VENTURES: Night Of The Dead Crow

"I'm about to go on trial for my life...I'm charged with Capital Murder.. If I'm convicted, I could go away for the rest of my life or I could get the death penalty.. The seriousness of this hasn't hit me before today....and that's because of you...My mind wasn't on my upcoming trial at all.." said Eddie Lee.

''And you haven't had to sit in a jail cell either..don't forget."said Jessica Lee.

"True That...I've been having a great time but...but Jessie before I, before I go in there , let me just tell you some things...Tell you the truth about me...Yes...I have an Associates Degree from the Philadelphia school of Culinary Arts and I have a Bachelors Degree in Business Administration from Temple and an MBA from Wharton...all that's true.. My dad...He didn't want me to imitate his life..He and my Uncle and my cousin were stone cold gangsters, killers... I've never even aimed a gun at anybody or shot at anybody....but I have laundered dirty money at one time..I have had juice on the street...Only reason I've never had to hurt anybody is because of the reputation of my Father and my Uncle...I've never been put to the test...I run a great and successful restaurant business and I host a semi legal floating crap game...and yes, most of the playas, but not all are gangsters...Russians and Asians...They love to play cards and gamble...but that's all...Nohing illegal..No drugs , no underage girls upstairs....."said Eddie Lee.

"Eddie, I know all of this...I know that my cousin Jade, when she was a cop busted your cousin, "The Black Dragon" and your Uncle is in Prison...I know all of this.."said Jessica.

"I just wanted you to know that I'm no angel...In the end...I'm just a gangster I suppose.."said Eddie Lee.

"You can be better than you are.."said Jessica.

Eddie Lee smiled at her..

They kissed passionately...

Ms. Yvette and the rest of us walked into the courtroom..

"Alright guys...It's winning time."said Ms. Yvette, who was like our coach..

"Let's do this...Everybody ready?" I said.. I was kind of like her assistant coach...

"Ready as I'll ever be."said Bee Bee, who sometimes appeared to be Ms. Yvette's right hand..

''Let's Go!"said Sofia, smiling..

"Let's do it."said Kahlil..

Ms. Jade just smiled confidently...

Lt. Tragg eyed us... He didn't like our smug, cocky expressions...It threw him off a bit..

Judge Reynolds followed us into the courtroom...He glared at Lt. Tragg….

II-

Trial began...

ADA Karen Page...

Investigator for The D.A.'s Office, Gary Lockwood

and a pretty Asian woman, Lydia Hodge, who I didn't recognize sat in the visitors sector, along with Jessica.

Her being there angered Lt. Tragg..

more than we could imagine..

ADA Chris Garcetti addressed the jury....He was tall, handsome, well dressed with a finely tailored suit, every hair perfect and a nice fragrance..He was almost like a clone of Lt. Tragg..

"The Defendant...Mr. Eddie Lee of Chinatown owns one of the most successful and talked about restaurants in Philadelphia.. I have dined there myself....I am told he is an excellent cook and a Master Sui Chef...He holds an Associates Degree from The Philadelphia School of Culinary Arts, A Bachelors Degree from Temple University in Business Administration and an MBA from Wharton... But don't let all of his accolades fool you.. He is also a Gangster...He runs an illegal crap game upstairs from his restaurant that is frequented by Asian and Russian Gangsters...He is a loan shark and he is a murderer...He bashed in the head of rival Bar owner Benny Hanna... Mr. Hanna owed him in lieu of 100 thousand dollars... He over extended himself at one of Mr. Lee's games months ago...
He couldn't pay, so Mr. Lee made an example of him and bashed his head in...I need you to find him guilty of First degree Murder and sentence him to the same fate he sentenced poor Mr. Hanna without a trial ,judge or jury...TO DEATH!!!" said Chris Garcetti dramatically..

Yvette smiled and addressed the jury...

"The Assistant District Attorney has told you of my clients accolades...So I don't need to repeat that yes he has an Associates Degree from the Philadelphia School of Culinary Arts or a Bachelors from Temple in Business Administration or an MBA from Wharton or that he runs a five start restaurant that I, just like the ADA have eaten at....What I will tell you is that he doesn't have a single arrest on his record...Not one...Not even a juvenile arrest..let alone convictions..He is reputed...Alleged to be some gangster....No convictions to prove this...Mr. Hanna did not owe him 100K... The ADA should have checked Mr. Lee's books as I will show you when it's the defense's turn to argue...Mr. Hanna had paid him roughly 75K, that's half of what he owed and had always paid on time.. and allowed him to use his bar for dinner parties in which he had worked that debt down to little under 18K at the time of his death..

I will prove to you that my client was with Mr. Hanna minutes before he died as his guest and the two were laughing and talking..I have photographic proof and a witness who will swear he was with her the rest of the night...

When I'm done..you'll have no choice but to find my client..NOT GUILTY!" said Yvette and she smiled and sat down..

Judge Reynold's smiled..., "Lawd that girl has got a body on her...ummmph, if I wasn't married and was a few years younger.." he mused..

Even ADA Garcetti was impressed with Yvette... "God, she has some nice plump breasts." he thought to himself .

The argument began...

He had photos of the murder scene, Gory photos of Benny Hanna's bashed in head blown up life size and shown to the jury which had them gasping in horror and he had a photo of the bloody iron pipe that was used to kill him, which was found by Lt. Tragg's men in the dumpster outside of Eddie Lee's restaurant..

Kahlil addressed the jury...

"Here is a common sense question...If you've just killed someone...Would it make sense to discard the murder weapon in a dumpster outside your place of business for the police to convieniently find it?" he asked..

The Jury was left astounded by that...

Chris paraded policemen at the scene, CSI officials who had been at the scene and Forensic specialists who had been there that night..

Bee Bee and Sofia asked them all if they had found any fingerprints or any DNA that matched our client., all that was submitted to them without protest on the night of the murder??

They all admitted that they found none....Only fingerprints on a drink glass...Fingerprints that weren't his.

I showed them photos of Eddie Lee and Jessica Lee ..

"They both admit being there that night..but here is a time stamped photo of them leaving together..
"1:57 am...right before closing and there is my client and Mr. Hanna hugging....Doesn't look like a man who had any animosity...but I'm just saying.." I said..

Chris tried to float the theory that perhaps a hitman was in place....

Yvette objected and shot that down...

Judge Reynolds who had been giving both sides free reign up to this point had to rule in Yvette's favor and strike that from the record...

He called Jessica as a hostile witness..

She stuck to her story that She and Eddie left at around 2:00 am and he was with her until he was arrested by Lt. Tragg the next morning..

This may have been a tactical error on Chris's part because he swung the jury 9 to acquit, 2 undecided and 1 for conviction our way...

He finished with his same speech...

"You've seen the evidence...despite what the defense has had to say...remember this.."The Defendant...Mr. Eddie Lee of Chinatown owns one of the most successful and talked about restaurants in Philadelphia.. I have dined there myself....I am told he is an excellent cook and a Master Sui Chef...He holds an Associates Degree from The Philadelphia School of Culinary Arts, A Bachelors Degree from Temple University in Business Administration and an MBA from Wharton... But don't let all of his accolades fool you.. He is also a Gangster...He runs an illegal crap game upstairs from his restaurant that is frequented by Asian and Russian Gangsters...He is a loan shark and he is a murderer...He bashed in the head of rival Bar owner Benny Hanna... Mr. Hanna owed him in lieu of 100 thousand dollars... He over extended himself at one of Mr. Lee's games months ago... He couldn't pay, so Mr. Lee made an example of him and bashed his head in...I need you to find him guilty of First degree Murder and sentence him to the same fate he sentenced poor Mr. Hanna without a trial ,judge or jury...TO DEATH!!!" said Chris Garcetti dramatically...

Several of the jurors jumped..

He really had a flimsy case and he knew it..but he couldn't imagine we had much better... If this had been a week ago...He would have been right..but not now.

III-

We began our arguments...Yvette went right for the jugular..

She showed the jury the books and she had all three of Eddie Lee' s accountants testify...They all said to a man that Benny Hanna had paid half and that his debt was down to 18 K...They said he paid on time and he and Eddie Lee were on good terms...

I had life size photos of Eddie Lee and Benny Hanna shaking hands at his restaurant and bar..Of Eddie Lee at his daughter's wedding....Of Benny Hanna at Eddie Lee's niece's baby shower...

"These men were on good terms...and one of these photos was taken a week before Mr. Hanna's death..

Bee Bee and Sofia called Jessica who again testified that she and Eddie Lee were together that entire night until he was arrested in the morning and that they were barely out of each other's sight.. She did not witness any bad blood between Mr. Hanna and Eddie Lee.

Chris Garcetti went hard at her on cross , He asked her if she had gone to sleep and if it was possible that Eddie Lee had snuck out..but couldn't shake her testimony..She said he was there all night and at no time did he leave her bed...

The jury was now 11 to acquit, 1 undecided...

Lt. Tragg was called...He was perhaps the most hostile witness..

"You got the call about the Murder a little after 5:00 correct? An anonymous call."asked Bee Bee.

"That's right." he said.

"You arrived at 5:45 am, around that time right? What did you discover?" asked Sofia.

"The Place was locked up. We had to call the day manager to let us in." said Lt. Tragg..

"You didn't find that odd? Who locked the place up?...Everybody was gone except Mr. Hanna and he was dead...So who locked the place up? The killer?" I asked.

"I don't know...I suppose." said Lt. Tragg.

"Did you ever find the keys?" asked Kahlil..

"No we didn't.." he said..

"|No further questions."said Bee Bee.

He smiled..He felt as if we had tried to trick him, tried to trap him and had gotten nothing..Actually we got just what we wanted..We showed the jury that he didn't investigate as thoroughly as he should have and he didn't ask the right questions..

ADA Garcetti saw what we did...He shook his head in disgust....

Yvette and Kahlil called several witnesses who saw the two that night...and then they called Mr. Dani Lo to the stand..

He was aggravated that he even had to be here..

"Mr. Lo...You and Benny Hanna had at first a friendly rivalry for the affections of one Lydia Hodge ,didn't you? One of his cocktail waitresses am I right?" asked Yvette..

"I guess.." he answered.

"Yes or no?" said the Judge..

"YEAH!" he grudgingly admitted..

"She began dating Mr. Hanna ...In fact, they were engaged and that enraged you....The friendly rivalry tourned sour and ugly am I correct? I have three people here who will testify that you and Mr. Hanna, had several testy encounters and you and Mr. Hanna had at least one the week before his death." I said.

"Yeah Yeah Yeah,Alright Okay.I didn't like the guy." he admitted.

"You were also in his club the night of his death, weren't you?" said Bee Bee..

"No I wasn't." he protested..

Sofia produced a time stamped life sized photo of him entering the club at 10:30 that night.

"That's you, isn't it?" she said.

He sighed disgustedly...

"Yeah, I guess I was..I-I was in a lot of clubs...I-I-I can't remember one from the other." he admitted..

"Now look at this...We have video...taken from the club and on the street and from the ATM across the street of everybody leaving...Every patron leaving.....EXCEPT YOU!...There is a 90 minute break from when the camera stopped and when it started again...at 3:00 am... "said Kahlil.

"How did they get that footage?" asked Lt. Tragg, enraged...

''The question is...Why Didn't YOU have it?" asked Chris Garcetti, furious at Lt. Tragg's incompetence..

"The police got the call at 5:00 am that there was a dead body in the bar...but when they got there at 5:45 am. this is from Lt. Tragg's own report....The place was locked up...They had to call the day manager to let them in...If Mr. Hanna was dead and we know the night manager had already left..Who locked the place up? " asked Yvette..

"How am I supposed to know?" asked Little Dani Lo..

"Well you made a couple of mistakes...Here is you on time stamped video , taken from the Bakery's camera across the street and the street cam of you by the dumpster at Eddie Lee's Restaurant...Is that where you ditched the murder weapon?? And before you answer...We found the keys to Mr. Hanna's bar in the trash near YOUR HOUSE...where they shouldn't be...with YOUR fingerprints on them...You did a better job cleaning the murder weapon."I said.

"I'm not sayin anything else without a lawyer.." snarled Little Dani Lo..

"That's an excellent Idea."laughed Bee Bee.

IV-

ONE HOUR, THIRTY MINUTES LATER

We were all back in court..

Ms. Yvette, Myself, Bee Bee, Eddie Lee, Sofia , Kahlil and Jade.

"I hate to say it, but this was pretty fast...I'm worried!" said Ms. Yvette.

"I think we did enough to get a win.."I said,.

"I do too, but juries are funny.."said Bee Bee.

"Yeah I know and with my reputation...I might not get the benefit of the doubt.."said Eddie Lee.

"I think you did alright.." said Sofia..

"We've defended people with far worse reputations and got acquittals.."said Kahlil..

"That's true...Hang tight."said Jade.

"You did a great job...They didn't have much.."said Lt. Tragg..

"What trial were you looking at? That damn Jade dug up another possible suspect as well as witnesses I didn't know existed...Once again, you dropped the ball on this Artie."said Chris Garcetti, shaking his head..

"That Jade..She had to have help from the Police department...Wait until I see Danny Ho...." he snarled.

"Oh Knock it off...She's a damn good investigator...She didn't need the police department..."said Chris Garcetti.

"Bailiff, Read the Verdict.." said Judge Reynolds..

"WE THE JURY FIND THE DEFENDENT ON COUNT ONE, MURDER IN THE FIRST DEGREE, NOT GUILTY....

He looked at Lt. Tragg and howled!

ON COUNT TWO ,USING AN INSTRUMENT OF CRIME TO COMMIT MURDER, NOT GUILTY..

He looked at him again and actually pointed and cracked up laughing..

ON COUNT THREE, CONSPIRACY TO COMMIT MURDER, NOT GUILTY!!!

"Would you like the jury polled ?" asked Judge Reynolds..trying to contain his laughter...

"Nah, why bother?" said Chris Garcetti, who grabbed his briefcase and walked out of the courtroom, totally disgusted.

Lt. Tragg was livid...

"I DON'T BELIEVE IT!" he snarled...

Facing the press conference outside the courtroom didn't make him any happier..

"There he is..Lieutenant Wrong Arrest!" said one..

Followed by raucous laughter...

"Hey Tragg, ever arrest anyone who actually went to jail?" asked another reporter, followed by more laughter...

"Hey Tragg, when are you gonna host that new show..Wrongfully accused?" asked yet another reporter...

The laughs filled the courthouse...

Seemed like everyone was laughing at him today...He was livid..

"LOU I'M GONNA KNOCK YOU THE HELL OUT!" he screamed..

"You and what army?" said Lou..

"WHYYYY YOUUU!" screamed Lt. Tragg, but six uniformed policemen and three bailiffs grabbed him to avoid the usual courthouse melee's that occurred after these trials..

"Thank you guys....Standing order...All of you eat for free at my establishment from now on...Even if you don't come in together...You ask for me...Your meals and drinks are on the house...I owe you my life...Thank you so much.."said Eddie Lee..

"Thank you...I'm gonna take you there for your birthday.."I said to Bee Bee..

"Ouuuuu a real cheap date huh?" she joked and laughed...hugging me..

"Those are the best kind.."laughed Kahlil..

"Let's go tomorrow night.."laughed Sofia..

"Nicely done counselor.."said Gary to Yvette..

"Thank You...but it was a team effort." she said..

They kissed passionately.....

"Treat my cousin right."said Jade..

"She may make a totally honest man out of me yet.."said Eddie Lee..

"Let's Celebrate....My place!"said Jessica seductively...

"Ouuu I like that...I'll meet you there...but uh before I get there..there is something I gotta do...Something I owe someone."said Eddie.

Karen looked at her good friend Yvette..

"Nicely done you guys.." she said.

"Girrrrrrrl, I just want a nice cool drink.."laughed Yvette...

"I know a place...It's not Curley's and it's not in Chinatown...Thick steaks...Good drinks..."said Karen..

"I'm down..."said Gary...

Lydia stood in the background, watching us and smiling...

It had been a good day all around.

EPILOUGE-

In Chinatown, shortly afterwords,

Little Dani Lo was arrested by Lt. Danny Ho, Detectives Edwin "Duke" Baylor and Angela Belton-Barlow

He was arrested at, ironically enough the late Benny Hanna's bar, which he was trying to buy and charged with the murder of Benny Hanna..

He was convicted of First Degree Murder and sentenced to Life.

Karen wasn't lying...She did find us a great restaurant....

Where they had thick juicy Steaks

and a great wine...

"Karen, you did not disappoint..This is a great place girlfriend.."said Yvette..

"Great Food, Good wine.."said Gary....

"I'm glad you like it and what's more..We can enjoy a nice evening without hearing Arthur Tragg blow off steam about losing and lousing up yet another case.." laughed Karen Page..