Legendary FBI Detective-Chapter 295: William Mas Gang and the Discovery of a Suspect

Special Investigation Team, Office Area.

Mona's tug on his arm directed Luo An's gaze towards the computer screen.

On the screen was a young man dressed in a uniform from the Federal Transportation Security Administration (TSA), an underling of Nasser, now deceased.

Seeing that the man had died in a street shooting, Luo An's brow furrowed slightly:

"What happened?"

Mona tapped a few keys on the keyboard to switch to another computer interface and explained:

"According to FBI internal data, this guy helped a drug trafficker carry drugs onto planes, but the Federal Transportation Security Administration caught on to something being amiss.

He was quite a talent, having noticed the Administration's suspicion about him, he planned to flee. But before he could take any action, he was silenced by the drug trafficker behind it all."

"Tsks, tsks, tsks."

Reesi came over, having heard the discovery Luo An and Mona just made, she smacked her lips and said:

"When the underling dies, they naturally look to target someone higher up as a shield.

So, this case, is actually the doing of a drug trafficker in Los Angeles?"

"Highly likely."

Luo An replied, then patted Mona on the shoulder:

"Take a look at this case and see who the suspects are.

Then cross-reference it with the social connections of 'Wild Dog' Victor, and see if there are any overlapping characters."

"OK."

Mona nodded, and began typing on the computer keyboard. Luo An turned around and raised the tape in his hand towards Reesi:

"Let's check these surveillance tapes and see if there are any suspects associated with Victor's death or any other leads."

"No problem."

Reesi casually grabbed a tape and busied herself in front of her computer. Luo An sat at another computer and repeated the same steps, asking in the meantime:

"By the way, Reesi, have the forensic and trace examination departments found anything else?"

"The trace examination department hasn't found much, but the forensic doctor has a theory."

Reesi, while looking at the surveillance footage on the videotape, replied:

"The forensic doctor said the food in Victor's stomach that was not fully digested looks to be a two-person meal.

So, Victor was probably dining with someone before he died, and the person was likely a woman."

"..."

Luo An fell silent. Although this clue was described in words, a difficult-to-describe feeling nevertheless emerged.

As time ticked by second by second, the three of them soon found some useful leads.

First was Mona. She followed Luo An's instructions to cross-reference and successfully identified a suspect.

"This guy's name is Ryan, a distinguished character who had a juvenile criminal record at ten and has experienced life in prison."

Mona brought up the photo of a Caucasian youth on the computer and said, shaking her finger:

"28 years old this year, he's one of the suspects in the earlier case of murdering Nasser's subordinate.

He has previously been imprisoned for assaulting others with a firearm, Ryan and Victor were cellmates at one time.

A year ago, Ryan was released from prison. According to the organized crime investigation unit of the FBI Los Angeles Branch, this guy joined a mid-sized gang in North Los Angeles called the William Mas Gang (Wilmas) after his release."

Luo An glanced at Ryan's headshot, a guy with eyes full of defiance, and then asked:

"What's the main business of this gang? What's the connection between 'Wild Dog' Victor and them?"

"The William Mas Gang's business is quite diverse. They dabble in strip clubs, drugs, gambling, small-scale money laundering, and so on.

According to the internal data of the organized crime investigation unit, it seems Victor had no obvious connection with this gang on the surface; he was not one of their people."

But Ryan has already been promoted to a minor leader within the gang, and Victor has been in contact with him the whole time, maintaining a good relationship."

"In less than a year he was promoted to a minor leader, he's indeed talented."

Setting aside their differences, those who rise so quickly within a gang are no ordinary people.

Luo An signaled Mona to print out the photos of the main leaders of the William Mas Gang, then asked Reesi:

"How's it going on your end?"

"I found a surveillance video of Victor kissing a woman on the street."

Reesi shifted her chair to display the monitoring footage behind her to Luo An, which was playing a video of Victor kissing a mature-looking woman in scanty clothing at a street corner.

The two kissed for a moment, likely because Victor's phone rang, so he stopped kissing and took out his phone from his pocket.

Then Victor gestured an apology to the woman, waved down a taxi to send the woman away, and finally, while answering his phone, walked towards the community he was renting in.

Seeing the timestamp on the video, Luo An immediately asked Mona:

"Can we find out who made that call to Victor? Who is the person?"

Mona promptly started investigating on the computer and quickly shook her head:

"Sorry, the other party used a disposable phone.

However, I have sent a special email to that disposable phone; if the person opens it, I'll be able to pinpoint their location immediately."

"Nicely done."

Luo An complimented Mona, moved his chair to his computer, and showed Mona and Reesi the clues he had gathered.

The content of the surveillance tape in this cassette is simple:

A taxi commonly seen in Los Angeles stopped across the street from the community, a person with a hood covering their face got out of the taxi, then after some time returned to the taxi and drove off, leaving the area.

Mona and Reesi were somewhat puzzled at first after watching this surveillance footage, but they quickly noticed an issue:

"The timing!"

Reesi pointed to the ever-changing timestamp in the lower-right corner of the video and said:

"This person got out of the car less than five minutes before 'Wild Dog' Victor's death, and left the community less than ten minutes after Victor's death."

"That's right."

Luo An nodded. Victor's time of death was in the early hours of the morning, and at this time of day, taxis weren't common in this not-so-wealthy area.

He had checked dozens of surveillance tapes, and only this one had captured a taxi.

Moreover, the taxi driver was wrapped up tightly with a hood, and when leaving, the pockets of his clothes seemed fuller than before, which was overly suspicious.

Mona took over the mouse and enlarged the surveillance video to clearly see the taxi's license plate number and immediately began investigating; she soon found out the identity of the driver:

"Hogan Haley, 39 years old, has been in jail for dealing drugs and aggravated assault, and has been driving this taxi for three years."

"Good."

Luo An raised his hands and stretched vigorously backward, then stood up and said:

"Reesi, take a few SWAT members and invite this driver to be our guest at the Special Investigation Team."

"OK!"

Reesi covered her mouth with a smile and turned to walk into the equipment room.

"Mona, you come with me to have a chat with Anthony's father Nasser."

Luo An then picked up the photos of the main members of the William Mas Gang that he had asked Mona to print earlier, and said:

"Let Nasser take a look to see if he recognizes any of these guys.

Then we'll see if we're only catching some members of the gang or taking down the whole net."

That evening, at six-thirty, in a detached apartment in a community in the western part of Los Angeles.

On the living room sofa, Anthony's mother sobbed softly, while his father Nasser, though not crying, had red-rimmed eyes and a face full of grief.