WEBVTT 00:00.000 --> 00:13.000 Ladies and gentlemen, the story you are about to hear is true. Only the names have been 00:13.000 --> 00:31.400 changed to protect the innocent. Fatima cigarettes, best of long cigarettes, brings you Dragnet. 00:31.400 --> 00:36.840 You're a detective sergeant. You're assigned to robbery detail. Eight thousand dollars 00:36.840 --> 00:43.560 worth of Chinese jade has been stolen. The criminal is vicious. His weapon, a handful 00:43.560 --> 00:53.440 of buckshot in a handkerchief. Your job, get him. If you want a long cigarette, smoke the 00:53.440 --> 01:00.280 best of long cigarettes. Smoke Fatima. Fatima is the long cigarette which contains the finest 01:00.280 --> 01:06.200 Turkish and domestic tobaccos, superbly blended to make Fatima extra mild. And that's why 01:06.200 --> 01:12.960 Fatima is a much different, much better flavor and aroma than any other long cigarette. That's 01:12.960 --> 01:19.680 why Fatima is doubling and redoubling its smokers. So if you want a long cigarette, smoke the 01:19.680 --> 01:27.880 best of all long cigarettes. Smoke Fatima. Dragnet, the documented drama of an actual 01:27.880 --> 01:33.240 crime. For the next 30 minutes in cooperation with the Los Angeles Police Department, you 01:33.240 --> 01:37.720 will travel step by step on the side of the law through an actual case from official police 01:37.720 --> 01:44.320 files. From beginning to end, from crime to punishment, Dragnet is the story of your police 01:44.320 --> 01:52.600 force in action. It was Monday, December 1st. It was foggy in Los Angeles. We were working 01:52.600 --> 01:57.360 the day watch out of robbery detail. My partner is Ben Romero. The boss is Ed Backstrand, 01:57.360 --> 02:02.840 chief of detectives. My name's Friday. It was 7.15 p.m. when we got to the police academy. 02:02.840 --> 02:09.120 We were in the banquet room. Where do we sit, Joe? Lee Jones is holding a couple of seats 02:09.120 --> 02:14.600 for us someplace. You see him? Oh, yeah, yeah. There he is up there. Look at him. But he's 02:14.600 --> 02:20.720 here. Yeah, ought to be. Hi, fellas. A couple of ringside seats. Thanks, Lee. Did you get 02:20.720 --> 02:26.080 it? Yeah. Right here. Mind if I take a look at it? No, go ahead. How come it didn't get 02:26.080 --> 02:33.880 wrapped as a gift? No time. Gift box would have been nice. No cotton even? Beautiful 02:33.880 --> 02:40.480 watch. Radium dial? Yeah. Universal Geneva. Fine movement. He like it. Look on the back. 02:40.480 --> 02:47.600 Let's see. For chief Ed Backstrand, a good cop, detective bureau. Not very good engraving. 02:47.600 --> 02:53.040 No time. I didn't think the old man really meant it. 26 years. You get tired after 26 02:53.040 --> 02:57.840 years. You've been at it 25, Lee. Don't look at me like that. I got a book to finish. 23 02:57.840 --> 03:02.480 chapters. How many chapters you got, Fanny? Two. How long you been writing it? Two years. 03:02.480 --> 03:07.040 Well, at that rate, we'll be stuck with you for another 21 years. If you're lucky. Excuse 03:07.040 --> 03:18.040 me, fellas. Got to make a speech. Aye, Lee. Gentlemen. I have a question for you. Your 03:18.040 --> 03:23.600 opinion? Get the proceedings underway here before we introduce the man of the hour. I'd 03:23.600 --> 03:29.640 like to pass along a little story you might get a kick out of. I was driving down from 03:29.640 --> 03:35.200 Utah last year, stopped off at a hotel in Elko, Nevada. When I went up to register for 03:35.200 --> 03:40.440 my room, there was an Indian ahead of me. The clerk asked his Indian fella to sign his 03:40.440 --> 03:46.920 name and the clerk handed him the pen. The Indian made a next on the book. The clerk 03:46.920 --> 03:52.120 looked at him from him and said, Say, aren't you, Chief Dearskin, have I seen you in the 03:52.120 --> 03:59.520 movies? The Indian nodded his head and looked a little upset. Oh, he said. Oh, he make 03:59.520 --> 04:05.320 a lot of movies in Hollywood. The clerk smiled and said, Well, people in Elko here like 04:05.320 --> 04:10.720 to get your autograph, Chief. And the Indian grabbed the pen up again and he said, Me no 04:10.720 --> 04:17.120 like a photograph, others. Me no wanna be bothered. Then he drew a circle around the 04:17.120 --> 04:24.520 ax he made. The clerk said, Why you do that, Chief? The Indian said, Me no use the right 04:24.520 --> 04:30.720 name. Oh, hey, there's Rodgers over there. He's motioning to where? Oh, yeah. Excuse 04:30.720 --> 04:38.520 me about that. Chief was retiring tonight. He's been using his right name for 26 years 04:38.520 --> 04:43.120 and he's proud of it. And we're proud to have been associated. You want me, Rodgers? I've 04:43.120 --> 04:47.920 phone for you, Joe. You can take it on the extension outside. Thanks, Pete. He's retiring 04:47.920 --> 04:54.920 from the Los Angeles police department. We're gonna miss him. Gentlemen, our fine officer, 04:54.920 --> 05:06.720 Chief Hedgeback Smith. Where's the phone? Right over here. Thanks. Friday. Joe, this 05:06.720 --> 05:10.920 is Gonzalez. Yeah, Jeff. Sorry to bother you, but power's set as you'd call you. Yeah? I 05:10.920 --> 05:15.520 need some liquid. Something big? Pretty big, yeah. Too many loose ends. Penny and I can't 05:15.520 --> 05:19.120 pull them all in. When do you want us? As soon as you can get out here. That important, 05:19.120 --> 05:31.520 huh? A man may die, Joe. Hi, Jess. Got here as soon as we could. Sorry to pull you away. 05:31.520 --> 05:40.520 Hello, Romero. Gonzalez, what's up? Come on in here. Here's a report, not complete yet. 05:40.520 --> 05:46.120 A Chinese fella. Name's George Kwan. He's a jeweler, gem cutter. Yeah. Jade expert. Knows 05:46.120 --> 05:51.480 as much about jade as anybody on the coast. Says it happened at 5.30 today on El Verado 05:51.480 --> 05:56.320 near the park. They weren't kidding, were they? They almost killed him. Yeah. Any idea 05:56.320 --> 06:00.320 what the weapon was, Jeff? Not sure. Looks like some sort of blackjack, something homemade. 06:00.320 --> 06:03.960 Yeah. When they picked up Kwan, they found several buckshot pellets lying around in a 06:03.960 --> 06:08.280 man's handkerchief. Ray Pinker has the stuff over at the crime lab now. Where's Kwan? Have 06:08.280 --> 06:12.040 you talked to him? Got in a couple questions down at Georgia Street while the doc was giving 06:12.040 --> 06:17.880 him sedatives. Little guy's a mess, Joe. Gonna be all right? 50-50 chance when I called you 06:17.880 --> 06:21.760 out of the academy. Why did they beat him, dear, is that it? I don't have it all yet, 06:21.760 --> 06:25.600 but from what he said, he was jumped from behind, didn't have a chance to fight. Whoever 06:25.600 --> 06:29.640 it was kept beating him long after he was unconscious. What'd they take him for? A couple 06:29.640 --> 06:36.240 pieces of jade, large ones. Very rare. You got anything else? Yeah, we got a star witness, 06:36.240 --> 06:39.880 just one. Did you talk to him yet? Just did for an hour and a half. You want to crack 06:39.880 --> 06:48.880 at him? Are you having trouble with him? Yeah, a little. All right, Pena, send him in again. 06:48.880 --> 06:58.120 Yes, sir, you want to talk some more? Six years old, Joe. His name was Norman Eugene 06:58.120 --> 07:02.960 Fisher and he was six years of age last April. By all young boys his age, his imagination 07:02.960 --> 07:07.400 ran away with him. What would be only a minor detail to an adult witness assumed tremendous 07:07.400 --> 07:12.600 proportions in Norman's young mind. He told us his story three times, each time he elaborated 07:12.600 --> 07:16.240 a little more until what he claimed was the truth could only have been figments of a small 07:16.240 --> 07:21.280 child's imagination. Ben and I, together with Gonzales and Pena, talked with the boy for 07:21.280 --> 07:26.480 another hour. We were getting tired, but Norman enjoyed his position as star witness. Once 07:26.480 --> 07:31.920 more, Norman, please try to remember it as it really happened. It was just like I said. 07:31.920 --> 07:37.200 Let me try, Jeff. Go ahead, Ramon. You did see it happen this afternoon, didn't you, 07:37.200 --> 07:42.360 Norman? Yes, sir, I did. Good. Now, you were on your way home from a store. Oh, no, sir, 07:42.360 --> 07:46.680 I was running away from a man. He was chasing me. But you just told us, Norman, that you 07:46.680 --> 07:51.760 were on your way home from a store. Oh, no, sir, that was yesterday. But you told us. 07:51.760 --> 07:57.040 Oh, no, sir, I didn't, Ben. Norman, how old are you? Next year I'm going to be 21. No, 07:57.040 --> 08:02.160 that's not right, 21. That's older than I am. Well, when I am 21, I'm going to get a hot 08:02.160 --> 08:06.920 ride. Fastest car in the world, 10,000 miles an hour. Sure you will. But how old are you 08:06.920 --> 08:13.680 now? Six, but I'm one. But I'm going to be 21 soon. I remember when I was six years old, 08:13.680 --> 08:18.760 Norman, a lot of things I wanted, electric train. I got one. Well, it must be something 08:18.760 --> 08:23.640 you'd like to have. One thing that maybe now that you don't have. Will you give it to me? 08:23.640 --> 08:29.800 Well, if I can. What do you want? I'd like your gun. Well, what do you want a gun for? 08:29.800 --> 08:34.800 I want to put people in jail like you guys do. Sometimes it takes more than a gun, Norman. 08:34.800 --> 08:38.600 What do you mean? Just because you've got a gun doesn't mean you're a cop. Well, what 08:38.600 --> 08:54.400 does? Just a minute, son. Here you go, Norman. A good cop uses this more than a gun. Gee. 08:54.400 --> 09:04.160 It's a real police badge. It's mine. Official? Official. Can I hold it? Go ahead. It's yours. 09:04.160 --> 09:07.880 When I wear this, I'm a real detective. Well, that's part of it. The other part is to tell 09:07.880 --> 09:12.080 us what you really saw today. Now, how about it? There were four men, like I said, and 09:12.080 --> 09:15.160 they all had machine guns. No, no, wait a minute, Norman. I thought you said you were 09:15.160 --> 09:19.760 a detective now. I am. Well, a good detective has to remember exactly what he sees, not 09:19.760 --> 09:24.440 something he makes up. It's not very scary that way. No, it's no use, Joe. He can't get 09:24.440 --> 09:29.200 his story straight. Oh, yes, I can. I'm a detective now and I know what happened. All 09:29.200 --> 09:34.360 right, Norman, you tell us, huh? I was on my way home from the store. I saw this truck 09:34.360 --> 09:38.520 stop down the street. What did the truck look like? I don't know. It was a funny kind of 09:38.520 --> 09:43.320 truck. Had a wood back. You mean like a dump truck? Kind of, but it was a small truck. 09:43.320 --> 09:47.920 Owned kind of car, like he took out the back part and put wood boards like a truck. You 09:47.920 --> 09:51.400 mean whoever owned the truck cut the back end out and made it look like a truck, huh? 09:51.400 --> 09:56.000 Yeah, yeah, that's the way it looked. Anyway, this truck stopped by this Chinese man and 09:56.000 --> 10:00.880 the man got out and the man started to hit this man and the man followed him a sidewalk 10:00.880 --> 10:04.400 and the man kept hitting him and hitting him as hard as anything. Well, what was he hitting 10:04.400 --> 10:08.880 him with? With his handkerchief. There he goes again. No, I don't know. How about that 10:08.880 --> 10:13.880 chest? Good tie in. Go on, Norman. Well, that's all I saw. No, no, I mean after the man hit 10:13.880 --> 10:18.520 him, what did he do? Oh, well, he grabbed a bunch of stuff from this man's pocket and 10:18.520 --> 10:23.000 he went into the truck and he speeded away. Norman, you're a good detective. I want you 10:23.000 --> 10:27.880 to think real hard now. Do you know what a license number is? Yeah. Good. Do you think 10:27.880 --> 10:33.320 you could remember the numbers on that truck? If I knew what they were, I could. In school, 10:33.320 --> 10:37.800 we're just having numbers now. I only know up to seven, but there were two sevens in it. 10:37.800 --> 10:41.440 You're getting all this jazz? Yeah, keep going. Norman, you've helped us a lot. Can you remember 10:41.440 --> 10:45.760 what the man on the truck looked like? He had a big head and he looked mean. All right, 10:45.760 --> 10:49.520 just one more thing now. Can you remember the color of that truck? It looked black, 10:49.520 --> 10:54.640 but the back part had black and white stripes. I don't know how you did it, Joe. What do 10:54.640 --> 10:59.040 you think? How about it? Me too. All right, Norman, your mother's waiting outside for 10:59.040 --> 11:05.280 you. You can go home now. You're a real detective. Can I wear my badge now? You bet you can. 11:05.280 --> 11:16.280 Okay. Say. Yes, sir? As soon as I arrest somebody, will you put them in jail? With the help of 11:16.280 --> 11:20.400 an outdated police badge no longer official, we had the statement of a six-year-old boy 11:20.400 --> 11:24.760 with a healthy imagination. We had an idea he was telling us the truth, but we had no 11:24.760 --> 11:29.200 way of being certain. Since he was the only witness, we had to accept his word and hope 11:29.200 --> 11:33.080 that he was putting us on the right track. The quickest way to make sure was to see if 11:33.080 --> 11:37.920 some of the details in little Norman Fisher's story would check out. Jess Gonzalez and Manuel 11:37.920 --> 11:42.080 Pena took the job of trying to locate a homemade pickup truck with two sevens in the license 11:42.080 --> 11:48.360 number. They started by checking all the late 3.8 forms of vehicle theft and impound reports. 11:48.360 --> 11:52.080 The next morning, Ben and I called the General Hospital and talked with Dr. Sebastian. He 11:52.080 --> 11:55.880 told us that the victim, George Kwan, had improved sufficiently to allow a brief interview. 11:55.880 --> 12:00.600 It was 10, 14 a.m. when we got to Ward C, General Hospital. Doctor tells us you're a 12:00.600 --> 12:06.120 little better this morning, Mr. Kwan. Yes, sir. I shall be all right, although it is 12:06.120 --> 12:09.800 quite painful at times. We're sorry to bother you, Mr. Kwan, but we've got to have a little 12:09.800 --> 12:15.160 more information on the robbery. Oh, I will tell you all I can, sir. I should like to 12:15.160 --> 12:20.320 recover the missing jade pieces. It is a great loss to me. Did you get any kind of a look 12:20.320 --> 12:25.840 at the man who hit you? Oh, he attacked me from behind, knocked me to the pavement. I 12:25.840 --> 12:31.760 made an attempt to get to my feet, but he struck me again and again here at the base 12:31.760 --> 12:36.160 of my neck. You didn't see him at all then? No, sir, I did not. Do you have any idea who 12:36.160 --> 12:42.040 could have done this? Unfortunately, no. I cannot think of anyone. What was stolen from 12:42.040 --> 12:46.720 you? We know it was jade, but can you give us a more detailed description? Well, sir, 12:46.720 --> 12:52.000 I lost two thumb rings, very rare, collector's items. Thumb rings, sir, how much were they 12:52.000 --> 12:57.560 worth, would you say? Well, I paid 8,000 for the two rings. I wonder if you could describe 12:57.560 --> 13:03.120 them to us. Well, both rings were relics of the time when the Chinese archer drew his 13:03.120 --> 13:08.800 hunting bow with a special thumb ring. Any particular identifying marks on them? They 13:08.800 --> 13:13.840 both have linings of fine gold to fit them to the fingers of the new owners. Who were 13:13.840 --> 13:19.240 the new owners? I had just purchased them yesterday before I was robbed. I was on my 13:19.240 --> 13:25.480 way to San Francisco to show them to prospective buyers. Who did you buy the rings from, Mr. 13:25.480 --> 13:31.480 Quine? Mrs. Inez Curtis, a very reputable dealer. We have done business for many years. 13:31.480 --> 13:36.720 I wonder if we could have her business address, huh? She has her office at her home. It is 13:36.720 --> 13:45.720 1957 Harper Annex off Sunset Boulevard in Beverly Hills. How many people knew that you 13:45.720 --> 13:52.240 had the jade on you at that particular time yesterday? Oh, let me see. There were only 13:52.240 --> 13:58.960 two other buyers present beside Mrs. Curtis. Do not recall their names. They were new to 13:58.960 --> 14:03.880 me. Mrs. Curtis would know. Mr. Quine, we know that you're tired. We have just one more 14:03.880 --> 14:10.000 customer. Certainly. I wonder if I might trouble you to hand me that tumbler of water with 14:10.000 --> 14:21.200 a glass straw. Surely. Here you are. Thank you very much. You're welcome. Now those thumb 14:21.200 --> 14:24.280 rings, Mr. Quine, would there be any practical disposition of them other than selling them 14:24.280 --> 14:31.080 as they are? Well, hardly, Sergeant. To anyone who really knows the value of jade, it would 14:31.080 --> 14:35.240 be unheard of to change them in any way. I see. Well, thank you, Mr. Quine. We'll do 14:35.240 --> 14:41.880 our best. You know, Sergeant, we Chinese place a great sentimental value on our jade. We'll 14:41.880 --> 14:48.440 do everything we can to recover it. Thank you. May I tell you my favorite quotation on jade? 14:48.440 --> 14:55.960 Yes, sir. It is from the writings of Tong Zhongzou. He wrote, the magic powers of heaven 14:55.960 --> 15:04.560 and earth always combine to form perfect result so the pure essences of hell and water become 15:04.560 --> 15:11.920 solidified in precious jade. Ben and I drove out to 1957 Harper Annex, the residence of 15:11.920 --> 15:17.440 Mrs. Inez Curtis. There was no one at home. We left one of our cars. It was 1222 p.m. 15:17.440 --> 15:22.800 when we got back to Central Division. Here's a phone message for you, Joe. What's it say? 15:22.800 --> 15:27.720 Oh, Jess Gonzalez. He's at the Wilshire Division. Okay, thanks, Ben. 15:27.720 --> 15:41.200 Wilshire Detective's, Dillion. Hi, Harry. Gonzalez around? Just a minute. Take on three, 15:41.200 --> 15:46.920 Jess. Gonzalez. Friday, Jess. We got the truck and we got the driver. We'll be right out. 15:46.920 --> 16:01.480 Nothing else, Joe. Yeah. The kid was right. There were two sevens in the license number. 16:01.480 --> 16:07.040 You are listening to Dragnet for the solution to an actual case from official police files. 16:07.040 --> 16:12.960 Now, here is a real solution to many of your Christmas shopping problems. If your friends 16:12.960 --> 16:19.840 smoke a long cigarette, give the best of long cigarettes, Fatima. Give Fatima for quality. 16:19.840 --> 16:26.400 The name Fatima has always stood for the best in cigarette quality. Give Fatima for flavor. 16:26.400 --> 16:32.560 Fatima has a much different, much better flavor and aroma than any other long cigarette. Give 16:32.560 --> 16:40.220 Fatima their extra mild. Yes, Fatima is the long cigarette which contains the finest Turkish 16:40.220 --> 16:47.960 and domestic tobaccos blended to make Fatima extra mild. Yes, extra mild. So give Fatima 16:47.960 --> 16:54.340 for Christmas in the attractive golden yellow carton. It's the long cigarette that has doubled 16:54.340 --> 17:01.360 and redoubled its smokers. More and more smokers every day agree Fatima is the best of all 17:01.360 --> 17:13.960 long cigarettes. Wilbur Rasmussen, white male American, age 31, 5 feet 10 inches, 190 pounds, 17:13.960 --> 17:19.300 black hair, brown eyes. He was the driver of the truck. Gonzalez and Peña began by 17:19.300 --> 17:23.680 checking through all of the reports of trucks impounded during the past 24 hours. There 17:23.680 --> 17:29.100 were 23. Out of those 23, they narrowed it down to four possibilities. The third vehicle 17:29.100 --> 17:33.160 that they checked fitted the young witnesses description of the holdup truck. We still 17:33.160 --> 17:37.240 could not be absolutely certain that the impounded truck was the one we were looking for. The 17:37.240 --> 17:42.380 same could be said of the driver, Wilbur Rasmussen. The net result of checking impound reports 17:42.380 --> 17:46.400 doesn't always result in the apprehension of a suspect, but in this case we were lucky. 17:46.400 --> 17:50.920 The driver had been picked up for drunk driving. It was 1.30 p.m. when we checked in at the 17:50.920 --> 17:56.200 Wilshire Division. Hi, James. Where is he? You're a little late. What do you mean? He's 17:56.200 --> 18:00.800 gone, released on bail. Who furnished the bail? The woman who works for Mrs. Inez Curtis. 18:00.800 --> 18:05.280 Well, that doesn't figure, Jess, or does it? Why not? How many people knew Kwan had the 18:05.280 --> 18:08.960 jade? That's not my guess. Kwan vouches for her. He's been doing business with her for 18:08.960 --> 18:13.200 a year. What do you think, Joe? It's your show. I'm just tagging along. Well, one thing's 18:13.200 --> 18:23.320 sure of... Just a minute. Wilshire Detectives, Gonzalez. Yeah, Peña. He did? No, meet me 18:23.320 --> 18:31.040 back here. Hmm? Friday and Romero are here. The Fisher kid just identified Rasmussen's 18:31.040 --> 18:38.680 picture. The identification of Wilbur Rasmussen by six-year-old Norman Fisher was far from 18:38.680 --> 18:43.360 sufficient to take the case to court. We had to have evidence, lots of it. Rasmussen had 18:43.360 --> 18:47.200 been given a thorough shakedown in his apartment and the truck. There was no sign of the stolen 18:47.200 --> 18:51.280 jade rings. Gonzalez told us that the truck had come from the U Drive truck rental on 18:51.280 --> 18:56.560 Figueroa Street. We checked with Mr. Crockett at U Drive. Let me have another look at that 18:56.560 --> 19:04.040 picture, boys. Yeah, here you are. What'd you say his name was? Rasmussen. Wilbur Rasmussen. 19:04.040 --> 19:08.520 You want to know if he rented a truck from Miss Wayne? Yesterday. Maybe the day before. 19:08.520 --> 19:17.160 No, not this fella. Never seen him. Before we left U Drive, we checked over the rental 19:17.160 --> 19:21.840 contract on the truck in question. The deposit check for the truck was signed by Mrs. Inez 19:21.840 --> 19:27.240 Curtis. The truck was checked out at 6 a.m. The rental contract, the actual release form 19:27.240 --> 19:31.480 showing to whom the vehicle had been rented, was signed by a Harry Wilson. Rasmussen's 19:31.480 --> 19:36.040 name did not appear on any of the usual rental forms. The manager of U Drive was positive 19:36.040 --> 19:41.340 that he had not rented a truck to Rasmussen. We drove out to 1957 Harper Annex. This time 19:41.340 --> 19:48.160 we found Mrs. Inez Curtis at home. I'm terribly sorry about Mr. Cron. Did he have everything 19:48.160 --> 19:51.560 he needs in the hospital? Yes, ma'am. How long did you say this Harry Wilson had been 19:51.560 --> 19:56.760 working for you? Six or eight weeks. But I'm sure you're wrong about him. We're not accusing 19:56.760 --> 20:00.480 him of anything, Miss Curtis. We just want to talk to him. He certainly came to me well 20:00.480 --> 20:06.240 recommended. He was a nice man. When was the last time you saw him? Day before yesterday. 20:06.240 --> 20:12.280 He asked for his check, said he was quitting. Told him I was sorry to see him go. I'm anxious 20:12.280 --> 20:16.240 to get that guest house finished. How about Rasmussen, Miss Curtis? How long has he been 20:16.240 --> 20:20.600 with you? Wilbur's been with me for about seven months. Good worker, but he drinks too 20:20.600 --> 20:25.520 much. I feel sorry for him. You've rented trucks from the U Drive company right along? 20:25.520 --> 20:31.680 Oh yes, from Mr. Crockett. We had to have a truck to haul our building supplies. I'm 20:31.680 --> 20:36.080 saving an awful lot of money contracting this myself. It's a great saving. Yes, ma'am. The 20:36.080 --> 20:40.280 deposit on his last rental. Did you give that check to Wilson or to Rasmussen? I sent both 20:40.280 --> 20:45.440 of them down to pick it up. Like I say, Wilbur's been drinking rather heavily lately and I 20:45.440 --> 20:49.240 think Harry's the better driver of the two. Do you know which one of those men was driving 20:49.240 --> 20:54.120 the truck about 5.30 in the afternoon day before yesterday? How would I know that, Sergeant? 20:54.120 --> 20:59.320 All I know is that I sent both of them down. I told Harry to drive. Yeah, I see. Miss Curtis, 20:59.320 --> 21:03.360 were either of those men present the day you sold the jade rings to Mr. Kwan? No. They 21:03.360 --> 21:07.360 have nothing to do with my gym business, whatever. Did either of these men know about Mr. Kwan's 21:07.360 --> 21:13.840 purchase? Well, that's possible. They knew he was here. I'm sure they saw him come in. 21:13.840 --> 21:17.800 It's entirely possible that they might have overheard something. When did Mr. Kwan leave 21:17.800 --> 21:21.960 your house? About five o'clock. What time did the two men go after the truck? Oh, they 21:21.960 --> 21:26.000 picked that up early in the morning. Mr. Crockett down at U Drive says that only Harry Wilson 21:26.000 --> 21:31.240 checked out the truck. Says he's never seen Rasmussen before. That's entirely possible. 21:31.240 --> 21:34.720 Like I say, they might well have made other arrangements. Were there any other people 21:34.720 --> 21:40.080 present when Mr. Kwan bought that jade? Yes, there were. Two other buyers. They were bidding 21:40.080 --> 21:44.800 for the thumb rings, too. Mr. Kwan had the high bid, so I sold them to him. What if we 21:44.800 --> 21:48.800 could have their names? Certainly, I'll write them down for you. Miss Curtis, do you have 21:48.800 --> 21:53.160 any idea where we might locate Harry Wilson? Well, he told me he was going to Mexico. Said 21:53.160 --> 21:57.440 he had friends down there. Well, thank you, Miss Curtis. You've been very helpful. Are 21:57.440 --> 22:04.440 you sure there isn't anything Mr. Kwan needs? Yes, ma'am. Two jade rings. Mrs. Inez Curtis 22:04.920 --> 22:09.240 gave us a detailed description of Harry Wilson. She also gave us the names and addresses of 22:09.240 --> 22:13.320 the two other buyers who were present when Mr. George Kwan made his purchase. We checked 22:13.320 --> 22:17.000 them out and found them to be equally as reputable as Mrs. Curtis. They could tell us nothing 22:17.000 --> 22:21.120 of the robbery. We went back to the office and got out an APB and a radiogram on Harry 22:21.120 --> 22:25.440 Wilson from the description given us by Mrs. Curtis. Stakeouts were maintained at Wilbur 22:25.440 --> 22:30.320 Rasmussen's apartment and at the home of Mrs. Inez Curtis. It was 4.30 p.m. when we got 22:30.320 --> 22:34.800 to the second floor of the Old City Jail Building, the crime lab. Lee Jones had the evidence 22:34.800 --> 22:38.640 laid out for us. How do you think about the handkerchief, boys? What's that, Lee? The 22:38.640 --> 22:42.400 blood stains. Old ones along with the new ones. How does that feel? We know how the 22:42.400 --> 22:46.440 new ones were made when the handkerchief was filled with buckshot and used on Kwan. The 22:46.440 --> 22:50.200 old ones, hard to tell. How old did you say they were? The handkerchief has been through 22:50.200 --> 22:55.400 the laundry a few times. Stains didn't come out. Laundry marks right here. I don't see 22:55.400 --> 23:01.040 them. Man used peerless laundry. Infrared marking system. Let me show you. Infrared 23:01.040 --> 23:06.520 lampley? Yeah. There's your marking. Pen you trace it down. Who's it belong to? Man used 23:06.520 --> 23:11.880 the name of Harry Wilson. There was nothing to do now but wait for some word on Harry 23:11.880 --> 23:16.560 Wilson. The stakeout's been here. We requested Wilbur Rasmussen and we talked again with 23:16.560 --> 23:21.120 Mrs. Curtis and George Kwan. It was Tuesday, December the 8th. We checked in for work at 23:21.120 --> 23:27.040 8 a.m. Morning, Jess. Hi, Joe. Where's Ben? We're in a case and getting a mail. Any word 23:27.040 --> 23:31.280 on the new chief of detectives? No, nothing. What's your guess? Oh, I think Thad Brown. 23:31.280 --> 23:37.120 Good man. Maybe. Sloan's a good man, too. When you come in here? Not yet. Why? Maybe 23:37.120 --> 23:40.440 he'd like to take a little airplane trip. What do you got? Cheyenne, Wyoming. They picked 23:40.440 --> 23:47.520 up Harry Wilson. Two days later, Thursday, December the 10th, Harry Wilson was returned 23:47.520 --> 23:51.920 to the Los Angeles County Jail and booked on suspicion of robbery. We checked with Lieutenant 23:51.920 --> 23:56.280 Frank Cunningham and the record bureau. From Wilson's fingerprints, he ran a make on him. 23:56.280 --> 24:00.280 Harry Wilson was an alias. We found out that he had lengthy records of arrests and jail 24:00.280 --> 24:05.520 terms for robbery, burglary, and grand larceny. Mr. Crockett at U Drive identified Wilson's 24:05.520 --> 24:10.440 picture. He was a two-time loser. It's up to you, Wilson. It can go hard for you or easy. 24:10.440 --> 24:14.600 I'm in the spot, huh? You're in the spot. Lay it out for him, Jess. It's all stacked 24:14.600 --> 24:18.280 against you, Wilson. We know you rented the truck. You knew Quann was at Mrs. Curtis' 24:18.280 --> 24:21.120 house. Your handkerchief was found at the scene of the crime. You wouldn't believe me 24:21.120 --> 24:25.760 if I said I didn't do it. With that kind of evidence, how can we? I didn't. I don't know 24:25.760 --> 24:29.160 if I can prove it, but I didn't. If you didn't, we'll help you prove it. First, you gotta 24:29.160 --> 24:34.360 believe me. You know why. Yeah. I've had it twice. Once more and I'm in for life. All 24:34.360 --> 24:38.640 right, you got it figured. Now what do you got to say? Rasmussen did it. He knocked 24:38.640 --> 24:42.760 Quann over. Where were you? Buying my ticket for Cheyenne. I didn't want any part of it. 24:42.760 --> 24:46.800 How'd you come for that handkerchief? It was mine, but Rasmussen had it. He got his finger 24:46.800 --> 24:51.640 one day on the job. I loaned it to him. That checks. Old blood stains, new ones. All right, 24:51.640 --> 24:57.680 let's pick up Rasmussen. Oh, you're at it. Pick up the Curtis stain. She planned it. 24:57.680 --> 25:03.760 Wilbur Rasmussen was picked up and brought in. After intense cross-questioning, we confronted 25:03.760 --> 25:07.880 him with Harry Wilson's statement. In the face of this testimony, he broke completely. 25:07.880 --> 25:12.280 He gave us a full confession implicating Mrs. Inez Curtis. He admitted beating George Quann 25:12.280 --> 25:17.880 and taking the jade thumb rings. He said he received $200 for Mrs. Curtis for the job. 25:17.880 --> 25:21.720 He requested that he be allowed to turn state's evidence. Mrs. Inez Curtis was brought to 25:21.720 --> 25:27.000 the interrogation room. Gosh, you gentlemen have proof to substantiate all these accusations. 25:27.000 --> 25:32.120 Yes, ma'am, we have. It better be good. I have a fine lawyer. We've got signed and recorded 25:32.120 --> 25:36.100 confessions of Wilson and Rasmussen, the two men who worked for you. Can we play the recording 25:36.100 --> 25:42.040 for you? That won't be necessary. Miss Curtis, you got $8,000 for those rings. Wasn't that 25:42.040 --> 25:47.760 enough? Not when I could make $16,000. No. Where are the rings now? I'm not going to 25:47.760 --> 25:54.440 get life for this, you know. No. Jade doesn't spoil. It'll still be good when I get out. 25:54.440 --> 25:58.960 Yeah, but you'll be told to appreciate it, Miss Curtis. Okay, fine. 25:58.960 --> 26:08.080 Well, that was a funny one. Sure was. How about it? Did you figure this way, Joe? You 26:08.080 --> 26:20.840 don't expect me to answer that, do you? The story you have just heard was true. Only the 26:20.840 --> 26:27.280 names were changed to protect the innocent. On March 2nd, 1949, trial was held in Superior 26:27.280 --> 26:31.800 Court, Department 82, City and County of Los Angeles, State of California. In a moment, 26:31.800 --> 26:36.480 the results of that trial. Now, here are authentic reports from all over the country that tell 26:36.480 --> 26:42.600 the story of Fatima's sensational increase in popularity. New York Division. Fatima sales 26:42.600 --> 26:50.880 up 132 percent. Chicago Division. Fatima sales up 453 percent. Los Angeles Division. Fatima 26:50.880 --> 26:59.440 sales up 545 percent. Yes, more and more smokers agree Fatima is the best of long cigarettes. 26:59.440 --> 27:04.900 So enjoy Fatima yourself and give extra mild Fatimas for Christmas in the attractive golden 27:04.900 --> 27:11.440 yellow carton. Everyone who smokes Fatima says that this great new long cigarette is 27:11.440 --> 27:26.040 the best of all long cigarettes. Mrs. Inez Curtis was tried and convicted of robbery 27:26.040 --> 27:32.040 and conspiracy. She received the maximum sentence as prescribed by law. In consideration for 27:32.040 --> 27:42.320 turning state's evidence, Wilbur Rasmussen received a minimum term. You have just heard 27:42.320 --> 27:48.840 Dragnet, a new series of authentic cases from official files. Technical advice for Dragnet 27:48.840 --> 27:54.940 comes from the Office of Acting Chief of Police, W.A. Wharton, Los Angeles Police Department. 27:54.940 --> 27:59.440 Dragnet honors the city of Knoxville, State of Tennessee, and the men who make up the 27:59.440 --> 28:05.400 Knoxville Police Department, another of America's great law enforcement agencies. One of these 28:05.400 --> 28:11.200 men, Sergeant Joe H. Roberts, Director of the Knoxville City School Safety Patrols, 28:11.200 --> 28:20.600 who dedicates his life to making yours more secure. Fatima cigarettes, the best of long 28:20.600 --> 28:32.800 cigarettes, has brought you Dragnet, portion transcribed from Los Angeles. Let that merry 28:32.800 --> 28:37.880 tune remind you to get him the big Christmas humidor of smooth, sure fresh, velvet pipe 28:37.880 --> 28:42.780 and cigarette tobacco. It's a double pleasure to any smoker when you give this generous 28:42.780 --> 28:48.360 humidor of velvet. It smokes cool and sweet in both pipe and cigarette. In every way, 28:48.360 --> 28:53.000 the gift for him is a Christmas humidor of velvet, America's smoothest smoke. Be sure 28:53.000 --> 29:21.640 to listen to Dragnet next week. You're tuned for the harvest on NBC.