Latest / The Great Detectives Present Dragnet (Old Time Radio) / Dragnet: The Big Break (EP4634)

Transcript

Dragnet: The Big Break (EP4634) · The Great Detectives Present Dragnet (Old Time Radio)

• 0:28
  Speaker 1: Welcome to the great Detectives of Old Time Radio from Boise, Idaho.
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: This is your host, Adam Graham. In a moment, we're
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: going to bring you this week's episode of drag Napped,
• 0:41
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  Speaker 1: Today's program is brought to you in part by the
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  Speaker 1: financial support of our listeners, and you can support the
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• 0:59
  Speaker 1: to Adam Graham peel Box one five nine one three.
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: That's peel Box one five nine thirteen, Boise, Idaho eight
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• 1:47
  Speaker 1: December fourteenth, nineteen fifty Here is the Big Break.
• 1:58
  Speaker 2: The story you're about to here is true, only the
• 2:01
  Speaker 2: names have been changed to protect the Ennison. You're a
• 2:13
  Speaker 2: detective sergeant. You're assigned to Robbery Detailed. You've been tracking
• 2:17
  Speaker 2: a hold of men for months. You finally get a
• 2:20
  Speaker 2: line on where he's hiding. You know he's dangerous, well armed.
• 2:24
  Speaker 2: Your job get him power.
• 2:35
  Speaker 3: Dragnet the document a drama of an actual crime. For
• 2:39
  Speaker 3: the next thirty minutes, in cooperation with the Los Angeles
• 2:42
  Speaker 3: Police Department, you will travel step by step on the
• 2:45
  Speaker 3: side of the law through an actual case transcribed from
• 2:47
  Speaker 3: official police files. From beginning to end, from crime to punishment,
• 2:52
  Speaker 3: Dragnet is the story of your police force in action.
• 2:58
  Speaker 2: It was Wednesday, March eighteenth, was cold in Los Angeles.
• 3:02
  Speaker 2: We're working the night Watch out of Robbery Detail. My
• 3:04
  Speaker 2: partner's Ben Romero. The boss is Captain ed Walker. My
• 3:07
  Speaker 2: name's Friday was nine forty eight pm when I got
• 3:10
  Speaker 2: to Room twenty seven eight Robbery Detail.
• 3:15
  Speaker 4: Joe, how are you ready to go?
• 3:17
  Speaker 5: Yeah, we've gotta hustle. Here's your top quart.
• 3:19
  Speaker 4: Joe, Thank you? Ben? Uh. Where's Tom?
• 3:23
  Speaker 5: We can pick him up down the hall and is
• 3:25
  Speaker 5: checking out some teargas shelves.
• 3:26
  Speaker 4: Might need him.
• 3:27
  Speaker 2: How about the address? You confirm it? Twenty one hundred
• 3:29
  Speaker 2: Bannon Avenue. It's a corner house, Diskiver. You know what
• 3:33
  Speaker 2: to expect when you get out there. Don't take any chances.
• 3:35
  Speaker 2: He's long in the house, all right, supposed to be. Yeah,
• 3:37
  Speaker 2: that won't give you much of a break.
• 3:39
  Speaker 4: Hone.
• 3:39
  Speaker 2: You mean he's heavy on guns. Two revolvers and hunting rifles. Ooh,
• 3:43
  Speaker 2: he's not shy about using them. Don't forget it, right,
• 3:45
  Speaker 2: ed slacks, Ben, let's go, Jane. It's been a long haul. Yeah,
• 3:54
  Speaker 2: I hope this washes it up. Hunting rifle, a couple
• 3:56
  Speaker 2: of revolvers. What do you think, Joe? Now are eighteen.
• 3:59
  Speaker 4: Robberies and three months You know the guy as well
• 4:01
  Speaker 4: as I do.
• 4:01
  Speaker 5: Well, what's your guess?
• 4:08
  Speaker 4: His name was Hoffman George rr.
• 4:10
  Speaker 2: In our files, his criminal record dated back to high
• 4:12
  Speaker 2: school days. Petty theft, grand theft, auto burglary, armed robbery.
• 4:17
  Speaker 2: His record included two terms at Preston Reformatory and one
• 4:20
  Speaker 2: at San Quentin. Hoffman's latest campaign was a three month
• 4:24
  Speaker 2: run of armed robberies. We tried everything we knew to
• 4:27
  Speaker 2: stop him, but it wasn't enough. We'd failed to get
• 4:29
  Speaker 2: a line on him until one of Captain Walker's informants
• 4:31
  Speaker 2: came up with a tip that Hoffman had been hiding
• 4:33
  Speaker 2: out for the past month and a small bungalow on
• 4:36
  Speaker 2: the corner of Buchanan Avenue in Selma Street.
• 4:38
  Speaker 4: According to the information.
• 4:40
  Speaker 2: The suspect had a good supply of food, ammunition and
• 4:42
  Speaker 2: three guns. Ten fifteen pm, together with Sergeants Tom Gaffney
• 4:47
  Speaker 2: and Slats Henry, Ben and I parked our car down
• 4:50
  Speaker 2: the street and started toward the house. Was foggy, the
• 4:54
  Speaker 2: street was poorly lighted, so we approached the house. We
• 4:56
  Speaker 2: could see a light burning in one of the rooms
• 4:58
  Speaker 2: at the rear of the bungalow. M the light in
• 5:04
  Speaker 2: the back room.
• 5:05
  Speaker 6: Joe just went out there, Slats, you in town when
• 5:08
  Speaker 6: I cover the back Let's go down.
• 5:10
  Speaker 2: Be careful, all right, Ben, easy, h Wait a minute,
• 5:20
  Speaker 2: Joe curtains in that corner room. I thought I saw
• 5:22
  Speaker 2: him move.
• 5:24
  Speaker 4: Up on Ben the front door. Come hit it, yeah,
• 5:32
  Speaker 4: come on, hit it again.
• 5:34
  Speaker 6: Come on, they gotta block or something something pile against
• 5:39
  Speaker 6: Come on once more?
• 5:43
  Speaker 5: Why's the front.
• 5:45
  Speaker 4: The front rooms?
• 5:45
  Speaker 5: There?
• 5:49
  Speaker 4: Yo, went out the side window. Where do you go?
• 5:56
  Speaker 5: Across the street? Got him pin down behind that car there,
• 6:00
  Speaker 5: he's in the car.
• 6:01
  Speaker 6: All right, let's go for the tires, all right, Hoffman,
• 6:06
  Speaker 6: give it up. Cover this end, slats right, Ben, that
• 6:10
  Speaker 6: head across the street and you see it. Yeah, okay,
• 6:13
  Speaker 6: let's run for it.
• 6:17
  Speaker 4: You okay, Joe, Yeah, hap fun.
• 6:20
  Speaker 5: You haven't got a chance.
• 6:21
  Speaker 6: Rowt your guns, okay, Ben, give it back all right,
• 6:27
  Speaker 6: all right, I'm coming out.
• 6:29
  Speaker 4: Rot your guns.
• 6:31
  Speaker 6: Throw him in the street, all right, Get out of
• 6:38
  Speaker 6: the car, hands behind your head, come.
• 6:41
  Speaker 5: On, all right, all right, hands mind your back now, slats.
• 6:51
  Speaker 4: Yeah, you want to get our car?
• 6:53
  Speaker 5: Right, y'all? Who told you?
• 6:54
  Speaker 4: Who gave you the tip?
• 6:56
  Speaker 5: Does it matter? I made it easy enough for you car.
• 7:00
  Speaker 5: It started to be three miles away. If it would
• 7:02
  Speaker 5: have started, better call it toe drug hunt.
• 7:03
  Speaker 4: Joe. Let me give it a look. Lousy luck, that's
• 7:21
  Speaker 4: all it is.
• 7:21
  Speaker 5: What was wrong with it?
• 7:22
  Speaker 4: Joe?
• 7:23
  Speaker 5: I tried it.
• 7:23
  Speaker 4: It wouldn't start for me. It should have turned on
• 7:25
  Speaker 4: the ignition.
• 7:30
  Speaker 2: George Hoffman was taken downtown and booked on suspicion of robbery.
• 7:34
  Speaker 2: At a special show up, he was identified by more
• 7:36
  Speaker 2: than a dozen of his robbery victims. Between his arraignments
• 7:39
  Speaker 2: and his preliminary hearings, we worked together with the District
• 7:41
  Speaker 2: Attorney's office and lining up witnesses and preparing the evidence
• 7:44
  Speaker 2: against the suspect.
• 7:46
  Speaker 4: We figured we had an airtight case.
• 7:48
  Speaker 2: Hoffman's trial and Superior Court was set for May fourteenth. Hi, Joe,
• 7:58
  Speaker 2: Hi a slash, Let's do it and still a raining Hoffman.
• 8:01
  Speaker 4: Yeah, this trial's coming up.
• 8:14
  Speaker 5: Hey, what happened to your eye? Yeah?
• 8:18
  Speaker 4: How about that?
• 8:19
  Speaker 5: I'll never live with that.
• 8:21
  Speaker 4: Come here, let's see.
• 8:27
  Speaker 2: This real black guy ever had had a bruised plenty
• 8:31
  Speaker 2: and they hurt you know, Yeah, how'd that happened?
• 8:34
  Speaker 4: Well?
• 8:34
  Speaker 2: Every week Gaffney and I grew up the neighborhood Boys
• 8:37
  Speaker 2: Club after work to help coach the kids' sports. You know,
• 8:43
  Speaker 2: last week we had boxing lessons. I was coaching this
• 8:46
  Speaker 2: one youngster. He turned out to be a lot quicker,
• 8:48
  Speaker 2: and I thought, you're really connected.
• 8:51
  Speaker 4: I guess everybody in the building has heard the story.
• 8:53
  Speaker 2: Huh, just about Gaffney took care of that captain called
• 8:57
  Speaker 2: me in this morning, asked me if I wanted to
• 8:59
  Speaker 2: file assault charges against the kid.
• 9:02
  Speaker 4: Some joke never fails. Are you still coaching the kids
• 9:05
  Speaker 4: up there this week?
• 9:08
  Speaker 2: Kids are supposed to get lessons in wrestling.
• 9:10
  Speaker 5: I'm not taking any chances.
• 9:11
  Speaker 2: Yeah, they've been watching television for months.
• 9:16
  Speaker 5: I was the other room.
• 9:17
  Speaker 2: Yeah okay, Oh so that's hi.
• 9:20
  Speaker 5: I've been high home Any good. Put your coat on, Joe, Yeah,
• 9:24
  Speaker 5: it's a matter.
• 9:24
  Speaker 4: George Hoffman, Yeah, just.
• 9:26
  Speaker 5: Broke a jal.
• 9:31
  Speaker 2: The morning of his escape, Hoffman was scheduled to appear
• 9:33
  Speaker 2: in Superior Court for arrangement. According to routine, he was
• 9:36
  Speaker 2: taken from his county jail cell on the twelfth floor
• 9:38
  Speaker 2: of the Hall of Justice and escorted to the jail
• 9:41
  Speaker 2: shower room on the fourteenth floor. There, he was to
• 9:44
  Speaker 2: take a bath, changed to his civilian clothes for his
• 9:46
  Speaker 2: appearance in court. While he was in the shower room,
• 9:49
  Speaker 2: he turned on the hot water faucets, filling the room
• 9:51
  Speaker 2: with steam to hide his actions from the guard. He
• 9:54
  Speaker 2: succeeded in forcing his way out through one of the windows,
• 9:58
  Speaker 2: climbed up one story to the roof, Realizing that he
• 10:01
  Speaker 2: couldn't escape down through the building. He lowered himself over
• 10:04
  Speaker 2: the ledge of the roof, and using the narrow crevices
• 10:06
  Speaker 2: between the bricks to hold on, he climbed seven stories
• 10:09
  Speaker 2: down the outside of the building. At the eighth floor,
• 10:12
  Speaker 2: he found an open window and got inside. He slugged
• 10:15
  Speaker 2: the bailiff who tried to stop him, and then ran
• 10:17
  Speaker 2: down the remaining flights of stairs into the street and
• 10:19
  Speaker 2: disappeared in the crowd.
• 10:21
  Speaker 4: Twenty minutes later, he robbed A.
• 10:22
  Speaker 6: Denis's office at third in Los Angeles Streets and got away.
• 10:25
  Speaker 2: Police and sheriff's deputies covered the city for him. Ben
• 10:29
  Speaker 2: and I were among them. Eleven fifty five pm. We
• 10:31
  Speaker 2: checked back in with captain ed Walkers.
• 10:40
  Speaker 5: You want to cut that speaker bed h six and
• 10:43
  Speaker 5: spring one line. Nothing not a trace, Hiven. He must
• 10:48
  Speaker 5: have a good friend someplace in town. Everything's covered.
• 10:51
  Speaker 2: His friend's relatives is hide out everyone he knows, every
• 10:53
  Speaker 2: place he's ever been. We plugged every loophole, wing, think
• 10:56
  Speaker 2: of the depots, terminals, the airports.
• 10:58
  Speaker 5: Still don't trace him.
• 11:00
  Speaker 2: I sure is a strange no stranger than climbing down
• 11:02
  Speaker 2: the side of a building.
• 11:03
  Speaker 4: Did you check that story out?
• 11:05
  Speaker 3: Ed?
• 11:05
  Speaker 2: It's the truth Apparently Hoffman planned the thing out pretty carefully.
• 11:08
  Speaker 2: How do you mean The sheriff's men talked to some
• 11:10
  Speaker 2: of the prisoners in the jail. They said Hoffman was
• 11:12
  Speaker 2: practicing for it since the day we put him in there.
• 11:15
  Speaker 2: He'd work out five to six hours every night, building
• 11:17
  Speaker 2: up his hands and fingers.
• 11:18
  Speaker 5: How do you do that?
• 11:19
  Speaker 2: Used the upper bunk in his cell, hang from the
• 11:22
  Speaker 2: edge of it with the tips of his fingers.
• 11:23
  Speaker 5: He'd do it for.
• 11:24
  Speaker 2: Hours, pulling his body up and down. He had little
• 11:27
  Speaker 2: grooves in the wall, dug his fingertips into him. Prisoners
• 11:29
  Speaker 2: say he got so he could hold himself up like
• 11:31
  Speaker 2: that ten minutes of the stretch.
• 11:32
  Speaker 4: That's pretty amazing. How about the bail If he slugged.
• 11:35
  Speaker 2: He'll be all right. A couple of bad bumps on
• 11:37
  Speaker 2: the head. That's robbery walker. Oh yeah, little John. I
• 11:45
  Speaker 2: sent him out about ten minutes to go to relieve you. Yeah,
• 11:47
  Speaker 2: they ought to be there pretty soon, right.
• 11:50
  Speaker 4: How about our schedule?
• 11:51
  Speaker 2: Ed, far as I know, we're going all night on
• 11:53
  Speaker 2: this thing. Sheriff's office is the same. You two were
• 11:57
  Speaker 2: relieved at eleven thirty. Better check back about five thirty, am. Okay, Well,
• 12:03
  Speaker 2: it's a hot shot. I got it.
• 12:06
  Speaker 4: What is it?
• 12:09
  Speaker 5: Drug store hold up? I think it's Hoffman.
• 12:15
  Speaker 2: The scene of the holdup was the rex Lake Pharmacy
• 12:17
  Speaker 2: on the corner of Pico Boulevard and Pine Lake Street.
• 12:19
  Speaker 2: The victim of mister Clarence Geringer, told us that the
• 12:21
  Speaker 2: holdup man it entered through a rear door, slugged him,
• 12:24
  Speaker 2: and escaped on foot with his overcoat and about one
• 12:26
  Speaker 2: hundred and fifty dollars in cash.
• 12:28
  Speaker 4: We showed him a number of mug shots. He identified
• 12:30
  Speaker 4: George Hoffman as the bandit.
• 12:32
  Speaker 2: A special detail of men were ordered on a thorough
• 12:34
  Speaker 2: search of the general area around the drug store.
• 12:37
  Speaker 4: No sign of the suspect.
• 12:38
  Speaker 2: The city wide dragnet continued all that night and into
• 12:41
  Speaker 2: the next day, no developments. The search went on a
• 12:45
  Speaker 2: week passed two weeks. At ten pm, when the day
• 12:47
  Speaker 2: Hoffman was scheduled to be tried in Superior Court, he
• 12:50
  Speaker 2: beat up and robbed a forty year old liquor salesman
• 12:52
  Speaker 2: in the Highland Park area. Again, he made good his escape.
• 12:55
  Speaker 2: Routine investigation failed to turn up a single lead. June eighth,
• 12:59
  Speaker 2: the suspect was still at large. The legwork continued eight seventeen.
• 13:06
  Speaker 2: Is at the address you've got? Yeah, he said it
• 13:08
  Speaker 2: was near the corner. Oh yeah, yeah, there is. The
• 13:10
  Speaker 2: town's in the hobby shop. Yeah, what's going.
• 13:16
  Speaker 4: So?
• 13:16
  Speaker 5: Look at the electric trains. Look at that one beautiful layout.
• 13:20
  Speaker 6: Huh, I guess that's all the handle him here electric trains.
• 13:23
  Speaker 6: There must be money in it.
• 13:24
  Speaker 2: Look at those signals there, sweaches, they're all automatic. Wonder
• 13:27
  Speaker 2: if my boy is old enough for a train?
• 13:29
  Speaker 4: You it must be the manager over there, come up,
• 13:33
  Speaker 4: say excuse me, sir, just.
• 13:34
  Speaker 2: A moment, please be right way. You gotta check this
• 13:36
  Speaker 2: transforms all right?
• 13:46
  Speaker 5: Uh huh?
• 13:47
  Speaker 2: Automatic coupling on the tanker car looked out or killed
• 13:50
  Speaker 2: her with a mistake. Now, well let's see. Yes, he's
• 14:05
  Speaker 2: a dandy, isn't he. Oh I'm sorry, gentlemen. Have to
• 14:09
  Speaker 2: keep up our maintenance on the rolling stock.
• 14:12
  Speaker 4: What can I do for you? Police officers were looking
• 14:14
  Speaker 4: for mister Townsend.
• 14:15
  Speaker 2: Oh, yes, I'm Roy Townsend. You're the sgeant I talked
• 14:17
  Speaker 2: with on the phone.
• 14:18
  Speaker 4: Yes, sir, that's right. This is my partner, Sergeant Romerom.
• 14:22
  Speaker 4: You mentioned that you might have some information for us.
• 14:24
  Speaker 2: Yes, as a matter of fact, I may have about
• 14:26
  Speaker 2: that fellow who climbed out and escaped. No, it was
• 14:30
  Speaker 2: in all the papers Hoffman hoff and that's it. I'm
• 14:33
  Speaker 2: a pretty good one for faces. I think I might
• 14:35
  Speaker 2: have seen him last night.
• 14:36
  Speaker 5: Where was that?
• 14:37
  Speaker 2: On my way home from the meeting? I belonged to
• 14:39
  Speaker 2: a model train club. Don't get enough of it here
• 14:41
  Speaker 2: every day?
• 14:42
  Speaker 4: Yes, sir, we'd like to know about this man that
• 14:44
  Speaker 4: you saw.
• 14:44
  Speaker 2: As I say, I saw him going into the auto
• 14:46
  Speaker 2: court just down the street from where mother and I lived.
• 14:49
  Speaker 2: It was pretty late after midnight. Or where do you live,
• 14:51
  Speaker 2: mister Townsen although by Pasadena Royal Oaks Avenue. I know
• 14:54
  Speaker 2: missus Cox at the auto court. Very well, I say, well,
• 14:57
  Speaker 2: this man that you saw last night, you're sure it
• 14:59
  Speaker 2: was Hoffman? I saw his picture in the paper when
• 15:01
  Speaker 2: he climbed down and escaped. I don't say I'm positive
• 15:04
  Speaker 2: it was him, but I'm good on Facebook. Well, uh,
• 15:06
  Speaker 2: I wonder if you didn't mind checking through these pictures?
• 15:09
  Speaker 4: Not at all?
• 15:11
  Speaker 6: M m m hm m Yeah, this one he's the
• 15:16
  Speaker 6: one I saw, am I right, that's Hoffman. Do you
• 15:19
  Speaker 6: happen to know if he's staying there at that auto court?
• 15:21
  Speaker 4: Oh?
• 15:21
  Speaker 2: Yes, he's been there for a month, say, sergeant, if
• 15:24
  Speaker 2: you find out it really is this Hoffman, don't tell
• 15:26
  Speaker 2: Missus Cox at the auto card it had just break
• 15:28
  Speaker 2: her heart? Was that so she's sort of an amateur detective.
• 15:31
  Speaker 2: She thinks she knows face is better than I do.
• 15:38
  Speaker 2: After we left the train shop, we called the office
• 15:40
  Speaker 2: and filled them in. Captain Walker called Pasadena and notified them.
• 15:43
  Speaker 2: Then we drove out to the.
• 15:44
  Speaker 4: Auto court where the suspect was reportedly seen.
• 15:53
  Speaker 5: Yes, you want something?
• 15:54
  Speaker 4: Yeah?
• 15:54
  Speaker 6: Are you?
• 15:54
  Speaker 4: Missus Cox?
• 15:55
  Speaker 5: Yes, I'm the manager here. If you want lodgings, we're
• 15:57
  Speaker 5: filled up. You might try the Golden Eagle straight down
• 16:00
  Speaker 5: the street there.
• 16:01
  Speaker 2: Police officers, Miss Cox, do you have mister Hoffman's dying
• 16:04
  Speaker 2: here Hoffman?
• 16:05
  Speaker 5: No, I don't got a hoff buyer? Though you sure
• 16:08
  Speaker 5: that's not it?
• 16:08
  Speaker 2: No?
• 16:09
  Speaker 5: Woon't you look at this picture? Man recognize? Yes, but
• 16:13
  Speaker 5: his name's not Hoffman. It's Kine number twenty three. He's
• 16:17
  Speaker 5: not in though left this morning?
• 16:18
  Speaker 4: Was that so?
• 16:19
  Speaker 5: Yes, we'll be back for another hour.
• 16:30
  Speaker 3: You are listening to Dragnet.
• 16:39
  Speaker 4: Before going on steak out.
• 16:40
  Speaker 2: At the auto court where George Hoffman was registered, Ben
• 16:42
  Speaker 2: put in a call to the office.
• 16:44
  Speaker 4: The owner of the court.
• 16:45
  Speaker 2: Missus Cox gave us a pass key to Cottie's number
• 16:47
  Speaker 2: twenty three, where the suspect was staying. We advised her
• 16:50
  Speaker 2: to say nothing to Hoffman when he returned. We went
• 16:53
  Speaker 2: to Cottage twenty three and waited. An hour passed, Hoffman
• 16:56
  Speaker 2: failed to show. Another hour went by, still knows, well,
• 17:03
  Speaker 2: what do you think you got me? I don't know
• 17:06
  Speaker 2: when an hour overdual, no chance it could have been taple.
• 17:09
  Speaker 2: I don't see how missus Cox is the only one
• 17:11
  Speaker 2: who knows we're here. There's no reason for ever warning.
• 17:16
  Speaker 2: I don't know these things were all here, his clothes.
• 17:19
  Speaker 2: You know.
• 17:19
  Speaker 4: We've had longer waits than this. Relax.
• 17:21
  Speaker 5: Huh yeah, I wait a minute.
• 17:28
  Speaker 4: Can you see who it is?
• 17:30
  Speaker 5: Man coming from next door? Joe, Okay, I'll cover you
• 17:37
  Speaker 5: open it? Oh your new telephone directory? Oh yeah, thanks?
• 17:44
  Speaker 5: Anything wrong? No, there's nothing wrong things new phone book?
• 17:50
  Speaker 4: You know.
• 17:54
  Speaker 2: We waited another hour. George Hoffman still had failed to appear.
• 17:58
  Speaker 2: At four that afternoon, we checked with the offer.
• 18:00
  Speaker 4: No word. At five point thirty, we were still waiting.
• 18:03
  Speaker 2: I'm just thinking, Jill, Yeah, I fellow Townsend in the
• 18:05
  Speaker 2: training chef. I'm sure it must be a dandy hobby
• 18:08
  Speaker 2: electric train. It runs into money, though, didn't it. I
• 18:11
  Speaker 2: think I'll talk to the wife about it. Their education,
• 18:14
  Speaker 2: you know, my boy sure get a kick out of
• 18:16
  Speaker 2: having his own Train's pretty young, isn't he three years old?
• 18:19
  Speaker 2: I could show him how to work it, put things
• 18:21
  Speaker 2: together for him again. Yeah, oh yeah, I know, I'll wayne. Okay,
• 18:30
  Speaker 2: then what's doing Skipper? Just got a call from Pasadena. Yeah,
• 18:34
  Speaker 2: they picked up Hoffman ten minutes ago. The suspect, George Hoffman,
• 18:42
  Speaker 2: was taken back to Los Angeles and lodged in county jail.
• 18:45
  Speaker 4: This time there was no escape.
• 18:47
  Speaker 2: At his superior court trial on August sixteenth, he was
• 18:49
  Speaker 2: convicted on several counts of armed robbery and sentenced to
• 18:52
  Speaker 2: the state penitentiary.
• 18:53
  Speaker 5: From August to January of the following year.
• 18:55
  Speaker 4: The months went fast.
• 18:57
  Speaker 2: We washed up a string of liquor store hold ups
• 18:59
  Speaker 2: just before Chris got two days off. My uncle George
• 19:02
  Speaker 2: and Ann Allen came down from rent and Washington to
• 19:04
  Speaker 2: visit with my mother during the holidays. In January, Ben
• 19:08
  Speaker 2: was off work for a week with a bad dose
• 19:10
  Speaker 2: of flu. Another five months went by. Toward the end
• 19:13
  Speaker 2: of June, we got word that George Hoffman was no
• 19:15
  Speaker 2: longer at the State penitentiary after serving eleven months. The
• 19:19
  Speaker 2: former hold up man had been parolled into the army
• 19:21
  Speaker 2: with a provision that he served overseas. Another three weeks
• 19:24
  Speaker 2: passed July twelfth, Tuesday, Ben and I had lunch at
• 19:28
  Speaker 2: Cocin's cafe and check back in at the office. I
• 19:32
  Speaker 2: wish Cocaine would change his menu as a little oftener.
• 19:35
  Speaker 2: Fried beans and pastrami sandwiches. Seems to have the same thing.
• 19:38
  Speaker 4: Every time you sure dug into him. I got the
• 19:40
  Speaker 4: idea that you'll like him, oh like more.
• 19:42
  Speaker 5: I don't just eat too much. That's all. Three sandwiches,
• 19:44
  Speaker 5: two plates of beans. I wonder I never ate dinner, eh, Joe? Yeah,
• 19:54
  Speaker 5: you two back from lunch. You want to grab a sandwich?
• 19:56
  Speaker 4: Jack? Go aheads last week and covered. Okay, thanks.
• 20:00
  Speaker 5: There's somebody waiting in the next room for you. Want
• 20:01
  Speaker 5: to see you?
• 20:02
  Speaker 2: Okay, see later, all right. I want to see who
• 20:07
  Speaker 2: it is, Joe. I'll check the book. Yeah, all right, fine, Yes, sir,
• 20:14
  Speaker 2: my name is Friday. You want to see me?
• 20:15
  Speaker 5: Yeah, that's right, sardon remember me. George Hoffman?
• 20:19
  Speaker 4: Oh yeah, Hoffman in the Army uniform there. I didn't
• 20:22
  Speaker 4: recognize you.
• 20:23
  Speaker 5: Yeah, I thought it might fool you.
• 20:25
  Speaker 4: I guess you heard about me.
• 20:26
  Speaker 5: Good break, huh, I'm glad you feel that way.
• 20:29
  Speaker 4: How you doing with the army? Huh?
• 20:31
  Speaker 5: Pretty good?
• 20:31
  Speaker 4: I like it, that's fine.
• 20:33
  Speaker 7: Just thought i'd drop up and see your fellas. Say,
• 20:35
  Speaker 7: you're still that partner your head.
• 20:36
  Speaker 4: What's his name?
• 20:37
  Speaker 5: Rodriguez Romero?
• 20:39
  Speaker 4: Yeah, yeah, we still work together. Yeah Romero.
• 20:42
  Speaker 5: I knew it was some kind of name like that.
• 20:43
  Speaker 6: Yeah, Well, come on in, Hoffman, Oh thanks, hey, Ben,
• 20:49
  Speaker 6: George Hoffman. Here he stopped in to see us.
• 20:52
  Speaker 5: Oh yeah, hi, a long time Laufman.
• 20:54
  Speaker 7: Hi, pretty good, Sartin, Thanks sir, Just thought I stop by.
• 20:58
  Speaker 7: You know, sure, there's no hard feelings your thing?
• 21:01
  Speaker 5: You got any idea when you're going overseas?
• 21:03
  Speaker 7: Boys in my outfit? Figured day after tomorrow. That's kind
• 21:06
  Speaker 7: of one reason why I dropped in and see you.
• 21:07
  Speaker 4: Well, how's that?
• 21:09
  Speaker 7: Well, I know it's pretty nervy.
• 21:11
  Speaker 5: But I got lots of that.
• 21:12
  Speaker 7: You see, a bunch of us are on leave till
• 21:15
  Speaker 7: tomorrow noon. Figured we go out tonight and I'm a
• 21:18
  Speaker 7: little short.
• 21:19
  Speaker 5: You know how the army pays?
• 21:21
  Speaker 4: Okay, how about a couple of bucks. George will not
• 21:24
  Speaker 4: do you any good?
• 21:27
  Speaker 5: Sure as swell you sorry, believe me, I'll see you
• 21:29
  Speaker 5: get it back. Here's a couple more Hoffman might help out. Well,
• 21:34
  Speaker 5: it's Slee's tell you how much I appreciate it.
• 21:36
  Speaker 4: I give you my word.
• 21:37
  Speaker 5: I won't forget it. I'm going to pay this money
• 21:39
  Speaker 5: back to you.
• 21:39
  Speaker 4: I don't forget it, George. We're glad to help you out.
• 21:41
  Speaker 5: Well, thanks again for the touch. Huh. Sure, and I
• 21:44
  Speaker 5: see you drop a card if you get a chance
• 21:47
  Speaker 5: to hear how you're doing over there, Sure thing, see
• 21:49
  Speaker 5: you later.
• 21:49
  Speaker 4: Huh. Right, good luck you boy. Looks like a turned
• 21:56
  Speaker 4: for the better anyway. Huh.
• 21:58
  Speaker 5: But it was my last two bucks though, going to
• 22:00
  Speaker 5: never failed. We had to give him something. Yeah, but
• 22:02
  Speaker 5: what do I do for lunch money? Tomorrow?
• 22:10
  Speaker 2: Two pm we drove out to the Wilshire District to
• 22:12
  Speaker 2: interview a robbery victim. We brought him back downtown and
• 22:15
  Speaker 2: took his statement. Four point thirty pm we checked back
• 22:17
  Speaker 2: in with Captain.
• 22:18
  Speaker 4: Walker Hiks Kibber.
• 22:20
  Speaker 2: Henry says that ex con George Hoffman was in to
• 22:23
  Speaker 2: day Yeah to talk to him.
• 22:24
  Speaker 6: Yeah, that's right, Ed why have a look. Hey, MP's
• 22:28
  Speaker 6: laughed about twenty minutes ago as well. Here two bucks
• 22:32
  Speaker 6: went for nothing.
• 22:32
  Speaker 2: Ben Hoffman's wanted huh broke out an Army prison ten
• 22:35
  Speaker 2: o'clock this morning. Together with the army authorities, local officers
• 22:44
  Speaker 2: joined in the city wide search for George Hoffman. At
• 22:46
  Speaker 2: ten o'clock that night, a food market on Santa Fe
• 22:48
  Speaker 2: and Rialo was robbed in the proprietor beaten from our mugshots,
• 22:52
  Speaker 2: the victim identified Hoffman as the hold up man. Shortly
• 22:55
  Speaker 2: after midnight, a drugstore on Crenshaw was held up. Hoffman
• 22:58
  Speaker 2: was again tapped as the suspec. The next two days
• 23:01
  Speaker 2: the search was intensified, no leads. Two more days went by.
• 23:05
  Speaker 2: Late Saturday morning, we got a hurry up call from
• 23:07
  Speaker 2: the detail on duty at the Union station. Paffman had
• 23:10
  Speaker 2: been reported in the vicinity. Ben and I drove down
• 23:12
  Speaker 2: to the depot to check with the officer in charge.
• 23:14
  Speaker 2: Slats Henry. Spot him, Joe, No, let's have a look
• 23:20
  Speaker 2: back by the ticket catters. Huh huh, Yeah, there he
• 23:26
  Speaker 2: is over by the phone.
• 23:27
  Speaker 4: Luth come out.
• 23:31
  Speaker 5: High slash, Hi, looks pretty good.
• 23:33
  Speaker 4: What's the story.
• 23:34
  Speaker 2: One of the newsboys up the street gave us a
• 23:35
  Speaker 2: tip about an hour ago. Guy gave him a dollar
• 23:37
  Speaker 2: to come down here and buy a ticket for him,
• 23:39
  Speaker 2: ticket to Phoenix.
• 23:40
  Speaker 4: Yeah.
• 23:40
  Speaker 5: Kid came in, bought the ticket, who went back up
• 23:42
  Speaker 5: the street and gave it to the man. We showed
• 23:44
  Speaker 5: the kid a bunch of mugshots. He picked out Hoffman's man.
• 23:47
  Speaker 4: He's not wearing his army uniformer.
• 23:48
  Speaker 5: No brown suit and dark blue overcoat. No had That's
• 23:51
  Speaker 5: what the kid told us.
• 23:52
  Speaker 2: Any idea which twin he was taking for Feeni, Not exactly.
• 23:55
  Speaker 2: He asked when the first train for Phoenix was. Newsboy
• 23:57
  Speaker 2: told him three thirty five.
• 24:00
  Speaker 5: Minutes to twelve.
• 24:00
  Speaker 6: Now you got enough men to handlet's lance, everything's covered,
• 24:03
  Speaker 6: only one thing lacking, Yeah Hoffman.
• 24:09
  Speaker 5: Well.
• 24:09
  Speaker 2: The stakeout continued on the Union station. Ben and I,
• 24:12
  Speaker 2: together with Gaffney and Henry from Robbery, covered the bars,
• 24:15
  Speaker 2: restaurants and hotels in the immediate area for a sign
• 24:17
  Speaker 2: of the suspect. Two thirty pm. What do you think
• 24:23
  Speaker 2: we better head back down for the station. See what's doing?
• 24:26
  Speaker 5: Okay. I'd like to have a dime for every mile
• 24:30
  Speaker 5: we have logged on this case.
• 24:32
  Speaker 2: Yeah, Joe, have a look where across the street, dark
• 24:41
  Speaker 2: blue overcoat, same build as Hoffman. I'll bet on him.
• 24:44
  Speaker 2: Come on, he spotted us. Yeah that's Hoffman. Come on,
• 24:52
  Speaker 2: we'll pick it up.
• 24:53
  Speaker 4: Yeah, I lost him, Joe.
• 24:57
  Speaker 5: Where'd you go?
• 24:58
  Speaker 4: Turn down First Street? Come on, hurry up across the street.
• 25:01
  Speaker 4: Bend here. What's the traffic? Where do you go?
• 25:05
  Speaker 5: I've seen him that antique store on the cornery, running there.
• 25:08
  Speaker 4: Come on.
• 25:12
  Speaker 1: There he is?
• 25:12
  Speaker 4: All right, Hoffman, out of the way, mister, fight. Hold
• 25:17
  Speaker 4: right there, Hoffin, I'm coming out.
• 25:19
  Speaker 5: What's a joke? I said, I'm coming out. You hear me.
• 25:25
  Speaker 6: You're doing the hard way, George, come on, dropping dropping,
• 25:55
  Speaker 6: all right, Huffman, all right on your face, Come on, get.
• 25:58
  Speaker 4: Up now, I get your hands behind you.
• 26:04
  Speaker 5: Sure what goods are going to do?
• 26:07
  Speaker 4: All right, mister, let's go.
• 26:08
  Speaker 5: What goods are going to do?
• 26:09
  Speaker 2: I already proved that I can break jail anytime.
• 26:11
  Speaker 4: I proved it twice. You're going right back in again?
• 26:14
  Speaker 4: What's that?
• 26:15
  Speaker 2: Prove the story you have just heard was true? Only
• 26:26
  Speaker 2: the names were changed to protect the innocent.
• 26:29
  Speaker 3: On October eighth, trial was held in Superior Court, Department
• 26:32
  Speaker 3: eighty nine, City and County of Los Angeles State of
• 26:34
  Speaker 3: California in a moment the results of that trial. George R.
• 26:46
  Speaker 3: Hoffman was tried and convicted on several counts of robbery
• 26:49
  Speaker 3: and received a life sentence as a hardened criminal. After
• 26:52
  Speaker 3: serving ten months of his sentence, Hoffman attempted an escape
• 26:55
  Speaker 3: and failed. A few weeks later, he took his own
• 26:57
  Speaker 3: life in his prison cell by hanging.
• 27:00
  Speaker 5: Adies and gentlemen.
• 27:00
  Speaker 2: Next week, in answer to your requests, Dragnet will repeat
• 27:04
  Speaker 2: A Gun for Christmas.
• 27:05
  Speaker 5: The actual case history broadcast last year during the ule
• 27:09
  Speaker 5: Tide season. That's next Thursday, December twenty First.
• 27:22
  Speaker 3: You have just heard Dragnet, a series of authentic cases
• 27:25
  Speaker 3: from official files. Technical advice for Dragnet comes from the
• 27:29
  Speaker 3: Office of Chief of Police W. H. Parker, Los Angeles
• 27:32
  Speaker 3: Police Department.
• 27:44
  Speaker 4: We the people as next with more good Times on NBC.
• 27:53
  Speaker 1: Welcome Back. This is one of my favorite Dragnet stories,
• 27:56
  Speaker 1: although I'll be honest that this is one where I
• 27:59
  Speaker 1: do prefer the tea version to the radio version, as
• 28:02
  Speaker 1: it's a really fun to watch visual story, particularly for
• 28:06
  Speaker 1: early television, and also the casting is better with both
• 28:10
  Speaker 1: Frank Smith as Friday's partner and also the railroad enthusiast
• 28:15
  Speaker 1: is better cast. I don't think the type of quirky
• 28:19
  Speaker 1: that they were able to get out of that actor
• 28:23
  Speaker 1: in the TV version is really in herb Butterfields wheelhouse. Still,
• 28:28
  Speaker 1: the radio version is plenty exciting and funding its own right.
• 28:32
  Speaker 1: One thing I hadn't noticed was the bit where Hoffmann
• 28:37
  Speaker 1: failed to start the car because he didn't turn the
• 28:40
  Speaker 1: ignition over. This little detail did a good job of
• 28:43
  Speaker 1: illustrating that despite all of his viciousness and cunning, he
• 28:48
  Speaker 1: lacks the sort of cool headedness that you really need
• 28:52
  Speaker 1: to have if you end up confronting the police. Now,
• 28:55
  Speaker 1: I will say because I love the TV version, I
• 28:58
  Speaker 1: did look up the im d B reviews of the
• 29:02
  Speaker 1: TV version of the episode and was surprised by a
• 29:04
  Speaker 1: few of the reviews, though I guess I probably shouldn't
• 29:08
  Speaker 1: have been. A couple of reviewers noted that the episode
• 29:11
  Speaker 1: showed law enforcement as pretty incompetent, and it showed all
• 29:15
  Speaker 1: the flaws in the system, and why was Dragon that
• 29:19
  Speaker 1: doing this as it was supposed to be about glorifying
• 29:21
  Speaker 1: the police. Now, I don't think they really gave a
• 29:25
  Speaker 1: concrete example of how our heroes failed, but they complained
• 29:29
  Speaker 1: about things like him escaping from jail and also the
• 29:34
  Speaker 1: parole into the military. Honestly, I think these reviewers like
• 29:39
  Speaker 1: George Hoffman missed the point. Now there is a legitimate
• 29:43
  Speaker 1: debate over parole processes and when we should have laws
• 29:48
  Speaker 1: that lock a criminal up and throw away the key.
• 29:51
  Speaker 1: That's a legitimate public policy debate I won't try to settle,
• 29:55
  Speaker 1: but I do think that some key context is being
• 29:59
  Speaker 1: missed in the criticism, and some of it is the
• 30:01
  Speaker 1: confusing nature of dragnet storytelling. Because I first watched this
• 30:07
  Speaker 1: as the nineteen fifty three TV episode, I had an
• 30:12
  Speaker 1: image in my mind that he was going overseas, kind
• 30:16
  Speaker 1: of like when my dad went into the military for
• 30:18
  Speaker 1: the first time later on in the fifties, over to
• 30:22
  Speaker 1: somewhere like West Germany. But in the real incident that
• 30:26
  Speaker 1: this was based upon, that's not likely the escape case,
• 30:31
  Speaker 1: because by the time that this episode aired in nineteen
• 30:35
  Speaker 1: fifty Hoffen had been back to prison and tried to
• 30:39
  Speaker 1: break out and committed suicide. And I would venture a
• 30:43
  Speaker 1: guest that most likely the events occurred during World War Two,
• 30:48
  Speaker 1: and so he was likely being parolled into a war zone,
• 30:53
  Speaker 1: either Western Europe or into the South Pacific. The second
• 30:58
  Speaker 1: thing is that while was on the police's size, it
• 31:02
  Speaker 1: didn't portray them as superhuman, nor did it portray others
• 31:06
  Speaker 1: in law enforcement as completely infallible. And there are all
• 31:11
  Speaker 1: kinds of evidences of police and competence. I don't know
• 31:16
  Speaker 1: that not planning for a guy teaching himself how to
• 31:21
  Speaker 1: climb down the side of a building like Spider Man
• 31:25
  Speaker 1: is a huge failure of competence. But the Big Break
• 31:30
  Speaker 1: is actually a story about a very dangerous, very cunning
• 31:35
  Speaker 1: criminal running up against the determine and steady of a
• 31:42
  Speaker 1: professional police force ready to take him the moment he
• 31:47
  Speaker 1: makes a mistake. And that's why at the end of
• 31:49
  Speaker 1: the day, Friday asked him what it proved after they
• 31:53
  Speaker 1: managed to recapture him every time he broke out. And ultimately,
• 31:58
  Speaker 1: the thing with guys like Hawfman is that they'll continue
• 32:01
  Speaker 1: to press their luck until it runs out. Now, you
• 32:04
  Speaker 1: may not agree with the message of the episode, but
• 32:07
  Speaker 1: that's what it's about. Well, now we turn to listener
• 32:10
  Speaker 1: comments and feedback, and I have a letter from Jackie
• 32:15
  Speaker 1: and Paul, and Jackie writes, thank you so much for
• 32:18
  Speaker 1: your Adams Old Time radio podcasts. My husband and I
• 32:22
  Speaker 1: have been thoroughly enjoying yours truly, Johnny Doller, and we
• 32:26
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• 32:29
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• 32:32
  Speaker 1: you're wondering about the Adams Old Time Radio Reference, I
• 32:37
  Speaker 1: actually have all of the podcast I've done with old
• 32:43
  Speaker 1: time Radio over the years, including things like The Old
• 32:47
  Speaker 1: Time Dragnet Show, The War, The Old Time Radio Snack Wagon,
• 32:51
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• 32:55
  Speaker 1: all of our podcast Fate and I put it in
• 32:58
  Speaker 1: a channel on Apple Podcasts. Really delighted they were able
• 33:02
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• 33:05
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• 33:09
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• 33:12
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• 33:15
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• 33:23
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  Speaker 1: check out a website at Great Detectives dot net. But
• 33:31
  Speaker 1: thanks so much for the lovely letter, and also thank
• 33:35
  Speaker 1: you for Pat who writes. Thanks for all the work
• 33:38
  Speaker 1: you put in well, Thank you so much pat and
• 33:42
  Speaker 1: now it is time to thank our Patreon supporter of
• 33:46
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• 33:49
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• 34:41
  Speaker 8: Where I went there to tell him to stay away
• 34:44
  Speaker 8: from my sister. We had a fight. The manager came
• 34:47
  Speaker 8: and stopped this. I told Hanson I'd kill him if
• 34:49
  Speaker 8: it didn't lay off. The manager heard this. Then I
• 34:53
  Speaker 8: went home.
• 34:54
  Speaker 4: What time was it about eight thirty the.
• 34:57
  Speaker 8: Police claimed I returned to Hanson's apartment and shot it.
• 35:01
  Speaker 8: I couldn't prove I was at home all night. It
• 35:04
  Speaker 8: was going rough for me until Patricia Park testified she
• 35:08
  Speaker 8: was with me at the time when the crime was
• 35:09
  Speaker 8: said to have been committed.
• 35:10
  Speaker 9: Why didn't you do the police in the first phase
• 35:13
  Speaker 9: that this Patricia Park was with you?
• 35:15
  Speaker 8: Well, that's the whole trouble. She wasn't what Her claim
• 35:19
  Speaker 8: that she spent the hours nine till midnight with me
• 35:21
  Speaker 8: was a lie. In fact, I never met the woman
• 35:24
  Speaker 8: in my life.
• 35:25
  Speaker 9: Have you contacted this Patricia since East, mister Bokok, Yes,
• 35:30
  Speaker 9: but she refuses to see me. Gee forho and missus
• 35:33
  Speaker 9: Patricia Park and tenor that you must hear it once
• 35:36
  Speaker 9: her own good.
• 35:37
  Speaker 1: I hope you'll be with us then in the meantime.
• 35:40
  Speaker 1: Send your comments to Box thirteen at Great Detectives dot net,
• 35:45
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• 35:48
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• 35:54
  Speaker 1: boy Satta Hole. This is your host, Adam Graham's son
• 35:57
  Speaker 1: and all