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- My name is Lisa.

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[dramatic music]

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[siren wailing]

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I am a mother.

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One of my sons was shot dead.

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I tracked down his killer.

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And this is how I did it.

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[dramatic rock music]

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♪♪ ♪♪

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REPORTER:
A man was shot to death

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right in front
of a group of people

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while leaving a nightclub
in North Philadelphia.

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Police say the shooting
was even captured on video,

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but they're still having
no success in finding

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the person responsible.

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LISA: I thought about
RJ's dreams and goals,

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and I thought about
my little boy.

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I couldn't let this person

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who caused so much harm
and pain just walk away.

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I was obsessed.
I became obsessed.

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I was like,
it will not be unsolved.

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And I decided,
I'm gonna have to do

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the groundwork, the footwork.

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I started doing
my own surveillance.

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I went undercover quietly

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in the middle of the night,
dawn hours.

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My goal was to get
as much information

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to give to the detectives
so they can have easier access

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to any potential witnesses
in order to try and identify

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who the murderer was.

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I wanted him to be scared.

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I wanted him to know
this person that you killed,

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you picked the wrong one.

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You picked the wrong one,

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and you messed
with the wrong mother.

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And I was coming for you.

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[siren wailing]

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REPORTER: It's 5:30
on this Saturday, April 9.

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Here are some of the stories
that we're following

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for you this morning...

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LISA: I lived in North
Philadelphia at the time.

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But I decided to take
a trip to see my mom.

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We did some outings,
went to lunch.

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I called it an evening.

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It was around 11:00, 11:30,
and I took a shower,

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and I went to bed.

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And I wanted to sleep late,
so I put my phone on vibrate.

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[suspenseful music]

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JOSE:
RJ came around, uh,

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we talked for a little bit.

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He might have had
a bite to eat.

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He was gonna go out
with a couple friends
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to shoot some pool.

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He borrowed $10, $20 from me.

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I went to sleep, I had
to work the next morning,

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and, uh, he went on his way to
shoot pool with his friends.

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[upbeat dance music]

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LISA:
North Philadelphia is known

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for its marginalized
community.

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It's a richness
of culture there,

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and it's a richness
of Latin community,

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but it was an area where I know

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it's easy to find
harm's way there.

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[phone ringing]

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[suspenseful music]
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JOSE: I received
the phone call from my sister

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that RJ had been shot and that
he was at Temple Hospital.

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I was just shocked.

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Along the way,
I was just praying

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that he was just shot,
but he would be all right.

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LISA:
I heard the phone vibrate.

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Turned over,
phone vibrates again.

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[phone buzzing]

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I said, I'm gonna turn it off.

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When I picked it up, I had
two missed calls from Jose

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and one missed call
from RJ's aunt.

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I knew something bad
had happened.

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The phone rang again,
and it was Jose.

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And I answered it.

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[siren wailing]

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JOSE: Two detectives
walked up to me.

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They told me,
I'm sorry for your loss...

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[somber music]

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And walked away.

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I didn't know what to feel,

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how to feel, what to do.

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I just crouched down and cried.

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He's not coming back.
He's gone.

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Then I called Lisa.

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LISA: Jose told me,
Lisa, RJ's gone.

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And I said,
what do you mean he's gone?
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And he said,
RJ's gone, he's been shot.

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And I said, I screamed, no.

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And I hung up the phone
and I just threw

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the cell phone
across the room.

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And I was talking to myself,
saying, Lisa, wake up, Lisa,

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wake up, you're in a
nightmare, wake up.

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And then Luis called me
from the scene

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of the crime, my oldest son.

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And he told me, Mom, it's true.

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There is yellow tape here
everywhere.

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And when are you
getting home, Mom?

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My whole world just crashed.

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It was like,
this can't be happening.

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How am I gonna survive this?

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You're not supposed
to bury your children.

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They're supposed to bury you.

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I grew up in Philadelphia, PA.

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Had my first son, Luis, at 19,

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and then had Christopher at 21.

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And RJ was born.

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I unwrapped the receiving
blanket, counted his fingers.

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Remember looking at his big,
beautiful brown eyes,

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full head of hair.

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His name's Raymond,
originally,

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and he was a ray of light
and sunshine.

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- RJ was a loving,
beautiful baby.

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Loved him--loved him since the
first time I put eyes on him.

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- RJ was just full of smiles.

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RJ will light up a room.

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- It's gonna be
a great day today.

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It's already been good.

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You know, be sipping
on the coffee.

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Me, I'm on, like, my third cup.

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- He was protective
over his family.

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And if I needed him,
I knew he was there,

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because we were tight.

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- My mom is a hater.
She think we taking a picture.

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It's the video camera.
[laughs]

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LISA: Take a picture!
Take a picture!

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- I got it, yo.

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LISA:
He adored music.

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He would write lyrics.

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He would be writing songs,
even as a kid.

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He referred to himself
as Hommi.

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That was RJ's rap battle name.

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He was always
very affectionate.

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He would say, if no one has
told you they love you today,

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I love you.

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For Latinos,
family is everything.

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Um, you take care
of your family.

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[suspenseful music]

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♪♪ ♪♪

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We get to the
coroner's office.

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We went into this room,

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and there was a window
with blinds.

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And RJ's body was laying there

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with a white sheet
covered to his shoulder.

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And I think I was in a state
of shock at that point.

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And I said, yeah,
that's--that's RJ.

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And I said, okay,
it's time to go.

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And at that point, I wanted
to know who murdered my son.

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So I was calling the detective
over and over again.

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The detective, when I did get
ahold of him, he told me,

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we don't have a lead yet
on the case.

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We'll keep you informed.

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Don't call us, we'll call you.

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- Well, we knew that
there were family members

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that were hurting,
and they were

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relying on us to do our job.

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And the investigation
was already in motion.

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We're looking
for surveillance cameras

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outside of that bar where he
was shot to see if we could

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identify vehicles
that were driving

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shortly after that murder.

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Of course,
we're collecting evidence

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on the crime scene, as well,

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that may give us clues
as to who we're looking for.

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[siren wailing]

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REPORTER:
It has been a violent day,

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meanwhile,
across Philadelphia.

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Just before 3:00 a.m.,
officers on patrol

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heard gunshots in the area
of the 2400 block

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of South 24th Street.

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LOUIS: North Philadelphia
is notoriously known

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as the Badlands.

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♪♪ ♪♪

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It's known for some of the
purest and cheapest heroin.

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Hand in hand with the
drug trade goes violence.

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Just the sheer volume
of shootings and murders
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that happen every day
is completely overwhelming.

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And unfortunately,
some crimes are never solved.

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- It was a kid in the hood
that got shot,

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so it wasn't important.

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You get caught
in the wrong spot,

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you're a Latino
in a bad neighborhood,

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bad things can happen.

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And in the back of my mind,
I'm thinking,

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RJ's case is gonna be forgotten

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if I don't stay involved.

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It was a murderer
in the streets

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and I needed to find out
who took my son.

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I didn't know where
I was gonna start.

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I had no clue.

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I just knew I had to start.

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REPORTER: A gunman
opens fire and committed

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a horrific mass shooting,
and it was several dead,

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including the suspect.

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We'll bring you the latest.

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LISA:
I asked Jose

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who were the friends
that were with him

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the night that he got killed?

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Jose told me that it was
Gunner and White Boy.

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I told Jose, all right, I wanna
go to your sister's house,

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because they hang out there.

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And Jose was like,
what are you doing?

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And I said, we need
to find out what happened.

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And the start is
with the individuals

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that were with him that night.

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So then I went
to the sister's house

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00:11:08,890 --> 00:11:13,562
and I told her to give
the message to the friends

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that I wanted them
to tell me what happened.

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LISA:
We went to Jose's house.

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Gunner comes in, says,
I'm here to speak to RJ's mom.

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Now my heart is racing.

216
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And I'm like, oh, my God,
I'm gonna talk

217
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to someone who was there.

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Told me there was a fight.

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- Well, RJ's friend told us
the more people he put down,

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the more people kept
coming towards him.

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And he was just pushing
them off best he could.

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This one guy, they never spoke,

223
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they didn't have
no disagreement,

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just walked up to him
and shot him.

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[gunshot]

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LISA: At that point, I said,
what does he look like?

227
00:12:00,642 --> 00:12:02,310
And he told me,
he said he was chubby,

228
00:12:02,377 --> 00:12:04,646
he's not that tall.

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00:12:04,713 --> 00:12:09,284
And he told me that he had
a long beard and curly hair.

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00:12:09,351 --> 00:12:11,119
And he was Latino.

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00:12:11,186 --> 00:12:13,355
I said, well, Gunner,
can you please just call?
232
00:12:13,422 --> 00:12:14,989
And I begged him,
I begged Gunner,

233
00:12:15,056 --> 00:12:16,324
can you please call the cops,

234
00:12:16,391 --> 00:12:17,959
can you please
tell the detectives,

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00:12:18,026 --> 00:12:19,794
tell them everything you know.

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00:12:21,630 --> 00:12:26,301
And he told me that he was
not gonna tell the cops.

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00:12:26,367 --> 00:12:28,636
There is a street code
that they follow.

238
00:12:28,703 --> 00:12:32,974
You don't snitch, you just
handle it in the streets.

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00:12:33,041 --> 00:12:34,842
[suspenseful music]

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We're gonna get
street retaliation.

241
00:12:37,345 --> 00:12:41,749
And I said, I don't want
street retaliation.

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I wanna see that man
in handcuffs.

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00:12:45,253 --> 00:12:46,654
I wanna go to court.

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00:12:46,721 --> 00:12:50,091
I wanna see
that murderer charged.

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00:12:50,157 --> 00:12:51,760
I don't want him dead.

246
00:12:51,826 --> 00:12:57,198
I don't want another mother
to suffer from a loss.

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[phone rings]

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LOUIS: Witnesses are reluctant
to come forward

249
00:13:01,269 --> 00:13:05,539
because there's a price to pay
for cooperating with police,

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and they're putting
their own lives in danger.

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00:13:08,376 --> 00:13:11,780
Not all these people
are willing to do that,

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to risk it.

253
00:13:13,548 --> 00:13:17,919
- It's a thing that happens in
our community, unfortunately.

254
00:13:17,985 --> 00:13:24,125
They feel like if they snitch,
they're going to be dead,

255
00:13:24,192 --> 00:13:26,427
or they're gonna
come after their family,

256
00:13:26,494 --> 00:13:28,362
and they don't feel protected.
257
00:13:28,429 --> 00:13:32,901
So her fight was
to do it the proper way

258
00:13:32,968 --> 00:13:34,635
and do it the right way.

259
00:13:41,109 --> 00:13:43,477
♪♪ ♪♪

260
00:13:43,544 --> 00:13:44,945
LISA: While we were
at Jose's house,

261
00:13:45,012 --> 00:13:48,116
another one of RJ's
friends shows up.

262
00:13:48,183 --> 00:13:50,552
I said, do you know anything?

263
00:13:50,618 --> 00:13:53,154
At that point,
she tells me there's a video.

264
00:13:53,220 --> 00:13:54,488
And I said, a video of what?

265
00:13:54,555 --> 00:13:56,057
What do you mean
there's a video?

266
00:13:56,124 --> 00:13:59,694
And she says, there's a video
of the actual shooting,

267
00:13:59,760 --> 00:14:01,496
and it's on social media.

268
00:14:01,563 --> 00:14:08,236
♪♪ ♪♪

269
00:14:09,837 --> 00:14:14,509
It was on Facebook, Snapchat,
and Instagram.
270
00:14:14,576 --> 00:14:17,178
My heart starts racing,
because now I'm thinking,

271
00:14:17,245 --> 00:14:20,748
I'm gonna look
at the shooting of my son.

272
00:14:22,950 --> 00:14:26,354
But also,
another light bulb goes off.

273
00:14:26,421 --> 00:14:30,258
I'm gonna possibly see
witnesses that were present

274
00:14:30,324 --> 00:14:32,060
while the shooting happened.

275
00:14:32,127 --> 00:14:37,565
And my hope was that the video
captured the shooter.

276
00:14:37,632 --> 00:14:39,434
I immediately call
the detective,

277
00:14:39,501 --> 00:14:41,435
told him I had a video,

278
00:14:41,502 --> 00:14:44,338
and I sent the links
to my son, Luis.

279
00:14:44,405 --> 00:14:48,509
And Luis immediately, he
started looking at the videos.

280
00:14:50,745 --> 00:14:52,747
Can you see the
shooter in the video?

281
00:14:52,813 --> 00:14:55,149
That's my first question.
Can you see the shooter?

282
00:14:55,216 --> 00:14:56,484
[indistinct chatter]

283
00:14:56,551 --> 00:14:59,487
PERSON:
Ooh, ooh, shit! Ooh, shit!

284
00:15:04,459 --> 00:15:06,328
LISA: And he says, Mom,
you really can't

285
00:15:06,395 --> 00:15:09,463
see a clear shot of the face.

286
00:15:09,530 --> 00:15:12,000
At this point, I actually
look at the video.

287
00:15:12,067 --> 00:15:14,535
[indistinct chatter]

288
00:15:14,602 --> 00:15:17,638
PERSON:
Ooh, ooh, shit! Ooh, shit!

289
00:15:19,941 --> 00:15:22,143
LISA:
I see RJ.

290
00:15:22,210 --> 00:15:24,145
I see there's a scuffle.

291
00:15:24,212 --> 00:15:25,446
[overlapping voices]

292
00:15:25,513 --> 00:15:27,382
PERSON:
They out here drawing.

293
00:15:27,448 --> 00:15:29,584
They mixing and shit,
they mixing.

294
00:15:29,651 --> 00:15:31,553
- I hear people talking.

295
00:15:31,620 --> 00:15:35,256
Oh, look,
there's a fight happening.

296
00:15:35,323 --> 00:15:37,726
PERSON 2:
The wretchedness, damn.

297
00:15:37,792 --> 00:15:40,194
LISA:
He looks to the right.

298
00:15:40,261 --> 00:15:41,929
And then as he
looks to the left,

299
00:15:41,996 --> 00:15:44,332
you see the shooter walk up.

300
00:15:44,399 --> 00:15:46,901
He sees the shooter,
he sees the gun.

301
00:15:46,968 --> 00:15:50,038
And right there,
the shooter pulls the trigger.

302
00:15:50,105 --> 00:15:51,239
[overlapping voices]

303
00:15:51,306 --> 00:15:52,574
[gunshot]

304
00:15:52,641 --> 00:15:55,076
PERSON 3:
Oh, we out of here.

305
00:15:55,143 --> 00:15:57,445
LISA:
My son just drops.

306
00:15:58,913 --> 00:16:01,249
You hear witnesses saying,
oh, they got shot,

307
00:16:01,316 --> 00:16:02,884
the boy got shot.
308
00:16:02,950 --> 00:16:06,554
But you don't hear anyone
screaming, call 911.

309
00:16:06,621 --> 00:16:11,392
So as I'm seeing this, my mind
is going through this video,

310
00:16:11,459 --> 00:16:13,895
this is gonna be what's
gonna get us to this killer.

311
00:16:13,962 --> 00:16:17,598
This is the tool.
This is what we need.

312
00:16:17,665 --> 00:16:21,169
Not only do I
have to bury my son,

313
00:16:21,235 --> 00:16:23,371
but I also
have to watch his death.

314
00:16:23,438 --> 00:16:26,441
[overlapping voices]

315
00:16:26,508 --> 00:16:28,042
Over...

316
00:16:28,109 --> 00:16:29,444
PERSON:
Ooh, shit!

317
00:16:29,511 --> 00:16:31,245
LISA:
And over...

318
00:16:31,312 --> 00:16:32,480
PERSON 2:
Damn.

319
00:16:32,547 --> 00:16:33,815
LISA:
And over again...
320
00:16:33,882 --> 00:16:35,383
PERSON 3:
Oh, we out of here.

321
00:16:35,449 --> 00:16:38,152
LISA:
To identify witnesses.

322
00:16:38,219 --> 00:16:42,257
But I knew that
this was the last thing

323
00:16:42,323 --> 00:16:46,794
I can do for RJ to get
information to the detectives

324
00:16:46,861 --> 00:16:49,230
so they could find his killer.

325
00:16:53,101 --> 00:16:58,673
♪♪ ♪♪

326
00:16:58,740 --> 00:17:01,709
I was raised
in a single family.

327
00:17:01,776 --> 00:17:04,478
Well, my mother
was a single mother.

328
00:17:04,545 --> 00:17:06,547
We had domestic violence
in my home,

329
00:17:06,614 --> 00:17:11,085
and at the age of about 20,
I turned to drugs.

330
00:17:11,152 --> 00:17:13,621
I turned to using cocaine.

331
00:17:13,688 --> 00:17:18,493
I, um, enjoyed the feeling
of it, because it

332
00:17:18,560 --> 00:17:23,531
made me forget that trauma
that I had not dealt with.

333
00:17:23,598 --> 00:17:25,500
I was in the midst
of addiction,

334
00:17:25,567 --> 00:17:31,706
and I knew that I was going
really rock bottom.

335
00:17:31,773 --> 00:17:34,542
Looking at RJ and trying
to do right by RJ

336
00:17:34,609 --> 00:17:38,446
was my motivation
to stop using.

337
00:17:38,513 --> 00:17:40,515
I went and got
my high school diploma

338
00:17:40,582 --> 00:17:45,654
and I got a good paying job
as a frontline worker

339
00:17:45,720 --> 00:17:47,188
in the social work field.

340
00:17:48,490 --> 00:17:49,924
RJ saved me from the streets,

341
00:17:49,991 --> 00:17:52,827
and he saved me
from addiction.

342
00:17:52,894 --> 00:17:54,796
He did.

343
00:17:54,863 --> 00:17:57,899
How can I not honor
his life by trying

344
00:17:57,966 --> 00:18:00,568
to find out who took his life?
345
00:18:02,170 --> 00:18:03,872
REPORTER: There has been
so much violence

346
00:18:03,939 --> 00:18:06,541
and heartbreak in America
after multiple mass shootings

347
00:18:06,608 --> 00:18:09,344
have ripped families
and communities apart,

348
00:18:09,410 --> 00:18:11,946
one after the other.
The latest...

349
00:18:12,013 --> 00:18:14,849
LISA: Me and my son Luis
started working together,

350
00:18:14,916 --> 00:18:17,685
working the case.

351
00:18:19,487 --> 00:18:22,957
We start trying
to identify witnesses.

352
00:18:23,024 --> 00:18:25,227
And I was taking pictures
of the actual video

353
00:18:25,293 --> 00:18:26,728
while it's rolling...

354
00:18:26,794 --> 00:18:28,129
[camera shutter clicking]

355
00:18:28,195 --> 00:18:32,300
So that we can
enlarge their faces.

356
00:18:32,367 --> 00:18:35,170
And I told Luis,
see who comments

357
00:18:35,237 --> 00:18:39,240
on the videos that was there.

358
00:18:39,307 --> 00:18:41,142
If they said, yeah,
I was there,

359
00:18:41,209 --> 00:18:43,477
or yeah, I seen the boy
get shot.

360
00:18:45,513 --> 00:18:46,914
I printed everything out.

361
00:18:46,981 --> 00:18:49,984
And I literally had
a room in my house

362
00:18:50,051 --> 00:18:52,720
that was focused
on RJ's investigation.

363
00:18:52,787 --> 00:18:56,457
♪♪ ♪♪

364
00:18:56,524 --> 00:18:59,427
And on this wall,
I had a mapping process

365
00:18:59,494 --> 00:19:01,462
that I did of witnesses,
because I wanted

366
00:19:01,529 --> 00:19:04,065
to see how it pieced together.

367
00:19:05,634 --> 00:19:07,402
I'm talking to the detectives.

368
00:19:07,469 --> 00:19:10,171
They're telling me
they have no suspect.

369
00:19:11,907 --> 00:19:14,309
LOUIS: Initially, detectives
were able to get some names

370
00:19:14,376 --> 00:19:16,144
of people who were there.

371
00:19:16,210 --> 00:19:18,380
But at that time,
people weren't willing

372
00:19:18,447 --> 00:19:20,581
to come forward and tell us
the name of the shooter,

373
00:19:20,648 --> 00:19:22,884
despite the fact that
some of these people

374
00:19:22,951 --> 00:19:25,086
were no less than
an arm length away from him

375
00:19:25,152 --> 00:19:26,721
when he pulled the trigger.

376
00:19:26,787 --> 00:19:28,189
It was simply disheartening.

377
00:19:28,256 --> 00:19:31,326
LISA: And I decided,
I'm gonna have to do

378
00:19:31,393 --> 00:19:33,127
the groundwork, the footwork.

379
00:19:33,194 --> 00:19:36,331
[keyboard clicking]

380
00:19:36,398 --> 00:19:40,902
My goal here was, okay,
identify the witnesses first.

381
00:19:40,968 --> 00:19:42,803
Follow them.

382
00:19:42,870 --> 00:19:47,008
Hang out in their locations
to give that information

383
00:19:47,074 --> 00:19:48,610
to the detectives.

384
00:19:48,676 --> 00:19:50,812
I started doing
my own surveillance.

385
00:19:50,879 --> 00:19:58,085
♪♪ ♪♪

386
00:20:04,025 --> 00:20:05,526
Based on the information
that I got

387
00:20:05,593 --> 00:20:07,262
from the stills
and the Facebook

388
00:20:07,329 --> 00:20:10,064
and through my research,
I identified areas

389
00:20:10,131 --> 00:20:12,467
where potential witnesses
hung out.

390
00:20:12,534 --> 00:20:17,505
Then I would do surveillance
in the targeted locations.

391
00:20:17,571 --> 00:20:19,641
I didn't take
Christopher with me.

392
00:20:19,708 --> 00:20:22,544
I didn't take anyone with me.
I went on my own.

393
00:20:22,610 --> 00:20:24,946
And guess what?
I could become the target.

394
00:20:25,013 --> 00:20:28,149
Because it is the ghetto,
it's the hood.

395
00:20:28,216 --> 00:20:31,653
- When my mom came to me
about the fact of,

396
00:20:31,719 --> 00:20:35,390
she wanted to take it
to the neighborhood,

397
00:20:35,457 --> 00:20:38,093
take it to the area where
he was shot and killed,

398
00:20:38,160 --> 00:20:39,527
I was skeptical.

399
00:20:39,593 --> 00:20:41,430
Depending on what area
she was going into,

400
00:20:41,496 --> 00:20:43,431
because we're talking
about North Philadelphia here.

401
00:20:43,498 --> 00:20:45,066
We're talking
about the Badlands.

402
00:20:45,133 --> 00:20:49,837
We're talking about
high drug and gun violence.

403
00:20:51,173 --> 00:20:52,740
- I had to be
discreet about it,

404
00:20:52,807 --> 00:20:56,445
and there was times when I
had to just park and follow

405
00:20:56,511 --> 00:21:00,315
individuals and try to identify
their home locations

406
00:21:00,381 --> 00:21:02,850
based on where
they were hanging at.

407
00:21:02,917 --> 00:21:06,754
It was unsafe, but it was
a risk I was willing to take

408
00:21:06,821 --> 00:21:08,723
to get witnesses.

409
00:21:08,790 --> 00:21:12,294
♪♪ ♪♪

410
00:21:12,360 --> 00:21:15,563
[siren wailing]

411
00:21:16,898 --> 00:21:19,367
I was doing
surveillance quietly

412
00:21:19,434 --> 00:21:22,036
in the middle of the night.

413
00:21:22,103 --> 00:21:26,407
I wasn't concerned
at that point about my safety.

414
00:21:26,474 --> 00:21:30,511
My obsession
to identify this murderer

415
00:21:30,578 --> 00:21:35,850
was so much stronger
than my fear.

416
00:21:35,917 --> 00:21:41,255
That was my drive
that ignited that fire.

417
00:21:42,490 --> 00:21:44,325
JOSE:
Some of these neighborhoods,

418
00:21:44,392 --> 00:21:46,628
you don't walk in
and ask questions, you know.

419
00:21:46,694 --> 00:21:51,132
They could have taken her down
any time, any moment.
420
00:21:51,199 --> 00:21:52,734
LISA:
I had to change my attire.

421
00:21:52,800 --> 00:21:55,469
So I would put, like,
something on my head,

422
00:21:55,536 --> 00:21:57,639
like hats, or I did, like,

423
00:21:57,705 --> 00:22:01,342
turban kind of style,
scarves on my head.

424
00:22:01,409 --> 00:22:03,878
I had to be strategic.

425
00:22:03,945 --> 00:22:08,817
♪♪ ♪♪

426
00:22:08,884 --> 00:22:13,454
There was so many witnesses
that I identified.

427
00:22:13,521 --> 00:22:16,157
[keyboard clicking]

428
00:22:16,224 --> 00:22:18,527
There was one lady that
worked in a supermarket

429
00:22:18,593 --> 00:22:21,830
like a half block down
from where RJ was murdered.

430
00:22:21,896 --> 00:22:23,564
She was a cashier.

431
00:22:27,702 --> 00:22:30,405
I went a couple of times
to that supermarket

432
00:22:30,472 --> 00:22:34,442
and selected that cashier.
433
00:22:34,509 --> 00:22:36,745
And guess what?
I started a conversation.

434
00:22:36,811 --> 00:22:39,113
Little by little,
by the third time, I'm like,

435
00:22:39,180 --> 00:22:42,417
did you hear about that
shooting in B and Allegheny?

436
00:22:42,483 --> 00:22:44,819
I knew she was there.

437
00:22:44,886 --> 00:22:46,187
"Yeah, I did.

438
00:22:46,254 --> 00:22:47,823
I know about the shooting.
I was there."

439
00:22:47,889 --> 00:22:49,724
Oh, you was?

440
00:22:49,791 --> 00:22:51,359
Did you see anything?

441
00:22:51,425 --> 00:22:54,262
She described
the same stock and build.

442
00:22:54,329 --> 00:22:56,497
Didn't give me
details of the face.

443
00:22:56,564 --> 00:23:00,936
So I knew a little information.

444
00:23:01,002 --> 00:23:04,239
CHRISTOPHER: In our community,
when things doesn't seem

445
00:23:04,306 --> 00:23:06,107
like they're going your way,
the next best thing
446
00:23:06,174 --> 00:23:08,577
is try to take things
in your own hands.

447
00:23:08,643 --> 00:23:10,211
And she did.

448
00:23:13,814 --> 00:23:16,484
- Gunner's friend had
given me one video,

449
00:23:16,551 --> 00:23:18,887
but then when we
looked at social media,

450
00:23:18,953 --> 00:23:23,158
we found two additional
videos from different angles.

451
00:23:23,225 --> 00:23:24,358
[keyboard clicking]

452
00:23:24,425 --> 00:23:27,429
There was another gentleman.

453
00:23:27,495 --> 00:23:31,399
His comment said,
"I was so close

454
00:23:31,466 --> 00:23:33,467
that the body fell on me."

455
00:23:35,270 --> 00:23:36,737
That person, in my mind,

456
00:23:36,804 --> 00:23:38,740
was close enough
to see the shooter.

457
00:23:38,807 --> 00:23:42,376
So I was targeting
that individual.

458
00:23:42,443 --> 00:23:45,647
I went into that Facebook
and I identified people

459
00:23:45,714 --> 00:23:49,350
who were friends
to some friends that I knew.

460
00:23:49,417 --> 00:23:52,153
I went to one lady and I said,
hey, by any chance,

461
00:23:52,219 --> 00:23:53,988
do you know this individual?

462
00:23:54,055 --> 00:23:55,590
Yeah, I do, I know him.

463
00:23:55,657 --> 00:23:57,258
And I said, do you know
where he lives?

464
00:23:57,325 --> 00:23:59,260
She said, look, I don't
have his information,

465
00:23:59,327 --> 00:24:01,195
but I have
his mother's information.

466
00:24:03,198 --> 00:24:04,733
So I got the mother's address.

467
00:24:04,800 --> 00:24:08,769
Then I found out where
the mother went to church.

468
00:24:08,836 --> 00:24:10,839
Then I spoke
to RJ's grandmother,

469
00:24:10,905 --> 00:24:13,674
because they had
an associated church.

470
00:24:15,643 --> 00:24:17,212
And apparently, this mother

471
00:24:17,279 --> 00:24:20,281
had asked for prayer
at church,

472
00:24:20,348 --> 00:24:24,285
because her son had been
present at a shooting

473
00:24:24,352 --> 00:24:26,822
with a gun in B and Allegheny.

474
00:24:26,888 --> 00:24:29,757
So at this point, I'm thinking,
that's the shooter.

475
00:24:29,824 --> 00:24:33,494
♪♪ ♪♪

476
00:24:33,561 --> 00:24:38,133
He was dark skinned,
had an afro, had the beard,

477
00:24:38,200 --> 00:24:41,035
but he didn't have
the stocky build.

478
00:24:41,102 --> 00:24:44,205
So that was the only thing
that was off.

479
00:24:44,272 --> 00:24:48,409
♪♪ ♪♪

480
00:24:48,476 --> 00:24:50,745
I was putting
this puzzle together,

481
00:24:50,812 --> 00:24:52,413
and every little piece
and information

482
00:24:52,480 --> 00:24:54,048
that I got, it just connected.

483
00:24:54,115 --> 00:24:57,986
And I would go home
and connect another address
484
00:24:58,053 --> 00:25:01,355
or another person in order
to try and identify

485
00:25:01,422 --> 00:25:03,157
who the murderer was.

486
00:25:05,626 --> 00:25:09,330
[phone ringing]

487
00:25:11,199 --> 00:25:13,568
So my niece called me.

488
00:25:13,634 --> 00:25:17,004
She was upset about RJ's death,
and she mentioned it

489
00:25:17,071 --> 00:25:18,406
when a coworker approached her.

490
00:25:18,473 --> 00:25:21,509
The coworker told her
that her sister

491
00:25:21,576 --> 00:25:26,314
had helped someone
who got shot on that same day

492
00:25:26,380 --> 00:25:29,350
at that same location.

493
00:25:29,417 --> 00:25:31,786
I immediately wanted
to talk to them to find out

494
00:25:31,853 --> 00:25:33,854
what happened that night
with RJ, just in case

495
00:25:33,921 --> 00:25:35,490
they know who the killer is.

496
00:25:35,556 --> 00:25:39,427
[line trilling]
497
00:25:39,494 --> 00:25:41,729
TRACY: My phone rang.
It was Lisa on the other end.

498
00:25:41,796 --> 00:25:44,933
She wanted to know
what happened.

499
00:25:44,999 --> 00:25:52,006
It was actually just a regular,
active, beautiful night.

500
00:25:52,073 --> 00:25:55,443
[upbeat music]

501
00:25:55,510 --> 00:25:57,078
You know, people were
out in the streets.

502
00:25:57,144 --> 00:25:58,647
It's Philadelphia.

503
00:25:58,713 --> 00:26:01,416
You know, it is a city
that loves its sports,

504
00:26:01,483 --> 00:26:04,819
loves its people,
great nightlife.

505
00:26:04,886 --> 00:26:06,721
I was in the nightclub
downstairs

506
00:26:06,788 --> 00:26:10,125
with a friend
celebrating her birthday.

507
00:26:10,191 --> 00:26:11,893
Being that my friend's
boyfriend owned the bar,

508
00:26:11,960 --> 00:26:15,096
we closed the bar at night,
so it was fairly late.

509
00:26:15,163 --> 00:26:17,198
We were leaving,
closed the gates.

510
00:26:17,265 --> 00:26:22,404
And then you just hear
a loud pop and screaming.

511
00:26:22,470 --> 00:26:25,440
[gunshot]

512
00:26:25,507 --> 00:26:28,910
I just remember people
standing over RJ's body,

513
00:26:28,977 --> 00:26:31,913
but nobody was doing anything.

514
00:26:31,979 --> 00:26:33,482
And I knew I had to help.

515
00:26:33,548 --> 00:26:36,351
LISA: She said he was
laying on the ground.

516
00:26:36,418 --> 00:26:39,854
She went to help him.
She said RJ was awake.

517
00:26:39,921 --> 00:26:42,190
He looked dazed.

518
00:26:42,257 --> 00:26:45,060
She told me he had the
biggest beautiful brown eyes.

519
00:26:45,127 --> 00:26:46,928
[somber music]

520
00:26:46,995 --> 00:26:49,597
TRACY: I looked down at him.
He looked confused.

521
00:26:49,664 --> 00:26:53,534
He was there for a moment,
and then one last blink,
522
00:26:53,601 --> 00:26:57,338
and you can see that, you know,
he was no longer there.

523
00:26:57,405 --> 00:26:59,473
Then I proceeded
to do CPR for him.

524
00:26:59,540 --> 00:27:03,211
As doing so, I just started
screaming, call 911.

525
00:27:03,277 --> 00:27:05,346
[siren wailing]

526
00:27:05,413 --> 00:27:08,149
Cops finally got there,
which felt like forever.

527
00:27:08,215 --> 00:27:10,251
That's when the cops
do what they--

528
00:27:10,317 --> 00:27:12,153
they scoop and carry,
grabbed him,

529
00:27:12,220 --> 00:27:15,957
threw him in the back
of the cruiser, and took off.

530
00:27:16,023 --> 00:27:19,227
[siren wailing]

531
00:27:20,729 --> 00:27:23,831
Unfortunately, I didn't
see the act of violence.

532
00:27:23,898 --> 00:27:28,003
I was no help of being able
to identify

533
00:27:28,069 --> 00:27:29,971
the person who had
done this to RJ.

534
00:27:30,038 --> 00:27:33,174
Um, just my portion
of afterwards.

535
00:27:34,308 --> 00:27:35,977
I feel bad still.

536
00:27:36,043 --> 00:27:39,948
I hurt for the pain that she
has of not having her son RJ.

537
00:27:40,015 --> 00:27:43,652
Um, I wish it were different.

538
00:27:43,718 --> 00:27:47,121
- It felt good to know
that my son wasn't alone

539
00:27:47,188 --> 00:27:51,592
on the cold ground,
dying by himself,

540
00:27:51,659 --> 00:27:53,861
just looking around.

541
00:27:53,928 --> 00:27:56,331
She was RJ's Earth angel.

542
00:27:56,398 --> 00:27:59,700
And I'm forever
grateful to her.

543
00:27:59,767 --> 00:28:01,836
TRACY: She specifically
wanted to thank me

544
00:28:01,903 --> 00:28:03,771
for being there for her son.

545
00:28:03,838 --> 00:28:08,142
The one line that she did say
to me was, um...

546
00:28:09,844 --> 00:28:12,881
"It was nice knowing that
my son came into this world
547
00:28:12,948 --> 00:28:14,415
"in a woman's arms

548
00:28:14,482 --> 00:28:17,085
and had passed
in a woman's arms."

549
00:28:17,151 --> 00:28:18,753
Um...

550
00:28:18,819 --> 00:28:21,522
that kind of will
always stick with me.

551
00:28:23,625 --> 00:28:26,561
[upbeat music]

552
00:28:26,628 --> 00:28:27,895
♪♪ ♪♪

553
00:28:27,962 --> 00:28:29,664
LISA: So RJ, as a teenager,

554
00:28:29,731 --> 00:28:31,766
started making
his own choices.

555
00:28:31,833 --> 00:28:35,003
He was using weed,
and this weed was leading him

556
00:28:35,070 --> 00:28:36,904
to different paths.

557
00:28:36,971 --> 00:28:41,275
And he started spending more
time in North Philadelphia.

558
00:28:41,342 --> 00:28:43,611
It is an area where you
see homelessness,

559
00:28:43,678 --> 00:28:47,682
where you see
prevalent drug addiction.
560
00:28:47,749 --> 00:28:50,452
He started getting more
withdrawn from the family

561
00:28:50,518 --> 00:28:53,855
and becoming more
into his circle of friends.

562
00:28:53,922 --> 00:28:56,591
CHRISTOPHER:
RJ, I guess, started changing

563
00:28:56,658 --> 00:28:59,527
once my mom and his dad
got divorced.

564
00:28:59,594 --> 00:29:02,430
That, I really think,
affected him.

565
00:29:03,832 --> 00:29:06,734
He started gravitating
more towards the streets

566
00:29:06,801 --> 00:29:08,936
than he was before.

567
00:29:09,003 --> 00:29:11,072
LISA: I knew that the choices
that he was making

568
00:29:11,139 --> 00:29:12,940
could put him in harm's way.

569
00:29:13,007 --> 00:29:17,579
And once he did get
locked up for selling weed.

570
00:29:17,645 --> 00:29:20,848
And at a point,
I told RJ, the streets

571
00:29:20,915 --> 00:29:25,220
are gonna either take your life
or it's taking your freedom.

572
00:29:25,287 --> 00:29:28,723
[sentimental music]

573
00:29:28,790 --> 00:29:33,194
RJ became a father at the
age of, I believe he was 19.

574
00:29:33,261 --> 00:29:36,498
And he had JoJo, his daughter.

575
00:29:36,564 --> 00:29:40,601
He started shying away
from the drug dealing

576
00:29:40,668 --> 00:29:43,238
and started doing
some construction work.

577
00:29:43,304 --> 00:29:45,974
And he wanted
to be a good father.

578
00:29:46,040 --> 00:29:47,375
I felt ecstatic.

579
00:29:47,441 --> 00:29:50,111
I felt that RJ
was gonna be safe again,

580
00:29:50,178 --> 00:29:53,915
that he was removing himself
from harm's way.

581
00:29:55,183 --> 00:29:59,821
- It was his time to leave all
the childhood stuff behind

582
00:29:59,888 --> 00:30:04,559
and become the man that
we all knew that he could be.

583
00:30:08,096 --> 00:30:11,299
[line trilling]

584
00:30:15,503 --> 00:30:17,138
LISA: I got to a point
with the detectives
585
00:30:17,205 --> 00:30:19,373
where I was calling and I
wasn't getting a response.

586
00:30:19,440 --> 00:30:21,676
So at that point,
I wrote to his superior.

587
00:30:23,478 --> 00:30:25,446
The detectives
finally called me.

588
00:30:25,513 --> 00:30:29,350
And they told me they would
meet me at my place of work.

589
00:30:29,417 --> 00:30:31,052
[car horns honking]

590
00:30:31,119 --> 00:30:34,255
LOUIS: After the shooting,
we ran down every witness,

591
00:30:34,322 --> 00:30:37,426
every lead we had,
but were in a sense, hopeless,

592
00:30:37,492 --> 00:30:39,260
because we weren't
getting answers.

593
00:30:39,327 --> 00:30:41,463
[suspenseful music]

594
00:30:41,529 --> 00:30:43,398
LISA: The first thing
I told them was,

595
00:30:43,465 --> 00:30:44,832
I need you to contact me.

596
00:30:44,899 --> 00:30:48,002
I've been calling you
every day.

597
00:30:48,069 --> 00:30:51,739
And they said, well,
we really don't have much.

598
00:30:51,806 --> 00:30:54,141
And they told me,
even if we have updates,

599
00:30:54,208 --> 00:30:56,411
we can't share
that information with you.

600
00:30:56,477 --> 00:30:58,747
And I said, okay, well,
you're not sharing with me,

601
00:30:58,813 --> 00:31:01,048
I can share with you.

602
00:31:01,115 --> 00:31:03,818
I had printed out
separate piles

603
00:31:03,885 --> 00:31:06,354
of seven or eight witnesses.

604
00:31:06,421 --> 00:31:08,356
And I started giving names.

605
00:31:08,423 --> 00:31:10,358
They said, how did you
get that information?

606
00:31:10,425 --> 00:31:12,293
And I said, the streets.
I've been out there.

607
00:31:12,360 --> 00:31:14,862
If you go to the streets,
they'll talk.

608
00:31:14,929 --> 00:31:17,398
- She was able to speak
with people in a way

609
00:31:17,465 --> 00:31:21,435
that police detectives
are unable to do

610
00:31:21,502 --> 00:31:23,071
out in those neighborhoods.

611
00:31:23,137 --> 00:31:25,806
She was doing everything
that she could

612
00:31:25,873 --> 00:31:28,075
on her end
to gather information,

613
00:31:28,142 --> 00:31:30,612
to give us new leads
of individuals

614
00:31:30,678 --> 00:31:32,847
we could identify
and speak with.

615
00:31:35,183 --> 00:31:36,651
We're speaking
to these witnesses

616
00:31:36,718 --> 00:31:40,621
and we brought them down
to the Homicide Unit,

617
00:31:40,688 --> 00:31:42,924
tried to develop
a relationship, a rapport

618
00:31:42,991 --> 00:31:46,094
with them, and make them feel
as comfortable as we could

619
00:31:46,160 --> 00:31:48,496
and get the information
they had.

620
00:31:50,598 --> 00:31:53,735
But none of those individuals
were willing to give us

621
00:31:53,801 --> 00:31:59,807
even a clue to help the family
of RJ find justice,

622
00:31:59,874 --> 00:32:03,444
just because of fear factor
of being labeled a snitch

623
00:32:03,511 --> 00:32:05,446
and the consequences
that come from that

624
00:32:05,513 --> 00:32:06,747
in those neighborhoods.

625
00:32:08,582 --> 00:32:11,519
It's difficult
to remain positive.

626
00:32:11,586 --> 00:32:13,588
There probably wasn't
a single night I went to sleep

627
00:32:13,655 --> 00:32:17,558
where I wasn't thinking,
how can I find a way

628
00:32:17,625 --> 00:32:22,630
to get a witness to come
forward and solve this murder?

629
00:32:22,697 --> 00:32:25,533
LISA: I gave the detectives
names of witnesses.

630
00:32:25,600 --> 00:32:28,903
I gave them videos
of the shooting...

631
00:32:28,970 --> 00:32:30,605
[indistinct chatter]

632
00:32:30,672 --> 00:32:32,840
And it didn't lead
to anything.

633
00:32:37,345 --> 00:32:38,546
LISA:
I felt I hit a brick wall.
634
00:32:38,613 --> 00:32:41,382
I felt that I was
hitting a dead end.

635
00:32:41,449 --> 00:32:44,219
There was no more
connecting the dots.

636
00:32:44,286 --> 00:32:48,122
[suspenseful music]

637
00:32:48,189 --> 00:32:51,759
The investigation,
my research was stagnated.

638
00:32:53,028 --> 00:32:56,163
I decided to take
a different approach.

639
00:32:57,766 --> 00:33:01,202
I'm gonna reach out and see
if I can soften some hearts

640
00:33:01,269 --> 00:33:03,805
of these witnesses.

641
00:33:03,871 --> 00:33:05,239
And that's what I did.

642
00:33:05,306 --> 00:33:12,513
♪♪ ♪♪

643
00:33:15,183 --> 00:33:16,651
I wanted media coverage.

644
00:33:16,718 --> 00:33:18,352
And my niece told me
about this journalist

645
00:33:18,419 --> 00:33:20,088
that did an article
about retrieving a gun

646
00:33:20,155 --> 00:33:22,023
very quickly in Philadelphia.
647
00:33:24,992 --> 00:33:27,962
HELEN: Honestly,
when I first got the call,

648
00:33:28,029 --> 00:33:30,532
I thought,
you know, this--the--

649
00:33:30,599 --> 00:33:32,667
the numbers are not
on her side.

650
00:33:35,002 --> 00:33:37,772
In a lot of ways,
Lisa did not differ

651
00:33:37,839 --> 00:33:41,476
from a lot of the mothers
that I have followed.

652
00:33:41,543 --> 00:33:47,182
But what Lisa had
was this fire in her.

653
00:33:47,248 --> 00:33:50,351
Lisa was desperately
trying to keep her son

654
00:33:50,418 --> 00:33:53,387
from being another statistic
in Philadelphia.

655
00:33:53,454 --> 00:33:56,457
So we sat down, and she told me
all that she knew.

656
00:33:56,524 --> 00:34:01,395
Uh, but really, the story
for me was about this mother

657
00:34:01,462 --> 00:34:04,265
who was on a mission
to make sure

658
00:34:04,332 --> 00:34:07,068
that she got justice
for her son.

659
00:34:09,637 --> 00:34:12,507
- A man was shot to death right
in front of a group of people

660
00:34:12,574 --> 00:34:14,575
while leaving a nightclub
in North Philadelphia.

661
00:34:14,642 --> 00:34:17,378
Now the victim's mother
is asking for your help.

662
00:34:17,445 --> 00:34:19,948
LISA: This person is walking
free in our streets,

663
00:34:20,015 --> 00:34:23,918
and they can hurt your son,
your daughter, your child.

664
00:34:23,985 --> 00:34:25,787
There's a murderer out there.

665
00:34:25,854 --> 00:34:29,824
Helen Ubinas started tracking
me, started tracking my story.

666
00:34:29,891 --> 00:34:31,426
[keyboard clicking]

667
00:34:31,492 --> 00:34:35,063
That brought interest
to the other networks

668
00:34:35,130 --> 00:34:36,330
and the news media.

669
00:34:36,397 --> 00:34:38,333
- We hear one mother's
compelling story

670
00:34:38,400 --> 00:34:40,869
and her courage
to fight for justice.
671
00:34:40,935 --> 00:34:42,704
LISA: I wanted it to be known
to the whole community,

672
00:34:42,771 --> 00:34:45,473
to Philadelphia,
I'm Lisa Espinosa,

673
00:34:45,540 --> 00:34:47,275
and I'm looking
for my son's murderer.

674
00:34:47,342 --> 00:34:49,010
BERT: There were
plenty of witnesses

675
00:34:49,077 --> 00:34:52,180
that saw what happened,
and no one's coming forth.

676
00:34:52,247 --> 00:34:53,481
- Yeah, in the
Latino community,

677
00:34:53,548 --> 00:34:55,316
there's a snitch code.

678
00:34:55,383 --> 00:34:57,552
They say snitches get stitches.

679
00:34:57,619 --> 00:35:01,656
I wanted the killer to know,
I'm looking for you.

680
00:35:01,723 --> 00:35:03,791
And I knew that
through that media outlet

681
00:35:03,858 --> 00:35:06,361
and me making noise,
he was gonna hear.

682
00:35:06,427 --> 00:35:10,331
Our community needs to get
together and get empowered

683
00:35:10,398 --> 00:35:12,133
and go against
these individuals

684
00:35:12,200 --> 00:35:14,101
who are cold-blooded killers.

685
00:35:16,704 --> 00:35:18,940
I reached out to Roz,
Rosalind Pichardo,

686
00:35:19,007 --> 00:35:20,575
Operation Save Our City.

687
00:35:20,642 --> 00:35:23,178
Someone told me that
she did protests and marches

688
00:35:23,245 --> 00:35:25,647
and she worked
with families of homicide.

689
00:35:25,714 --> 00:35:28,483
ROSALIND: She told me
about RJ's death.

690
00:35:28,550 --> 00:35:30,819
It was so close
to where I live.

691
00:35:30,885 --> 00:35:33,521
It's, like, a couple blocks
from my house.

692
00:35:33,588 --> 00:35:36,691
So this could be anyone
that I know, you know?

693
00:35:36,757 --> 00:35:38,960
And I kind of connected
right away.

694
00:35:39,027 --> 00:35:41,762
[sentimental music]

695
00:35:41,829 --> 00:35:45,333
I've lost my boyfriend
to murder.

696
00:35:45,400 --> 00:35:47,802
My ex-boyfriend,
he was shot himself, too.

697
00:35:47,869 --> 00:35:52,974
And then I lost my brother,
Alexander Martinez, to murder.

698
00:35:53,041 --> 00:35:55,510
When my brother was murdered,
uh,

699
00:35:55,576 --> 00:35:58,813
we didn't get much information
from, like, the detectives.

700
00:35:58,880 --> 00:36:02,717
So that's when Operation
Save Our City was born,

701
00:36:02,784 --> 00:36:06,187
where we can
advocate for our own selves.

702
00:36:06,254 --> 00:36:09,490
♪♪ ♪♪

703
00:36:14,028 --> 00:36:16,665
- This is where
it all happened.

704
00:36:16,731 --> 00:36:22,336
This is the club that RJ
was in on April 10, 2016.

705
00:36:22,403 --> 00:36:25,640
And on the third white line
was where he was shot

706
00:36:25,706 --> 00:36:27,174
and his body dropped.

707
00:36:29,177 --> 00:36:30,445
And in that corner right there
708
00:36:30,512 --> 00:36:33,281
is where I did
the first protest.

709
00:36:35,082 --> 00:36:38,520
[dramatic music]

710
00:36:38,586 --> 00:36:40,321
We started protesting
and marching

711
00:36:40,388 --> 00:36:43,191
through the neighborhoods,
and all these mothers

712
00:36:43,258 --> 00:36:45,126
were being introduced to me
that was telling me,

713
00:36:45,193 --> 00:36:47,528
I lost my son, I lost my son.

714
00:36:47,595 --> 00:36:53,434
I met a lady who lost her son
April 13, three days after RJ,

715
00:36:53,501 --> 00:36:55,303
whose case is still unsolved.

716
00:36:55,369 --> 00:36:57,272
PROTESTOR: What do we want?
ALL: Justice!

717
00:36:57,338 --> 00:36:59,307
PROTESTOR: When do we want it?
ALL: Now!

718
00:36:59,373 --> 00:37:01,343
PROTESTOR: What do we want?
ALL: Justice!

719
00:37:01,409 --> 00:37:03,311
PROTESTOR: When do we want it?
ALL: Now!

720
00:37:03,378 --> 00:37:05,479
LISA: And we asked people,
do you know of anything?

721
00:37:05,546 --> 00:37:06,947
Have you heard
about this murder?

722
00:37:07,014 --> 00:37:08,850
This murder happened
around the corner.

723
00:37:08,917 --> 00:37:12,219
- Lisa put herself
in danger every single day

724
00:37:12,286 --> 00:37:14,189
that she was investigating
her son's murder.

725
00:37:14,255 --> 00:37:16,524
She may be knocking
on the door of the person

726
00:37:16,591 --> 00:37:19,160
who's responsible
for killing her son.

727
00:37:20,595 --> 00:37:23,431
REPORTER 1: Those taking part
in this group photograph

728
00:37:23,497 --> 00:37:25,299
have all been impacted
by gun violence

729
00:37:25,366 --> 00:37:26,667
on the streets
of Philadelphia.

730
00:37:26,734 --> 00:37:28,069
REPORTER 2:
Because gun violence

731
00:37:28,136 --> 00:37:30,438
has hit each one of them.

732
00:37:31,873 --> 00:37:34,709
ROSALIND: There was just
something about her energy

733
00:37:34,775 --> 00:37:38,045
not like any mother
that I've ever helped.

734
00:37:39,280 --> 00:37:41,316
Although you can see
the pain in her eyes,

735
00:37:41,383 --> 00:37:43,051
there was, like,
no stopping her.

736
00:37:43,117 --> 00:37:45,520
There was no fear.

737
00:37:45,587 --> 00:37:48,222
Because she was ruffling
a lot of feathers

738
00:37:48,289 --> 00:37:49,858
in the neighborhood.

739
00:37:49,924 --> 00:37:52,660
- I was worried they
had a killer right now

740
00:37:52,727 --> 00:37:54,429
that was loose out
in the streets

741
00:37:54,495 --> 00:37:58,266
who didn't care
about killing RJ.

742
00:37:58,333 --> 00:38:01,702
So why would he care
about hurting

743
00:38:01,769 --> 00:38:04,238
somebody else
within the family?

744
00:38:10,779 --> 00:38:14,082
[tense music]
745
00:38:14,148 --> 00:38:20,755
- I started getting anonymous
texts from unknown numbers.

746
00:38:20,822 --> 00:38:23,258
"Stop talking, bitch."

747
00:38:23,325 --> 00:38:29,397
"If you don't stop, we're
coming after your family."

748
00:38:29,464 --> 00:38:32,133
"You're gonna die like your--
like your son."

749
00:38:33,868 --> 00:38:35,436
At this point, though,
my family

750
00:38:35,503 --> 00:38:38,440
started getting worried.

751
00:38:38,506 --> 00:38:40,441
My sons got to a point
where they felt

752
00:38:40,508 --> 00:38:43,211
I was making too much noise.

753
00:38:43,277 --> 00:38:46,915
They said, well, Mom,
we lost RJ.

754
00:38:46,982 --> 00:38:48,583
We don't wanna lose you.

755
00:38:48,650 --> 00:38:52,687
Then I let my sons know,
I can't stop.

756
00:38:52,754 --> 00:38:57,959
♪♪ ♪♪

757
00:38:58,026 --> 00:39:02,130
I knew I was close because
I was already getting threats.

758
00:39:02,196 --> 00:39:06,467
I knew that I was making
the killer uncomfortable.

759
00:39:09,571 --> 00:39:13,508
Any information I got
from the protests

760
00:39:13,575 --> 00:39:15,877
could lead
to the next location

761
00:39:15,944 --> 00:39:17,211
to do targeted outreach

762
00:39:17,278 --> 00:39:20,248
in different locations
within the city.

763
00:39:21,249 --> 00:39:23,584
REPORTER 1: Now to the searing
heat here in the Northeast,

764
00:39:23,651 --> 00:39:25,787
where they have extended
a heat emergency.

765
00:39:25,854 --> 00:39:28,189
REPORTER 2: And we are slated
to hit 95 once again today.

766
00:39:28,256 --> 00:39:29,591
It's almost unbelievable.

767
00:39:29,657 --> 00:39:31,125
LISA:
We did a targeted outreach.

768
00:39:31,192 --> 00:39:33,428
Hot summer day,
was a heat wave day.

769
00:39:33,495 --> 00:39:35,830
And at this point,
I'm putting flyers on cars,
770
00:39:35,897 --> 00:39:38,867
I'm putting flyers
in all the mailboxes.

771
00:39:38,933 --> 00:39:42,136
And that day, I got a lead.

772
00:39:42,203 --> 00:39:44,773
[suspenseful music]

773
00:39:44,839 --> 00:39:49,343
Pulled someone aside who said,
you need to be careful.

774
00:39:49,410 --> 00:39:51,579
The killer,
he's a drug dealer.

775
00:39:51,646 --> 00:39:53,581
He's always walking
with a gun.

776
00:39:53,648 --> 00:39:55,750
I said, come over here, well,
talk to me a little bit.

777
00:39:55,817 --> 00:39:57,551
We'll pretend like we're
talking about the flyer.

778
00:39:57,618 --> 00:40:00,021
I heard the killer
drives a car.

779
00:40:00,088 --> 00:40:01,956
What's the car color?

780
00:40:02,023 --> 00:40:08,797
He said, oh, he's driving
a two-tone gray Crown Regal.

781
00:40:09,631 --> 00:40:12,033
And I said, well, tell me
a little bit more, come on.

782
00:40:12,100 --> 00:40:16,504
And he tells me, he's known
by Fax, and he's known by G.

783
00:40:16,571 --> 00:40:22,210
♪♪ ♪♪

784
00:40:22,277 --> 00:40:24,579
But you gotta be careful.

785
00:40:24,646 --> 00:40:26,848
He hangs out in 7th and Tioga.

786
00:40:26,914 --> 00:40:28,483
He deals drugs.

787
00:40:28,549 --> 00:40:31,586
And he also has a drug corner
a block down

788
00:40:31,653 --> 00:40:34,422
on 6th Street
and Westmoreland,

789
00:40:34,489 --> 00:40:38,125
a few blocks away
from where RJ was shot.

790
00:40:38,192 --> 00:40:42,230
It gave me hope that I would
be able to give some more

791
00:40:42,296 --> 00:40:44,565
detailed information
to the police

792
00:40:44,632 --> 00:40:46,634
for them to make an arrest.

793
00:40:50,672 --> 00:40:55,877
We're actually approaching
the area where the killer

794
00:40:55,944 --> 00:40:57,545
had his drug corner.

795
00:40:57,612 --> 00:41:00,848
He ran this drug corner here
in this corner right here.

796
00:41:00,915 --> 00:41:02,450
We're on 6th and Allegheny now.

797
00:41:02,517 --> 00:41:07,189
This is a very high drug
trafficking dangerous place

798
00:41:07,255 --> 00:41:08,623
to be in the evenings.

799
00:41:11,592 --> 00:41:15,396
I went by myself
to look for the car.

800
00:41:15,463 --> 00:41:17,498
And I just looked
and looked and see

801
00:41:17,565 --> 00:41:21,402
if anybody with that build
or with that curly hair

802
00:41:21,469 --> 00:41:24,472
and the beard was selling
drugs at that location.

803
00:41:24,539 --> 00:41:28,143
♪♪ ♪♪

804
00:41:28,210 --> 00:41:30,178
As I'm getting
to the next corner

805
00:41:30,244 --> 00:41:31,713
of the end of the street,

806
00:41:31,780 --> 00:41:34,382
there's a group of people
that knew RJ.

807
00:41:34,449 --> 00:41:36,985
And one individual
comes and tells me,
808
00:41:37,052 --> 00:41:39,921
the killer hangs out
at a motorcycle club

809
00:41:39,988 --> 00:41:41,756
in 5th and Westmoreland.

810
00:41:41,823 --> 00:41:46,695
♪♪ ♪♪

811
00:41:46,761 --> 00:41:49,797
[motorcycle engines roaring]

812
00:41:52,533 --> 00:41:55,904
I organize a National Day of
Remembrance for murder victims

813
00:41:55,970 --> 00:41:58,072
right there on that corner.

814
00:41:58,139 --> 00:42:00,875
So we had many families
that came,

815
00:42:00,942 --> 00:42:03,077
and they brought their
loved ones' belongings,

816
00:42:03,144 --> 00:42:04,612
pictures of their loved ones.

817
00:42:04,679 --> 00:42:06,515
If they were unsolved cases,
I asked them to bring

818
00:42:06,581 --> 00:42:10,285
reward signs,
flyers to distribute.

819
00:42:10,351 --> 00:42:13,955
- We had dealers, um,
who own most of the block, um,

820
00:42:14,022 --> 00:42:16,057
the surrounding blocks
around it.

821
00:42:16,123 --> 00:42:18,259
So it was very dangerous.

822
00:42:20,061 --> 00:42:23,331
- If the killer
was in this area,

823
00:42:23,398 --> 00:42:29,004
I wanted him to know that
I was a mother on a mission.

824
00:42:29,070 --> 00:42:30,805
And I wanted justice.

825
00:42:32,874 --> 00:42:35,677
When I heard that
his name was G or Fax,

826
00:42:35,743 --> 00:42:37,946
I gave that information
to detectives.

827
00:42:38,012 --> 00:42:39,680
When they told me that
he was a drug dealer,

828
00:42:39,747 --> 00:42:41,483
I gave
that information to them.

829
00:42:41,549 --> 00:42:43,551
When they told me he hung out
at the motorcycle club

830
00:42:43,618 --> 00:42:47,388
in 5th and Westmoreland,
I gave that information.

831
00:42:47,455 --> 00:42:49,457
All of this information
I have gathered,

832
00:42:49,524 --> 00:42:53,061
the detectives are not
giving me any feedback.
833
00:42:53,128 --> 00:42:55,730
I felt that the investigation
wasn't rolling fast enough.

834
00:42:55,797 --> 00:42:59,100
They weren't getting
anyone in custody.

835
00:42:59,167 --> 00:43:00,701
- It was a lot of frustration.

836
00:43:00,768 --> 00:43:05,774
It was anger, questions.

837
00:43:05,841 --> 00:43:09,811
But why the police
aren't doing anything.

838
00:43:09,878 --> 00:43:11,579
But it made her stronger,

839
00:43:11,646 --> 00:43:13,814
and it made her wanna fight
even more.

840
00:43:15,717 --> 00:43:17,151
HELEN:
She was desperate.

841
00:43:17,218 --> 00:43:20,388
She was begging, really,
begging reporters

842
00:43:20,454 --> 00:43:22,690
to please tell her story.

843
00:43:22,757 --> 00:43:25,927
I hoped that when
I wrote about Lisa,

844
00:43:25,993 --> 00:43:28,830
people would understand that
this mother is not going away,

845
00:43:28,896 --> 00:43:30,398
that I have her back.

846
00:43:30,464 --> 00:43:33,635
I'm also not going away until
someone could help her

847
00:43:33,702 --> 00:43:35,803
solve RJ's murder.

848
00:43:35,870 --> 00:43:38,740
♪♪ ♪♪

849
00:43:38,807 --> 00:43:40,575
[keyboard clicking]

850
00:43:40,641 --> 00:43:42,143
LISA:
I appear on the cover

851
00:43:42,210 --> 00:43:44,712
of "The Philadelphia
Inquirer."

852
00:43:44,779 --> 00:43:48,949
Helen Ubinas does an article,
"Mother on a mission."

853
00:43:49,016 --> 00:43:51,252
Now it's on the front page.

854
00:43:51,319 --> 00:43:55,123
The pressure was on the cops.

855
00:43:55,190 --> 00:43:57,959
The story's getting heard.

856
00:43:58,026 --> 00:44:02,030
Philadelphia Police
Homicide Unit is gonna move.

857
00:44:02,097 --> 00:44:04,799
There's something
has to happen.

858
00:44:04,866 --> 00:44:06,201
Went to work.
859
00:44:06,267 --> 00:44:09,437
5:00 I get a call.

860
00:44:09,504 --> 00:44:12,540
Raymond's case has been given
to the Special Task Force.

861
00:44:12,607 --> 00:44:14,776
Now there's five detectives
on the case.

862
00:44:14,843 --> 00:44:16,611
We're gonna be working on it.

863
00:44:22,484 --> 00:44:24,185
LOUIS: Things started
to develop very rapidly.

864
00:44:24,252 --> 00:44:25,920
[phone rings]

865
00:44:25,987 --> 00:44:27,555
Our real-time crime center

866
00:44:27,622 --> 00:44:29,524
received an anonymous
phone call

867
00:44:29,591 --> 00:44:32,894
from an individual
who had information

868
00:44:32,961 --> 00:44:34,862
related to RJ's killing.

869
00:44:34,929 --> 00:44:39,033
And that ignited a whole new
lead in the investigation.

870
00:44:39,100 --> 00:44:41,069
[suspenseful music]

871
00:44:41,136 --> 00:44:42,236
[gunshot]
872
00:44:42,303 --> 00:44:47,442
♪♪ ♪♪

873
00:44:47,509 --> 00:44:50,177
That led us
to Giovanny Perales.

874
00:44:52,547 --> 00:44:55,417
Once we learned Giovanny
Perales was a suspect,

875
00:44:55,483 --> 00:44:59,286
we were able to piece together
his cell phone records,

876
00:44:59,353 --> 00:45:01,822
which showed he was hitting
off of cell towers

877
00:45:01,889 --> 00:45:04,392
right at the area
of the crime.

878
00:45:04,459 --> 00:45:07,429
And you could see
he was traveling away

879
00:45:07,496 --> 00:45:09,464
from the crime scene
and then hitting off

880
00:45:09,531 --> 00:45:11,565
of a different
cell phone tower

881
00:45:11,632 --> 00:45:13,601
in the area of where we knew

882
00:45:13,668 --> 00:45:16,571
he had an address,
where he lived.

883
00:45:16,637 --> 00:45:20,475
Without Lisa's work through
the papers, through the media,

884
00:45:20,542 --> 00:45:23,277
TV stations, and keeping it
on the forefront

885
00:45:23,344 --> 00:45:25,613
of everybody's brains,

886
00:45:25,680 --> 00:45:28,783
we may not have ever received
that anonymous phone call.

887
00:45:31,686 --> 00:45:34,589
[siren wailing]

888
00:45:34,655 --> 00:45:38,259
[dramatic music]

889
00:45:38,326 --> 00:45:42,830
LISA: The detectives
sent me a text.

890
00:45:42,897 --> 00:45:48,570
And they say, we're on our way
to charge a suspect.

891
00:45:48,636 --> 00:45:50,772
And I'm like, oh, my God,
they're going, they're going,

892
00:45:50,838 --> 00:45:52,507
they're going
to get this person.

893
00:45:52,574 --> 00:45:54,142
[sirens wailing]

894
00:45:54,209 --> 00:45:55,844
LOUIS:
He was staying at a home

895
00:45:55,911 --> 00:45:58,513
not far from where
the murder took place.

896
00:45:58,580 --> 00:46:02,149
♪♪ ♪♪
897
00:46:02,216 --> 00:46:04,352
Detectives prepared
a search warrant.

898
00:46:06,821 --> 00:46:10,157
And Giovanny Perales
was taken into custody.

899
00:46:14,128 --> 00:46:17,265
LISA: And then about
two hours later, I get a text.

900
00:46:17,332 --> 00:46:20,668
It says,
"The suspect is in custody

901
00:46:20,735 --> 00:46:22,970
and has been
officially charged."

902
00:46:23,037 --> 00:46:26,107
And at that point...

903
00:46:26,174 --> 00:46:29,778
I let out such a scream.

904
00:46:29,844 --> 00:46:34,516
It was just like,
"Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!"

905
00:46:34,582 --> 00:46:36,884
It felt so good.

906
00:46:36,951 --> 00:46:41,356
And that was liberating.

907
00:46:41,423 --> 00:46:45,093
- She said, Christopher,
they got him, they got him.

908
00:46:45,160 --> 00:46:47,061
It's over.

909
00:46:47,128 --> 00:46:51,766
It was a relief
that my mom can now
910
00:46:51,833 --> 00:46:54,536
finally start grieving.

911
00:46:54,603 --> 00:46:56,137
[somber music]

912
00:46:56,204 --> 00:46:58,106
HELEN:
The fact that this one mom

913
00:46:58,173 --> 00:46:59,741
was able to get some answers,

914
00:46:59,807 --> 00:47:01,542
some accountability,
some justice,

915
00:47:01,609 --> 00:47:05,280
wasn't just something for Lisa.

916
00:47:05,347 --> 00:47:08,449
Suddenly I thought,
there's a reason why you

917
00:47:08,516 --> 00:47:10,118
keep writing these columns.

918
00:47:10,185 --> 00:47:11,920
It's not a waste of time.

919
00:47:11,987 --> 00:47:13,855
Something could happen.

920
00:47:13,921 --> 00:47:15,790
Something did happen.

921
00:47:15,857 --> 00:47:17,392
- I remember I was excited,

922
00:47:17,459 --> 00:47:20,495
but I still wasn't content

923
00:47:20,562 --> 00:47:24,065
until we heard what that
final verdict was going to be.

924
00:47:29,203 --> 00:47:32,273
LISA: It's the preliminary
hearing day.

925
00:47:32,340 --> 00:47:36,278
We're sitting there,
they bring out RJ's murderer.

926
00:47:36,344 --> 00:47:39,380
[gavel banging]

927
00:47:39,447 --> 00:47:41,516
I sat in the front.
I wanted him to see me.

928
00:47:41,583 --> 00:47:44,452
Because I knew
he knew me already.

929
00:47:44,519 --> 00:47:47,555
They said his name,
Giovanny Perales.

930
00:47:47,621 --> 00:47:51,659
He was known
in the streets for G.

931
00:47:51,726 --> 00:47:54,462
Giovanny Perales
pleaded guilty.

932
00:47:54,529 --> 00:47:57,498
He chose not to say anything.

933
00:47:57,565 --> 00:48:01,069
So I never got
a response from him.

934
00:48:01,136 --> 00:48:04,539
He came across as having
no remorse at all.

935
00:48:04,606 --> 00:48:11,646
♪♪ ♪♪
936
00:48:20,154 --> 00:48:23,091
CHRISTOPHER:
I miss RJ's presence,

937
00:48:23,158 --> 00:48:25,961
his laughter.

938
00:48:26,027 --> 00:48:27,963
I miss my little brother.

939
00:48:28,029 --> 00:48:29,230
Um...

940
00:48:31,666 --> 00:48:33,301
Can't get one back.

941
00:48:33,368 --> 00:48:35,036
Don't want one back.
[laughs]

942
00:48:35,103 --> 00:48:37,105
Don't need another one.

943
00:48:37,172 --> 00:48:43,278
Um, but I think his aura

944
00:48:43,344 --> 00:48:46,080
is primarily
what I miss from him.

945
00:48:47,882 --> 00:48:50,084
- This quilt has the
clothes he was wearing

946
00:48:50,151 --> 00:48:51,519
the day that he was murdered.

947
00:48:51,585 --> 00:48:54,722
The little hole in the
middle of the flower

948
00:48:54,789 --> 00:48:58,259
is actually where the bullet
pierced his chest.

949
00:48:58,326 --> 00:49:01,096
At times, I just wanna
feel his warmth and his hug,

950
00:49:01,162 --> 00:49:02,997
so I put it around me.

951
00:49:03,064 --> 00:49:05,733
And the warmth of the blanket,
I just close my eyes

952
00:49:05,800 --> 00:49:09,704
and feel like it's him
just holding me.

953
00:49:09,771 --> 00:49:12,807
- I just keep the good memories
that I have with him.

954
00:49:12,874 --> 00:49:14,910
There were a lot of them,
there were a lot of them.

955
00:49:14,976 --> 00:49:19,213
What I miss most about RJ
is his smile and personality.

956
00:49:24,419 --> 00:49:28,356
LISA: So in aiming
to find RJ's murderer,

957
00:49:28,422 --> 00:49:30,192
a ripple effect happened.

958
00:49:30,258 --> 00:49:32,527
REPORTER: You're looking live
at a rally in Fairmount Park.

959
00:49:32,593 --> 00:49:34,495
It's all part of
National Gun Violence

960
00:49:34,562 --> 00:49:36,664
Awareness Wear Orange Day.

961
00:49:36,731 --> 00:49:39,434
This comes as violence
in our area is up.

962
00:49:39,501 --> 00:49:42,337
LISA: I wanted to work with
families of unsolved cases,

963
00:49:42,404 --> 00:49:45,507
so my protesters didn't stop.

964
00:49:45,573 --> 00:49:49,877
I was determined that
I had to live again for RJ.

965
00:49:49,944 --> 00:49:53,548
So now I honor his memory.

966
00:49:53,615 --> 00:49:56,751
I tell my story,
my survivor story,

967
00:49:56,817 --> 00:50:00,788
that gun violence is real
and it could touch your home.

968
00:50:01,956 --> 00:50:06,828
We all are bonded by our
grief and by our loss.

969
00:50:06,895 --> 00:50:11,700
But life continues, and if
the shoe was on the other foot

970
00:50:11,766 --> 00:50:14,770
and it was me that
had been murdered,

971
00:50:14,836 --> 00:50:18,573
I would want my family to live
the life I couldn't live.

972
00:50:18,640 --> 00:50:25,680
♪♪ ♪♪