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Dragnet - "Big Net" (Old Time Radio, 1954) · Dragnet | Old Time Radio

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Jack Webb directs and plays Sergeant Joe Friday with Ben
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: Alexander as Officer Frank Smith. On April 20, 1954, NBC
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: aired Dragnet, episode 244, Big Net, sponsored by Chesterfield Cigarettes.
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: In Los Angeles, Friday and Smith investigate a series of
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: robberies and assaults on women. Fourteen victims report being robbed
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: and beaten, yet their descriptions of the purse snatcher do
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: not agree. The conflicting accounts send the detectives into a
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: citywide investigation, with Vic Perrin as Captain Jack Donahoe and
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: Herb Ellis as Officer Harry Sluyer also in the cast. Tonight,
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: the case comes to the microphone with Webb, Alexander, Perrin, Ellis,
• 0:51
  Speaker 1: and the rest of the radio cast. And now, the
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: original broadcast.
• 1:03
  Speaker 2: Ladies and gentlemen, the story you are about to hear
• 1:05
  Speaker 2: is true. The names have been changed to protect the innocent.
• 1:09
  Speaker 3: Dragnet.
• 1:09
  Speaker 4: Dragnet.
• 1:18
  Speaker 2: You're a detective sergeant. You're assigned to robbery detail. Fourteen
• 1:23
  Speaker 2: women in your city have been robbed and beaten. You've
• 1:25
  Speaker 2: got a half dozen descriptions of their attacker.
• 1:27
  Speaker 4: None of them match. The man's still free. Your job,
• 1:32
  Speaker 4: get him.
• 1:36
  Speaker 5: It was Wednesday, November 26th. It was cold in Los Angeles.
• 1:39
  Speaker 5: We were working the day watch out a robbery detail.
• 1:41
  Speaker 5: My partner's Frank Smith. The boss is Chief of Detectives
• 1:43
  Speaker 5: Thad Brown. My name's Friday. I was on my way
• 1:46
  Speaker 5: back to the office, and it was 2.34 p.m. when
• 1:48
  Speaker 5: I got to room 27A.
• 1:50
  Speaker 4: Robbery.
• 1:53
  Speaker 2: Come on, Joe.
• 1:54
  Speaker 4: Everybody's in the skipper's office. All right. I tagged by
• 1:58
  Speaker 4: R & I to pick up these packages. Anything on them? No,
• 2:01
  Speaker 4: not much. We'll check them out, but they don't look
• 2:02
  Speaker 4: like they're going anyplace. Yeah. Go ahead. Joe, Frank, you
• 2:07
  Speaker 4: want to come over here? Yes. Sorry we're late. Don't
• 2:09
  Speaker 4: worry about it. Let's get this thing on the road.
• 2:11
  Speaker 4: All right. Want to settle down? Let's get started.
• 2:14
  Speaker 3: All right.
• 2:17
  Speaker 4: The word's probably gotten to you about why we're here.
• 2:19
  Speaker 6: It's on this purse-snatching thing Friday and Smith have got.
• 2:23
  Speaker 4: Thing's gotten way out of hand. Thief hit again the
• 2:25
  Speaker 4: night before last.
• 2:27
  Speaker 6: Victim's at the county hospital in a critical condition. She
• 2:29
  Speaker 6: was pistol-whipped, and it looks like she's got a fractured skull.
• 2:33
  Speaker 6: It's only a matter of time before somebody's killed. That's
• 2:35
  Speaker 6: the reason we're here, to see that it doesn't happen.
• 2:38
  Speaker 4: Now, you all got mimeographed M.O. sheets.
• 2:41
  Speaker 6: On it, you'll find what information we've got. Some of
• 2:43
  Speaker 6: it's pretty broad, but it's the best we've been able
• 2:45
  Speaker 6: to come up with. Friday and Smith have handled the
• 2:48
  Speaker 6: thing to here, so I'll let them give you the details.
• 2:51
  Speaker 7: You want to tell them?
• 2:52
  Speaker 4: Yeah, all right, Skipper.
• 2:55
  Speaker 5: Well, first off, you'll notice on those M.O. sheets, all
• 2:57
  Speaker 5: of the crimes have been listed in the order that
• 2:59
  Speaker 5: they happened. Also, the place and the time. There's also
• 3:03
  Speaker 5: a description of the clothing the suspect wore, and when
• 3:06
  Speaker 5: we could get it, a description of the suspect. Now,
• 3:10
  Speaker 5: you'll notice that in most cases, there's quite a difference
• 3:13
  Speaker 5: there on the physical description of the suspect. However, we've
• 3:17
  Speaker 5: been able to put them all together, and we've come
• 3:19
  Speaker 5: up with a composite drawing that should look something like
• 3:22
  Speaker 5: the suspect. Well, one thing that's fairly constant is the
• 3:24
  Speaker 5: description of the clothing worn by the suspect.
• 3:27
  Speaker 4: It's almost always dark. He wears a hat, and he's
• 3:31
  Speaker 4: been known to wear a top coat. Now, the hat
• 3:34
  Speaker 4: and the coat are also dark material. Clear?
• 3:37
  Speaker 2: Yeah, honey.
• 3:39
  Speaker 4: All right, now take a look over here at the
• 3:43
  Speaker 4: wall map.
• 3:44
  Speaker 5: Now, we've pinpointed all the jobs so you can get
• 3:47
  Speaker 5: a little better picture of the operation.
• 3:48
  Speaker 4: Can you all see there? Yeah.
• 3:50
  Speaker 3: All right.
• 3:52
  Speaker 5: Now, the first one took place at 73rd Street just
• 3:54
  Speaker 5: off Broadway, right here. The rest of the pins along
• 3:58
  Speaker 5: here show the jobs that he made from there all
• 4:01
  Speaker 5: the way up to Jefferson. He's also worked Avalon Boulevard,
• 4:05
  Speaker 5: Central Avenue. Any street where there's a streetcar or a
• 4:09
  Speaker 5: bus line, he's hit. He works between the hours of 5.30
• 4:13
  Speaker 5: and 11.30 p.m. The approach is almost always the same. Frank,
• 4:18
  Speaker 5: you want to tell them about the victim?
• 4:20
  Speaker 4: Yeah.
• 4:21
  Speaker 7: The victim will get off the streetcar usually, or the bus,
• 4:24
  Speaker 7: whatever it is, and starts to walk home. As soon
• 4:27
  Speaker 7: as the woman gets in the area that's not lighted
• 4:30
  Speaker 7: well or that hasn't got much traffic, the guy walks up.
• 4:33
  Speaker 8: Behind her and grabs her. After that, he tries to
• 4:36
  Speaker 8: take her purse. If the victim offers any resistance.
• 4:39
  Speaker 4: Well, he usually slugs him.
• 4:41
  Speaker 8: Because of the fact that two of the victims have
• 4:43
  Speaker 8: seen a gun in his hand, we know he's armed.
• 4:45
  Speaker 8: So the gun's been described as revolver.
• 4:48
  Speaker 4: How about a car, Joe? Excuse me. Suspect drive one? Car? Yeah. Well,
• 4:54
  Speaker 4: we've got to assume that, yeah.
• 4:56
  Speaker 5: He's been seen a couple of times by people in
• 4:58
  Speaker 5: the neighborhoods as he ran through their yards.
• 5:00
  Speaker 4: Pretty safe to figure that he's got a car parked
• 5:02
  Speaker 4: on a side street somewhere. None of the victims have
• 5:04
  Speaker 4: seen a car, however, but we know he leaves the
• 5:07
  Speaker 4: area immediately. No description of the vehicle, huh? No. No,
• 5:11
  Speaker 4: we've had a couple of calls, but they didn't check out.
• 5:14
  Speaker 5: Now, the plan here is to use policewomen as decoys
• 5:18
  Speaker 5: and try to bait him out into the open.
• 5:20
  Speaker 4: That's the reason the women officers are here. You figure
• 5:23
  Speaker 4: it worked the main arterials? What was that? You figure
• 5:26
  Speaker 4: it worked the main arterials? Yeah.
• 5:27
  Speaker 5: Yeah, there'll be two officers assigned to follow each policewoman. Now,
• 5:31
  Speaker 5: we've been able to obtain ten in all. That'll mean
• 5:34
  Speaker 5: that 20 officers will be assigned to them. The rest
• 5:38
  Speaker 5: of you will be in the area somewhere. Now, one
• 5:40
  Speaker 5: of the things to look for is any vehicle which
• 5:43
  Speaker 5: closely follows a streetcar or a bus.
• 5:48
  Speaker 4: How about it? Any questions? Yes.
• 5:49
  Speaker 9: How are we going to get our assignments?
• 5:52
  Speaker 5: Well, a skipper here has a list, Lomi. All of
• 5:54
  Speaker 5: the officers who are to work with a policewoman are noted.
• 5:57
  Speaker 4: Now, the others are... given the areas that they're supposed
• 5:59
  Speaker 4: to patrol. What about other calls coming in? Who's going
• 6:02
  Speaker 4: to handle them? I didn't hear you. The other calls
• 6:04
  Speaker 4: coming in, who's going to handle them?
• 6:05
  Speaker 5: Well, those officers not assigned to a policewoman. See, there'll
• 6:08
  Speaker 5: be other units from the outlying areas on the Operation 2.
• 6:11
  Speaker 4: They'll lend us a hand. But remember this.
• 6:14
  Speaker 8: Under no circumstances are those officers working with the decoy
• 6:17
  Speaker 8: to leave her.
• 6:18
  Speaker 4: Is that clear? Yeah. Don't leave the policewoman. Well, then
• 6:21
  Speaker 4: we stick with the detail unless there's an emergency call. Yeah,
• 6:23
  Speaker 4: that's right.
• 6:24
  Speaker 2: Well, if we run into any problems, who do we call, Joe?
• 6:27
  Speaker 4: Well, we'll be in the area in 1K80. You can
• 6:29
  Speaker 4: get in touch with us, Gary.
• 6:32
  Speaker 5: How about it?
• 6:33
  Speaker 4: Well, if we pick up a suspect, should we get
• 6:35
  Speaker 4: in touch with you?
• 6:36
  Speaker 5: Well, you can use your own judgment on that, George.
• 6:38
  Speaker 5: If you think it's a routine pickup, take him to
• 6:41
  Speaker 5: robbery and he'll be processed there.
• 6:42
  Speaker 4: All right. Any more questions? Skipper, anything else?
• 6:48
  Speaker 6: We all know about the days off cancellation. Sorry it
• 6:51
  Speaker 6: has to hit now, but that's the way it's got
• 6:52
  Speaker 6: to be. No one will draw any time until this
• 6:54
  Speaker 6: thing is cleaned up. When Murphy won't do any good
• 6:58
  Speaker 6: to have your wife call me, you're still going to
• 7:00
  Speaker 6: have to work.
• 7:02
  Speaker 3: That's it.
• 7:03
  Speaker 6: Operation will start tonight and go until the suspect's in custody.
• 7:06
  Speaker 6: Have a happy Thanksgiving.
• 7:08
  Speaker 4: Okay. Say, wait a minute. Before you go, the worksheet's
• 7:13
  Speaker 4: on the board outside. You can check it on the
• 7:15
  Speaker 4: way out. You better do that.
• 7:18
  Speaker 2: Right.
• 7:18
  Speaker 4: Is there anything else you need to carry it off? No,
• 7:22
  Speaker 4: it's all there, Skipper. The only thing we can use
• 7:24
  Speaker 4: now is luck. No reason for you to be different. Huh?
• 7:26
  Speaker 4: Suspect had his share.
• 7:32
  Speaker 5: Frank and I left the office and drove out to
• 7:34
  Speaker 5: the area of the operation. The plan was that the
• 7:37
  Speaker 5: police women would board the cars and buses and get
• 7:39
  Speaker 5: off at the points where previous sluggings had not taken place.
• 7:43
  Speaker 5: In the established MO of the suspect, it was noted
• 7:45
  Speaker 5: that he never hit on any street more than once.
• 7:49
  Speaker 4: At 4 p.m.
• 7:50
  Speaker 5: That afternoon, all of the units were in place and
• 7:51
  Speaker 5: the plan was started. During the night, several pickups were made,
• 7:55
  Speaker 5: but no one was apprehended who resembled the suspect. Those
• 7:59
  Speaker 5: people who were detained were processed, and they were either
• 8:01
  Speaker 5: booked or released. The following day, Thursday, November 27th, Frank
• 8:06
  Speaker 5: and I checked the reports filed by officers in the field.
• 8:09
  Speaker 5: At 3 p.m., we stopped at a small restaurant, and
• 8:12
  Speaker 5: we had a plate of sliced turkey, cold gravy, and
• 8:14
  Speaker 5: some lumpy mashed potatoes. We wished each other a happy Thanksgiving.
• 8:17
  Speaker 5: We went back to Unit 1K80 and cruised the streets
• 8:20
  Speaker 5: marked for surveillance. Another night went by without the suspect hitting. Saturday,
• 8:25
  Speaker 5: November 29th, 11.30 p.m. Frank and I were driving down
• 8:29
  Speaker 5: San Pedro Street at Vernon Avenue.
• 8:31
  Speaker 4: Looks like another one shot, huh? Yeah, it's beginning to
• 8:33
  Speaker 4: shape up that way, isn't it? You figure the suspect
• 8:36
  Speaker 4: knows about the operation? I mean, where we're working? You
• 8:39
  Speaker 4: got as much as I have. It doesn't seem likely.
• 8:42
  Speaker 3: You got a cigarette?
• 8:43
  Speaker 4: I'm out.
• 8:43
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 8:45
  Speaker 4: There you go. Thanks. I'm going to give you a light.
• 8:49
  Speaker 8: They were sure hacked about Thanksgiving.
• 8:56
  Speaker 2: Well, I figured.
• 8:57
  Speaker 4: That didn't make me too mad. She had the in-laws over.
• 8:59
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 9:00
  Speaker 4: Her brother. One thing about that guy, he can eat
• 9:04
  Speaker 4: more than any ten people.
• 9:05
  Speaker 8: You know, I've had to sit there and just look
• 9:07
  Speaker 8: at him, and everybody's through, and he's still going strong.
• 9:10
  Speaker 4: Yeah. Nephew was over, too. You know little Sam? You've
• 9:15
  Speaker 4: heard me talk about little Sam. No, I don't think so. Yeah,
• 9:18
  Speaker 4: little Sam. Kid's a monster.
• 9:21
  Speaker 8: Only ten years old and he's a real monster. Faye's
• 9:25
  Speaker 8: sister lets the kid do whatever comes into his mind.
• 9:28
  Speaker 8: They say it isn't good to repress him.
• 9:29
  Speaker 4: What? They say it isn't good to repress him. That's
• 9:32
  Speaker 4: what they... You know, repress him. Yeah. I'd like to
• 9:35
  Speaker 4: take him over. I'd repress him.
• 9:38
  Speaker 5: Yeah, I guess you'd do that real good, wouldn't you?
• 9:41
  Speaker 3: 1K80. 1K80.
• 9:43
  Speaker 9: Meet unit 1K87 at the 300 block, East 51st Street.
• 9:50
  Speaker 4: Code 2. 1K80, roger. KMA 367. Let's go. Yeah, that's
• 9:55
  Speaker 4: one of the units assigned to a decoy. Think it's
• 9:57
  Speaker 4: a good one? Well, there's one way to find out,
• 9:59
  Speaker 4: isn't there? Yeah. Ask them.
• 10:06
  Speaker 5: South Park is located at the corner of San Pedro
• 10:08
  Speaker 5: and 51st Street. One of the policewomen had gotten off
• 10:10
  Speaker 5: a streetcar at the corner of Main Street and 51st.
• 10:13
  Speaker 5: She'd walked east, and as she passed the park, a
• 10:15
  Speaker 5: man had approached, blocked her progress, and demanded money. The
• 10:19
  Speaker 5: man was pretty drunk, and when the officers following the
• 10:21
  Speaker 5: woman arrived at the scene, he was struggling with a policewoman.
• 10:24
  Speaker 5: He was taken into custody, and we were called. We
• 10:26
  Speaker 5: took the man to room 27A, and from there to
• 10:28
  Speaker 5: the interrogation room. Physically, he matched the description of the
• 10:31
  Speaker 5: suspect as we'd gotten.
• 10:32
  Speaker 4: It from the victims. 12.15 a.m.
• 10:34
  Speaker 6: That's the dirtiest thing I've heard, pulling me in here
• 10:38
  Speaker 6: like this.
• 10:39
  Speaker 4: All right, what's your name? I don't think I'm going
• 10:41
  Speaker 4: to attend. Let me see your wallet.
• 10:43
  Speaker 3: Nothing in there.
• 10:44
  Speaker 4: No juice. Empty your pockets on the table. Did you
• 10:48
  Speaker 4: have a copy of the L.A.
• 10:49
  Speaker 3: Phone?
• 10:49
  Speaker 4: Come on, mister, empty your pockets, will you? All right.
• 10:54
  Speaker 4: Come on, everything.
• 10:58
  Speaker 2: How about your wallet?
• 10:59
  Speaker 3: There you are, young man.
• 11:01
  Speaker 4: No juice. Take the money out. I told you, there's
• 11:05
  Speaker 4: no juice. No money in the wallet? No. All right,
• 11:12
  Speaker 4: how about it? Is this your true name, Victor Nathaniel Roberts?
• 11:15
  Speaker 4: You think I use alias? Now, don't be smart. Where
• 11:18
  Speaker 4: do you live? Well, I have no pad. Where have
• 11:23
  Speaker 4: you been sleeping? Where have I been? You got a job? What?
• 11:28
  Speaker 4: Do you work?
• 11:30
  Speaker 5: No.
• 11:31
  Speaker 4: You ever hold a job? No. Never had a job?
• 11:35
  Speaker 4: Can't remember one. What were you doing on 51st Street tonight? Oh,
• 11:41
  Speaker 4: just looking around. At 11.30 at night? The sun hurts
• 11:45
  Speaker 4: my eyes. All right.
• 11:48
  Speaker 6: I would just walk along the street till this young
• 11:52
  Speaker 6: woman stopped me.
• 11:54
  Speaker 4: She stopped you? She tried to pick me up. That
• 11:58
  Speaker 4: girl was a policewoman. You're telling me. Now, what were
• 12:03
  Speaker 4: you doing out there? I'm never going there again. Ever
• 12:09
  Speaker 4: been arrested? Yes. I'll check the record, John. Is he
• 12:14
  Speaker 4: going to look me up? What's that?
• 12:18
  Speaker 3: I say, is he going to look me up?
• 12:20
  Speaker 4: He's going to check your record, yeah. Officer? Do you
• 12:26
  Speaker 4: mind a little constructive criticism? Now, you listen, mister. Your
• 12:30
  Speaker 4: funny time's running out here.
• 12:32
  Speaker 6: You must feel a little sneaky about this whole thing,
• 12:36
  Speaker 6: don't you?
• 12:37
  Speaker 4: What's that? I mean this whole business about the police woman.
• 12:42
  Speaker 4: Don't you think that that's going too far? How long
• 12:45
  Speaker 4: you been in Los Angeles? Oh, sometime this year. What
• 12:50
  Speaker 4: do you mean by that? Oh, checked in about a year. What?
• 12:57
  Speaker 4: I said I checked in about a year. A year ago,
• 13:00
  Speaker 4: you mean? Yeah, yeah, about a year ago. Well, if
• 13:03
  Speaker 4: you haven't got a job, how do you manage to live?
• 13:04
  Speaker 4: I haven't got a little drink, have you?
• 13:08
  Speaker 3: Joe.
• 13:09
  Speaker 4: Yeah. See you in a minute.
• 13:11
  Speaker 3: All right.
• 13:12
  Speaker 4: You sit still. What do you got? Checked R & I.
• 13:16
  Speaker 4: Got the word on Roberts. Yeah, what about him?
• 13:18
  Speaker 8: He's been tagged 67 times for drunk. All in L.A.?
• 13:21
  Speaker 8: Total's 92. Doesn't look like he's our man, though.
• 13:24
  Speaker 4: Why? Well, he's been in Camarillo for the last three months.
• 13:32
  Speaker 5: We put in a call to the superintendent at the
• 13:34
  Speaker 5: state hospital up at Camarillo. He told us that Victor
• 13:37
  Speaker 5: Roberts had only been released 10 days before. He'd spent
• 13:40
  Speaker 5: three months undergoing treatment for alcoholism. The suspect we were
• 13:43
  Speaker 5: looking for had been working for the past two months.
• 13:46
  Speaker 5: Roberts was booked in at the main jail on the
• 13:48
  Speaker 5: charge of violation of Section 4127A LAMC. During the time
• 13:52
  Speaker 5: we'd been working on the case, all known first snatchers
• 13:55
  Speaker 5: had been picked up and interrogated.
• 13:57
  Speaker 4: Runs for the stats office had been made, and the
• 13:59
  Speaker 4: names they gave us had been checked out. Locals and
• 14:02
  Speaker 4: APBs were gotten out, carrying the description and the M.O.
• 14:05
  Speaker 4: of the suspect.
• 14:07
  Speaker 5: The leads that came in were followed up without results.
• 14:10
  Speaker 5: Informants were questioned, and George Brereton up at CII in
• 14:13
  Speaker 5: Sacramento furnished us a list of possible. All in all,
• 14:16
  Speaker 5: over 100 people had been questioned. In the course of
• 14:19
  Speaker 5: the investigation, several other cases were cleared, but our prime
• 14:22
  Speaker 5: suspect was still free. Meantime, the operation continued. Each night
• 14:27
  Speaker 5: at 4.30 p.m., 10 policewomen would board streetcars and buses
• 14:31
  Speaker 5: in the area. 10 policecars carrying 20 officers would follow them.
• 14:36
  Speaker 5: In the immediate vicinity, another 40 men were patrolling the
• 14:38
  Speaker 5: streets and alleys looking for the thief. As a result
• 14:41
  Speaker 5: of the newspaper stories on the string of crimes, calls
• 14:44
  Speaker 5: were coming into the complaint board at such a rate
• 14:46
  Speaker 5: that they were jamming our normal facility. Women refused to
• 14:49
  Speaker 5: walk the streets alone after dark. Apparently, the thief could
• 14:53
  Speaker 5: come and go as he pleased. In the next two days,
• 14:56
  Speaker 5: he hit three times, but in areas that were not covered.
• 14:59
  Speaker 5: He began to hit in places he hadn't worked before.
• 15:02
  Speaker 5: He seemed to know where we were and that we
• 15:04
  Speaker 5: were using decoys. The search went on. Tuesday, December 2nd.
• 15:09
  Speaker 5: We got a call from the manager of a cheap
• 15:10
  Speaker 5: hotel in the Skid Row area.
• 15:12
  Speaker 4: We drove out to see her.
• 15:14
  Speaker 9: Right down this way.
• 15:15
  Speaker 4: He's not in. Well, just what is it you want
• 15:17
  Speaker 4: us to see?
• 15:18
  Speaker 3: You wait.
• 15:18
  Speaker 9: When you get a good look, you'll know.
• 15:20
  Speaker 4: Yes, ma'am.
• 15:21
  Speaker 3: Here we are.
• 15:22
  Speaker 9: I'll get the door. You just come on in.
• 15:27
  Speaker 4: Thank you.
• 15:27
  Speaker 3: Yes, ma'am. Over here.
• 15:30
  Speaker 9: I was cleaning up this morning.
• 15:33
  Speaker 3: My girl's sick. Had to do it myself. Mm-hmm.
• 15:35
  Speaker 9: And just cleaning up, and.
• 15:36
  Speaker 3: I found them over here in the closet.
• 15:39
  Speaker 4: Yeah.
• 15:40
  Speaker 3: Up on the shelf.
• 15:41
  Speaker 9: Can you see them up there, way back?
• 15:43
  Speaker 4: All right, I'm going to have to get a chair.
• 15:47
  Speaker 9: Well, I was just straightening up, and I saw them,
• 15:48
  Speaker 9: and I thought to myself, I ought to call the police,
• 15:50
  Speaker 9: get them right out here. That's what I thought to myself.
• 15:52
  Speaker 4: Yes, ma'am.
• 15:53
  Speaker 9: I always feel it's the duty of every citizen to
• 15:55
  Speaker 9: cooperate with the police.
• 15:56
  Speaker 2: Yes, ma'am.
• 15:57
  Speaker 4: Can you get your flashlight, please?
• 15:59
  Speaker 3: Huh?
• 16:00
  Speaker 4: Flashlight.
• 16:00
  Speaker 3: Oh, yeah.
• 16:01
  Speaker 4: Here you go.
• 16:02
  Speaker 9: Well, do you see them up there on the shelves?
• 16:05
  Speaker 3: Yes, ma'am.
• 16:06
  Speaker 4: Frank?
• 16:06
  Speaker 3: Yeah?
• 16:06
  Speaker 4: There's something down there I can pick them up with.
• 16:09
  Speaker 9: Well, you'll find out anyway. You don't have to worry
• 16:13
  Speaker 9: about fingerprints. I guess I shouldn't have done it. But
• 16:15
  Speaker 9: when I found them, I picked them up, but I
• 16:16
  Speaker 9: put them right back, right where I found them.
• 16:18
  Speaker 4: There you are.
• 16:19
  Speaker 3: Okay.
• 16:21
  Speaker 4: What you got? Two women's purses. Mm-hmm.
• 16:25
  Speaker 9: Two. Look inside of them. All kinds of cards and things.
• 16:29
  Speaker 9: No money, but all kinds of other stuff. You just look.
• 16:31
  Speaker 4: Who has this room?
• 16:32
  Speaker 9: You mean registered?
• 16:33
  Speaker 5: Yeah.
• 16:35
  Speaker 9: Well, he gave his name as Jerry Kilgallen. You ask me, though,
• 16:37
  Speaker 9: I think it's phony.
• 16:38
  Speaker 4: He take the room alone, did he?
• 16:40
  Speaker 3: Oh, absolutely.
• 16:41
  Speaker 9: This is a hotel for men. Don't allow no women in.
• 16:44
  Speaker 4: Is it possible that somebody else left these purses up there? Hardly.
• 16:47
  Speaker 9: These rooms are cleaned every day, cleaned thoroughly. I don't
• 16:50
  Speaker 9: miss anything.
• 16:50
  Speaker 4: That's right. How about the identification in them, Joe? I
• 16:54
  Speaker 4: don't recognize the names. I'll have to check them. Take
• 16:57
  Speaker 4: a look at this, though. No, here, on the lining
• 16:59
  Speaker 4: of the purse. This one. Oh, yeah. Better get it
• 17:02
  Speaker 4: to the lab, huh?
• 17:03
  Speaker 9: What is it? You find something?
• 17:05
  Speaker 4: We're not sure.
• 17:06
  Speaker 9: Well, what is it?
• 17:06
  Speaker 3: I called you.
• 17:07
  Speaker 9: I got a right to know. What is it?
• 17:09
  Speaker 4: It looks like bloodstains.
• 17:15
  Speaker 5: We got a complete description of Jerry Kilgallen, and Frank
• 17:17
  Speaker 5: called it into R & I.
• 17:19
  Speaker 4: We found no record on him under that name.
• 17:21
  Speaker 5: The purse was sent to Lieutenant Lee Jones at the
• 17:23
  Speaker 5: crime lab, and after running a precipitate test, he told
• 17:26
  Speaker 5: us that the stains were human blood. A stakeout was
• 17:29
  Speaker 5: placed on the hotel, and that night, Kilgallen was taken
• 17:31
  Speaker 5: into custody. Under interrogation, he admitted taking the purses from
• 17:35
  Speaker 5: two women in a department store in downtown Los Angeles.
• 17:38
  Speaker 5: He went on to explain that he'd just gotten into
• 17:40
  Speaker 5: town and that he was broke and hungry. He gave
• 17:42
  Speaker 5: us the date and the times of the thefts, and
• 17:44
  Speaker 5: when we called the victims, they were able to give
• 17:46
  Speaker 5: us positive identification. He told us that when he'd taken
• 17:49
  Speaker 5: the second purse, he'd cut his hand on the clasp
• 17:51
  Speaker 5: and that the bloodstains he'd found were his own. He
• 17:53
  Speaker 5: was booked in at the main jail on the charge
• 17:55
  Speaker 5: of suspicion of robbery. That night, Frank and I took
• 17:57
  Speaker 5: up our place in the dragnet operation.
• 17:59
  Speaker 4: Nothing happened. The next night went by without activity.
• 18:03
  Speaker 5: On Thursday night at approximately 8.45, a woman was slugged
• 18:06
  Speaker 5: and robbed after she left the bus on 71st Street
• 18:08
  Speaker 5: just off Vermont. All cars in the operation converged on
• 18:12
  Speaker 5: the area, and a block-by-block search was made. Additional officers
• 18:16
  Speaker 5: were called in to aid in the hunt. Every alley,
• 18:18
  Speaker 5: every street, and every backyard was gone over thoroughly.
• 18:20
  Speaker 4: 11.15 p.m.
• 18:22
  Speaker 5: While the search continued, Frank and I drove down to
• 18:24
  Speaker 5: Georgia Street Receiving Hospital to talk to the latest victim.
• 18:27
  Speaker 3: I was on my way home. I didn't think anything
• 18:30
  Speaker 3: like this would happen. I was just walking home.
• 18:34
  Speaker 4: Can you give us the description of the man?
• 18:36
  Speaker 3: I don't know. It was dark. I was just walking
• 18:40
  Speaker 3: home and it happened.
• 18:41
  Speaker 4: Did you see the man at all?
• 18:43
  Speaker 2: Yes.
• 18:44
  Speaker 3: It was dark.
• 18:45
  Speaker 4: Was he a tall man?
• 18:48
  Speaker 3: I guess so. I guess he was tall. I talked
• 18:52
  Speaker 3: to the other men. Isn't that enough? I talked to them.
• 18:55
  Speaker 4: Well, we're trying to get all the information we can.
• 18:57
  Speaker 3: I don't remember good. My head hurts. Isn't there something
• 19:02
  Speaker 3: I can do to make my head stop hurting?
• 19:05
  Speaker 4: Did you see the man's face? Did you get a
• 19:06
  Speaker 4: look at it? Yeah. Yes, I did.
• 19:09
  Speaker 3: I saw his face.
• 19:11
  Speaker 4: Can you describe it for us? Can you tell us
• 19:12
  Speaker 4: what he looked like? I don't know.
• 19:16
  Speaker 3: I don't feel good.
• 19:17
  Speaker 4: Well, this is pretty important, ma'am.
• 19:21
  Speaker 3: He had a real white face. Real white.
• 19:24
  Speaker 4: What about his eyes? Can you tell us what color
• 19:26
  Speaker 4: they were?
• 19:26
  Speaker 2: Blue.
• 19:27
  Speaker 4: White.
• 19:28
  Speaker 3: Blue.
• 19:30
  Speaker 4: How about his hair?
• 19:31
  Speaker 3: It looked brown. I'm not sure. I think it was brown.
• 19:37
  Speaker 3: He had a hat on. I couldn't tell good.
• 19:40
  Speaker 4: All right, just a few more questions now.
• 19:43
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 19:44
  Speaker 4: Can you tell what color his hat was?
• 19:45
  Speaker 3: I don't know.
• 19:47
  Speaker 4: My head hurts.
• 19:49
  Speaker 3: It's... something?
• 19:51
  Speaker 4: We'll send for the doctor again. Might be able to
• 19:52
  Speaker 4: give you another set of it.
• 19:54
  Speaker 3: Hurts.
• 19:55
  Speaker 4: Something else, ma'am. Was the man clean-shaven?
• 19:57
  Speaker 3: Huh?
• 19:58
  Speaker 4: I said, did he have a mustache? No.
• 20:02
  Speaker 3: No mustache.
• 20:02
  Speaker 4: Did he wear glasses? No. Is there anything else you
• 20:06
  Speaker 4: can tell us about his appearance?
• 20:08
  Speaker 5: No.
• 20:10
  Speaker 4: Nothing.
• 20:11
  Speaker 3: He had a gun. I know that. He had a gun.
• 20:15
  Speaker 3: That's what he hit me with. A gun. He hit
• 20:19
  Speaker 3: me when I wouldn't give him the purse. First he
• 20:22
  Speaker 3: asked me for the money. To let me get out
• 20:25
  Speaker 3: of my way. He said he'd kill me. Then he
• 20:28
  Speaker 3: hit me on the head. Hit me as hard as
• 20:30
  Speaker 3: he could.
• 20:31
  Speaker 4: All right, ma'am. Now, is there anything else you can
• 20:34
  Speaker 4: tell us that might make it easier to identify him?
• 20:36
  Speaker 3: No, nothing. I told you everything I know. Nothing else.
• 20:42
  Speaker 4: All right, we're sorry to have bothered you. Thank you.
• 20:44
  Speaker 4: We'll be talking with you again when you're feeling better. Yeah.
• 20:47
  Speaker 3: You come back then. I'll tell you I remember that.
• 20:50
  Speaker 4: Thank you very much for your help.
• 20:52
  Speaker 3: It's all right. You ask the doctor to come back,
• 20:54
  Speaker 3: won't you?
• 20:55
  Speaker 4: Yes, ma'am.
• 20:58
  Speaker 3: Officer?
• 20:58
  Speaker 4: Yes, ma'am?
• 20:59
  Speaker 3: Something else might help a little bit.
• 21:03
  Speaker 4: What's that, ma'am?
• 21:05
  Speaker 3: Before he hit me, I remember there was a fight...
• 21:08
  Speaker 3: I didn't want him to take my purse. There was
• 21:11
  Speaker 3: a pipe.
• 21:12
  Speaker 4: Yeah.
• 21:12
  Speaker 3: I tried to stop him and I scratched him. I
• 21:15
  Speaker 3: scratched him hard.
• 21:17
  Speaker 4: You see, I broke.
• 21:19
  Speaker 3: A fingernail when I did it. That'll help, won't it?
• 21:22
  Speaker 4: Yes, ma'am.
• 21:24
  Speaker 3: It should. Last thing I remember before he hit me,
• 21:29
  Speaker 3: he was bleeding a lot.
• 21:31
  Speaker 4: Where did you scratch him, ma'am? Do you remember? On
• 21:33
  Speaker 4: the hand? No.
• 21:35
  Speaker 3: No, right across the face. Left side.
• 21:45
  Speaker 5: We got to a phone and we had a broadcast
• 21:47
  Speaker 5: put out carrying the additional information on the man and
• 21:49
  Speaker 5: the fact that he had been badly scratched.
• 21:51
  Speaker 4: Officers in the immediate area of the attack.
• 21:53
  Speaker 5: Started to check of all the drugstores that were open
• 21:55
  Speaker 5: in the hope that the thief had stopped for medication.
• 21:58
  Speaker 4: After getting a call out, Frank.
• 21:59
  Speaker 5: And I left the hospital and started back to search
• 22:01
  Speaker 5: the area. 11.46 p.m. You talked to the doctor about
• 22:05
  Speaker 5: the victim? Yeah, she's in pretty bad shape. They're going
• 22:07
  Speaker 5: to move her to general. Sebastian says she might have
• 22:09
  Speaker 5: to operate. She's glad to get this guy.
• 22:11
  Speaker 4: Yeah.
• 22:11
  Speaker 9: Attention all units.
• 22:13
  Speaker 4: Attention all units. You want to turn it up, Joe?
• 22:15
  Speaker 9: All units on frequency seven, please stand by. All units
• 22:18
  Speaker 9: in the vicinity of the 100 block on West 29th Street.
• 22:22
  Speaker 9: Officer needs help.
• 22:23
  Speaker 4: Special attention, 1K80, code three. Lean on it. Right. All
• 22:29
  Speaker 4: units in the vicinity.
• 22:31
  Speaker 9: Of the 100 block on West 29th Street. Officer needs help.
• 22:36
  Speaker 8: Special attention.
• 22:38
  Speaker 4: 1K80. Code 3.
• 22:38
  Speaker 7: Frequency 7.
• 22:40
  Speaker 4: Clear. I'll call in. 1K80 to Control 1.
• 22:42
  Speaker 5: Acknowledging the call to the 100 block on West 29th Street.
• 22:45
  Speaker 4: KMA 367. Took us two and a half minutes to
• 22:55
  Speaker 4: get to the location.
• 22:56
  Speaker 5: At the curb on the side of the street, we
• 22:57
  Speaker 5: saw a parked police unit. Standing next to it was
• 22:59
  Speaker 5: a woman officer. We pulled up next to the unit
• 23:01
  Speaker 5: and talked to her. She told us that our suspect
• 23:03
  Speaker 5: had tried to attack her and on the arrival of
• 23:05
  Speaker 5: the two officers had fled the scene. At that moment,
• 23:07
  Speaker 5: officers Sluder and Murphy were in pursuit. While Frank got
• 23:10
  Speaker 5: additional information from the policewoman, I went back to the
• 23:12
  Speaker 5: car and got on the radio.
• 23:14
  Speaker 4: 1K80 to Control 1. 1K80 to Control 1. Control 1
• 23:17
  Speaker 4: to 1K80. Go ahead.
• 23:21
  Speaker 5: Suspect is now on foot being pursued by two plainclothes
• 23:25
  Speaker 5: officers through backyards in the area of West 100 block
• 23:28
  Speaker 5: between 29th Street and 30th Street. Dispatch units to block
• 23:33
  Speaker 5: intersections of Broadway and 29th Street.
• 23:35
  Speaker 4: Broadway and 30th. Broadway and 28th Street. Broadway and 27th.
• 23:41
  Speaker 4: Intersections of Main and 28th. Main and 29th. Main and
• 23:44
  Speaker 4: 30th Streets. Main and 27th Streets.
• 23:49
  Speaker 9: Control 1 to 1K80.
• 23:51
  Speaker 4: Roger.
• 23:52
  Speaker 6: AMA 367.
• 23:53
  Speaker 4: I got the story. You set? Yeah, let's go. Policewoman
• 23:56
  Speaker 4: says they're headed west. The back of the house down there.
• 23:58
  Speaker 4: All right. Move. Attention all units.
• 24:02
  Speaker 9: Attention all units. 1K80 reports suspect in robbery.
• 24:06
  Speaker 4: That one right up there. All right, take it easy.
• 24:08
  Speaker 4: All right. West 29th Street.
• 24:09
  Speaker 9: Now being pursued by.
• 24:10
  Speaker 4: Looks like we got a live one this time, huh?
• 24:12
  Speaker 4: Let's hope we can keep them. In the backyard between
• 24:15
  Speaker 4: 100 block 29th Street and 100 block West.
• 24:23
  Speaker 4: Flashlights over there, Joe.
• 24:24
  Speaker 2: Let's take a look.
• 24:27
  Speaker 4: You see who it is? No. Look back behind the garage.
• 24:35
  Speaker 4: Come on. Sluder, what do you got? He's back there.
• 24:40
  Speaker 4: Murphy's with him. You guys all right? Yeah. All right,
• 24:42
  Speaker 4: let's take a look. You want to call an ambulance, Frank? Right.
• 24:48
  Speaker 4: How is he? You better stop Frank. Yeah. Tell him
• 24:52
  Speaker 4: to cancel that ambulance. He opened up first, Joe. Murph
• 24:54
  Speaker 4: and I gave him every chance. Well, that's more than
• 24:57
  Speaker 4: he gave.
• 24:59
  Speaker 6: Those women.
• 25:06
  Speaker 10: At the inquest, the coroner's jury returned a verdict that
• 25:09
  Speaker 10: the suspect, Kenneth Neal Stewart, died as a result of
• 25:11
  Speaker 10: gunshot wounds inflicted by police officers in the line of duty.
• 25:15
  Speaker 10: The death was listed as justifiable homicide.
• 25:19
  Speaker 1: You have just heard Dragnet, the authentic story of your
• 25:22
  Speaker 1: police force in action and starring Jack Webb, a presentation
• 25:26
  Speaker 1: of the United States Armed Forces Radio Service.
• 25:52
  Speaker 4: Thank you.
• 26:41
  Speaker 1: This has been Dragnet, episode 244, Big Net. Follow Dragnet
• 26:46
  Speaker 1: for more classic broadcasts.