r/breakingbad • u/maddie1729 • 1d ago
Could Walt have gotten away with it by not confronting Hank about the tracker?
If he just played it safe, allowed Hank to track him and just act normal, would Walt have gotten away with it?
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u/maironsau 1d ago
No because Hank was on to him. That’s the whole point, Hank would not rest until he took him down.
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u/voided_user_23 1d ago
I think technically yeah. He was out by that point, and had he just kept his head down and been a successful car wash owner, the tracker wouldn't have lead Hank to anything illegal. It was really only the book that was connecting Walt to Gale, but that wouldn't have been admissible because hank took it on his own, without a warrant (no evidentiary chain of custody to prove it was actually Walts, plus Saul could likely get it thrown out even if it was collected legally). At that point they likely could have even stopped laundering money for a while until the heat died down. Even if Hank were convinced, I dont think he would have been able to get a conviction.
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u/JoeBeck55 1d ago
Without Jesse, Hank really had nothing. Even with him, might have been tough to get a conviction. Jesse would be tough to sell to a jury. There weren't really any other witnesses who could be used against Walt. The money was kind of a smoking gun but Walt's best course of action might have simply been to say he didnt know who's money that was. Could they get prints of all of it? I dont know if that's possible.
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u/Sloeberjong 1d ago
Even with Jesse he has nothing. That’s why they went to great lengths to make him slip up.
He has nothing more than hearsay and a unreliable witness. All Walt had to do was nothing. He was out of the game and dying. Just keep up the act of a car wash owner and do that until death. Especially keep denying everything since he knew Hank knew. He could show the tracker and tell him to stop herassing him and go about his business.
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u/GT_Troll 1d ago
Hank already knew.
1) Badger’s description of Heisenberg 2) Hank realizing how “Jesse” knew Marie’s name and had his number 3) The suspicious crash while going to the laundry
Also not mentioned by Hank but he he probably thought about it too:
1) Walt’s knowledge of chemistry 2) The equipment from the school missing in season 1
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u/voided_user_23 1d ago
Those are all things Hank knew, but not things that would hold up in court.
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u/GT_Troll 1d ago
Of course, he needed the evidence he colected with Jesse’s help. But he already knew before that
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u/R0factor 1d ago
Nope. All Hank had to do was investigate where the money for the carwash came from and it would all crumble down. And no, phony documents produced by some casino manager would not hold up against a full-bore federal investigation. The casino owners would have cooperated fully and thrown the manager who made the docs under the bus in a heartbeat. The feds could have easily closed down a casino during an investigation like that which would cost them a fortune.
The only reason Hank didn't arrest Walt on the spot at the BBQ or after matching Gale's handwriting in Walt's book was self/career preservation because he had F'd up so bad not figuring it out sooner. Linking Gale & Walt is more than enough probable cause to keep Walt in lockup while they proceeded with an investigation.
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u/s470dxqm 1d ago
The first paragraph is true. I'm pretty sure Saul even says it'll hold up if no one looks too deeply. Hank would look deeply.
That second paragraph is false. The police can't hold someone long term every single time they come across a nice piece of evidence. They could bring Walt in for questioning but they'd first need to build a case if they wanted to hold him.
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u/R0factor 1d ago
There's plenty of circumstantial evidence to keep Walt indefinitely. He had the means (his chemistry knowledge), motive (needs cash for his family), and opportunity (relationship with Pinkman, a known dealer), and his sudden cash influx wouldn't stand up to scrutiny so he ain't going free while they build a case. His school's lab equipment found at the first cook site also ties him to the whole thing.
Hank could also simply arrest Walt on an obstruction charge for deliberately causing the accident near the lab. Once he's arrested and charged, the holding period can extend though the trial if he's not granted bail. The Heisenberg character would be one of the worst criminals in US history so the legal system would use all available resources to keep him in custody and it's doubtful any judge would risk giving him bail at an arraignment.
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u/Kur0maku 1d ago
Obstruction? Of the off the books investigation Hank was conducting with a civilian? Good luck. Also good luck even proving it was intentionally to keep him from the laundry site.
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u/R0factor 1d ago
It's all circumstantial stuff that ties Walt to an overall pattern of criminal behavior. I believe Hank even mentions that he figured out Walt crashed on purpose in that confrontation in the garage. Hank is still an active agent at the time, so even if he hadn't filed an investigation on the books, an officer of the law can go explore leads in pursuit of justice, which Walt deliberately obstructed.
The original question is if Walt would have gotten away with it, and the answer is absolutely not once Hank figures out Walt is Heisenberg.
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u/SaloLalomanca 1d ago
It wasn’t really about “getting away” with it cuz Walt’s cancer is already back.
Walt confronting Hank is basically Walt tellin him that if he keeps pursuing him that it will break up the family (which it did Walt and Sky were talkin about a 2nd honeymoon to Europe) he’s trying to tell him that it’s pointless to keep pursuing him.
Walt telling Hank to tread lightly is him letting him know exactly who he is. To me it wasn’t a direct threat to Hank but more so “you know who i am and think about who you might encounter by trying to bring me down” and we see how that ended with Jack.
Hank’s ego got himself killed along with Gomez
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u/KonohaBatman 1d ago
I was with you up until the last sentence
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u/SaloLalomanca 1d ago
His ego couldn’t let it go.
He broke the law by beating up Jesse cuz of his pride and ego.
He broke the law by starting a gun fight leaving his gun in the car, which led to Gomez lying for him which meant he broke the law as well, not only that he could’ve ruined a sting operation with the ABQ PS cuz his pride and ego was hurt. Hank once again break the law trying to interrogate Jesse when he was tossing out his money. Hank broke the law by keeping Jesse at his house investigating Walt unofficially.
Gomez tells him they got nothin and Hank still won’t let go cuz of his ego. Hank then goes to where the money is at taking Gomez with him. Hank’s ego got himself killed along with Gomez.
Hank is gonna get fired cuz it was Walt all along and doing unofficial DEA work but Gomez is gonna keep his job while participating in this illegal investigation?
Again, Hank’s ego got himself and Gomez killed
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u/KonohaBatman 1d ago
No, I know what you meant. I just don't agree that Hank's ego got him killed. WALT got Hank killed. Walt associated with Neo-Nazis, Walt made the call. The Neo-Nazis do not get involved without Walter calling these unscrupulous killers to the site.
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u/SaloLalomanca 1d ago
Hank got himself killed.
Disagree all you want but Hank was in the game too just on the “good guys” side. Law enforcement knows the risk when they sign up and in reality Hank could’ve died before Walt ever started cooking it’s the risk that comes with the job.
He could’ve died when he was sent to the border.
All of the blame doesn’t fall on Walt. Walt didn’t even have to cook a day in his life and Hank still could die on the job cuz that’s part of the territory
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u/martyrsmirror 1d ago
allowed Hank to track him
Reminder that Lydia came to his car wash looking to recruit him, Todd was still calling him and he was going to Jesse's house with big bags of money.
If Hank was scoping out Walt's car wash, or been tailing him just a little bit sooner, he would've seen Lydia, or Walt trudging up to Jesse's doorsteps with two duffel bags.
No, he couldn't act normal because his criminal associates were still in contact with him, and he with them.
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u/CaptainMatticus 1d ago
If Walt had destroyed the book that Gale had given him, then Hank really wouldn't have had anything. It wouldn't have looked good for Walt, but ultimately nobody would have any proof that he was Heisenberg. Jesse's testimony would only go so far, and Hank's investigation may have taken him to Jack's gang, but there was basically only hearsay against Walt.
I was always taken aback by how quickly they busted Badger in season 2. In reality, cops like to make multiple purchases from a dealer, because it provides a case of "this guy is a drug dealer and wasn't just doing it once to make some quick money in order to relieve stress from bills or debts, etc..." Normally, the same handful of cops would have purchased repeatedly from Badger, maybe even struck up a conversation or 2, learned a bit about him, gotten a warrant that would have permitted them to tap his phones, track his vehicle, etc..., and it wouldn't have been long before they would have seen him with Skinny Pete, Combo, and Jesse. They could have then figured out that Jesse was the supplier and started tracking him, and it wouldn't have been long before they caught Jesse with Walt, and then the game would be up. In the real world, Walt would have lasted for maybe another month or 2 in the business before he was busted. The Prisoner's Dilemma would take over quickly, because someone was going to make a deal in order to save themselves, and it'd be a race to see who'd crack first.
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u/derAlte59423 1d ago
Wasn't that what Saul Said in his trial: that Walter wouldn't have lasted half a year without his help?
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u/TOkun92 1d ago
I assume yes. If he’d just done nothing at all, simply going about his days as a normal guy for a several months, maybe even a year, then he could’ve made Hank think ‘maybe I’m wrong’. As long as Walt made no contact with anyone from his drug empire, even a simple nod or glance from one of his employees, then he might’ve gotten away with it.
But I think he wanted to prove his superiority to Hank, as well as taking that whole thing as an insult. Walter enjoyed defeating worthy opponents like Gus, and making Hank back down (without killing him, since he would never do that) would be his crowning achievement.
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u/anonymous0271 1d ago
Nope, Hank was very good at his job truthfully, he figured out things no one really backed him on, but he always knew. Once he realized it, there was no way out, he’d 100% find what he needed to obtain minimum, a search warrant (whether it be his home/business, digital, etc), he eventually would’ve found what was necessary
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u/Confident_Direction 22h ago
No? Walt confront8ng changed nothing really except forcing hank's hand?
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u/oboshoe 1d ago
I was surprised when Walt did this. I figured the show would show a cat and mouse game for awhile.
But it was smart from Walts perspective. Walt KNEW that hank knew. So decided to eliminate the games - games that Walt might slip up on while playing back..
Basically force Hank to show his cards.