1 00:00:02,708 --> 00:00:08,750 ♪ 2 00:00:08,750 --> 00:00:14,667 ♪ 3 00:00:14,667 --> 00:00:17,542 -Few have what it takes to work undercover, 4 00:00:17,542 --> 00:00:20,042 living in secrecy and constant danger, 5 00:00:20,042 --> 00:00:22,750 unrecognized beyond their tightest circles. 6 00:00:22,750 --> 00:00:26,542 Undercovers put some of the worst criminals behind bars, 7 00:00:26,542 --> 00:00:28,542 but they never get to tell their stories 8 00:00:28,542 --> 00:00:30,542 until now on... 9 00:00:36,500 --> 00:00:40,250 In rural Baxter, Tennessee, drug dealer William Dunn 10 00:00:40,250 --> 00:00:42,042 and his girlfriend, Misty Langford, 11 00:00:42,042 --> 00:00:45,917 do not want to go to jail, and they will do anything 12 00:00:45,917 --> 00:00:48,083 to stop a local undercover detective 13 00:00:48,083 --> 00:00:50,458 from testifying against them... 14 00:00:50,458 --> 00:00:54,083 including murder. 15 00:00:54,083 --> 00:00:56,500 -These people have no boundaries. 16 00:00:56,500 --> 00:00:58,542 As someone who has a wife and kid myself 17 00:00:58,542 --> 00:01:01,917 living at home at the time, you take it very personal 18 00:01:01,917 --> 00:01:04,917 that these criminals like Langford and Dunn 19 00:01:04,917 --> 00:01:06,458 would actually try to follow you 20 00:01:06,458 --> 00:01:10,000 and find out where you live and your family lives. 21 00:01:10,000 --> 00:01:13,333 I think a lot of normal people, citizens, don't understand. 22 00:01:13,333 --> 00:01:16,417 It's, like, these folks don't -- They don't think like we do. 23 00:01:16,417 --> 00:01:20,000 The value of life doesn't mean very much 24 00:01:20,000 --> 00:01:22,375 and that people that they need killed 25 00:01:22,375 --> 00:01:26,458 are just simply an impediment to them that is in their way. 26 00:01:28,167 --> 00:01:30,667 Baxter, Tennessee, is not the kind of place 27 00:01:30,667 --> 00:01:34,167 that you would associate with a lot of crime. 28 00:01:34,167 --> 00:01:36,458 It's a very nice, very picturesque community, 29 00:01:36,458 --> 00:01:39,875 middle Tennessee, rolling farmland and hills. 30 00:01:39,875 --> 00:01:42,333 Beautiful part of the country. 31 00:01:44,667 --> 00:01:46,333 In the William Dunn case, 32 00:01:46,333 --> 00:01:48,917 Dunn had been arrested by the Putnam County, Tennessee, 33 00:01:48,917 --> 00:01:52,083 Sheriff's Department following an undercover investigation, 34 00:01:52,083 --> 00:01:53,708 at which one of their detectives 35 00:01:53,708 --> 00:01:57,125 had made a series of purchases of cocaine from him. 36 00:01:57,125 --> 00:01:59,208 -Dunn approached a friend to ask for help 37 00:01:59,208 --> 00:02:01,375 in arranging to kill the local detective 38 00:02:01,375 --> 00:02:04,583 so that he wouldn't be able to testify against him. 39 00:02:04,583 --> 00:02:08,000 But that friend happened to be a confidential informant 40 00:02:08,000 --> 00:02:10,625 working with the local police. 41 00:02:12,667 --> 00:02:17,208 -I was subsequently contacted to assume the role of a hitman 42 00:02:17,208 --> 00:02:20,167 in a murder-for-hire investigation. 43 00:02:20,167 --> 00:02:22,417 This is definitely a race against time, 44 00:02:22,417 --> 00:02:25,208 in that we, as law enforcement, need to intervene 45 00:02:25,208 --> 00:02:26,958 before they get an actual criminal 46 00:02:26,958 --> 00:02:28,500 to kill this police officer. 47 00:02:31,792 --> 00:02:33,542 As an undercover agent, 48 00:02:33,542 --> 00:02:36,083 I know that this is something that can happen to any of us 49 00:02:36,083 --> 00:02:38,750 who do this type of undercover work 50 00:02:38,750 --> 00:02:41,250 and that they will definitely try to find out 51 00:02:41,250 --> 00:02:43,875 who you are and where you live. 52 00:02:43,875 --> 00:02:46,042 And it not only affects you, 53 00:02:46,042 --> 00:02:48,542 but more personally, it affects your family. 54 00:02:48,542 --> 00:02:51,542 My wife told me that that was the one aspect of my job 55 00:02:51,542 --> 00:02:53,542 that scared her. 56 00:03:05,625 --> 00:03:08,208 In most murder-for-hire cases that I've done in the past, 57 00:03:08,208 --> 00:03:09,917 you get everything done in one day. 58 00:03:09,917 --> 00:03:11,208 It's one meeting, basically. 59 00:03:11,208 --> 00:03:13,000 You get the conversation 60 00:03:13,000 --> 00:03:16,667 and if the elements of proof are met during that conversation, 61 00:03:16,667 --> 00:03:19,333 the team comes in, they arrest the suspect, 62 00:03:19,333 --> 00:03:21,417 and the case is pretty much made. 63 00:03:21,417 --> 00:03:23,750 That's what we hoped to accomplish this day 64 00:03:23,750 --> 00:03:27,208 in Baxter, Tennessee. 65 00:03:27,208 --> 00:03:30,083 -Not wanting to waste any time, Kilday heads 66 00:03:30,083 --> 00:03:31,875 directly over to Dunn's residence 67 00:03:31,875 --> 00:03:34,625 to be introduced to the couple by the confidential informant. 68 00:03:42,333 --> 00:03:45,042 -Planning and conducting an undercover operation 69 00:03:45,042 --> 00:03:49,458 in a rural environment like this has its own set of challenges. 70 00:03:51,417 --> 00:03:55,042 In an urban environment, you have a cover team 71 00:03:55,042 --> 00:03:57,208 who are 30 seconds, 45 seconds away 72 00:03:57,208 --> 00:03:59,083 from getting to you. 73 00:03:59,083 --> 00:04:00,875 In a rural environment, 74 00:04:00,875 --> 00:04:06,125 there is not a lot of cover for the agents to hide in. 75 00:04:06,125 --> 00:04:07,625 My closest cover team 76 00:04:07,625 --> 00:04:11,542 was probably close to a quarter of a mile away. 77 00:04:11,542 --> 00:04:13,833 In this situation, if either Dunn 78 00:04:13,833 --> 00:04:16,583 or if Langford comes out of the house with a gun 79 00:04:16,583 --> 00:04:18,708 and they decide that they want to do something to me 80 00:04:18,708 --> 00:04:23,625 and the informant, my cover team may just be the cleanup crew. 81 00:04:25,542 --> 00:04:29,292 -Agent Kilday was wired for sound but not video. 82 00:04:29,292 --> 00:04:32,042 What you are about to see is a re-creation of events 83 00:04:32,042 --> 00:04:35,750 using actual audio recorded during this investigation. 84 00:04:47,208 --> 00:04:49,250 -The informant knocks on the door... 85 00:04:51,708 --> 00:04:53,667 ...and Misty Langford comes out with him 86 00:04:53,667 --> 00:04:56,375 and approaches me in the truck. 87 00:05:10,542 --> 00:05:12,958 -Kilday quickly finds out that Dunn is not at home. 88 00:05:30,042 --> 00:05:33,500 Kilday secretly relays the information to his cover team. 89 00:06:06,917 --> 00:06:09,833 -She gives me the name Jeff Mezzina. 90 00:06:09,833 --> 00:06:12,208 I know it's a different name, but of course, 91 00:06:12,208 --> 00:06:13,708 I can't allude to the fact 92 00:06:13,708 --> 00:06:17,458 that I know it's Detective Jeff Cessna. 93 00:06:17,458 --> 00:06:21,208 When Langford misidentifies the person 94 00:06:21,208 --> 00:06:22,833 I know that they want killed, 95 00:06:22,833 --> 00:06:26,375 it creates a problem for us because we need that 96 00:06:26,375 --> 00:06:29,458 as part of the proof against her and Dunn. 97 00:06:29,458 --> 00:06:32,625 -To make a solid case, Agent Kilday needs Misty 98 00:06:32,625 --> 00:06:35,708 to correctly ID the target she wants killed -- 99 00:06:35,708 --> 00:06:39,875 if not by name, then by detailed description. 100 00:06:52,542 --> 00:06:55,750 -I'm trying to hone in on the fact that I know 101 00:06:55,750 --> 00:06:58,750 it's Detective Jeff Cessna. 102 00:06:58,750 --> 00:07:01,375 And I start asking her what she knows about him 103 00:07:01,375 --> 00:07:04,625 and how I can find out for sure who he is 104 00:07:04,625 --> 00:07:06,958 because she's kind of ambling about the name. 105 00:07:06,958 --> 00:07:08,042 She doesn't know. 106 00:07:19,708 --> 00:07:23,375 She's talking about they've been following his kids. 107 00:07:23,375 --> 00:07:25,875 And the first thought that occurs to me is, 108 00:07:25,875 --> 00:07:28,000 "Do they want the whole family killed?" 109 00:07:30,792 --> 00:07:33,625 -Before Agent Kilday can take this any further, 110 00:07:33,625 --> 00:07:35,958 he needs to ascertain whether Misty 111 00:07:35,958 --> 00:07:39,792 wants Jeff Cessna's wife and children murdered, as well. 112 00:08:10,875 --> 00:08:13,042 -The weirdest thing is just how callous 113 00:08:13,042 --> 00:08:16,708 the criminal element is, how nonchalant she is about this 114 00:08:16,708 --> 00:08:18,542 as if it was just business. 115 00:08:38,375 --> 00:08:39,875 It's late in the afternoon. 116 00:08:39,875 --> 00:08:41,750 At that point, I know we're probably not gonna 117 00:08:41,750 --> 00:08:43,125 complete this case on this day. 118 00:09:15,792 --> 00:09:17,542 We're only half done 119 00:09:17,542 --> 00:09:20,958 because they both want this police officer killed, 120 00:09:20,958 --> 00:09:22,875 and I know that we have to firm it up 121 00:09:22,875 --> 00:09:26,875 and complete the case by meeting with Dunn himself. 122 00:09:26,875 --> 00:09:30,500 It's very important that we get Dunn quickly 123 00:09:30,500 --> 00:09:33,583 before he might actually contact someone 124 00:09:33,583 --> 00:09:35,708 who was willing to kill this police officer 125 00:09:35,708 --> 00:09:37,917 and/or his family. 126 00:09:37,917 --> 00:09:42,833 ♪ 127 00:09:42,833 --> 00:09:45,750 -Kilday received a phone call from William Dunn 128 00:09:45,750 --> 00:09:48,958 asking him to return as soon as possible to discuss the deal. 129 00:10:08,500 --> 00:10:10,042 -When I meet with William Dunn, 130 00:10:10,042 --> 00:10:13,750 I need to actually have the person 131 00:10:13,750 --> 00:10:15,458 that he wants murdered identified, 132 00:10:15,458 --> 00:10:17,042 correctly identified. 133 00:10:17,042 --> 00:10:19,958 I also need his commitment on it. 134 00:10:20,917 --> 00:10:23,375 Another thing I would like to get, if I can, 135 00:10:23,375 --> 00:10:26,625 is a material piece of evidence from him such as a down payment 136 00:10:26,625 --> 00:10:28,542 so that I can give that to the prosecutor 137 00:10:28,542 --> 00:10:29,792 as just another piece of evidence 138 00:10:29,792 --> 00:10:32,042 to go along with the conversation. 139 00:10:39,083 --> 00:10:42,042 -As they approach William Dunn's home, 140 00:10:42,042 --> 00:10:45,583 Special Agent Kilday notices something is wrong. 141 00:10:50,833 --> 00:10:53,500 Because they suspect that Dunn and his girlfriend, Misty, 142 00:10:53,500 --> 00:10:55,167 have guns in the house, 143 00:10:55,167 --> 00:10:57,458 the cover team appears to have stationed themselves 144 00:10:57,458 --> 00:10:59,708 a little too close. 145 00:10:59,708 --> 00:11:01,458 -This surveillance van is literally 146 00:11:01,458 --> 00:11:04,542 less than 100 yards behind the house. 147 00:11:04,542 --> 00:11:07,708 They're right on top of the deal. 148 00:11:07,708 --> 00:11:09,708 I see Dunn and Langford on the front porch, 149 00:11:09,708 --> 00:11:12,292 and I see our surveillance van behind the house. 150 00:11:17,583 --> 00:11:19,708 A lot of things go through my mind. 151 00:11:19,708 --> 00:11:21,083 I know that he's gonna be paranoid. 152 00:11:21,083 --> 00:11:23,042 I know he's been armed in the past. 153 00:11:23,042 --> 00:11:25,375 I don't know if anyone else is in that house with him. 154 00:11:25,375 --> 00:11:27,708 He could be doing a drug transaction at that time. 155 00:11:27,708 --> 00:11:29,708 I don't know. 156 00:11:29,708 --> 00:11:31,500 And I don't know if he's seen the van, 157 00:11:31,500 --> 00:11:34,667 but I'm there, and we have to do the deal anyway. 158 00:12:01,292 --> 00:12:04,125 -After he talks about my truck, he asked the informant 159 00:12:04,125 --> 00:12:06,792 to speak to him away from me, and he walks away with him. 160 00:12:11,917 --> 00:12:14,583 -Kilday reports to his team of a development 161 00:12:14,583 --> 00:12:16,875 that causes him concern. 162 00:12:23,042 --> 00:12:25,875 -Well, now I'm wondering what that conversation is about. 163 00:12:25,875 --> 00:12:27,375 Is he talking about the van? 164 00:12:27,375 --> 00:12:30,625 Is he asking him, "How can I trust this guy?" 165 00:12:30,625 --> 00:12:32,708 I'm kind of on a roller coaster. 166 00:12:45,875 --> 00:12:48,750 Dunn is very paranoid. He's very nervous. 167 00:12:48,750 --> 00:12:50,042 And I don't know what this conversation 168 00:12:50,042 --> 00:12:52,000 has just been behind the house. 169 00:13:32,042 --> 00:13:34,708 This is an important aspect of the case 170 00:13:34,708 --> 00:13:37,625 because Misty Langford two days earlier had the name wrong. 171 00:13:37,625 --> 00:13:39,542 She said Mezzina. 172 00:13:39,542 --> 00:13:43,250 We have now identified the person that Dunn wants killed. 173 00:13:48,667 --> 00:13:50,417 -The CI tells Kilday 174 00:13:50,417 --> 00:13:52,667 that the reason Dunn pulled him behind the house 175 00:13:52,667 --> 00:13:57,292 was to show him the van parked suspiciously 100 yards away. 176 00:14:05,125 --> 00:14:07,083 -Dunn has spotted the surveillance van, 177 00:14:07,083 --> 00:14:09,375 and he is suspicious of it, 178 00:14:09,375 --> 00:14:13,917 so that changes the game for me and it creates a problem. 179 00:14:16,875 --> 00:14:19,292 I'm afraid that it could cause him 180 00:14:19,292 --> 00:14:23,375 to back out of the entire deal or something a whole lot worse. 181 00:14:23,375 --> 00:14:27,375 Maybe Dunn pulls a gun on me or if Langford comes out 182 00:14:27,375 --> 00:14:30,208 of the house with a gun and they decide 183 00:14:30,208 --> 00:14:32,208 that they want to do something to me and the informant. 184 00:14:32,208 --> 00:14:33,792 I'm gonna have to take care of things 185 00:14:33,792 --> 00:14:37,042 for an extended period of time. 186 00:14:46,042 --> 00:14:48,292 Now that I know that Dunn is aware 187 00:14:48,292 --> 00:14:51,375 of the presence of the van, I want them to stay in place. 188 00:14:51,375 --> 00:14:54,750 I want it to look like they're totally unassociated 189 00:14:54,750 --> 00:14:56,583 with what I'm there for. 190 00:15:39,208 --> 00:15:42,042 When Dunn tells me that he has guilt, 191 00:15:42,042 --> 00:15:45,375 I know that this could be a possible entrapment defense. 192 00:15:45,375 --> 00:15:49,417 Entrapment is when I coerce you into committing a crime 193 00:15:49,417 --> 00:15:52,542 as a police officer rather than you being predisposed. 194 00:15:52,542 --> 00:15:55,250 In other words, I put the idea in your mind 195 00:15:55,250 --> 00:15:57,250 rather than you already having it. 196 00:16:12,000 --> 00:16:14,917 It's important to give the suspect an out. 197 00:16:37,042 --> 00:16:38,500 -At this point, I feel like I've fulfilled 198 00:16:38,500 --> 00:16:39,917 two of the three things I wanted to fulfill. 199 00:16:39,917 --> 00:16:41,833 I've identified the intended victim, 200 00:16:41,833 --> 00:16:43,542 I've gotten his commitment 201 00:16:43,542 --> 00:16:46,875 and that he is fully engaged in this. 202 00:16:46,875 --> 00:16:48,792 Now I want to get, if I can, 203 00:16:48,792 --> 00:16:51,958 some type of material down payment. 204 00:17:10,583 --> 00:17:12,167 From my perspective, 205 00:17:12,167 --> 00:17:14,000 Dunn at this point is not making a lot of sense. 206 00:17:14,000 --> 00:17:15,667 I believe he's high. 207 00:17:15,667 --> 00:17:18,167 I've been around people before who were high on cocaine 208 00:17:18,167 --> 00:17:20,375 and were sweating like Dunn was that day. 209 00:17:20,375 --> 00:17:23,417 And I feel like I need to refocus him on the task at hand. 210 00:18:34,208 --> 00:18:37,542 After Dunn named the person he wanted killed, 211 00:18:37,542 --> 00:18:39,708 let me know that he was committed to it, 212 00:18:39,708 --> 00:18:42,208 and he had given me the cocaine and the money, 213 00:18:42,208 --> 00:18:44,583 I knew that he was a had lad. 214 00:18:51,083 --> 00:18:53,083 [ Engine starts ] 215 00:19:05,208 --> 00:19:07,708 I meet some of the cover team a short distance away 216 00:19:07,708 --> 00:19:12,000 before I turn off the recorder, and I also turn over the cocaine 217 00:19:12,000 --> 00:19:14,708 and the money to one of the agents. 218 00:19:14,708 --> 00:19:19,167 They start making plans to come in and arrest Dunn 219 00:19:19,167 --> 00:19:20,667 and Langford, which they did. 220 00:19:22,958 --> 00:19:25,375 I find these moments very rewarding. 221 00:19:25,375 --> 00:19:27,750 When you feel like that, not only have you caught 222 00:19:27,750 --> 00:19:29,583 a career criminal like Dunn, 223 00:19:29,583 --> 00:19:32,875 but you might've played at least a small part 224 00:19:32,875 --> 00:19:34,667 in helping save someone's life. 225 00:19:35,833 --> 00:19:39,375 Following his arrest, I put William Dunn out of my mind. 226 00:19:39,375 --> 00:19:41,042 I had other cases I was working on. 227 00:19:41,042 --> 00:19:43,458 I didn't think about William Dunn for months. 228 00:19:43,458 --> 00:19:45,667 Then I receive a call telling me 229 00:19:45,667 --> 00:19:50,667 that he is soliciting people in the jail to try to kill me. 230 00:19:52,958 --> 00:19:56,083 By soliciting someone to kill me, 231 00:19:56,083 --> 00:19:57,458 he made things a whole lot worse 232 00:19:57,458 --> 00:19:59,417 than they were originally for him. 233 00:20:01,208 --> 00:20:02,833 William Dunn was ultimately sentenced 234 00:20:02,833 --> 00:20:05,458 to 325 years in federal prison 235 00:20:05,458 --> 00:20:08,083 for conviction on approximately 236 00:20:08,083 --> 00:20:10,708 21 federal felony counts. 237 00:20:14,333 --> 00:20:16,958 Misty Langford immediately cooperated 238 00:20:16,958 --> 00:20:18,417 with federal authorities 239 00:20:18,417 --> 00:20:21,208 and testified against William Dunn at trial 240 00:20:21,208 --> 00:20:24,208 and entered into a plea agreement. 241 00:20:24,208 --> 00:20:30,500 ♪ 242 00:20:30,500 --> 00:20:33,167 -Undercover agents live double lives. 243 00:20:33,167 --> 00:20:36,000 When they leave their homes in the morning, 244 00:20:36,000 --> 00:20:38,792 they enter a dark world, 245 00:20:38,792 --> 00:20:43,125 facing criminals who would not think twice before killing them. 246 00:20:43,125 --> 00:20:45,792 Take this case in Tucson, Arizona. 247 00:20:45,792 --> 00:20:47,875 An undercover agent comes face-to-face 248 00:20:47,875 --> 00:20:51,208 with the person he put behind bars for 20 years. 249 00:20:53,542 --> 00:20:57,375 -Tucson is a Southwest desert town 250 00:20:57,375 --> 00:21:01,500 from very high-end, expensive, ultra-wealthy homes 251 00:21:01,500 --> 00:21:03,583 to other parts of the town 252 00:21:03,583 --> 00:21:05,958 where people are living with dirt floors 253 00:21:05,958 --> 00:21:10,708 and corrugated tin shacks and everything in between. 254 00:21:10,708 --> 00:21:13,542 Tucson is 60 miles from the Mexican border, 255 00:21:13,542 --> 00:21:17,042 so it's a narcotics hub. 256 00:21:17,042 --> 00:21:19,792 And with narcotics comes violence. 257 00:21:20,875 --> 00:21:24,750 I was first introduced to Curtis through a confidential informant 258 00:21:24,750 --> 00:21:27,208 who was aware that I was working undercover 259 00:21:27,208 --> 00:21:30,583 and was aware that Curtis was doing robberies 260 00:21:30,583 --> 00:21:32,625 that were targeting firearms. 261 00:21:32,625 --> 00:21:34,458 The cover story I used for this case 262 00:21:34,458 --> 00:21:37,500 was the cover story I used for hundreds of cases. 263 00:21:37,500 --> 00:21:41,875 I was this White-trash, debt-collecting, 264 00:21:41,875 --> 00:21:44,458 gun-running quasi hitman. 265 00:21:44,458 --> 00:21:47,042 My first impression of Curtis was that 266 00:21:47,042 --> 00:21:50,458 he was a violent young man and living a violent life 267 00:21:50,458 --> 00:21:53,792 and was caught up in that lifestyle. 268 00:21:53,792 --> 00:21:57,042 I was convinced that if someone didn't step in his path, 269 00:21:57,042 --> 00:21:59,875 he was gonna hurt somebody. 270 00:21:59,875 --> 00:22:03,667 On February 18, 2004, the informant called and told me 271 00:22:03,667 --> 00:22:06,750 that Curtis had robbed some shotguns 272 00:22:06,750 --> 00:22:10,375 and that he had cut some of them down into sawed-off shotguns 273 00:22:10,375 --> 00:22:12,000 and that they were on the market. 274 00:22:12,000 --> 00:22:16,458 Sawed-off shotguns, below 16 inches, are illegal weapons. 275 00:22:16,458 --> 00:22:19,542 And I told the informant, "Well, then bring them to me. 276 00:22:19,542 --> 00:22:22,250 That's what I do. I buy sawed-off shotguns." 277 00:22:22,250 --> 00:22:24,625 -The informant arranges to bring Curtis 278 00:22:24,625 --> 00:22:27,542 to meet Jay at a nearby motel. 279 00:22:27,542 --> 00:22:29,875 -In preparation for the shotgun buy, 280 00:22:29,875 --> 00:22:32,875 we rented a hotel room, installed a hidden camera, 281 00:22:32,875 --> 00:22:35,417 and then I also had a nearby cover team. 282 00:22:35,417 --> 00:22:39,042 My cover team consisted of probably five or six agents 283 00:22:39,042 --> 00:22:43,542 who were in the room next door that would use the pass door 284 00:22:43,542 --> 00:22:46,875 to barge in if things got out of hand. 285 00:23:04,292 --> 00:23:09,625 I turned the recording off, waiting for Curtis to arrive. 286 00:23:09,625 --> 00:23:11,833 Before he arrived at the hotel room, 287 00:23:11,833 --> 00:23:14,833 I got a telephone call from the informant. 288 00:23:14,833 --> 00:23:17,500 He tells me that Curtis has been coked out for days, 289 00:23:17,500 --> 00:23:19,667 that he's paranoid, that he doesn't trust me, 290 00:23:19,667 --> 00:23:22,250 that he's stuffed a pistol in his pants, 291 00:23:22,250 --> 00:23:23,708 that his girlfriend's bringing a gun, 292 00:23:23,708 --> 00:23:25,708 and if anything makes him uncomfortable, 293 00:23:25,708 --> 00:23:28,417 we're gonna have a bloodbath. 294 00:23:28,417 --> 00:23:30,500 "You have to call this operation off." 295 00:23:31,875 --> 00:23:34,250 And my instant reaction, my arrogant reaction, 296 00:23:34,250 --> 00:23:37,125 my reckless reaction was, "No, you bring him anyways. 297 00:23:37,125 --> 00:23:38,500 I'm not shutting this down. 298 00:23:38,500 --> 00:23:41,542 No one's killing me in my hotel room." 299 00:23:41,542 --> 00:23:43,708 I never considered shutting the deal down. 300 00:23:43,708 --> 00:23:46,625 I never considered calling it off. 301 00:23:46,625 --> 00:23:49,333 My job was to get those guns off the street, 302 00:23:49,333 --> 00:23:52,375 and I was gonna get them or die trying. 303 00:23:58,042 --> 00:24:01,542 -Common sense says, "Call that deal off and do it another day." 304 00:24:01,542 --> 00:24:04,500 In hindsight and reflection, it was a reckless choice. 305 00:24:04,500 --> 00:24:05,708 I was too cocky. 306 00:24:05,708 --> 00:24:09,583 I was too arrogant to shut it down. 307 00:24:09,583 --> 00:24:11,042 My name is Jay Dobyns. 308 00:24:11,042 --> 00:24:13,458 I was an undercover ATF agent for 27 years. 309 00:24:13,458 --> 00:24:16,750 ATF is a violent-crime agency, 310 00:24:16,750 --> 00:24:19,875 and so we investigate the tools of the trade. 311 00:24:19,875 --> 00:24:23,000 Guns and bombs lead to narcotics, 312 00:24:23,000 --> 00:24:25,667 lead to home invasions, lead to murder-for-hires. 313 00:24:25,667 --> 00:24:27,875 My family worried because they knew 314 00:24:27,875 --> 00:24:31,458 that I had a dangerous job to do. 315 00:24:31,458 --> 00:24:33,833 Every morning when my alarm clock went off, 316 00:24:33,833 --> 00:24:35,375 I knew that I was gonna be walking into 317 00:24:35,375 --> 00:24:38,458 something dangerous that day, but I loved it. 318 00:24:38,458 --> 00:24:40,208 I loved every day of it. 319 00:24:40,208 --> 00:24:42,125 You're living a false life, 320 00:24:42,125 --> 00:24:47,125 you're presenting a false persona to violent people. 321 00:24:47,125 --> 00:24:48,542 And ultimately, the danger is, 322 00:24:48,542 --> 00:24:51,208 if they find out that you're lying to them, 323 00:24:51,208 --> 00:24:53,667 they're gonna drag a straight razor across your throat. 324 00:24:53,667 --> 00:24:55,875 You can't make mistakes 325 00:24:55,875 --> 00:25:00,208 because mistakes have life-and-death consequences. 326 00:25:00,208 --> 00:25:02,583 -Me and my girlfriend at the time were both armed. 327 00:25:04,250 --> 00:25:07,083 I was amped up, I was paranoid, 328 00:25:10,125 --> 00:25:12,917 and I had told her that I had the weird feeling. 329 00:25:12,917 --> 00:25:16,792 I felt like the money was coming too easy. 330 00:25:16,792 --> 00:25:19,292 -I knew he was gunning for me. 331 00:25:19,292 --> 00:25:22,417 I knew he was paranoid and agitated, 332 00:25:22,417 --> 00:25:25,292 and I wanted to diffuse that attitude. 333 00:25:25,292 --> 00:25:27,167 I wanted Curtis to feel comfortable. 334 00:25:27,167 --> 00:25:30,750 So my solution was to answer the door in my boxer shorts. 335 00:25:48,083 --> 00:25:51,625 -It was a red flag when I seen him in his boxers. 336 00:25:51,625 --> 00:25:54,333 So it's one of those things that either he's doing it 337 00:25:54,333 --> 00:25:56,292 for a reason, 338 00:25:56,292 --> 00:25:57,917 or he's stupid enough to open a door 339 00:25:57,917 --> 00:26:01,292 in his underwear during a gun deal. 340 00:26:01,292 --> 00:26:03,792 And obviously, I thought the latter. 341 00:26:03,792 --> 00:26:06,542 I felt that it gave me the upper hand. 342 00:26:16,458 --> 00:26:17,750 -Curtis is there with other people 343 00:26:17,750 --> 00:26:18,917 and a bunch of shotguns. 344 00:26:23,458 --> 00:26:24,875 I knew I was gonna be outnumbered, 345 00:26:24,875 --> 00:26:27,208 and I knew the people I was dealing with 346 00:26:27,208 --> 00:26:28,542 were gonna have guns on them. 347 00:26:28,542 --> 00:26:30,333 That's uncomfortable. 348 00:26:30,333 --> 00:26:34,542 My job is to project comfort and confidence in that situation. 349 00:26:38,833 --> 00:26:40,833 He brings a dozen shotguns into the room. 350 00:26:49,542 --> 00:26:51,875 At one point, I made a slight adjustment 351 00:26:51,875 --> 00:26:53,125 to where the camera was at 352 00:26:53,125 --> 00:26:55,500 because I just wanted to frame Curtis. 353 00:26:55,500 --> 00:26:58,250 I wanted to make sure that we were getting our best evidence. 354 00:27:25,708 --> 00:27:27,208 [ Gun cocks ] 355 00:27:27,208 --> 00:27:34,417 ♪ 356 00:27:34,417 --> 00:27:37,083 I was especially focused on the sawed-off shotguns. 357 00:27:37,083 --> 00:27:41,417 A sawed-off shotgun is a dangerous weapon. 358 00:27:41,417 --> 00:27:43,750 It's no longer a hunting weapon. 359 00:27:43,750 --> 00:27:46,625 Possession of sawed-off shotguns and then being the person 360 00:27:46,625 --> 00:27:49,292 to have altered the shotguns are crimes. 361 00:28:02,542 --> 00:28:05,292 It's just designed now to inflict violence. 362 00:28:26,458 --> 00:28:28,333 Most of these shotguns 363 00:28:28,333 --> 00:28:31,208 were high-end, super-expensive competition shotguns. 364 00:28:58,583 --> 00:29:00,750 With his description of a process 365 00:29:00,750 --> 00:29:03,500 of turning a legal gun into an illegal gun, 366 00:29:03,500 --> 00:29:05,250 he was making my case for me. 367 00:29:22,958 --> 00:29:25,125 I purchased all the guns that he brought. 368 00:29:25,125 --> 00:29:27,792 I didn't want to let any of them get back on the street. 369 00:29:27,792 --> 00:29:29,333 ...7, 8, 9... 370 00:29:29,333 --> 00:29:32,458 I think I made the entire exchange for $1,500. 371 00:29:32,458 --> 00:29:33,958 ...1, 2, 3... 372 00:29:33,958 --> 00:29:35,708 -When I finished the deal with Jay, 373 00:29:35,708 --> 00:29:38,458 how he conducted himself and how he did business, 374 00:29:38,458 --> 00:29:42,125 I didn't have any suspicions of Jay at the time. 375 00:29:42,125 --> 00:29:44,583 -So after the purchase of the guns was complete, 376 00:29:44,583 --> 00:29:46,417 we traced the weapons and found out 377 00:29:46,417 --> 00:29:49,542 that they had been stolen and found the original owners. 378 00:29:49,542 --> 00:29:53,708 There was a skeet-shooting competition in the area. 379 00:29:53,708 --> 00:30:00,250 Curtis robbed an RV that one of the competitors was staying in. 380 00:30:00,250 --> 00:30:02,750 When he came out with this big haul 381 00:30:02,750 --> 00:30:06,417 of very high-end competition shotguns, 382 00:30:06,417 --> 00:30:09,042 we knew he was doing robberies. That was his M.O. 383 00:30:09,042 --> 00:30:12,375 So it opened the door to discuss a narcotics robbery 384 00:30:12,375 --> 00:30:14,042 or a home invasion 385 00:30:14,042 --> 00:30:16,042 because we knew he was predisposed towards it. 386 00:30:16,042 --> 00:30:19,208 -To advance the operation and gain access 387 00:30:19,208 --> 00:30:22,208 to Curtis's network of co-conspirators, 388 00:30:22,208 --> 00:30:24,958 Jay befriends Curtis to get closer to him 389 00:30:24,958 --> 00:30:27,833 and gain his trust. 390 00:30:27,833 --> 00:30:29,708 -I meet Curtis in his apartment, 391 00:30:29,708 --> 00:30:31,542 and we talked about the robberies 392 00:30:31,542 --> 00:30:32,708 that he'd been doing. 393 00:30:32,708 --> 00:30:35,875 I presented an opportunity for him 394 00:30:35,875 --> 00:30:37,417 to do a home-invasion robbery. 395 00:30:37,417 --> 00:30:40,542 I laid out a story that I was involved 396 00:30:40,542 --> 00:30:43,250 with some cartel-type people 397 00:30:43,250 --> 00:30:46,208 and that I would occasionally become aware 398 00:30:46,208 --> 00:30:48,917 of where a stash was being planted, 399 00:30:48,917 --> 00:30:52,000 and I was one guy, and I needed help. 400 00:30:52,000 --> 00:30:54,167 I couldn't rip it off myself. 401 00:30:54,167 --> 00:30:57,708 I asked him if he had people that he was comfortable with 402 00:30:57,708 --> 00:30:59,125 that he could put a rip crew together. 403 00:30:59,125 --> 00:31:02,958 And he confirmed that he did. 404 00:31:02,958 --> 00:31:04,667 So after that conversation, 405 00:31:04,667 --> 00:31:06,875 I was just waiting for him to confirm 406 00:31:06,875 --> 00:31:09,917 that he had his robbery crew built and ready to go. 407 00:31:09,917 --> 00:31:12,417 But I couldn't get ahold of him on his phone, 408 00:31:12,417 --> 00:31:14,208 he wasn't answering pages. 409 00:31:14,208 --> 00:31:16,917 So I made arrangements to meet with his girlfriend, Crystal, 410 00:31:16,917 --> 00:31:19,750 and I drove into an alley behind her house and parked. 411 00:31:19,750 --> 00:31:24,250 When Crystal came to my car, I could tell she was scared. 412 00:31:25,708 --> 00:31:28,042 She never really got fully in the car. 413 00:31:28,042 --> 00:31:30,333 She left the door open. 414 00:31:30,333 --> 00:31:33,375 I knew she was afraid. I knew she was afraid of me. 415 00:31:33,375 --> 00:31:35,708 And I know she's leaving herself an escape. 416 00:31:35,708 --> 00:31:38,250 She didn't want to get trapped in that car with me. 417 00:31:49,583 --> 00:31:52,750 Curtis's girlfriend, Crystal, tells Agent Dobyns 418 00:31:52,750 --> 00:31:54,417 that the local police picked up Curtis 419 00:31:54,417 --> 00:31:55,958 on a previous warrant, 420 00:31:55,958 --> 00:31:58,125 and now they're putting the heat on her. 421 00:32:05,625 --> 00:32:07,875 -I was trying to comfort her 422 00:32:07,875 --> 00:32:10,875 and continue my credibility in her eyes, 423 00:32:10,875 --> 00:32:13,042 but I was mainly trying to get to the rest 424 00:32:13,042 --> 00:32:14,208 of the home-invasion crew. 425 00:32:14,208 --> 00:32:17,250 If Crystal doesn't put me in touch 426 00:32:17,250 --> 00:32:19,208 with the rest of the crew and if I'm not able to identify 427 00:32:19,208 --> 00:32:20,833 who they are, the case is done. 428 00:32:20,833 --> 00:32:22,583 I don't know who the players are. 429 00:33:07,500 --> 00:33:08,625 Okay. 430 00:33:10,833 --> 00:33:12,333 Okay. 431 00:33:38,458 --> 00:33:41,583 After I left Crystal, I got contacted 432 00:33:41,583 --> 00:33:44,292 by one of Curtis's home-invasion crew members 433 00:33:44,292 --> 00:33:47,167 and then met with his little crew of gangsters 434 00:33:47,167 --> 00:33:49,250 that were gonna do this drug rip 435 00:33:49,250 --> 00:33:52,208 and gave them an opportunity to escape it. 436 00:33:52,208 --> 00:33:53,542 Told them, you know, "We're not talking about 437 00:33:53,542 --> 00:33:56,125 stealing grandma's purse off her shoulder. 438 00:33:56,125 --> 00:33:59,083 We're gonna go in to a narcotic stash house." 439 00:33:59,083 --> 00:34:00,958 And I ask them, "Are you sure you're up for it? 440 00:34:00,958 --> 00:34:02,458 Do you know what you're getting into? 441 00:34:02,458 --> 00:34:04,042 If you don't have the stomach for this, 442 00:34:04,042 --> 00:34:05,583 now's the time to get out." 443 00:34:05,583 --> 00:34:07,875 They all reassured me that they'd done it before 444 00:34:07,875 --> 00:34:10,250 and were willing to do it again. 445 00:34:10,250 --> 00:34:14,042 So on March 19, 2004, that was takedown day. 446 00:34:14,042 --> 00:34:16,625 That was the day that we were going to arrest 447 00:34:16,625 --> 00:34:19,667 the home-invasion crew. 448 00:34:27,167 --> 00:34:29,917 -The team leader lays out the takedown plan -- 449 00:34:29,917 --> 00:34:32,208 the suspects will arrive by car. 450 00:34:32,208 --> 00:34:34,208 Once they arrive, they will be shown 451 00:34:34,208 --> 00:34:36,708 a rental truck parked onsite. 452 00:34:36,708 --> 00:34:39,167 The suspects will be told that the truck will transport 453 00:34:39,167 --> 00:34:42,167 the narcotics after the robbery. 454 00:34:42,167 --> 00:34:44,708 But the SWAT team will be hiding inside. 455 00:34:46,292 --> 00:34:48,375 -I put the call out to the home-invasion crew 456 00:34:48,375 --> 00:34:50,042 to come and meet me in the desert 457 00:34:50,042 --> 00:34:52,167 to stage up to do the robbery. 458 00:35:08,167 --> 00:35:10,625 -The plan was, once the suspects arrived, 459 00:35:10,625 --> 00:35:14,208 I would examine what they brought, what their tools were. 460 00:35:14,208 --> 00:35:17,542 Then at that point, once we were a go, 461 00:35:17,542 --> 00:35:20,375 I invite them to come to the U-Haul. 462 00:35:20,375 --> 00:35:23,375 -With the tactical team in place, 463 00:35:23,375 --> 00:35:25,958 all Jay can do now is wait. 464 00:35:25,958 --> 00:35:27,750 [ Cellphone rings ] 465 00:35:51,208 --> 00:35:54,500 -As I'm waiting for the suspects to show up, I'm nervous. 466 00:35:54,500 --> 00:35:57,667 I don't want anybody to get hurt on either side. 467 00:35:57,667 --> 00:35:59,417 I don't want the suspects to get hurt, 468 00:35:59,417 --> 00:36:01,375 and I surely don't want my guys to get hurt. 469 00:36:14,750 --> 00:36:17,917 Well, anybody that's there for a home invasion, 470 00:36:17,917 --> 00:36:21,375 they're physically and mentally ready for a confrontation. 471 00:36:21,375 --> 00:36:22,875 How they're gonna react... 472 00:36:22,875 --> 00:36:25,208 -Three...two... 473 00:36:25,208 --> 00:36:27,125 -...is unknown. -...one. 474 00:37:02,875 --> 00:37:05,375 -I confirm with them that they understand 475 00:37:05,375 --> 00:37:07,292 that we're gonna do a narcotics robbery. 476 00:37:29,542 --> 00:37:31,708 They show me the tools of the trade 477 00:37:31,708 --> 00:37:33,667 they've brought -- rubber gloves, guns, 478 00:37:33,667 --> 00:37:36,417 bulletproof vests, ski masks. 479 00:37:36,417 --> 00:37:38,500 And then I invite them to come to the U-Haul. 480 00:37:59,375 --> 00:38:01,042 You never know what someone's gonna do 481 00:38:01,042 --> 00:38:03,708 when they're desperate or greedy. 482 00:38:03,708 --> 00:38:06,500 The suspects are armed, and this could be a shootout. 483 00:38:09,542 --> 00:38:12,500 As I'm walking the robbery team to the U-Haul, 484 00:38:12,500 --> 00:38:15,167 I had a mark I wanted to hit. 485 00:38:15,167 --> 00:38:17,333 The SWAT team wanted me to get these guys 486 00:38:17,333 --> 00:38:19,792 to a certain point close to the U-Haul 487 00:38:19,792 --> 00:38:23,667 that would be advantageous for the SWAT people. 488 00:38:47,458 --> 00:38:49,750 As the arrest team piles out, 489 00:38:49,750 --> 00:38:53,667 you have all different reactions from the suspect crew. 490 00:38:53,667 --> 00:38:56,292 Some instantly give up and put their hands up, 491 00:38:56,292 --> 00:38:58,417 some start to run, 492 00:38:58,417 --> 00:39:00,583 some trying to figure out where they can escape. 493 00:39:00,583 --> 00:39:02,958 There's nowhere to escape to, 494 00:39:02,958 --> 00:39:04,833 and that was by design. 495 00:39:06,458 --> 00:39:10,958 So they were all put down on the ground and handcuffed, 496 00:39:10,958 --> 00:39:13,333 and that was the end of the tactical operation. 497 00:39:13,333 --> 00:39:15,375 We put them in the middle of the desert. 498 00:39:15,375 --> 00:39:18,458 There was nowhere to run. 499 00:39:18,458 --> 00:39:20,542 -As soon as I heard that -- all my friends had got 500 00:39:20,542 --> 00:39:22,125 wrapped up in the sting operation 501 00:39:22,125 --> 00:39:23,958 and got arrested out in the desert -- 502 00:39:23,958 --> 00:39:25,458 I knew my goose was cooked. 503 00:39:25,458 --> 00:39:27,708 So the other guys that were in our crew, 504 00:39:27,708 --> 00:39:30,458 they all received a 5-year sentence. 505 00:39:33,167 --> 00:39:36,583 -Curtis was convicted and took a pretty heavy prison sentence. 506 00:39:38,667 --> 00:39:41,792 -Jay did testify against me in my trial. 507 00:39:41,792 --> 00:39:45,875 At that time, I was very upset with Jay. 508 00:39:45,875 --> 00:39:49,875 -Once Curtis realized that "Jaybird" Davis, 509 00:39:49,875 --> 00:39:53,958 the gun runner, was actually Jay Dobyns, the ATF agent, 510 00:39:53,958 --> 00:39:56,583 he started making death threats against me. 511 00:39:56,583 --> 00:39:59,542 One of his cellmates, after he was released, 512 00:39:59,542 --> 00:40:02,417 came to ATF and told ATF, 513 00:40:02,417 --> 00:40:04,125 "Curtis Duchette is plotting his murder. 514 00:40:04,125 --> 00:40:07,667 He's fantasizing about the murder of Agent Dobyns." 515 00:40:07,667 --> 00:40:10,708 The informant told ATF, "He wants to do it himself, 516 00:40:10,708 --> 00:40:14,125 but if he doesn't get out, he's gonna hire someone to do it." 517 00:40:16,375 --> 00:40:20,042 If I saw Curtis again, what would I say to him? 518 00:40:24,333 --> 00:40:25,917 I'm not sure I have anything to say to him. 519 00:40:28,000 --> 00:40:30,583 I do know this, he was moving down a bad path. 520 00:40:30,583 --> 00:40:33,500 The road he was on was a dead end. 521 00:40:33,500 --> 00:40:36,042 I would like to think that he got his life together 522 00:40:36,042 --> 00:40:38,833 and straightened himself out. 523 00:40:38,833 --> 00:40:40,292 Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't. 524 00:40:40,292 --> 00:40:42,625 I don't know. 525 00:40:42,625 --> 00:40:43,833 We good? -Yeah, it's all good. 526 00:40:43,833 --> 00:40:47,292 Thank you very much. -Right on. 527 00:40:47,292 --> 00:40:48,708 -I hope that wasn't too bad. 528 00:40:48,708 --> 00:40:50,375 -It was a little stressful. 529 00:40:50,375 --> 00:40:52,000 I was stress-sweating a little bit there. 530 00:40:52,000 --> 00:40:59,375 ♪ 531 00:40:59,375 --> 00:41:06,750 ♪ 532 00:41:06,750 --> 00:41:09,417 I haven't seen Jay since my trial, 533 00:41:09,417 --> 00:41:12,917 but I truly do believe that he did save my life. 534 00:41:12,917 --> 00:41:16,875 ♪ 535 00:41:16,875 --> 00:41:19,042 How you doing, big guy? -I'm happy to see you. 536 00:41:19,042 --> 00:41:21,042 -I'm happy to see you, too. 537 00:41:21,042 --> 00:41:24,208 And I want to apologize to you for any undue stress 538 00:41:24,208 --> 00:41:27,375 that I caused you or your family. 539 00:41:27,375 --> 00:41:28,583 And, man, it's so good to see you. 540 00:41:28,583 --> 00:41:30,042 -You look good. -Yes, sir. 541 00:41:30,042 --> 00:41:32,333 -You look healthy. 542 00:41:32,333 --> 00:41:33,875 -Doing the right thing. -Yeah. 543 00:41:33,875 --> 00:41:36,250 -Been working, and I completely 544 00:41:36,250 --> 00:41:37,792 360 changed my whole life around. 545 00:41:37,792 --> 00:41:39,667 -And you have a family? -Yeah, I got 546 00:41:39,667 --> 00:41:44,208 a 9-year-old daughter, 17-year-old stepson. 547 00:41:44,208 --> 00:41:45,583 Everything changed for me. 548 00:41:45,583 --> 00:41:48,458 If it wasn't for you and what happened, 549 00:41:48,458 --> 00:41:50,375 then God knows where I would have been. 550 00:41:50,375 --> 00:41:53,375 -You were on a path that had two endgames -- 551 00:41:53,375 --> 00:41:55,292 prison or in the ground. 552 00:41:55,292 --> 00:41:58,000 -It took a lot of years for me to come to terms with things 553 00:41:58,000 --> 00:42:00,958 and realize that you were just doing your job. 554 00:42:00,958 --> 00:42:03,542 The blame was on me. I put myself in that position. 555 00:42:03,542 --> 00:42:05,625 No one else did. 556 00:42:05,625 --> 00:42:09,667 -I spent my life gaining people's trust, 557 00:42:09,667 --> 00:42:13,417 gaining their confidence, at times, gaining their love, 558 00:42:13,417 --> 00:42:15,708 and then betraying it. 559 00:42:15,708 --> 00:42:18,292 In this case, I don't really question that 560 00:42:18,292 --> 00:42:20,625 because it has a happy ending. 561 00:42:20,625 --> 00:42:23,708 Can you snap a picture for me? 562 00:42:23,708 --> 00:42:26,250 [ Camera shutter clicks ] 563 00:42:26,250 --> 00:42:32,292 ♪