American Crime Episode 1.01 Episode One

Russ Skokie is abruptly woken up by the telephone, receiving news about his son from a Modesto police officer. He arrives at the airport and meets the officer, who takes him to identify the dead body of his son, Matt. After seeing Matt's body, Russ excuses himself, sobbing and wailing in the privacy of the bathroom. The officer later informs him that his son's neighbor called police, who then went to the home and found two victims: his son and his son's wife, Gwen, who survived but is in critical condition. Police have a lead on a car that was in the vicinity at the time of the shooting, driven by a Hispanic male.

Hector Tontz purchases expensive headphones. After paying for them with his card, he is referred to as "Mr. Skokie." Tony Gutierrez lurks in the background as his sister Jenny fools around with her boyfriend after school. When their father Alonzo Gutierrez arrives home, he sends her boyfriend away and reprimands Jenny. A single father, he is strict with his children. Meanwhile, Carter Nix and Aubry Taylor fool around, doing drugs at a party when Aubry leaves him to use the restroom. She is approached by two girls, who ask her if she is carrying. When she denies them, they beat her. Carter comes to her rescue.

Gwen's parents, Tom and Eve Carlin, see their daughter in the hospital and meet with Russ and his estranged ex-wife, Barb Hanlon. Barb suggests they talk to a reporter to keep their kids' story public; Tom refuses. At Alonzo's auto shop, Tony helps his dad with an orange-colored car. He then tries to persuade his dad to let his sister off the hook, resulting in a lecture about Tony's future kids. Hector arrives at a house full of thugs with the headphones. When he belittles the head thug for buying stolen things because he's too lazy to steal himself, the thug gives Hector some advice of his own.

That night, Tony stands outside the auto shop with the orange car; he is waiting for someone. Hector arrives, handing him money and driving off with the car. Later, the car is pulled over by police, with Tony in the driver's seat. The officer has a word with him and takes his information, going back to his police car. Suddenly, another police car arrives, sirens blazing. The officers take Tony down to the station for questioning.

At a bar, Carter and Aubry split a beer. A man in the next booth locks eyes with Aubry; she knows what he wants. Hesitating, she leaves Carter and sits next to the man in the booth. Realizing what is happening, Carter immediately goes over, pulling Aubry away and out of the bar. Russ and Barb meet with a therapist to talk about Matt and Gwen. Barb airs out her family's dirty laundry and expresses racist sentiment. In the car, she and Russ get into an argument. It's revealed Russ was a gambling addict who gambled away the family's money, with Barb raising her sons as a single mother.

At the station, Alonzo arrives to assist in some more questions about Tony and the car. As Alonzo presses his son for the truth, Tony talks back, finally admitting that was their car. He reveals he rented the car to guy at school named Adam, who knew someone who was willing to rent the car for $50 each time - Hector. Carter visits a man, looking to score. Inside the man's house, Carter pulls a gun on him, beating him before stealing drugs from the man's pocket.

Hector is at a sporting goods store when he realizes he is being made to wait for a reason. He attempts to make a run for it, but is too late. Police arrive and chase him down, shooting him in the leg. He wakes up in the hospital, handcuffed to the bed and being interrogated about Sunday's events. Hector points fingers at two meth addicts he knows, Carter and Aubry, and they are arrested. Waiting for the police to come back with information from Tony's phone, Alonzo reprimands Tony for erasing his texts, leading to an argument. The police come back and arrest Tony for murder.

Russ and Barb are informed that four suspects are in jail: two who facilitated and one they believe to be the shooter. Barb is insistent on seeing him. Looking through a glass door, she sees Carter being led away by police, locking eyes with him. Meanwhile, Russ meets with an investigator, who informs a surprised Russ that Matt was a drug dealer.