The story you are about to hear is true.
Only the names have been changed to protect the innocent.
Fatima cigarettes, best of all long cigarettes, brings you Dragnet.
You're a detective sergeant.
You're assigned to robbery detail.
Sixteen persons have been robbed and beaten senseless.
The victims describe the assailant as a tall, beautiful woman.
Your job, stop her.
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Ladies and gentlemen, next week marks the beginning of National Crime Prevention Week
sponsored by your local police department.
These seven days are set aside to call your attention to the fact that you're a police
officer to better ensure the safety of your community relies on the cooperation of the
individual citizen.
We feel that crime prevention should be observed not seven, but 365 days a year.
Dragnet, the documented drama of an actual crime.
For the next 30 minutes in cooperation with the Los Angeles Police Department, you will
travel step by step on the side of the law through an actual case from official police
files.
From beginning to end, from crime to punishment, Dragnet is the story of your police force
in action.
Was Wednesday, October 3rd.
It was warm in Los Angeles.
We were working a night watch out of robbery detail.
My partner is Ben Romero.
The boss is Thad Brown, chief of detectives.
My name's Friday.
We were on the way over from the city hall and it was 6.55 p.m. when we got to the county
hospital ward 9800, room 12.
This way gentlemen, the third Ben.
Thank you.
Here we are.
Please try not to excite him, Sergeant.
He's had a pretty hard time.
Yes ma'am, thank you.
Make your visit as brief as possible.
We will, thank you.
Mr. Maloney, how are you feeling?
Not so good.
You fellas, doctors?
No sir, police officers.
This is Sergeant Romero.
My name's Friday, robbery detail.
Find out anything yet?
No, sir.
I'm not sure.
I came out on Monday.
Still checking, Mr. Maloney.
We'd like to have you tell us exactly what happened that night before that.
Oh, she sure had me fooled.
That's all I can say.
And you're not the first 15 others ahead of you.
Would you tell us what happened?
Well I left the shop a little after midnight and started to drive home.
Out central Avenue.
You work at Maloney's Steakhouse down on South Commercial, is that right?
Yes, and my uncle owns the place.
His name's J. Brown Maloney.
He knows a lot of cops.
You know him?
this afternoon. Could you tell us what happened after you left work? Well, I started to drive
home out Central Avenue. I guess it must have been around 18th Street. Would you push that
pill up a little bit? Yes, sir. I'll get it here. How's that? Thanks. I pulled up for the arterial. I
saw this gal standing on the corner. She was hitchhiking. Do you remember what she looked like,
how she was dressed? Well, you know, kind of flashy but nice clothes. Good-looking dame, tall, long,
blonde hair, beautiful eyes. You're sure about the color of her hair? Yeah, it was blonde. And you offered
her a ride? I didn't think there was anything wrong in it. I'm a married man, you know. I didn't think
there was anything wrong. What happened then? Well, she got in the car and we drove off. We talked a
while and she pulled a gun on me. Told me to drive up an alley. Where was that? Do you remember?
Around 32nd Street, 32nd and Central. And then what? She took my wallet, watch, car keys, everything I had.
And she made me get out of the car, lay down on the street. I felt her shove that gun again.
Can you fix that pill? Yeah, you bet. Just lie still. There you are. I felt her shove that gun again,
see, and then she pulled the trigger, I guess. That's all I remember. You know what we call her slugging you?
Must have happened after she shot me. Her face looks pretty bad, huh? You'll be all right, Mr. Maloney.
You think you would recognize the girl if you saw her again? I sure would. Nice looking, you know.
Tall, blonde, beautiful shape. Doesn't figure, does it? What's that? She's made more money on the stage
than she would row in guys like me. Must be crazy. Maybe. Would you look at these mug shots, Mr. Maloney,
and see if any of these look like her? Let's see. Yeah. This one? No.
What about this one here? No, let's see. No. All right. How about this one?
No, she was better looking. Here's the last one.
I don't know. This might be her. The hair was fixed right. Maybe a little more makeup.
I'm not sure. All right, Mr. Maloney. Thank you. We'll be back to seeing the deer or so when you're
feeling better. Okay. Say, my name won't be in the papers, will it? No, sir. Not unless you give it to
him. I was just wondering. A wife might not understand giving a girl a ride, you know. Yes, sir.
We know. Well, thank you, Mr. Maloney. We'll be checking back with you later on. Okay, officers. I
hope you get a line on that dame. We're gonna try. Goodbye. Sure messed up, didn't you? Yeah. That dame's
got some other motive besides money. Psycho. Some kind of a sadist, maybe. Yeah. Find out what you
wanted, Sergeant. Yes, we did. Thanks, nurse. What did the doctor say about Maloney? Is he gonna be
all right? Well, he had a severe beating, but he'll get over that all right. It's the bullet wound in
the back. He'll recover, won't he? The bullet shattered part of the spinal cord. There was nothing
the doctor could do. Yeah? Paraplegia. He'll never walk again. We left the county hospital, went back
to the office and got out a local broadcast for the woman whose mugshot Maloney had partially
identified. Her name was Beverly Allen. She had a record of three arrests and one conviction of 240
PC assault and battery. After we checked in the office, we went across the street to the crime lab.
Lee Jones had already examined the bullet taken from Maloney's spine and the cartridge casing found
at the scene of the shooting. Both of them bore the same markings as those which had wounded the
two previous victims. From the striations, the gun had been previously identified as a.45 Colt.
Maloney's car was examined. We found nothing. We went back to the city hall and checked in at the
stats office. It was 8.35 p.m.
Hi, Ethel. Make that run for us here. Just a minute, Sergeant.
I'll be right back. Hi, how are you coming, Ethel? I'm here. Same old run. I've been back seven years on this one.
Yeah, that's right. Did you get any more names? A few. Let me check the list for you. All right.
You have the names and D.R. numbers on Caucasian women. Five feet to five feet eight, 115 to 130
pounds, 20 to 30 years, blonde or brunette assault and battery. M.O. Hitchhikes rides and robs drivers,
uses his gun. Yeah, that's it. Here's what the machine turned out. 19 of them. Good. Here are the names.
The D.R. numbers opposite each one. Fine. Any new names? More than the last time. Anything else for
the night? No, that's it for now. Thanks a lot, Ethel. Let's go. Bad start. How's that? 17 of these names we
checked and cleared already. And the other two? One's Catherine Collins. The other one's Beverly Allen.
She might tie in. We've got nothing else to go on. You want to get to the record bureau and pull the
packages on these two names? Yeah, okay. I'll check robbery and see if we have any calls. All right, Joe.
Hi, Captain. Any calls for us? Just one fat brown wants to see you. Oh, bad mood? Kind of.
Wants me too. Let's go.
Did that fellow Maloney tell you anything? Nothing that helped much. Same old story.
No reports on that broadcast we put out for that Beverly Allen? Not yet. No. Are you banking on it?
It's first lead in 16 nights. Here we are.
Walker, Friday. Come in. How are you, boss? Sit down. I'll take you to the office.
Woman bandit gets 16th victim. Beautiful holdup queen, Rob's, Schuetz, resident worker. Yeah.
It's on the editorial page too. Something else. Melville from the chief. Here, letter from the
downtown citizens committee. Another one, the civic club. They all want answers. Men are doing all they
can, chief. We got two other teams besides Friday and Romero. We've got a lot of people.
Another one, the civic club. They all want answers. Men are doing all they can, chief. We got two other teams besides Friday and Romero working the case.
Special squad from metropolitan division. They're on it too. I don't care what we've done. We got to do more.
16 nights, 16 robberies, and three shootings. Three victims still in the hospital. When did we blow the whistle on her?
Checked out every possible lead, chief. We got a want out on one suspect. We're checking out another one.
Talked to that man Maloney, the one she got last night. What did he tell you?
Well, not much more than the other 15 that she took. Descriptions still don't match in one respect.
Well, how do you mean?
Well, in 10 of the 16 cases we've had reported, the victims tagged the girl hitchhiker as a blonde, long hair.
Four of them say she was a brunette with a short hairdo. Two of them tell us the girl had red hair, long.
She's using wigs. That's what we figured. Checked every place in town where she could have rented or bought them. No leads.
What about some of the bigger supply houses out of town?
We've started in checking them. It'll take a little time.
And you've got practically nothing on the woman?
Same gun,.45 Colt. Lee Jones examined the bullet they took out of Maloney's spine.
How's he doing?
Not good. Bullet smashed his spinal cord. His legs are paralyzed.
When do we stop her?
Yeah?
Uh, Romero?
Hi, chief. Captain.
What have you got?
Both the packages on two possibles and this woman hold up thing. It's no good, Joe.
Why not? What about that Alan, Dean?
Jail in Kansas City? I called him. Been in for a month.
And the other one?
Catherine Collins. I checked Seattle. Been in the hospital up there for the past three months in TB ward.
Where does that leave you, Friday? Right back where we started. No leads and no suspects.
All right, Walker. Starting tonight, we cover every street and alley in the central area until we get that woman.
We'll order up more men and more detectives from the Metropolitan Division.
Right, chief.
Get out more decoy cars. Have the area covered from sundown till sunrise until further notice. Get that woman.
Right. Come on, Joe. Yeah.
Hot shot. I get it.
A two-eleven shooting at Gatewood and Cameron. A two-eleven shooting at Gatewood and Cameron.
Let's go.
The name on his driver's license said William Gillespie. We found him 50 feet from the corner
of Gatewood Alley and Cameron Street. His face and head bore the marks of a vicious beating.
There was a single bullet wound in his left shoulder. It was conscious when we arrived.
Chief of Detectives Brown, Captain Walker, and Ben checked the area for physical evidence.
I spoke briefly with the victim before he was placed on a stretcher and carried to the ambulance
on the way he lapsed into unconsciousness. I went over to where Ben was standing with
Chief Brown and Captain Walker. Take a look, Joe. Captain found over there near the lamp post.
Yeah. 45 shell casings, same as the others. How's Gillespie, Friday?
Doc says he'll be all right. Badly beaten.
Tough day. She really works him over.
Wonder what makes a woman do things like this.
What makes a man do it.
William Gillespie was taken to Georgia Street Receiving Hospital.
The shell casing, which we had found at the scene, was taken to Lee Jones at the crime lab for
examination. It compared with the others. Jones confirmed that the markings on the bullet,
which had wounded Gillespie, matched those on the bullet, which had been taken from Maloney's back.
Both bullets had been fired from the same gun. The dragnet operation for the woman bandit went on.
The men in the special detail covered every street and alley in the central area from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m.
the following morning. During the next five days, 11 suspects were picked up and brought in for
questioning and released after the victims failed to identify any of them.
Well, at least we got her stopped temporarily. She hasn't pulled a caper for almost a week.
Yeah, that doesn't bring us any closer to her.
I don't know about you, but it's got me beat. 17 jobs and she's as free today as she was before she
started. Joe, Ben, what'd you find? Nothing. The last four women we questioned were clear.
What about the other men on the case, Ed? Did they get anything?
Axter and Olson are down at the record bureau being in a minute.
They've been out talking to some of the victims again. Tough one.
What are we thinking? How about a composite picture? We got enough to work with.
Artists in the crime lab's working up a couple of sketches now.
A lot of guesswork. What about the descriptions of the clothes the girl wears?
Anything there we could start on? No, other than the fact that she wears flashy clothes.
Hi, Olson. Hi. Any luck? Not much.
None of the victims have a very good idea what the dame looked like.
It's all good looking, nice figure, that's all. Nothing out of the ordinary, huh?
Well, I'll tell them the same thing. Kind of an unusual voice, soft, low.
That's about all they can remember. Not much here. She's been describing three
different outfits, is that right? Yeah, green dress with a pink coat,
white dress, dark blue jacket, bright red sweater and a brown skirt. Always carries a dark brown
alligator handbag, shoes to match, no hat. Not much of a wardrobe, is it?
Maybe that's why she took up robbery. Now look, let's get on this thing. We've been
chasing this woman for almost a month now and she's still got the run of the town. How long's it
going to take us? If we only had a lead that was worse, I'll find it. It's there someplace.
I've never reached a thief yet without digging for him. Now I'll get it.
Robbery, Olson. Yeah, right, Andy, I'll tell him.
Anderson and Bergler, Joe, wants to see you and Ben. Thanks, Captain. That's all. Come on, Ben.
Yeah. I'd like a day off, wouldn't you? We'll get one when we get this day. Right, Ed.
This thing isn't doing much for the skipper. It's not doing much for our time off either, is it?
That fire department's got the racket 24 hours on, 24-0. Sometimes they get three days off in a row.
That's what you keep telling me. Here we are. Joe, Ben, Andy, what do you got? Checking back on a
job out in Hollywood. Heard you were having troubles, came across this thing, thought I might help you out.
What's that, Ed? One of the picture studios had a burglar about a month ago. Thief got in the
wardrobe department, then next door in a makeup. Yeah, let's see. Here's some of the stuff taken,
dress, coat. Oh, here you can read it. Okay, thanks. Red sweater, brown skirt. I look down here, Joe.
Where? Right here. Oh, yeah. Took two makeup kits and four wigs. Two blondes, one redhead,
one brunette. That's it. Any leads on this job? Not so far, no. We got one thing to go on, a single
footprint, size nine. Pretty large size for a woman. I didn't say it was a woman. Print was made by a man's shoe.
You are listening to Dragnet, authentic stories of your police force in action.
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One of the most popular misconceptions of the working detective is offered by the fiction writers
is the picture of a man with amazing talents for detecting evidence, analyzing human behavior and
motives, and then almost as if by magic, fitting all the pieces together to form the solution of
the crime. The real life picture is a little different. The working detective has a job.
In a sense, it's a practical and down to earth job as baking bread and practicing law. It's his job
to protect citizens and apprehend criminals, and it's a job he doesn't do alone. To assist him in
collecting and analyzing evidence, he has the aid of the crime laboratory. To help him identify
oddities and suspects or possible suspects, he has the record bureau, latent fingerprints,
the statistician's office, the ballistics department, a battery of men and machines to aid him in
reaching conclusions based on fact. Tuesday, October 9th, 9 p.m. For the past eight hours,
Thaxter and Olsen from robbery and Ben and I had been requesting all of the 16 victims of the woman
bandit. We asked them one question. Could their assailant possibly have been a man dressed as a
woman? The majority didn't think so. Those that did weren't very sure. We followed the lead through
at 9 25 p.m. We checked in and headed down the hall for the stats office.
Do you think it was a man dressed as a woman? I don't know. One male footprint,
pretty slim arms. Maybe the machines here can tell us. Hello Sergeant. Back again Ethel. Can you
make a run for us tonight? 9 25, sure I can. So here's a dope right here. I'm gonna try another
angle. Yeah. Male precisions about 5 feet 8 or 9, 130 to 135 pounds, feminine features, size 9 shoe,
impersonating women robbery and assault. That's it? Mhm. Arm 45 automatic, MO hitchhikes, rides,
and robs drivers. How soon you think you can have it for us? Well, make the run on the collator,
have to punch up the master first with all this information and let the machine work the cards.
I don't think I'll have it for you much before 11 then, all right? Fine, we'll check back a little
before 11 then, huh? We'll be ready. Good. Come on, Ben. Did you call your wife after dinner? Yeah. Wish
I hadn't. She's mad as a horny. What's the matter? Kid's having a birthday party tomorrow and I forgot
to order the cake. What's she gonna do for the party? Bake one? She have to. Then she pulled this gun on
me and told me to stop the car. Well, I'm telling you, Captain, I just grabbed that gun and slapped
that kid just as hard as I could. Hold it just a minute, will you please, Collins? This man's name is
Amel Collins. Mr. Collins is Sergeant Friday, Sergeant Romero. How are you? How do you do?
How are you? I was just telling the captain here, I'm down here on a vacation. I'm from Sacramento,
South Sacramento. I was driving down your Figueroa Street about half an hour ago and picked up this
girl hitching a ride and she tried to rob me. Collins took the gun away from her, subdued the
girl and brought her in. Where is she now? Interrogation room. Faxed her and Olsen her with her.
The description match? Not too close. Sounds like you didn't have too much trouble with her, Mr. Collins.
Well, now that I come to think of it, maybe I didn't. When she pointed that gun, I just grabbed for it
and slapped her as hard as I could. Sure took the starch out of her. Who is the girl? Any identification?
None. Faxed her and Olsen haven't been able to get anything out of her. You want to try? Sure. What do
you think, Skipper? You tell me. See if you can make her talk. I'll have a stenographer take Mr. Collins
report. Okay. Glad to meet you, Mr. Collins. It's a pleasure. I'm only down here for a vacation,
but if you need me, just call. You bet we will. Thanks.
How do you figure that one? I don't know. Let's see what the girl has to say.
Olsen? Joe, I want to talk to you before you go in. Sure. Did you find and get her to talk?
Faxed her, did. Pretty sure she's not the one we're after. What's her story? Said she read about this
woman bandit in the paper, decided to try her hand at it, needed money. Yeah. Claims her husband
left her. She's pregnant, needs the dough for a hospital. She live here? Up the coast, Monterey.
Got in town four days ago, staying at the YWCA. We checked there. She's not lying. You called Monterey?
Yeah, they confirmed it. She left there last Wednesday night. She's not the one. Where do we go from
here? You'll take care of having her booked, huh, Olsen? Yeah, as soon as we get a statement. Okay, fine.
Friday band this way. Hustle it. You too, Olsen. What do you got, Ed?
Fourth and Lucas, 211 shooting. Let's go. Any detail? Yeah. A tall blonde with a gun. Come on.
The woman bandit's 18th victim was a truck driver. His name, Harry Reese. His story differed a little
from that of the first victim. The woman was hitchhiking near Alvarado and Third Street. He
gave her a ride. She robbed him at gunpoint, slugged him, and then shot him through the left shoulder.
He described her as tall, blonde, attractive, and well dressed. I guess I should have known better.
I remember reading about the dam in the papers. You're sure that the person who held you up was a
woman? Hmm? I don't get you. What he means is you don't think it could have been a man dressed like a
woman. Oh, no. I'm sure of that. No guy ever looked that good to me. All right, Mr. Reese. We'll check
with you later at the hospital. Okay. We keeping that truck, Fred? Yeah. Olsen's got a couple of men
watching it. He's going over it. Same old story. Just another version. Don't you think she's spreading
it pretty thin? Her luck can't last forever. It's got me beat how she always manages to disappear
without a trace. Now, Ben, this way. Over here. Yeah, okay. What do you got? Better hustle it. Four
blocks down on Colfax. A shooting. Just came in on the car radio. Let's go. Slide over, Jim. Yeah.
Hit the signs, Ben. The crowd watching. All right, Skipper. Is that all that came over, Ben? A shooting?
All they said. See the cab driver. An ambulance shooting. He's working real fast. What's the
address for now? 3rd and East Flower Hotel. Hold on.
This is it coming up. Should be to the right here. Yeah, take a right.
That must be it up ahead. I can't see. What's that sign say? Edgemarr Hotel for young women.
Here's a cab driver. Right over here. Looks like blood stains to me here all over the sidewalk.
Yeah, I guess it couldn't have happened any more than five or 10 minutes ago. I had this
faece. He picked her up at 4th and Bixel and I drove her here. She paid the fare and got out.
Yeah, go on. I was about halfway down the block when I heard a shot. At least it sounded like one.
When I looked back, this dame was down on one knee near the door to the hotel here and by the time I
backed up, she was gone. And you noticed the blood, huh? That's right. Yeah, I figured I better call
somebody. Can you tell us what the girl looked like? Not bad at all. Blonde, tall, pretty girl,
nervous. But you didn't see where she went. No, but I didn't. I'll get the driver's name and address.
Joe, you and Ben, see if you can follow that trail. Stuff's all over the place. Right.
Over this way, Ben. Yeah. It's not hard to follow. Down this alley between the buildings.
How does this figure? Let's find out. Here we go. All the way back here. You got your flashlight?
Yeah. Here it is. Yeah, this way. Come on. This must be the rear of the hotel.
Look, the stains lead over this way to the back door here. Let me try.
Okay, inside.
Still follow it? Yeah. Careful. Up these stairs. Yeah.
Second floor. What's the matter? Did you lose them? No, just a minute.
See anything? Yeah. Stains lead on up the stairs here. Let's go.
I just happened to think this is a woman's hotel. Then they ought to keep the back door closed.
Come on. Third floor. Let's hold it. What is it? I thought I saw a door open down the hall.
See anybody? No, let's go this way.
It's an easy trail to follow. This is it. They stop here at this door. That doesn't sound like a woman.
Yeah. You ready? Try the door first. Easy. It's locked. All right. Come on together now. Let's hit it.
Watch your jaw. All right, you. I got the gun. Yeah. Oh, we found what we came for. Look.
Still got the clothes on. Blonde wig, makeup, everything. Please help me. My leg. Call an ambulance.
It's on the way. Take it easy. Have a look, Joe. The wigs, full makeup, kit, clothes, living in a woman's hotel. The works.
It was an accident. You never would have got me. I dropped the gun. It went off. You never would have got me.
Yeah, that's right, Mr. Hicks. It was an accident. You better get the boss in here, all right?
It was an accident. You better get the boss in here. I'll stay with Glamour Boy. Yeah, okay.
And Ben. Yeah? Leave the door open, will you? House rules.
The story you have just heard was true. Only the names were changed to protect the innocent.
On January 14th, trial was held in Superior Court, Department 79, City and County of Los
Angeles, State of California. In a moment, the results of that trial. It's amazing how many
long cigarette smokers are changing to Fatima. Here is the actual report. From coast to coast,
Fatima has more than doubled its smokers. Yes, more and more smokers every day are discovering
that Fatima is the best of all long cigarettes. Smokers find Fatima has a much different,
much better flavor and aroma than any other long cigarette. They find that Fatima is extra mild
because it's the long cigarette which contains the finest Turkish and domestic tobaccos
superbly blended to make it extra mild. Enjoy extra mild Fatima yourself. Best of all long cigarettes.
The welfare and security of your home and your family is a subject of national importance next
week, National Crime Prevention Week. The efficiency of your local police department is dependent
upon your attitude toward your police officer. Not just one week out of the year, but every day in
the year. He wants your cooperation. He needs your cooperation for the enforcement of your laws. Help
your officer to help you to live in a peaceful, orderly community. National Crime Prevention Week
costs you nothing, just your cooperation. James Harold Sutter alias the Bandit Queen was tried
and convicted on several counts of assault with attempt to commit murder and robbery of the first
degree. He was sentenced to the term prescribed by law. While serving his time in the state
penitentiary, he was stabbed to death by another inmate. You have just heard Dragnet, a series of
authentic cases from official files. Technical advice for Dragnet comes from the Office of Chief
of Police, W.A. Wharton, Los Angeles Police Department. Fatima cigarettes, the best of all
long cigarettes has brought you Dragnet from Los Angeles. Hear Morton Downey tonight on NBC.