Chapter 304
Under Luke’s auspices, the case was methodically investigated.
The first thing was to check the identity of the deceased, although he had seen Franco Murphy’s photo and was basically sure that the person who was shot was Franco Murphy.
But Luke still seized the driver’s license from his hand to check the identity clearly.
In this society documents are more legally binding than looks.
After confirming the dead man’s identity, Luke began to check his cell phone.
Most people in the United States use Apple or Samsung cell phones, but the deceased used a Motorola cell phone, commonly known as the old man in China.
Cell phones are simple to operate and not easy to leave too much evidence.
Luke checked the cell phone communication records, there are only three contacts, one of which is to buy a car intermediary Huff, the other two cell phone numbers did not note the name.
Luke sent these two cell phone numbers to Matthew and asked him to investigate the cell phone numbers.
This clue is important, these two contacts are probably the dead man’s accomplices.
Now that Franco Murphy had been killed, Luke could only look for his associates in other ways.
Jackson rushed over in a trot, “Captain, we checked the motel’s surveillance and found some clues about the robbers.”
Jackson took out his tablet and clicked on the surveillance video, “After we checked the surveillance, we found that Franco Murphy ran out from room 107, which just happens to be up and down the stairs from the room we just searched.
When we were searching room 207, he should have been able to hear him downstairs and then escaped through the back window of the hotel, just in time to be caught by Anthony.”
Luke pointed to the computer screen, “Who was this room opened under?”
“Costa Sheen, who is also a resident of the hotel, opened the room yesterday afternoon.”
“What is the relationship between Costa Sheen and Franco Murphy, do they know each other?”
“I’m not sure, but according to the motel employees Costa Sheen is still staying at the motel.
Yesterday afternoon, Costa Sheen was here with his girlfriend, and Costa Sheen had just gotten a room, and it wasn’t long before his girlfriend got another room.
The motel employees thought they were staying separately and didn’t think much of it, but now it looks like they may have gotten a room for the suspect and they stayed in another room by themselves.”
“Where was the room that Costa Sheen’s girlfriend had?”
“Room 312.”
Luke instructed, “Marcus, Jackson, Jenny, you’re with me.
Ramon, you take the rangers and stand guard in the backyard.”
Anthony asked, “Luke, do you need my help?”
“Not for now, take a break.”
“OK, you guys be careful, those two might be accomplices of the robbers as well.”
“I know.” Luke answered and rushed to the third floor of the hotel with his men.
The four of them walked to the door of room 312, Luke pressed himself against the door and listened to the movement, he didn’t hear anything unusual, and nodded his head to Blackie who was beside him.
Blacky walked to the door and knocked: “Knock knock.”
A man’s voice came from the room, “Who’s out there?”
“I’m LAPD, are you Costa Sheen?”
“It’s me, what can I do for you?”
“Please open the door, we need to talk to you.”
“Talk about what? Why do you police want to see me?”
“Open the door to the room!” Blackie’s tone intensified.
The man whined in a small voice.
The door to the room slowly opened and a shirtless man stood in the doorway, looked at Luke and the others, and said in a panicked tone, “Hey, hey, didn’t you guys say you wanted to talk? Why the guns?”
The white man tried to close the door but was stopped by Blackie, “Hey man, put on some smarts and cooperate with the police investigation.”
“Do you have a search warrant or any other identification?”
Blacky held the gun in his right hand and instructed, “Keep your hands where I can see them ……
That’s right, walk out of the room with your hands on your head.”
“Hey, you can’t do that, I’m only in my underwear …… you’re violating human rights, I’m going to report you.”
“Cut the crap and do what I say, we’ve been polite enough to you.”
Costa Sheen showed an angry look, although a little dissatisfied, he still followed the instructions and walked out of the room.
Black held him against the wall and searched him, “Is there anyone else in the room?”
Before the man could answer, a woman’s voice came out of the room with a hint of drunkenness, “Costa, what’s going on outside? Why haven’t you come in?”
Luke asked, “Who is she?”
“My girlfriend.”
“Is there anyone else in the room besides her?”
“Just the two of us, she’s drunk and I’ve had a lot to drink, but we’re not doing anything illegal.”
“Watch him.” Luke let out, leading Jackson and Jenny into the house to search.
“Ah ……”
The woman in the room jumped in shock and covered her body with the covers, “Who are you people? Why did you break into our room and where is Costa?”
“We’re the police, put your hands up and don’t move.” Jenny walked over to the bed and took charge of guarding the woman.
Luke and Jackson continued their search.
Pizza boxes and two bottles of wine were on the round table in the room and the strong odor of alcohol wafted through the house.
Luke and the two men searched carefully and found no sign of anyone else in the toilet, closet, or under the bed.
Jenny also searched the woman and found no weapons.
The woman was a little upset and complained, “Why are you breaking into my room and disturbing my rest, you’re breaking the law, I’m going to sue you!”
Luke didn’t let his guard down just because of the woman’s threat, he was facing a gang of vicious thugs and had to be careful for the safety of himself and his team.
Luke pulled out a picture of Franco Murphy, “Do you recognize him?”
The woman looked at it and shook her head, “No.”
Luke snapped his fingers, “Concentrate, look closely, and don’t lie to the police.”
The woman rolled her eyes and said with a touch of drunkenness, “I don’t care, if I don’t recognize it, I don’t recognize it.”
Jenny said, “Captain, do you want me to sober her up?”
“It won’t work, she’s not drunk, she’s high.
We should put her in touch with a rehab center.”
The woman hurriedly denied, “NoNoNo, I’m not high, I’m sober, you can’t frame me.”
“Then answer my questions properly.”
“I really don’t know him.”
Luke changed the question, “What is your relationship with the man outside?”
“He’s my boyfriend.”
“What’s your name?”
“Kathleen Fair.”
“What is your relationship to Franco Murphy?”
“I really don’t know the person you’re talking about, you’ve got it all wrong.” Kathleen Fair said, disgruntled.
“I don’t even know why you guys are breaking into my room?
You guys are breaking the law, and if you don’t give me a reasonable explanation, I will definitely file a complaint against you!”
Luke said, “We are investigating a bank robbery, the man in the photo and his accomplices not only robbed the bank, but also killed an FBI agent.
Were you and your boyfriend involved in this?”
“No, really no, I really don’t know the man in the photo.”
“Where were you between nine and twelve yesterday morning?”
“I was at the motel.”
“Who can prove that?”
“My boyfriend can testify that the two of us were together.”
“Liar. The motel surveillance shows that you two were here yesterday afternoon.”
“Oh …… I misremembered, I was too nervous, we were sunbathing on the beach that morning, yes, at nearby Gilmore Beach.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
Luke sensed that the other woman was hiding something and told Jenny to keep an eye on her.
Luke then walked to the door where the Costa Sheen man sat on the porch with his hands cuffed.
Luke walked over and sized up the other man, “Any idea why you’re not being arrested?”
“No, you have the wrong man.”
Luke flashed a picture of Franco Murphy, “Do you recognize him?”
Costa Sheen froze for a moment, a torn look on his face.
Luke prodded, “Answer me.”
“Yes, I’ve seen him, and he seems to live here too.”
Luke was disgruntled, “You know what? I’m losing my patience.
The man in the picture is Franco Murphy, he was involved in a bank robbery and is suspected of killing an FBI agent.
We were tipped off to come get him, but instead of being in his own room, he was in a hotel room you owned.
I have every reason to suspect that you were his accomplice in the bank robbery as well.”
“No, I didn’t do it, much less was his accomplice.”
“Then why was he in the room you had? You are harboring and covering up, and we have just as much reason to arrest you.”
“I swear to God, I really didn’t know he was a criminal, and I didn’t think about harboring one.
It’s just …… that he took the initiative to find the room and asked me to rent it to him, and gave me triple the room rate.
Thinking it was just a favor, I agreed.”
“It was that simple?”
“Yes, it’s that simple, and you can ask my girlfriend if you don’t believe me.”
“Kathleen Fair.”
“Yes.”
“She knew the man in the picture too?”
“She was there and can testify for me.”
“That means that the two of you together harbored this robber.”
“No, it’s not really harboring, because I didn’t even know he was a suspect, we …… just wanted to make some money, that’s all.”
“Where were you between nine and twelve yesterday morning?”
“At Gilmour Beach with my girlfriend.”
The two men gave essentially the same statement, except for some evasive concealment.
Luke asked, “Didn’t you ever ask why he didn’t use his identity to get a room?”
“Uh …… I’m unemployed and I need money to pay for the room and living expenses ……”
Luke said, “Next time you run out of money go find a job first instead of going to the beach and sunbathing, money doesn’t just fall from the sky, understand?”
Although the possibility of the two people lying is not high, but they harbor the suspect is a fact, Luke can not be so easy to let them go, but also need to carefully verify the situation.
He had the two men escorted back to the police station first, waiting for further questioning.
Meanwhile, the technical team also rushed to the room where Franco Murphy was staying to investigate, Franco Murphy’s room was cleanly swept, the technical team did not find any valuable clues.
The coroner also examined Franco Murphy’s body, which had been shot four times, the fatal shot being in the chest.
Finally, there was also news from Matthew’s side that both cell phone numbers belonged to anonymous cards, and both were in an unreachable state for the time being.
Tonight’s operation came to an end for the time being, the good news was that a robber was killed and part of the stolen money was found.
However, because of the robber’s death, it also interrupted further investigation leads.
Ten o’clock in the morning of the following day.
Detective Bureau.
Because they investigated the case until midnight last night, everyone came in late today.
Luke poured a cup of coffee, “Guys, get ready for the morning meeting.”
The lieutenant asked, “What did I miss last night? I heard the robber got shot.”
“That’s right.” Luke said briefly, “We found the motel where the suspect was staying based on his cell phone location, we also went to the front desk of the motel and found out the room where the suspect was staying, we entered the room to make the arrest only to find that the suspect was not there.
The reason is that the suspect played a trick, he rented a room downstairs that someone else had opened at a high price. While we were upstairs making the arrest, he heard us loud and clear and escaped by jumping out the window directly from the back of the house, just in time to be shot down by Anthony who was waiting outside.”
The lieutenant asked rhetorically, “So the trail is broken.”
Luke said, “There are still some clues, they just might not be useful for a while, like those two anonymous cell phone cards that we can locate as soon as the other person turns them on.”
The vice squad thought for a moment and said with intent, “The last time we captured Jerome Gaddafi it was Anthony who led the team, but the result was unsuccessful;
This time to capture Franco Murphy, Anthony killed the suspect again ……
Considering that Anthony has not recovered from his injuries, I suggest that the next time there is an operation, it would be better to let him sit in the back.”
Luke understood what the lieutenant said, but it was not appropriate to discuss it in this occasion, “Lieutenant, the two people brought back last night are yours, verify if they have a deeper connection with the robbers.”
“I got it.”
“Knock knock.” A knock sounded outside.
“Come in.”
Anthony pushed his way in, “Good morning, everyone. I hope I’m not late.”
Luke said, “You’re just in time, we’re in the middle of a meeting.”
“Did you guys discuss the new clues?”
“No.”
“Then why don’t you let me say a few words, I just happened to bring a new clue.”
“What clues?”
“This morning, Tyndall Bank had customers come in to make deposits, and a large number of the bills matched the serial numbers of the bills that were stolen in North Hollywood, so I’m guessing it won’t be long before the police get wind of it, too.”
Luke asked, “Why did your FBI get the news before the police did?”
Anthony shrugged, “Bank robberies are supposed to be under the FBI.”
Jackson said, “As I recall the robbers didn’t rob the new banknotes? Why would they even be discovered?”
Anthony asked, “This fellow looks a little familiar, what’s his name?”
Blackie laughed, “Rookie, just call him Rookie.”
Anthony smiled, “Very graphic.
Dude, technology is constantly evolving, don’t think that only new banknotes have problems.
Many of the bank’s machines and counting machines have the ability to record serial numbers, as long as the money passes through the bank’s machines once, some of the bill serial numbers will be recorded.
It’s not easy to do anything these days, and neither is robbery.”
Luke asked, “Did you get the guy?”
“No, the bank is afraid to do anything rash considering the safety of their customers.”
Luke said, “Then what are we waiting for?”
Half an hour later, Luke led a team to Tyndall Bank.
Anthony also came along, this clue was provided by him, Luke had no reason not to let him come.
Luke and the others identified themselves and found Tyndall Bank manager Bindo Fisher, a black man in his forties.
Luke said, “Manager Fisher, where are those stolen funds?”
“Please come with me.” Bindu Fisher took Luke and the others into the manager’s office and took out a box from the safe, inside was ten piles of bills, “This is it.”
Luke picked up the money and examined it, it was all circulated bills, “Describe how you found the stolen money.”
“Two men came into the bank to deposit money just after nine this morning, the desk clerk was using the counting machine and noticed an anomaly, a number of the bills had the same serial numbers as the ones from the North Hollywood bank robbery, and then told me about it.
I stood and watched the two men from a distance, and uh …… didn’t feel too good about messing with them, and they were probably armed.
There were quite a few customers at the bank at the time, so we didn’t dare do anything rash, so we took care of their business.”
Anthony said, “You guys did the right thing, these guys are indeed dangerous.”
“What kind of business did they take care of?”
“One hundred thousand dollars was deposited into the account of Odevall Veers, who was also one of the depositors, and they left soon after.
After that, two more transfers were made from Odevall-Viles’ account at the e-bank.”
“Can you find out the information on the receiving accounts?”
“Yes. One was a bank account at Browne Elementary School to which $30,000 was transferred.
One was a bank account at Boone Middle School, transferring $40,000 dollars.”
Luke was a little surprised, “He used that money for tuition?”
Bindo Fisher, the bank manager, nodded, “That’s right, and it’s a top ranked private school in Los Angeles.”
Anthony laughed, “This guy knows how to invest, and he’s a good father.”
Luke said, “Manager Fisher, we want the depositor’s information and surveillance video.”
“No problem, I’ll take you to the surveillance room.” Perhaps out of a rabbit in the headlights mentality, bank manager Bindu Fisher was very helpful to the police investigation.
With the depositors’ information and surveillance, Luke and the others quickly identified the depositors.
These two men had stolen money and were probably involved in the North Hollywood bank robbery.
Subsequently, the police and the FBI launched an arrest of the two men ……