Gang Related, alternatively known as Criminal Intent, is a 1997 American action crime drama film written and directed by Jim Kouf, and starring James Belushi, Tupac Shakur, Lela Rochon, James Earl Jones, David Paymer, Wendy Crewson, Gary Cole, and Dennis Quaid. It follows two corrupt cops, attempting to frame a homeless man for the death of an undercover Drug Enforcement Administration agent that they killed. This was Shakur's final film appearance prior to his death the previous year. The film was dedicated to his memory.
Contents
Plot
Vice squad detectives Frank Divinci and Jake Rodriguez set up narcotics runner Lionel Hudd in a bogus drug trafficking deal at a motel. They murder Hudd, pocket his money, and recover the cocaine he purchased from them. The detectives return both the cocaine and the murder weapon, a customized .44 magnum, to the evidence room at their headquarters. Shortly thereafter, Divinci and Rodriguez learn that Hudd was actually a deep cover DEA agent...when Hudd's partner, Richard Simms, visits their precinct to investigate the agent's murder. The two detectives resolve to find someone they can frame for Hudd's death.
The detectives choose a homeless drunk named Joe Doe, and trick him into confessing to the crime. Needing a witness, Divinci and Rodriguez press stripper Cynthia Webb, with whom Divinci has been cheating on his wife, into picking Joe out of a police lineup. It turns out Joe is actually William Dane McCall, a physician hailing from a wealthy family, who has been missing and presumed dead for years. The family's lawyer, Arthur Baylor, is selected to help Public Defender Elliot Goff represent McCall in court. At McCall's trial, he is shown to be innocent and released...while Webb is jailed for perjury.
