Friday September 4th, 10:55 A.M. Washington
Heights
West 175th Street -
Apartment Building of Carlos Rodriguez
The M.E. identified the five bodies
from the building. The four men she didn’t recognize were all Puerto Ricans. The
Dominican gangs and Puerto Ricans had an ongoing rivalry, especially when it
came to their turf. Kelli already knew the fifth man, Francisco Trujillo.
The shell casings were all 9MM and
CSU recovered twenty-five of them. They only pulled one usable partial print
off a shell casing, which made her smile. The partial put Carlos Rodriguez at
the scene, making him one of the shooters. Now, she had enough for an arrest
warrant.
Kelli and the rest of the squad
waited down the hall as the ESU team made their approach. The tactical unit
reached the door and made ready. One man stepped up and broke it in with a ram.
As soon as the door swung open, ESU
poured inside, shouting for the occupants to drop their weapons. Several more
shouts came from inside the apartment as they cleared each room. Frank took the
lead and headed in. Kelli and the other detectives followed.
When she stepped inside, Kelli saw
Carlos and the two men from the shooting in Brooklyn. There were four other men
she’d never seen before and figured them for new recruits to the DDP. ESU had
them all lined up on their knees, hands on their heads. Carlos met her stare
with a scowl, his eyes glowing with contempt.
“Hey, you okay?”
Kelli turned her head and looked at
Frank. “Yeah, I’m good. I’ve got this son of a bitch.” She walked toward Carlos
and took her handcuffs out as she stepped up behind him. “Carlos Rodriguez.
You’re under arrest. You have the right to remain silent, but I know what a big
mouth you have, so feel free to say anything you want. You have the right to an
attorney…” She continued reading his Miranda rights as she placed the cuffs on
his wrist, cinching them as tight as the metal would allow.
The other detectives proceeded to
handcuff the crew. Kelli hauled Carlos to his feet and led him out the door.
“I’ve got you this time, Carlos.”
“You ain’t got shit, bitch.” He
turned his head and spit in her direction.
She lifted up on the cuffs, causing
him to pitch forward. “Do that again, asshole, and you’ll be going to the
hospital instead of the precinct.”
