Dhruv Trivedi
Prolific attorney Mickey Haller gets back into criminal defense in the Netflix series ‘The Lincoln Lawyer.’ When a mysteriously murdered colleague leaves his law practice to Mickey, the lawyer comes out of his hiatus and takes on a slew of bewildering cases. Legal intrigue abounds on the show, and Mickey’s ex-wife Maggie also has a hectic career as a district attorney. Things get messy as the legal cases of the two come into conflict, and at the center of it is the sketchy figure of Angelo Soto. The man appears throughout season 1, but where does Angelo Soto fit it? Here’s what you need to know about him. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Who is Angelo Soto?
While Micky Haller deals with the seemingly unwinnable Trevor Elliott trial, his ex-wife Maggie investigates a business owner with ties to human trafficking. Throughout season 1, the investigation into Angelo Soto continues to get deeper. However, the wily business owner repeatedly escapes the reach of the law. When the chief witness against Soto is brutally murdered, the case against him dries up.
Angelo Soto takes on manual labor projects for which he provides workers that are illegal immigrants. Ultimately, one of the workers trafficked by him, a woman named Tanya, agrees to turn into a witness. This is an especially lucky break for the investigators as Tanya also happens to be Soto’s girlfriend. In order to ensure she is protected, Maggie advises Tanya to seek Mickey’s services. Thus, the Lincoln Lawyer comes to represent Tanya while Maggie investigates Soto.
Ultimately, Soto is arrested after Tanya records him confessing to murdering the witness. However, since the recording is slightly garbled, additional testimony by Detective Lee Lankford is essential to prove Soto’s guilt. Unfortunately, during this exact time, Lankford is revealed to be a crooked cop in one of Mickey’s cases. Without Lankford’s testimony, Angelo Soto is acquitted. The fact that Mickey puts his case before Maggie’s also causes a rift between the former husband and wife.
Does Angelo Soto Get Arrested in the End?
In a last-ditch attempt to detain Soto, Maggie calls in a favor from an assistant US attorney named Sarah Walker. Even as Soto turns to leave the court after being acquitted, Walker enters and promptly arrests him on charges of human trafficking. Since there is no additional proof against him, Soto is still quite confident that he will go free. However, Maggie reminds him that she is going to keep coming after him until he is brought to justice.
Ultimately, Angely Soto is arrested but only briefly. In all likelihood, he will be released quite soon. However, his crimes of human trafficking are significant, and there is still ample incriminating evidence that can be potentially dug up. Just like Tanya, there are hundreds of others that Soto has trafficked, and any of them turning into a witness could finally see the crooked businessman behind bars.
Unfortunately, failing to get Soto convicted deals a major blow to Maggie’s career, and she is relegated to “highway therapy,” essentially fighting local government cases by traveling to wherever she is needed most. With Maggie on the road and her detective colleague Lee Lankford under investigation, Soto might have a better chance of remaining free for the time being.
Read More: Who Killed Jerry Vincent in The Lincoln Lawyer? Why?
