Chapter 20
"The judge in New Jersey is allowing their case to proceed and I've made notice that New York wants a crack at Alvarez as soon as they are done with him," Casey explained to the squad as they met in the squad room. They stood in front of the board where all the evidence was listed along with photos of the victims.
"Are you proceeding with the grand jury?" Munch asked.
"I intend to but so far I can only charge him with the kidnapping and murder of Elizabeth Stevenson, the attempted murder of Liv, and the death of Jane Doe, whom you found inside the storage compartment. Regrettably, the whole thing is tenuous because Alvarez's attorney, Trevor Langan, is challenging the search of the storage units," the ADA said.
"Kind of hard to challenge considering we found Elizabeth inside the locker," Fin pointed out.
"Yes but the units were not under Alvarez's name and none of the storage unit employees could positively identify him. Langan said we had no probable cause to search them," Casey shook her head.
"We have Alvarez's prints all over the place inside and outside on them. Plus a judge gave us a search warrant for the units. We have video of him kidnapping Elizabeth," Elliot argued.
"That only gets us the kidnapping and it ties him to the murder in New Jersey. It doesn't definitively tie him to the storage units. Langan is looking to challenge the search warrant because he's claiming the video doesn't conclusively prove it was his client. He's dragging our racist taggers into this," the red head said.
"Taggers don't suddenly kidnap someone and up their charges," Captain Cragen gave her a look.
"Langan is claiming that Elizabeth could have caught them in the act and they decided to kidnap her. He's also claiming that the name on the storage unit could be one of the taggers," Casey told them.
"That's ridiculous," Munch said.
"But it could play. Did we ever discover who these juvenile delinquents were?" Casey wanted to know.
"No. Once Mr. El-Amin installed those cameras and we've stepped up patrols in the area they haven't returned to the scene of the crime," Fin shook his head.
"Can't we flush them out?" She asked.
"They aren't going to magically step forward now. Especially since there was a murder committed there," Elliot raised an eyebrow, wondering where she was going with this.
"Bare minimum it's a hate crime. Maybe we could push it to an act of terrorism?" Everyone could see the wheels turning in Casey's head.
"How do you figure?" Cragen wanted to know.
"Well the dumpster fire ruined part of the building right? Mr. El-Amin isn't the only tenant. Didn't you say that the other businesses on top of the falafel bar were owned by other Muslims?" She inquired.
"Yes, the one directly above the restaurant sells books printed in Arabic and the one above that sells religious items like prayer rugs. How do we get to terrorism from there?" Elliot questioned her thought process.
"We don't necessarily. Where is Huang?" Casey asked.
"He's swinging by soon," Fin said.
"Call him. I have an idea," the ADA smirked. Captain Cragen pulled out his phone and called the FBI agent. Huang promised to get there as fast as he could and they would discuss Casey's idea.
Hours later inside Judge Arthur Cohen's chambers, Casey and Trevor were ready to argue their case. The Judge sat down and gave them a look.
"We seem like eager beavers today. What exactly is the problem?" Cohen asked.
"The search warrant for the storage units that allegedly belong to my client should never have been issued, Judge," Langan spoke up.
"Your Honor, Judge Kline certainly found enough evidence to sustain the warrant," Casey argued.
"I have to admit Counselor, why would I overturn this warrant, especially since Kline and another state's judge found it credible enough for New Jersey to proceed against your client," Cohen wanted to know.
"The state has weak evidence that could point to the criminals who tagged Mr. El-Amin's building or set his dumpster on fire. None of it is specific to my client," Langan argued.
"What of it Miss Novak?" Cohen asked.
"We have security footage of his client kidnapping Elizabeth Stevenson out near the scene of the tagging and dumpster fire. For all we know, his client did that before he decided to start killing people," Casey said.
"Your Honor, they can't prove conclusively that the man in the video is my client. Nor can they prove he tagged or set fire to a dumpster," Langan argued.
"The car seen in the video was the property of the murder victim in New Jersey your Honor. Since New Jersey has arrested Alvarez for her death and he was seen in her car, I would suggest that people who tag and start fires don't steal cars and murder people. Also, his client has an alibi that no one can confirm," Casey argued right back.
"She's got you there, Counselor. The MO doesn't make sense," Cohen said.
"The video they have is not good quality and no one could pick my client out of a lineup," Langan said.
"That sounds like something you can argue at trial," Cohen raised an eyebrow.
"Your Honor is this helps, the FBI is now investigating the tagging and dumpster fire as a hate crime and possible links to terrorism. Their lab is currently working with said video to see if they can clean it up even more. When they are done, it will either completely finger his client or it will finger the taggers and arsonists. If the video proves that it wasn't his client then the search warrant and its fruits would not go against him. If it proves to be his client then under inevitable discovery, the search warrant would be valid," Casey spoke up.
"Winner winner chicken dinner. Mr. Langan your motion is denied pending the outcome of the FBI's work with the video in question," Judge Cohen said.
To Be Continued…