Jo shook her head at the employee talking about when money was collected.
“Yeah. So the guy gets there on Friday afternoon when the shop is usually slow and avoids the camera wearing his hoodie. The security guard recognizes his face and lets him in. Once in the hallway he reaches into his back waistband and pulls out a gun. He smashes the guard in the back of the head. Bam. A second time. The guard is out. He puts on his sunglasses and bandana. Zip ties the guard. Flips the sign to say closed by the front door. Pulls the guard halfway up the stairs so he’s not visible from the street. Then runs upstairs pointing his gun and gathers the two employees before they can hit any alarm or pull out a gun to shoot at him.”
Jo shook her head. No matter how many horror stories she heard as a prosecutor, she never got callous. She would always empathize with victims, and horror showed on her face right now.
Omar nodded. “Yeah, violent and scary. Not the guy’s first rodeo. He binds the rest of the employees, then holds them until the owner comes in the back door. Without going into more details he beats one of the employees really bad until the owner opens the safe and gives him the money.”
“Why did he have so much money in the safe?”
“Can’t put it in the bank, can he?”
“I guess not,” Jo agreed. “Even though marijuana is legal in California, large deposits of cash will be reported to federal law enforcement and the money seized. It’s made marijuana a gray area of law.”
“Sounds like you just might be worth your fees.”
“Speaking of fees. What exactly do you want to hire me for?”
“I’m not exactly sure just yet. Still getting some research done. But I’m thinking maybe we get law enforcement to pinch one of these guys.”
She put her hands on her desk. “It’s impossible to commit to doing anything. But if you are willing to pay my standard hourly rate for confidential courier services, I would be happy to help bring information to law enforcement that helps put violent criminals behind bars. So long as I am not breaking any laws, I would be interested in representing you.”
Omar flashed a warm smile at Jo. “I’ll be in touch.” He shook her hand and left the office.
Jo spent the rest of the day looking for ways to promote her business. She looked at advertising, costs to create a website, legal forums to answer questions people might have. The day passed uneventfully until she finally found herself texting Dzuy right before falling asleep.
Chapter 10
Jo sat next to Brad Gecina at a six-chair conference table squeezed inside a windowless meeting room at the district attorney’s office.
“Feels a little like your office in here.”
“A little, I guess. But my office is maybe two or three times the size. You know something? It’s strange but this room feels smaller than the last time I was in it.”
“When was…” Brad trailed off as a knock on the door interrupted them.
Jo called out, “Come in.” She saw Matt Terry and started to stand up. Brad followed her lead.
“Hi, Jo.” Matt said and shook her hand. He reached out his hand towards Brad. “Mr. Gecina, I’m Matt Terry. A deputy district attorney in this office.” After a quick firm handshake Matt and Brad, again following Jo’s lead, sat down.
“Brad, I trust your attorney told you about what to expect today?”
“Yes.”
“I know her well, so I would trust her, but I am obligated to tell you that everything that is said and shown to me here today cannot be used against you in a trial. This is a Free Meeting. But also bear in mind that whatever is said or shown will enter my knowledge and I cannot un-ring a bell. So disclosures here might lead to discovering evidence that can hurt you. And you have an absolute Fifth Amendment right to not incriminate yourself. Understand?”
“Yes.”
“I also want to say that positions taken by this office may change. So if I say that we aren’t anticipating filing charges, that is not a promise that charges will never be filed.”
Brad looked at Jo. “Unless we agree to a transactional immunity deal.”
Jo nodded.
Matt inhaled. “Mr. Gecina, I have to tell you that even if we don’t anticipate bringing charges, which at this point we do not, there is almost no reason why we would grant transactional immunity unless we are getting something very valuable in return.”
Brad looked Matt in the eye. “I understand. But I hired Jo here to convince you otherwise. So hear her out.”
Jo gave a tight-lipped smile. “We are here because I think we have something to offer to permanently shut this case down. Matt, we both know that you could never bring this case. There is no forensic evidence linking Brad to a rape. He has an alibi and is accounted for, so it would be impossible for the timeline to fit. You can’t file charges. So an immunity deal shouldn’t be off the table.”
“I watched the video footage and understand the timeline.” Matt turned his head slightly towards Brad. “You arrived at April’s at two am and left at about three. Arrived at a police station where you left at six thirty, and were on camera until nine am. The examining physician estimated the ligature marks to have been induced at approximately seven am with a three hour plus or minus.”
Matt clasped his hands together and leaned back. “So Jo’s right. As it stands, a case against you would be almost impossible to prove. But even so, our office can’t get in the habit of handing out immunity deals. Sometimes facts change. And we don’t want everyone who’s a suspect coming in and requesting meetings to clear themselves. We’d never get anything done.”
Jo put her hands on the arms of her chair. “Let’s go talk with Cassie. This might be in everyone’s best interests.” She looked at Brad. “You might be here for a while.”
“Okay.”
Matt led Jo to another conference room on the other side of the large office complex. Seated in the office were Cassie and the district attorney herself.
Jo was surprised to see her former boss sitting with Cassie. Handshakes and quick pleasantries were exchanged and Matt and Jo found themselves sitting across from Cassie, who was half the age of the district attorney.
“Thank you for coming in today, Cassie,” Matt said, in a warm and reassuring tone. “If you need a break at any time, let me know and we will stop.” Matt reached for an iPad on the conference table and displayed it so that Cassie could see what was on the screen.
Matt took a breath. “This might be rough. If you need a break just let me know. But I want to go over a timeline the evidence suggests. Okay?”
Cassie nodded.
“According to our doctor, you were strangled at about seven in the morning, with a window being as early as four am and as late as ten am.” He tapped on the screen and showed a video that Jo hadn’t seen before. “Brad was at the police station at three fifteen in the morning.” The video showed Brad walking into the police station wearing blue jeans and a dark button down shirt.
Matt played another video clip. “Brad left the police station at six fifteen am. The license plate matches the car assigned to Brad. You can see the time stamp of when it pulls out.”
“One last clip,” Matt said as he tapped on the screen then showed it again. “At six twenty four Brad arrives in a parking lot. We can see the license plate. And he’s there until nine am.”
Jo watched Cassie intently. Cassie was grasping what was being showed to her. Her breathing was becoming noticeably more shallow and rapid. Her eyes opened wider. Cassie shook her head. “I don’t get it. How is that possible? I saw him when he was finished with me.”
Jo gently stretched out her hands and placed them on the table. “If you were asleep when the tragedy happened, was it light or dark in your house?”
“It was dark. But I know what happened. I was… I was… I was there.” Cassie turned to the district attorney looking for support.
Jo continued. “I don’t think anyone here doubts that a terrible and tragic thing happened to you.
But if their office focuses on my client it takes resources away from searching for someone else who might have done it….”
Cassie’s eyes widened, then she furrowed her brow. “No. Brad was obsessed with me. He stalked me. I know it was him.” She looked at the district attorney and her anger turned to fear. “Wasn’t it?”
The District Attorney gently shook her head and softly said, “Based on the evidence we have gathered, I don’t think so.”
Cassie put her palms against her forehead and pushed. She smushed downwards until her palms were covering her eyes too. With her eyes still covered she barked, “Are you sure?”
“Yes,” Matt said gently. “We can’t be one hundred percent sure. But based on the provable evidence we have, I couldn’t get a conviction. We would lose the trial.”
Jo softly added, “If you are wrong about the person being Brad, it would destroy his life. And you would have to re-live the matter twice. During Brad’s trial and again when the real criminal is found.”
Cassie sat silent smushing her hands against her eyes. “Ruin his life? That guy’s a creep and a loser. He did this to me. He had to have.”
At that moment all of the attorneys jumped to the same conclusion. Cassie hated Brad and knew him. When the horror struck she probably interposed her hatred towards Brad and the hatred toward her attacker. Her mind made her conclude Brad was the attacker, even if he wasn’t.
“Cassie,” Jo said gently. “I was a prosecutor before I became a defense attorney. When I leave this room, they will probably agree with me. But here’s what is likely to happen. No charges are filed against Brad and he is back active on the police force. If charges are filed against him, he will win at trial, and be back on the police force. It is highly unusual for the district attorney’s office to grant immunity to someone, but if they give Brad immunity for this case, he would agree to leave the police force.”
Jo got nothing from Cassie so she continued, “If somehow Brad was able to stack the evidence so he looked innocent but really was your attacker, making this deal would get him out of a police uniform and help protect other women.”
Cassie peeked at the district attorney. “You really won’t prosecute him?”
With heavy eyes and a soft tone she said, “No. Unless we get new evidence. We can’t get a conviction so we won’t prosecute him. We’ll have the police pursue more leads in case someone else did this. Or in case they find something more on Brad.”
Cassie dropped her hands. “But… But… But… Brad’s a cop. Will his friends even try to look for ways to get him?”
Matt tried to reassure her. “Of course they would. If there is evidence that Brad did this, the police would find it and we would prosecute.”
After a long silence she put her hands on the table and asked, “What about OJ?”
The attorneys shared confused glances. “I’m sorry,” Matt said. “What about OJ?”
“He was found not guilty. But then he was found guilty and had to pay money to the family. Right?”
“Ah,” Matt responded. “Yes. He was found not guilty in the criminal trial. But then the family sued him in civil court, which has a lower burden of proof, and they won a judgment for several million dollars against him.”
Cassie looked at Matt with red eyes. “Then let’s do that. Make him pay in a way that we can actually win. With the lower proof thing.”
“We don’t do that,” Matt said. “We only do criminal prosecution in this office. If you want to sue someone in civil court, you hire a civil attorney to file a lawsuit.”
“How do I do that?”
Matt said, “There are referral networks through the county bar association. There are thousands of lawyers who might be willing to take a case like this.”
“Who’s the best?” Cassie asked with a hint of hope in her voice.
“Aaron Baker,” Jo said reflexively and instantly regretted offering a name to potentially help sue her client.
Cassie looked at Matt.
“Aaron Baker has a great reputation. I’m not sure if he would be interested in the case. And also, I don’t want to get too far off topic today. There’s a chance no attorney would want to take a civil case against Brad. I don’t want that to influence you at all.”
Cassie looked at the district attorney. “Then could I sue him myself?”
“Yes. But that’s generally not a good idea.”
Cassie bit her lower lip and wiped at her eyes. “Go ahead and give Brad immunity from criminal charges. If they couldn’t convict OJ for murder, no way they convict a cop. But I’ll get a good lawyer and make that son of a bitch pay.” Cassie looked at Jo. “And you said he would quit being a cop as part of the deal?”
“Yes.”
“Then that’s what I want.”
Matt looked at the District Attorney with some confusion.
“I’m sorry, Cassie. I don’t think that my office can agree to that. I don’t want to give immunity to someone who we might still be able to prove is guilty before the statute of limitations runs out.”
“So you want to let him stay a cop? With a gun? And the right to barge into people’s homes?”
“That’s why we brought you here to talk about this,” Matt said. “There is a lot to process, we don’t want to rush into any decisions that have a long lasting impact and could be irreversible.”
Jo watched Cassie take a breath. She looked tired. “Maybe us lawyers could have a few minutes to talk about what is legally possible?”
“We can bring your friend in the waiting room here for you,” the district attorney said thoughtfully. “Matt, will you go get him?”
“Sure.”
Jo excused herself and walked with Matt to the entrance lobby on the other side of the secured door. Matt called, “Medina?”
Jo instantly recognized Hector Medina, the eye witness that supposedly saw Brad leaving the apartment when the sun was up. That’s who Cassie chose to bring with her as support today. The only person who claims to have placed Brad at the scene was a close friend of Cassie’s.
Jo whispered, “Matt. The eye witness, the only one to place Brad at the scene, is close friends with Cassie?”
Matt nodded. “Looks that way.”
“Hi, Hector,” Jo said and reached to shake his hand.
“Hi.”
Matt looked at Hector. “I’m going to take you back to visit with Cassie while Jo and the district attorney and I talk about what we might be able to do with this case.”
“Okay. I’m sure it’s hard on her,” Hector responded.
“I think we can all agree on that. Thank you for being here,” Jo said. “Matt, I’ll be in the room with Brad. Come get me there.”
The group parted. Jo looked at the floor to avoid making eye contact with people in the office who might want to say hello and briskly walked to Brad’s meeting room. She was barely into the recap when a knock on the door interrupted her.
“Come in.”
Matt and the district attorney entered. The group situated themselves so Jo and Brad were next to each other across from Matt and the District Attorney.
The District Attorney took charge. “Frankly Jo, I don’t like the idea of an immunity deal at all. It makes little sense to me. But, this being confidential and off the record, I might be willing to do it to shut this down. The evidence we have gathered makes it look almost certainly like,” she looked at Brad and continued, “you didn’t do it. But I have also reviewed the file and think that Cassie might have a case for stalking against you. Which is probably why she blames you for her attack. If we even consider granting you immunity, there are a few non-negotiables.”
“Like what?”
“You leave the police force. Cassie really wants that. And frankly, if you’re showing up to work drunk and sleeping on the job, that’s probably not a bad thing.”
Brad shook his head. “That was a rare occurrence. A bachelor party. But anyway. I can live with that.”
“And. And Cass
ie would reserve the right to pursue civil charges against you.”
“No. I want this over and done with.” Brad crossed his arms and leaned back.
“Brad,” Jo implored. “With or without charges, or an immunity deal, Cassie could file a civil suit against you.”
Brad rolled his eyes. “I guess I could live with that. What else?”
The District Attorney looked at Matt. Matt said, “An agreement to stay away from Cassie. You are not to call, text, email, or visit her apartment complex. An agreement that if you violate that provision, you would agree to have a civil restraining order against you.”
“Is that all?”
“Some sort of confidentiality agreement,” Matt suggested.
“I’d prefer that,” Brad said.
The District Attorney said, “Brad, I’m going to meet with Jo and Matt in my office for a bit. This is highly unusual but right now I’m leaning towards agreeing to allow Matt to do this if he thinks it is in this office’s best interest. That is, if Cassie has had a chance to cool down and still wants to.”
“Thanks. I want the nightmare over.”
Two hours later, after Cassie demanded no confidentiality provision because she felt it was therapeutic to tell her story to people, Matt Terry, on behalf of the People of the State of California, and Brad Gecina signed an immunity of charges agreement. Brad and Cassie signed a second stipulated agreement that Brad would stay away from her, and if he violated it, he would agree to have a restraining order entered against him without the need for Cassie to prove a threat of harm.
Brad and Jo stood outside the Hall of Justice, drained from the ordeal. Brad asked, “Want to grab a drink?”
“No, thank you. I need to get back to the office and get some other work done.”
“You’re not my lawyer anymore so you can join me,” Brad said as he gently pushed at Jo’s shoulder in subtle attempt at flirting.
“It’s true, I’m not your attorney any longer. But I am seeing someone else. And it would be a complication dating a former client.”
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