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Dragnet - "Big Fire" (Old Time Radio, 1952) · Dragnet | Old Time Radio

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Prospective tenants have signed their leases and paid their rent,
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: but their landlord refuses to let them move into a
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: recently renovated Los Angeles apartment building. That complaint brings Sergeant
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: Joe Friday and Sergeant Ed Jacobs to a case involving
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: threats at gunpoint and the questions behind Edward Daniels' conduct.
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: Assigned to homicide, Friday and Jacobs follow a landlord-tenant dispute
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: toward the reason for Daniels' extreme behavior. Originally broadcast on
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: NBC Radio and sponsored by Fatima, this is Dragnet, episode 144,
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: Big Fire, from March 13th, 1952. Jack Webb stars as Friday,
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: Barney Phillips as Jacobs, Jim Moser wrote the broadcast. Now,
• 0:51
  Speaker 1: back to the golden age of radio.
• 0:53
  Speaker 2: The story you are about to hear is true. The
• 1:04
  Speaker 2: names have been changed to protect the innocent.
• 1:06
  Speaker 3: Fatima Cigarettes. Best of all king-size cigarettes. Brings you Dragnet
• 1:11
  Speaker 3: on both radio and television.
• 1:22
  Speaker 2: You're a detective sergeant. You're assigned a homicide detail. You
• 1:26
  Speaker 2: receive a complaint about the owner of an apartment building.
• 1:29
  Speaker 2: He signs leases for the apartments, and he threatens to
• 1:32
  Speaker 2: kill the tenants if they move in.
• 1:34
  Speaker 4: Your job?
• 1:36
  Speaker 5: Investigate.
• 1:40
  Speaker 2: Comparison proves Fatima quality. Yes, comparison proves Fatima quality.
• 1:46
  Speaker 3: Compare Fatima with any other king-size cigarette.
• 1:49
  Speaker 6: One.
• 1:50
  Speaker 2: Fatima's length filters the smoke 85 millimeters for your protection. Two,
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  Speaker 2: cigarette size.
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  Speaker 3: And you get an extra mild and soothing smoke, plus
• 2:08
  Speaker 3: the added protection of Fatima quality.
• 2:11
  Speaker 6: Definitely the best quality in its class, but the same
• 2:14
  Speaker 6: price as the cigarette you are now smoking.
• 2:17
  Speaker 2: In Fatima, the difference is quality. Buy Fatima in the bright,
• 2:22
  Speaker 2: sunny yellow pack. Best of all, king-size cigarettes.
• 2:32
  Speaker 3: Dragnet, the documented drama of an actual crime. For the
• 2:36
  Speaker 3: next 30 minutes, in cooperation with the Los Angeles Police Department,
• 2:40
  Speaker 3: you will travel step by step on the side of
• 2:42
  Speaker 3: the law through an actual case transcribed from official police files.
• 2:46
  Speaker 3: From beginning to end, from crime to punishment, Dragnet is
• 2:50
  Speaker 3: the story of your police force in action.
• 2:57
  Speaker 5: It was Wednesday, May 9th. It was hot in Los Angeles.
• 3:00
  Speaker 5: We were working the night watch out of homicide detail.
• 3:02
  Speaker 5: My partner's Ed Jacobs. The boss is Captain Warman. My
• 3:05
  Speaker 5: name's Friday. It was 6.47 p.m. when I got back
• 3:08
  Speaker 5: to the Capitol Avenue Auto Corp. Caught his number 11.
• 3:11
  Speaker 7: No, no reason in the world for it. I tried
• 3:14
  Speaker 7: to reason with him. He wouldn't even listen. It was
• 3:15
  Speaker 7: the craziest thing I ever saw.
• 3:17
  Speaker 4: Yes, ma'am. Now, Joe, did you find the phone all right? Yeah,
• 3:19
  Speaker 4: I checked the office.
• 3:20
  Speaker 5: Lopey says they picked up Daniels a few minutes ago.
• 3:22
  Speaker 5: They're bringing him downtown now.
• 3:23
  Speaker 7: They got him, did they? They're going to put him
• 3:24
  Speaker 7: in jail?
• 3:25
  Speaker 5: Well, it depends, ma'am. It's going to take a little
• 3:26
  Speaker 5: more investigating first.
• 3:27
  Speaker 6: I don't see what else you need. He threatened us
• 3:29
  Speaker 6: with a gun, me and Doris Ashby. If that isn't
• 3:31
  Speaker 6: a crime, I don't know what is.
• 3:32
  Speaker 8: A few more questions we'd like to ask you, ma'am,
• 3:34
  Speaker 8: if you don't mind. A couple of things we'd like
• 3:36
  Speaker 8: to clear up.
• 3:36
  Speaker 6: I told you just how it happened. Doris will tell
• 3:38
  Speaker 6: you the same thing. Just a crazy old man, if
• 3:40
  Speaker 6: you ask me, ought to be put away.
• 3:42
  Speaker 5: Did you ever have any trouble with Mr. Daniels before
• 3:44
  Speaker 5: this afternoon, Miss Cameron?
• 3:45
  Speaker 7: Excuse me, the baby.
• 3:46
  Speaker 5: Yes, ma'am.
• 3:47
  Speaker 6: What is it now, honey? Can't you sleep?
• 3:50
  Speaker 7: You try now, won't you? Daddy will be home pretty soon.
• 3:52
  Speaker 7: That's a good boy. You try and sleep now.
• 3:54
  Speaker 4: Miss Cameron?
• 3:55
  Speaker 6: Yes?
• 3:56
  Speaker 7: Oh, you be quiet now. I don't want any trouble
• 3:58
  Speaker 7: from you. You heard me. Be quiet now.
• 4:00
  Speaker 4: What have you got your hands for, ma'am?
• 4:01
  Speaker 7: Don't I know.
• 4:02
  Speaker 9: A canary, a.
• 4:03
  Speaker 6: Four-month-old baby trying to keep house in an auto court.
• 4:05
  Speaker 6: If I knew it was going to be like this,
• 4:07
  Speaker 6: I never would have left Paso Robles.
• 4:09
  Speaker 5: You've only been in town a week or so, is
• 4:10
  Speaker 5: that right?
• 4:11
  Speaker 7: It's closer to two weeks.
• 4:12
  Speaker 6: Seems more like two months trying to get along in
• 4:14
  Speaker 6: a place like this.
• 4:15
  Speaker 7: A room and a bath, no place to cook, rinse
• 4:17
  Speaker 7: out diapers. It's terrible.
• 4:19
  Speaker 6: I told my husband he should come down here alone,
• 4:21
  Speaker 6: find us a place to live first.
• 4:22
  Speaker 7: Then we could move. No, he had to have it
• 4:24
  Speaker 7: his way.
• 4:26
  Speaker 5: You say your husband made the first contact with Daniels.
• 4:28
  Speaker 5: He gave him a deposit on this apartment.
• 4:30
  Speaker 7: Yeah, that's right. The same day he started work at the.
• 4:32
  Speaker 6: Aircraft plant in the valley.
• 4:34
  Speaker 7: We've been living in.
• 4:34
  Speaker 6: Paso Robles since we got married. A month ago, Pete,
• 4:37
  Speaker 6: that's my husband, he got a lead on this aircraft
• 4:40
  Speaker 6: job down here. Him and Ralph came down and signed
• 4:43
  Speaker 6: up for it.
• 4:43
  Speaker 5: Ralph?
• 4:43
  Speaker 4: Who's that, ma'am?
• 4:44
  Speaker 7: Ralph Ashby. He's Doris' husband. Doris Ashby. She's my best girlfriend.
• 4:48
  Speaker 7: We were neighbors up in Paso Rojo.
• 4:50
  Speaker 4: Oh, I see.
• 4:51
  Speaker 7: They're not doing much better than we are right now.
• 4:53
  Speaker 7: They're staying in another coat up the street. Same thing,
• 4:55
  Speaker 7: room and a bath. Doris is expecting, too.
• 4:58
  Speaker 4: Poor kid.
• 4:59
  Speaker 7: Did you hear me? You be quiet now. You want
• 5:02
  Speaker 7: to wake up the baby?
• 5:03
  Speaker 5: About the arrangements your husband made with Daniels to lease
• 5:05
  Speaker 5: this apartment, Miss Cameron, when was all this?
• 5:08
  Speaker 7: A week ago Monday, the day after I moved down here.
• 5:10
  Speaker 6: My husband and Ralph Ashby saw the rental ad in
• 5:13
  Speaker 6: the paper and they went over.
• 5:14
  Speaker 7: And talked to Daniels. He said, all right. He had
• 5:16
  Speaker 7: an apartment for the Ashbees and one for us. Nice places, too.
• 5:19
  Speaker 5: I see.
• 5:20
  Speaker 6: Ralph and my husband signed the leases, gave him the
• 5:22
  Speaker 6: first and last month's rent in advance.
• 5:24
  Speaker 7: It was all decided.
• 5:25
  Speaker 4: Well, how is it you couldn't move in right away,
• 5:26
  Speaker 4: Miss Cameron?
• 5:27
  Speaker 7: Well, he said he was having the apartment house redecorated.
• 5:29
  Speaker 7: Daniels did, I mean.
• 5:30
  Speaker 6: He told Ralph and my husband the apartments would probably
• 5:33
  Speaker 6: be ready for us on the 8th.
• 5:34
  Speaker 7: That was yesterday. He said the 9th for sure, and
• 5:36
  Speaker 7: that's today.
• 5:37
  Speaker 5: And you tried to move in this afternoon, and Daniels
• 5:39
  Speaker 5: refused to let you in.
• 5:40
  Speaker 4: Is that it?
• 5:41
  Speaker 6: I had the movers get all our things out of
• 5:42
  Speaker 6: storage and move them out to the apartment.
• 5:44
  Speaker 7: So did my girlfriend, Doris.
• 5:46
  Speaker 6: The movers were just starting to get our furniture out
• 5:48
  Speaker 6: of the van and move it into the apartment when Mr.
• 5:49
  Speaker 6: Daniels showed up.
• 5:51
  Speaker 7: He acted like a crazy man.
• 5:52
  Speaker 4: Wouldn't he give you any reasons why he couldn't move in?
• 5:54
  Speaker 7: He tried to give us a lot of reasons. None
• 5:56
  Speaker 7: of them made any sense.
• 5:57
  Speaker 4: You could ask Doris.
• 5:58
  Speaker 7: She'll tell you. She was there with me.
• 6:00
  Speaker 5: Well, what did Daniel say? Not just for instance.
• 6:01
  Speaker 7: He said a lot of things.
• 6:03
  Speaker 6: First, he told us there was no water in the apartment.
• 6:05
  Speaker 6: It hadn't been turned on yet. He said the gas
• 6:07
  Speaker 6: wasn't turned on either.
• 6:08
  Speaker 7: Well, I knew that was a lie. I was in
• 6:10
  Speaker 7: the apartment late in the morning. Everything was fine. The
• 6:12
  Speaker 7: gas was working. So was the water.
• 6:13
  Speaker 5: I see.
• 6:14
  Speaker 6: When I caught him in that lie, he got madder
• 6:16
  Speaker 6: than ever. Made some more excuses. Then he started yelling
• 6:19
  Speaker 6: and swearing at me right there on the sidewalk. Said
• 6:22
  Speaker 6: the apartment just wasn't ready yet.
• 6:24
  Speaker 7: I told him to go climb a tree. We signed
• 6:26
  Speaker 7: the lease. We paid the rent. We were moving in anyway.
• 6:29
  Speaker 7: Told the movers to go ahead. Take in the furniture.
• 6:31
  Speaker 4: What did Daniel say then?
• 6:33
  Speaker 6: Nothing. He just got real purple in the face and
• 6:35
  Speaker 6: he put his hand in his coat pocket and he
• 6:36
  Speaker 6: took out a gun.
• 6:37
  Speaker 7: Pointed it at me and Doris and I had the
• 6:38
  Speaker 7: baby in my arms. Imagine that.
• 6:41
  Speaker 5: He actually told you he'd shoot you if you tried
• 6:43
  Speaker 5: to move in the apartment.
• 6:43
  Speaker 4: Is that right?
• 6:44
  Speaker 6: In so many words, yes, he did.
• 6:46
  Speaker 7: He threatened the moving men, too. They tried to talk
• 6:49
  Speaker 7: to him. He wouldn't listen. We all tried to.
• 6:50
  Speaker 9: Talk to him.
• 6:51
  Speaker 7: We didn't make any sense at all. I wasn't going
• 6:54
  Speaker 7: to take any chances with the baby in my arms.
• 6:56
  Speaker 7: Doris and I got in the car and drove away.
• 6:58
  Speaker 9: So did the movers.
• 6:59
  Speaker 7: They left with us. Can't say I blame them either. Yes, ma'am.
• 7:02
  Speaker 7: That Daniels must be out of his mind. It's the
• 7:04
  Speaker 7: only thing I can figure.
• 7:05
  Speaker 9: A real nut.
• 7:06
  Speaker 5: Well, did either you or your husband have any arguments
• 7:08
  Speaker 5: with him at all before this afternoon?
• 7:09
  Speaker 7: No, everything was fine. This afternoon was the second time
• 7:12
  Speaker 7: I ever spoke to the man.
• 7:13
  Speaker 5: And he had no objections to your having children or
• 7:15
  Speaker 5: pets in the apartment?
• 7:16
  Speaker 7: None at all.
• 7:16
  Speaker 6: That's one of the first things my husband told Daniels
• 7:18
  Speaker 6: when he went to look at the apartment.
• 7:20
  Speaker 7: We had a baby and a canary. Daniel said it
• 7:22
  Speaker 7: was all right with him. He didn't object at all.
• 7:24
  Speaker 4: I understand there's six apartments in the building, Miss Cameron,
• 7:26
  Speaker 4: that right?
• 7:27
  Speaker 7: Yes, that's right.
• 7:28
  Speaker 6: They're all vacant as far as I know. Daniel's just
• 7:30
  Speaker 6: bought the building a month ago. That's what he told
• 7:32
  Speaker 6: my husband anyway. He had the place redecorated and the.
• 7:35
  Speaker 7: Work was all done.
• 7:36
  Speaker 6: The apartments are just sitting there.
• 7:37
  Speaker 7: That's why I can't understand it. Why won't he let
• 7:39
  Speaker 7: us move in?
• 7:40
  Speaker 4: Yes, ma'am.
• 7:41
  Speaker 7: We paid our money, signed the lease.
• 7:43
  Speaker 6: If they gave us any kind of a good reason
• 7:45
  Speaker 6: why we shouldn't move in, I could understand it.
• 7:47
  Speaker 7: But to keep us out for.
• 7:47
  Speaker 6: No reason at all, to stand out there on the
• 7:50
  Speaker 6: sidewalk and threaten to shoot us if.
• 7:51
  Speaker 7: We move in, me with a baby in my arms.
• 7:54
  Speaker 5: I don't know.
• 7:54
  Speaker 7: He must be crazy.
• 7:55
  Speaker 5: You say you were in the apartment this morning with
• 7:57
  Speaker 5: his camera. Did you notice anything unusual.
• 7:59
  Speaker 4: About the place?
• 7:59
  Speaker 5: Anything out of the ordinary?
• 8:00
  Speaker 2: No, nothing.
• 8:01
  Speaker 5: And you say Daniels couldn't give any reason at all
• 8:03
  Speaker 5: why you shouldn't move in?
• 8:04
  Speaker 7: Just one. It convinced me.
• 8:06
  Speaker 9: Yeah.
• 8:06
  Speaker 4: That gun.
• 8:12
  Speaker 5: Before we left Mrs. Cameron, we took her crime report
• 8:14
  Speaker 5: and had her sign it, and then we drove back
• 8:16
  Speaker 5: downtown to the squad room where Gene Bechtel and Lloyd
• 8:19
  Speaker 5: Bond were waiting with the suspect, Edward Daniels. They'd already
• 8:22
  Speaker 5: checked him through R & I. He had no previous
• 8:24
  Speaker 5: criminal record. They gave us a. 22 caliber H &
• 8:27
  Speaker 5: R revolver along with six shells which had been found
• 8:30
  Speaker 5: on the suspect at the time of his arrest. The
• 8:32
  Speaker 5: gun had been loaded. Pawn shop records showed that the
• 8:35
  Speaker 5: weapon had been purchased by the suspect and had been
• 8:37
  Speaker 5: registered in his name. We had stenographer Eleanor Eastlack type
• 8:41
  Speaker 5: up the crime report, and Ed and I took Daniels
• 8:43
  Speaker 5: down the hall to the interrogation room. He was a small,
• 8:46
  Speaker 5: thin man. Blue eyes, gray hair.
• 8:49
  Speaker 9: Don't know what all the fuss is about. I own
• 8:51
  Speaker 9: the building. I can keep people out if I want to.
• 8:53
  Speaker 8: When we saw the leash assigned to the Camerons, the
• 8:55
  Speaker 8: other couple, too, they paid their rent. Why the sudden
• 8:57
  Speaker 8: change of heart?
• 8:58
  Speaker 9: I don't think that's any of your business. It's a
• 9:00
  Speaker 9: matter between me and the tenant.
• 9:01
  Speaker 5: It's our business when you threaten them with a gun, Daniel.
• 9:03
  Speaker 5: It's assault with a deadly weapon.
• 9:04
  Speaker 4: That's a felony.
• 9:05
  Speaker 9: Didn't hurt the woman. Just wanted to scare her, that's all.
• 9:07
  Speaker 9: Just a couple of farmers anyway. Never should have given
• 9:10
  Speaker 9: them the lease in the first place. Lousy kid with
• 9:13
  Speaker 9: them and that bird chirping all the time.
• 9:14
  Speaker 5: How'd you happen to have that gun with you this afternoon?
• 9:17
  Speaker 9: Didn't happen to have it. Carry it all the time.
• 9:19
  Speaker 9: It's my business, isn't it? Registered down here.
• 9:21
  Speaker 4: You mean you got a permit to carry this gun?
• 9:23
  Speaker 9: Don't need a permit. It's registered, isn't it?
• 9:25
  Speaker 5: Who gave you the idea because the gun's registered you
• 9:27
  Speaker 5: can carry it around in your pocket?
• 9:28
  Speaker 9: A friend of mine. Nothing wrong with it, is there?
• 9:30
  Speaker 5: Having a gun registered is nothing more than keeping a
• 9:32
  Speaker 5: permanent record of it. You can keep the gun in
• 9:34
  Speaker 5: your home or in your office, but it doesn't give
• 9:36
  Speaker 5: you the right to carry it around with you. Oh?
• 9:38
  Speaker 9: Why didn't they tell me that when I had it registered?
• 9:40
  Speaker 4: You were told, Mr. Daniels. You know that.
• 9:43
  Speaker 9: Well, I don't remember.
• 9:43
  Speaker 8: It doesn't make much difference if you remember or not.
• 9:45
  Speaker 8: Nobody has a permit to threaten people with a gun.
• 9:47
  Speaker 9: I told you I wasn't going to hurt her. She
• 9:49
  Speaker 9: just kept arguing with me. I'm a sick man, you know.
• 9:52
  Speaker 9: I thought she was going to hit me.
• 9:53
  Speaker 5: You mean while she was holding that baby in her arms? Now,
• 9:55
  Speaker 5: come off it, Daniels. What's this thing all about?
• 9:57
  Speaker 9: I told you before. I think that's my business.
• 9:59
  Speaker 5: You signed a year's lease with the Camerons. You accepted
• 10:01
  Speaker 5: the first and last month's rent. You took their money.
• 10:03
  Speaker 5: You're advising they could move in this afternoon. When they
• 10:06
  Speaker 5: try to move in, you meet them at the front
• 10:07
  Speaker 5: door and threaten them with a gun.
• 10:08
  Speaker 4: Now, what's it all about?
• 10:09
  Speaker 5: None of this makes any sense.
• 10:10
  Speaker 9: Changed my mind. I'm not ready to rent them out yet.
• 10:13
  Speaker 8: Well, then why'd you sign that lease with the Camerons?
• 10:15
  Speaker 8: How about it, Mr.
• 10:15
  Speaker 4: Daniels?
• 10:16
  Speaker 8: If there's something in that building you're trying to cover up,
• 10:18
  Speaker 8: you might as well tell us. There's a couple of
• 10:19
  Speaker 8: men out there now checking it.
• 10:20
  Speaker 9: You can go ahead and check. I don't care. They
• 10:22
  Speaker 9: won't find anything. I've got nothing to hide.
• 10:24
  Speaker 5: How long have you lived here, Daniels?
• 10:25
  Speaker 9: 18, 20 years.
• 10:27
  Speaker 5: Why? Where'd you live before you came here?
• 10:29
  Speaker 4: Ohio.
• 10:30
  Speaker 9: Cleveland, Ohio.
• 10:31
  Speaker 5: You ever been arrested?
• 10:33
  Speaker 9: Yeah, a couple of traffic tickets. Cop said I went
• 10:35
  Speaker 9: through a stop signal. I wasn't guilty, though. What's the point, anyway?
• 10:39
  Speaker 9: What are you trying to get at? Trying to force
• 10:42
  Speaker 9: me to let those people in that apartment?
• 10:43
  Speaker 8: I'm not trying to force you into anything, Daniels. Business
• 10:45
  Speaker 8: about the lease is a civil matter. That's between you
• 10:47
  Speaker 8: and the Camerons.
• 10:48
  Speaker 9: And what are you holding me here for?
• 10:50
  Speaker 5: We told you, you threatened that woman with a gun.
• 10:52
  Speaker 5: She signed an ADW report.
• 10:53
  Speaker 9: What do you mean, ADW?
• 10:55
  Speaker 5: Assault with a deadly weapon. That's a pretty serious charge, Daniels.
• 10:57
  Speaker 9: Didn't hurt the woman, didn't even touch her.
• 10:59
  Speaker 4: Pointed the gun at her, didn't you?
• 11:01
  Speaker 5: Yeah.
• 11:01
  Speaker 4: Gun was loaded, wasn't it?
• 11:02
  Speaker 9: Yeah.
• 11:02
  Speaker 4: It was capable of being fired.
• 11:04
  Speaker 9: Yeah, but I wasn't going to shoot her, I told you.
• 11:06
  Speaker 9: Just wanted to scare her off, get her out of there.
• 11:08
  Speaker 7: Uh-huh.
• 11:09
  Speaker 9: It's the truth. I wasn't going to shoot her. What
• 11:12
  Speaker 9: do I have to do to convince you?
• 11:13
  Speaker 5: You don't have to convince us.
• 11:14
  Speaker 9: What do you mean? Who do I have to convince?
• 11:16
  Speaker 5: You got your choice, a judge or a jury. Ed
• 11:22
  Speaker 5: and I took the suspect, Edward Daniels, down to the
• 11:24
  Speaker 5: main jail where we booked him in on suspicion of
• 11:26
  Speaker 5: 467 PC ADW.
• 11:28
  Speaker 4: Before he was locked up.
• 11:29
  Speaker 5: Daniels asked us if we would take the keys to
• 11:31
  Speaker 5: his car and the keys to his apartment house to
• 11:34
  Speaker 5: an Oliver Randall, an employee of his who acted as
• 11:37
  Speaker 5: a janitor and general handyman at two other apartment houses
• 11:40
  Speaker 5: Daniels owned.
• 11:41
  Speaker 4: We told him we would.
• 11:43
  Speaker 5: After we left the main jail, we checked with the
• 11:45
  Speaker 5: office and then we drove out to the location of
• 11:47
  Speaker 5: the apartment house to interview the neighbors and deliver the
• 11:49
  Speaker 5: keys to Daniel's handyman, Oliver Randall. Other than telling us
• 11:54
  Speaker 5: that they considered Mr. Daniels a little eccentric, the neighbors
• 11:56
  Speaker 5: were unable to give us any additional information that might
• 11:59
  Speaker 5: help us in the prosecution. After we finished talking to
• 12:02
  Speaker 5: the neighbors, we went across the street to the apartment house.
• 12:05
  Speaker 5: There were lights burning in the upper rear apartment. We
• 12:08
  Speaker 5: tried the bell, but there was no answer. From the
• 12:10
  Speaker 5: set of keys Daniels had given us, we found the
• 12:12
  Speaker 5: one that fit the door and let ourselves in. We
• 12:15
  Speaker 5: heard somebody moving around on the floor above us. We
• 12:17
  Speaker 5: went up and found a man there who identified himself
• 12:19
  Speaker 5: as Oliver Randall. He appeared nervous and upset. There were
• 12:22
  Speaker 5: papers and rags scattered over the floor of the room.
• 12:25
  Speaker 4: Oh, yeah, I was just cleaning up here.
• 12:26
  Speaker 9: Mr.
• 12:26
  Speaker 4: Daniels told me to be sure and clean these up,
• 12:28
  Speaker 4: papers and junk. I see.
• 12:30
  Speaker 8: Well, here's some keys for you, Randall. Daniels asked to
• 12:32
  Speaker 8: get them to you. Oh, yeah, apartment house keys.
• 12:34
  Speaker 2: Mr.
• 12:34
  Speaker 10: Daniels was supposed to meet me here. He said 8 o'clock.
• 12:37
  Speaker 10: I think that's what he said.
• 12:38
  Speaker 4: I wonder where he is. Do you know where he is?
• 12:39
  Speaker 5: Yeah, he's in jail.
• 12:41
  Speaker 4: Oh, what's he doing in jail? Did he do something wrong?
• 12:43
  Speaker 5: He's had a complaint filed against him, assault with a
• 12:45
  Speaker 5: deadly weapon.
• 12:46
  Speaker 4: What happened? He get mad at somebody?
• 12:48
  Speaker 5: Mr.
• 12:48
  Speaker 10: Daniels got an awful bad temper. When he gets mad
• 12:50
  Speaker 10: at somebody, he doesn't forget it.
• 12:52
  Speaker 4: I know. I work for him. How long have you
• 12:53
  Speaker 4: worked for him, Randall? I don't know. A long time.
• 12:56
  Speaker 4: Maybe five years.
• 12:57
  Speaker 9: I forget.
• 12:58
  Speaker 5: You say Daniels has a bad temper. Have you ever
• 13:00
  Speaker 5: known him to be violent, Randall?
• 13:01
  Speaker 4: How's that?
• 13:01
  Speaker 5: Well, have you ever known him to be violent? I mean,
• 13:03
  Speaker 5: have you ever known him to hurt anyone?
• 13:04
  Speaker 4: I don't know. I don't remember. A lot of times
• 13:06
  Speaker 4: he says he's going to do things.
• 13:08
  Speaker 10: I work for him, you know. A lot of times
• 13:09
  Speaker 10: he gets mad at me. He says I don't work
• 13:11
  Speaker 10: fast enough or I don't do the right things. He
• 13:14
  Speaker 10: always carries his gun, you know. Once he said he
• 13:16
  Speaker 10: was going to shoot me, I was pretty scared.
• 13:18
  Speaker 4: You live with Mr. Daniels, do you?
• 13:20
  Speaker 10: No, I have a room downstairs in another apartment house
• 13:23
  Speaker 10: he owns, a place over on South Hoover.
• 13:25
  Speaker 4: It's a nice room. It's got a window in it.
• 13:27
  Speaker 4: You're on a regular salary. Is that the way you work? Yeah,
• 13:30
  Speaker 4: $ 15 a week. I get the room free, too. It's
• 13:32
  Speaker 4: not bad. You ever been arrested, Randall? Me? No, I've
• 13:35
  Speaker 4: never been arrested.
• 13:36
  Speaker 5: You ever been in a state hospital, any kind of
• 13:38
  Speaker 5: an institution?
• 13:38
  Speaker 4: No, I was up at Camarillo for a couple of years.
• 13:41
  Speaker 10: I didn't like it too much. I came down here
• 13:43
  Speaker 10: to live with my sister. She's dead now. She died
• 13:45
  Speaker 10: about four years ago. She's the one that got me
• 13:47
  Speaker 10: this job, you know.
• 13:48
  Speaker 4: That so?
• 13:49
  Speaker 3: Oh, yeah.
• 13:50
  Speaker 10: This isn't a bad job at all. Jobs are pretty
• 13:52
  Speaker 10: hard to get now. That's what Mr. Daniels says. It's
• 13:55
  Speaker 10: real tough to.
• 13:55
  Speaker 4: Get a good job now. That's why I do what
• 13:57
  Speaker 4: I'm told. I'd better get on fixing up this place.
• 14:01
  Speaker 5: How'd all these rags and papers get here, Randall? The
• 14:03
  Speaker 5: painters leave them behind?
• 14:04
  Speaker 4: I don't know. I guess so. I guess somebody left
• 14:06
  Speaker 4: them here.
• 14:08
  Speaker 5: We understood the apartments were already cleaned up. They were
• 14:10
  Speaker 5: ready to move into.
• 14:11
  Speaker 4: What's that?
• 14:12
  Speaker 5: I say we understood the apartments were all fixed up,
• 14:14
  Speaker 5: but they were ready for the tenants to move right into.
• 14:15
  Speaker 4: Oh, I don't know. I wouldn't know about that.
• 14:18
  Speaker 9: Mr.
• 14:18
  Speaker 4: Daniels takes care of renting the places. I just help him.
• 14:21
  Speaker 4: I do what he tells me. Joe?
• 14:23
  Speaker 5: Yeah?
• 14:23
  Speaker 4: You notice that smell? Seems to be stronger out in
• 14:25
  Speaker 4: the hall.
• 14:27
  Speaker 5: Yeah, I think I do. How long has it been
• 14:29
  Speaker 5: since the painters were working here, Randall? Do you know that?
• 14:31
  Speaker 1: Painters?
• 14:32
  Speaker 4: I don't know. A couple days, I guess. What's the matter?
• 14:35
  Speaker 5: That's a pretty strong smell. Might be paint there, something
• 14:37
  Speaker 5: like that. Don't you notice it?
• 14:39
  Speaker 4: Oh, yeah, I've been wondering about that. I noticed it
• 14:41
  Speaker 4: when I came in. It might be from upstairs, the attic.
• 14:44
  Speaker 4: Painters were working up there, too, I think. Don't you
• 14:46
  Speaker 4: think you ought to check it, see what it is?
• 14:49
  Speaker 9: Mr.
• 14:49
  Speaker 10: Daniels didn't tell me to. I guess I better, though.
• 14:53
  Speaker 10: Smells pretty strong. I guess I better see what it is.
• 14:56
  Speaker 5: How do you get to the attic from here?
• 14:57
  Speaker 4: Down the end of the hall, there's a stairway there.
• 14:59
  Speaker 4: It goes right up into the attic. I'll show you.
• 15:01
  Speaker 5: All right, fine.
• 15:04
  Speaker 9: Yeah.
• 15:05
  Speaker 10: Smells like gasoline or something.
• 15:07
  Speaker 8: All the apartments are vacant, is that right? No one
• 15:09
  Speaker 8: living in the building at all?
• 15:10
  Speaker 4: Yeah, that's right. We go up the stairs here. Mr.
• 15:15
  Speaker 10: Daniels had the whole place worked over. Nobody here at
• 15:18
  Speaker 10: all right now. I guess they'll be moving in pretty soon.
• 15:20
  Speaker 10: Gonna be a lot of work. Got the other two
• 15:23
  Speaker 10: apartment houses to take care of. And there's gonna be
• 15:25
  Speaker 10: this place. Gonna be a lot of work.
• 15:27
  Speaker 5: Daniels hire anyone else besides yourself to help out with
• 15:29
  Speaker 5: the work, I mean?
• 15:30
  Speaker 4: No, I don't think so. Just me. I keep pretty busy.
• 15:34
  Speaker 4: Here's the attic. This must be where it's coming from.
• 15:40
  Speaker 5: Yeah, it's strong enough to knock you over in it.
• 15:41
  Speaker 4: The light switch is over here. It's a mess. Yeah,
• 15:47
  Speaker 4: it's sure a mess. Papers, boxes, pile of old rags.
• 15:50
  Speaker 5: That five-gallon can there on the floor. Kerosene. Kerosene. Yeah,
• 15:56
  Speaker 5: it's just about empty, too.
• 15:58
  Speaker 4: It's all spilled all over the floor.
• 16:00
  Speaker 9: Mr.
• 16:00
  Speaker 4: Daniels ain't gonna like that. He's gonna get mad.
• 16:02
  Speaker 5: You usually keep this stuff up here, do you, Randall?
• 16:04
  Speaker 10: No, I guess it was with the painter's stuff. Those
• 16:07
  Speaker 10: cans and things on the table there, I guess it
• 16:09
  Speaker 10: got knocked off and spilled.
• 16:11
  Speaker 4: Spilled all over the place, didn't it?
• 16:12
  Speaker 8: Well, how come the painting crew didn't take their stuff
• 16:14
  Speaker 8: with them when they left? All this equipment here. They're
• 16:16
  Speaker 8: all finished with the job, aren't they?
• 16:18
  Speaker 4: I guess so. You'd have to ask Mr. Daniels about that.
• 16:20
  Speaker 4: They're all finished on the inside. I know that. They
• 16:23
  Speaker 4: have the outside to do, though. Maybe that's why they
• 16:25
  Speaker 4: left their stuff.
• 16:25
  Speaker 5: Well, it's not a very safe way to leave it. Rags, papers,
• 16:28
  Speaker 5: look here. Kerosene spilled all over. You better get this
• 16:30
  Speaker 5: place cleaned up first, don't you think, Randall?
• 16:32
  Speaker 4: I don't know. I sure wish Mr. Daniels was here.
• 16:36
  Speaker 4: You won't let him know, will you?
• 16:37
  Speaker 5: What do you mean, let him know what?
• 16:38
  Speaker 4: Don't tell him I let you see the attic, huh?
• 16:40
  Speaker 5: 9.35 p.m. Ed and I left the handyman, Oliver Randall,
• 16:48
  Speaker 5: at his apartment house, went outside and got in the car.
• 16:51
  Speaker 5: Neither one of us could find any explanation for it,
• 16:53
  Speaker 5: but we both had a hunch there was something wrong
• 16:55
  Speaker 5: with the setup. We drove to a neighborhood service station,
• 16:58
  Speaker 5: called the office and told them we were going to
• 17:00
  Speaker 5: stake the apartment house. We drove back and found a
• 17:02
  Speaker 5: place to park where we could keep the building under
• 17:04
  Speaker 5: surveillance without being seen. We waited.
• 17:07
  Speaker 4: 10 p.m., 10.30, 11 o'clock.
• 17:10
  Speaker 5: At a few minutes past 11, we saw Randall come
• 17:13
  Speaker 5: out of the front door of the apartment, get in
• 17:14
  Speaker 5: a blue sedan, and drive off. We followed him to
• 17:17
  Speaker 5: an apartment building on West Pico and saw him enter
• 17:20
  Speaker 5: a rear door.
• 17:21
  Speaker 2: We waited.
• 17:22
  Speaker 5: At 12.15 a.m., Ed got to a phone, called Captain
• 17:25
  Speaker 5: Bernard at the business office, and notified him of our location.
• 17:29
  Speaker 5: At 12.45 a.m., two men arrived to relieve us, and
• 17:32
  Speaker 5: we briefed them on the facts. We drove back to
• 17:35
  Speaker 5: the office, made out a 15.7 to Captain Lorman, and
• 17:37
  Speaker 5: signed out. At 4 o'clock the next afternoon, we reported
• 17:41
  Speaker 5: back in for work. We checked the book and found
• 17:43
  Speaker 5: a message that the suspect, Edward Daniels, had been released
• 17:46
  Speaker 5: from jail that morning on a writ bailed $ 2, 500. The
• 17:49
  Speaker 5: writ was returnable Thursday, May 10th. There was also a
• 17:52
  Speaker 5: message in the book for us to contact Daniels' attorney,
• 17:55
  Speaker 5: Richard Tiernan. Ed put in the call.
• 17:57
  Speaker 4: Yes, sir. I see. What's that? Yeah, I know. All right, Mr. Tiernan. Yeah,
• 18:04
  Speaker 4: thank you. Goodbye. You were right, Joe. What do you mean?
• 18:07
  Speaker 8: Daniels' lawyer wanted to know how serious the charges are.
• 18:09
  Speaker 8: He says Daniels is pretty upset. Seems he had some
• 18:11
  Speaker 8: trouble lately with his insurance company.
• 18:13
  Speaker 5: What's the matter? Did he have an accident?
• 18:14
  Speaker 8: The insurance company doesn't seem to think it was an accident.
• 18:17
  Speaker 8: Happened two months ago at an apartment house over on
• 18:19
  Speaker 8: South Union.
• 18:19
  Speaker 4: Yeah. Burned down.
• 18:31
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• 18:35
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• 18:36
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• 20:09
  Speaker 5: Thursday, May 10th, 4.30 p.m. We contacted the fire department's
• 20:13
  Speaker 5: arson squad to find out if the fire at Daniels'
• 20:16
  Speaker 5: apartment house on South Union Avenue two months before was
• 20:19
  Speaker 5: under investigation. After checking back, they told us investigators from
• 20:23
  Speaker 5: the arson squad had found a large amount of kerosene
• 20:25
  Speaker 5: to be present in some of the burned timbers found
• 20:27
  Speaker 5: in the debris after the fire was put out. They
• 20:30
  Speaker 5: said that Mr. Daniels had admitted after the fire that
• 20:32
  Speaker 5: the apartment building had been recently redecorated and that kerosene
• 20:36
  Speaker 5: paint and other inflammables had been stored in the attic
• 20:38
  Speaker 5: of the building. Ed and I contacted the insurance adjuster
• 20:42
  Speaker 5: handling the case, a Snyder Peebles, and he told us
• 20:44
  Speaker 5: there wasn't any doubt in his mind that the fire
• 20:46
  Speaker 5: at Daniels' apartment house two months before was of incendiary origin.
• 20:50
  Speaker 5: But he said so far the investigators weren't able to
• 20:52
  Speaker 5: prove it. The one thing that seemed to puzzle him
• 20:55
  Speaker 5: was if Daniels planned on burning down the building, why
• 20:58
  Speaker 5: did he go to the trouble and expense of redecorating first? Well,
• 21:01
  Speaker 5: as soon as it was dark, Ed and I drove out,
• 21:04
  Speaker 5: relieved the men on stakeout at the apartment house on
• 21:06
  Speaker 5: West Pico, where the handyman, Oliver Randall, had his room.
• 21:10
  Speaker 5: They reported no unusual activity during the day. 7.32 p.m.,
• 21:14
  Speaker 5: Randall came out of the apartment house, got in a
• 21:16
  Speaker 5: car and drove off. We followed him.
• 21:18
  Speaker 8: If we got this Randall made right, it shouldn't be
• 21:21
  Speaker 8: too long before we find out. Daniels is using him
• 21:23
  Speaker 8: to work something out. Pretty sure we can count on that.
• 21:25
  Speaker 5: Yeah, maybe. I'll watch it, Ed. He's turning down Union.
• 21:28
  Speaker 6: Yeah.
• 21:30
  Speaker 5: He's pulling up ahead. Don't crowd him.
• 21:32
  Speaker 4: That's a good spot here. Shouldn't be able to see us.
• 21:35
  Speaker 5: All right, pull up in here.
• 21:36
  Speaker 9: All right.
• 21:37
  Speaker 4: That's fine.
• 21:38
  Speaker 5: He's getting out of the car. He's going over the house.
• 21:40
  Speaker 4: Down the driveway. Going around back. He's out of sight now.
• 21:44
  Speaker 9: All right, let's.
• 21:47
  Speaker 4: Go. Still no lights in the place. Oh, yeah, there
• 21:52
  Speaker 4: they go, in the basement.
• 21:53
  Speaker 5: All right, easy. Let's take it easy. Yeah, I think
• 21:57
  Speaker 5: I can see the back door from here. All right,
• 21:59
  Speaker 5: come on easy now.
• 22:04
  Speaker 4: What is it?
• 22:05
  Speaker 5: All right, easy with this door, Ed. Don't let it bang.
• 22:07
  Speaker 4: Uh-huh. Why not?
• 22:09
  Speaker 5: Sounds like somebody upstairs, doesn't it?
• 22:11
  Speaker 9: Mm-hmm.
• 22:11
  Speaker 5: All right, come on. Watch your step. Come on. Next
• 22:20
  Speaker 5: floor up.
• 22:21
  Speaker 7: Yeah.
• 22:22
  Speaker 5: Yeah, it's up in the attic.
• 22:27
  Speaker 4: Come on.
• 22:27
  Speaker 8: Mm-hmm.
• 22:33
  Speaker 5: All right, come on. Uh-huh.
• 22:34
  Speaker 4: Through this door.
• 22:35
  Speaker 6: Uh-huh.
• 22:37
  Speaker 5: Back in the corner, Ed.
• 22:38
  Speaker 9: I see him.
• 22:38
  Speaker 2: All right, hold it, you.
• 22:40
  Speaker 4: What's the matter?
• 22:41
  Speaker 5: There's a fire right over in the corner.
• 22:42
  Speaker 2: I'll get it.
• 22:42
  Speaker 5: Hold on to him.
• 22:43
  Speaker 4: Right.
• 22:45
  Speaker 2: Well, don't put it out.
• 22:47
  Speaker 4: You need any help, Joe?
• 22:47
  Speaker 2: You getting it all right?
• 22:48
  Speaker 5: I'm getting it all right. Just a minute. There, I
• 22:51
  Speaker 5: got it.
• 22:52
  Speaker 9: Okay.
• 22:53
  Speaker 4: You want to get the lights on? I got them.
• 22:56
  Speaker 5: All right, Randall, what's the story?
• 22:58
  Speaker 4: He told me to do it. He told me to
• 22:59
  Speaker 4: come back tonight and burn the whole place down. Who
• 23:02
  Speaker 4: told you? He said, Ollie, you go back to the place,
• 23:04
  Speaker 4: to the attic, light a match, that's all, and then
• 23:06
  Speaker 4: get out.
• 23:07
  Speaker 9: Mr.
• 23:07
  Speaker 4: Daniels, that's just what he said.
• 23:08
  Speaker 5: Daniels told you to do this?
• 23:10
  Speaker 4: He told me just light a fire and nobody'd know.
• 23:12
  Speaker 4: He said there wasn't going to be any trouble. No
• 23:14
  Speaker 4: trouble at all.
• 23:15
  Speaker 5: Well, that gives you the edge, doesn't it?
• 23:16
  Speaker 4: No trouble, he said.
• 23:17
  Speaker 5: Yeah, well, next time you see him, you can call
• 23:18
  Speaker 5: him a liar. 8.50 p.m. After making sure that the
• 23:25
  Speaker 5: place was secure and that there was no danger of
• 23:27
  Speaker 5: fire from the recent arson attempt, Ed and I took
• 23:29
  Speaker 5: the suspect, Oliver Randall, outside and put him in the
• 23:32
  Speaker 5: car where we questioned him. He made no attempt to
• 23:35
  Speaker 5: disguise the fact that he had been directed by his
• 23:37
  Speaker 5: regular employer, Edward Daniels, to commit arson by setting fire
• 23:40
  Speaker 5: to the attic of the apartment house. In addition, he
• 23:43
  Speaker 5: told us that Daniels had threatened him with bodily harm
• 23:46
  Speaker 5: if he refused to obey the order and set fire
• 23:48
  Speaker 5: to the building.
• 23:49
  Speaker 4: He had this gun, you know, Mr. Daniels did. He
• 23:51
  Speaker 4: always had it with him. I was scared of it.
• 23:53
  Speaker 4: I don't mind telling you.
• 23:55
  Speaker 8: He threatened to kill you if you didn't do what
• 23:56
  Speaker 8: he wanted, that it?
• 23:57
  Speaker 4: Yeah, I guess so. He used to get mad a
• 23:59
  Speaker 4: lot of the time when he had this gun. He
• 24:01
  Speaker 4: always had the gun. He'd get mad at me and
• 24:03
  Speaker 4: tell me he was going to shoot me. I'm afraid
• 24:05
  Speaker 4: of guns.
• 24:05
  Speaker 5: How about the fire at the other apartment house, Ollie,
• 24:07
  Speaker 5: the one over on South Union Avenue?
• 24:09
  Speaker 4: Yeah, that was a big fire.
• 24:10
  Speaker 5: Did you start that one?
• 24:11
  Speaker 10: Daniels told me there was nobody living there. He said
• 24:14
  Speaker 10: nobody'd get hurt. Nobody did get hurt.
• 24:16
  Speaker 4: Did they? Did you start the fire? Yeah, I guess so.
• 24:19
  Speaker 4: I guess I did.
• 24:20
  Speaker 5: Mr.
• 24:20
  Speaker 4: Daniels told you to do it? He said it was
• 24:22
  Speaker 4: his building. He owned it.
• 24:23
  Speaker 10: He could do anything with it. He wanted to. I
• 24:25
  Speaker 10: didn't want to do it. He told me I'd have to.
• 24:27
  Speaker 10: He said he'd hurt me with that gun. He said
• 24:29
  Speaker 10: he'd fire me, too. I didn't want to lose my job.
• 24:31
  Speaker 5: You knew you were doing wrong, didn't you, Ollie?
• 24:33
  Speaker 4: Well, I guess I did, yeah. What could I do, though?
• 24:36
  Speaker 10: I didn't want to lose my job. Good jobs aren't
• 24:38
  Speaker 10: too easy to get nowadays.
• 24:40
  Speaker 4: You know that.
• 24:40
  Speaker 5: Where's Mr. Daniels now, do you know?
• 24:42
  Speaker 10: You're not going to tell him what I told you,
• 24:44
  Speaker 10: are you? He said not to say anything about it.
• 24:46
  Speaker 10: He said nobody believed me anyway.
• 24:48
  Speaker 4: Nobody.
• 24:48
  Speaker 10: Said he'd tell everybody I was a liar. Said they'd
• 24:51
  Speaker 10: believe him before they'd believe me.
• 24:53
  Speaker 4: Well, where's Daniels now? If I tell you, you won't
• 24:55
  Speaker 4: let him hurt me, will you? No, we won't let
• 24:57
  Speaker 4: him hurt you. You're going to have to help us out, though.
• 24:59
  Speaker 4: What do you want me to do?
• 25:00
  Speaker 5: I'd like to find out where Daniels is first.
• 25:02
  Speaker 4: He's in a movie over on Pico by his house.
• 25:04
  Speaker 4: He's waiting.
• 25:06
  Speaker 5: You mean he's waiting for you in the show?
• 25:08
  Speaker 10: See, in the center section, ten rows from the back,
• 25:10
  Speaker 10: he's waiting for me now.
• 25:11
  Speaker 4: Well, how is it you're supposed to meet him there?
• 25:13
  Speaker 4: I don't know.
• 25:14
  Speaker 10: He said if anybody wanted to know where we were tonight,
• 25:16
  Speaker 10: this would prove we didn't start the fire.
• 25:18
  Speaker 5: We were at the show.
• 25:19
  Speaker 4: I was supposed to start the fire and then go
• 25:21
  Speaker 4: to the show and meet him ten rows from the back,
• 25:23
  Speaker 4: the center section.
• 25:24
  Speaker 5: You want to show us where this movie is, Ollie?
• 25:26
  Speaker 4: Yeah, okay.
• 25:27
  Speaker 9: Mr.
• 25:27
  Speaker 10: Daniels won't tell you anything. No, he's going to be mad.
• 25:29
  Speaker 10: He won't tell you anything.
• 25:31
  Speaker 5: Well, that's where we need your help, Ollie.
• 25:32
  Speaker 4: What do you mean?
• 25:33
  Speaker 5: We'll let him tell you. 9.44 p.m. Ed and I,
• 25:39
  Speaker 5: along with the suspect Oliver Randall, drove to the movie
• 25:41
  Speaker 5: house on West Pico. On the way, we explained to
• 25:44
  Speaker 5: Randall what he was supposed to do. 9.55 p.m. We
• 25:48
  Speaker 5: parked our car half a block from the movie house,
• 25:50
  Speaker 5: bought three tickets and went inside. The feature picture was
• 25:53
  Speaker 5: still on. There wasn't much of a crowd. We sent
• 25:56
  Speaker 5: Randall down the aisle ahead of us and watched him
• 25:58
  Speaker 5: move into the 10th row and sit down next to somebody.
• 26:01
  Speaker 5: Ed and I followed him down and found seats in
• 26:02
  Speaker 5: the row directly behind him. We recognized the man sitting
• 26:05
  Speaker 5: next to Randall as Edward Daniels.
• 26:09
  Speaker 4: Hello, Mr.
• 26:10
  Speaker 9: Daniels.
• 26:11
  Speaker 4: I did it just the way you told me, up
• 26:13
  Speaker 4: in the attic. It was okay.
• 26:14
  Speaker 9: Nobody saw you? You didn't have any trouble at all?
• 26:16
  Speaker 4: No, it was okay. I don't feel so good about it, though.
• 26:19
  Speaker 9: What do you mean? What are you talking about?
• 26:21
  Speaker 2: I don't know.
• 26:21
  Speaker 4: Maybe somebody might find out. Don't you think we'd get
• 26:24
  Speaker 4: in trouble if they found out?
• 26:25
  Speaker 9: You just keep your mouth shut. I'll attend to that.
• 26:27
  Speaker 9: Nobody's going to find out.
• 26:28
  Speaker 4: All right, Dad.
• 26:28
  Speaker 5: Now, do you mind coming outside? We'd like to talk
• 26:30
  Speaker 5: to you.
• 26:31
  Speaker 4: What? What are you doing here?
• 26:32
  Speaker 1: Come on.
• 26:32
  Speaker 4: We'll talk outside.
• 26:37
  Speaker 9: What's this all about?
• 26:38
  Speaker 5: We'll let you tell us.
• 26:42
  Speaker 9: All right, what do you want? You arresting me?
• 26:44
  Speaker 5: That's right, mister.
• 26:45
  Speaker 4: Why?
• 26:46
  Speaker 9: What's it supposed to be this time?
• 26:47
  Speaker 4: Think you know? Arson, conspiracy. Caught Randall here, caught him
• 26:50
  Speaker 4: right in the act. He told us the whole story.
• 26:51
  Speaker 9: What?
• 26:52
  Speaker 4: Holly, what story?
• 26:53
  Speaker 9: What is this?
• 26:54
  Speaker 4: I told you I didn't want to do it, Mr. Daniels.
• 26:56
  Speaker 4: I told you we'd get in trouble.
• 26:57
  Speaker 9: Fool, stupid fool. Should have known better.
• 27:00
  Speaker 5: Yeah, you should have.
• 27:01
  Speaker 4: Just two questions for you, Daniels. Why'd you burn down
• 27:04
  Speaker 4: your own property? Why'd you redecorate the buildings first?
• 27:07
  Speaker 9: I never forgot it. Told them when it happened. I
• 27:09
  Speaker 9: wouldn't forget it as long as I lived.
• 27:11
  Speaker 5: What do you mean, forget what?
• 27:12
  Speaker 9: 24 years ago, I was just starting out. Small store
• 27:15
  Speaker 9: back in Ohio, burned down.
• 27:17
  Speaker 4: Real fire.
• 27:18
  Speaker 9: Lousy insurance company, they wouldn't believe me. Had to sue.
• 27:21
  Speaker 9: Lost the whole thing. Had to start all over again.
• 27:24
  Speaker 9: Told him I'd never forget it. Told him I'd make
• 27:26
  Speaker 9: him pay.
• 27:26
  Speaker 4: And you've been nursing this grudge for 24 years?
• 27:29
  Speaker 9: Why not? Why shouldn't I? I lost everything, everything I had.
• 27:32
  Speaker 5: Well, why'd you redecorate the apartment, Huzz, if you planned
• 27:34
  Speaker 5: to burn him down?
• 27:35
  Speaker 9: Simple. Gave me a good excuse. Could have all those
• 27:37
  Speaker 9: things stored in the buildings. Paint, kerosene. Besides, you'd think
• 27:41
  Speaker 9: I'd burn down the building right after I got done redecorating.
• 27:44
  Speaker 9: Not a bad idea. Worked pretty good, didn't it?
• 27:47
  Speaker 5: Yeah. You're going to jail, you figure.
• 27:49
  Speaker 9: Yeah.
• 27:57
  Speaker 2: The story you have just heard was true. The names
• 28:00
  Speaker 2: were changed to protect the innocent.
• 28:02
  Speaker 3: On August 18th, trial was held in Superior Court, Department 86,
• 28:06
  Speaker 3: City and County of Los Angeles, State of California.
• 28:08
  Speaker 2: In a moment, the results of that trial.
• 28:10
  Speaker 4: And now, here is our star, Jack Webb.
• 28:12
  Speaker 5: Thank you, George Fenneman. Friends, comparisons are often very helpful
• 28:16
  Speaker 5: in modern police work. Now, for instance, a suspect may
• 28:19
  Speaker 5: be identified by comparing his M.O. or method of operation
• 28:23
  Speaker 5: with the known facts of a case. Comparisons are important
• 28:26
  Speaker 5: to you in choosing your king-size cigarette. Compare Fatima for quality.
• 28:31
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• 28:34
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• 28:39
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• 28:43
  Speaker 5: And you get an extra mild and soothing smoke, plus
• 28:46
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• 29:03
  Speaker 3: Edward John Daniels was tried and convicted of two counts
• 29:06
  Speaker 3: of conspiracy and one count of arson and received a
• 29:09
  Speaker 3: sentence as prescribed by law. Conspiracy is punishable by imprisonment
• 29:13
  Speaker 3: in the state penitentiary for not more than two years.
• 29:16
  Speaker 3: Arson is punishable by a prison term of not less
• 29:19
  Speaker 3: than one or more than five years. Daniels' accomplice, Oliver Randall,
• 29:23
  Speaker 3: was examined by three psychiatrists appointed by the court and
• 29:26
  Speaker 3: was found to be mentally incompetent. He was placed in
• 29:29
  Speaker 3: a state hospital for the mentally deficient. The charge of
• 29:32
  Speaker 3: assault with a deadly weapon against Edward Daniels was dismissed.
• 29:46
  Speaker 4: You have just heard Dragnet, a.
• 29:48
  Speaker 3: Series of authentic cases from official files. Technical advice comes
• 29:52
  Speaker 3: from the office of Chief of Police W.H. Parker, Los
• 29:54
  Speaker 3: Angeles Police Department. Technical advisors, Captain Jack Donahoe, Sergeant Marty Wynn,
• 30:00
  Speaker 3: Sergeant Vance Brasher. Heard tonight were Barney Phillips and Vic Perrin.
• 30:04
  Speaker 3: Script by Jim Moser. Music by Walter Schumann. Hal Gibney speaking.
• 30:13
  Speaker 4: Fatima Cigarettes.
• 30:15
  Speaker 2: Best of all, king-size cigarettes has brought you Dragnet, transcribed
• 30:18
  Speaker 2: from Los Angeles.
• 30:30
  Speaker 5: Now, it's Counterspy on NBC.
• 30:40
  Speaker 1: Dragnet's Big Fire concludes. This is Victor Sterling. Until next time,
• 30:45
  Speaker 1: good night. Follow Dragnet for more classic broadcasts.