Crime Story Editor

On-again off-again on-again off. In many ways Leione and Gabriel’s relationship was fresh off the CW airwaves. They were young and attractive. Leoine was petite with black hair and glossy auburn highlights. Gabriel was thick chested with a strong jawline and bright smile. The romance was a whirlwind – the kind of young love whose pattern of explosive breakups and steamy make-ups fringed on melodrama. When Leione started working as an exotic dancer at a North Hollywood strip club, Gabriel didn’t approve. When Gabriel bought a gun for protection, Leoine was pissed because she hated weapons. They confronted each other’s...

Two white lawyers on the verge of old age sit in a courtroom waiting for their cases to be called. Both are representing young men who got into tussles with the law. One of the attorneys reads the paper. His finely pressed sleeve falls to reveal a gold watch. The other fumbles with folders in a fine leather briefcase. The newspaper man folds the paper in his lap. A thought just struck him. “You know, I feel for these kids. I did tons of stupid shit when I was young.” The briefcase man plunks his case on the ground. He smirks,...

According to the arresting officer, at 7 am on June 29, Danny walked down North Avenue 54 wearing gloves and holding a spray paint can. He stopped outside a 7/11, shook the can, and spray painted “HLXP1” on the beige wall above the overloaded dumpsters. Then, he turned down York Street and sprayed “HLXPARK1” on the cracked curb of the 7/11’s parking lot. He nodded at his handiwork. The graffiti was a gang tag, meant to mark Highland Park’s territory and assert the gang’s status in the neighborhood. HLP and its variations, HLXP1 and HLXPARK1, all meant the same thing:...

 Kary: This is the Crime Story Podcast with Kary Antholis where we have conversations about how and why narratives of crime and justice are told. Today’s podcast is a conversation with Tom Fontana, ground zero in the explosion of this golden age of television. Tom served as executive producer of St. Elsewhere, Executive Producer and Showrunner of Homicide: Life on the Streets, and Creator and Executive Producer of the first prestige drama of the cable television era, Oz. (Tom is currently the Executive Producer and Showrunner of the Showtime crime drama City on a Hill.) The conversation was recorded as part of...

Kary: This is the Crime Story Podcast with Kary Antholis where we have conversations about how and why narratives of crime and justice are told. Today’s podcast is a conversation with George Pelecanos. George is one of the great detective novelists of his generation and the executive producer several HBO dramas including The Wire and The Deuce, the latter of which he co-created with David Simon.  The conversation was recorded as part of a series of classes that I taught at the University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts. Each week I would host an artist for a discussion that would...

The sign read “Half Rotisserie Chicken — $7.99” On June 1st 2019, 43-year-old Mario Morataya stepped into the Super A Foods while his wife waited outside with their six-month-old baby. Morataya worked a minimum wage job at the recycling center, but it wasn’t nearly enough to pay his family’s bills. His wife was hungry. He was hungry. The rotisserie chicken glistened on its heating tray. According to loss prevention agent Adrian Murphy, Morataya looked to the left and looked to the right, then shoved the half chicken in his sweatpants. While holding the concealed bird in place, Morataya milled through the front...