Is Joe Minoso's Cruz Leaving Chicago Fire?
Cruz has been fighting for his life and his livelihood on Season 13 of Chicago Fire.
Season 13 of Chicago Fire has seen many Firehouse 51 fan favorites facing ghosts, but no one more so than Joe Cruz (Joe Miñoso).
Cruz landed in hot water in Season 1 when his brother Leon (Jeff Lima) got wrapped up in the Insane Kings, a gang led by Flaco Rodriquez. Despite Cruz's efforts to get his brother out, Flaco maintained his hold on Cruz's family, but all of that literally went up in flames when Flaco's stash house caught fire. Firehouse 51 arrived to help, but instead of assisting Flaco within the inferno, Cruz claimed the building was empty and left Flaco to die.
RELATED: What Happened to Flaco on Chicago Fire?
Cruz's jaw-dropping decision had him reeling with guilt, but over the years, he thought that was all behind him. Season 13 changed all that after Cruz learned there was a witness to Flaco's death — his cousin and fellow gang member, Junior — who set in motion a chain of events that would bring Cruz's dark past to light.
How Cruz's tangled web came back to bite him on Chicago Fire
Chicago Fire's "Chaos Theory" (Season 13, Episode 10) picked up where the midseason premiere ended: with Cruz bloodied and panicked after a brutal gang shootout. Cruz landed in that mess after Junior was released from prison with dirt on Cruz. After making contact with OFI and threatening to come forward as a witness, Junior successfully blackmailed Cruz into becoming his bodyguard while robbing a stash house. But that trip went south fast, leading to Junior's death and Cruz's wound.
Cruz screened his wife's calls as he desperately drove to Leon's house. Leon stitched Cruz up but became concerned after learning Cruz intended to go to the cops to tell them what happened. Leon urged his brother against this, telling Cruz that snitching on gang members could lead to retaliation against their families. Fearful, Cruz went home and said nothing, but that plan quickly backfired when he returned to work.
Dermot Mulroney's Chief Pascal has been keeping a close eye on 51 operations as the station's new chief. Sensing Cruz's demeanor, sloppiness on the job, and strange lies not adding up, Pascal got to digging, soon uncovering that an informant came forward with details of a stash house fire from 12 years ago that killed some gang members. Befuddled by the retroactive report, Pascal asked arson expert Severide (Taylor Kinney) to investigate. Uh-oh.
Severide cleared the report, but that didn't quell the commanding officer's questions about why an informant would come forward so long afterward. Aware that his lies were adding up and that the truth was close to coming to light, Cruz visited Severide to come clean. After telling the whole story, Cruz revealed he was reporting himself to the police. Severide comforted Cruz, assuring him that there was no evidence, so Cruz didn't need to report anything. Plus, Severide scientifically believed Flaco would have died from the fire anyway, so if Cruz reported his version of events, he'd be at the mercy of whatever story the cops believed.
Still, Cruz being in the clear didn't help him feel like the heroic firefighter his family believed him to be; he remembered what he did and knew it would torture him. Accepting this, Cruz went to Chicago P.D.'s Kevin Atwater (LaRoyce Hawkins) and confessed to leaving Flaco for dead over 12 years ago.
However, just as viewers thought Cruz was toast, the D.A. revealed to Cruz, Pascal, and Severide that there was no evidence or witnesses to prove anything in Cruz's statement was true. No criminal charges could be generated.
Is Cruz leaving Firehouse 51 on Chicago Fire?
No, thankfully, Cruz is not leaving Firehouse 51. However, his recent actions led to some disciplinary action once Cruz and Pascal met back at 51. Cruz received a two-week suspension without pay for "conduct unbecoming."
"Setting aside everything else, you withheld information from the firehouse, and you lied to me," Pascal told him. "That's unacceptable."
"I agree," Cruz said. "And it's exactly what I told my wife. I'm ashamed of what I did."
"Now, there's something I need to know," Pascal continued. "When you told Severide you were going to confess, did you know he was looking into the OFI case?"
After confirming he knew, Pascal asked Cruz, "Did he tell you that you were cleared? And that no one would know what you did if you never said anything?"
"Yes, chief."
"But you still confessed," Pascal said, looking at Cruz impressed. "Why?"
"I wanna be the man my son thinks I am," Cruz admitted earnestly.
"I'd say that's a worthy goal," Pascal told him. "I'll see you in two weeks."
