Criminal Minds

All right, ladies, let's do this.

Whoo!

Aah!

It's a little early out on the west coast, isn't it?

Man: Yeah, well, you know, something weird is happening out here.

Now that you're in the bau,

You might want to check it out.

I know it's not scratch related,

But my buddy at miramar air force base

Says it's worth a look.

Home invasion murders in upscale neighborhoods.

Each victim shot once.

The coordination needed to pull this off says gang.

They really did a number on these houses.

Well, to be honest, this reminds me a little of a terrorist cell,

Only all nihilism and no ideology.

Ok, let's see what the rest of the team thinks.

Rick and lenore purcell are the latest victims

Of burglary-homicides in wealthy san diego neighborhoods.

Last week the same happened to janelle klecker

While her husband was out of town on business.

Janelle klecker lived in del mar.

That's 7 miles away.

The purcells were in rancho santa fe.

Well, quite the party.

Narcotics, booze, vandalism.

Seems there was a fashion show.

Yeah, those are all women's clothing.

It looks like our gang's both male and female.

Girls are just as susceptible as boys to gang recruitment.

According to the national youth gang center,

About 20% are females.

Often people join gangs for the sense of belonging,

And if they're socially isolated,

It provides them with a sense of family for the first time.

Yeah, gangs also tend to follow a hierarchy.

Alpha on top, then muscle,

Devout right hand, and then the soldiers.

So it looks like both times they grabbed cash and electronics

But avoided jewels and art.

Well, that could be 'cause they know what's easy to sell

And hard to track. That makes them criminally experienced.

Which is likely considering they moved in and out

Without witnesses or triggering alarms.

But it is hard to maintain that level or organization

When you're high.

An m.O. Mismatch like that

Could have been caused by group dynamics.

Too many cooks in the kitchen.

They should have waited until the house was empty but didn't.

The gang could be thrill-seekers.

Could have been why the residents were there when it happened.

Once is an accident, twice a trend.

Garcia, see if any of the victims have secrets.

Skeletons in the closet, my specialty.

They could be targeting random victims or working off a list.

It's difficult to tell which from the files.

Look, I know I'm new here,

But to me it seems like they won't stop.

I'd rather fly out there and find nothing

Than stay here and see more bodies drop. Wheels up in 20.

Hello, ma'am. Can I have a moment of your time?

My little brother has bone marrow cancer,

And our family can't afford the costly treatments.

I'm gathering donations to help pay for his radiation,

Chemotherapy, and recovery.

It's gonna be a long rod for him,

But with support like yours, my brother has a chance

To fight this disease.

Everybody's affected by cancer.

Mom, dad,

Brother, sister, friend,

Husband, wife.

I know times are tough,

But every bit counts.

Would you like to help?

Would you like to help?

I wish I could.

Would you like to help?

Why don't you come inside while I get my checkbook.

Have a seat. I'll only be a second.

You have a lovely home.

Oh, thank you, dear.

Walker: "now, we'll start this band of robbers

"and call it tom sawyer's gang.

"everybody that wants to join has to take an oath

And write his name in blood."

Mark twain.

Rick purcell was a financial planner.

His wife lenore ran a high-end boutique.

It says here they have no kids,

No extended family either.

Janelle klecker, our first victim,

She was the cfo of a major accounting firm.

Her husband dan owned strip malls along the west coast.

They also don't have kids, but plenty of nieces and nephews.

Childless couples could be part of their victim selection criteria.

Ok, I have looked inside and out of these people's lives

And their closets are void of skeletons.

Aside from geography and class, there's zero overlap.

What do we think is motivating this gang?

Murder? Theft?

Maybe it's both. We have evidence of cocaine,

Marijuana, speed, alcohol.

That level of drug use must affect their focus.

But to pull off a coordinated attack like this,

At least one of them is sober.

Well, it could be the alpha.

Maybe he's using the drugs to control the others.

Well, if the shooter's the same for each one,

My money's on the alpha.

It depends. Some gang leaders

Are willing to get their hands dirty,

Others aren't.

Ok, when we land, luke, rossi, head to the m.E.

Walker, set up with the local p.D.,

And jj and I will go to the purcell crime scene.

Thank you for the donation, mrs. Vendl.

Of course. And your brother will be in our prayers.

They're perfect.

Good work, babe.

All right, get ready, boys and girls,

We found our next score.

Yeah! Whoo!

C.O.D.'s a single gunshot wound to the forehead.

Ballistics confirms a suppressed compact 9-millimeter

Was used both times.

A relatively common firearm.

Any sexual assault?

None.

Home invasion victims are often blitz attacked.

But not here. No defensive wounds,

No blunt-force trauma.

Then the unsubs likely used the gun to control them.

Rossi: Ligature marks on the wrists,

Not overly abrasive. What was used?

Household items.

Janelle klecker, a man's tie.

Probably her husband's.

The purcells, a woman's belt

And a phone charger cord.

Alvez: You see this?

The contact wounds look the same.

Did the first victim have one

In roughly the same spot?

Yes, almost exactly.

Hmm. Same weapon, same barrel placement,

Same downward angle.

You add it up, it's a single shooter.

Whoever it was had to be sober

To maintain this level of self-control.

So, there's one shooter, clearheaded,

Controlled, mature, on the hunt,

While the others go along on a drug-fueled party binge.

Alvez and rossi figure the shooter was sober enough

To maintain self-control throughout.

Which means he's likely our alpha.

It seems our alpha has a muscle,

Because whoever did this is strong.

Given this physicality,

It's likely a male,

Whose rage is easy to set off but also manage.

Anger created by an event in childhood, maybe.

It's hard to see evidence of it,

But based on group dynamics,

We know this leader has a devout right hand.

That person is an unwavering extension

Of the alpha, providing him with unconditional support.

But the level of immaturity right here

Is a 180 from the alpha.

That's the problem with group dynamics.

Different personalities, different agendas.

Jj: This vandalism is likely courtesy of the gang's soldiers.

Prentiss: Impressionable and eager, they're probably

The youngest members.

Could have escaped a negative home life, too,

With the leader acting as the father figure they crave.

And if the alpha supplied them with drugs and alcohol,

It would make them easier to control.

Police said the music was cranked up when they arrived.

With the distance between the houses,

I doubt the neighbors heard anything, even gunshots.

So the shooter could have killed them out here, but instead...

He kept them isolated, in here.

Maybe one of them can't stomach the violence.

Yeah, but still, the shooter wouldn't need a suppressor.

True.

Unless he didn't want someone in the house to hear.

What if the other members don't know about the killings?

Nothing here says these victims were targeted.

So far they appear random.

In an area like this, a ruse would work best.

A fake injury, claim to be looking for a lost pet.

Well, whatever it was, they would need to quietly

See the most potential victims in the shortest time.

I've seen houses in the area with the "no soliciting" signs.

Suggests it happens. Maybe that's the ruse.

Around here, residents wouldn't hesitate

To call the police about a peddler.

Unless maybe they're young and innocent-looking.