This episode appears to be based on four separate cases/incidents:
- The 2000 Ray Lewis murder trial.
- The 1999 Rae Carruth attempted murder case.
- The brawl that broke out at a 2004 game between the Indiana Pacers and Detroit Piston on November 19.
- The 1997 attack on Warriors head coach P.J. Carlesimo by All-Star Latrell Sprewell. The altercation made national headlines and the resulting uproar ultimately led to the team voiding the remainder of Sprewell's contract.
When discussing the perils of high-profile trials with celebrity defendants, D.A. Arthur Branch and A.D.A. Alexandra Borgia mention football players Rae Carruth and Ray Lewis.
Rae Carruth was a professional football player who played for the Colorado Buffalos in college and in the NFL from 1997-1999 for the Carolina Panthers. He is also a convicted murderer after having had his girlfriend, Cherica Adams, killed. Ms. Adams was a real estate agent whom Carruth had been casually dating at the time. She became pregnant with his child after a short time. On the night of November 16, 1999, Adams was driving home from work when she was stopped just a few blocks from her home by a car pulling in front of her and suddenly stopping; the car was driven by Carruth. While she was stopped, another car driven by Van Brett Watkins Sr. (a night club manager who was friends with Carruth), pulled alongside her and Mr. Watkins proceeded to fire a number of shots into her car, four of them hitting her, then both cars fled the scene. Adams was able to call 911 and identify both Carruth and Watkins before losing consciousness. She was rushed to the hospital, where her baby was delivered by emergency C-section shortly after Adams slipped into a coma. Carruth was arrested and initially charged with attempted murder in the second degree and released on $3,000,000 bail, on the condition that he immediately surrender himself to police custody if Ms. Adams or the baby died. Adams was in a coma for almost a month before dying on December 14. Her baby survived but had severe brain damage, including cerebral palsy, due to not getting sufficient oxygen in the 70-minute interval between the mother being shot and the baby being delivered. Upon learning of the death of Ms. Adams, Carruth fled the state but was apprehended the following day in Tennessee by the United States Marshals Service. He was found hiding in the trunk of a car parked in a motel parking lot. Also found in the trunk were $3,900 in cash, bottles of his own urine, and a cell phone. Carruth was ultimately brought up on charges of murder in the first degree, conspiracy to commit murder, unlawful use of a weapon, and attempting to commit an unjustified abortion. The prosecution claimed his motive was that Ms. Adams refused to get an abortion after learning that he was the father of her baby. The jury found him guilty on all charges but one. The jury concluded that the prosecution hadn't shown sufficient evidence that Carruth paid Watkins to commit the murder so they found him not guilty of first-degree murder, Carruth was spared both the death penalty and a life sentence. For the conspiracy, weapons, and attempted abortion charges he was sentenced to 18-24 years in prison and became eligible for parole on October 18, 2018. Carruth was paroled from the Sampson Correctional Institute in Clinton, North Carolina, on October 22, 2018. Ray Lewis was a pro football player who was in the NFL for 17 years and played for the Baltimore Ravens. He was a middle linebacker for his entire career and was considered one of the best players in history for that position.
Following a Super Bowl 34 party in Atlanta, Georgia on January 31, 2000, Lewis and a few of his friends were involved in a fight with another group of people which resulted in two of the men in the other group, Jacinth Baker and Richard Lollar, being stabbed to death. Lewis and his friends, Reginald Oakley and Joseph Sweeting were questioned by the Atlanta Police in connection with the stabbing. Lewis claimed to have not been present at the scene of the stabbing. After the crime lab found blood from one of the stabbing victims in the limo that Lewis and his friends had used that night, all three were arrested on charges of murder in the second degree and aggravated assault in the first degree. Lewis proceeded to change his story and admitted that he was at the scene of the stabbing and that it was his two companions that had done it. In exchange, Lewis' attorney negotiated a plea deal on his behalf wherein the Fulton County DA's office dropped the murder and aggravated assault charges against him in exchange for him pleading guilty to obstruction of justice and testifying against his friends. Lewis testified that his friends had both bought knives at a sporting goods store where they had been signing autographs. The knives they bought matched the knife found at the scene, however, no DNA or fingerprints could be recovered from the knife. Lewis's two friends were eventually found not guilty on all counts and in accordance with his plea deal, Lewis was sentenced to 12 months probation for giving a false statement to a police officer and was fined $250,000 by the NFL. As of August 2018, no other suspects have been identified in connection with the murders.
Rae Carruth was a professional football player who played for the Colorado Buffalos in college and in the NFL from 1997-1999 for the Carolina Panthers. He is also a convicted murderer after having had his girlfriend, Cherica Adams, killed. Ms. Adams was a real estate agent whom Carruth had been casually dating at the time. She became pregnant with his child after a short time. On the night of November 16, 1999, Adams was driving home from work when she was stopped just a few blocks from her home by a car pulling in front of her and suddenly stopping; the car was driven by Carruth. While she was stopped, another car driven by Van Brett Watkins Sr. (a night club manager who was friends with Carruth), pulled alongside her and Mr. Watkins proceeded to fire a number of shots into her car, four of them hitting her, then both cars fled the scene. Adams was able to call 911 and identify both Carruth and Watkins before losing consciousness. She was rushed to the hospital, where her baby was delivered by emergency C-section shortly after Adams slipped into a coma. Carruth was arrested and initially charged with attempted murder in the second degree and released on $3,000,000 bail, on the condition that he immediately surrender himself to police custody if Ms. Adams or the baby died. Adams was in a coma for almost a month before dying on December 14. Her baby survived but had severe brain damage, including cerebral palsy, due to not getting sufficient oxygen in the 70-minute interval between the mother being shot and the baby being delivered. Upon learning of the death of Ms. Adams, Carruth fled the state but was apprehended the following day in Tennessee by the United States Marshals Service. He was found hiding in the trunk of a car parked in a motel parking lot. Also found in the trunk were $3,900 in cash, bottles of his own urine, and a cell phone. Carruth was ultimately brought up on charges of murder in the first degree, conspiracy to commit murder, unlawful use of a weapon, and attempting to commit an unjustified abortion. The prosecution claimed his motive was that Ms. Adams refused to get an abortion after learning that he was the father of her baby. The jury found him guilty on all charges but one. The jury concluded that the prosecution hadn't shown sufficient evidence that Carruth paid Watkins to commit the murder so they found him not guilty of first-degree murder, Carruth was spared both the death penalty and a life sentence. For the conspiracy, weapons, and attempted abortion charges he was sentenced to 18-24 years in prison and became eligible for parole on October 18, 2018. Carruth was paroled from the Sampson Correctional Institute in Clinton, North Carolina, on October 22, 2018. Ray Lewis was a pro football player who was in the NFL for 17 years and played for the Baltimore Ravens. He was a middle linebacker for his entire career and was considered one of the best players in history for that position.
Following a Super Bowl 34 party in Atlanta, Georgia on January 31, 2000, Lewis and a few of his friends were involved in a fight with another group of people which resulted in two of the men in the other group, Jacinth Baker and Richard Lollar, being stabbed to death. Lewis and his friends, Reginald Oakley and Joseph Sweeting were questioned by the Atlanta Police in connection with the stabbing. Lewis claimed to have not been present at the scene of the stabbing. After the crime lab found blood from one of the stabbing victims in the limo that Lewis and his friends had used that night, all three were arrested on charges of murder in the second degree and aggravated assault in the first degree. Lewis proceeded to change his story and admitted that he was at the scene of the stabbing and that it was his two companions that had done it. In exchange, Lewis' attorney negotiated a plea deal on his behalf wherein the Fulton County DA's office dropped the murder and aggravated assault charges against him in exchange for him pleading guilty to obstruction of justice and testifying against his friends. Lewis testified that his friends had both bought knives at a sporting goods store where they had been signing autographs. The knives they bought matched the knife found at the scene, however, no DNA or fingerprints could be recovered from the knife. Lewis's two friends were eventually found not guilty on all counts and in accordance with his plea deal, Lewis was sentenced to 12 months probation for giving a false statement to a police officer and was fined $250,000 by the NFL. As of August 2018, no other suspects have been identified in connection with the murders.