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The One-Niners
Rondell Robinson
Played By: Walter Emanuel Jones
A low-level drug dealer selected by Vic to hold the monopoly on corners in Farmington (in exchange for some regular "rent" payments, of course).
- Bullying a Dragon: He practically blackmails Vic in the Farmington Police Department and later shoots at him while high on cocaine.
- The Dragon: To Kern Little. He's eventually killed when Kern realizes Rondell's incompetence poses a threat to his operation.
- Gangbangers: Albeit one that works for Vic.
- Genre Blind: He seriously doesn't believe that blabbing about Vic's protection wouldn't attract Tio's attention.
- The Millstone: Rondell is an incompetent moron who proves to be a liability to literally all of his allies thanks to his recklessness and impulsiveness. Even his best friend Kern eventually realizes that Rondell is too much of a liability to be left alive.
- Screw the Rules, I Have Connections!: Likes to let everyone know that he's under Vic's protection, which Vic, naturally, is not pleased with.
- Smug Snake: He think he's far more irreplaceable and intelligent than he actually is.
- Stupid Crooks: He's dumb enough to believe he can go after cops without repercussion from Vic. He's also...
- Too Dumb to Live: He grows addicted to his own product and recklessly threatens the man whose protection is crucial to the success of his business.
- Villainous Friendship: With Kern Little. It doesn't last.
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Vic has Tio murder him after he is caught screwing up one too many times.
Kern Little
Played By: Sticky Fingaz
A prominent L.A. gangsta rapper who happens to be, well, an actual gangsta. In between recording sessions, he calls the shots for the One-Niners. Until Antwon Mitchell gets out of prison, at any rate...
- Adam Westing: Sticky Fingaz is a real-life gangsta rapper. (Though, as far as anyone knows, he's never actually killed a man with his bare hands.)
- Affably Evil: Despite being a drug trafficking kingpin, he's shown to be a doting (albeit acquiescent) boyfriend who has no affinity for the bloodshed attached to his livelihood.Kern: I'm nothing if not a man of peace.
- Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: When first introduced, he merely appears to be a pretentious poseur who relies on his subordinates to do his dirty work for him. However, when Vic Mackey locks him up in a storage container with T-Bonz to coerce them into making peace between their respective gangs, he proves that he's not all talk by brutally murdering the other gangster with his bare hands.
- Gangbangers: Can be particularly ruthless one, as proven in a one-on-one fight to the death with T-Bonz.
- Henpecked Husband: His girlfriend Tyesha has him wrapped around her little finger.
- Put on a Bus: Coincidentally off touring in Europe during most of Season 3 and all of Season 4.
- The Starscream: Antwon suspected he would be this, but had him killed before he could do anything about it.
- Villainous Friendship: With Rondell Robinson. It doesn't last
- Villain with Good Publicity: He's portrayed as a fairly popular rapper in L.A. who has also made a lucrative career as a music producer.
Theodore "Tio" Osmond
Theodore "Tio" Osmond
Played By: Cedric Pendleton
Rondell Robinson's right-hand man...and eventual replacement.
- Affably Evil: He deals drugs, but is more than willing to back down from peaceful religious protest and believes in working with Vic to keep a sort of peace in Farmington.
- Always a Bigger Fish: He finds this out the hard way, courtesy of Armadillo.
- Cruel and Unusual Death: Armadillo Quintero has him "necklaced", meaning he was shoved into a rubber tire and set on fire while still alive.
- The Dragon: He replaces Rondell as Kern's Dragon.
- Gangbangers: And a rather competent one as well, impressing Vic with his sheer ingenuity and business acumen.
- Hypercompetent Sidekick: He's essentially the one who does the real legwork for Rondell. He eventually gets fed up with it and convinces Vic he's a much better alternative to the increasingly unreliable Rondell.
- Man on Fire: Armadillo has him set on fire as part of his efforts to takeover the drug trade in Farmington.
- Only Sane Employee: Refuses to use his own product and has a better idea to run street drugs than Rondell.
- Sacrificial Lion: He's brutally murdered by Armadillo to establish how much of a threat he is.
- The Starscream: A more benevolent example, as Rondell became a liability for Vic, Kern, and the streets.
- The Stoic: Tio is almost always calm and collected, and never seems to lose his cool.
Antwon Mitchell
Played By: Anthony Anderson
A high-ranking member of the One-Niners street gang and an old enemy of Monica Rawling, recently released after serving a thirteen-year sentence on drug charges.
- Abusive Parents: His father regularly beat him and raped his little sister. As an adult, he's hardly a loving family man himself given that he uses his own children as pawns in his criminal activities.
- Arch-Enemy: To Captain Rawling.
- Big Bad: In Season 4. His designs on becoming Farmington's undisputed kingpin serve as the storyline's driving source of conflict.
- The Chessmaster:While posing as a reformed criminal-turned-community activist, he seizes control of the One-Niners gang and single-handedly transforms it into a well-disciplined and highly sophisticated organization with ties to the Salvadoran Cartel and the Russian Mob.
- The Corrupter: To Shane, Aceveda, and ultimately IAD Officer Jon Kavanaugh.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Played with. He takes care of his children and siblings, but trying to use his son as leverage against him gets nowhere.
- Fat Bastard: Very fat. Very much a bastard.
- Faux Affably Evil: He seems like a jolly, easygoing guy right up until he personally executes a young informant for compromising his criminal enterprises.
- Freudian Excuse: His father raped his younger sister (who ended up in a psychiatric hospital as a result) and his mother is doing life for killing him.
- From Nobody to Nightmare: He practically comes out of nowhere and becomes one of the most successful crime lords in Farmington.
- Karma Houdini: Double subverted. Gets arrested and will serve life but is still running things and is very comfortable in jail enjoying women and drinks and has cops on his payroll.
- Manipulative Bastard: Oh boy, is he? His manipulative prowess is such that it makes Vic look like a two bit hustler in comparison.
- Might as Well Not Be in Prison at All: In Seasons 5 and 6, he continues to run his gang from his Luxury Prison Suite.
- Not Me This Time: While he certainly planned to have Lem murdered on arrival in prison, he had nothing to do with his death, and is greatly amused when Vic accuses him of orchestrating it. He truthfully denies any involvement just to savor the moment of Vic being so obviously clueless.
- The Sociopath: Downplayed, as he does have genuine emotions, particularly when it comes to his troubled childhood and his family. But aside from that, he cares not one iota for human life if it means getting ahead in his aims.
- Suspiciously Similar Substitute: He's every bit as ruthless and calculating as Armadillo Quintero, a sociopathic Mexican crime kingpin and one of the main antagonists in Season 2.
- Villain with Good Publicity: Like Luther Mahoney on Homicide: Life on the Street, he presents himself as a community activist. When he finally gets busted, there are protests from honest citizens who have bought into his hype.
- Would Hurt a Child: Or mercilessly gun one down to be more precise.
Moses
Played By: L Michael Burt
The street boss of the One-Niners after Antwon Mitchell is sent back to prison.
- The Dragon: Does all of the dirty business that Antwon, being indisposed for the rest of his natural life, can't handle anymore.
- Establishing Character Moment: Murdering Kern Little and an innocent bystander right in front of Mackey, then making it look like they shot each other.
Mexican Cartel
Armando "Armadillo" Quintero
"I'm [here] looking for new opportunities....."
Played By: Danny Pino
A sociopathic underworld kingpin from Mexico who moves into Farmington with plans to dominate its underworld. He and Lanie Kellis serve as the main antagonists of Season 2.
- Asshole Victim: To say he had it coming when he got shanked would be a massive understatement.
- Ax-Crazy: A terrifying example. Armadillo is rather stoic and composed, but he constantly indulges in horrific and often unnecessary brutality simply to send a message or satisfy his own sadism.
- Big Bad Ensemble: In Season 2 alongside Lanie Kellis. However, he is later revealed merely to be a Disc-One Final Boss when he dies only 8 episodes into the season.
- The Chessmaster: He's extremely cunning and knows how to skirt the law. Notably, he (implicitly forcibly) employs teenagers as drug dealers because he knows that since they're minors, they can't be used as informants or for a sting operation.
- Child Prodigy: He reportedly scored "off the charts" on his IQ at the age of 11.
- Disc-One Final Boss: He serves as the main antagonist for the first half of Season 2, but is murdered halfway through the season.
- Enfant Terrible: He raped his teacher at the age of 11.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Subverted. Vic tries to use his brother as leverage against him, but Armadillo has him killed in prison both to protect himself and make a statement.
- Eviler than Thou: While Vic and the rest of Farmington's gangs had some scruples and were divided enough that their threat could be managed by the police, Amradillo is utterly ruthless about selling his product and far more organized than any of them could hope to be.
- Faux Affably Evil: He may seem like an easy-going guy, but beneath the facade lies a monster who'll brutalize anyone, even children and his own brother, in order to get what he wants.
- Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: The Responsible to Navaro's foolish. Navaro's recklessness winds up attracting Vic's attention, whereas Armadillo is calculated and does his best to use the law against the police.
- Good Scars, Evil Scars: Of the evil variety. The scarring Vic inflicts on him only serves as another reminder of how vicious and sociopathic Armadillo is.
- Hate Sink: There is nothing redeemable about Armadillo. He's a sociopathic rapist and sadist who takes great joy in brutally murdering people and ruining lives wherever he goes.
- Karmic Death: Gets shanked by one of the old-school Gangbangers he screwed over during his takeover of Farmington's Mexican gangs.
- Kill It with Fire: He establishes his position in the criminal underworld by necklacing
two feuding gang lieutenants. - Lack of Empathy: In keeping with Armadillo's sociopathic attitude, he lacks empathy for everyone around him. He easily shrugs off killing his own brother, selling drugs to kids, and having people burned alive and barely has a reaction to any of it outside of enjoyment.Vic: What about the people you burned… and the little girl you raped?
Armadillo: Sometimes, life's not fair. - Macho Masochism: In addition to being a consummate sadist, he also appears fond of self-mutilation given the multitude of scars on his body as well as the manner in which he views them as testaments to his own masculinity.Armadillo:"Every scar is a victory. This is just my biggest."
- Manipulative Bastard: He manipulates Vic into scarring him so that he'd be able to blackmail him into letting him go should he ever get caught.
- Nothing Personal: Armadillo doesn't actually seem to want revenge on Vic, and simply views him as an easy mark; by his own admission, he actually likes the burn scars Vic gave him. He absolutely takes joy in screwing with him, but that seems more a product of his general sadism than anything else.
- Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil: He tattoos a dove on all his rape victims' faces so that they always remember they are "his."
- Ruthless Foreign Gangsters: He manages to destroy the drug operation Vic is protecting and take over two of the most powerful gangs in Farmington in the space of a couple of episodes.
- Sadist: He hides it well, but he takes a great amount of joy in hurting people. He expresses nothing but pride about having raped a young girl, and clearly loves the fact he's able to blackmail Vic without fear of retaliation.
- Scars Are Forever: The scars he received from Vic burning his face are permanent. He takes pride in them.
- Smug Snake: He's perpetually self-assured and smug, believing he can out-play all of his adversaries. To be fair, he is able to for a while, but he's eventually outmaneuvered by Lem and Shane, and fatally so. He's also disgustingly satisfied with his crimes, especially raping a young girl which he takes a horrific amount of pride I’m.
- The Sociopath: He seems to have no conscience whatsoever based on his willingness to target children in grade school as a potential narcotics "market" and brutally murder his own brother to protect his gains. He is also quite sadistic given that he is a serial rapist and pedophile who maliciously compounds his victims' psychological harm by leaving a tattoo of a dove on their faces.
- The Stoic: He never loses his cool and remains perpetually easy-going, even when being threatened. The only time he breaks this is when Vic burns his face against a grill, and even then he barely seems to care about the resulting scarring.
- Two-Faced: After Vic burns half his face.
- The Unfettered: He will do anything to gain and maintain his power in Famington, no matter how heinous.
- Visionary Villain: Upon arriving in Farmington, he begins systematically eradicating all his competitors in the drug market in order to lay the foundation for a massive criminal empire that stretches from L.A. to Mexico City.
- Wicked Cultured: He's frequently seen reading books and makes it a point to appear as something of an intellectual. He's also quite knowledgable of the law, which he uses against Vic and the Strike Team and finding loopholes so he can get out of trouble.
- Would Hurt a Child: He makes it a point to rape any women who testifies against him, including an 11-year-old girl who merely talked to Dutch and Claudette.
Navaro Quintero
Played by: Emilio Rivera
Armadillo's brother and right-hand man.
- Beard of Evil: He's a ruthless gangster with a beard.
- Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: The Foolish to Armadillo's Responsible. Navaro is a party animal who deals drugs in the side, which is what leads Vic to discovering the Cartel's expansion into Farmington.
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: After Navaro is out in prison, Armadillo has him killed both to ensure he can't be used as leverage and to prove a point to Vic.
Cruz Pezuela
Played By: F.J. Rio
- Big Bad: Of Season 6. As the Cartel’s point man for effectively seizing control of Farmington on behalf, he incites a gang war between the Salvadorans and Mexican Byz Lats that plunges the streets into chaos. Much of the season is devoted to the efforts of the Strike Team as well as the Barn to contain the fallout.
- Big Bad Wannabe: He thinks he's hot stuff, but he gets manipulated by Vic and humiliated by Aceveda, losing so much favor with Beltran that he orders him murdered without a second thought.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: He seems like a nice guy, and an honest member of the community. But he reveals himself to a smug and crooked operative of The Cartel.
- Blackmail: His stock in trade.
- The Cartel: He's one of The Cartel's operatives in the legitimate world.
- Corrupt Corporate Executive: He seems like a legit businessman who wants to help his community, but really he's another operative of the Cartel under Beltran's thumb.
- Death Faked for You: Vic fakes his death and turns him over to ICE rather than killing him on Beltran's orders.
- Jerkass: He's not a nice guy even on his best days.
- Smug Snake: He thinks he's a Big Bad on league with guys like Armadillo, Margos, and Antwon. But he easily falls under the sway of Vic, gets utterly humiliated by Aceveda, and is then ordered to be executed by his boss.
- Unwitting Pawn: Vic plays him like a fiddle, particularly in regard to the Armenians.
- Villain with Good Publicity: He's a well respected member of the community, while also being a part of The Cartel.
Guillermo Beltran
Played By: Francesco Quinn
Chief of security for The Cartel and Pezuela's boss.
- Big Bad Ensemble: One of many villains in Season 7.
- The Cartel: He's a high level operator in the Cartel, and runs things after Armadillo is out of the picture.
- Eviler than Thou: His Establishing Character Moment is ordering Vic to kill Pezuela.
- The Man Behind the Man: He is ultimately the man who is behind Pezuela, and Pezuela answers to him.
- Ruthless Foreign Gangsters: He's a particularly nasty member of The Cartel, and isn't afraid to steamroll over anyone who gets in his way.
- Unwitting Pawn: Just like Pezuela, he gets completely suckered by Vic.
Little Pop
Played By: Frank Gallegos
The leader of the Los Mags, a street gang Armadillo absorbs into the Cartel.
- Affably Evil: He's friendly and polite with the Strike Team and a dutiful son, but he's still a ruthless gangster.
- The Dog Bites Back: He's one of the many gangsters screwed over by Armadillo, and winds up killing him in retaliation.
- Dude, Where's My Respect?: Part of his grievance with Armadillo is the lack of respect he shows him. Little Pop is an ex-convict and a competent gangster in his own right, but Armadillo keeps him as a glorified errand boy because he's not Mexican.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: He agrees to help the Strike Team deal with Armadillo in exchange for them paying for his mother's medical bills, and part of his reason for helping them is because he's involved enough with the prison drug trade that he knows he'll be able to better support her from in there.
- Karma Houdini: He's sent to prison for killing Armadillo, but that's all he wanted anyway since he's respected inside there and he'll be able to support his mother.
- Small Role, Big Impact: A minor character who kills Armadillo, the Big Bad of Season 2.
Armenian Mob
Margos Dezerian
"Hamegh votk'yery." Translation
Played By: Kurt Sutter
A highly feared enforcer of the Armenian Mob who begins systematically hunting down and executing all those suspected of being involved in the Money Train Heist at the end of Season 2.
- Ascended Extra: He goes from being a highly unsettling yet minor character who appears in only one episode of Season 1 to being the main antagonist of Season 3.
- Ax-Crazy: Doesn't take much for him to snap and kill someone in cold blood. He's rightfully feared for his unpredictability.
- Barbarian Longhair: The man is a savage with the long hair to boot.
- Big Bad: In Season 3. His actions threaten to implicate the Strike Team in a double homicide before he ultimately begins targeting the Team himself.
- Creator Cameo: Played by writer/producer Kurt Sutter.
- Creepy Souvenir: He takes the feet from all of his victims.
- Dragon-in-Chief: He seems initially to be The Dragon in the Armenian Mob, but then it's revealed in Season 3 that he's one of the people running the show and goes on the warpath once the Money Train is robbed.
- The Dreaded: When he is first arrested by the Farmington Police Department, the Armenian mobsters with whom he is brought in are frightened into silence merely by his presence during interrogation.
- Dropped a Bridge on Him: For such a fearsome killer, he gets offed by Vic pretty quickly considering all that he had done.
- Foot Focus: He has a foot fetish, to the extent that Dutch almost catches him when he has a murder victim's feet chopped off, packed in dry ice, and mailed to his safe house in Athens.
- Hair-Trigger Temper: While he doesn't appear in many scenes, this is strongly implied. When first introduced in "Blowback", he shoots another Armenian mobster for "sampling" a line of cocaine he was preparing for himself during a drug deal. Similarly, while incarcerated, he promptly breaks the neck of one of his cellmates merely for calling him a "faggot."
- Hidden Villain: He appears rather suddenly in Season 1, but he gets arrested. He manages to escape but he comes back in Season 3 and becomes the biggest threat to The Strike Team as well as The Barn in general.
- Noodle Implements: The contents of his apartment (such as a case of microwave popcorn, but no microwave).
- Professional Killer: One of the most feared in the Armenian mob that is.
- Psycho for Hire: A unique example. In Season 1, he appears to be merely an Ax-Crazy hitman (albeit a highly feared one) in the Armenian Mob's employ. This is partially subverted in Season 3 when he is revealed to be a high-ranking member of the Armenian Mob who nonetheless personally offers his "services" in order to satisfy his bloodlust.
- Psychotic Smirk: He gives a very creepy one while being handcuffed for murdering one of his cellmates in "Blowback."
- The Quiet One: He barely speaks a word during his appearances on the show.
- Shrouded in Myth: Not a lot is known about his past, and much of what is known about him is based on rumor and speculation from other criminals and cops.
- The Sociopath: Doesn't give a damn about human life, so long as he gets what he wants. He's also a ruthless killer who will to heinous lengths to achieve his goals.
- The Spook: Not much is known about Margos as described earlier, and what makes him terrifying is his elusiveness.
- The Stoic: He barely shows any emotion, even as he's brutally murdering and maiming anyone who gets in his way.
Lyor Slavok
Played By: Vincent Angell
A hitman dispatched by Margos Dezerian to locate those responsible for the Money Train Heist.
- The Apprentice: Implied to be this to Margos considering he adopts his modus operandi of cutting off his victims' feet.
- Bad Liar: His reply when asked about the contents of a package to he sent Athens encased in dry ice: "Books."
- Perpetual Frowner: Based on the few scenes in which he appears.
- Psycho for Hire: He's every bit as psychotic and sadistic as Margos, though not as competent.
- Small Role, Big Impact: His murder of two Armenian mobsters on Margos's orders threatens to implicate the Strike Team in two murders that occurred at the Money Train Heist.
- Too Dumb to Live: He keeps the receipt for a package he sent to Margos containing the feet of those he killed.
Armin Chorekian
Played By: Herzl Tobey
A mid-level soldier in the Armenian mob responsible for overseeing the organization's Money Train.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: When he feels threatened by Margos Dezerian's men, he arrives at the Barn with his family in tow offering information in return for their safety.
- Even Evil Has Standards: He's disturbed by Margos' brutality and decides to turn on him in order to save hs family.
- Karma Houdini: He ends up put into witness protection after testifying to the police and shipped out of state.
- Perma-Stubble: His default facial hair.
- Photographic Memory: He immediately recognizes Lem as one of the men he asked to serve as witnesses for a prospective insurance claim after being involved in a car accident in Season 2. He also remembers the alias given to him by Shane who was driving with Lem at the event in question.
- The Rat: Fearing that Dezerian will have him killed, he testifies everyone he knows to Dutch in exchange for being put into witness protection.
- Small Role, Big Impact: He's not on the show for long, but he proves instrumental in dealing with the Armenian threat.
Diro Kesakhian
Played By: Franka Potente
The daughter of an Armenian Mafia chieftain, who secretly runs his organization after he is left comatose by a heart attack.
- Arc Villain: Emerges as the main antagonist of Shane's arc in the final two episodes of Season 6.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: She seems like a nice lady at first. But she proves to be just as ruthless and conniving as her father.
- Daddy's Little Villain: Her father was an enforcer of the Armenian Mob, and she proves to be just as ruthless as her father was.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: She sincerely loves her father, for all her ruthlessness.
- Faux Affably Evil: She seems nice enough for a criminal boss, but it's only a facade as she proves to be a ruthless boss and killer.
- Hypocrite: She goes after the families of those who cross her, but is outraged when Shane uses her father as a Human Shield.
- Karma Houdini: Though she's forced to flee as a result of Shane's actions, she never faces any official justice or comeuppance for her many crimes.
- Would Hurt a Child: Shows no compunctions when ordering the deaths of Vic and Ronnie's families alongside them. Shane eventually steps in to prevent this from happening.
Ellis Rezian
Played By: Ludwig Manukian
- Affably Evil: Ruthless criminal he may be, but he's a nice enough guy aside from that.
- Disc-One Final Boss: Of Season 7.
Serial Killers
Sean Taylor
Played By: Michael Kelly
On the surface a well-to-do car stereo installer, he is in reality a psychopathic serial killer who spends his off-time soliciting and murdering prostitutes to take out his pent-up frustrations.
- Arc Villain: Taylor serves as one of the primary antagonists of Season 1; he never rises to Big Bad territory, but Dutch's obsession with tracking him down is given a lot of focus.
- Armor-Piercing Question: His smug façade crumbles with one well-placed taunt from Dutch:Dutch: If you're so special, how come a lowly civil servant like me just caught you?
- Brilliant, but Lazy: Taylor is an intelligent man who nearly went to law school, but turned it down. In spite of his potential, he's a loner who keeps mostly to himself and works a well-paying but unfulfilling and menial job as a car stereo installer. This proves to be the main motivation in his crimes, as he takes to killing to take out his pent-up anger over his wasted potential.
- Disc-One Final Boss: In Season 1. Taylor serves as the main villain for most of the first season, serving as the only overarching threat and with Dutch's race to capture him being one of the season's biggest subplots. He's finally captured right before Gilroy replaces him as the season's primary villain.
- Fatal Flaw: His pride and sadism. Taylor arrogantly underestimates Dutch and can't resist the chance to verbally tear him apart for fun, which Dutch exploits by keeping him talking long enough for the police to find evidence that convicts him beyond the shadow of a doubt.
- Faux Affably Evil: Comes across as polite and charming, but Dutch can easily see the monster within him.
- Freudian Excuse: It's heavily implied that the loss of his parents at a young age and subsequently being raised by his aunt is what resulted in Taylor growing up to be a psychopathic serial killer as an adult.
- Hannibal Lecture: Throughout his interrogation, Taylor tries to break Dutch emotionally by verbally eviscerating him and calling out all his inadequacies for hours on end. Dutch exploits this by keeping him talking long enough for the police to search his aunt's house and discover the bodies he hid under his crawlspace, but it still has an immense emotional impact on him and Dutch breaks down crying in his car over it.
- Hate Sink: There is absolutely nothing likable about Taylor. Even before he appears in person, he murders a child, and when he does he proves himself to be a disgustingly smug sadist who enjoys hurting people.
- Jerkass: While he initially appears polite, Dutch's interrogation results in him revealing his true colors: he's arrogant, disgustingly smug, and a sadist.
- Minor Crime Reveals Major Plot: He's initially arrested for public masturbation. Dutch quickly realizes that he had done so at the sight of one of his killings and quickly intuits that he's the serial killer he's been tracking all season long.
- Sadist: Taylor loves to prey on the vulnerable, and clearly takes a lot of pride and enjoyment in his crimes. It ultimately leads to his downfall when he can't resist the chance to try and verbally tear down Dutch.
- Serial Killer: Killed 23 people, including a 12-year-old prostitute.
- Soft-Spoken Sadist: He always speaks in a calm, quiet tone, even when he's trying to psychologically break down Dutch or he brags about his murder.
- Shut Up, Hannibal!: Given a rather spectacular dressing down by Dutch.
- Smug Snake: As Dutch digs further into his background and mind, his true personality shows up, and it becomes increasingly clear that Taylor is an arrogant, cold bastard who views Dutch as nothing but a pathetic "lowly civil servant". He can't help but show off by trying to break Dutch emotionally, which leads to his downfall when Dutch buys enough time for the police to search his aunt's house and find the corpses he had hidden under her crawlspace.
- Would Hurt a Child: Among his victims is a child prostitute.
William Faulks
Played By: Clark Gregg
A serial rapist, and eventual Serial Killer, who targets elderly women and "cuddles" with them afterward.
- Arc Villain: He serves as the antagonist for the "cuddler rapist" subplot in Season 3.
- Creepy Souvenir: He takes ceramic figurines from his victims.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: He's very eager to make sure his wife isn't affected by his arrest.
- Faux Affably Evil: He comes off as polite and friendly, but he's a vicious bastard underneath. Much like Sean, he rips into Dutch...poor guy can't seem to get a break.
- For the Evulz: He denies any of Dutch's attempts to analyze his motives, and merely says that he targeted his victims because they were old and 'their time was up.'
- Freudian Excuse: Completely averted. He's irritated by Dutch's attempts to analyze him and defiantly insists that there isn't a reason why he's this way...rather than the victims were old and he felt that 'their time was up.'
- Hannibal Lecture: Gives a devastatingly honest one to Dutch.
- Happily Married: Until he's found out. He even wants to be sure his wife is left out of the fallout from his actions.
- In-Series Nickname: The Cuddler Rapist.
- Manipulative Bastard: The entire reason for "cuddling" his victims is to keep them calm and less likely to speak to police.
- Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil: And to old ladies no less.
- Serial Killer: He rapes and murders old ladies, then cuddles with their bodies afterwards.
- The Sociopath: He doesn't have a lick of empathy for any of the people he's hurt, and is a brutal and ruthless killer to boot.
Kleavon Gardner
Played By: Ray Campbell
An accused Serial Killer from Texas who relocates to Farmington, which soon sees a rash of murders matching his alleged M.O.
- Arch-Enemy: To Claudette.
- Consulting a Convicted Killer: Dutch shows him interrogation video of Lloyd Denton and asks for his opinion.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: His genuine love for his sister proves to be his Achilles' heel.
- A Fool for a Client: He represents himself during his trial. In a subversion, he actually does quite well for himself.
- Karma Houdini: Subverted. He'll spend the rest of his life in prison, but he manages to blackmail the LAPD and the prosecutors into taking the death penalty off the table.
- Lack of Empathy: He literally thinks of his victims as objects.
- Malcolm Xerox: Any suspicion that falls on him is based purely on racism, dammit!
- Sherlock Scan: He figures out that Claudette is ill almost instantly when her lupus flares up.
Lloyd Denton
Played By: Kyle Gallner
- Big Bad Ensemble: One of several villains in Season 7.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Claudette implies he loved his mother even though he killed her.
- Narcissist: His hobby is drawing pictures of himself.
- Self-Defense Ruse: Lloyd's introduced as a teenage boy who shot a classmate who was trying to break into his house and then claims self-defense. Upon analyzing the case, Dutch believes from the off that Lloyd is a sociopath who plotted the robbery with his classmate in order to set up the murder. He's unable to prove it, though.
- Self-Made Orphan: He killed his single mother.
- Teens Are Monsters: He killed a classmate through a set-up burglary so that he could find an excuse to kill him.
Independent Criminals
Tulips
Played By: Nichole Hiltz
A con artist who successfully manipulates Shane.
- Affably Evil: She's perky and friendly as all get-out, even when she's manipulating people for the sake of a con.
- Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Disappears without explanation after Season 2.
- Con Man: A female variant. Tulips is always running cons, especially on Shane who always falls for them due to his attraction for her.
- Karma Houdini: Gets away scot-free with her robbery spree in her first appearance. She also ends her second and final appearance in a fairly good position, having taken down her drug-dealing ex-boyfriend with Shane's help out of spite and then having sex with Shane in the interrogation room.
- Ms. Fanservice: Invoked. She knows she's attractive, and uses it to sucker people in so she can scam them.
- Pet the Dog: Having sex with Shane in the interrogation room seems to have been a genuine attempt to make it up to him for having manipulated him.
- The Vamp: She uses her sex appeal and flirtations to manipulate men, particularly Shane.
Tomas Motyashik
Played By: Brent Roam
A small-time crook and Julien's secret boyfriend.
- Jerkass: He constantly pressures Julien to come out, almost always ignoring his protestations even when Julien points out he's already struggling with his homosexuality as it is. He eventually outs him to the entire precinct out of spite.
- Lazy Bum: To an extent. Tomas doesn't have an actual job and instead makes his living through penny-ante crimes and odd jobs. Even his apartment is actually just someone else's home which he's house-sitting. Julien calls him out for not having an actual plan for his life and tells him to get a legitimate job.
Manny Sandoval
Played By: Johnathan Neil Schneider
A loan shark and drug dealer.
- Bald of Evil: He's bald and as unpleasant as they come.
- Karma Houdini Warranty: He's able to escape justice in his first appearance due to Claudette and Vic lacking enough evidence, but in his second appearance Claudette is able to catch him confessing to orchestrating a murder on tape.
- Put on a Prison Bus: In his final appearance Claudette records him confessing to having one of his clients kill a man after arresting him, ensuring his conviction.
- Smug Snake: He's relentlessly smug and frequently taunts Claudette that she doesn't have enough evidence to prove his guilt.
Mike Holden
"That's why I like whores. You know what you're buying."
Played By: Matthew Glave
A violently misogynistic firefighter and spree killer seeking to reclaim custody of his son.
- Ax-Crazy: Holden is violent to a fault, and evidently believes Murder Is the Best Solution. He slaughters everyone at a women's shelter just to claim his son, and later shoots Connie just to spite Vic.
- Domestic Abuse: He was abusive to his wife, which led to her fleeing to a women's shelter with their children. He promptly murders her and everyone at the shelter to get his son back.
- Evil Is Petty: When he believes (wrongfully) that Vic is lying to him when he relates his own marital troubles, Mike shoots and fatally wounds Connie just to spite him.
- Hate Sink: Holden is portrayed as utterly loathsome. He's a domestic abuser, a misogynist, and he winds up murdering Connie in a fit of spite.
- Hero Killer: He murders Connie, one of the few moral and good-natured characters in the series, in a fit of petty rage.
- Jerkass: On top of being a violent murderer, he's short-tempered, misogynistic and spiteful.
- Multiple Gunshot Death: He's shot repeatedly by police snipers.
- Politically Incorrect Villain: He's a massive misogynist, and is dripping with contempt for women.
- Small Role, Big Impact: He only appears in a single episode, but murders Connie.
- Straw Misogynist: He's virulently misogynistic. He blames his wife for his own short-comings and claims that all women can't be trusted, even abandoning his daughter simply because she's a girl.
