The Ledger

9.13 Hunters

In this memorable episode (9.13), two bounty hunters chase after a target in NYC and leave death and destruction in their wake. McCoy and Carmichael have a heck of time finding anything to prosecute them for.

The episode begins with two city tow truck operators discussing golf. They come across an abandoned vehicle and pop the trunk, apparently to see if there's anything worth stealing. That's when they discover a body in the trunk of the car. Briscoe and Curtis investigate.

The first step is to figure out what the victim, Douglas Bender, was doing there. The car is registered to a Millicent Sheridan, who turns out to be a nurse named Millie Bender, wife of the victim. Her husband had a prior criminal record, and the detectives theorize that he had gotten in touch with some old friends and gotten into trouble. His parole officer, in a hurry to get to lunch, gives the detectives some info about past acquiantances, but nothing too helpful. They learn from one of these guys that Bender was in touch with a guy named Max Sheridan, who is Millie's brother. He, too, is a convict. In fact, he's skipped bail in Georgia and was working his way up north. Briscoe and Curtis theorize that Bender went down to meet him at a rest area on the New Jersey Turnpike and then got into trouble. They man they get this information from says, "It's like I told the other cops..." What other cops, Briscoe and Curtis wonder.

They find the hotel where Sheridan (their new suspect) is supposedly staying, and they rush in, and nearly get their heads blown off by two shotgun-wielding men who they learn, once everyone stands down, are bounty hunters.

The bounty hunters explain they are trying to find Sheridan, and the detectives take an immediate dislike to them. They want to hold them on weapons charges, but it's hard to make them stick. They also learn about the possibility of a planned heist at JFK airport that Sheridan might be in on, so they head out to JFK to stake-out a payphone. They pick up a member of the robbery conspiracy at the phone in a clever scene in which Ray sends a paging message to the suspect, and watches as he returns the call from a payphone. They pick him up, and he admits the robbery scheme. Just as they're putting the pieces together, they get a call about a multiple victim shooting. They head over to Millie's apartment, where Millie and her babysitter have been shot dead, Max Sheridan is badly injured, and Millie's toddler is hiding under the bed. Guess who's responsible for the shooting. Yep, the bounty hunters, who are still on the scene. Briscoe punches one of them.

They arrest the bounty hunters, but again, charges are difficult, because as their lawyer explains, such men are granted very wide latitude by the law. Even Carmichael is sympathetic to them.

For the time being, they pursue the weapons charges. Their guns are registered to a senile old man, who signed some papers for a gun dealer, who sold them to a convict, who sold them to the bounty hunters.

At their arraignment, they are charged with murder. The one who seems most likely to roll on the other is held without bail, but the other one is released on his own recognizance. McCoy figures this will encourage the one in jail to roll on his partner. The ploy works, and he explains how his partner shot both the original victim (Bender) and shot up the apartment, killing Millie and her babysitter, because their prize, Sheridan, appeared to be reaching for a gun. The rest of the trial is boring, but in the end, the judge dismisses the charges. Everyone is shocked and chagrined.

Posted by adm at March 26, 2004 08:58 PM

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