For Warrick

Plot

The episodes starts with Gil Grissom overhearing the news of a shooting in the area he is in over the radio. He rushes to the alleyway, where he notices Warrick's Mustang, and finds a heavily bleeding Warrick Brown after he was shot by Undersheriff McKeen. Grissom urges Warrick to stay alive until help arrives. McKeen arrives and claims that he was chasing the "shooter" before he "lost" him. Warrick attempts to tell Grissom that McKeen has shot him, but dies in Grissom's arms. The rest of the team arrive, devastated by the death of Warrick. McKeen is questioned, where he claims that he heard a shot from nearby, saw a car fleeing the scene, and lost him. Meanwhile, Sara Sidle returns to Las Vegas after hearing the news of Warrick's death, where the team now believe that Warrick told the truth about someone framing him.

Looking for clues, Sara and Greg look through his apartment, and Greg finds a paternity test, where they learn he is a father, and find a DVD where he is questioned about whether he is willing to become a good father. Meanwhile, Nick Stokes sees a knuckle print on Warrick's car window, and since Warrick would never open the window to Daniel Pritchard, the man who framed Warrick, the team believes someone he knows, like McKeen must be the shooter. Grissom tests the theory out, by placing himself at the same position where McKeen said he heard the shot. He hears Nick and Catherine firing blanks just fine, but then notices that last night, the nightclub played loud music. Grissom has the club play the music, where this time, he couldn't hear the shot. The team later find that the bullets were a match to a .25 that Pritchard confiscated and prints on the ammo are McKeen's, meaning it was him that was the shooter, and that he may be working with Pritchard. Since he is the undersheriff, and is over the LVPD, the team decides to hunt him down without him finding out.

Meanwhile, in a motel room, McKeen visits Pritchard, where they plan to leave to Mexico, and believes that by the time the CSI team find out the truth, it would be too late, not knowing that they already know. Pritchard has his doubts about McKeen, and takes a gun that McKeen emptied without him knowing. The team trace McKeen's phone records to the motel room, since he called the number several times, and finds the room empty, though they are able to trace his location from his cell phone. However, during the search, they see McKeen's car crashed over the road, and finds Pritchard, dead. Nick follows a blood trail alone, where he soon finds McKeen with a gunshot wound in his stomach. McKeen attempts to convince Nick that he was going to take Pritchard to prison, where Nick angrily tells him to stop lying. McKeen then confesses that he did kill Warrick, because he wouldn't listen to his warnings. While searching for Nick, Jim Brass hears a gunshot, and rushes to the scene, where he finds Nick and McKeen. McKeen is still alive, and Nick tells Brass that he missed, where McKeen is then arrested for the murder of Warrick.

In the end, the entire team attends Warrick's funeral. Grissom gives a eulogy, before tearfully admitting that he will miss Warrick, as well as the team.

Production

In 2008, there was media speculation surrounding Dourdan's CSI contract negotiations with CBS. The parties could not reach a resolution, and as a result his contract was not renewed. It was reported on April 14, 2008, that Dourdan was leaving the show.

Reception

"For Warrick" drew approximately 23.49 million viewers, beating the seventh season premiere of CSI: Miami.

The lost of Warrick Brown received emotional feedback from fans.