Until Proven Innocent

by Gene Grossman

  *****

  The jailer at Los Angeles Police’s Venice Division knows me. I’ve been to his establishment many times as a lawyer and once as a tenant. I see that Tony is being treated nicely, because he’s not in a cell. Instead, he’s sitting at a table, playing cards with the jailer.

  As I figured, he didn’t make any statements to anyone, and they knew better than to ask him any questions.

  “Okay Tony, let’s hear it. From the time that someone called you on your boat.”

  “As I told you, some production assistant whose voice I didn’t recognize called me. Joe and I were having some differences about tomorrow’s scenes, so I figured he had someone call me to come in for a meeting. The PA told me that they would probably wrap the day’s shoot between six and seven, so I should drop by at eight. I was told that the back door to the stage would be left ajar for me, but I was supposed to make sure that I locked it from the inside after I came in.

  “I got there at seven fifty-five, came in the back door, locked it after I came in, and then went to Joe’s office. He wasn’t there, so I sat down and waited for him. I figured he was in the head or something. After about ten or fifteen minutes, he didn’t show up, so I started walking around the building, calling out his name.

  “I checked all the rooms except for the soundstage. When I went back there, it was still dark, so I flipped on the house lights. Then I saw him. He’d been drilled right through the middle. I must have passed him by when I walked through the dark stage. I didn’t touch him, or anything else. I used my cell phone to call the uniforms. When they arrived, they confirmed what I already knew: he was shot in the chest. The bullet went clear through him and flattened itself out on the concrete wall of the soundstage, after it penetrated the soundproofing.

  “As a routine matter, they asked if I was armed, and I opened my coat to let them see my S & W 500. They took it out of my holster and sniffed it. They realized that it had been fired, and they were right, because I was out at the range today. That’s where I was coming from when you saw me on the dock.

  “When they checked my weapon, they saw one expended round. That’s when they gave me my rights and brought me here. I don’t know how that empty casing got there, and I swear to you, I didn’t shoot Joe.”

  “They’ve got a long way to go before they have an airtight case against you, so relax. I talked to the D.A. and she’s meeting me in court tomorrow, where we’ll be fighting over your bail. At least she gave you a break by sending you here instead of to County Jail. I’ll see you in court tomorrow.”

  *****

  The next morning Myra is in rare form. Not only does she look good, but she sounds good too. The usual procedure takes place. After the bailiff announces that we should remain seated and come to order, he says the judge’s name, the man with the robe walks in from his private entry, steps up to the bench, sits down, and the clerk calls the first case… Tony’s. The judge starts.

  “Good morning counsel. I see that we’re honored by the attendance of the District Attorney herself. Is that because you’re here, Mister Sharp?”

  “I’ve given up trying to imagine what type of food coaxes her out of the cage Your Honor, so it must be for the purpose of starting one of her office’s weakest cases.”

  Myra looks at me for a few seconds until she runs out of daggers. The judge continues.

  “Okay, boys and girls, we’ve got an arraignment to do here now. I see that the Defendant is present in court, and I know who the players are, but why don’t you say your names anyway, just for the record?”

  We comply with his request, and he goes to the next phase.

  “We have a charge of Penal Code Section 187 being made by the People today. Mister Sharp, am I correct in assuming that you and your client waive reading of the charges and enter a plea of not guilty?”

  I let him know that he is correct. We all know what’s next, so he doesn’t disappoint us. “Miss Scot, I saw you on television last night and you hinted that you might be taking this case to the Grand Jury, am I to take it by your presence today that you’ve changed your mind?”

  Myra confirms that he is correct, and that the case will be going through the normal channels, with a Preliminary Hearing being requested. The judge asks her the big question. “Do the People have any recommendation on bail?”

  “Yes we do, Your Honor, we feel that bail should be denied and this defendant should be remanded to custody. The victim was shot by a large .50 caliber handgun, exactly like the one removed from the defendant’s shoulder holster. We have witness statements to the effect that the defendant argued with the victim, and there was one empty shell casing in the defendant’s recently fired weapon. The defendant was given a paraffin test to see if he fired a weapon shortly before the crime was committed. The results were positive. He failed.”

  The judge is surprised to hear about the gun and has a question.

  “Did you say that it was a fifty caliber handgun that was used? I didn’t know they made handguns that big. What are they good for, stopping runaway elephants?”

  I better say something before this whole procedure turns into a circus. There are already quite a few reporters in the courtroom, and I don’t want the public to get the feeling that Tony is a big game hunter who mistook the victim for black bear.

  “Your Honor, the weapon that is being referred to is a popular new model manufactured by the Smith and Wesson Company, and quite a few police officers have decided to carry one just like it, in view of the heavily armed criminals who now are using military assault rifles.

  “Furthermore, we would like to make the Court aware of the fact that it was the defendant who discovered the body and immediately called the police. There was a period of at least five minutes before the first squad car responded, Your Honor, and if my client had actually done the shooting, after having served more than twenty years on the police force, he certainly would not have been too much in shock to have realized that it was time to remove the empty casing from his weapon and quickly leave the scene.

  “And as for the recent firing of his weapon and his results on the paraffin test, we also have witnesses to the fact that he was out on a shooting range shortly before this crime, firing his weapon.

  “In view of the fact that there is no way the People can definitely link his gun to this crime, and also taking into consideration his calling the police, staying until they arrived, and fully cooperating in the investigation, we urge this court to recognize a man who has appeared here on many past occasions in the interest of supporting the law. We would ask that the defendant be released on his own recognizance.”

  This is not an uncommon request in cases like this. The People ask for a remand with no bail being set, and the defense asks for a no-bail release. The judge thinks about it for a minute before making his decision.

  “I hear both of you, and ordinarily I’d tend to agree with the People, but I’ve seen this policeman testify in front of me plenty of times over the past fifteen years, and I’m of the opinion that he’s to be trusted with bail. The remand is denied. As for the amount of bail, I also realize that this is a capital case, so I’m going to set the bail at one hundred thousand dollars. Check with my clerk for a Prelim date.”

  That being said, he bangs his gavel down with the usual “next case.”

  Tony looks at me with an expression probably most used by animals that are just about to be put asleep at the dog-pound. He knows that there’s no way he can raise the money for bail, so he’ll be spending quite a while in the County Jail, where the other prisoners don’t exactly care for cops.

  The bailiff walks over to us. “Counselor, you’re free to go, and take your client with you. His bail has been posted.”

  Tony and I are both completely surprised by this. As Myra passes by on her way out of the courtroom, her comment gives me a hint as to how the bail was set. “I’ll have to talk to that brat. She’s starting to annoy me.”

  *****

  The Ch
inese restaurant around the corner is a very popular place for the police to congregate for lunch every day… and they do. On any given afternoon, the parking lot is full of black-and-white cars and motorcycles, and the inside is full of both dark blue and khaki uniforms. Because the kid’s mother used to run the place, Suzi is a celebrity there, and is treated like a mascot by every cop in the place. They must like her, because she brings that huge Saint Bernard in there with her, and there’s never been any complaint made to the Health Department about a dog being in a closed setting where food is served.

  Over the past six years since her mother was killed in a car accident, Suzi is at the restaurant every day at lunchtime, and started working behind the cash register when she was only five years old, so she knows all the cops, and they know and adore her. She also does what she can to help divorced cops get slips in the Marina when their wives throw them out, and they decide to live on an old boat. I know what that feels like, because her late stepfather did the same for me.

  Tony is one of the kid’s cop lunch gang, so she felt honor-bound to bail him out. I can’t complain. If she wants to use ten thousand of the firm’s money for a bail premium, she must believe he’s innocent – and if that’s her feeling then he probably is, because no matter how bad things look for Tony now, she’s usually right. I know it, and Myra knows it. That’s probably what’s bothering our District Attorney. Myra would never question her decision to file against someone if I was the one advising her against it, but she knows that the kid is usually dead-on with her little instincts.

  I call April and try to console her. She isn’t taking the loss of her boyfriend too well and I get the feeling that she feels awkward talking to the person who is representing the guy accused of killing Joe. Her apartment building manager must know that the victim they’re talking about on television was April’s boyfriend, so he’s temporarily backed off of the eviction drive, probably to avoid getting involved with a high profile person who just lost her boyfriend to a murderer and was the star of one of the county’s most popular car commercials. I tell her not to worry and that things will work out.

  *****

  Tony and I are trying to figure out how to beat this case. “Tony, what about ballistics? Is there a way they can tie your gun into the shooting?”

  “Remember counselor? I told you that ballistics was my weak suit. I’ve talked to a couple of old friends who told me that the bullet went right through Joe and flattened like a pancake when it hit the wall.”

  “All that proves is that you had an empty shell casing in your gun. That could be a coincidence. That’s not enough to convict.”

  “Yeah, but I heard this morning that they found my fingerprints on that empty casing, just like on the other four bullets in the gun.”

  “So what? It was your gun. I’d be more surprised to find a bullet in there that didn’t have your fingerprints on it.”

  “Nice try counselor, but every cop you talk to will tell you that you never leave empty casings in your weapon after firing it. Either you carry a fully loaded weapon or you don’t carry one at all. If they’ve got an empty casing, they’ll believe that it was used to shoot Joe. And you know what? He’s the first black guy I was ever on the verge of becoming friendly with. He was tough to work with, but he knew what he was doing, and I now realize that I was wrong almost every time we argued. Do you think they’ll stop production of the movie?”

  “No. If I’m right about those sharks that make movies nowadays, they’ll probably use Joe’s death to some advantage for publicizing the picture when it’s released.”

  *****

  I was right. Back at the soundstage production is going on as usual. Everyone is sorry that Joe was killed, but they also value their high paying jobs. I’ve got an appointment with the person taking Joe’s place. Ren called letting me know that he wants to talk about Tony.

  Joe’s replacement is a man named Will Sargent. He welcomes me into his office.

  “Mister Sharp, thanks for coming in. Can I call you Peter? Good. I just want you to know that we intend to finish this production, but there’s one more scene that requires Tony to be in it, and I want to know what your thoughts are on that.”

  “That’s an easy one, Will. Tony is innocent and I intend to prove it. There’s no way he would have shot Joe, left an empty bullet in his gun, and then called the police to report the crime. He’s being framed plain and simple, and I see no reason why you shouldn’t let him do that last scene he’s supposed to be in for two main reasons. First, if you don’t let him continue, you’ll have to re-shoot every scene in the movie that he appeared in and that will cost time and money. Second, if he’s in the film, you’ll have double the impact for advertising when the picture is released. If he’s convicted, the people will flock to see a murderer in the picture. If he’s acquitted, he can do the talk show circuit for you. It’s a win-win for your production company.”

  “You’ve got some nice points there, Peter, but I’ve got one more consideration.”

  “What would that be, Will?”

  “The rest of the cast and crew. If they refuse to work with him, then there’s nothing I can do.”

  “Okay Will, I’ll talk to them. But if I can get them to agree to work with Tony, then do we have a deal? Tony can continue in the picture?”

  We shake on it and I go onto the soundstage to campaign for my client.

  *****

  It was a lot easier than I thought it would be. I’ve heard stories about film crews who work long, hard hours together and consider themselves like family, but never actually saw it happen… until now.

  It was almost unanimous. They worked with Tony, saw him struggle with the acting process, helped him out in any way they could, and there seems to have been some bond formed between them and him, but you’d probably never get him to admit it.

  I spent a good deal of time making my presentation to them about how I believed he was innocent, and gave all the arguments against guilt and the holes in the prosecution’s case. It wasn’t until after it was all over and everyone agreed that Tony should come back to finish the picture that I realized where my presentation took place: the set, which is decorated to look exactly like a courtroom. I now realize that what I was doing was a rehearsal of my summation to the jury. I’ve heard of mock trials before where a trial and summation is practiced, but those things are supposed to cost many thousands of dollars. Thanks to the Venice Soundstage, I just got one for free. One more benefit was the very obvious wink that I got from one young starlet. I imagine she feels like a new step-dad is in the wings. The most amazing thing about my presentation is that it was mostly acting, because I still have my doubts about Tony’s innocence.

  Back at the boat I call Tony and leave a message on his answering machine that he’d better be ready to go back to work, because the whole film company is expecting him back on the stage to finish his last scene. I also add a brief explanation about my speaking to everyone in the company, and that it was a unanimous decision on their part. Next time I see Ren on the stage, I’ll have to thank him. My job was so easy there, I’m sure he must have paved the way for my summation by telling everyone how strongly he believed in Tony’s innocence.

  *****

  The phone rings. It’s Stuart calling. He sounds cryptic today, like he’s afraid someone’s listening in.

  “Peter, can we get together some time soon?”

  “Sure Stu, what’s on your mind?”

  “I’d rather tell you when I see you.”

  “C’mon Stuart, at least give me a hint.”

  “Okay. You know that thing I’m doing from the left coast to the right coast? You know, that unmentionable new business deal I’ve recently started?”

  He must be talking about his cross-country gambling scheme, where he bets against himself on home teams playing baseball. For some reason, he’s become paranoid about it. I get the hint that he doesn’t even want to use the word ‘bet’ or ‘gambling’ on the phone, s
o I might as well play along with him.

  “Stuart, I think I know exactly what you’re talking about, but if you only want to get together with me to try and get me involved in participating, I’m really not interested.”

  “No, Pete, it’s not that. It’s that I’m uh, well, I’m worried about one aspect of it. You know, it involves activities in more than one state, and I’m concerned about Federal law. Can you please look into it for me? I’d feel a lot better knowing that I’m only breaking local misdemeanor rules, if anything at all.”

  I assure Stuart that I’ll look into it, and also mention the new DVD I received. It features one of his favorite stars, so he asks if he can borrow it.

  *****

  There’s a possibility I can kill three birds with one stone this afternoon. I can stop by the Federal Building in West Los Angeles to discuss a hypothetical case with an FBI Agent that I know there. Then I can drive over to Stuart’s warehouse in Van Nuys to put his mind at ease, and also give him that DVD to watch.

  FBI Special Agent Snell’s office says that he’s in and can give me a few minutes of his time, so I’m on the way there. Last year I helped him take the credit for breaking up a bank robbery gang, and more recently, a case I was handling enabled him to get the goods on a Mafia kingpin he’d been after for. Never in a million years would he ever say thank you or give me credit for helping him, but he does at least make himself available to me on occasion if I have a question about the Federal law.

  There’s no smile, and no handshake offered when I’m shown into his office. The most I can ever expect from him is that he remembers my name.

  “Hello, Sharp. What do you want today?”

  “Glad I caught you in a good mood. I’d like to run a hypothetical case by you, just to see if there are any Federal laws being broken.”

  Silence. He doesn’t respond. He just sits there and stares at me. Typical prosecutor attitude, and I should be used to it by now. The sun is really shining today, and I didn’t want to leave that DVD in the car, so I’ve had it in my hand for a while, and decide to put it down on Snell’s desk, freeing up my hands. I always like to have free hands while I’m talking.