He's more than someone, Dr. Aja Mesbi is a magic man. Jones referring to his master, "The Doctor".
Cesar Jones is the secondary antagonist of the Criminal Minds episode "Persuasion". He is the leader of a cult of homeless people living in the sewers of Las Vegas. He kills people who attempt to leave the cult at the behest of "The Doctor" who is in reality the alter ego of Marvin Caul, the true leader and mastermind of the cult.
He was portrayed by Michael Irby, who also played Zizi in Fast Five and Cristobal Sifuentes in Barry.
Biography
Early Life
Jones was born in 1962 and as an adult became a career criminal known for his violent temper. He committed a variety of offenses, including robbery, assault, DUI, and finally armed robbery which landed him in prison for five to ten years. His anger problems persisted in prison as he was involved in dozens of assaults. After his release he became homeless and came upon Marvin Caul and his cult of homeless people who made money by pick-pocketing. Caul manipulated Jones (through the use of hypnosis) into being his second in command who was to act as the cult leader while Caul led the cult from behind the scenes under the guise of "The Doctor", who only Jones was allowed to see in person. Caul later began manipulating Jones into killing people who were attempting to leave the cult, along with anyone else who he felt wronged him.
Persuasion
Jones is first seen asking Marvin about Frida Bancroft's belongings not being cleaned from the tunnels. When Caul vouches for Finn Bailey, a new arrival that Caul has recruited into the cult and says he can sleep in Frida's bed. Jones accepts this and tells Finn "welcome to paradise".
He then is shown torturing Elijah Hall, a member of the cult he accuses of hiding money. Cesar then opens the door and after a brief exchange between him and "The Doctor" (whose voice is unheard) Cesar proceeds to kill Hall on his orders. Cesar then assembles the cult for "Tax Day" where he collects a portion of each cult member's earnings to give to The Doctor. During this assembly, a woman named Sarah arrives and asks to stay there until she can buy a bus ticket to Minnesota. Cesar is about to turn her away when Finn says he can vouch for her. However Cesar later overhears Sarah talking on the phone to a contact, revealing she is not homeless at all but is an undercover reporter attempting to write a story about homeless people living in the tunnels. This causes him to knock her unconcious and attempt to kill her. However Finn finds her and rescues her before he can finish her off. Marvin then enters the room and says Finn should handle the situation since he vouched for her.
The BAU arrives in the sewers and after a brief chase they arrest Cesar and bring him in for interrogation. When they attempt to question him, he simply states that "the water's over the bridge" and rants about the power of the "Dr. Aja Mesbi". When Reid determines that name is an anagram for James Braid, an 1800s man considered to be the father of hypnosis, he enters the interrogation room and pretends to work for The Doctor. He asks Jones to recall his last conversation with The Doctor using neuro-linguistic programming, which is similar to the method Caul used to brainwash Cesar. This breaks through his mental conditioning and gets him to reveal the true identity of The Doctor, allowing the BAU to find him and arrest him. Cesar is presumably imprisoned as well.
Trivia
Jones is inspired by multiple real-life and fictional criminals:
- DeWayne Lee Harris, a.k.a. "The Seattle Jungle Killer", a serial killer of homeless women in "The Jungle", Seattle, Washington's most notorious homeless encampment.
- Fagin, a redeemed antagonist in Oliver Twist, the former leader of a pickpocket ring who was surpassed in ruthless, violent crime by his former disciple, Bill Sikes (the inspiration for Caul).
External Links
Cesar Jones on the Criminal Minds Wiki.
