07x33 - Scratching the Surface

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NARRATOR: In , five men were ambushed at work

as they got out of their car.

One man was k*lled, 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.

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Miguel Roque met his wife on a beach in their native Cuba.

The couple moved to Miami, Florida,

in , 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 the talented mechanical engineer

landed a job at the Aircraft Modular

plant that made airplane parts.

The 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 , , 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 sh**ting.

Zamora was hit in the arm.

He immediately reached for his own g*n.

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 sh**ting out the front,

and the g*n 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 g*n, 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 sh**ting 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 sh*ts were

fired from the roof of the factory.

There were spent shotgun shells but no sign

of the g*n 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 sh**t five employees?

And what was the motive?

As police investigated the sh**ting of the five employees

outside of the airplane factory, they

found evidence that the sh**t 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 w*apon used was a shotgun.

The shells were double-ought buckshot.

Each shell contained nine pellets about the same size

as a -caliber b*llet.

-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 sh**ting k*lled 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 sh**t.

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 sh**ting

reported seeing two or three men in a white Cadillac

cruising the factory grounds.

This was particularly troubling since one

of the sh**ting 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 sh**ting

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 g*n 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 g*n.

And the serial number had been filed off,

making it virtually impossible to trace.

THOMAS QUIRK: It's what we call a robbery g*n, where it's

easily concealable by removing part of the barrel

and removing the stock from the w*apon.

Then it's easier to hide on a person.

NARRATOR: To see if this was the g*n used in the factory

sh**ting, Thomas Quirk conducted a ballistic analysis.

Most g*ns have lands and grooves inside the g*n barrel

which leave distinctive marks on the b*ll*ts.

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 g*n.

-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 w*apon.

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 m*rder w*apon,

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 w*apon.

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 g*n and shells were the only

physical evidence investigators had.

But the g*n still had a story to tell

for those who knew how to read it.

Ballistic tests had identified the g*n

used to k*ll Miguel Roque and wound Doug Zamora and Ray Cruz.

The question now was, who owned the g*n?

The serial number had been removed.

-Every mark, the serial number, the brand, the model,

the gauge, everything was ground off the w*apon.

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 g*n.

The g*n vault at the Miami-Dade Police Crime Lab

holds over , firearms of various makes and calibers.

Experienced firearms examiners thought it was probably

a Remington Model shotgun, so they compared it

to the Remington in their vault.

-And sure enough, it turned out to be

a -gauge Remington pump shotgun.

They're-- they're fairly popular here.

And matter of fact, our police officers carry them.

NARRATOR: The Model is popular everywhere.

It's one of the bestselling shotguns ever made.

Millions have been sold.

The k*ller knew that tracing such a g*n

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 g*n to be traced back to the original phone.

-When they stamp a serial number into the w*apon,

it compresses the metal of the w*apon.

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 g*n

to a local sporting goods store.

-Subsequently went to that store.

We obtained the A*F 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 sh**ting.

-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 sh**ting

-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 sh**ting.

It was Manso's closest friend, Miguel Roque,

who was k*lled in the sh**ting.

And Manso had an alibi, since he was seen in the factory

immediately following the sh**ting.

But a background check revealed that Manso

had been a suspect in another sh**ting 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 m*rder.

Police now suspected Gerardo Manso in the sh**ting death

of Miguel Roque and injuring Doug Zamora and Ray Cruz.

The m*rder w*apon 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 .

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 m*rder, although Gutierrez

had been k*lled 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 sh**ting and if he was

the man who k*lled Miguel Roque.

-His answer, of course, was no, he didn't know,

and no, he didn't k*ll 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 k*lled 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 k*ll the right people.

Other than that, that's the only remorse that he expressed.

NARRATOR: Detectives also questioned Manso

about the sh**ting death of Luis Gutierrez.

-He goes, oh, yeah.

You know, two years ago I k*lled my wife's

lover, too, with the same g*n.

-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 m*rder

of the other four men in the parking lot.

Prosecutors believe that what motivated

the sh**ting 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 sh**ting, he snuck up

to the roof with the easily concealed w*apon

and ambushed the men he thought were in his way.

[g*nf*re]

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 r*fle.

After the sh**ting, he threw the g*n

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 sh**ting, he had no idea that Manso was the gunman.

-I had my g*n drawn.

And Manso was right there.

Had I known it was him, the sh**t, 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 v*olence.

-It seemed to be the only way he can resolve things,

is to eliminate obstacles.

NARRATOR: Gerardo Manso was found guilty

of m*rder and attempted m*rder, and was sentenced

to consecutive life terms in prison.

Kenia Roque shares keepsakes and memories of Miguel

with their daughter, Laura.

Laura was just 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 sh**ting 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 sh**ting, also quit his job

and is training to become a medic.

Manso believed that by scratching the serial number

from his w*apon 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 g*n, the g*n

to the man.

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