In Law & Order: SVU season 26 episode 13, “Extinguished,” Olivia (Mariska Hargitay) and her team run into a brick wall as they try to find the perpetrator accused of sexually assaulting teenage girl, Anna (Mariana Garzón Toro).
Without more concrete leads and up against a community unwilling to help, Olivia assigns Velasco (Octavio Pisano) to lead the investigation as it’s his neighborhood. However, will he fare well in a community that barely knows him? Here’s what happened in Law & Order: SVU episode 13.
What happened to Anna and Moses?
A security officer named Danny (Ethan Jones Romero) is at home making dinner for his grandfather, Mr. Rocha (Jose Febus). Mr. Rocha asks when Danny will become a real police officer, and Danny replies he’s taken the exam three times and never got a callback. The duo then turn their attention to Danny’s new speaker, and he’s quick to blast music. Unfortunately for Velasco, he’s their downstairs neighbor and becomes annoyed with the blaring heavy metal. The detective pounds on their apartment door and tells them to keep it down.
The next morning in the park, Anna and her friend Moses (Andres Rodriguez) are looking for a particular rock before school, as she needs it for a class. When she locates it, a mystery man appears. Later in the SVU squad room, Olivia informs her team that the two teens were accosted in the park, and Anna was sexually assaulted.
Bruno (Kevin Kane) and Velasco arrive at the crime scene and learn that after the assault, the teens were tied up with a lamp cord and an unhoused person came by cutting them loose. Velasco thinks the suspect is likely someone from the Washington Heights neighborhood. Nearby, community residents are upset and want to know what the police are doing to catch the predator.
At the hospital, Olivia and Silva (Juliana Aidén Martinez) are speaking with Anna and her parents. Anna tells them the guy came out of nowhere and she previously told police at the scene that he had a knife, but she then asks her father if it’s okay to share more with the detectives. Her father replies no. However, Anna eventually says the suspect had a box cutter and put it to her throat, tied Moses’ hands, tied hers and then sexually assaulted her. Anna’s father becomes irate and demands to know what the police are doing to get this guy, before storming out. Once her father is gone, Anna and her mom agree to have a rape kit done.
Moses talks to Fin (Ice-T) and describes the suspect as “Chino-Latino.” Fin wants Moses to sit down with a sketch artist, but his father is nervous the neighborhood will learn he cooperated with the police. Fin assures him that Moses’ assistance will be kept secret.
A sketch leads to community chaos
In the squad room, the SVU team realizes they don’t have any other witnesses, the security camera footage isn’t useful and so far there’s no touch DNA on the lamp cord. Thankfully, Moses is very descriptive and the sketch artist is able to make a great sketch of the suspect. Because the perp is likely from Velasco’s neighborhood, Olvia wants him to take the lead on the investigation.
Later that night, a group of vigilantes, led by Danny, chase a man they believe to be the suspect and beat him up. When SVU arrives on the scene they arrest Danny for assault and the man they beat up, Eddie Soto, is taken to get medical attention before he’s questioned as he looks like the sketch.
During Danny’s arraignment hearing, the judge assigns him a $10,00 bail. Mr. Rocha is devastated by the news and asks Velasco to help Danny as he can’t afford the bail. Velasco isn’t willing to help, and the grandfather thinks it’s about the loud music from days before. Additionally, Mr. Rocha shares his grandson is a good kid and talks about how he used to be a transit cop and Danny just wants to be a cop too.
When Olivia learns Eddie has a record, she has Fin bring Eddie to the station and put him in a lineup to see if Anna and Moses can identify him. After Moses arrives at the station, he notes that while Eddie looks like the suspect, he’s not the right guy. The real assailant appeared “more Asian.” Anna also doesn’t identify Eddie as her attacker. Furthermore, Soto’s DNA doesn’t prove to be a match with Anna’s rape kit.
With the rapist still on the loose, Velasco’s community erupts in unrest, with residents wanting justice and wanting to feel safe. Olivia encourages Velasco to figure out how to restore peace in the neighborhood, and Fin encourages Velasco to set up some roots within the community to help with that.
It’s Velasco and Danny to the rescue
Velasco meets with Danny and his attorney in jail and says the ADA agreed to reduce Danny’s charge to a misdemeanor assault and let him out. Velasco just wants Danny’s help in getting the community on SVU’s side so they can catch the suspect. Once out of lockup, Danny works with detectives in canvasing the neighborhood. Danny’s help actually gets the community willing to talk to detectives.
Later back in the squad room, SVU gets a notification that there was another attempted sexual assault fitting the MO of their perp, but the victim was able to run away. The detectives head to Washington Heights immediately.
At the scene, Danny shows up to help. Velasco tells him they have enough cops helping, but Velasco thanks him for immobilizing the community when they couldn't. Olivia speaks with the second victim and she confirms her attacker looks like the sketch. She also tells the SVU captain that she noticed the man had a tattoo of a ram and she believes it to be a zodiac sign for Aries.
Within moments, SVU gets a report that a group of vigilantes is chasing a suspect, and the cops quickly go to the scene. Once there, they arrive to see the man being beat up and it turns out to be the actual assailant this time, and he has the tattoo. Olivia later compliments Velasco on how he handled the case.
With the case solved, Velasco meets Mr. Rocha and he thanks Velasco for what he did. Mr. Rocha invites him to have a beer at a local restaurant, and Velasco accepts the invitation. The two men have a conversation and discuss their similarities. The retired officer also notes Velasco has earned a lot of respect from the community for helping to solve this case.
In the final moments, Velasco meets with Fin and asks if they can help Danny by making him an auxiliary officer. Eventually, Velasco tells Danny about the auxiliary police program and notes if he agrees to join, he will be working in their neighborhood specifically.
New episodes of Law and Order: SVU air on Thursdays on NBC and become available the next day on Peacock.
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