WEBVTT 00:00.000 --> 00:13.840 The story you are about to hear is true. 00:13.840 --> 00:16.880 Only the names have been changed to protect the innocent. 00:16.880 --> 00:22.440 Fatima cigarettes, best of all long cigarettes, brings you Dragnet. 00:22.440 --> 00:35.920 You're a detective sergeant. You're assigned to hit and run felony detail. 00:35.920 --> 00:40.040 A dead body is found in the streets in the early hours of the morning. 00:40.040 --> 00:44.320 There's only one clue, a set of skid marks on the pavement. 00:44.320 --> 00:47.680 Your job? Find the killer. 00:47.680 --> 00:55.760 If you want a long cigarette, smoke the best of all long cigarettes. 00:55.760 --> 01:01.120 Smoke extra mild Fatima. Yes, Fatima is the king-size cigarette, 01:01.120 --> 01:04.280 which contains the finest Turkish and domestic tobaccos, 01:04.280 --> 01:09.360 superbly blended to make it extra mild. To give Fatima a much different, 01:09.360 --> 01:13.240 much better flavor and aroma than any other long cigarette. 01:13.240 --> 01:17.320 That's why Fatima has more than doubled its smokers coast to coast. 01:17.320 --> 01:22.880 Enjoy extra mild Fatima yourself. Best of all, long cigarettes. 01:22.880 --> 01:29.920 It's wise to smoke extra mild Fatima. It's wise to smoke extra mild Fatima. 01:29.920 --> 01:39.200 Dragnet, the documented drama of an actual crime. 01:39.200 --> 01:43.680 For the next 30 minutes in cooperation with the Los Angeles Police Department, 01:43.680 --> 01:47.640 you will travel step by step on the side of the law through an actual case 01:47.640 --> 01:52.600 transcribed from official police files. From beginning to end, from crime to 01:52.600 --> 02:01.120 punishment, Dragnet is the story of your police force in action. 02:01.120 --> 02:04.120 It was Monday, April 19th. It was windy in Los Angeles. 02:04.120 --> 02:06.120 We were working the day watch out of traffic division. 02:06.120 --> 02:10.120 My partner is Ben Romero. The boss is Lieutenant Calfee, commander AID. 02:10.120 --> 02:15.120 My name is Friday. It was 7.55 a.m. when I got to the second floor at 123 South 02:15.120 --> 02:20.120 Figueroa Street. Accident investigation. Get and run felony detail. 02:20.120 --> 02:22.120 Good morning, Joe. 02:22.120 --> 02:23.120 George? 02:23.120 --> 02:24.120 How is it? 02:24.120 --> 02:26.120 Oh, it's not much better. Still aching. 02:26.120 --> 02:27.120 Rough. 02:27.120 --> 02:30.120 Lousy thing. Kept me up most of the night. 02:30.120 --> 02:32.120 Check with that dentist that told you about it? 02:32.120 --> 02:36.120 Yeah, I did. Said it's a wisdom tooth. This one here. 02:36.120 --> 02:37.120 Oh, yeah. 02:37.120 --> 02:40.120 Says it's gotta come out. Supposed to go back and see him today. 02:40.120 --> 02:43.120 That's rough. Remember a friend of mine had his wisdom teeth out. 02:43.120 --> 02:46.120 Hurt like the devil. Terrible. Finally pulled them. 02:46.120 --> 02:48.120 Eight for five, six days after. 02:48.120 --> 02:49.120 Hmm. 02:49.120 --> 02:50.120 Excuse me, Joe. 02:50.120 --> 02:51.120 Yeah, McD? 02:51.120 --> 02:54.120 Better have a 57 on that follow-up you handed yesterday, huh? 02:54.120 --> 02:57.120 Okay. I got most of it down. I'll finish it up. 03:00.120 --> 03:01.120 Friday? 03:01.120 --> 03:02.120 Hi. Ben come in yet? 03:02.120 --> 03:06.120 He's down in the record room. I want to see that Joe, if you ask. 03:06.120 --> 03:09.120 Hmm. Hasn't gone down much. 03:09.120 --> 03:12.120 That's a bad wisdom tooth, Dennis. He's gonna have to yank it. 03:12.120 --> 03:13.120 Bum deal, huh? 03:13.120 --> 03:15.120 That's the first time I ever had any trouble with him. 03:15.120 --> 03:19.120 I remember a few years back my sister Gertrude had trouble with a wisdom tooth. 03:19.120 --> 03:20.120 Impacted. 03:20.120 --> 03:21.120 Yeah? 03:21.120 --> 03:25.120 Whole side of her face was swollen. Poor kid was in terrible pain. Full week. 03:25.120 --> 03:27.120 Even after they pulled it, it still hurt. 03:27.120 --> 03:28.120 Oh. 03:28.120 --> 03:29.120 Hi, Joe. 03:29.120 --> 03:30.120 What? 03:30.120 --> 03:33.120 Picked up the overnight reports down at records, Mac. Here you go. 03:33.120 --> 03:35.120 Oh, thanks, Ben. 03:35.120 --> 03:38.120 This one on top here. I'd like to have you two check it out. 03:38.120 --> 03:40.120 Dead body report? 03:40.120 --> 03:44.120 Yeah. Left me a note on it. That's about all. Hard to figure. 03:44.120 --> 03:45.120 What's the story? 03:45.120 --> 03:47.120 Just what you see in the report. 03:47.120 --> 03:52.120 Victims. Edward Raymond Stokes, 732 Delano Street, Apartment 2. 03:52.120 --> 03:57.120 His body was found in the gutter near 63rd and Vermont, 3 o'clock this morning. No witnesses. 03:57.120 --> 03:59.120 Only one piece of evidence. 03:59.120 --> 04:03.120 Yeah, see they got it listed here. Skid marks near the body. Is that all? 04:03.120 --> 04:05.120 That's it. Apparently hit and run. 04:05.120 --> 04:06.120 Where's the body, man? 04:06.120 --> 04:09.120 Neighborhood mortuary out there. Emerald Hills Funeral Home. 04:09.120 --> 04:12.120 One of the deputy coroners handled the body. A fellow named Joe Larimore. 04:12.120 --> 04:13.120 Anybody claim it, chap? 04:13.120 --> 04:14.120 No. 04:14.120 --> 04:15.120 Okay. Ben, you ready? 04:15.120 --> 04:16.120 Yeah, let's go. 04:16.120 --> 04:18.120 I'm gonna check you later, man. 04:18.120 --> 04:21.120 Yeah. If you need any help, I've got McLennan and Rogers on hand. 04:21.120 --> 04:22.120 Right. 04:25.120 --> 04:27.120 How do we manage to draw all the choice ones? 04:27.120 --> 04:30.120 I don't know. Skid marks and a dead body. 04:30.120 --> 04:31.120 Yeah. 04:31.120 --> 04:33.120 Oh, say, I almost forgot. How's your jaw? 04:33.120 --> 04:34.120 Oh, it still hurts. 04:34.120 --> 04:36.120 Oh, it's tough. 04:36.120 --> 04:38.120 And still swollen. 04:38.120 --> 04:39.120 What did Dennis say? 04:39.120 --> 04:40.120 Wisdom tooth. 04:40.120 --> 04:43.120 Oh, miserable. 04:43.120 --> 04:44.120 Yeah. 04:44.120 --> 04:49.120 Wife had the same thing a couple years back. Dennis tried to yank the tooth and it broke right in two. 04:49.120 --> 04:50.120 Finally got it out. 04:50.120 --> 04:51.120 That's good. 04:51.120 --> 04:53.120 Funny thing about wisdom, T. 04:53.120 --> 04:54.120 What's that? 04:54.120 --> 05:03.120 After they pull them. Hurts for five or six days. 05:03.120 --> 05:10.120 Eight thirty-three a.m. Ben and I drove out to 63rd and Vermont and rechecked the spot where the dead body of Edward Stokes had been found. 05:10.120 --> 05:16.120 According to the report, the body was found two feet west of the Easterly curb and thirty-two north of 63rd Street on Vermont. 05:16.120 --> 05:21.120 We examined the skid marks. They showed definite signs of being a lot older than twenty-four hours. 05:21.120 --> 05:30.120 The consistency of the rubber was weak and there were heavy dirt smudges over them indicating more wear than they could have possibly had since the estimated time of the victim's death. 05:30.120 --> 05:38.120 We got back in the car and drove to the Emerald Hills funeral home at Vernon and Denver Avenue. 05:38.120 --> 05:40.120 Sure is rotten weather for April, huh? 05:40.120 --> 05:41.120 Yeah. 05:41.120 --> 05:43.120 These funeral homes, you ever notice it? 05:43.120 --> 05:44.120 What's that? 05:44.120 --> 05:48.120 Why do they always put awnings over the windows? They never open drapes. 05:48.120 --> 05:50.120 I don't know. Come on. 05:50.120 --> 05:55.120 The funeral going on. 05:55.120 --> 05:57.120 You know where the office is? 05:57.120 --> 05:59.120 There's a brass plate on that door over there. 05:59.120 --> 06:01.120 Let's have a look. 06:01.120 --> 06:03.120 Yes, sir? 06:03.120 --> 06:05.120 Here's somebody's, you know. 06:05.120 --> 06:07.120 Gentlemen, the I.B. of Service? 06:07.120 --> 06:10.120 Police officers. I'd like to talk to Mr. Larimore. I believe he's a deputy coroner. 06:10.120 --> 06:13.120 I'm Mr. Larimore. You came about the hit-and-run victim? 06:13.120 --> 06:16.120 Yeah, that's right. This is Sergeant Romero. My name's Bridey. 06:16.120 --> 06:17.120 We'd like to check the body if we could. 06:17.120 --> 06:20.120 Certainly. It's back this way. 06:20.120 --> 06:23.120 I understand you moved the body from the scene of the accident here to the mortuary. 06:23.120 --> 06:27.120 Yes, that's right. Early this morning. Unusual case. 06:27.120 --> 06:30.120 Careful. There's two steps down just inside the door. 06:30.120 --> 06:33.120 Thank you. 06:33.120 --> 06:35.120 Why do you say it's unusual, Mr. Larimore? 06:35.120 --> 06:39.120 Well, here, let me show you. 06:39.120 --> 06:41.120 There. 06:41.120 --> 06:45.120 Now, for one thing, the victim had a basal skull fracture. 06:45.120 --> 06:50.120 I don't know about you gentlemen, but in the hit-and-run cases I've handled, a basal fracture's a pretty rare thing. 06:50.120 --> 06:52.120 Well, it is possible, isn't it? 06:52.120 --> 06:56.120 Yes, it's possible. Anything's possible, as they say. 06:56.120 --> 07:00.120 But it's not usual. There are a few other things here, too. 07:00.120 --> 07:01.120 Yeah. 07:01.120 --> 07:05.120 Notice the victim's knee here. Single clean cut. 07:05.120 --> 07:08.120 Also, these wounds on the head. 07:08.120 --> 07:11.120 I've never seen anything like it in hit-and-run cases. I've been called in. 07:11.120 --> 07:17.120 Yeah, a wound on the knee doesn't jive, does it? If it was hit by a car, the knee should be skinned up quite a bit. 07:17.120 --> 07:20.120 Exactly. Well, you know how it usually is. The automobile hits the victim. 07:20.120 --> 07:23.120 There's always signs that the body was either dragged or thrown. 07:23.120 --> 07:26.120 Shredding of clothing, skinned knees, legs, elbows. 07:26.120 --> 07:28.120 No sign of that here. 07:28.120 --> 07:31.120 You don't think the victim could have been killed by hit-and-run cars, any? 07:31.120 --> 07:35.120 No, I don't say that. It's possible that it might have been a car, but... 07:35.120 --> 07:37.120 Well, let's say it's not very probable. 07:37.120 --> 07:41.120 Has anybody at all inquired about the body, Mr. Larimore? 07:41.120 --> 07:42.120 No one, no. 07:42.120 --> 07:43.120 That's funny. 07:43.120 --> 07:47.120 Oh, uh... Mr. Larimore, can I see him, please? 07:47.120 --> 07:49.120 All right, Tom. Excuse me a moment? 07:49.120 --> 07:50.120 Yeah, sure. 07:55.120 --> 07:58.120 Well, yeah. Where do we start? 07:58.120 --> 08:00.120 I don't know. Maybe we won't have to. 08:00.120 --> 08:03.120 Another lead like this, we can turn it over to homicide. 08:04.120 --> 08:05.120 Sergeant? 08:05.120 --> 08:06.120 Yeah? 08:06.120 --> 08:08.120 There's a young lady in the lobby. 08:08.120 --> 08:10.120 She wants to claim the body. 08:13.120 --> 08:17.120 The girl was shown the body. She identified it as that of Edward Raymond Stokes. 08:17.120 --> 08:20.120 She gave her name as Marion Fuller, the victim's common-law wife. 08:20.120 --> 08:24.120 After she recovered from her shock, she asked if she might sit down for a while and rest. 08:24.120 --> 08:28.120 We took her into one of the offices in the mortuary and Ben got her a glass of water. 08:28.120 --> 08:32.120 She told us that she had last seen Stokes alive at about 1 a.m. that morning. 08:32.120 --> 08:37.120 They'd been drinking together at a neighborhood bar on Vermont Avenue between 63rd and 64th streets, 08:37.120 --> 08:41.120 half a block from where the victim's body had been found scrawled in the gutter. 08:42.120 --> 08:44.120 Why don't you sit down over there, Miss Fuller? 08:44.120 --> 08:45.120 Thanks. 08:46.120 --> 08:48.120 How long did you know Edward Stokes, Miss Fuller? 08:48.120 --> 08:51.120 About six years. On and off. 08:51.120 --> 08:54.120 We've been together pretty much the last couple of years, though. 08:54.120 --> 08:55.120 Oh, my head. 08:55.120 --> 08:58.120 Would you mind telling us exactly what happened while you were with Stokes last night, 08:58.120 --> 08:59.120 everything he can remember? 08:59.120 --> 09:01.120 I can't think. This headache's killing me. 09:01.120 --> 09:03.120 Well, we should try, Miss Fuller. It's important. 09:04.120 --> 09:09.120 Well, Eddie and I had dinner together at the Spanish oven, face down on South Fig. 09:09.120 --> 09:11.120 That was about a quarter to eight. 09:11.120 --> 09:15.120 Then we drove out to the Brown Barrel on Vermont, the bar I told you about. 09:15.120 --> 09:16.120 Yeah. 09:16.120 --> 09:18.120 Eddie and I go there most of the time. 09:18.120 --> 09:21.120 We stayed there and drank, played a little shuffleboard. 09:21.120 --> 09:23.120 You know, go ahead. 09:23.120 --> 09:27.120 Oh, we stayed too long, drank a little too much. 09:27.120 --> 09:31.120 I started talking to this fellow next to me, and he got sore. 09:31.120 --> 09:35.120 Always got jealous when he was drunk. Poor Eddie. 09:35.120 --> 09:37.120 Did Eddie fight with this other man, Miss Fuller? 09:37.120 --> 09:39.120 Oh, no, I stopped him. That made Eddie mad. 09:39.120 --> 09:42.120 He never could drink right. He always wanted to pick a fight. 09:42.120 --> 09:43.120 Who was the other man you remember? 09:43.120 --> 09:46.120 No, I don't. I guess I had a lot to drink, too. 09:46.120 --> 09:48.120 He was just some guy at the bar. 09:49.120 --> 09:50.120 Headache. 09:50.120 --> 09:52.120 Well, it's not going to take much longer. Just a few more questions. 09:52.120 --> 09:54.120 That organ's getting on my nerves. 09:54.120 --> 09:59.120 What happened after you broke up the argument between Stokes and the other man? 09:59.120 --> 10:02.120 Oh, nothing. We stayed in the bar. 10:02.120 --> 10:05.120 Eddie played shuffleboard most of the time. I was one of the booths drinking. 10:05.120 --> 10:06.120 Yeah? 10:06.120 --> 10:11.120 Around one o'clock, I started feeling sick, so I went outside and sat in the car. 10:11.120 --> 10:12.120 I guess I passed out there. 10:12.120 --> 10:13.120 In your car? 10:13.120 --> 10:16.120 No. I guess I belonged to one of the fellows in the bar. 10:16.120 --> 10:18.120 I passed out, and that's all I can remember. 10:18.120 --> 10:20.120 Did you sleep in the car all night? 10:20.120 --> 10:22.120 No. I guess whoever owned it drove me home. 10:22.120 --> 10:24.120 Well, how did they know where you lived? 10:24.120 --> 10:27.120 Must have been one of our friends. I don't know. I don't remember anything until this morning. 10:27.120 --> 10:29.120 They phoned me up and said Eddie was dead. 10:29.120 --> 10:30.120 Who phoned you, Miss Farr? 10:30.120 --> 10:33.120 One of our friends. I don't remember. I had a rotten headache. 10:33.120 --> 10:34.120 Well, you can do better than that. 10:34.120 --> 10:36.120 I tell you, I don't remember. 10:36.120 --> 10:39.120 They phoned and told me Eddie was dead. Somebody ran Eddie down. 10:39.120 --> 10:40.120 All right. 10:41.120 --> 10:42.120 Where are we going? 10:42.120 --> 10:45.120 Downtown. We'll have a stenographer take your statement. 10:45.120 --> 10:49.120 I've got a terrible hangover. I've never had one as bad as this. 10:49.120 --> 10:51.120 Neither has Eddie. Let's go. 10:51.120 --> 10:56.120 From the way back to the office, Ben stopped at a drug store, and I picked up a box of aspirin. 10:56.120 --> 10:58.120 The wisdom tooth was giving me trouble again. 10:58.120 --> 11:01.120 The clerk at the soda fountain fixed something for Marion Fuller's hangover. 11:01.120 --> 11:04.120 When we got her back to the office, we questioned her for more than an hour, 11:04.120 --> 11:07.120 but she gave us only one additional piece of information. 11:07.120 --> 11:10.120 The victim, Eddie Stokes, had been married before and divorced. 11:10.120 --> 11:13.120 His ex-wife lived out in the valley with her two children, 11:13.120 --> 11:16.120 and on several occasions she came to see Stokes at the Vermont Avenue bar. 11:16.120 --> 11:21.120 When he failed to make the monthly payments for the support of the children. 11:21.120 --> 11:23.120 Each time they'd argued bitterly. 11:23.120 --> 11:27.120 We had a police stenographer take the Fuller woman's statement, and then she was released. 11:27.120 --> 11:31.120 Ten forty-five a.m., Sergeants Rogers and McLendon were assigned to check out the Vermont Avenue bar, 11:31.120 --> 11:33.120 where Stokes had last been seen alive. 11:33.120 --> 11:37.120 Ben and I drove out to the valley to the home of Catherine Stokes, the victim's former wife. 11:37.120 --> 11:39.120 She met us on the front porch. 11:39.120 --> 11:42.120 Inside, it sounded like one of the children was practicing her magic. 11:42.120 --> 11:46.120 We told her what had happened. 11:46.120 --> 11:50.120 Last week, I think it was. Yes, Thursday last week. 11:50.120 --> 11:53.120 Eddie hadn't sent any money for the kids' support for three months. 11:53.120 --> 11:57.120 I hated to chase after him like that. There wasn't anything else I could do. 11:57.120 --> 11:59.120 Where did you meet him, Miss Stokes? 11:59.120 --> 12:01.120 That bar I used to hang around. 12:01.120 --> 12:04.120 It's over on Vermont, called the Brown Barrel or something. 12:04.120 --> 12:06.120 Wouldn't you like to come inside? 12:06.120 --> 12:08.120 Yes, thank you. 12:08.120 --> 12:12.120 Do you happen to know anybody by the name of Marion Fuller? 12:12.120 --> 12:14.120 Yes, Eddie mentioned her. 12:14.120 --> 12:16.120 It was a man's seeing a woman like that. 12:16.120 --> 12:18.120 Do you know anything about her at all? 12:18.120 --> 12:22.120 No. Whenever I saw Eddie, he'd mention he was running around with her. 12:22.120 --> 12:24.120 Yes, he wanted to make me jealous. 12:24.120 --> 12:26.120 Was your husband a pretty heavy drinker? 12:26.120 --> 12:30.120 Yes, he was. So I got the divorce. 12:30.120 --> 12:33.120 Eddie was such a fine boy when we got married. 12:33.120 --> 12:38.120 Good home. You didn't know any of the people he'd been running around with lately? 12:38.120 --> 12:40.120 No, just the Fuller woman, that's all. 12:40.120 --> 12:43.120 Can you think of anything at all that might possibly have a bearing on his death? 12:43.120 --> 12:47.120 No. Eddie was probably drinking, 12:47.120 --> 12:50.120 wandered in the street in a car hit. 12:50.120 --> 12:52.120 I don't know. 12:52.120 --> 12:56.120 Oh, there's the bakery, man. I've got to get some bread and a few things. Excuse me? 12:56.120 --> 12:58.120 I think that's about all, don't you, Joe? 12:58.120 --> 13:01.120 Yeah, I'll tell you what, I'm going to go get some bread. 13:01.120 --> 13:03.120 You're going to get some bread and some bread? 13:03.120 --> 13:05.120 Yeah. 13:05.120 --> 13:09.120 I'll tell you what, I'll leave our car here, Ms. Stokes, in case you want to contact us for any reason. 13:09.120 --> 13:11.120 All right. 13:14.120 --> 13:17.120 It was so wonderful when we were married, Eddie and I. 13:17.120 --> 13:20.120 My folks gave us this house as a wedding present. 13:20.120 --> 13:22.120 We got wonderful presents. 13:22.120 --> 13:24.120 We had everything we wanted. 13:24.120 --> 13:27.120 A car, nice house, kids. 13:27.120 --> 13:30.120 It was wonderful that we started drinking. 13:30.120 --> 13:33.120 Started all of a sudden. I never knew why. 13:33.120 --> 13:34.120 Yes, ma'am. 13:34.120 --> 13:36.120 How do men get that way? 13:36.120 --> 13:38.120 How do they start? 13:38.120 --> 13:40.120 I don't know. We only see a part of it. 13:40.120 --> 13:41.120 Yeah? 13:41.120 --> 13:43.120 When they finish. 13:47.120 --> 13:53.120 Twelve noon, Ben and I drove back into town to Vermont and 63rd Street for a meet with Sergeants Rogers and McClendon. 13:53.120 --> 13:57.120 They told us that they checked out the bartender who had been on duty the night before, 13:57.120 --> 13:59.120 and also seven of his customers. 13:59.120 --> 14:01.120 Their stories were almost identical. 14:01.120 --> 14:03.120 Each of them remembered seeing Eddie Stokes at the bar. 14:03.120 --> 14:09.120 Each of them remembered he was playing shuffleboard, that he was drinking heavily, and that he left the bar at about 1.45 a.m. 14:09.120 --> 14:14.120 All of us had the idea that for some reason the bartender and the customers were lying. 14:14.120 --> 14:19.120 In most cases, it's hard to find two witnesses who tell identical stories, let alone seven. 14:19.120 --> 14:26.120 For the rest of that afternoon, Rogers, McClendon, Ben, and I spent our time canvassing the neighborhood in the vicinity of the Brown Barrel Tavern. 14:26.120 --> 14:28.120 4.45 p.m. 14:28.120 --> 14:32.120 We talked to the proprietor of a small grocery store two blocks down the street from the tavern. 14:32.120 --> 14:38.120 He told us that he rarely visited the bar, but that he thought that the man who ran the butcher shop next to his place, Mr. Eugene Murray, 14:38.120 --> 14:40.120 was a regular patron of the Brown Barrel. 14:40.120 --> 14:42.120 So we went next door. 14:42.120 --> 14:47.120 Would you make that two pounds of ground brown, Mr. Murray, we're having, combination, please? 14:47.120 --> 14:48.120 Yes, ma'am, two pounds. 14:48.120 --> 14:50.120 Nice looking meats, huh, Joe? 14:50.120 --> 14:52.120 Yeah, those steaks look good, don't they? 14:52.120 --> 14:53.120 Mm-hmm. 14:53.120 --> 14:54.120 Two pounds. 14:56.120 --> 14:57.120 All right. 15:03.120 --> 15:05.120 Anything else now, Mrs. Kidney? 15:05.120 --> 15:07.120 Got some nice fresh kidneys today. 15:07.120 --> 15:10.120 No, George won't touch kidneys. That'll be all. 15:10.120 --> 15:12.120 You put it on the bill, won't you, Mr. Murray? 15:12.120 --> 15:13.120 Yes, ma'am. Thank you. 15:13.120 --> 15:15.120 You're welcome. 15:16.120 --> 15:19.120 Yes, sir, gentlemen. Can I help you? 15:19.120 --> 15:23.120 Police officers, Mr. Murray, I'd like to ask you a few questions. 15:23.120 --> 15:25.120 Oh, sure. Glad to help out if I can. 15:25.120 --> 15:28.120 Have you ever been in the Brown Barrel tavern down the next block there? 15:28.120 --> 15:30.120 Brown Barrel? Yeah, I go there all the time. 15:30.120 --> 15:32.120 Say, would you mind if I fix up another while we're talking? 15:32.120 --> 15:35.120 The customer's gonna pick it up in a couple of minutes. I don't like to keep waiting. 15:35.120 --> 15:36.120 Sure, go ahead. 15:36.120 --> 15:37.120 I gotta go to the ice bar. 15:37.120 --> 15:40.120 When's the last time you were in the Brown Barrel, Mr. Murray? 15:40.120 --> 15:42.120 Last night, wife and I went to the movies. 15:42.120 --> 15:44.120 I'm gonna have English fixed tonight. 15:46.120 --> 15:47.120 Closet. 15:47.120 --> 15:53.120 Closing picture. We got dinner at the barrel on the way home for a beer. 15:53.120 --> 15:54.120 By what time was that? 15:54.120 --> 15:56.120 Pretty close to two. 15:57.120 --> 15:59.120 What's the matter? Some kind of trouble? 15:59.120 --> 16:02.120 Did you notice anything unusual while you were in there? Anybody fighting or arguing? 16:02.120 --> 16:07.120 No, we were only in there a couple of minutes, but now that you mention it, there was something funny happened. 16:07.120 --> 16:08.120 What was that? 16:08.120 --> 16:14.120 Well, the bartender Carl and a half dozen of the neighborhood gang were back in one of the booths talking together. 16:14.120 --> 16:18.120 They seemed kind of nervous. None of them seemed to be having a good time. 16:18.120 --> 16:19.120 Yeah. 16:19.120 --> 16:22.120 Wife and I yelled hello at them, but they kind of gave us a go-by. 16:22.120 --> 16:25.120 Then this drunk came up to us. 16:25.120 --> 16:28.120 Uh, any, uh, say officer, would you reach that knife for me? 16:28.120 --> 16:29.120 Which one? 16:29.120 --> 16:30.120 Uh, that one. 16:30.120 --> 16:31.120 Oh yeah, here you are. 16:31.120 --> 16:32.120 Yeah, thanks. 16:32.120 --> 16:33.120 Go ahead. 16:33.120 --> 16:39.120 Yeah, well, this drunk came up to us and whispers to me, say, you better get out of here. There's been a fight. 16:39.120 --> 16:41.120 Isn't that a beautiful piece of meat? 16:41.120 --> 16:46.120 Well, I didn't pay much attention to him. He was pretty drunk, could hardly understand him. 16:46.120 --> 16:49.120 I guess they have a lot of fights in there anyway. 16:49.120 --> 16:51.120 Is that all he told you? There's been a fight? 16:51.120 --> 16:55.120 Yeah, that time. Well, he came back a couple of minutes later and whispered the same thing. 16:55.120 --> 16:59.120 You better get out. There's been a fight, he said. Wife and I just laughed at him. 16:59.120 --> 17:00.120 Mm-hmm. 17:00.120 --> 17:13.120 He said, I know all about it. A guy's been murdered. 17:13.120 --> 17:22.120 You are listening to Dragnet, the case history of a police investigation presented in the public interest by Fatima Cigarettes. 17:22.120 --> 17:27.120 Fatima, the long cigarette that has more than doubled its smokers coast to coast. 17:27.120 --> 17:30.120 And there's a very good reason for this amazing increase. 17:30.120 --> 17:35.120 Men and women everywhere are finding out it's wise to smoke extra mild Fatima. 17:35.120 --> 17:37.120 I agree, says Dick Hyland, sports columnist. 17:37.120 --> 17:40.120 I agree, says Shirley Gelman, registered nurse. 17:40.120 --> 17:42.120 I agree, says Frank Fanton, author. 17:42.120 --> 17:45.120 I agree, says Nancy Appel, news writer. 17:45.120 --> 17:49.120 Yes, all agree. It's wise to smoke extra mild Fatima. 17:49.120 --> 17:52.120 So enjoy extra mild Fatima yourself. 17:52.120 --> 18:00.120 The king-size cigarette which contains the finest Turkish and domestic tobaccos, superbly blended to make it extra mild. 18:00.120 --> 18:05.120 You will prefer Fatima's much different, much better flavor and aroma. 18:05.120 --> 18:06.120 You will agree. 18:06.120 --> 18:09.120 It's wise to smoke extra mild Fatima. 18:09.120 --> 18:12.120 It's wise to smoke extra mild Fatima. 18:12.120 --> 18:21.120 Best of all, long cigarettes. 18:21.120 --> 18:25.120 Six p.m. Ben and I went back to homicide to turn the case over to them. 18:25.120 --> 18:29.120 They asked us to handle the investigation for another day because they were short of men at the moment 18:29.120 --> 18:33.120 and because there was still a big doubt as to whether or not Eddie Stokes had really been murdered. 18:33.120 --> 18:38.120 Actually, the only solid lead we had was the secondhand testimony of a drunken witness that, 18:38.120 --> 18:42.120 and the deputy coroner's doubts, that Stokes was actually the victim of a hit-and-run. 18:42.120 --> 18:46.120 Mr. Murray the butcher didn't know the name of the man who told him that there had been a murder 18:46.120 --> 18:48.120 and he could give us only a meager description. 18:48.120 --> 18:51.120 We brought Marion Fuller back in and re-questioned her. 18:51.120 --> 18:55.120 She stuck to her story. She didn't remember anything. She was released again. 18:55.120 --> 18:57.120 It looked like we were in for a long night. 18:57.120 --> 18:59.120 We went across the street for a bowl of soup and a sandwich. 18:59.120 --> 19:02.120 When we got back, Ben called his wife and told her he'd be working late. 19:02.120 --> 19:04.120 I called my mother. 19:04.120 --> 19:09.120 Working late again? Oh, Joseph. How's your tooth feeling? 19:09.120 --> 19:11.120 It's a little better, Ma. It's still pretty tender. 19:11.120 --> 19:13.120 I'm going to go to the dentist tomorrow. 19:13.120 --> 19:16.120 Yes, you've got to have that attended to right away. 19:16.120 --> 19:19.120 Bad teeth can poison your whole system. 19:19.120 --> 19:22.120 You be sure and see that dentist. Is he a good one? 19:22.120 --> 19:25.120 Yeah, he's okay. One of the fellas down here told me about him. 19:25.120 --> 19:27.120 I'll see you a little later. Don't wait up. 19:27.120 --> 19:31.120 Yeah, and you don't work too late, Joseph. You need your rest. 19:31.120 --> 19:33.120 Yeah, okay, Ma. Goodbye. 19:33.120 --> 19:36.120 All right, Joseph. Goodbye. 19:38.120 --> 19:40.120 Joe. Yeah? 19:40.120 --> 19:42.120 Just talked to that butcher's wife on the phone, Ms. Murray. 19:42.120 --> 19:43.120 What'd she have to say? 19:43.120 --> 19:46.120 Ask her the same questions we asked Murray. She couldn't add much. Same story. 19:46.120 --> 19:48.120 Got something for you? Yeah, Matt? 19:48.120 --> 19:51.120 Rogers and McLendon just called in. They're still out at that bar. 19:51.120 --> 19:53.120 Joe? Finally got somebody to talk a little. 19:53.120 --> 19:55.120 What'd they get? The bar boy out there. 19:55.120 --> 19:57.120 He says there was a fight happened about 1.30. 19:57.120 --> 20:00.120 Doesn't remember who was fighting. Not much yet. 20:00.120 --> 20:05.120 The bar boy's name is Milner. He told Rogers he went outside about 20 minutes to 2 to put the garbage out. 20:05.120 --> 20:07.120 He saw the fuller woman asleep in that car. 20:07.120 --> 20:09.120 You get the license number? No. 20:09.120 --> 20:13.120 Said there was a ticket on the windshield. 20:15.120 --> 20:19.120 Ben and I checked with the sergeant of the watch at 77th Street Division. 20:19.120 --> 20:23.120 He told us Unit 111 was assigned to the area where the brown barrel was located. 20:23.120 --> 20:33.120 In checking their worksheet, we found that Unit 111 had issued a hang-on citation the night before to a car parked near 63, 30, and 1 half Vermont Avenue, the address of the brown barrel tavern. 20:33.120 --> 20:39.120 We checked the license number through DMV and found that the car was registered to a William R. Huddy, 14 Naylor Street. 20:39.120 --> 20:42.120 We drove out to the Naylor Street address and talked to Huddy's wife. 20:42.120 --> 20:47.120 She told us he was playing in a shuffleboard tournament that night at a bar down on South Olive Street. 20:47.120 --> 20:49.120 8.55 p.m. We checked in at the bar. 20:49.120 --> 20:52.120 The bar, Ken? Oh, yes, sir. What'll it be? 20:52.120 --> 20:56.120 Do you know if there's a William Huddy in here? He's supposed to be playing a shuffleboard game here tonight. 20:56.120 --> 20:59.120 Oh, yeah, I know. He's with the Highland Park team. 20:59.120 --> 21:03.120 Yeah, let me see. Yeah, that's him up now, out on the blue shirt. 21:03.120 --> 21:05.120 Thank you. Come on, Ben. 21:05.120 --> 21:10.120 That's it, Bill. Good weight. Make it another three. 21:13.120 --> 21:15.120 Oh, that cleans him. Good one, Bill. 21:15.120 --> 21:18.120 Yeah, that's pretty close feet, that one, Max. 21:18.120 --> 21:21.120 Excuse me? Yeah? 21:21.120 --> 21:23.120 Are you William Huddy? Yeah, that's right. 21:23.120 --> 21:26.120 Police officers. We'd like to talk to you a minute. Oh, what about? 21:26.120 --> 21:30.120 I'd like to ask you a few questions. You step over here a minute. 21:30.120 --> 21:33.120 Yeah, all right. 21:33.120 --> 21:37.120 Were you at the Brown Bell Tavern out on Vermont last night? 21:37.120 --> 21:40.120 Yeah, I was. Why, what's the matter? 21:40.120 --> 21:45.120 You know Marion Fuller? Yeah, she hangs around the place. She goes with a guy named Eddie. 21:45.120 --> 21:47.120 Did you drive her home last night? 21:47.120 --> 21:50.120 Yeah, as a matter of fact, I did. She passed out in my car. 21:50.120 --> 21:53.120 She's a nice kid, but she drinks a lot. I drove her home. 21:53.120 --> 21:56.120 Do you mind telling us what happened at the bar last night when you were there? 21:56.120 --> 22:00.120 Well, I come in about nine o'clock and I start playing shuffleboard with a couple of guys. 22:00.120 --> 22:03.120 This guy Eddie still wants one of them. Yeah? 22:03.120 --> 22:07.120 Well, he got in a beef with a guy at the bar over Marion. It's nothing big, though. 22:07.120 --> 22:10.120 Guy left after a while. Go ahead. 22:10.120 --> 22:16.120 That's about all. I left the place around 1.30 and I said he was beefing with some merchant seaman about that time. 22:16.120 --> 22:18.120 Was the Fuller girl still at the bar at that time? 22:18.120 --> 22:22.120 No, when I went outside, I saw her sleeping in my car, so I drove her home. 22:22.120 --> 22:25.120 I left her off and then came back to the bar. That's when they told me. 22:25.120 --> 22:26.120 Told you what? 22:26.120 --> 22:30.120 Well, they said Eddie had a fight with this merchant seaman. They said it'd be better if we kept it quiet. 22:30.120 --> 22:32.120 Who told you that? 22:32.120 --> 22:37.120 Carl, a bartender. And I got the real story from one of the fellas I was playing shuffleboard with, Leo McCarty. 22:37.120 --> 22:39.120 What'd he tell you? 22:39.120 --> 22:44.120 Well, he said that when Eddie Stokes left, the merchant seaman followed him out. He said he chased Eddie. 22:44.120 --> 22:47.120 McCarty went out about five minutes later. Yeah? 22:47.120 --> 22:51.120 Well, the merchant seaman was gone and Stokes was lying in the gutter down the street. 22:51.120 --> 22:53.120 Did McCarty look at him? 22:53.120 --> 22:58.120 Yeah, he said Stokes looked pretty bad. He said he looked like he was dead, but I wouldn't believe that. 22:58.120 --> 22:59.120 Why not? 22:59.120 --> 23:01.120 This McCarty always exaggerates. 23:01.120 --> 23:11.120 Ten fifteen p.m. We had William Huddy come back to the office with us where we questioned him further and took his statement. 23:11.120 --> 23:18.120 Then we had his friend Leo McCarty brought in along with the bartender at the Brown Barrel Tavern and the customers that he'd framed his story with. 23:18.120 --> 23:21.120 McCarty was the first to give us the straight story and then the others followed. 23:21.120 --> 23:25.120 The bartender, Carl Janssen, who also owned the bar, was the last to break. 23:25.120 --> 23:28.120 How about it, Janssen? Why didn't we get a straight story to begin with? 23:28.120 --> 23:33.120 What about the publicity? How would that look? A murder around my place. 23:33.120 --> 23:37.120 It could work out worse than that, Mr. Janssen. You've been withholding evidence. You talked these people into the same deal. 23:37.120 --> 23:44.120 I'd protect myself. The newspapers, all the scandal recommends business. I had to keep it quiet. 23:44.120 --> 23:48.120 It's not my fault that Stokes was killed. I didn't do it. I'm not to blame. 23:48.120 --> 23:51.120 No, but you know who is to blame. Now, how about it? Who is he? 23:51.120 --> 23:56.120 Well, he works on the ships. Comes in here most of the time when he's in port. 23:56.120 --> 23:57.120 What's his name? 23:57.120 --> 24:00.120 Henry Baxter. I've cashed some of his paychecks. 24:00.120 --> 24:01.120 Ben, you better get the captain, huh? 24:01.120 --> 24:02.120 Yeah, okay. 24:06.120 --> 24:11.120 Hit the run felony Friday. Oh, yeah. No, just a minute. For you, Janssen. 24:11.120 --> 24:21.120 Oh, yeah. Thank you. Yes. Oh. Yes, Frida, just a minute. Sergeant. 24:21.120 --> 24:22.120 Yeah. 24:22.120 --> 24:25.120 It's my wife. She's at the bar now. She thought she ought to know. 24:25.120 --> 24:26.120 Yeah? 24:26.120 --> 24:29.120 Henry Baxter. Frida says he just came in. 24:34.120 --> 24:39.120 I talked to Janssen's wife and told her to delay Baxter as long as possible without arousing his suspicions. 24:39.120 --> 24:45.120 Eleven twenty-five p.m. Ben and I and Mr. Janssen, along with Rogers and McClendon, drove out to the Brown Barrel Tavern on Vermont. 24:45.120 --> 24:50.120 When we got there, Baxter was gone. Mrs. Janssen told us he was pretty drunk by the time he left the bar. 24:50.120 --> 24:56.120 She'd watched him go down one block, cross the street, and then enter a small nightclub on the opposite side called the Pink Shamrock. 24:56.120 --> 25:00.120 She'd been keeping an eye on the place, and as far as she knew, Baxter was still inside. 25:00.120 --> 25:04.120 We went down the street to the nightclub. Rogers and McClendon covered the back entrance. 25:04.120 --> 25:08.120 We got inside in the middle of a floor show. The blonde was doing some kind of a dance. 25:08.120 --> 25:12.120 Can you spot him, Mr. Janssen? 25:12.120 --> 25:16.120 No. I don't see him yet. 25:16.120 --> 25:19.120 How about over on this side, back in the corner there? 25:19.120 --> 25:25.120 No. No, he's not there. It's so dark in here I can't see too well. 25:25.120 --> 25:28.120 There's the rear exit to the place. He could have slept out that way. 25:28.120 --> 25:31.120 Gentlemen, like to have the picture taken? Souvenir photograph? 25:31.120 --> 25:34.120 No, no thanks. Maybe we'd better check with the waiter, Ben. 25:34.120 --> 25:39.120 No, I'll just show you in just a minute. That man over there at that table. 25:39.120 --> 25:40.120 Where? 25:40.120 --> 25:43.120 Yeah, yeah, I'm almost positive. 25:43.120 --> 25:44.120 Where? 25:44.120 --> 25:49.120 Right there next to that pillar. Just behind it, you see. 25:49.120 --> 25:51.120 Yeah, yeah, that's him, that's him. 25:51.120 --> 25:54.120 All right. Come on, Ben. You stay right here, Mr. Janssen. 25:54.120 --> 25:56.120 You bet. 25:56.120 --> 26:00.120 Waiter? Hey, waiter. Another Coke High. 26:00.120 --> 26:03.120 New waiter, another Coke High. 26:03.120 --> 26:05.120 Your name is Henry Baxter? 26:05.120 --> 26:07.120 Yeah, that's right. What? 26:07.120 --> 26:09.120 Police officers like to talk to you. 26:09.120 --> 26:12.120 Yeah? Well, yeah. 26:12.120 --> 26:13.120 Outside. 26:13.120 --> 26:16.120 Outside nothing. You want to see a show? 26:16.120 --> 26:18.120 Let's go outside. Come on, Baxter. 26:18.120 --> 26:20.120 Hey, wait a minute. What's the beef anyway? 26:20.120 --> 26:21.120 You know what the beef is? 26:21.120 --> 26:23.120 Sure I know what the beef is. 26:23.120 --> 26:24.120 Come on, Baxter. 26:24.120 --> 26:27.120 The lousy punk Eddie Stokes trying to give me bad times. 26:27.120 --> 26:29.120 Now he knows what a bad time is. 26:29.120 --> 26:31.120 Come on, Baxter. Come on. 26:31.120 --> 26:33.120 I told him what the beef was. 26:33.120 --> 26:35.120 I saw how he did it. 26:35.120 --> 26:38.120 I beat him. He hit his head on the curb. 26:38.120 --> 26:40.120 Come on. Let's go. 26:40.120 --> 26:43.120 Hey, everybody, I killed Eddie Stokes. 26:43.120 --> 26:45.120 I killed him. 26:49.120 --> 26:51.120 All right, then. 26:52.120 --> 26:54.120 Let's get him out of here. 26:54.120 --> 26:56.120 Yeah, okay. 26:57.120 --> 26:59.120 How's that tooth feel, Joe? 26:59.120 --> 27:03.120 It's okay. Better have the dentist yank it out first thing tomorrow. 27:03.120 --> 27:05.120 Well, I think I'll hold off a while. 27:12.120 --> 27:15.120 The story you have just heard was true. 27:15.120 --> 27:18.120 Only the names have been changed to protect the innocent. 27:18.120 --> 27:21.120 On July 30th, trial was held in Superior Court, 27:21.120 --> 27:24.120 Department 87, City and County of Los Angeles, State of California. 27:24.120 --> 27:27.120 In a moment, the results of that trial. 27:27.120 --> 27:32.120 It's amazing how many long cigarette smokers are changing to extra mild Fatima. 27:32.120 --> 27:34.120 Here is the actual report. 27:34.120 --> 27:39.120 From coast to coast, extra mild Fatima has more than doubled its smokers. 27:39.120 --> 27:43.120 Yes, more and more smokers every day are discovering that Fatima 27:43.120 --> 27:47.120 is the king-size cigarette that is extra mild. 27:47.120 --> 27:52.120 Extra mild because it contains the finest Turkish and domestic tobaccos 27:52.120 --> 27:55.120 superbly blended to make it extra mild, 27:55.120 --> 27:58.120 to give it a much different, much better flavor and aroma. 27:58.120 --> 28:04.120 Enjoy extra mild Fatima yourself. Best of all, long cigarettes. 28:04.120 --> 28:06.120 It's wise to smoke extra mild Fatima. 28:06.120 --> 28:10.120 It's wise to smoke extra mild Fatima. 28:10.120 --> 28:19.120 Music 28:19.120 --> 28:23.120 Henry John Baxter was tried and convicted in Superior Court of manslaughter. 28:23.120 --> 28:26.120 He received a sentence as prescribed by law 28:26.120 --> 28:29.120 and is now serving his term in the State Penitentiary. 28:29.120 --> 28:33.120 Music 28:33.120 --> 28:37.120 You have just heard Dragnet, a series of authentic cases from official files. 28:37.120 --> 28:42.120 Technical advice for Dragnet comes from the Office of Chief of Police, W.A. Wharton, 28:42.120 --> 28:44.120 Los Angeles Police Department. 28:44.120 --> 28:49.120 Music 28:49.120 --> 28:54.120 Fatima cigarettes, best of all, long cigarettes, 28:54.120 --> 28:57.120 has brought you Dragnet, transcribed from Los Angeles. 28:57.120 --> 29:02.120 Music 29:02.120 --> 29:06.120 Sarah Berners stars in Sarah's Private Caper, next on NBC. 29:06.120 --> 29:11.120 Music 29:11.120 --> 29:19.120 Music