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| “ | Every scar is a victory. This is just my biggest. | „ |
| ~ Armadillo to Vic Mackey. |
Armando "Armadillo" Quintero is the main antagonist of Season 2 of The Shield.
He was portrayed by Danny Pino.
Personality[]
Armadillo is a cold-hearted, psychopathic and sadistic criminal who not only takes pleasure in committing countless atrocities, and he is also proud of them. Unlike all the other villains in the series, who seem to show at least a little empathy and humanity, Armadillo has none of that. He has raped his teacher at age 11, was willing to kill his own brother in prison and was shown to have raped multiple others, including children. Furthermore, Armadillo also hires children and poisons drugs within his own operation. In his mindset, this is all a means to an end, considering he grew up in a worse environment in the Mexico region and doesn't seem to regret anything he does. During his appearance in The Shield, Armadillo demonstrates a sinister inertia and always seems to be in control of the situation. This makes him the first villain to make Vic Mackey lose control of Farmington. This makes him one of the biggest threats in the entire series.
Biography[]
Season 2[]
Armadillo was the leader of the Torrucos, a Latin gang in Los Angeles. He was from Tijuana, Mexico and came to Farmington to expand his drug practices. Armadillo attempted to unify all the Latin gangs under his leadership, and started by kidnapping high-ranking members of the other Hispanic gangs in the area, The Toros and the Los Magnificos. He then burned them alive by wrapping tires around their bodies and dousing them in gasoline, a process called "firenecklacing". Armadillo used this to consolidate both gangs under his command. He then started distributing poisoned cocaine around Farmington.
Detectives Claudette Wyms and Dutch Wagenbach heard from a woman named Jessica that she had been raped and tattooed by Armadillo. The two questioned Armadillo in his part in the murders told the detectives that they could only hold him there for six hours without presenting charges. Since Claudette was not willing to put her 12 year-old informant Mayda on the witness stand, they were forced to release Armadillo. However, during his time at the interrogation room, Armadillo found a barrette Mayda had left there when she went to testify against him. After he got out of the Barn, Armadillo kidnapped Mayda and took her to his home. He raped her and then had a dove tattooed on her face, like he did with Jessica.
Vic Mackey became aware of the poisoned cocaine and put Armadillo on his radar, as his friend T.O. is the only one he lets sell drugs in Farmington. Armadillo sent some of his men to burn T.O. Osmond's comic book store that served as a front for drug trafficking. Armadillo also left a dead pig at the scene with Mackey's card stabbed in the forehead. Enraged about the arson and the poisoned drugs, Vic and the Strike Team went to Armadillo's house and told him to leave town and return to Mexico.
Armadillo claimed he was with friends at the time of the arson and offered to give him their names as an alibi. Armadillo commented to Mackey that he was different than his brother, Navaro and that he preferred to read than party. When Mackey mentioned the rape of Mayda, Armadillo told him he had no evidence or warrant, and that all of his visas were in order. Still, Mackey arrested him, claiming that he was harboring a felon because one of his men was on parole and had his driver's license expired.
As revenge, Armadillo had T.O. kidnapped and burned alive, calling Vic so he could listen to his friend's screams. In a rage, Vic came to Armadillo's house and beat Armadillo senseless, knocking out several of his teeth. Vic then dragged him to the stove, telling him that he should have listened and left town, before savagely burning the left half of his face on the stove. They then left Armadillo writhing in pain and anger.
After a few days, Armadillo took some time to recover and he started distributing heroin at schools for free so children could get hooked. He recruited minors to serve as dealers because he knew that minors would have lesser charges if they are arrested. One day, he stopped by a crime scene and approached Officer Danny Sofer. He asked her if she worked with Vic Mackey and told her he had a message for him. He told her that the man he was looking for wouldn't stop. When Danny asked him what his name was, Armadillo told her to mention the scars on his face to Vic.
Vic went to the prison Armadillo's brother Navaro is being held at, and threatens to have him killed in prison by the One-Niners if Armadillo does not leave Farmington. Knowing that the Strike Team were tracing Navaro's calls, he set up a trap for them to lure them into a specific address, where he left only a phone. Armadillo then waited at another place until Navaro called him to had someone kill him. When he heard the Strike Team arrive at the house where he had left the phone, he heard Vic pick it up and then told him he had gotten rid of Navaro and that now he was going to kill them.
Armadillo then started bringing his own men from Mexico to run his drug business. This angered local dealers that felt pushed aside by Armadillo's strategy. Armadillo then went to Vic Mackey's apartment and found Ronnie Gardocki there. He attacked him and burned his face in the stove, just like Vic did to him. Later, when he noticed that the Strike Team were on his trail, and knowing that they would probably kill him instead of arresting him, he called the police to surrender. He was taken in by Detective Claudette Wyms to the Barn for questioning.
Armadillo refused to answer Claudette's questions and requested only to speak to Vic Mackey. When Vic entered the room, Armadillo told him to unplug the surveillance camera. When Vic mentioned that they had him for burning Ronnie's face, Armadillo tried to blackmail him into making Ronnie recant his statement or he would confess what Vic did to him. When Vic brought up the rape of Mayda Reyes, Armadillo teased him until Vic grabbed him by the neck and started to strangle him. However, Vic quickly realized that that's what Armadillo wanted and he released him. Armadillo was then taken to the cage.
Little did Armadillo know, a drug dealer named Little Pop, who was ousted by Armadillo's takeover, wanted revenge. Little Pop also he wanted to return to prison, where he was powerful and had respect. Shane and Lem offered Little Pop a chance to return to jail by killing Armadillo. He intentionally got arrested for smoking marijuana in public, and put into the cage with Armadillo. Shane and Lem slipped him a shiv and Little Pop stabbed him nine times in the back and stomach, killing him.
Trivia[]
- Armadillo may be the most evil villain in The Shield, since his feats of killing his own brother, poisoning drugs, giving drugs to children, forcing children into his gang so they cannot be prosecuted, multiple rape and brutal execution by burning have not been done even by the show's other antagonists.
- Armadillo is highly literate and intelligent. He owned many books and was frequently seen reading. Armadillo was also an expert in the law, often reading books on United States legal code, which would allow him to manipulate the system (as shown when he forced children into his gang to limit the sentences they could get if caught).
 Villains
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