Sandra de La Cruz

**Sandra de La Cruz**, better known as **La Fiera**, was a recurring antagonist during the third and fourth seasons of *The Rookie*. She was portrayed by Camille Guaty.

## Biography

Sandra de la Cruz is a major drug trafficker from Guatemala.

When she was 15 she returned from the hospital with her newborn son Diego and found herself under fire from two rival gangs. To protect her son, she took a semi-automatic pistol from a dead man and "killed everyone", the cartel was impressed and recruited her, giving her the name La Fiera (The Beast).

## History

De La Cruz first appears in "La Fiera", where she meets detective Angela Lopez for the first time. The two are initially on good terms with one another, as La Fiera even gave Lopez a gift for her unborn child.

However, in "Brave Heart", La Fiera is at a hospital to negotiate with dying cartel leader Tomas Madrigal for control of his family business. In retaliation, La Fiera's son Diego is gunned down by Madrigal's son Cesar. An enraged La Fiera then promises to get her revenge while also having one of her men threaten Lopez's fiancee Wesley Evers, as Lopez's investigation was interfering with her plans.

In "Triple Duty", a shootout ensues between La Fiera and Cesar's men at a cemetery, to which John Nolan and Tim Bradford respond, and Lopez becomes determined to stop the war La Fiera is planning. La Fiera also tries to have Cesar's son killed, but the attempt is thwarted by Nolan and Bradford. Later, Lopez tries to negotiate with La Fiera, but gets nowhere due to the DEA's intervention in the case.

In "Threshold", Lopez is planning her wedding while also focusing on the La Fiera case. As the investigation unfolds, Cesar is killed by one of La Fiera's men despite Nolan and Quigley Smitty's best attempts to protect him. However, the LAPD receives a major break in the case when Lucy Chen's undercover assignment leads to La Fiera being arrested. Later that day, Lopez visits her in her cell at the Mid Wilshire station and blames La Fiera for her son Diego's death. As Lopez is preparing to walk down the aisle at her wedding, it is revealed that La Fiera had been broken out of her prison transport by a heavily armed cartel. At the same time, other armed members of the cartel kidnap Lopez from her dressing room, and her previous gift from La Fiera is later found by Nolan when he goes to check on her, and he realizes that she has been abducted.

In "Life and Death", it is revealed that Lopez's former rookie Jackson West had been also been abducted during the wedding and was subsequently murdered by a cartel member. As the LAPD team mourns Jackson's death, La Fiera takes Lopez to her compound outside of Guatemala City, Guatemala, where she plans to kill Lopez and take her unborn child. Evers gathers the team at his house, where the team formulated a plan to save Lopez. The team decided to split up with Nolan, Bradford, Nyla Harper, and Evers traveling to Guatemala while Chen and Wade Grey remained in Los Angeles to help apprehend Jackson's killer. Nolan, Bradford, and Harper arrive in Guatemala in a helicopter, and Evers flies to the local airport in order to get the police force to take him to the compound. Evers then uses the guise of wanting to negotiate with La Fiera, allowing him to get inside and reunite with Lopez. Lopez, with help from Evers, then pretends to be in labor so that they can attempt to escape and meet up with the others. Although the ruse succeeds, Lopez and Evers are unexpectedly separated once they get outside and are taken to different locations. Bradford and Harper then follow Lopez and her captors to a nearby hospital, while Nolan follows Evers and his captors to an abandoned orchard field.

Bradford and Harper are able to rescue Lopez from the hospital and subdue most of her captors in the process. La Fiera is the last of Lopez's captors in pursuit of them, and Lopez kills her after she had shot Lopez in the leg, allowing them to escape in the helicopter. Lopez, Bradford, and Harper then ask the pilot to stop at the field where Nolan and Evers are and the pilot complies after the three draw their guns on him after he originally refused to make another stop. At the same time, Nolan rescues Wesley from the orchard field by using a tractor as a distraction. They then proceed to knock out Wesley's captors and are able to make it to the helicopter safely allowing everyone to return to Los Angeles unharmed. Three months later, Lopez has given birth to her son, who she names Jackson in honor of her fallen rookie.

In "Breakdown", Lopez revealed that Abril Rodas, La Fiera's former right hand woman, had taken over control of her cartel and killed most of the rival cartels in Los Angeles, including most of Elijah Stone's crew.