a rush.

- I'm just here for moral support.

- Please take a seat.

- So I heard you, uh,

have a meeting with Deonte's defense later today.

- Yes, I do.

I was just about to head to Rikers when you called,

but I'm assuming that's not just a coincidence.

- Well, you're going to them?

That's--that's a bit of a power play, isn't it?

- Well, I'm sure this Vaughn guy

just wants the strongest result for his client.

- As I do for mine, the people of New York.

- Well, what deal are you offering?

- 15 years for felony murder in the second of the deli clerk.

- Ali Imran. That's his name.

- OK, thank you.

Plus a few years tacked on for armed robbery.

- OK, what about the other charges?

- What other charges?

- Yeah, well, Deonte is liable

for a lot more than just-- just murder.

I-I was there.

I personally

witnessed him aid, encourage, and facilitate

a veritable avalanche of chargeable felonies.

- Avalanche? Such as?

- Well, it's all in here.

But for starters, Unlawful Imprisonment,

Felony Assault, Rape One.

- Rape One?

- Well, you're familiar with Tess Milburn?

- Yes, of course.

The young woman who was raped in the deli's cooler.

- Well, she deserves justice too.

- The ADA who transferred me this case

told me it was the weakest charge.

[soft tense music]

Look, I know this isn't

what you both want to hear,

but I told you I'm driving to Rikers to offer a deal.

So.

♪ ♪

- 15 years, huh?

- Yeah, and that's a long time, Mr. Carisi.

You should be happy.

- Yeah, well, it's not long enough for me.

But what do I know?

It's not my case, right?

♪ ♪

- Velasco, Fin, any luck finding Tess?

- We started checking her last knowns yesterday

just as soon as you asked.

- And? - So far no luck.

- Did you call her parents?

- Her mom's the one who put the Facebook post up.

She's been missing a week.

- Hey, Elizabeth, the other girl in the deli.

She might know where she is. - Yeah, they're tight.

- Well, they were.

- Elizabeth said on the phone

that her and Tess had some kind of falling out.

- About what?

- We couldn't talk to her long. She was at work.

- Just got a job as a preschool teacher.

- Which one? I-I'll go talk to her.

- Carisi, I thought you said

this wasn't even going to go to trial.

- It's not. So what?

I-I can't just be worried about Tess?

What if she's in trouble? Or--or worse?

- Let's not get ahead of ourselves, right?

How about I grab Rollins, we go to the preschool.

We'll find her. Don't worry.

- [sighs]

- You mean I talked you into coming all the way over here

and all you have to offer is a lousy 15 years?

- And for what? I didn't do nothing.

- My client shot the man who forced him, under great duress,

to participate in the robbery,

and in so doing, saved three lives.

- I may be able to shave a few years off the robbery charge,

but there's nothing I can do about the murder.

- But--but-- I didn't shoot the deli guy.

I-I didn't. I didn't.

- What don't you understand?

It happened in the commission of the robbery.

- Carisi told me it would be self-defense if I shot Boyd.

Did he lie to me?

- You're surprised

a lawyer lied to you during a hostage standoff?

If this goes to trial, he could get life.

- Wait, life?

Wait, she's kidding, right? - No, don't worry.

If they had any substantial evidence on the other charges,

they wouldn't be offering a deal.

What the hell do you even have?

- Last time I saw Tess...

things didn't go so well.

- How? How so?

- I'm a preschool teacher, not a drug expert,

but she seemed to be self-medicating.

- You think she was high?

- We only want to help.

Right? We're not here to arrest her for drug possession.

- I had Tess over to my place.

We talked, but things just weren't the same.

You know what I mean? - I do.

- Anyway, after Tess left,

I noticed my new laptop was missing.

- Mm, OK. Do you have a tracker on it?

- Yeah. It looks like it's on some sketchy block in Jersey.

- You have any idea which one?

[soft dramatic music]

- It looks like Elizabeth's computer is in this building.

- Hopefully, Tess is here too.

- I had Corgan run the record

of every resident in the building.

- And?

- Looks like the guy in 1C, Marquee Wallace,

got hit with criminal sales

of a controlled substance six months ago.

- Well, let's start there.

[tense music]

[banging on door]

- Oh what is this?

- NYPD.

- Yeah, no kidding.

- We're looking for Tess Milburn.

- Yo, where's your warrant, bro?

- Where is Tess Milburn?

- Liv, over here.

- But you can't just come in my spot like this

without a warrant.

This is illegal.

- Where is she?

♪ ♪

Where is she?

[Marquee sighs]

♪ ♪

Tess? Tess.

♪ ♪

Hey. - OK, she's OD-ing.

- I need Narcan.

- Hey.

♪ ♪

- Here we go.

OK.

Come on, Tess, breathe.

♪ ♪

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪

- No, we're still waiting on Tess's prognosis.

Ah, Amanda just got here. We'll call you back, OK?

That is your husband worried about Tess.

- He's going to be worried about both those girls

until they're married with kids.

- Dr. Sloane.

How's Tess Milburn?

- Stable, at least for now.

She had fentanyl and benzos in her system.

- OK, I know this is premature,

but any estimate of when she might be discharged?

- She's on a witness list for a pending trial.

- Detox from benzos is pretty grueling.

Next few days ought to be telling.

- OK, well, we don't want to make things worse,

but we do need to talk to her.

- She'll be out of it,

but I don't see any reason why you couldn't try.

- OK.

[monitor beeping]

Tess?

- Who are you?

- Hi. We're with the NYPD.

- We were there that day outside the deli.

- What happened to you was horrific.

- We want to help you.

- You want to help me? Well, take me home.

- To Utah?

Your mom and dad are very worried about you

and they're on their way here.

- No! I don't want them to see me like this!

I need to go home!

- You mean to that place in Trenton?

- I need to go back.

- No, no, no. We--we, uh, we can't do that.

- How did you even find me?

- Well, what matters, Tess, is that we did find you.

- And you're safe now.

- [groans] It doesn't feel like it.

- OK, so why don't we let you rest?

We'll come back later.

Where is Marquee Wallace?

- Arrested him for possession.

- But one of his crew bailed him out.

- Well, Tess is in a rush to get back to him.

- Yeah, that's the drugs talking.

- Yeah, and we have to watch her until she's detoxed.

- Well, we can't cuff her to the bed, right?

- No.

So we're going to have to put a uni outside her door.

- You know what? I'll do it.

- Velasco, are you sure?

- Captain, I was there at the deli.

I'll never forget that scream.

- Look, I know Tess has been through hell,

but when do you think she's going to be able to testify?

- I mean, it's hard to say.

She's in the early stages of withdrawal.

- She can barely think clearly right now,

let alone do trial prep.

- Well, how soon can we get her detoxed?

- Well, there are a couple of treatments

that may help accelerate things,

but then we have to get her to agree.

- Oh, I'm not entirely selfish.

I do want her clean for her own health.

But her testifying in court,

it could be the North Star that helps her navigate all this.

- Whether or not Mosley gets convicted of her assault.

- [scoffs] Speaking of which, I'm due at the courthouse.

- For?

- Rourke got word from Mosley's defense team.

Looks like they're trying to exclude my testimony.

And if he's successful with this motion,

we're going to need Tess more than ever.

So keep working on it.

- Mr. Vaughn, you're filing a motion...

[door opens]

To exclude ADA Carisi's testimony

in the case of The People versus Deonte Mosley.

- We are, Your Honor.

- This is ridiculous. On what possible grounds?

- That's what we're here for.

I intend to show legitimate legal grounds.

- Mr. Carisi is the key witness in this case.

Defense is wasting the Court's time.

- That's for me to decide, Miss Rourke.

Mr. Vaughn, continue.

- We believe that as a prominent ADA

in the Manhattan court system, Mr. Carisi's testimony

will unduly prejudice the jury against my client.

- He was the victim here.

- And no one's contesting that.

But we'd argue that his position

will carry undue weight with the jury.

- Hey.

How'd it go in court? - Good.

Judge denied Vaughn's motion to exclude me as a witness.

- Well, that's good news. - I'm here to see Tess.

How's she doing? - Her blood pressure dropped.

The doctor's in with her now.

- Tess Milburn, I want to see her right now.

- I'm sorry, sir, that's not possible.

- [shouting] Stop lying. Where is Tess Milburn?

Right now! Come on, type it in.

- Yo, yo, yo. Hey, hey.

- Yo, don't touch me, bro.

- Let's go take a walk.

- I'm here to see my girlfriend.

- I understand. Let's go talk outside.

Come on. - That guy's not going to quit.

- Yeah, well, neither am I.

- She's seizing. [EKG machine droning steadily]

I need some help.

[tense music]

- I have no pulse.

Oxygen level's dropping.

♪ ♪

[defibrillator whirring]

- Clear.

[defibrillator thumps]

Still no pulse.

Clear.

[defibrillator thumps]

♪ ♪

Starting compressions.

♪ ♪

Milligram of epi.

[defibrillator whirring] - Clear.

♪ ♪

Sinus rhythm. She's back.

♪ ♪

- Hey. Is she going to be all right?

- She's young. Strong heart. We've got that in our favor.

- So what next?

- We'll keep a close eye on her,

but I think we're past the worst.

♪ ♪

- Thank you, Doctor.

- You done for the day?

- Uh, I'll see you at home.

I gotta-- I gotta make a quick stop.

♪ ♪

[indistinct chatter]

- Hey. Can I sit down?

- [sighs] No, Carisi, I'm eating.

- I see that. I just gotta--

I gotta tell you something.

- Couldn't wait till tomorrow?

- Look.

Tess Milburn had a close call today.

But she's going to be--

she's going to be able to testify.

- Well, that is very nice to hear,

but I told you the rape is our weakest charge.

- Well, let's see how a jury feels

when they hear how I watched Deonte Mosley

casually eat a bag of potato chips

while Tess was raped a few feet away.

- OK. - Huh?

Look, just--

just tell me that you'll talk to her,

that you'll--you'll get her side of the story.

- Fine, if it will get you off my back.

- I also have some thoughts about your voir dire.

- Fine, please.

- At voir dire,

when you're interviewing potential female jurors,

just make sure you ask them

about their experience with sexual assault.

- Oh, that was it?

- That's it.

- You happy?

- Yeah, I will be when Deonte Mosley is in prison.

- Vaughn seems to think

you have a personal vendetta against this kid.

- Maybe I do.

- What's that about?

- The guns.

- The guns?

- Been thinking about it.

Boyd Lynch only got out of prison

a few hours before he committed that robbery.

And yet, somehow, magically, he winds up with a gun.

How did that happen?

- Deonte Mosley?

- Boyd didn't get 'em in prison.

Deonte brought those guns.

Deonte gave him one.

Therefore,

everything that happened in that deli is on him.

- Go home.

Start thinking about your testimony, Carisi.

And hey.

If you have any professional respect for me at all

as a prosecutor, please stay away from the courthouse

until I need you for prep.

- A good sign. You got your appetite back.

- You gave us quite a scare.

- Sorry. - No, please.

It's part of the job.

- About that.

You had a visitor last night.

- Marquee? - Yeah.

- I'm assuming that you know that he has a criminal record.

- I obviously know he sells drugs.

- You know, did you know he has a record

for robbery in the first degree?

- So last year, he robbed a couple at gunpoint.

- Why isn't he in jail, then?

- Well, the victims decided not to testify,

so the case got dropped.

- So...

nobody knows what you went through in that cooler.

- You're right. You don't.

- Maybe it would help to get it out.

- You know, a pain like that...

it only gets worse unless you do something about it.

- Like what?

[somber music]

- The guy you're really mad at is dead.

But you can face his accomplice on the stand.

- Deonte Mosley?

But he didn't rape me.

- Deonte had a gun.

He could stop Boyd at any time.

- And he chose not to.

Until it suited him.

♪ ♪

- What do I have to do?

- Tell your story on the stand.

- Along with Elizabeth and my husband.

- You know, and if the three of you stick together

like you did in that deli...

[tense dramatic music]

Maybe all three of you can take your power back.

♪ ♪

- [sighs]

[tense music fading]

- Counselor Rourke.

- Captain.

Ready to prep your testimony? - I am.

I also wanted to thank you.

- For?

- For going ahead with the rape charge.

- My bosses aren't thrilled. - Ah.

- But I prepped Tess this morning

and she's a compelling witness.

Before you get your hopes up, a conviction on the rape charge

isn't just a long shot, it's a moon shot.

- I understand.

[sighs]

- Ready? - Yeah.

- Captain Benson,

can you tell the jury what you saw

when you arrived at the deli

on the corner of Madison and James on the day in question?

- I saw ADA Carisi through the glass of the locked door,

and I...

saw a look on his face that I'd never seen before.

- What look was that?

- Genuine fear.

- I immediately got in a car, headed down to the scene,

so I was listening to the whole thing on my radio.

- What did you hear?

- There was an armed robbery that was in progress

that had turned into a hostage situation.

Two male perpetrators, including the defendant.

- Who were the hostages?

- The deli clerk, Ali Imran, and two young women,

Elizabeth Alden, Tess Milburn.

- Mm. - And ADA Carisi.

- What else did you hear?

- Um...

A gunshot.

At first, there was no information on--

on who had even been hit.

- And when did that make you think?

- I thought my husband had been killed.

[sniffles]

[somber music]

- Are you OK?

Um...

I can give you space if you want privacy.

- [shakily] No. I'm sorry.

♪ ♪

I just, um...

♪ ♪

It's that whole day,

I wasn't sure if I was going to see my--

see my husband again.

And, um, I'm not sure that I have yet.

Part of him is still trapped in that deli.

He's not going to be free until you win this case.

- I will try my best, Sergeant Rollins.

♪ ♪

- And so will I.

Not on the stand.

♪ ♪

I need to be strong for him.

♪ ♪

- Did you or did you not tell my client

that shooting Boyd Lynch would be considered

an act of self-defense in the eyes of the law?

- Yes, but what I-- - And seeing as

you're an acting ADA, my client, a young Black man

with little to no education, took you at your word.

- Come on. His skin color, really?

You think Vaughn's going to try to play the race card?

- Yes, I do, so I'm going to ask you again.

You must have known my client

would take your advice as an expert on the law

and shoot his accomplice.

- There you are.

How'd it go? - [sighs] It was fine.

- It was fine? Really?

- Rourke's a little worried that, uh,

Vaughn's going to try to rattle me

until I, you know, blow my stack.

- How do you feel about that?

- He can try all he wants.

I'm going to stay calm and collected.

- Well, I'm glad to hear that.

Cause, you know, we...

[soft dramatic music]

Really need to win this case.

And not just for Tess and not just for Elizabeth...

but for you.

♪ ♪

Look, I know you don't like to hear this.

But you're a victim, too, in all this.

♪ ♪

- Hey, Tess.

How you feeling? - Uh, good.

I finally talked to Elizabeth

and apologized for stealing her laptop.

- Good. Congratulations.

That must feel good, right?

- She says I might even be able to stay at her place

until I get on my feet.

- That's a good option. - Yeah.

- After the trial.

- I don't understand.

- Well, you know, Elizabeth is testifying today.

And so until you're called,

we just want to make sure you're safe,

so we got you a hotel room.

- OK.

- And NYPD is lending you a new phone.

- I don't know how to thank you.

- You already have.

By testifying.

So Detective Velasco is going to drive you to your hotel

and then he's going to wait there

and then drive you to the courthouse.

OK?

- Hi Tess. You ready?

- I guess so.

- Yeah.

Hey, you're going to do great,

- Mm. - OK?

So you know, we're all looking out for you.

- I'm confident that after hearing all the evidence

and the testimony of the witnesses,

we will have proven to each and every one of you

beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant, Deonte Mosley,

is guilty of four counts of armed robbery

and guilty by accomplice liability

of the second-degree murder of Ali Imran,

rape in the first of Tess Milburn,

and murder in the second of Boyd Lynch,

his partner in this horrific crime.

Thank you.

- How's Tess? - Yeah, she's great.

- Mr. Vaughn. - She's with Velasco.

- Thank you, Your Honor.

Ladies and gentlemen of the jury,

there is one thing the prosecution has to prove

beyond a reasonable doubt:

intent.

The truth is, it was never Deonte Mosley's intent

to commit any of those crimes.

The facts will show

that Deonte's only true intent was to end a hostage standoff

without further loss of life

by shooting Boyle Lynch in defense of others.

And thank God he did.

Deonte Mosley should be hailed a hero,

not prosecuted at the insistence

of some vengeful ADA.

Now, ladies and gentlemen, I--

I can't blame ADA Carisi for feeling vengeful.

But vengeance should never inform the rule of law.

Thank you.

- After the clerk, Ali Imran, was shot,

our hostage response team was able to install

a fiberscope camera into the rear wall

through a small gap in the venting.

- And what did you see?

- I saw two armed perpetrators.

One was later identified as Boyd Lynch,

and the other Deonte Mosley.

- And where were the hostages at this time?

- They were in a walk-in cooler

and we were able to establish contact

through Tess Milburn's smartwatch,

which was later confiscated.

- What happened to Tess after you discovered this smartwatch?

- Boyd dragged Tess back into the cooler

and we found out that she was sexually assaulted.

- Where was Deonte Mosley during this assault?

- From what I saw on the monitor,

he stayed in the main area of the deli.

- Did he do anything to intervene?

- No. - Anything at all?

- He did nothing.

- Thank you, Captain.

- Captain Benson. [sighs]

You said the first time you saw Deonte Mosley in the deli

was on the fiberscope monitor.

- Yes.

- Roughly an hour into the situation?

Is that accurate?

- Yes, and I saw that he was clearly armed.

- Did you see how he got the gun or when?

- No.

- Did you see anything at all that happened

the minutes before Deonte and Boyd entered the deli?

- All that I know was disclosed to me by the three victims.

I know that Deonte Mosley was armed

and that he had ample opportunity to intervene

in the murder of Ali Imran and the rape of Tess Milburn,

and he chose to do nothing.

- But you have no direct knowledge

to counter my client's version of events.

- From what I heard and what I saw,

Deonte Mosley was armed

and he seemed to be an active participant.

- Seemed to be?

You have no knowledge whether Deonte himself was under duress

or threatened by Boyd?

- No.

- Thank you.

Nothing further.

- That morning,

Tess and I had been out for a walk along the river.

We went into the deli to get something cold to drink.

- And what happened?

- We were at the counter paying when two armed men came in.

- Was one of those men the defendant?

- Yes.

Deonte Mosley.

- And then what happened next?

- His accomplice, Boyd,

demanded we use our ATM cards to take out cash.

- And where was Deonte during this time?

- Holding a gun on the clerk, Ali.

- And what did he do when Mr. Carisi came in?

- Deonte pointed his gun at him and took his cell phone,

his wallet, and his wedding ring.

- Thank you, Elizabeth.

- Miss Alden, I, uh...

I'm sorry for what you went through.

I really am.

But did Deonte Mosley ever threaten you directly?

- No.

- Did he ever touch you?

Look at you with menace?

- No, but he did have a gun.

- But you could tell that he was not the one in charge,

couldn't you?

[tense music]

You're under oath, Miss Alden.

It's a simple question.

Did my client ever give any of the orders?

♪ ♪

- I guess not, no.

- In fact, it was Boyd Lynch that made all the decisions.

Wasn't it?

- Yes.

♪ ♪

- Nothing further.

♪ ♪

- Ms. Rourke, your next witness.

♪ ♪

[pounding on door]

♪ ♪

- Tess.

Tess, open up. We're due in court.

♪ ♪

- Where the hell is Tess Milburn?

- We're trying to get in touch with her now.

- Tess isn't answering.

I had Velasco get security to open up the doors.

- I thought you had her someplace safe.

We're going to have to ask the judge for a continuance.

- Maybe I should go to the hotel.

I'll--I'll help Velasco. - Oh, no.

You're not going anywhere.

If Tess is a no-show, you're all I've got.

[tense somber music]

[Benson sighs]

♪ ♪

- Captain, we got a problem.

- Man, what the hell are you doing back?

- Where's Tess?

- I don't know where the hell she is, man!

I'm telling you.

- Sh...

[tense music]

- He's telling the truth. She's not here.

- Who else she buy from?

♪ ♪

Tess!

♪ ♪

Tess Milburn.

♪ ♪

- Sarge! [Tess whimpering softly]

She's over here.

♪ ♪

[Tess whimpering softly]

- I didn't do it.

[sobs] I wanted to.

- Why, Tess?

- I can't face that guy in court.

- OK, we're going to get you the help you need.

But there's a lot of people that need to hear

every word you have to say.

- We're going to be with you the whole time.

OK?

[somber music]

♪ ♪

- Boyd ran his hands over my body.

That's when he found my smartwatch

hidden in my jacket pocket.

- And where was Deonte?

- Uh, watching.

Doing nothing.

- What did Boyd do next?

- I think he wanted to punish me.

He dragged me into the cooler.

- Did Mr. Mosley do anything to intervene at that point?

- No.

ADA Carisi tried, but Boyd hit him in the head with his gun.

- Did Deonte do anything at that point?

- Deonte just watched

as Boyd dragged me to the cooler and locked it.

- I know this is hard to relive, Tess,

but could you tell the jury what happened to you

once you were inside the cooler?

[Tess sniffles]

[Tess sighs]

- Boyd pulled down my yoga pants.

[tense somber music]

[Tess sniffles]

He made me take off all my clothes.

And then he made me get down on my knees.

He unzipped his pants-- [sniffles]

And he forced himself into my mouth.

♪ ♪

- I'm so sorry.

[Tess whimpers]

- What happened after that?

[Tess sighs]

- When he was ready, he turned me around.

He bent me over.

He raped me.

[tense somber music]

[Tess sighs]

- How long were you in the cooler with Mr. Lynch?

- It felt like forever.

- According to the fiberscope video,

you were in the cooler for approximately 40 minutes.

Does that sound right?

- Yes.

- And during that whole time,

40 minutes, Deonte never came near the cooler

to intercede on your behalf, did he?

♪ ♪

- No.

- Nothing further.

- Mr. Vaughn?

♪ ♪

- No questions, Your Honor.

- You may step down.

[soft somber music]

♪ ♪

Ms. Rourke.

- We call ADA Carisi.

[tense music]

♪ ♪

- I push my way back into the deli

so that the two perpetrators

cannot take an NYPD captain as collateral.

- And then what happened?

- He was off to the side.

He also had a gun in his hand.

He exchanged a few words with Boyd,

and then he turned to me and he asked

if it would be considered self-defense if he shot him.

- And what did you say?

- I said, if you're acting in the defense of others,

you better believe that's self-defense.

- And what did Deonte Mosley do?

- He shot his partner, Boyd Lynch, killing him,

to negate his accomplice liability for the entire day.

- Objection. Speculation.

- Sustained. The jury will disregard.

- Nothing further.

- Mr. Carisi, you just admitted

telling my client that shooting Boyd Lynch

would be an act of self-defense.

- Well, I did what I had to do to protect the lives

of Elizabeth Alden and myself, yeah.

- Well, you were successful.

- Yes. They had guns. I had words.

I used what was available to me.

- So it is your contention that

you did the right thing at the end of the day?

- Absolutely.

- Wouldn't you consider that my client did too?

- What your client did, uh,

that was not self-defense, that was self-preservation.

- If my client hadn't killed Boyd Lynch,

do you think you'd still be alive today, Mr. Carisi?

- Maybe, maybe not.

- Did Boyd Lynch take a shot at your head?

- Yes, when we were fighting for control of his gun.

- Maybe your real anger is at yourself.

[tense music] - Myself?

- For unnecessarily escalating a situation,

forcing yourself back in the deli

right after Boyd Lynch was about to set you free!

- And leave an NYPD captain,

my former boss, one of my closest friends

in the hands of a murderer and a rapist?

Is that what you would do?

- Are you always that hot-headed, Mr. Carisi?

- Objection.

- Withdrawn.

Nothing further.

[tense music]

- Witness may step down.

[Carisi sighs]

♪ ♪

[indistinct chatter]

- Wipe that smile off your face.

- Your Honor!

- You know what happened in that deli and so do I!

[gavel bangs] You son of a bitch!

- Mr. Carisi! - I saw you, Deonte!

I saw you!

- Mr. Carisi, stop now or I'll hold you in contempt.

[low tense music]

Jury will disregard.

Mr. Carisi, you're excused.

♪ ♪

[somber suspenseful music]

♪ ♪

[Carisi sighs]

- I'm sorry.

- What the hell was that? - I don't know.

All right?

One minute I'm in a courtroom,

and then I see Deonte smile at me,

and it's like I'm right back in that deli

and I--I lost it.

- Yeah, that's an understatement.

Goes without saying I'm not going to redirect you.

- What do we do now?

- There is no "we."

You're acting like we're partners, and we're not.

♪ ♪

[Carisi sighs]

♪ ♪

- Hey.

- Hey.

- Now what?

♪ ♪

- I don't know.

I'm not losing this case.

♪ ♪

I am not losing this case.

- [softly] Mm.

♪ ♪

One thing I know about Deonte is he is a follower.

First it was Boyd, then it was Vaughn.

- So what are the chances he's been in Rikers

for the past six months without someone to tell him what to do?

♪ ♪

- I let Deonte get into my head.

We got to find a way to get into his.

- So who is this guy? - Jay Goldstein.

He's a fake lawyer awaiting a murder trial

for poisoning his mother with antifreeze.

- Antifreeze, huh? - Mm.

- Carisi thinks he can help us?

- Yeah, before Vaughn came along,

Deonte was working his case with this guy.

- Well, Goldstein's not a real lawyer,

so there's no attorney-client privilege.

He's willing to talk to us? - Oh, yeah.

He isn't even asking for anything.

I guess he took offense to being ditched for Vaughn.

- Mr. Goldstein?

- Yes!

- Thank you for meeting with us.

- Happy to help.

[hands slapping table]

- Ms. Rourke, are you planning on recalling ADA Carisi?

- Not at this time, Your Honor.

Prosecution rests.

- Mr. Vaughn, you may call your first witness.

- Your Honor, we call Deonte Mosley.

- Boyd first saw Elizabeth Alden

and Tess Milburn crossing towards the deli

when we was walking up the other side of the street.

- And what did Boyd say?

- He thought they looked pretty.

Might have ATM cards.

See, Boyd just got out of prison.

He was looking to party.

- And what did he do?

- He pulled out two guns.

And he told me I had a choice to make as his ride or die.

- And, uh, what did he mean by that?

- That if I didn't ride with him at that moment,

he would shoot me.

- So Boyd Lynch threatened you, coerced you?

- Him being my cellmate is a big part of why I stayed safe

when I first went to prison at 19.

No one messed with him in there.

He was crazy.

- [sighs] Nothing further.

- So it's your contention

you were afraid of Boyd Lynch, right?

- Yeah.

Like I said, he forced me.

I was under...

duress.

He pointed a gun at me.

- Out of curiosity, where did Boyd get the guns?

- [clears throat]

Where did he get them?

- You said he'd just gotten out of prison.

I'm assuming he didn't get them there.

So you must have brought them to him, didn't you?

- Objection. Speculation.

- Withdrawn.

We heard earlier testimony that Boyd Lynch was

in the deli's walk-in cooler

with Tess Milburn for 40 minutes?

- Y-yeah, I guess.

- And you were armed the whole time?

- Yeah.

- And you knew the police were right outside?

- Yeah. So?

- So the question I have for you is,

if you were so afraid of Boyd,

why didn't you just walk out of that deli

when you had the chance?

[tense dramatic music]

♪ ♪

Nothing further.

♪ ♪

So Mr. Goldstein was Deonte's unofficial jailhouse counsel?

- He was helping him with his case until Vaughn came along.

- Deonte told him the real reason he shot Boyd.

- And he's willing to testify?

- To everything.

- I don't know if the judge will allow it at this point.

- OK. Look, this is our chance to win this case.

You got this.

- Would you mind stating your name, sir?

- Jay Marcus Goldstein.

- Mr. Goldstein, would you tell the jury

what your relationship is to Deonte Mosley?

- Yes. I advised Deonte about his case for about two months

before he found this, uh, Mr. Vaughn here.

- Did Deonte talk to you about

his potential self-defense plea?

- He wouldn't shut up about it.

Then Vaughn comes along, he bolsters that line of crap.

- Your Honor, are we really going to take the word of a man

who murdered his own mother over my client's?

- I've already allowed this witness, Mr. Vaughn.

You'll have your chance to cross.

Ms. Rourke, continue.

- What did he tell you exactly?

- The truth.

The only reason why he whacked Boyd

was so he couldn't testify against him.

- Mr. Goldstein, did Deonte Mosley tell you

that he knew his former cellmate, Boyd Lynch,

was a convicted rapist?

- Yes. It didn't seem to matter to him.

- In all your talks with him,

what did matter to Deonte Mosley?

- The only thing that matters to Deonte Mosley

is Deonte Mosley.

[suspenseful music]

♪ ♪

- Members of the jury, have you reached a verdict?

- We have, Your Honor.

On the four counts of armed robbery,

we find the defendant guilty.

Murder in the second of Ali Imran,

we find the defendant guilty.

Murder in the second degree of Boyd Lynch, guilty.

On the charge of rape in the first of Tess Milburn,

we find the defendant not guilty.

- Members of the jury,

the State of New York thanks you for your service.

♪ ♪

- You should have taken that deal.

♪ ♪

[Rourke sighs]

- Headed back to Brooklyn?

- Unless you want to share your office.

- What, like partners?

Uh, tell you what.

You ever want to move to Manhattan,

I'll put in a good word.

- I'll let you know.

- I know this isn't what you wanted.

- Well, actually, I'm--I'm OK.

To be honest,

I never thought I could sit in that--

in that witness box.

- And that part's over now.

- Deonte is going to be in prison

for the rest of his life.

- Thanks to your husband.

- Neither one of us would have survived without him.

[tense somber music]

- Tess, I, uh...

I wi--I wish I--I could have, um...

[soft dramatic music]

- Thank you.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

- She seems like she's going to be OK.

- She made the decision to move on.

- Maybe it's--

it's time you did too.

♪ ♪

- I think you already have.

♪ ♪

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪

[wolf howls]