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Homicide Squad: New Orleans - Season 1 - Episode 03: Mardi Gras Murder
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00:10The French Quarter is almost its own city within the city.
00:13It's got this beautiful architecture, ghost lore and voodoo and everything.
00:20Some of the happiest revelry around in the country.
00:23But New Orleans really is a land of extremes.
00:30And you've got to be ready.
01:04Hey, hey, hey, where did the vehicle flee to?
01:07Straight ahead, straight ahead.
01:09A great challenge.
01:10A great challenge.
01:11A great challenge.
01:14Oh my God.
01:17Breathe, brother, please.
01:18Breathe.
01:19Brother, please.
01:24I did the best I could, sir.
01:28EMS is en route.
01:40All we know, or I know right now, is that we have an unidentified male down.
01:46I think I heard a couple casings on the scene.
01:50The whole French Quarter is blocked off right now for everything Mardi Gras related.
01:55So, yeah, obviously chaotic area.
01:57Really bizarre when you have the party buses and everybody out here drinking and just, you
02:03can see these roadblocks here.
02:05They got everything closed down.
02:07We got a couple blocks to walk.
02:15As I'm heading to the scene, I'm thinking there's the decedent's body that needs to be processed.
02:20There's the evidence surrounding it.
02:21There's witnesses to talk to.
02:23There's cameras to look for.
02:25All right, right over here.
02:27And then you need to sort of try and create a base narrative from what you have that night
02:32and do it all more or less at the same time.
02:35It's just a drive-by or somebody?
02:37No, they're standing there talking to them.
02:38The victim and his relatives are standing there talking to them.
02:42Both humans.
02:42And the relative walks off.
02:46The victim steps back off the curb, back into the street, and the shooting happens.
02:50And the challenger drives off.
02:52So they're hanging out, like, normally with this challenger for a while?
02:56Probably not.
02:57Okay.
02:57Blackmail shot at the location.
03:00And we just have a few casings, is that right?
03:03Four casings.
03:04Okay.
03:04Rifle casings.
03:05Rifle casings, all right.
03:07We find four shell casings in the general area of the victim, which is noteworthy because
03:12if there is a car involved, those casings had to eject from the window.
03:16The victim was, you know, within a foot or two of the window when it happened.
03:21And what's going on with the dude behind me?
03:23He was doing chest compressions on your victim.
03:26We just need his info, right?
03:27And then a statement from him.
03:29We need to talk to anybody who might be a witness.
03:31Because you never know who might have seen something.
03:33Hey, sir.
03:34I'm Detective Fyfe.
03:35Did you see what happened?
03:36There's a car.
03:38All's on.
03:41Pop, pop, pop.
03:43He's hit.
03:45I'm sorry that you had to see that.
03:46This is me just in case you think there's anything I need to know down the road, okay?
03:50I'm sorry.
03:51Thanks for trying to help, all right?
03:52First witness, his involvement is just limited to CPR.
03:56I love that he tried to do something.
03:58You sometimes see people really doing heroic stuff and trying to help when there's nothing
04:03in it for them.
04:08Do we have an ID?
04:10I heard that family is around, right?
04:12Yeah, we have an ID.
04:13Okay.
04:13Cool.
04:14Mervyn McGee, hopefully 25.
04:19I'm just so struck by how young Mervyn was.
04:23And he's lying in the block.
04:24We've cleared that block.
04:26But just outside of the crime scene tape, you still have people going to bars and laughing.
04:31But it almost feels like, can we get a moment of silence for this guy who was having a good
04:38time just like you an hour ago, you know?
04:46The second witness turns out to be related to the decedent.
04:50He's clearly distraught.
04:52Hey, I'm sorry to interrupt, man.
04:54My name's Detective Fife, so I'm going to be in charge of this whole thing.
04:57I mean, I'm sorry if it's redundant, but do you mind telling me one more time what happened
05:01out here?
05:01We walked in one of my friend's steps, called him and his cousin, a girlfriend.
05:05Next thing you know, all out here was gunshots.
05:06When I was running back towards him, I said, great challenge to speed away.
05:11And I know they had United to the side because it was parked farther down before and we walked
05:15past it.
05:16You ever seen that car before?
05:18No, sir.
05:19Never.
05:19My first time seen it.
05:21Okay.
05:21Gotcha.
05:22So who else was out here?
05:25My friend is, they...
05:26I don't know his last name.
05:28Gotcha.
05:29What's a good phone number for?
05:30Um, I don't know his number or anything.
05:33Um, do you know if he has any beef or anybody who's ever tried to hurt him or anything recently?
05:38I don't know anything about that.
05:39All I do is go to work and go home, so I don't know anything about that.
05:43When you have something you remember or something you want to tell me, my door is always open,
05:47okay?
05:47I do everything I can to help this situation, everything I can.
05:51Is his mom coming out, I think I heard?
05:53Yeah, she on her way.
05:54Gotcha.
05:55Here you go, man.
05:56Just hang tight for one sec, okay?
05:57That's me, all right?
05:58Faith?
06:12Avчик, are you in charge?
06:13Oh, my God.
06:14I'm sorry.
06:16I'm sorry to you.
06:17You flagğaTETHI da g modem.
06:21You on your body.
06:21Oh, my God.
06:25You on your feet.
06:26It was a level of anguish that is about as broken up as I've seen anybody at a crime scene.
06:34I have to approach the mother and navigate her emotion as delicately as possible.
06:41Yeah, and, you know, this stuff is all-time sensitive, unfortunately.
06:44I know you're feeling it and you want to grieve, but if there is anything you know, I'd love to
06:48hear it.
06:48Whatever you want, I just want to go home.
06:50Whatever you want me to tell you.
06:51Say, whoever it is, somebody on the bus, because he don't be over here.
06:55I don't know.
06:56You guys are from the West Bank?
06:57I got you.
07:00Just, I know you're feeling it, but just as an update tonight, I'm going to work this, okay?
07:04And I'm going to be in touch with you every step of the way, okay?
07:07And again, I'm just so sorry, guys.
07:09I wish there was something else I could tell you all right now.
07:12Sorry.
07:23You know where Donnie's at?
07:24I'm glad I heard he has video.
07:26So he has video from a house.
07:28We just pulled video from that in-car camera.
07:31The in-car camera, you can hear everything, so it's a nice, automatic, blah!
07:37Otherwise, you can see taillights.
07:39That's it.
07:40The other one, you can see what kind of car it is.
07:42So we got a car.
07:43Some kind of plate.
07:44What's up, Donnie?
07:45I got this on my USB.
07:47Mm-hmm.
07:47I just sent you some dash camera footage of it also.
07:50Okay.
07:52The video footage actually showed the homicide, which is hugely helpful.
07:57Oh, he can, like, almost get a plate.
07:59It looks like there's a plate.
08:00Well, we got the LPR readers at every point, so we'll get it.
08:05That's our vehicle.
08:06That's my victim in the black shirt.
08:10There's somebody standing next to Mervyn, who we've come to identify as a ****.
08:15That could be the only person who heard this conversation between Mervyn and the suspect,
08:20and who saw the suspect's face that, you know, has lived to tell the tale.
08:26Now, the guy who left, I told him to keep them both here.
08:30The guy walked off, but I got the images of him on my body camera.
08:34He's in, like, white person, the light color.
08:37Oh, yeah, man.
08:38Appreciate it.
08:38I'm assuming there's probably going to be more cameras you can grab.
08:43The French Quarter as a whole, and my block in particular, dents with cameras.
08:49And that's private cameras, businesses, and then actually city-operated cameras.
08:54And I believe that there is clear footage of my perpetrator somewhere out there,
08:59but I don't know where, and I don't know how long it's saved for.
09:03You can see what kind of car it is.
09:05It was a light gray Challenger.
09:06It had the number 392 on the side, but that video shows him next to our car.
09:12Yeah, yeah.
09:13The first and immediate key is that distinct vehicle.
09:17That's going to be, I think, how we solve this.
09:19There can't be too many, like, cars of that panchop.
09:23I really want to see where this car came from and where it ends up going.
09:27My first concern is that you did this murder in a super distinct car.
09:31That car is going to be in the river or burned up somewhere if we don't find it soon.
09:49It's Mardi Gras season.
09:51For about two weeks, all available police are directed to the parades.
10:03More than half of us go out to the parade routes.
10:07Homicide maintains just a skeleton crew.
10:09This year, I've stayed in the homicide unit.
10:13It's just me and a handful of others responsible for all the homicides,
10:16the unclassified deaths, and the suicides that take place during that two-week period.
10:26You had a whole bunch of Mardi Gras people who saw this
10:30and just sort of made a beeline in the opposite direction.
10:41I have footage of Mervyn wearing the black shirt,
10:45walking down the block, talking with friends.
10:51I'm not great at asking for help.
10:54I have a tendency to sort of lone ranger it a bit.
10:56It's a bigger ask than you might think to have somebody devote half a day to you
11:00to help you look for camera footage.
11:02But you have to.
11:04You cannot do all this by yourself.
11:06Do you need any of that?
11:08I have needs.
11:09Let me stop what I'm doing right now, James.
11:10Oh, you called me in here.
11:12What the hell, man?
11:15And I got to canvas later if you feel like going to the French Quarter
11:18in the middle of parade stuff.
11:20A little bit later, maybe better, because Endemian will be in full force,
11:23so it might pull some of the crowds to Mid-City and all that.
11:25Yeah, I think that was going to be what I try and do.
11:27There's like a block in question that the car's lurking at for like hours,
11:31and I got to try and get a tie.
11:33Yeah, let me know.
11:33We'll go take a ride or whatever, go figure it out, throw my uniform back on.
11:36If you feel like it, yeah, don't let me pull you away from there.
11:39No, no, no, for you, anything.
11:46Oh, I thought you were doing something cool.
11:48I thought there was like an intense moment.
11:49No, it's like watching our blazing internet buffer videos.
11:54It's a nail biter.
11:56Yeah, there's like...
11:57Yeah, no, I get it.
11:59The basic rundown on this, so we look at like time periods and stuff.
12:03Like I read the morph, but...
12:04Like about 145, give or take.
12:08Like, this is the car on RTCC.
12:10I have better video, but it's, you know...
12:12So it's a white car with a stripe.
12:13It's like gray with, see that racing stripe pattern?
12:17Yeah, gotcha.
12:17You still need to confirm if that's actually one or the same.
12:19Like 90%, that looks like the same car.
12:22That's super distinct, but there is...
12:24If you guys want to, if you'll indulge me, I'll pull up a map here,
12:27show you what I'm talking about.
12:28I would totally indulge you.
12:29Let me take you on a journey to the French Quarter here.
12:32I'll get the French Quarter.
12:32New Orleans is French Quarter.
12:34So it happens here, right, in this block.
12:36Oh, on charters?
12:38Yeah.
12:38What an indicator.
12:39We have the vehicle leaving.
12:41The Challenger flies up Charter Street.
12:43We have it making a couple turns,
12:46and it passes a license plate reader,
12:48but does not register on that license plate reader.
12:51That confirms that it didn't have a plate.
12:53We couldn't really see because it's flying through the corridor
12:56at a high rate of speed.
12:57And looks like they hit the highway afterwards.
13:01All cameras on charters are down that night.
13:04RTCC?
13:05Yeah, there's like eight of them.
13:06So it's your computer.
13:07And my computer is broken.
13:08So it happens here, right?
13:10Okay.
13:10These are walking paths.
13:11Right.
13:12Right.
13:12So the only way that the car gets there is from here.
13:15There is a camera here that we were looking at.
13:17We played it, like, from the time of the murder in reverse,
13:19and we got to, like, seven hours beforehand,
13:22and we still haven't seen it pull in.
13:24So our best guess is that the car came here
13:26and is parked somewhere here for, like, the whole day,
13:29doing maybe, like, parades and stuff.
13:31We don't know.
13:32This block or this block will presumably have the car parked somewhere.
13:36We can get a time frame and then, like, backtrack it better.
13:40Often, what's more important than where the suspect goes
13:44is where they came from.
13:46Although it's a ton of legwork,
13:48I think that we'll be able to backtrack via cameras
13:51the movement of all the involved parties.
13:54The cathedral doesn't have anything?
13:56The cathedral will, yeah.
13:57But, like, I haven't done any canvassing yet.
13:59We just hit R2CC for, like, hours last night.
14:02I mean, I'm hoping we get somebody going into that car
14:05and their face is going to be on camera somewhere.
14:07That would be the slam dunk.
14:11Hey, man.
14:13Believe.
14:14What?
14:14Believe.
14:16Ted Lasso.
14:17Ted Lasso, dude.
14:18I can't, like, my brain can't keep up.
14:20Hey, man, I'm here for you.
14:22Make it make sense.
14:24Because I know how it is to have the fog.
14:28I'm just so glad to not be on the parade route.
14:30Me too, man.
14:31I've done 17 years straight on the parade route.
14:34So?
14:34I'm done, man.
14:40You know we're going, right?
14:41Yeah.
14:41Charter's behind.
14:42Yeah, I'm just trying to figure out.
14:43So we have parade route going on up here.
14:46See, it's not good enough to be a homicide detective
14:48and navigate a murder investigation.
14:49You must navigate parade traffic.
14:52Put your phone away.
14:53We got this.
14:53This is just my own edification.
14:55I went, presumed, to direct you.
14:57But I moved here.
14:58I didn't know where anything was.
14:59Mm-hmm.
15:00I was, like, tethered to my phone.
15:02And then we're not normal.
15:03We're not, like, really a grid.
15:04This is a little more gritty than I'm used to.
15:06Like, Boston, it's like ancient roads.
15:08Yeah.
15:09Crisscrossed all over the place.
15:10Yeah.
15:12I was in Massachusetts.
15:14I moved here and got hired pretty quickly by the department.
15:18It's a big change.
15:20I'm still learning the culture and the people here.
15:22I'm very much still an outsider.
15:24This is the turn.
15:25Yeah.
15:26So this is the block I want.
15:27Yeah, this is what you need, my man.
15:28I think they were sitting right here.
15:29Say less, my man.
15:30Okay.
15:31Got you, playboy.
15:32Okay.
15:32I was born and raised in New Orleans.
15:35We really are a unique bunch of people down here who celebrate anything and everything.
15:40Just give us a reason.
15:42But the rest of the world doesn't see the grimy part of it.
15:48Okay.
15:49You see anything?
15:50That's what I'm looking for.
15:52We need cameras on this block, though.
15:54And I'm not seeing any.
15:55I'm not seeing any, dude.
15:57Let's make sure there's nothing tucked under an overhang over here.
16:00I mean, you're in a French Quarter.
16:01Everybody's got a camera.
16:03Maybe an intentionally chosen block, huh?
16:05That is the most time-consuming thing we do in an investigation, is just grinding door-to-door
16:12on the street, trying to get video.
16:14That might be my best bet.
16:16The church?
16:18We'll see.
16:20Hey, how are you?
16:21Detective Fife with NOPD.
16:23There was a shooting last night, like, just behind the church.
16:26We were just walking back there, and we saw cameras on the corner of the building.
16:29We were wondering if we could take a look.
16:30Okay, let me know.
16:31I'll still look the best.
16:35This will be perfect for us.
16:36I think this is exactly what we were looking for.
16:38Oh, I wonder if that's it.
16:41There's some brake lights.
16:42Yeah, that's probably it right there.
16:43So I'm pretty sure that's our car.
16:44And now it's found this parking space.
16:47I see two people leave the Challenger.
16:49How do I know which one is the shooter?
16:52In my head, somebody sitting in the driver's seat is the shooter.
16:56For somebody to reach over the driver and shoot would be pretty bizarre.
17:01We have this footage of our presumed shooter, the driver of the Challenger, getting out.
17:07He's tall, he's lanky, but I need and I want more.
17:11All right, let's go hit that next block.
17:14Straight.
17:15Hi, I'm James Fife.
17:16Nice to meet you.
17:18Detective Darling.
17:18So obviously interested in the camera.
17:20So I knew you'd want them.
17:21And I put together an email for you this morning.
17:23Oh, beautiful.
17:24It's got three videos from each camera.
17:26The person who shot them is the person in the silver car in the video.
17:30Yeah, and that's parked right there for like almost an hour.
17:33And I don't know if we get them coming out of the car or walking around.
17:37So in the first video, at 1.41 a.m.
17:40Coss of the windows.
17:411.42 a.m.
17:43Victims.
17:45And then here comes the car.
17:47Watch it.
17:50Yep.
17:50See the lights?
17:51And then he creeps up.
17:53Yeah.
17:53Mm-hmm.
17:55Open the door.
17:57What I was hoping is to get the occupant.
18:00I don't think you're going to get that, my man.
18:04Do we have any reason to believe victim anybody's on foot right here?
18:08Our victims on foot, I think, come this way.
18:11But we have that.
18:12Is there anything relevant right now that you think with this?
18:15So I don't think there's going to be anything on Madison, right?
18:18So as far as we know, dude backs up from there.
18:21So we got both sides of this block where it happens.
18:24We got this, nothing there.
18:26And then the...
18:27So really, it's this blind spot that sucks.
18:29I really needed a camera like in this block though.
18:32Well, you're not going to get one.
18:33So if you don't get footage within three or four days,
18:37then those DVR systems on private cameras will go away.
18:40I don't want to miss footage.
18:42That would be key to this investigation.
18:45I'm stressing out because the clock is ticking.
19:13Donnie Williard is the 8th District detective that has...
19:19the footage of this witness's face.
19:21This guy is standing at the car in the hat and the beard
19:26and definitely got a full view of the shooter
19:29and takes off before any of the investigators get there.
19:31State police, they think this is the witness.
19:35We've got to just give him a call and see.
19:36I don't have super high hopes about the outcome of this call.
19:41Here we go.
19:49This is Detective James Fyfe with NOPD.
19:51I was trying to get a hold of a...
19:54I'm sorry to call you out of the blue.
19:56But I was wondering if I could talk to you a little bit
19:58about the other night with Mervyn.
19:59I'm doing that homicide investigation.
20:03Let's do that.
20:04That's fine.
20:05Yeah, I'm flexible.
20:06So can you just walk me through what you saw and what you heard
20:08as best you can remember?
20:12And we heard gunshots, and that was it.
20:16We're pulling, like, video of it and everything
20:18and trying to piece it all together or whatever.
20:20Did you hear what dude was saying to the guy in the car?
20:24It looks like you were standing right there.
20:26It's the driver talking, right?
20:28Yeah, the driver was talking to him.
20:30Okay, so he's got the window down?
20:31Yes.
20:32Maybe this is a reach, but do you remember what dude is wearing,
20:35or could you describe him at all?
20:38No, all I know is a ring, dude, which is...
20:41That's all I know, like...
20:42If you heard the name or if you saw the dude again,
20:45do you think you'd recognize it?
20:47We just came from the club, man.
20:49I don't know.
20:50Yeah, but maybe, huh?
20:53I said I don't know.
20:54There's a lot going on.
20:56You know what I'm saying?
20:57If y'all watching the cameras,
20:59why y'all can't just find a dude?
21:00Oh, yeah, man.
21:01If only it was that easy.
21:02Trust me.
21:03That'd be great.
21:03Right, right, right.
21:04And I'll hit you up if there's something I forgot to ask.
21:07All right, man.
21:08All right, thanks, have a good one.
21:09All right, you too.
21:13All right, back to it.
21:16All right, this is Miss McGee Convict.
21:21Hello?
21:21Yeah, how you doing today, ma'am?
21:29I want to sit down and talk to you about everything,
21:31let you know where we're at.
21:32Can we meet in person to sort of go through all this?
21:35When you want me?
21:37How about tonight?
21:38What's your, what are you up to right now?
21:39I'm home.
21:40Great, okay.
21:41I'll head that way in a little bit, okay?
21:43Okay.
21:44All right, thanks.
21:46It is hard to get families to really trust you.
21:52And to have done that is almost as good as solving a murder.
22:11Yep, great traffic for sure.
22:13We're on day 11 of 12, I think, of Mardi Gras.
22:17It's 12-hour shifts, no days off.
22:22I'm such a, like, mellow person, generally,
22:25that, like, I can't relate to the extremes of the New Orleanian.
22:28Like, they live bigger than I do, you know?
22:38I'm always coming at these as an outsider.
22:42You need to approach with a degree of humility and self-awareness.
22:47You're a diplomat, basically.
22:49I'm here on behalf of a police department that you may or may not like,
22:52but let me show you that I care and that I'm competent.
23:01Hello.
23:02Hey, I'm Detective Fyfe.
23:03How's it going?
23:04I was looking for Ms. McGee.
23:05Come on in.
23:06At some point during shooting investigations over the last year or so,
23:10Mervyn's name had come up as a possible suspect.
23:14There was nothing ever officially linking him to anything,
23:17but his name was sort of thrown out there as somebody involved
23:20in maybe what could be, like, a Marrero-based feud.
23:26Even though it wasn't proven, maybe that's the motive for this,
23:29and that this whole thing was retaliation over Mervyn's perceived involvement.
23:34We got a good start.
23:35It's not done, but we're in a good direction.
23:39It's hard to, like, stop a murder before it happens, you know?
23:43Like, that's what they try and do, and that's why you got police on every block or whatever,
23:46but it's, like, more often than not, we end up coming on the back end
23:50and figuring out after the fact.
23:52And I get being shaken up after something like that happens, you know?
23:56I'm sorry.
23:58The family, they acknowledged, you know, he was no angel,
24:01but there did seem to be, like, a shift towards turning his life around.
24:06It seemed like they had real hope for where he was going, and then boom.
24:24Hey, Jack, what's up?
24:25Hey, bud.
24:27Hey, car.
24:28I think it's from West Bank.
24:31You know, it's crazy.
24:32The victim's mother said that I'm positive this is somebody from the West Bank,
24:36but, like, couldn't elaborate.
24:37She's like, that's just where we're from, so I'm sure it was somebody from there.
24:40Do you all know if it's a white male, black male?
24:43Did you shoot him?
24:44Nope.
24:44Oh, I do.
24:46All right, thanks, dude. Be in touch.
24:49Jack Yule with the state police.
24:50He's this really smart investigator that's been working,
24:54assigned to New Orleans for a while now.
24:55He has access to a lot of stuff we don't in terms of cars and plate readers,
24:59and is also just a smart dude and very tenacious.
25:04New Yorker's found.
25:06Let's try A.
25:14Hey, Jack.
25:16All right, buddy.
25:17What you got?
25:19What's up?
25:20All right, I got your address.
25:23So that Challenger previously had a switch plate on it.
25:28I ran that plate comes back to a Melvin Millinder at drive.
25:36Melvin Millinder?
25:38I think this is going to be a dude.
25:40So at this point, we have Melvin and Mervin,
25:43both 25-ish year olds from Marrero,
25:47crossing paths in the French Quarter,
25:49and it results in a homicide.
25:51It seems like it can't have been coincidence.
25:53I still have to go canvas because, you know,
25:55there is the off chance somebody else was driving this car,
25:57but that's pretty gold right there.
26:16The pacing on this case is bizarre.
26:18It's like so much information suddenly,
26:20and now it's like I'm grinding for just that last 10% of evidence
26:24to try and put us over the edge.
26:26I want to have good news for the family at ASAP.
26:41Melvin Millinder is somebody that we're eyeing for in this shooting.
26:45It's much easier to work a case when you have a person of interest
26:48or a suspect than it is to just sort of investigate generally,
26:51and we have pretty distant, grainy video footage
26:54of the occupants of the Challenger.
27:00I mean, it's wired.
27:03I don't think that's fake.
27:04No, that's not.
27:05I mean, it's wired.
27:06If it was fake, it would just be stuck on.
27:08Shockingly, all these cameras are out.
27:10It's ridiculous.
27:11Isn't that crazy here?
27:12And there's one at every intersection.
27:13It would have been perfect.
27:15It's the only plus size of catching one here in a quarter.
27:17Video everywhere.
27:18Divide and conquer?
27:19Yeah.
27:20Joe, for the first few days of this,
27:21was still on Mardi Gras parade coverage,
27:24and when he came back,
27:25immediately jumped in to the whole canvassing thing.
27:30Hey, how's it going, sir?
27:31Hi, I'm nice to meet you.
27:32Detective Fife, nice to meet you.
27:33I'm looking into a homicide that happened last week,
27:35but I think our subjects walk by the Charter Street side.
27:38I don't know if we're able to look at that.
27:40You have a time frame?
27:41I do, a pretty tight time frame.
27:42Yeah, within like a five-minute period.
27:44Let's go on down there.
27:46Sure.
27:46And we'll let you fish.
27:48Sounds good, thanks.
27:49I just need a clear face shot, you know?
27:51If we find something...
27:53Search one time?
27:53Yeah, yeah, just, I mean, we'll save it.
27:55Yeah, I just need to know if I'm going in the right direction.
27:57Yeah, yeah.
27:59Detective Herman with New Orleans Police Department Homicide.
28:01How are you?
28:02How are you doing today?
28:03Yeah.
28:03So I've been running it all since 7 o'clock this morning.
28:06Right.
28:07The homicide from Charter's the other night on February 10th.
28:10So we're trying to find footage.
28:11We know which way they walk.
28:12Come in here, Detective.
28:18That was really good.
28:21So I'm a happy guy.
28:23I don't have the footage in hand yet, but we got screenshots of what they have.
28:28I'm coming back with a warrant to actually get a downloaded copy of it.
28:31But I'm 90% sure that's the same guy.
28:34So right where you're standing, it is...
28:37Yeah.
28:38The guard gate camera.
28:39Those two looking this way.
28:41And then there's one from, like, the back corner or somewhere over there that sees them walking down.
28:46Can I show you what I got?
28:47It's a picture of this, yeah, so it's super blued out, like, even clearer.
28:53Yeah.
28:54And the clothes, too.
28:55Like, you're going to be able to find the shoes, the belt, the shirt?
28:57Maybe so.
28:58They bang out his house immediately.
29:00And then we have phone records that will come, assuming we got the right phone.
29:05And you think the guy you have is your shooter?
29:08Yeah.
29:10Millinder is very calm and relaxed.
29:13It makes you wonder what is just below the surface of people.
29:16They just suddenly pull out a rifle and shoot somebody.
29:37That's his car, dude.
29:39Isn't that the car?
29:40I heard it didn't have a plate.
29:42I mean, it got the Louvre's on it, right?
29:44Yeah, it's got the lineage.
29:46You can see a part of the lineage.
29:48It's yellow.
29:51But that's got to be the son of a bitch, dude.
29:56You could be across the city in a whole other neighborhood in the Lower Ninth Ward and have
30:01the perp vehicle of a French Quarter murder come right past you.
30:05That's how small the city is.
30:09The city of New Orleans is very small.
30:11It's the biggest little city out there.
30:15That plays a huge part.
30:16And in the homicide unit, there's no six degrees of separation.
30:19It's like three here.
30:20What's going on, guys?
30:22I'm glad we didn't put anything on the news because I don't think we'd be seeing it.
30:26It would have been burnt up.
30:27That's the thing, right?
30:28So this is...
30:30Oh, wow.
30:30You're right there.
30:31Dude, I'm telling you.
30:32I was trying to hurry up and get my phone.
30:33So watch.
30:35That's your car.
30:35That'll be our first, like, daytime footage of it besides LPR hits.
30:39You're welcome, man.
30:39Anything for you.
30:40If it gets solved, I'll give you 100% credit for this encounter.
30:44No, but how wild is that, though?
30:48Yeah, so check out my newly developed footage here.
30:51Everything suggests it was the driver that shot, and that's the guy who kind of looks like
30:55him.
30:55And you tell me that that guy doesn't look like him.
30:59Six foot two, 160.
31:01Yeah, that's definitely him, dude.
31:03I mean, I'd feel fine writing that arrest warrant, but I'd like to try and get a little
31:07more just so it's even easier for us.
31:09Right.
31:09And he's linked to that vehicle, right?
31:11Right.
31:11Yeah.
31:12And what's the odds of a car that's known they're based out off the West Bank, your murder
31:17happens in the quarter, and it just comes bebopping down the street?
31:20Let's agree to keep each other posted.
31:23Thank you, sir.
31:25About that.
31:25Hey, don't do any hand gestures with somebody else.
31:29What the hell is this?
31:34The ego and arrogance it takes for you to think that you have a right to just end somebody,
31:40and that's unforgivable, and that, oh, like, that gets me fired up.
31:45There's real justice and accountability that needs to be sought.
32:08This is what I found this morning.
32:10This was Bourbon Street on a night of the homicide.
32:15As you can see, it's pretty packed, right?
32:16But we're looking down St. Louis, and that's where we were earlier.
32:20The hotel and everything is down this block.
32:22From the hotel, we were able to tell that they keep coming this way towards the crowd.
32:36You'll see them at the top of the screen here.
32:39I called Joe.
32:40Joe, he asked, where do they go?
32:42I said, to Bourbon Street.
32:43He says, oh, cool, that would be crazy if they went into the St. Louis market.
32:47It has the best cameras in the entire French Quarter, HD, crystal clear.
32:51You can see for a second they'll stand here.
32:53Then tall guy, who I think is Melvin, pops into this, which is the St. Louis market.
32:59So needle in a haystack.
33:00You never would have seen them if we hadn't tracked them, like, to the minute up to here.
33:04And I just cannot believe it.
33:06Like, jaw drop.
33:07What did I do to be this lucky?
33:09Do you happen to know, did they come from across the street from Bucharest?
33:12Yeah, they did.
33:14The tall dude comes in first, the kind of lighter guy, and he steps out,
33:18and he gets his friend in the purple hoodie with the white lettering on it.
33:21I'm on the phone with Detective Donnie Williard of the 8th District
33:24trying to get this footage from the store.
33:26Once he sends this, I'll forward it to you right away.
33:29Thanks.
33:30Yeah, I'm, like, I'm trying not to stress, but I'm, like, kind of chomping at the bit for this
33:34because I got an arrest warrant, like, in the chamber as soon as I got this.
33:38Like, we're 90% sure we know who the dude is.
33:40I just need to clear a picture of his face to compare it to his driver's license, you know?
33:44You never know until you take screenshots of still frames
33:47if that's going to be what it takes to 100% say that this is Melvin.
33:53These guys eating their pizza together.
33:57Yeah.
33:58I think that's Melvin.
34:00That's the same dude.
34:03Yeah.
34:03But that's all I needed.
34:05That's definitely him.
34:06Like, yeah, you can't argue that.
34:07No.
34:08No.
34:10There's Melvin walking around just having fun.
34:14It makes you wonder, you know, have I ever brushed shoulders with somebody who's done something awful
34:19or will do something awful in a crowd like that?
34:22The night that the homicide occurred, Melander's returning to the Great Challenger
34:26and getting in the driver's seat.
34:29Mervin's relative passes the car, followed by Mervin and our other witness.
34:36Mervin has passed the Challenger.
34:38It pulls out of the parking space.
34:41It stops alongside him.
34:43And then Melander shoots Mervin through the open window of the driver's seat.
35:12These are what appear to be Melvin's phone records.
35:16And this is what it looks like when we get him.
35:17February 10th was the night of our murder.
35:20See, Melvin gets a call at about 12.31.
35:23And as they walk, you'll see that he gets a phone call.
35:27He reaches into his pocket and puts the phone up to his ear just before he goes off frame here.
35:31And then if you look, that was 12.23.
35:34You account for a seven or eight minute time frame.
35:37And I think that's the phone call that came in at 12.31.
35:41And when that call is received, it's hitting on a tower over here.
35:45He gets some texts or whatever when he's out and about.
35:47But the next one is at 1.31.
35:49And that's when they're walking back to their car at that point.
35:52And that hits at a cell tower at 739 Canal, which is like about as close as it gets for
36:00cell towers.
36:01And they are about right here when he makes that call.
36:05All the location data that those cell towers are giving us is in keeping with generally where we're seeing him
36:10on the camera footage.
36:11So this is after the shooting, maybe like an hour later, a little less than an hour later.
36:18The phone hits at a cell tower on Douglas, right, which is way out in the Lower Ninth Ward.
36:24This is the same area that Maggie and Joe saw the car a couple of days later.
36:29So there's some address here that he felt like he needed to go back to after the shooting.
36:33And then back to again on Wednesday after the shooting when Maggie saw him.
36:38It looks like nine in the morning.
36:39He ends up back here, which is in Marrero.
36:44And then if you look up his home address, you'll see that that's where he lives.
36:50So almost directly south of that cell tower.
36:53So it looks like he found his way back home the next morning.
36:55So he spends the night in the Lower Ninth Ward, it looks like, then heads back home to that address.
37:00So between all the surveillance footage that we've gathered and the cell phone data that kind of corroborates that,
37:06it's pretty well confirmed that this is Melvin Millender.
37:09Now I can write an arrest warrant for Melvin Millender.
37:24About 6 a.m., I got a call from state police who said that we did, like, a spot check.
37:30Melvin Millender's house.
37:32Wow, yeah, this looks active.
37:36And saw what they believed to be the suspect challenger parked in a driveway there.
37:50I immediately see the challenger.
37:52I'm walking up to it, and I get close, and you can see these glue stripes where the racing stripes
37:58were apparently removed.
38:01I was like, hell yeah, slam dunk.
38:04Hey, sir, you're Melvin too, right?
38:06Yes, sir.
38:07Melvin's father tells us that Melvin lives here.
38:10That's Melvin's car.
38:11I don't expect anybody to sort of implicate their own son in something like this.
38:17Anybody doing evidence?
38:18I'll do your evidence, please.
38:20Yeah.
38:23It's pretty clear which room is Melvin's.
38:27And in that room, in the closet, we find a couple different license plates.
38:33We find some clothing which ties him to the video footage.
38:36His belt and his shoes are very distinct from what we see on video.
38:42Having a murder weapon is always nice, but it's not necessary in a case like this.
38:51That's one of the first things to go missing after a homicide thrown in the lake or whatever, especially, you
38:56know, when it's a week or more for you to actually apprehend the person.
39:01So it's kind of the perfect storm.
39:03You wanted the car and the suspect in the same spot to further time together.
39:08Fortunately, that's how it worked out.
39:10So, I mean, I think it's a done deal.
39:12So now I'm headed to Jefferson Parish Detective Bureau, where Melvin has been kind of hanging out for like the
39:20last hour or two.
39:21I'm just glad it's all over, honestly.
39:40Hey, man.
39:41What's up?
39:42I'm Detective Fife.
39:43I'm with NOPD.
39:44Okay.
39:45Do they tell you at all what's going on with you?
39:46No, sir.
39:47Okay.
39:47I'll break it down to you.
39:48Okay, um, so there's an arrest warrant for you, which is why everybody showed up, um, for second-degree murder
39:55charge.
39:56Okay?
39:56Cool.
39:57I'd love to talk to you about it, try and clarify some stuff and tell you, like, how we got
40:01to where we are.
40:02I already don't like where it's going now.
40:04I just want to know why am I here.
40:06This is from Charter Street in the French Quarter, right, a couple weeks ago.
40:13Sometimes you'll get an act.
40:15People, what?
40:16You know, this couldn't possibly be for me.
40:17This is a mistake, you know?
40:18I didn't get that with Melvin.
40:20His body language to me says he knows what this is about.
40:24But I'd like to hear if there was, like, a reason or anything.
40:27I need a lawyer.
40:29All right.
40:29Good luck.
40:33I don't relish imprisoning somebody for life, but nobody deserves to be murdered.
40:39Period.
40:53There is a point when I've worked this case and I've cleared it, now what?
41:00The family's still missing the person, but now I get to make this call to mom to tell her that
41:06we have an arrest, finally, on this case.
41:09And it's a huge, just relief.
41:17Hello?
41:18Hello.
41:19Hey, Mr. McGee, it's Detective Fyfe.
41:20How are you doing?
41:22Mom, how are you?
41:23I'm good.
41:23I got an update for you if you got a second.
41:26Oh, you made my heart a little bit.
41:29Yeah.
41:30So, um, the guy who pulled the trigger and the guy who drove the car, same person, in custody, under
41:36arrest for second-degree murder right now.
41:38I just wanted to let you know.
41:41Oh, my God.
41:43Yeah.
41:44Oh, my God.
41:45My heart is full right now.
41:47Good.
41:47That makes me happy.
41:49I tried to talk to him.
41:50He didn't really want to say much to me, but that's fine.
41:52It's a strong case, and, you know, I wasn't going to beg him for a confession, you know?
41:57Mm-hmm.
41:58Because this is a good one.
42:00I truly appreciate you.
42:02You have no idea.
42:04You know, I get to breathe a little sigh of relief, but it's definitely not the end.
42:08I know it's not over.
42:09I know it's not over.
42:10You're doing good.
42:11Any questions or anything for me?
42:13No.
42:13You told me everything I needed to know.
42:15Thank you, Detective.
42:16Bye.
42:19Thank you so much.
42:20Call me whenever if you think of something that you wanted to ask or just want some more
42:24details or whatever, okay?
42:27All right.
42:27I'll talk to you soon, okay?
42:29Okay.
42:30Have a good day.
42:30All right.
42:31You too.
42:31Bye-bye.
42:32Bye.
42:36Oh, it feels good.
42:38Okay.
42:42I'm wiped out, dude.
42:47When your life is ended at 25, we don't get to see the full picture of that man, what
42:52he might have done, who he might have become.
42:56Now it's just the void, the vacuum of that person, and everybody's trying to figure out
43:01how to live without them.
43:02How to live without them.
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