Sonny Crockett grew up in south Florida as an all-American boy. He spent summers at weenie roasts with his older brother Jake and cousins Jack Crockett and was considered "most likely to succeed" by his family. Although little is known about his parents, Sonny reminisced about playing snooker with his Dad while he growing up in South Florida. Crockett was a standout wide receiver for the University of Florida and had a decent chance to play professionally. Sonny's claim to fame was a screen pass he caught in the Gator Bowl and took 95 yards for the game-winning touchdown. However, #88's career was cut short by a knee injury. His pet alligator, Elvis, was originally the Florida team mascot, and when threatened with destruction for biting a player, Sonny adopted him and kept him on his sailboat.
Sonny claimed he was on his way to being drafted by the pro leagues. Instead, he was drafted by the "East African" league for a two-year stint in Somalia. Sonny served in the Army and spent several tours "in country". Upon the completion of his tours,He returned to Miami and entered the police academy, probably due to his expertise and training while in the Army. He taught rookie cops after graduation, and was eventually assigned to Robbery downtown, under the tutelage of Lieutenant John Malone, who was his mentor and who taught him investigative police work.
After four years in Robbery, Crockett transferred to County Vice, where he worked with Lt. Lou Rodriguez for six years. One of his early partners was Scott Wheeler, who was arrested after it was discovered he was leaking police information to a known criminal as a DEA agent. Another partner was killed by Frank Hackman. Sonny Crockett's two best buddies during and shortly after the academy years were Mike Orgall and Evan Freed. Orgall was killed off-duty while trying to arrest a drugged-out madman who was waving around a shotgun. Although it was officially ruled an accident, Crockett and Freed knew it was suicide. Freed had been harassing Orgall about his homosexuality for a long time and began to think that his death was his fault. Years later and ridden by terrible guilt, Freed jumped in the line of fire when Guzman, a dealer in illegal weapons, opened fire on Crockett after a deal gone wrong. Freed died in Crockett's arms.
At Metro Dade's Organized Crime Bureau Division (OCB), Crockett took the undercover identity of Sonny "Burnett", an enterprising freelancer that used a 38-foot cigarette boat to smuggle contraband into the States for a percentage "cut". He also offered guided fishing tours around southern Florida for tourists. As part of his cover he was given a wardrobe, a 42-foot Endeavor yacht, christened the "St. Vitus' Dance" in the marina and a black Ferrari Daytona Spyder as well as a Wellcraft Scarab power boat to complete his guise. He had been undercover so long that there were days he woke up not remembering who he was supposed to be as time and events blurred by. He seemed to be on the verge of burnout and had lost much of his youthful idealism towards law enforcement. To be sure, he was not an out of control maverick, but rather slowly being jaded by the bludgeoning procedures and manipulation of the system by the rich drug lords for profit and plunder. He was still a stand-up person though, with great passion for his job despite all its difficulties.
After returning from Somalia, Crockett married his high school sweetheart, Caroline. Together they had a son Billy who was born three years later. A few years later, the hard lifestyle and demands of undercover police work forced Caroline to request a separation. They finally filed for divorce after Billy's sixth birthday. Caroline eventually remarried to Bob Ballard and became pregnant two years later. Sonny was asked by Caroline to visit Billy who was having a difficult time coming to grips with the situation. Sonny rekindled their father-son relationship and eased the anxiety Billy was facing.
Detective Crockett currently works for the Miami Vice Squad with partner Ricardo Tubbs, who requested a transfer after his brother was murdered during a high profile drug investigation in New York City. It was believed the killer had fled to Miami. Tubbs was assigned as partner to Crockett and the two have worked very closely since.
