Forensic Files (1996–…): Season 7, Episode 31 - The Sniffing Revenge - full transcript
The Janet Overton Case. The investigation into a suspicious death hits a dead end when the autopsy indicates that no foul play was involved. But a telephone tip and the sensitive nose of a forensic examiner indicate otherwise.
NARRATOR: In 1993, five
men were ambushed at work
as they got out of their car.
One man was killed, two
others critically injured.
The gunman left behind a
few spent shell casings,
but little else.
Forensic scientists
would eventually
find a clue in
some scraped metal,
revealing a history that
someone had tried to erase.
[theme music]
Play one of the best new FPS shooters,
search Steam for PROJECT WARLOCK
Miguel Roque met his wife on
a beach in their native Cuba.
The couple moved
to Miami, Florida,
in 1991, where they had their
first child, a daughter.
KENIA ROQUE: She was beautiful.
She's very beautiful.
And then he was worried
how to-- to give
her the-- the good life to her.
NARRATOR: Miguel was willing to
work hard to get the good life.
In 1993 the talented
mechanical engineer
landed a job at the
Aircraft Modular
plant that made airplane parts.
The 160 employees were
a tight-knit group.
And Miguel quickly
became one of the family.
-I was very impressed that
he was here such a short time
from his native
country, you know, Cuba.
And he knew how
to speak English.
He was a go-getter.
He was a go-getter.
He knew what he wanted,
and he was going for it.
NARRATOR: Miguel and
four other employees
were identified by management
as having the potential
for advancement, so the
company asked the men
to attend computer
classes at night.
The men all went to class
together and formed a carpool.
October 14, 1993, was
a night like any other.
After class, the atmosphere
was light and friendly.
-I guess we were getting real
comfortable in the class.
And we were just joking,
different things about work
and just-- just funny stuff.
NARRATOR: When the car
returned to the company parking
lot, the driver, Jorge
Sanchez, was the first one out.
Doug Zamora was the second.
Then someone started shooting.
Zamora was hit in the arm.
He immediately reached
for his own gun.
Sanchez crawled under
the car for cover.
Zamora was hit again and ran
towards the factory door.
Ray Cruz was also hit.
Another shot exploded
through the windshield
and hit Miguel Roque
sitting in the backseat.
Moussa owned a handgun and
frantically tried to load it.
GEORGE MOUSSA: I started
shooting out the front,
and the gun jammed.
NARRATOR: Another blast
went through the roof
and hit Miguel a second time.
Inside, employees
tried to help Doug
Zamora, who was
quickly losing blood.
GEORGE MOUSSA: At the same
time that I was talking to him,
Gerardo Manso came
from behind me.
I turned around with
my gun, aiming at him.
NARRATOR: Manso was
almost a casualty.
Luckily, Moussa didn't
pull the trigger.
Manso was a
night-shift supervisor
who heard the shooting
and rushed to help.
When police and
emergency crews arrived,
they first helped
Ray Cruz, who was
outside and bleeding,
but still alive.
Doug Zamora was unconscious.
Miguel Roque was
still in the back seat
and was pronounced
dead at the scene.
KENIA ROQUE: My husband
was the best man
that I know in my whole life,
the best man that I know,
the best person that I knew,
the best father that I saw,
the best thing that I
have in my whole life.
I lose him.
NARRATOR: Apparently,
the shots were
fired from the roof
of the factory.
There were spent shotgun
shells but no sign
of the gun or the gunman.
Police searched the
area by ground and air.
And they even shut
down a nearby highway.
But the gunman had
made a clean getaway.
Investigators had two questions.
Who would shoot five employees?
And what was the motive?
As police investigated the
shooting of the five employees
outside of the
airplane factory, they
found evidence that the shooter
had been on the factory roof
and made his getaway down
the ladder in the back.
The shells found
on the roof told
investigators the weapon
used was a shotgun.
The shells were
double-ought buckshot.
Each shell contained nine
pellets about the same size
as a 32-caliber bullet.
-They've been shot nine times
at once, because each pellet
enters the body and
does a lot of damage.
The pellet travels at
about a thousand feet
a second coming
out of the muzzle,
so it's like being shot
nine times at once.
NARRATOR: The shooting
killed one man, Miguel Roque.
Douglas Zamora and
Ray Cruz were alive,
but in critical condition.
Two others, Jorge Sanchez
and George Moussa,
escaped without injury.
-I was angry because, these are
the people that I worked with.
They were my responsibility,
and somebody had hurt them.
And I was just-- I don't
know if it was my adrenaline,
but I was really angry.
I wanted to find the shooter.
NARRATOR: Police began
their investigation
by asking about
any recent firings
or disgruntled
current employees.
One of the supervisors working
on the night of the shooting
reported seeing two or three
men in a white Cadillac
cruising the factory grounds.
This was particularly
troubling since one
of the shooting
victims, Ray Cruz,
had a possible link
to organized crime.
-Ray Cruz had a family member
who was currently in a witness
protection program testifying
against major drug traffickers
who had assassinated some
government witnesses.
NARRATOR: Police wondered
whether the factory shooting
was a message to
the Cruz family,
warning Ray Cruz's brother
not to testify at that trial.
As police started to
investigate that theory,
a woman who lived directly
behind the factory called
to say she had found
a gun in her yard.
-Because of the police
activity in the area,
she didn't come outside.
She was fearful that there
was something going on
and that she should stay inside.
The next morning, when she
came outside to feed her cats,
she noticed a shotgun,
and she called police.
NARRATOR: There were no
fingerprints on the gun.
And the serial number
had been filed off,
making it virtually
impossible to trace.
THOMAS QUIRK: It's what we
call a robbery gun, where it's
easily concealable by
removing part of the barrel
and removing the
stock from the weapon.
Then it's easier to
hide on a person.
NARRATOR: To see if this was
the gun used in the factory
shooting, Thomas Quirk
conducted a ballistic analysis.
Most guns have lands and
grooves inside the gun barrel
which leave distinctive
marks on the bullets.
But the barrel of a
shotgun is smooth.
-Without having a
rifled bore, there
are no marks left
behind on the pellets.
We can't identify the pellets.
We can only identify the
shot shells themselves.
NARRATOR: When a
shotgun is fired,
the expanding gasses force the
shell casings back against what
is called the breach
face of the gun.
-That shotgun will leave marks
on the primer of the shot
shells over and over and over.
These marks will be the same.
So that's what we call the
fingerprint of the weapon.
NARRATOR: A
microscopic comparison
showed that the
ballistic fingerprint
of the sawed-off shotgun
matched the markings
on the shells found
on the factory roof.
Although this was
the murder weapon,
it wasn't the type used
by organized crime.
-It's been more up close
and personal, with handguns,
so that they are
sure that they hit
their target, their
intended target.
A shotgun is a good
close-up weapon.
But from a long distance,
because of the way
the projectiles
scatter, you may not
necessarily hit your target.
It didn't appear to be
the type of scenario
where you have a person
on a roof with a shotgun.
It just didn't seem to fit.
NARRATOR: The gun and
shells were the only
physical evidence
investigators had.
But the gun still
had a story to tell
for those who knew
how to read it.
Ballistic tests had
identified the gun
used to kill Miguel Roque and
wound Doug Zamora and Ray Cruz.
The question now was,
who owned the gun?
The serial number
had been removed.
-Every mark, the serial
number, the brand, the model,
the gauge, everything was
ground off the weapon.
So we had no idea who
the manufacturer was
or any of the information,
the model or serial number.
NARRATOR: The first
step was to determine
the make and model of the gun.
The gun vault at the
Miami-Dade Police Crime Lab
holds over 2,000 firearms of
various makes and calibers.
Experienced firearms examiners
thought it was probably
a Remington Model 870
shotgun, so they compared it
to the Remington
870 in their vault.
-And sure enough,
it turned out to be
a 12-gauge Remington
pump shotgun.
They're-- they're
fairly popular here.
And matter of fact, our
police officers carry them.
NARRATOR: The Model 870
is popular everywhere.
It's one of the bestselling
shotguns ever made.
Millions have been sold.
The killer knew that
tracing such a gun
without a serial number
would be all but impossible.
-But he didn't know what
the crime laboratory can do.
NARRATOR: By law, all firearms
sold in the United States
must have a serial number
stamped into the metal.
The number is recorded
at the time of sale,
allowing any gun to be traced
back to the original phone.
-When they stamp a serial
number into the weapon,
it compresses the
metal of the weapon.
And it makes the metal
underneath the serial numbers
harder than the metal around it.
And that's key for serial
number restoration.
NARRATOR: Quirk smoothed the
area of the serial number
with a sander to
create an even surface.
He then applied a strong
acid to the steel.
The smooth surface ensures that
the acid eats the steel evenly.
But the area where the metal is
compressed, the area directly
beneath the serial
number that was removed,
is denser and resists the acid.
THOMAS QUIRK: And the
next thing you'll see
will be white ghost numbers
of the serial number
raising up through that metal.
NARRATOR: With the
recovered serial number,
Detective McColman
contacted the Bureau
of Alcohol, Tobacco,
and Firearms.
They said the manufacturer
had sold the gun
to a local sporting goods store.
-Subsequently went
to that store.
We obtained the ATF form that
the purchaser filled out.
NARRATOR: The name on the
form was Gerardo Manso.
Manso was a night-shift
supervisor at the airplane
factory and was one
of the first employees
on the scene on the
night of the shooting.
-We also brought the form to
our questioned documents section
in our forensic lab.
The signature on both his work
records and the form matched.
NARRATOR: Investigators
discovered that Manso had been
angry because others at work
had been promoted ahead of him.
One of those promoted
was Doug Zamora,
a victim in the shooting
-I was the foreman
of that department.
And he thought that he
deserved that position.
Unfortunately, he didn't get it.
I believe it's because of
his-- his lack of-- not being
able to communicate with
vendors due to the fact
that he didn't
speak any English.
That's probably why
I got the position,
not because I knew
more than him.
NARRATOR: But everyone
believed Manso
got over the disappointment
since he didn't appear
to harbor any
lingering resentment.
-As soon as all this happened,
the one person I turned was--
was Manso.
And I said, Manso, you
have to help me now here
with everything that's
going on, you know.
These gentlemen are
in the hospital.
You have to take over.
So during that week,
he was the person
who was making sure the
machines were running.
NARRATOR: Gerardo
Manso denied he
was involved in the shooting.
It was Manso's closest
friend, Miguel Roque,
who was killed in the shooting.
And Manso had an alibi, since
he was seen in the factory
immediately following
the shooting.
But a background check
revealed that Manso
had been a suspect in
another shooting death.
The victim allegedly was having
an affair with Manso's wife.
Police now wondered whether
this was a coincidence
or a pattern of
revenge and murder.
Police now suspected Gerardo
Manso in the shooting death
of Miguel Roque and injuring
Doug Zamora and Ray Cruz.
The murder weapon was
a sawed-off shotgun
found in the yard of a woman
who lived next to the factory.
After raising the
serial number, police
discovered it was
purchased by Gerardo Manso.
And Manso had an
interesting background.
-We ran Gerardo Manso
through that system,
and it hit on a previous
homicide, a homicide of Mr.
Gutierrez which occurred,
I believe, in 1991.
NARRATOR: The victim,
Luis Gutierrez,
had been gunned down
while in his car
on a deserted stretch of road.
Manso was question because
Gutierrez was allegedly
having an affair
with Manso's wife.
Despite a strong motive,
no physical evidence
linked Manso to the
murder, although Gutierrez
had been killed with a shotgun.
Police asked Manso to
come down to police
headquarters for questioning.
Manso agreed.
After questioning him
briefly, detectives
asked him to take a polygraph
or lie detector test.
Manso consented.
Manso was asked
if he knew who was
responsible for the
shooting and if he was
the man who killed Miguel Roque.
-His answer, of course,
was no, he didn't know,
and no, he didn't kill anybody.
There was clear deception
indicated on the polygraph
to those responses.
NARRATOR: Confronted with
the polygraph results,
Manso broke down and confessed.
But he said he missed
his intended targets
and instead killed his
best friend, Miguel Roque.
-And he told the detectives
in his confession
that he was very upset
that Mr. Roque died,
because he was not
the intended target.
In fact, he was the only friend
that Manso had in the business.
He indicated his
targets were George
Sanchez and George Moussa.
-I think that he
regretted that he
didn't kill the right people.
Other than that, that's the
only remorse that he expressed.
NARRATOR: Detectives
also questioned Manso
about the shooting
death of Luis Gutierrez.
-He goes, oh, yeah.
You know, two years
ago I killed my wife's
lover, too, with the same gun.
-He fired from
inside his vehicle.
Therefore the casing would have
remained inside his vehicle.
So the only thing on that
scene were projectiles from
the shotgun, which
cannot be traced.
NARRATOR: Manso was charged with
two murders, Luis Gutierrez,
and his co-worker Miguel Roque.
He was also charged with
the attempted murder
of the other four men
in the parking lot.
Prosecutors believe
that what motivated
the shooting was
resentment at being
passed over for advancement.
-As Manso did not
speak English, he
wasn't invited to go to
the training session.
He saw this as a
threat to his ability
to go forward in his occupation.
And so he resented the
people that were going.
NARRATOR: He especially resented
his supervisors, George Moussa
and Jorge Sanchez,
for holding him back.
So after hours, he used
the machinery at work
to cut down the
barrel of his shotgun
and to grind off
the serial number.
On the night of the
shooting, he snuck up
to the roof with the
easily concealed weapon
and ambushed the men he
thought were in his way.
[gunfire]
NARRATOR: Although Manso says
that Sanchez and Moussa were
his intended targets,
prosecutors don't believe it,
since he used a shotgun
instead of a rifle.
After the shooting,
he threw the gun
off the roof into one of the
yards near the factory, then
hurried down to the factory
floor to create his alibi.
-There's a ladder that led
to the top of the building.
He must have scurried down.
In the confusion,
he was able to run
out and appear to be concerned.
Now, this would only
take a couple of seconds.
NARRATOR: When George
Moussa saw Manso immediately
after the shooting, he had no
idea that Manso was the gunman.
-I had my gun drawn.
And Manso was right there.
Had I known it was him, the
shooter, I would have shot him.
There's no doubt in my mind.
-I believe that Mr.
Manso is a dangerous man.
And he deals with his
frustrations through violence.
-It seemed to be the only
way he can resolve things,
is to eliminate obstacles.
NARRATOR: Gerardo
Manso was found guilty
of murder and attempted
murder, and was sentenced
to consecutive life
terms in prison.
Kenia Roque shares keepsakes
and memories of Miguel
with their daughter, Laura.
Laura was just 18 months
old when her father died,
the father who worked long
hours to give her a better
life in America but never
got to share it with her.
-Sometimes I feel like it's
a bad dream that I had.
It's not real.
I'm not here.
It was another life.
But the only choice that
I have is keep busy.
Keep tired, keep busy, study,
working, doing many things.
Don't let my mind any
space to think about that.
NARRATOR: Doug Zamora and Ray
Cruz survived their injuries.
Doug's arm was almost
amputated, but doctors
were able to save it.
The shooting
changed the victims.
Doug Zamora quit his
job at the factory
and went into law enforcement.
He now works as a
corrections officer.
George Moussa, impressed
by the EMTs who responded
to the shooting,
also quit his job
and is training
to become a medic.
Manso believed that by
scratching the serial number
from his weapon he would
remove all traces of ownership.
But forensic technology
proved him wrong.
-The more forensics
that you've got,
of course, the better
it's going to be.
Forensics really don't lie.
It's-- you know,
they don't-- really,
they don't make the kind of
mistakes that witnesses make.
So it's really pretty exciting.
THOMAS QUIRK: We linked the
casings to the gun, the gun
to the man.
men were ambushed at work
as they got out of their car.
One man was killed, two
others critically injured.
The gunman left behind a
few spent shell casings,
but little else.
Forensic scientists
would eventually
find a clue in
some scraped metal,
revealing a history that
someone had tried to erase.
[theme music]
Play one of the best new FPS shooters,
search Steam for PROJECT WARLOCK
Miguel Roque met his wife on
a beach in their native Cuba.
The couple moved
to Miami, Florida,
in 1991, where they had their
first child, a daughter.
KENIA ROQUE: She was beautiful.
She's very beautiful.
And then he was worried
how to-- to give
her the-- the good life to her.
NARRATOR: Miguel was willing to
work hard to get the good life.
In 1993 the talented
mechanical engineer
landed a job at the
Aircraft Modular
plant that made airplane parts.
The 160 employees were
a tight-knit group.
And Miguel quickly
became one of the family.
-I was very impressed that
he was here such a short time
from his native
country, you know, Cuba.
And he knew how
to speak English.
He was a go-getter.
He was a go-getter.
He knew what he wanted,
and he was going for it.
NARRATOR: Miguel and
four other employees
were identified by management
as having the potential
for advancement, so the
company asked the men
to attend computer
classes at night.
The men all went to class
together and formed a carpool.
October 14, 1993, was
a night like any other.
After class, the atmosphere
was light and friendly.
-I guess we were getting real
comfortable in the class.
And we were just joking,
different things about work
and just-- just funny stuff.
NARRATOR: When the car
returned to the company parking
lot, the driver, Jorge
Sanchez, was the first one out.
Doug Zamora was the second.
Then someone started shooting.
Zamora was hit in the arm.
He immediately reached
for his own gun.
Sanchez crawled under
the car for cover.
Zamora was hit again and ran
towards the factory door.
Ray Cruz was also hit.
Another shot exploded
through the windshield
and hit Miguel Roque
sitting in the backseat.
Moussa owned a handgun and
frantically tried to load it.
GEORGE MOUSSA: I started
shooting out the front,
and the gun jammed.
NARRATOR: Another blast
went through the roof
and hit Miguel a second time.
Inside, employees
tried to help Doug
Zamora, who was
quickly losing blood.
GEORGE MOUSSA: At the same
time that I was talking to him,
Gerardo Manso came
from behind me.
I turned around with
my gun, aiming at him.
NARRATOR: Manso was
almost a casualty.
Luckily, Moussa didn't
pull the trigger.
Manso was a
night-shift supervisor
who heard the shooting
and rushed to help.
When police and
emergency crews arrived,
they first helped
Ray Cruz, who was
outside and bleeding,
but still alive.
Doug Zamora was unconscious.
Miguel Roque was
still in the back seat
and was pronounced
dead at the scene.
KENIA ROQUE: My husband
was the best man
that I know in my whole life,
the best man that I know,
the best person that I knew,
the best father that I saw,
the best thing that I
have in my whole life.
I lose him.
NARRATOR: Apparently,
the shots were
fired from the roof
of the factory.
There were spent shotgun
shells but no sign
of the gun or the gunman.
Police searched the
area by ground and air.
And they even shut
down a nearby highway.
But the gunman had
made a clean getaway.
Investigators had two questions.
Who would shoot five employees?
And what was the motive?
As police investigated the
shooting of the five employees
outside of the
airplane factory, they
found evidence that the shooter
had been on the factory roof
and made his getaway down
the ladder in the back.
The shells found
on the roof told
investigators the weapon
used was a shotgun.
The shells were
double-ought buckshot.
Each shell contained nine
pellets about the same size
as a 32-caliber bullet.
-They've been shot nine times
at once, because each pellet
enters the body and
does a lot of damage.
The pellet travels at
about a thousand feet
a second coming
out of the muzzle,
so it's like being shot
nine times at once.
NARRATOR: The shooting
killed one man, Miguel Roque.
Douglas Zamora and
Ray Cruz were alive,
but in critical condition.
Two others, Jorge Sanchez
and George Moussa,
escaped without injury.
-I was angry because, these are
the people that I worked with.
They were my responsibility,
and somebody had hurt them.
And I was just-- I don't
know if it was my adrenaline,
but I was really angry.
I wanted to find the shooter.
NARRATOR: Police began
their investigation
by asking about
any recent firings
or disgruntled
current employees.
One of the supervisors working
on the night of the shooting
reported seeing two or three
men in a white Cadillac
cruising the factory grounds.
This was particularly
troubling since one
of the shooting
victims, Ray Cruz,
had a possible link
to organized crime.
-Ray Cruz had a family member
who was currently in a witness
protection program testifying
against major drug traffickers
who had assassinated some
government witnesses.
NARRATOR: Police wondered
whether the factory shooting
was a message to
the Cruz family,
warning Ray Cruz's brother
not to testify at that trial.
As police started to
investigate that theory,
a woman who lived directly
behind the factory called
to say she had found
a gun in her yard.
-Because of the police
activity in the area,
she didn't come outside.
She was fearful that there
was something going on
and that she should stay inside.
The next morning, when she
came outside to feed her cats,
she noticed a shotgun,
and she called police.
NARRATOR: There were no
fingerprints on the gun.
And the serial number
had been filed off,
making it virtually
impossible to trace.
THOMAS QUIRK: It's what we
call a robbery gun, where it's
easily concealable by
removing part of the barrel
and removing the
stock from the weapon.
Then it's easier to
hide on a person.
NARRATOR: To see if this was
the gun used in the factory
shooting, Thomas Quirk
conducted a ballistic analysis.
Most guns have lands and
grooves inside the gun barrel
which leave distinctive
marks on the bullets.
But the barrel of a
shotgun is smooth.
-Without having a
rifled bore, there
are no marks left
behind on the pellets.
We can't identify the pellets.
We can only identify the
shot shells themselves.
NARRATOR: When a
shotgun is fired,
the expanding gasses force the
shell casings back against what
is called the breach
face of the gun.
-That shotgun will leave marks
on the primer of the shot
shells over and over and over.
These marks will be the same.
So that's what we call the
fingerprint of the weapon.
NARRATOR: A
microscopic comparison
showed that the
ballistic fingerprint
of the sawed-off shotgun
matched the markings
on the shells found
on the factory roof.
Although this was
the murder weapon,
it wasn't the type used
by organized crime.
-It's been more up close
and personal, with handguns,
so that they are
sure that they hit
their target, their
intended target.
A shotgun is a good
close-up weapon.
But from a long distance,
because of the way
the projectiles
scatter, you may not
necessarily hit your target.
It didn't appear to be
the type of scenario
where you have a person
on a roof with a shotgun.
It just didn't seem to fit.
NARRATOR: The gun and
shells were the only
physical evidence
investigators had.
But the gun still
had a story to tell
for those who knew
how to read it.
Ballistic tests had
identified the gun
used to kill Miguel Roque and
wound Doug Zamora and Ray Cruz.
The question now was,
who owned the gun?
The serial number
had been removed.
-Every mark, the serial
number, the brand, the model,
the gauge, everything was
ground off the weapon.
So we had no idea who
the manufacturer was
or any of the information,
the model or serial number.
NARRATOR: The first
step was to determine
the make and model of the gun.
The gun vault at the
Miami-Dade Police Crime Lab
holds over 2,000 firearms of
various makes and calibers.
Experienced firearms examiners
thought it was probably
a Remington Model 870
shotgun, so they compared it
to the Remington
870 in their vault.
-And sure enough,
it turned out to be
a 12-gauge Remington
pump shotgun.
They're-- they're
fairly popular here.
And matter of fact, our
police officers carry them.
NARRATOR: The Model 870
is popular everywhere.
It's one of the bestselling
shotguns ever made.
Millions have been sold.
The killer knew that
tracing such a gun
without a serial number
would be all but impossible.
-But he didn't know what
the crime laboratory can do.
NARRATOR: By law, all firearms
sold in the United States
must have a serial number
stamped into the metal.
The number is recorded
at the time of sale,
allowing any gun to be traced
back to the original phone.
-When they stamp a serial
number into the weapon,
it compresses the
metal of the weapon.
And it makes the metal
underneath the serial numbers
harder than the metal around it.
And that's key for serial
number restoration.
NARRATOR: Quirk smoothed the
area of the serial number
with a sander to
create an even surface.
He then applied a strong
acid to the steel.
The smooth surface ensures that
the acid eats the steel evenly.
But the area where the metal is
compressed, the area directly
beneath the serial
number that was removed,
is denser and resists the acid.
THOMAS QUIRK: And the
next thing you'll see
will be white ghost numbers
of the serial number
raising up through that metal.
NARRATOR: With the
recovered serial number,
Detective McColman
contacted the Bureau
of Alcohol, Tobacco,
and Firearms.
They said the manufacturer
had sold the gun
to a local sporting goods store.
-Subsequently went
to that store.
We obtained the ATF form that
the purchaser filled out.
NARRATOR: The name on the
form was Gerardo Manso.
Manso was a night-shift
supervisor at the airplane
factory and was one
of the first employees
on the scene on the
night of the shooting.
-We also brought the form to
our questioned documents section
in our forensic lab.
The signature on both his work
records and the form matched.
NARRATOR: Investigators
discovered that Manso had been
angry because others at work
had been promoted ahead of him.
One of those promoted
was Doug Zamora,
a victim in the shooting
-I was the foreman
of that department.
And he thought that he
deserved that position.
Unfortunately, he didn't get it.
I believe it's because of
his-- his lack of-- not being
able to communicate with
vendors due to the fact
that he didn't
speak any English.
That's probably why
I got the position,
not because I knew
more than him.
NARRATOR: But everyone
believed Manso
got over the disappointment
since he didn't appear
to harbor any
lingering resentment.
-As soon as all this happened,
the one person I turned was--
was Manso.
And I said, Manso, you
have to help me now here
with everything that's
going on, you know.
These gentlemen are
in the hospital.
You have to take over.
So during that week,
he was the person
who was making sure the
machines were running.
NARRATOR: Gerardo
Manso denied he
was involved in the shooting.
It was Manso's closest
friend, Miguel Roque,
who was killed in the shooting.
And Manso had an alibi, since
he was seen in the factory
immediately following
the shooting.
But a background check
revealed that Manso
had been a suspect in
another shooting death.
The victim allegedly was having
an affair with Manso's wife.
Police now wondered whether
this was a coincidence
or a pattern of
revenge and murder.
Police now suspected Gerardo
Manso in the shooting death
of Miguel Roque and injuring
Doug Zamora and Ray Cruz.
The murder weapon was
a sawed-off shotgun
found in the yard of a woman
who lived next to the factory.
After raising the
serial number, police
discovered it was
purchased by Gerardo Manso.
And Manso had an
interesting background.
-We ran Gerardo Manso
through that system,
and it hit on a previous
homicide, a homicide of Mr.
Gutierrez which occurred,
I believe, in 1991.
NARRATOR: The victim,
Luis Gutierrez,
had been gunned down
while in his car
on a deserted stretch of road.
Manso was question because
Gutierrez was allegedly
having an affair
with Manso's wife.
Despite a strong motive,
no physical evidence
linked Manso to the
murder, although Gutierrez
had been killed with a shotgun.
Police asked Manso to
come down to police
headquarters for questioning.
Manso agreed.
After questioning him
briefly, detectives
asked him to take a polygraph
or lie detector test.
Manso consented.
Manso was asked
if he knew who was
responsible for the
shooting and if he was
the man who killed Miguel Roque.
-His answer, of course,
was no, he didn't know,
and no, he didn't kill anybody.
There was clear deception
indicated on the polygraph
to those responses.
NARRATOR: Confronted with
the polygraph results,
Manso broke down and confessed.
But he said he missed
his intended targets
and instead killed his
best friend, Miguel Roque.
-And he told the detectives
in his confession
that he was very upset
that Mr. Roque died,
because he was not
the intended target.
In fact, he was the only friend
that Manso had in the business.
He indicated his
targets were George
Sanchez and George Moussa.
-I think that he
regretted that he
didn't kill the right people.
Other than that, that's the
only remorse that he expressed.
NARRATOR: Detectives
also questioned Manso
about the shooting
death of Luis Gutierrez.
-He goes, oh, yeah.
You know, two years
ago I killed my wife's
lover, too, with the same gun.
-He fired from
inside his vehicle.
Therefore the casing would have
remained inside his vehicle.
So the only thing on that
scene were projectiles from
the shotgun, which
cannot be traced.
NARRATOR: Manso was charged with
two murders, Luis Gutierrez,
and his co-worker Miguel Roque.
He was also charged with
the attempted murder
of the other four men
in the parking lot.
Prosecutors believe
that what motivated
the shooting was
resentment at being
passed over for advancement.
-As Manso did not
speak English, he
wasn't invited to go to
the training session.
He saw this as a
threat to his ability
to go forward in his occupation.
And so he resented the
people that were going.
NARRATOR: He especially resented
his supervisors, George Moussa
and Jorge Sanchez,
for holding him back.
So after hours, he used
the machinery at work
to cut down the
barrel of his shotgun
and to grind off
the serial number.
On the night of the
shooting, he snuck up
to the roof with the
easily concealed weapon
and ambushed the men he
thought were in his way.
[gunfire]
NARRATOR: Although Manso says
that Sanchez and Moussa were
his intended targets,
prosecutors don't believe it,
since he used a shotgun
instead of a rifle.
After the shooting,
he threw the gun
off the roof into one of the
yards near the factory, then
hurried down to the factory
floor to create his alibi.
-There's a ladder that led
to the top of the building.
He must have scurried down.
In the confusion,
he was able to run
out and appear to be concerned.
Now, this would only
take a couple of seconds.
NARRATOR: When George
Moussa saw Manso immediately
after the shooting, he had no
idea that Manso was the gunman.
-I had my gun drawn.
And Manso was right there.
Had I known it was him, the
shooter, I would have shot him.
There's no doubt in my mind.
-I believe that Mr.
Manso is a dangerous man.
And he deals with his
frustrations through violence.
-It seemed to be the only
way he can resolve things,
is to eliminate obstacles.
NARRATOR: Gerardo
Manso was found guilty
of murder and attempted
murder, and was sentenced
to consecutive life
terms in prison.
Kenia Roque shares keepsakes
and memories of Miguel
with their daughter, Laura.
Laura was just 18 months
old when her father died,
the father who worked long
hours to give her a better
life in America but never
got to share it with her.
-Sometimes I feel like it's
a bad dream that I had.
It's not real.
I'm not here.
It was another life.
But the only choice that
I have is keep busy.
Keep tired, keep busy, study,
working, doing many things.
Don't let my mind any
space to think about that.
NARRATOR: Doug Zamora and Ray
Cruz survived their injuries.
Doug's arm was almost
amputated, but doctors
were able to save it.
The shooting
changed the victims.
Doug Zamora quit his
job at the factory
and went into law enforcement.
He now works as a
corrections officer.
George Moussa, impressed
by the EMTs who responded
to the shooting,
also quit his job
and is training
to become a medic.
Manso believed that by
scratching the serial number
from his weapon he would
remove all traces of ownership.
But forensic technology
proved him wrong.
-The more forensics
that you've got,
of course, the better
it's going to be.
Forensics really don't lie.
It's-- you know,
they don't-- really,
they don't make the kind of
mistakes that witnesses make.
So it's really pretty exciting.
THOMAS QUIRK: We linked the
casings to the gun, the gun
to the man.