American Vandal

The license plate thing wasn't me.

I swear to God.

If it was, I would admit it, because it's fucking funny.

But it wasn't.

How could I...? Look, here's the thing.

How could I have hit her car...?

How could I have vandalized her car if I don't even know what it looks like?

- Yo, whose car is this? - Mrs. Shit-piro.

Yo soy Shapiro. Uh... Uh...

Me gusta them titties.

So, you lied to me.

Dude, I honestly forgot about this video until just now.

Dylan, no, you didn't. You lied to me.

Whatever. I lie about all kinds of little stuff,

like...

that I understood Inception.

Dude, it's simple, all right?

Our dreams have levels, dog.

Dude, you keep... You always say that.

- Like, I still don't... - That's what it is. Is that our dreams...

So, you have, like...

I get that, but how did they get

into the other guy's dream? That doesn't make sense to me.

They have that box.

Guys. Guys. Why did you guys lie about the license plate prank?

Honestly?

Off the record?

Because... Spencer's Instagram is private. I didn't think you'd be able to see it.

Yo, Pete, why is this even in the documentary right now, man?

I mean, this makes me look super guilty. You're supposed to be liberating me, dude.

I'm not trying to liberate anyone. I'm trying to find the truth.

And I can't do that unless you're honest with me.

And this news is really disappointing.

Help me help you, Dylan. I need the truth from now on.

Oh, no.

Pete, man, dude, you sound just like fucking Shapiro right now.

The guy said "help me help you." Did you hear that?

- That's some teacher shit. - That is some straight-up teacher shit.

Everyone has their own version of the truth.

When the stories begin to conflict, the hard part is picking out the lies.

We've heard Dylan's side of the story, and frankly,

it's starting to get harder to believe.

What are we doing?

Uh, I'm just getting some B-roll. Just go about your business. Whatever.

We've also heard from Alex Trimboli, the school board's key witness.

He started with that row, and hit each car as he went along,

and then he went to the next row, and hit each car along that row.

But as we've learned, he isn't exactly the most honest guy in the school either.

Did you get a hand job from Sara Pearson?

A hundred percent.

I needed to talk to someone everyone trusts,

specifically, the person most certain of Dylan's guilt, Ms. Shapiro.

It would be a lot more exciting if there were some conspiracy...

...but there just isn't one.

I mean, I've had Dylan in my class for two years,

and his older brother Cooper before that, and...

I just want you to understand that from Dylan Maxwell's first day of my class

he's always been more interested in getting a laugh than an education.

Sorry.

Dylan.

I mean, it was nonstop.

I mean, he was... He was gluing pennies on the floor.

Dylan.

He'd draw dicks all over the whiteboard. It was funny the first time.

But after a while, it was like, "Dude, calm down."

You know as well as I do

that the evidence against Mr. Maxwell in this case

is not only clear, it's overwhelming.

Another day, another dick.

He painted the cars. He deleted the footage.

He slashed my tire.

I do believe there are legitimate arguments

for Dylan's innocence,

but sometimes when I say them out loud, I realize how dumb I sound.

You're right about all the evidence. It does look bad for Dylan.

- But what about the ball hairs, the...? - Excuse me?

The, um... The hairs on the...

On the testi... The male genitalia of the members.

- You know? - Yeah, nice save, Peter.

And, uh... And what about Mackenzie's, uh, testimony

that she was with Dylan at the time of the vandalism?

Peter, you know as well as I do

that Dylan Maxwell's own friends didn't even back up that story.

Dylan, uh, says that he lied about going to, um...

Going to take a, uh...

About going to the bathroom.

Because he was afraid that his friends would make fun of him

about going to hang out with Mackenzie.

Sweetie, he was ten minutes away.

He left ten minutes before the crime was committed.

If this is some sort of coincidence,

then Dylan Maxwell is the unluckiest kid in the world.

What about the Kiefer Sutherland call?

What about it, Peter?

It was a prank phone call.

Yes, it's just a prank call.

But if we can prove that Dylan is the one who made that call,

it's more than just a voicemail, it's an alibi.

I asked Mr. Janson for it.

He wasn't responsive.

Mrs. Janson, this is Peter Maldonado.

- So, I've been calling his daughter. - About that voicemail...

This is annoying. I don't mean to keep bothering you.

It's just important that I get that voicemail.

If we can get our hands on that voicemail

and prove that it's Dylan's voice from Lucas' phone,

then that prank phone call becomes evidence

that could completely dismantle the school board's timeline.

It would exonerate Dylan Maxwell.

Yo. So, look, I'm just...

I just wanted to say I'm sorry about, uh, everything we did to your dad.

It totally wasn't hysterical at all, or anything like that.

But I just really need one little tape from your dad's answering machine.

So, if there's any way you could help me out,

that would be much appreciated.

Um, so, please, do the right thing.

Because, I mean, seriously, it's starting to get...

It's starting to get really annoying.

So...

Thank you.

But so far, all we've gotten are dead ends.

That was pretty good till the end there.

- Yeah? - Yeah.

Dylan Maxwell is trying to convince you that I am some sort of villain,

and that's just not who I am.

Erin Shapiro is a see-you-next-Tuesday.

Just because she lives over in Coastal, she thinks that she's better than us.

You know the kind of people that, like, they pretend like they're your best friend

but really they're saying horrible, mean things about your kid?

You know, like, "Oh, he's so... special."

She's a rules person, and I can appreciate rules.

You tell us the rules, we'll play by the rules, and Cooper, he...

He couldn't.

And, so, I just think Dylan didn't...

He didn't stand a chance.

No, dude, Dylan was doomed

from the second he walked into that classroom.

Last name's Maxwell. Shapiros hate Maxwells.

Man, I spent a lot of time fucking with that lady.

A lot of time fucking with that lady.

I told him, "Don't take her class. I already burned that bridge for you."

But he didn't listen, man. I was like, "Take an elective."

Take gym twice. Take pottery. I don't care. Anything but Shapiro."

But he didn't listen, you know, 'cause he's a fucking idiot.

Dude, fuck you.

You have to take a foreign language. I couldn't have taken pottery.

I'm sorry, I couldn't hear you. What were you saying?

I'm sorry. No, say it again.

I'm not saying that Dylan, you know, doesn't have

some kinds of troubles with his, you know, learning.

We had to keep him back.

I mean, we started him in kindergarten late.

You suck!

And he was just the kind of kid that would run right into the ocean.

I remember when he was little and we were at the beach,

I'd be sitting in the beach chair, he'd run in the water,

and I had to get up and grab him, before he got knocked down by a wave.

One time I thought, "Okay, just let him get knocked down,

and see what happens. He'll learn."

And he got knocked down, and just jumped up, laughing and smiling.

Dylan's mother and I met on one of those eHarmony type of things.

I originally put "no kids" as a preference, but, um...

you know, I wasn't getting a lot of bites, so, um...

I changed that, and a couple weeks later, Denise messaged me.

You know, I saw that she had kids.

Man, I gotta fart.

And, uh...

But, hey, I... didn't really mind at all.

Yeah. It's nice.

And now...

because of Erin Shapiro...

I really don't know what's gonna happen to Dylan.

So, it's clear that the Maxwell family

doesn't speak highly of Ms. Shapiro.

But at school, her reputation speaks for itself.

Invaluable. What would the school do without Ms. Shapiro?

Before arriving at Hanover High, she graduated from UC Santa Cruz,

double majored in education and psychology, honors in both.

When she arrived at Hanover High, she was ready to change the world,

or at least the school.

After-school program enrollment went up.

Detentions went down.

It wasn't a coincidence.

It was her.

When you've been at the same school for a long period of time,

you get used to the way things are.

It takes someone new, someone special,

to show you how much better things could be.

So, the faculty loves Ms. Shapiro. That was expected.

But her students evidently feel the same way.

You know, Ms. Shapiro is... She's got a heart of gold, you know?

I mean, without her, I probably wouldn't have been able to play football this year.

You know, I owe a lot of credit to her for it.

I love her. I love español.

I love Ms. Shapiro.

She really worries about us.

Not only as her students, but as individuals.

Actually, so excited to be able to show you this.

I don't get to share this very often.

So, um, first assignment, right?