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Dragnet - "The Big Trial" (Old Time Radio, 1950) · The 50 Greatest Old Time Radio Shows | Old Time Radio

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: A pedestrian is struck before dawn on a Los Angeles street,
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: and the driver does not stop. Sergeant Joe Friday and
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: Sergeant Ben Romero take the case for the traffic accident
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: investigation detail, following a hit-and-run inquiry that will carry them
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: from the night watch to a courtroom. This is Dragnet,
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: NBC's police procedural, with Jack Webb as Friday and Barton
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: Yarbrough as Romero. Originally broadcast April 20th, 1950, this is
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: episode 45, The Big Trial. We now take you back
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: to the original broadcast.
• 0:44
  Speaker 2: The story you are about to hear is true. Only
• 0:48
  Speaker 2: the names have been changed to protect the innocent.
• 0:52
  Speaker 3: Fatima Cigarettes, best of all long cigarettes, brings you Dragnet.
• 1:07
  Speaker 2: You're a detective sergeant. You're assigned to accident investigation, felony detail.
• 1:13
  Speaker 2: In the early hours of the morning, a woman pedestrian
• 1:16
  Speaker 2: is struck down by a hit-and-run driver. Your job, find him.
• 1:24
  Speaker 4: If you want a long cigarette, smoke the best of
• 1:27
  Speaker 4: all long cigarettes. Smoke king-size Fatima. Fatima is the long
• 1:34
  Speaker 4: cigarette which contains the finest Turkish and domestic tobaccos, superbly
• 1:39
  Speaker 4: blended to make Fatima extra mild. And that's why Fatima
• 1:43
  Speaker 4: has a much different, much better flavor.
• 1:46
  Speaker 5: And aroma than any other long cigarette.
• 1:49
  Speaker 4: That's why Fatima has more than doubled its smokers coast
• 1:52
  Speaker 4: to coast. So enjoy Fatima, the best of all long cigarettes.
• 1:59
  Speaker 4: It's wise to smoke extra mild Fatima.
• 2:02
  Speaker 6: It's wise to smoke extra mild Fatima.
• 2:06
  Speaker 7: Fatima.
• 2:12
  Speaker 3: Dragnet, the documented drama of an actual crime. For the
• 2:16
  Speaker 3: next 30 minutes in cooperation with the Los Angeles Travel,
• 2:19
  Speaker 3: step by step on the side of the law through
• 2:21
  Speaker 3: an actual case from official police files. From beginning to end,
• 2:26
  Speaker 3: from crime to punishment, Dragnet is the story of your
• 2:29
  Speaker 3: police force in action.
• 2:33
  Speaker 8: It was Monday, September 4th. It was hot in Los Angeles.
• 2:36
  Speaker 8: We were working the night watch out of traffic division.
• 2:39
  Speaker 8: My partner's Ben Romero. The boss is Captain Sullivan, Commander A.I.D.
• 2:43
  Speaker 5: My name's Friday. It was 12.45 a.m.
• 2:46
  Speaker 8: When I got to the second floor at 123 South
• 2:48
  Speaker 8: Figueroa Street.
• 2:49
  Speaker 5: Accident investigation.
• 2:51
  Speaker 9: The record bureau.
• 2:54
  Speaker 5: Hi, Wanda.
• 2:55
  Speaker 9: Hi. Sergeant Romero, come back with you.
• 2:57
  Speaker 5: I got a phone message for him. He's over at
• 2:59
  Speaker 5: Georgia Street. He'll be back in a couple of minutes.
• 3:00
  Speaker 5: You got time to take a 15-7? Sure. I got
• 3:03
  Speaker 5: some additional information on the hit-and-run felony.
• 3:05
  Speaker 8: All right.
• 3:09
  Speaker 5: Pretty warm up here, isn't it?
• 3:10
  Speaker 8: Mm-hmm.
• 3:11
  Speaker 6: Coffee over there if you want it.
• 3:12
  Speaker 5: No, no thanks.
• 3:18
  Speaker 6: All right, officer's memo.
• 3:19
  Speaker 5: Subject? Investigation of hit-run felony.
• 3:24
  Speaker 8: DR number 467923. Location, 7th and Carondelet Streets. C-A-R-O-N-D-E-L-E-T. September 3rd, 11.15 p.m.
• 3:39
  Speaker 10: Division reporting A.I.D.
• 3:47
  Speaker 6: Division of occurrence?
• 3:48
  Speaker 5: Central. Central.
• 3:52
  Speaker 4: Date and time occurred, September 3rd, 11.15 p.m., location of occurrence,
• 3:57
  Speaker 4: 7th and Carondelet.
• 3:57
  Speaker 6: Is this going to run long, Sergeant?
• 3:59
  Speaker 5: Oh, page, page and a half.
• 4:01
  Speaker 6: Go faster and shorthand.
• 4:03
  Speaker 5: I can transcribe it later.
• 4:04
  Speaker 8: All right.
• 4:08
  Speaker 5: Excuse me.
• 4:11
  Speaker 8: This is for Captain H.W. Sullivan, commanding A.I.D. Sir.
• 4:15
  Speaker 5: Sir.
• 4:16
  Speaker 8: On the above date at 11.20 p.m., the undersigned officers
• 4:21
  Speaker 8: went to the corner of 7th and Carondelet Streets in
• 4:25
  Speaker 8: response to an ambulance follow-up traffic.
• 4:29
  Speaker 5: On our arrival there.
• 4:32
  Speaker 5: You got any matches, Wanda? Yeah, here you are. Okay, thanks.
• 4:37
  Speaker 5: On our arrival there, we were met by 11T.
• 4:40
  Speaker 11: We witnessed.
• 4:43
  Speaker 8: Ambulance attendants placing an unconscious woman in an ambulance.
• 4:47
  Speaker 5: She appeared to be critically injured. The victim was removed
• 4:50
  Speaker 5: to George Street Receiving Hospital.
• 4:53
  Speaker 6: All right.
• 4:54
  Speaker 8: We then interviewed a man who identified himself as Chester J. Crawford,
• 4:59
  Speaker 8: 540 Green Oak Drive. He stated that he was acquainted
• 5:03
  Speaker 8: with the injured woman and that her name was Sheila Gordon.
• 5:06
  Speaker 5: G-O-R-D-O-N. 7, 8, 3, 2 1⁄2, 7th Street. All right.
• 5:13
  Speaker 8: Crawford told us that he was taking her home from
• 5:16
  Speaker 8: a dance and they arrived at the intersection of 7th
• 5:19
  Speaker 8: and Carondelet Streets at approximately 11.15 p.m.
• 5:21
  Speaker 9: 11.15 p.m. Okay?
• 5:25
  Speaker 6: Yeah.
• 5:28
  Speaker 8: Crawford further stated that while he and Sheila Gordon attempted
• 5:33
  Speaker 8: to cross the intersection, an automobile headed west on 7th
• 5:36
  Speaker 8: Street went through the red traffic light. I.
• 5:42
  Speaker 5: Would you read that last part back?
• 5:44
  Speaker 10: Attempted to cross the intersection, an automobile headed west on
• 5:48
  Speaker 10: 7th Street went through the red traffic light.
• 5:50
  Speaker 8: Crawford told us that he jumped out of the path
• 5:52
  Speaker 8: of the car and tried to pull Miss Gordon with him.
• 5:54
  Speaker 8: He said that the car struck her down without slowing down,
• 5:56
  Speaker 8: continued out 7th Street and disappeared.
• 5:58
  Speaker 5: Wait a minute. I'm sorry.
• 6:00
  Speaker 6: And disappeared.
• 6:01
  Speaker 5: Okay.
• 6:03
  Speaker 8: Crawford stated the hit-and-run car was either a Dodge or
• 6:06
  Speaker 8: a Plymouth, that it could have been.
• 6:08
  Speaker 5: Either last year's model or this year's. He described the car.
• 6:12
  Speaker 8: That's too fast, boy?
• 6:14
  Speaker 6: That's all right.
• 6:15
  Speaker 8: He described the car as either light blue in color
• 6:17
  Speaker 8: or bluish green. Said that he failed to get the
• 6:19
  Speaker 8: entire license number, but that the last three numbers on
• 6:22
  Speaker 8: the rear plate were either 804 or 304.
• 6:25
  Speaker 5: 804 or 304.
• 6:26
  Speaker 8: That's all right. Crawford said he made an attempt to
• 6:33
  Speaker 8: follow the hit-run car, but that he was unable to
• 6:35
  Speaker 8: obtain transportation.
• 6:37
  Speaker 5: He stated he then ran to a phone at the
• 6:39
  Speaker 5: Corsair bar... Can you spell that?
• 6:41
  Speaker 11: What?
• 6:42
  Speaker 5: Corset. C-O-R-S-E-V. That's at 7th and Carondelet, and called the police.
• 6:49
  Speaker 8: We undersigned officers, then obtained Crawford's full name, address, phone number,
• 6:52
  Speaker 8: and proceeded to question residents in the neighborhood.
• 6:54
  Speaker 5: We weren't able to locate any other witnesses besides Crawford. Okay.
• 6:57
  Speaker 9: Hi.
• 6:58
  Speaker 5: How'd you do?
• 6:59
  Speaker 1: Oh, I saw her.
• 6:59
  Speaker 5: That's about all.
• 7:00
  Speaker 8: Doctor says we won't be able to talk to her
• 7:02
  Speaker 8: for at least a couple of days.
• 7:03
  Speaker 5: Maybe not at all. What's your chances?
• 7:05
  Speaker 8: 50-50 if she's heavy on love. Free broken ribs, brain concussion,
• 7:08
  Speaker 8: internal injuries.
• 7:09
  Speaker 5: What did Lee Jones have to say?
• 7:11
  Speaker 6: Is that all the reports, Sergeant?
• 7:12
  Speaker 9: Oh, yeah, Wanda.
• 7:13
  Speaker 5: We'll have the rest for you a little later. Thank you.
• 7:15
  Speaker 6: I'll type as much up as I can.
• 7:16
  Speaker 9: Thanks.
• 7:16
  Speaker 5: Sure. What did Lee Jones have to say? Nothing.
• 7:19
  Speaker 8: He didn't think they went over the area for an hour.
• 7:21
  Speaker 8: No broken glass from headlights at the P.I. No car
• 7:24
  Speaker 8: impressions worth anything.
• 7:25
  Speaker 5: No physical evidence. Where does it leave us? With a
• 7:28
  Speaker 5: half-dead girl and no suspects. What do you think, Joe?
• 7:32
  Speaker 8: I don't know.
• 7:32
  Speaker 5: It's a sour one.
• 7:33
  Speaker 8: Any kickback on the teletype here? No. That guy she
• 7:37
  Speaker 8: was with, Crawford, not too much help. Looked a little
• 7:39
  Speaker 8: nearsighted to me. He saw well enough to get out
• 7:42
  Speaker 8: of the way of that car.
• 7:42
  Speaker 5: You got the notes.
• 7:44
  Speaker 9: How much did he give us?
• 7:45
  Speaker 5: Let me see. I got it here in the book.
• 7:48
  Speaker 8: The car was either a Dodge or a Plymouth, late model. Color,
• 7:52
  Speaker 8: either light blue or blue-green. The last three numbers on
• 7:56
  Speaker 8: the license plate were 804 or 304. That's a big
• 7:59
  Speaker 8: field to pick from.
• 8:00
  Speaker 5: That's the only lead we own.
• 8:02
  Speaker 9: You can call it that, yeah.
• 8:04
  Speaker 5: Well, I guess we better talk to DMV, get the
• 8:05
  Speaker 5: dope on all cars fitting that description that Crawford gave us.
• 8:08
  Speaker 9: It's going to be a hard trip.
• 8:09
  Speaker 8: At least 3,000 cars to track down.
• 8:11
  Speaker 5: Probably closer to four. What do we do for help?
• 8:14
  Speaker 5: We can ask the captain in the morning.
• 8:15
  Speaker 9: I'll get him.
• 8:16
  Speaker 5: Okay.
• 8:18
  Speaker 9: Bracket Bureau Romero. Yeah, they... Yeah, we'll bring them right over. Yeah.
• 8:24
  Speaker 8: Bye.
• 8:24
  Speaker 5: It's Lee Jones again.
• 8:27
  Speaker 8: Yeah. Says he wants the clothes Sheila Gordon was wearing
• 8:29
  Speaker 8: at the time of the accident. He figures when she
• 8:31
  Speaker 8: got hit, her clothes must have left fabric marks on
• 8:33
  Speaker 8: the front of the car.
• 8:34
  Speaker 5: It might work. There's only one trouble. What's that? You
• 8:37
  Speaker 5: can paint off fabric marks.
• 8:38
  Speaker 9: Well, it's a long list.
• 8:41
  Speaker 5: Let's take it from the top. Yeah. Find the car. Tuesday,
• 8:49
  Speaker 5: September the 5th. We called Mark.
• 8:51
  Speaker 8: Benson at DMV and asked for full information on all vehicles.
• 8:54
  Speaker 5: Fitting the general description of the hit-run car.
• 8:57
  Speaker 8: We went back and talked to the only witness to
• 8:58
  Speaker 8: the hit-and-run, the victim's boyfriend, Chester Crawford.
• 9:01
  Speaker 5: He could add nothing to what he had already told us.
• 9:04
  Speaker 8: There was no response to the local teletype and the
• 9:06
  Speaker 8: all points that were sent out.
• 9:07
  Speaker 5: The night before.
• 9:09
  Speaker 8: Garages, auto repair and paint shops throughout the city were
• 9:11
  Speaker 8: also alerted. Meantime, at General Hospital, the victim, Sheila Gordon,
• 9:16
  Speaker 8: was still close to death. The search for the hit-run
• 9:18
  Speaker 8: car went on. Two days passed. Thursday, September 7th. The
• 9:22
  Speaker 8: information we requested from DMV was being checked out and compiled.
• 9:26
  Speaker 5: Ben and I met with Captain Sullivan.
• 9:29
  Speaker 8: When's the last of them, Skipper? All the cars in
• 9:31
  Speaker 8: this area that fit the general description of the one
• 9:33
  Speaker 8: we're after.
• 9:33
  Speaker 9: You just get it?
• 9:34
  Speaker 8: Yeah.
• 9:35
  Speaker 9: How many cars do they list?
• 9:37
  Speaker 8: 4,620.
• 9:37
  Speaker 5: Even more than you expected, eh?
• 9:40
  Speaker 8: Yeah.
• 9:41
  Speaker 9: No chance at all of narrowing it down?
• 9:42
  Speaker 5: None that we can see, no.
• 9:44
  Speaker 9: Terrific order.
• 9:45
  Speaker 8: Well, we tried to figure it from every angle. Now,
• 9:47
  Speaker 8: we can do it two ways.
• 9:48
  Speaker 5: Yeah.
• 9:49
  Speaker 8: We keep the alert on for the hit-run car around
• 9:51
  Speaker 8: the divisions, all the garages in town, the auto repair shops.
• 9:53
  Speaker 5: In other words, we can wait it out. Maybe we'll
• 9:55
  Speaker 5: get the guy, maybe not. Yeah.
• 9:57
  Speaker 8: Or we can check out every one of the cars
• 9:58
  Speaker 8: on this list and the registered owners.
• 10:00
  Speaker 9: Well, the first way isn't going to do the job.
• 10:01
  Speaker 9: We know that. 4,600 cars. How much help do we need?
• 10:06
  Speaker 5: About 30, 40, man.
• 10:07
  Speaker 9: How long?
• 10:07
  Speaker 5: A couple of weeks, maybe more.
• 10:08
  Speaker 9: All right. I think I can get them from Metro Division.
• 10:11
  Speaker 9: When do you want to start?
• 10:12
  Speaker 5: First thing tomorrow.
• 10:13
  Speaker 9: Okay, I'll set it up.
• 10:13
  Speaker 5: All right, let's go. out here to see you. Okay, thanks.
• 10:19
  Speaker 5: We'll check you in the morning, Skipper.
• 10:20
  Speaker 9: Right. That's her over there. Thank you.
• 10:28
  Speaker 5: My name's Friday, ma'am. This is Sergeant Romero.
• 10:30
  Speaker 6: How do you do?
• 10:30
  Speaker 10: I'm Dora Lightell, Sergeant. I'm Sheila Gordon's landlady, the girl
• 10:33
  Speaker 10: in the accident.
• 10:34
  Speaker 5: Yes, ma'am.
• 10:35
  Speaker 6: Well, Mr. Crawford, he was with Sheila that night.
• 10:37
  Speaker 10: He told me about you, and he said he thought
• 10:38
  Speaker 10: you might be able to help.
• 10:39
  Speaker 9: How do you mean?
• 10:40
  Speaker 6: Well, it's a long story.
• 10:41
  Speaker 10: You see, when Sheila Gordon first came to live at
• 10:43
  Speaker 10: my rooming house, she was a good girl like the rest.
• 10:45
  Speaker 6: Lately, well, I've been sick now, and all I don't
• 10:48
  Speaker 6: like to say it.
• 10:48
  Speaker 8: Yeah?
• 10:49
  Speaker 10: Well, frankly, last few months before the accident, Sheila just
• 10:52
  Speaker 10: went bad, went bad completely.
• 10:54
  Speaker 5: I don't think I follow you, ma'am.
• 10:55
  Speaker 10: Oh, you know, carousing all kinds of men. Visitors have
• 10:58
  Speaker 10: a different man in their apartment every night.
• 11:00
  Speaker 5: Well, we're investigating a hit-run case, ma'am.
• 11:02
  Speaker 6: Sheila gets out of the hospital.
• 11:04
  Speaker 10: We could talk about her when she's sick like this,
• 11:05
  Speaker 10: but when she's all right, I don't want her back
• 11:07
  Speaker 10: in my rooming house.
• 11:08
  Speaker 8: I'm afraid that's none of our business either, ma'am.
• 11:10
  Speaker 10: But if you could talk to Sheila, persuade her to
• 11:12
  Speaker 10: move from my house, I don't want any wrangle with
• 11:14
  Speaker 10: the rental board again.
• 11:15
  Speaker 6: Couldn't you talk to her?
• 11:16
  Speaker 5: I'm sorry. There's nothing we can do, ma'am. You better
• 11:17
  Speaker 5: talk to her yourself.
• 11:18
  Speaker 6: There'll just be another row like the last time. Shameless woman.
• 11:22
  Speaker 10: I don't want Sheila Gordon back in my house. I'll
• 11:24
  Speaker 10: go to that hospital myself and tell her.
• 11:26
  Speaker 5: She's a pretty sick girl.
• 11:27
  Speaker 6: It's not my fault.
• 11:28
  Speaker 10: Go right over to that hospital and tell her what
• 11:30
  Speaker 10: I think of her.
• 11:30
  Speaker 5: She's hurt pretty bad.
• 11:31
  Speaker 6: So am I. She's hurt me. What's the difference?
• 11:33
  Speaker 5: You haven't been run over by a car.
• 11:39
  Speaker 8: Next morning, Sergeants Reed and McLennan, Ben and myself, joined
• 11:42
  Speaker 8: the 40 men from Metropolitan Division who had started checking
• 11:45
  Speaker 8: out the first of the 4,620 suspected cars. The detail
• 11:48
  Speaker 8: was broken down into teams, and each team was handed
• 11:50
  Speaker 8: a list containing the names of 100.
• 11:52
  Speaker 5: Registered car owners.
• 11:54
  Speaker 8: It was a long job and a dull one. Dozens
• 11:56
  Speaker 8: of people weren't at home when we called. We had
• 11:58
  Speaker 8: to rig up a system of checkbacks for each one
• 12:00
  Speaker 8: of these. Some cars had changed hands two and three times.
• 12:04
  Speaker 5: That meant more checking. By the end of the.
• 12:05
  Speaker 8: Second week, we'd gone through more than half of the 4,600
• 12:07
  Speaker 8: names on the list. By the end of the fourth week,
• 12:11
  Speaker 8: we had less than a thousand to go. At the
• 12:13
  Speaker 8: general hospital, the victim, Sheila Gordon, was pronounced out of
• 12:16
  Speaker 8: danger and recovering. We questioned her, but all she could
• 12:19
  Speaker 8: tell us was that she thought the hit-and-run car was
• 12:21
  Speaker 8: a dark color.
• 12:23
  Speaker 5: The search went on. Monday, October 6th, Ben.
• 12:25
  Speaker 8: And I spent a ten-hour day checking a list of
• 12:27
  Speaker 8: car owners south of town.
• 12:29
  Speaker 5: It was 6.35 p.m. when we got back to the office.
• 12:37
  Speaker 8: Hi.
• 12:37
  Speaker 9: Hi, Reed. How'd you do today? Fair.
• 12:40
  Speaker 5: Looks like we got one.
• 12:41
  Speaker 9: What do you mean? Guy's name is Ralph Angelo.
• 12:44
  Speaker 12: Let's see.
• 12:46
  Speaker 9: 8690 Backerly Road. Checked him out early this morning.
• 12:48
  Speaker 5: First call. What'd you get?
• 12:50
  Speaker 9: One's a late model Plymouth, light blue.
• 12:52
  Speaker 13: License number, there it is, 17 Arthur 2804.
• 12:56
  Speaker 6: Wasn't home.
• 12:57
  Speaker 9: Talked to his wife. Yeah?
• 12:58
  Speaker 13: She said the car's been sitting home in the garage
• 13:00
  Speaker 13: for the past month.
• 13:01
  Speaker 9: Husband won't drive it.
• 13:02
  Speaker 5: What's his story?
• 13:03
  Speaker 9: Told her there was something wrong with it.
• 13:04
  Speaker 5: He was going to trade it in.
• 13:05
  Speaker 9: If Len and I tried it.
• 13:06
  Speaker 5: The car's in first-class shape. What about the front end
• 13:08
  Speaker 5: of the car? Pretty clean.
• 13:10
  Speaker 6: One of the bars on the radiator grille is slightly bent.
• 13:12
  Speaker 9: Soft crease on the hood. Another one in the right fender.
• 13:14
  Speaker 9: Did you run the car in?
• 13:15
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 13:16
  Speaker 9: Crown has been working on it since lunch down the garage.
• 13:18
  Speaker 5: Anything else?
• 13:19
  Speaker 8: I found a gas receipt in the glove compartment.
• 13:21
  Speaker 5: Dated September 3rd, night.
• 13:23
  Speaker 9: Of the accident.
• 13:24
  Speaker 5: Where's Angelo now? Santa Barbara, business trip.
• 13:26
  Speaker 9: Due home tonight about 10. McLennan and I will pick.
• 13:29
  Speaker 5: Him up then. See what he's got to say. Sounds good.
• 13:31
  Speaker 8: How many possibilities does that make, Joe?
• 13:33
  Speaker 5: Well, let me see.
• 13:34
  Speaker 8: Out of 3,700 we've checked, about four good.
• 13:36
  Speaker 5: I'll get that. Accident investigation, Friday.
• 13:40
  Speaker 8: Hi, Joe.
• 13:41
  Speaker 11: This is Lee Jones.
• 13:41
  Speaker 5: Yeah, Lee.
• 13:42
  Speaker 11: Just finished checking the Plymouth Reed and McLennan brought in.
• 13:44
  Speaker 5: Did you find anything?
• 13:45
  Speaker 11: Fabric prints on the front bumper and the hood.
• 13:47
  Speaker 5: Yeah.
• 13:48
  Speaker 11: Indentation of soft object on hood and right front fender.
• 13:51
  Speaker 11: Something else on that fender.
• 13:52
  Speaker 5: What's that?
• 13:52
  Speaker 11: Set of lip impressions.
• 13:54
  Speaker 5: What's it mean?
• 13:54
  Speaker 11: We found the car. Only one job left.
• 13:56
  Speaker 8: Yeah.
• 13:57
  Speaker 11: Find the driver.
• 14:08
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• 14:11
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• 14:16
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• 14:23
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• 14:26
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• 14:30
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• 14:34
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• 14:38
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• 14:43
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• 14:53
  Speaker 3: So enjoy Fatima yourself.
• 14:56
  Speaker 4: The long cigarette, which contains the finest Turkish and domestic tobaccos,
• 15:01
  Speaker 4: superbly blended to make it extra mild.
• 15:03
  Speaker 3: You will prefer Fatima's much different, much better flavor.
• 15:07
  Speaker 5: You will agree.
• 15:09
  Speaker 1: It's wise to smoke extra mild Fatima.
• 15:13
  Speaker 6: It's wise to smoke extra mild Fatima.
• 15:16
  Speaker 5: The best of all long cigarettes.
• 15:26
  Speaker 8: Monday, October 6th, 10 p.m., suspect Ralph Angelo was picked
• 15:29
  Speaker 8: up at his home by investigating officers and brought downtown
• 15:32
  Speaker 8: to the interrogation room. Sergeants Reed and McLennan, Ben and myself,
• 15:35
  Speaker 8: questioned him for three hours. At 1.30 a.m., we took
• 15:39
  Speaker 8: Angelo to the county jail where he was booked on
• 15:41
  Speaker 8: suspicion of 501 vehicle code, hit-and-run felony. The next morning,
• 15:46
  Speaker 8: we obtained a warrant from the district attorney's office, and
• 15:48
  Speaker 8: later that day, Ralph Angelo was arraigned in Municipal Court
• 15:50
  Speaker 8: Division 7. The date was set for his preliminary hearing
• 15:54
  Speaker 8: in municipal court. Sheila Gordon recovered from her injuries and
• 15:57
  Speaker 8: was released from the general hospital. On October 10th, the
• 16:00
  Speaker 8: preliminary hearing was held. Sheila Gordon was on the stand
• 16:03
  Speaker 8: most of the morning. After the noon recess, I was
• 16:06
  Speaker 8: called to testify.
• 16:11
  Speaker 9: Raise your right hand. Tell me the story of the
• 16:14
  Speaker 9: testimony about the gift hunting in this case. Be the truth,
• 16:16
  Speaker 9: hold the truth.
• 16:17
  Speaker 5: Nothing but truth.
• 16:17
  Speaker 9: So help me God.
• 16:18
  Speaker 8: I do.
• 16:19
  Speaker 9: State your name.
• 16:20
  Speaker 5: Joe Friday. Be seated.
• 16:27
  Speaker 9: State your name, please. Joe Friday. Your address?
• 16:31
  Speaker 5: 4656 Collis Avenue.
• 16:32
  Speaker 9: Your occupation?
• 16:33
  Speaker 8: I'm a police officer in and for the city of
• 16:35
  Speaker 8: Los Angeles.
• 16:37
  Speaker 9: Are you one of the investigating officers assigned to this case?
• 16:40
  Speaker 12: I am.
• 16:41
  Speaker 9: Did you have a conversation with the defendant regarding this case?
• 16:45
  Speaker 5: I did. Where?
• 16:46
  Speaker 8: In the traffic division at 123 South Figueroa Street.
• 16:50
  Speaker 9: Who's present?
• 16:51
  Speaker 5: The defendant, Sergeants McLennan, Reed, Romero, and myself.
• 16:57
  Speaker 9: Were the statements made by the defendant free and voluntary?
• 17:00
  Speaker 5: They were.
• 17:01
  Speaker 9: Were there any.
• 17:02
  Speaker 7: Promise of immunity or reward of the use of force
• 17:04
  Speaker 7: of violence to induce him to make a statement?
• 17:06
  Speaker 5: No, there was none.
• 17:07
  Speaker 7: Can you tell the court the extent of the conversation
• 17:11
  Speaker 7: at that time?
• 17:12
  Speaker 8: Well, first of all, I asked him if he was
• 17:16
  Speaker 8: the registered owner of a 1948 Plymouth automobile, California license
• 17:21
  Speaker 8: number 17 Arthur 2804.
• 17:22
  Speaker 5: He admitted that he was. And then I asked him
• 17:28
  Speaker 5: if he was.
• 17:29
  Speaker 8: Driving that car on the night of September 3rd. He
• 17:32
  Speaker 8: said he was, but that he did not drive anywhere
• 17:34
  Speaker 8: near the location of the hit-and-run felony that night at
• 17:38
  Speaker 8: 7th and Carondelet Street.
• 17:40
  Speaker 9: Did the defendant tell you where he drove his car
• 17:43
  Speaker 9: that night?
• 17:44
  Speaker 8: No, sir.
• 17:44
  Speaker 9: You asked the defendant where he drove his car that
• 17:46
  Speaker 9: night of September 3rd? Yes, I did. And what did
• 17:48
  Speaker 9: he answer?
• 17:49
  Speaker 5: Well, he said, it's none of your business.
• 17:52
  Speaker 9: Did you persist in this line of questioning?
• 17:54
  Speaker 5: Yes, I did.
• 17:54
  Speaker 9: Did the defendant continue to refuse to give you the information?
• 17:57
  Speaker 5: That's right.
• 17:59
  Speaker 9: Did the defendant state where he was on the night
• 18:02
  Speaker 9: of September 3rd, between 10 p.m. and midnight?
• 18:04
  Speaker 5: He refused to tell us.
• 18:05
  Speaker 7: Did you advise the defendant at that time that his
• 18:08
  Speaker 7: car had been.
• 18:09
  Speaker 9: Impounded for investigation?
• 18:11
  Speaker 5: That's right.
• 18:11
  Speaker 7: Did you advise him that several points of incriminating evidence
• 18:14
  Speaker 7: had been found in the car?
• 18:16
  Speaker 5: Yes, we did.
• 18:17
  Speaker 9: And what did he say in answer?
• 18:19
  Speaker 5: Well, he said, you can't prove a thing. I wasn't
• 18:22
  Speaker 5: near the place. You can't prove a thing.
• 18:26
  Speaker 9: Was that the extent of the conversation between you and
• 18:28
  Speaker 9: the defendant?
• 18:29
  Speaker 8: It was.
• 18:29
  Speaker 9: Thank you, that's all.
• 18:31
  Speaker 5: Counsel for the defense.
• 18:32
  Speaker 9: No questions, Your Honor. Leland Jones, don't stand. Raise your
• 18:45
  Speaker 9: right hand. You're not patient? I'm a police officer in
• 18:49
  Speaker 9: and far.
• 18:49
  Speaker 5: The city of Los Angeles.
• 18:50
  Speaker 9: What particular detail are you assigned to? I'm a lieutenant.
• 19:07
  Speaker 7: Will counsel for defense stipulate the witness as a qualified
• 19:10
  Speaker 7: forensic chemist?
• 19:11
  Speaker 5: So stipulated. Mr.
• 19:12
  Speaker 7: Jones, you are the commander in charge of the police
• 19:15
  Speaker 7: department's scientific investigation division.
• 19:17
  Speaker 9: Is that correct? Yes, it is. Jones, I will show
• 19:21
  Speaker 9: you a photograph. An automobile. California license number 1782804 to
• 19:28
  Speaker 9: be marked People's Exhibit C. Have you ever seen this
• 19:34
  Speaker 9: car before? I have. Where and when did you see it, please?
• 19:38
  Speaker 12: I saw it at the Traffic Division Garage, 123 South
• 19:40
  Speaker 12: Figueroa Street, Monday, October 6th this year.
• 19:43
  Speaker 9: Did you make an examination of this car at that time?
• 19:45
  Speaker 5: I did.
• 19:46
  Speaker 9: What did the examination consist of? And, uh... are you
• 19:50
  Speaker 9: finding it?
• 19:51
  Speaker 12: I made a systematic examination of the car using oblique
• 19:54
  Speaker 12: lighting from a 500-watt photo flood lamp and a bell-type reflector.
• 19:59
  Speaker 12: I found the following evidence, excuse me. On the front
• 20:03
  Speaker 12: bumper of the car, I found fabric marks consisting of
• 20:07
  Speaker 12: 51 threads.
• 20:08
  Speaker 9: To the inch.
• 20:09
  Speaker 12: I then took a perpendicular photograph of those marks with
• 20:12
  Speaker 12: a copy camera. Here is a photograph of that portion
• 20:16
  Speaker 12: of the bumper containing those marks.
• 20:20
  Speaker 9: I wish this photograph would mark people's exhibit D for identification.
• 20:24
  Speaker 9: You proceed, please, Mr.
• 20:25
  Speaker 1: Jones.
• 20:25
  Speaker 9: What else did you find in your examination of the
• 20:27
  Speaker 9: defendant's car?
• 20:28
  Speaker 12: I found fabric marks on the cowling of the car,
• 20:32
  Speaker 12: extending back under the hood. These marks were made by
• 20:35
  Speaker 12: fabric having a weave of 38 ribs to the inch.
• 20:38
  Speaker 11: I have here a photograph of those marks.
• 20:42
  Speaker 9: Thank you. I'm going to ask this photograph to mark
• 20:45
  Speaker 9: people's exhibits. So mark. What else did you find in
• 20:48
  Speaker 9: your examination of.
• 20:49
  Speaker 5: The car, Mr. Jones?
• 20:50
  Speaker 12: I also noted an indentation in the right portion of
• 20:53
  Speaker 12: the car's hood. It had the appearance of having been
• 20:56
  Speaker 12: made by a soft object enclosed in fabric striking the car.
• 21:00
  Speaker 9: Would a human body struck by a car make such
• 21:02
  Speaker 9: an indentation?
• 21:02
  Speaker 5: Yes, it would.
• 21:04
  Speaker 12: Here's a photograph I took of that indentation on the
• 21:08
  Speaker 12: defense car.
• 21:13
  Speaker 9: Exhibit M. So marked. All right, continue, Mr. Jones.
• 21:18
  Speaker 12: On the top of the right-hand fender of the car,
• 21:21
  Speaker 12: I found a lip imprint in red lipstick. I lifted
• 21:25
  Speaker 12: that print with a piece of cellophane tape, then placed
• 21:28
  Speaker 12: the tape on a plain white card, which I have
• 21:31
  Speaker 12: right here with me.
• 21:32
  Speaker 8: Thank you.
• 21:34
  Speaker 9: This card will mark the exhibit G. So marked. Now, Mr. Jones, these.
• 21:41
  Speaker 7: Pieces of evidence which you found on the defendant's car.
• 21:45
  Speaker 9: Did you compare them with other objects?
• 21:47
  Speaker 11: I did.
• 21:49
  Speaker 9: Will you please state what comparisons you made and your findings?
• 21:52
  Speaker 12: Well, in the first place, I find that the fabric
• 21:56
  Speaker 12: marks in People's Exhibit C, taken from the bumper of
• 21:59
  Speaker 12: the car, has the same count wrench as the stockings
• 22:03
  Speaker 12: worn by the.
• 22:04
  Speaker 9: Victim, Sheila Gordon.
• 22:06
  Speaker 12: Secondly, I found the fabric mark shown in People's Exhibit
• 22:09
  Speaker 12: D from the cowling hood of the car to be
• 22:12
  Speaker 12: the same.
• 22:13
  Speaker 5: Count per inch as the coat worn by the defendant.
• 22:17
  Speaker 12: I further made a comparison between the lip imprint found
• 22:20
  Speaker 12: on the right fender as shown in People's Exhibit G
• 22:23
  Speaker 12: and various exemplars of the victim's lips. She made the
• 22:27
  Speaker 12: exemplars by placing her lips against heavy stiff white paper.
• 22:30
  Speaker 12: I have those exemplars with me.
• 22:37
  Speaker 9: So, Mark.
• 22:38
  Speaker 7: May I ask, how did the lip imprint taken from
• 22:42
  Speaker 7: the defendant's car compare with these sample imprints made by
• 22:46
  Speaker 7: the victim's lips?
• 22:47
  Speaker 12: I found that there were 17 points of similarity between
• 22:52
  Speaker 12: the two. These points of similarity consist of various small
• 22:56
  Speaker 12: lines or wrinkles which match identically, as you may be
• 23:00
  Speaker 12: seeing in the photographs.
• 23:03
  Speaker 9: Jones, do you have an opinion.
• 23:05
  Speaker 7: As to the origin of the lip imprint on the
• 23:08
  Speaker 7: defendant's car as shown in People's Exhibit G?
• 23:12
  Speaker 8: I do.
• 23:13
  Speaker 9: What is that?
• 23:14
  Speaker 12: It's my opinion that the lip imprint on the defendant's
• 23:17
  Speaker 12: car as shown in Exhibit G was made by the
• 23:20
  Speaker 12: lips of the victim.
• 23:21
  Speaker 9: Sheila Gordon. So, Mr.
• 23:29
  Speaker 8: Jones, we recognize, of course, that you're a qualified forensic chemist.
• 23:34
  Speaker 8: But are you going to set yourself up as an
• 23:35
  Speaker 8: expert on women's lips, too?
• 23:39
  Speaker 12: Well, I've done some research in that department, too.
• 23:45
  Speaker 5: Mr.
• 23:45
  Speaker 12: Jones, isn't it possible that any number of lip imprints
• 23:49
  Speaker 12: made by different people would look exactly alike? No, it
• 23:51
  Speaker 12: is not possible. There are no two things in the
• 23:54
  Speaker 12: world exactly alike. There are no two sets of lip
• 23:58
  Speaker 12: imprints alike.
• 24:00
  Speaker 9: Well, anyone who's been around at all would know that.
• 24:04
  Speaker 11: That's all, Mr.
• 24:04
  Speaker 2: Jones.
• 24:05
  Speaker 6: Thank you.
• 24:06
  Speaker 9: Repeat his case, Your Honor.
• 24:09
  Speaker 5: Counsel for the defense? We will not offer any defense
• 24:12
  Speaker 5: at this time, Your Honor.
• 24:13
  Speaker 4: It appears to me that a felony has been committed
• 24:15
  Speaker 4: and reasonable cause to believe that the defendant committed it.
• 24:17
  Speaker 5: The defendant will be held to answer in superior court.
• 24:23
  Speaker 8: Tuesday, November 4th, suspect Ralph Angelo was arraigned in Superior Court,
• 24:27
  Speaker 8: Department 88, and.
• 24:29
  Speaker 5: The date of his trial was set for December 1st.
• 24:31
  Speaker 8: During the weeks preceding the set of the trial, we
• 24:34
  Speaker 8: worked with Lee Jones in the district attorney's office preparing
• 24:36
  Speaker 8: the case against Ralph Angelo. Two days before the trial opened,
• 24:40
  Speaker 8: we had a visit from one of the men from
• 24:41
  Speaker 8: the DA's office, a process server.
• 24:43
  Speaker 11: Hi, Bert. Hi.
• 24:46
  Speaker 9: We got trouble.
• 24:47
  Speaker 5: Yeah?
• 24:48
  Speaker 9: Sheila Gordon's disappeared.
• 24:54
  Speaker 8: Wednesday, December 1st, Ralph Angelo's trial opened and Sheila Gordon
• 24:58
  Speaker 8: was called.
• 24:58
  Speaker 5: To the stand. She failed to appear. We checked her
• 25:02
  Speaker 5: few known friends in the city. They couldn't help. She
• 25:04
  Speaker 5: had disappeared from her new address and taken everything with her.
• 25:07
  Speaker 8: A bench warrant was issued by Superior Court for Sheila Gordon.
• 25:11
  Speaker 5: The deputy district.
• 25:12
  Speaker 8: Attorney succeeded in having the court grant a delay in
• 25:15
  Speaker 8: order to find the missing girl, in this case, the
• 25:16
  Speaker 8: complaining witness. Meantime, we got out a local broadcast and
• 25:20
  Speaker 8: an APB. We got missing persons detail to help out
• 25:22
  Speaker 8: in the search.
• 25:23
  Speaker 5: Still no sign.
• 25:25
  Speaker 8: Ralph Angelo's lawyer asked the court for dismissal of the
• 25:27
  Speaker 8: hit-and-run felony case because of Sheila Gordon's failure to appear.
• 25:30
  Speaker 5: On December the 8th, the court ruled on the motion.
• 25:34
  Speaker 2: Regarding the motion by the defense for dismissal of hit-and-run
• 25:38
  Speaker 2: felony charges against Ralph C.
• 25:39
  Speaker 5: Angelo.
• 25:41
  Speaker 12: Because of the prosecution's failure to produce the complaining.
• 25:44
  Speaker 9: Witness, to which Sheila R.
• 25:46
  Speaker 12: Gordon, the court feels it would not serve the interests
• 25:49
  Speaker 12: of justice to continue the case.
• 25:51
  Speaker 9: Case dismissed.
• 25:54
  Speaker 8: The search for Sheila Gordon went on. Behind us, we
• 25:57
  Speaker 8: had logged three solid months of police work, checking and
• 26:00
  Speaker 8: running down more than 4,000 cars, hours of labor in
• 26:03
  Speaker 8: the crime lab, more hours pounding.
• 26:05
  Speaker 5: The pavement, questioning people, checking, rechecking.
• 26:09
  Speaker 8: Without a trial and a conviction, it didn't mean a thing.
• 26:12
  Speaker 8: Three days before Christmas, we received information that the missing
• 26:15
  Speaker 8: girl was living in a small town south of Los Angeles.
• 26:18
  Speaker 5: Ben and I checked the address.
• 26:24
  Speaker 8: What was the apartment number?
• 26:25
  Speaker 5: 7A, wasn't it?
• 26:26
  Speaker 9: Oh, yeah. I'll get it.
• 26:34
  Speaker 8: Okay. Yeah?
• 26:39
  Speaker 6: Oh, you two, come in, come in. Sit down, make
• 26:43
  Speaker 6: yourself at home. I'm sorry the place is such a mess.
• 26:45
  Speaker 6: A little party earlier tonight. It's messed up.
• 26:48
  Speaker 5: What about the trial? Why didn't you show?
• 26:49
  Speaker 8: Come on, sit down.
• 26:51
  Speaker 6: See, I'll tell you what. I'll freshen up a little,
• 26:53
  Speaker 6: put on some makeup.
• 26:54
  Speaker 5: What about the trial?
• 26:54
  Speaker 6: I didn't have anything against the guy. He didn't mean
• 26:57
  Speaker 6: to run me down.
• 26:58
  Speaker 8: You, uh.
• 27:00
  Speaker 6: He wouldn't happen to have a drink on you, would you?
• 27:01
  Speaker 5: You know better than that.
• 27:03
  Speaker 9: Why didn't you show up at the trial?
• 27:04
  Speaker 6: I told you, I didn't have anything against the guy.
• 27:07
  Speaker 5: What was it, a payoff?
• 27:08
  Speaker 6: Look, why don't we go out and get something? Then
• 27:10
  Speaker 6: we can come back and have a party.
• 27:11
  Speaker 5: How much did he give you?
• 27:12
  Speaker 6: Fifty dollars.
• 27:14
  Speaker 8: He was awful nice.
• 27:15
  Speaker 9: You agreed not to show in court.
• 27:17
  Speaker 6: I didn't have anything against the guy, that's all.
• 27:20
  Speaker 5: Better get your coat.
• 27:22
  Speaker 8: Why?
• 27:22
  Speaker 5: That's what the court wants to know.
• 27:27
  Speaker 6: You're taking me in. Why? Is there any law against forgiving?
• 27:31
  Speaker 8: Yeah, when you get paid for it.
• 27:41
  Speaker 2: The story you have just heard was true. Only the
• 27:44
  Speaker 2: names were changed to protect the innocent.
• 27:48
  Speaker 3: On February 3rd, trial was held in Superior Court, Department 88,
• 27:52
  Speaker 3: City and County of Los Angeles, State of California.
• 27:54
  Speaker 9: In a moment, the results of that trial.
• 27:56
  Speaker 4: It's amazing how many long cigarette smokers are changing to Fatima.
• 28:01
  Speaker 5: Here's the actual report.
• 28:02
  Speaker 2: From coast to coast, king-size Fatima has more than doubled
• 28:06
  Speaker 2: its smokers.
• 28:07
  Speaker 4: Yes, more and more smokers every day are discovering that
• 28:10
  Speaker 4: Fatima is the best of all long cigarettes.
• 28:14
  Speaker 3: Long cigarette smokers find Fatima has a much different, much
• 28:17
  Speaker 3: better flavor and aroma.
• 28:19
  Speaker 4: Long cigarette smokers find that Fatima is extra mild because
• 28:23
  Speaker 4: it's the long cigarette which contains the finest Turkish and
• 28:27
  Speaker 4: domestic tobaccos, superbly blended to make it extra mild.
• 28:31
  Speaker 3: So enjoy Extra Mild Fatima, best of all long cigarettes.
• 28:36
  Speaker 1: It's wise to smoke Extra Mild Fatima.
• 28:40
  Speaker 10: It's wise to smoke Extra Mild Fatima.
• 28:53
  Speaker 3: Sheila Gordon was returned to Los Angeles and a new
• 28:56
  Speaker 3: date was set for the trial of Ralph Angelo. Subsequently,
• 29:00
  Speaker 3: he was tried and found guilty as charged. Angelo was
• 29:04
  Speaker 3: also tried, along with Sheila Gordon, for compounding a felony.
• 29:08
  Speaker 3: They were both convicted and received the sentence as prescribed
• 29:11
  Speaker 3: by law. They are now serving their terms in the
• 29:14
  Speaker 3: state penitentiary. You have just heard Dragnet, a series of
• 29:22
  Speaker 3: authentic cases from official files. Technical advice for Dragnet comes
• 29:26
  Speaker 3: from the office of Chief of Police W.A. Wharton, Los
• 29:29
  Speaker 3: Angeles Police Department.
• 29:35
  Speaker 4: Fatima cigarettes, the best of all long cigarettes, has brought
• 29:38
  Speaker 4: you Dragnet from Los Angeles.
• 29:42
  Speaker 2: The Halls of Ivy is especially pleasant listening tomorrow on NBC.
• 29:58
  Speaker 1: You have been listening to Dragnet, The Big Trial. Follow
• 30:02
  Speaker 1: the 50 greatest old-time radio shows for more classic broadcasts.