The Closer

All units be advised.

We have shots fired and an officer down.

We need tactical support

on the 3600 block of MacGregor Drive

in Northridge.

Air 5, who is responding to the MacGregor Drive call?

We've got 60 seconds.

17-835.

I'll be on the scene in 15 seconds.

Any suspect descriptions?

No description given.

835. Show me code six.

There we go. Right there. South curb.

Lying down, south curb.

Okay, we got him right there.

We got him under the light. I got him right here.

The Closer 7x20 Armed Response Original Air Date on August 6, 2012

== sync, corrected by elderman ==

Bobby. Provenza.

He's not a cop. You're kidding.

Neighbor called it in.

Must have been confused by the uniform.

Looks like he was working private security.

Poor kid.

All right, Bobby.

Get on the radio.

Let everyone know there not an officer down.

And this security car over here must belong to the victim,

so tape it off.

Let's get a perimeter set up, huh?

Code 4 on MacGregor. Not an officer.

Repeat. Not an officer.

He's waving us off.

We still gonna take this case?

I'm up. I'm dressed.

I'm making time-and-a-half. Let's go.

Okay, the I.D. says our security guard's name is,

uh, Danny Chaidez.

Wish I could confirm that for sure,

but the shotgun took out most of his face.

Close range, too --

about 10 feet.

I got a shell casing from a 12-gauge shotgun, sir.

Looks like the shooter approached on foot

from across the lawn.

Our victim turned -- boom.

So it wasn't a drive-by.

No, sir. I just spoke with the lady who called 911.

According to her, she heard the shot, looked out her window,

saw what she thought was a dead cop lying on the ground,

but no one fleeing the scene, although it smells like

she's been hitting the Chardonnay pretty hard.

Great. No witnesses.

Gentlemen.

Ah. DDA Baldwin.

I'm afraid it was a bit of a wasted trip for you.

Turns out that this murder is not an officer down.

I heard that on the radio call. Are you sure it's a murder?

Well, I'm not an attorney like you, of course,

but we found the guy

lying in the street with his face blown away.

So, yeah.

Yeah, I'm comfortable calling it murder.

Why?

The victim's carrying a gun.

Well, his, uh, holster is still snapped.

So that means he never drew his weapon.

He was ambushed, ma'am.

Unless you already have

conclusive evidence to the contrary,

when we make our arrest,

the suspect's attorney will claim self-defense.

Have you, uh, canvassed for witnesses?

Does RACR have related assaults in this area or is it just --

You know, t-t-those are all great questions.

Why don't you get back in your car

and write them all out for me?

Chief Pope wants me here.

And you can stay, just not inside my crime scene.

Lieutenant, look, I --

Ah! Ah! Ah!

I'm telling you, as the incident commander,

stand over there.

What do you got, Mike?

I just talked to the security company's dispatch.

The supervisor said our victim, Danny Chaidez,

called in a suspicious-activity report at 12:48 a.m.,

a possible break-in at an empty house.

3631 MacGregor.

Right over there.

Police! L.A.P.D.!

Open door on the left! Door on my left.

Bathroom, right.

Around the corner!

Clear!

We're clear!

Clear!

Hey, Buzz! Come on in. It's all clear.

Hey, guys. In here.

Okay.

Look at this, Buzz.

We got an iPod on a battery-operated dock here.

And a sleeping bag for two.

Somebody was having a good time.

Forensics, get this ashtray.

Buzz, check this out.

A pink bra and a 12-pack of condoms.

Now, that's what I call optimism.

I also found some empty condom wrappers in the bathroom

and a lot of biological evidence.

This is disgusting.

I believe we've maximized our DNA potential.

That's even more disgusting.

And this iPod has a bunch of music on it,

including a file that says "slow jam love mix,"

but, uh, no photos.

Cannabis, candles, and condoms.

Sounds like young romance.

When you put it to music, yeah.

And I'm looking at the settings here,

and it looks like this belonged to someone named Luke.

Luke who?

Uh, sorry. It just says "Luke's music."

I'll, uh, I'll trace the serial number,

see if I can find who bought it and where.

So, the operating theory would be that this Luke

and whoever else was in the house partying with him

may have been involved in the shooting last night

or at least witnessed it.

I-is there any other blindingly obvious thing

you would like to point out to us?

Do you know if our victim ever went inside the house himself?

Found the key to the door in his back pocket, ma'am.

Having the key doesn't mean he used it.

There are probably a lot of people in the area

who knew the house was vacant.

We should probably talk to the estate agent

and the bank officers, in addition to everyone

in the neighborhood, just to rule out --

Claire. Claire. Excuse me.

Do you think that you're speaking to an Academy class?

Lieutenant, regardless of whether or not

he used his weapon,

the victim was armed,

and the killer will say he was approached with deadly force

and acted in fear of his life.

So, what can you tell me about Mr. Chaidez?

25, no criminal record, no gang affiliations,

and he was a war hero, ma'am.

A war hero?

Sergeant Chaidez served 18 months in Iraq

and in three tours of duty in Afghanistan,

and he was awarded the Silver Star for gallantry in Kandahar.

Only to be shot down in the streets of Los Angeles.

It doesn't seem right at all.

Chief Johnson, I, uh, thought you were in Atlanta.

I was.

Welcome back. Thank you.

And thanks so much, the rest of you,

for all the flowers and...food and...cards

that you sent my family.

We were so grateful for all the wonderful things

you wrote about my mother.

Lieutenant Provenza, may I speak with you for a moment?

Certainly.

Thank you. And, uh, DDA Baldwin,

I can't tell you how much we appreciate your help.

We'll be sure to update you just as soon as we've made an arrest.

I'm sure you know the way out.

What is Baldwin doing here?

Uh, ask Pope, not me.

Was she running my murder room?

No. No, she wasn't.

Just some bureaucratic B.S.

And I'll take care of it.

Y-you do not need to be here, Chief.

Our victim is a decorated veteran.

This is exactly where I need to be.

You weren't supposed to come back from Atlanta till next month.

All my brothers are there,

three aunts, two uncles, nephews, nieces.

There isn't even a place to park

in front of my parents' house right now.

It's later I need to think about --

when my father's all alone.

So, please, just, uh...

fill me in on this case.

What's our strongest lead?

An iPod left at the scene.

Owned by?

Carolyn Lowitz.

Carolyn? Not Luke?

No. According to the receipt and the serial number,

Carolyn Lowitz bought that iPod at the Grove in May.

Maybe it was, uh, a gift for Luke.

Or he stole it.

Do we have an address for Ms. Lowitz?

No, I'm still waiting on an e-mail from the credit-card company.

It should be here any second.

Chief Johnson. How are you?