1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:10,400 Ladies and gentlemen, the makers of Fatima cigarettes and the entire cast and crew and technicians of Dragna 2 00:00:10,400 --> 00:00:35,400 respectfully dedicate tonight's program to the memory of Barton Yarbrough who created and portrayed the role of Sergeant Ben Romero. 3 00:00:35,400 --> 00:00:48,400 Fatima cigarettes, best of all king-size cigarettes brings you Dragnet. 4 00:00:48,400 --> 00:00:52,400 You're a detective sergeant. You're assigned a robbery detail. 5 00:00:52,400 --> 00:00:57,400 Two convicts escaped from a nearby state penitentiary in the early morning. 6 00:00:57,400 --> 00:01:00,400 According to reports, they're heading for your city. 7 00:01:00,400 --> 00:01:03,400 They're both armed. They're both dangerous. 8 00:01:03,400 --> 00:01:09,400 Good job. Get them. 9 00:01:09,400 --> 00:01:14,400 Fatima, America's first largest selling blended cigarette. 10 00:01:14,400 --> 00:01:18,400 Now king-size. See the difference. 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When you see the difference, taste the difference, smoke the difference, you'll switch to Fatima. 16 00:01:52,400 --> 00:01:56,400 Because in Fatima, the difference is quality. 17 00:01:56,400 --> 00:02:00,400 Ask your dealer for Fatima in the bright, sunny, yellow pack. 18 00:02:00,400 --> 00:02:10,400 Fatima, best of all, king-size cigarettes. 19 00:02:10,400 --> 00:02:14,400 Dragman, the documentary drama of an actual crime. 20 00:02:14,400 --> 00:02:18,400 For the next 30 minutes, in cooperation with the Los Angeles Police Department, 21 00:02:18,400 --> 00:02:24,400 you will travel step-by-step on the side of the law through an actual case transcribed from official police files. 22 00:02:24,400 --> 00:02:36,400 From beginning to end, from crime to punishment, Dragnet is the story of your police force in action. 23 00:02:36,400 --> 00:02:39,400 It was Saturday, April 24th. It was Houghton, Los Angeles. 24 00:02:39,400 --> 00:02:41,400 We were working with Daywatch on a robbery detail. 25 00:02:41,400 --> 00:02:45,400 My partner's Ben Romero. The boss is Captain Didion. My name's Friday. 26 00:02:45,400 --> 00:02:50,400 It was five minutes past 8 a.m. when I got to room 27A. Robbery detail. 27 00:02:50,400 --> 00:02:51,400 Morning, Joe. 28 00:02:51,400 --> 00:02:56,400 Hi, Crowley. How's it working out? Any more word on the escape prisoner? 29 00:02:56,400 --> 00:02:57,400 Nothing this morning, no. 30 00:02:57,400 --> 00:02:59,400 Captain likes to see you, Joe. 31 00:02:59,400 --> 00:03:00,400 Okay. 32 00:03:00,400 --> 00:03:03,400 Ben checking you? 33 00:03:03,400 --> 00:03:04,400 No. 34 00:03:04,400 --> 00:03:06,400 Getting a little late. 35 00:03:06,400 --> 00:03:07,400 Guess he was held up, huh? 36 00:03:07,400 --> 00:03:10,400 Captain wants to see you right away. Some bad minutes, Joe. 37 00:03:10,400 --> 00:03:11,400 Oh, what's the matter? 38 00:03:11,400 --> 00:03:13,400 Maybe it'd be better if he told you. 39 00:03:13,400 --> 00:03:17,400 Oh, all right. 40 00:03:17,400 --> 00:03:18,400 Oh, morning, Joe. 41 00:03:18,400 --> 00:03:19,400 Hi. You want to see me? 42 00:03:19,400 --> 00:03:20,400 Yeah, come on in. 43 00:03:20,400 --> 00:03:23,400 All right. 44 00:03:23,400 --> 00:03:27,400 Sit down. 45 00:03:27,400 --> 00:03:28,400 Yeah? 46 00:03:28,400 --> 00:03:30,400 Got some bad news, Joe. Real bad. 47 00:03:30,400 --> 00:03:31,400 What's the matter? 48 00:03:31,400 --> 00:03:34,400 I know how much it means. I wish I didn't have to be the one to tell you. 49 00:03:34,400 --> 00:03:36,400 Tell me what? 50 00:03:36,400 --> 00:03:39,400 Sorry, Joe. It's about Ben. Something's happened. 51 00:03:39,400 --> 00:03:40,400 Ben? What do you mean? 52 00:03:40,400 --> 00:03:44,400 We were notified about it early this morning. I thought about calling you. 53 00:03:44,400 --> 00:03:46,400 I figured it'd be better if I told you in person. 54 00:03:46,400 --> 00:03:48,400 What's the matter? Is Ben sick? 55 00:03:48,400 --> 00:03:52,400 He's dead, Joe. Ben's dead early this morning. 56 00:03:52,400 --> 00:03:53,400 What? 57 00:03:53,400 --> 00:03:59,400 Sorry. Heart attack. Happened a little after six o'clock this morning. 58 00:03:59,400 --> 00:04:01,400 No. 59 00:04:01,400 --> 00:04:06,400 Got out of bed, started dressing, went to work, went downstairs, put a pot of coffee on, make some toast. 60 00:04:06,400 --> 00:04:13,400 Wife heard him fall. She went downstairs and found him. Already dead. Went fast. 61 00:04:13,400 --> 00:04:16,400 Look, I don't get this. It couldn't be. 62 00:04:16,400 --> 00:04:19,400 Sorry, Joe. It means a lot to all of us. 63 00:04:19,400 --> 00:04:24,400 Yeah, well, I still don't get it. Ben didn't have any trouble with his heart. He never mentioned anything about it. 64 00:04:24,400 --> 00:04:27,400 Well, maybe that was a trouble. With his heart, all right. 65 00:04:27,400 --> 00:04:33,400 When his wife found him, she called the doctor and the fire department rescue squad. They worked over him for an hour. No use. 66 00:04:33,400 --> 00:04:38,400 His wife called me. Snuck a tear your heart out. 67 00:04:38,400 --> 00:04:43,400 I can't believe it. What'd she say? 68 00:04:43,400 --> 00:04:48,400 She didn't break up. Too shocked to realize it, I guess. Sounded apologetic. 69 00:04:48,400 --> 00:04:55,400 Said, I'm sorry, Captain. This is Mrs. Romero. Ben died this morning. I thought you ought to know. Ben's dead. 70 00:04:55,400 --> 00:04:58,400 That's terrible. What a lousy shame. 71 00:04:58,400 --> 00:05:04,400 Kept saying the same thing over again. I'm sorry. Ben's dead. I thought you ought to know. Ben's dead. 72 00:05:04,400 --> 00:05:05,400 Yeah. 73 00:05:05,400 --> 00:05:09,400 Joe Whitehead and I went out there right away. Tried to talk to her. Wasn't much use. 74 00:05:09,400 --> 00:05:13,400 Excuse me. 75 00:05:13,400 --> 00:05:15,400 I'm sorry. 76 00:05:15,400 --> 00:05:18,400 Yeah? You were with him a long time. 77 00:05:18,400 --> 00:05:22,400 Yeah. Eleven years. 78 00:05:22,400 --> 00:05:27,400 The day I came on the job, they assigned me as his partner. 79 00:05:27,400 --> 00:05:30,400 You know, this is a tough one. It's hard to believe. 80 00:05:30,400 --> 00:05:33,400 Tougher on his wife? 81 00:05:33,400 --> 00:05:35,400 If it's all right with you, I'd like to go see her. 82 00:05:35,400 --> 00:05:39,400 All right. I wish I could give you the day off, Joe. I know what it means to you. 83 00:05:39,400 --> 00:05:41,400 The escape convict thing. I just can't spare you. 84 00:05:41,400 --> 00:05:44,400 Yeah, that's all right. I just have to work. 85 00:05:44,400 --> 00:05:49,400 I figured I ought to talk to Amy, though. Might help to take the edge off of the court, maybe. 86 00:05:49,400 --> 00:05:54,400 Sure. Go ahead. 87 00:05:54,400 --> 00:05:56,400 Joe? 88 00:05:56,400 --> 00:05:59,400 Yeah? 89 00:05:59,400 --> 00:06:05,400 I know what it is. I've been on the job 19 years, lost two partners, good cops. 90 00:06:05,400 --> 00:06:09,400 One of them was killed in the line of duty. The other one worked at his job until he dropped. 91 00:06:09,400 --> 00:06:10,400 The same thing, Joe. 92 00:06:10,400 --> 00:06:11,400 Yeah. 93 00:06:11,400 --> 00:06:16,400 In my book, they both are eight medals. 94 00:06:16,400 --> 00:06:23,400 I left the office and went down in the elevator alone. I got in the car and I started over for Ben's place. 95 00:06:23,400 --> 00:06:27,400 I thought about what I was going to say to his wife. 96 00:06:27,400 --> 00:06:32,400 I thought about his little boy. I thought about Ben. 97 00:06:32,400 --> 00:06:39,400 Eleven years I'd been working as a cop. All of a sudden it wasn't the same anymore. 98 00:06:39,400 --> 00:06:47,400 I thought about the first day I met Ben. I was a rookie. I remembered what he taught me about being a cop. 99 00:06:47,400 --> 00:06:53,400 I thought about how much I owed him. I thought about the thousands of cops just like him all over the country. 100 00:06:53,400 --> 00:06:58,400 The ones that came before us. The ones that will take our place. 101 00:06:58,400 --> 00:07:06,400 I thought about their lives and their homes and their families. What they meant. What their jobs meant. 102 00:07:06,400 --> 00:07:15,400 I thought about Ben. Eleven years. Stakeouts, the early morning watch, interrogations, office duty. 103 00:07:15,400 --> 00:07:20,400 You could cover it in volumes or you could write it in the back of an envelope. 104 00:07:20,400 --> 00:07:27,400 He was a good cop and he was a good friend. There wasn't much else to say. It was a big loss. 105 00:07:27,400 --> 00:07:34,400 I stayed at Ben's house for about an hour talking to his wife. Joe Whitehead from the medical detail was there. 106 00:07:34,400 --> 00:07:38,400 All things considered she seemed to be taking it fairly well. 107 00:07:38,400 --> 00:07:44,400 I told her I'd drop her out later in the day and then I'd check back in at the office for work. 108 00:07:44,400 --> 00:07:48,400 Temporarily Sergeant Ed Jacobs was assigned to work with me. 109 00:07:48,400 --> 00:07:51,400 The big problem at the moment was a pair of escaped convicts. 110 00:07:51,400 --> 00:07:55,400 Jacobs and I drove out to run down on a possible lead. 111 00:07:55,400 --> 00:07:59,400 11.05 a.m. we got to the address listed, the Cathedral of St. Augustine. 112 00:07:59,400 --> 00:08:03,400 We checked in at the rectory and then we went around to the church. 113 00:08:08,400 --> 00:08:09,400 Go ahead. 114 00:08:09,400 --> 00:08:21,400 Okay. 115 00:08:21,400 --> 00:08:23,400 It's a very beautiful church isn't it? 116 00:08:23,400 --> 00:08:25,400 Yeah, a nice choir isn't it? 117 00:08:25,400 --> 00:08:27,400 I wonder if they're holding services. 118 00:08:27,400 --> 00:08:30,400 No, the choir's probably just practicing. 119 00:08:30,400 --> 00:08:32,400 You see the priest around anywhere Ed? 120 00:08:32,400 --> 00:08:33,400 No. 121 00:08:33,400 --> 00:08:37,400 Oh yeah, there's someone over by the side altar there. Looks like a padre. 122 00:08:37,400 --> 00:08:42,400 Yeah, come on. 123 00:08:42,400 --> 00:08:43,400 Easter hymns. 124 00:08:43,400 --> 00:08:45,400 They're pretty, aren't they? 125 00:08:45,400 --> 00:08:46,400 Yeah, they sure are. 126 00:08:46,400 --> 00:08:49,400 It really takes me back. You'd never believe it, Kel. 127 00:08:49,400 --> 00:08:50,400 What's that? 128 00:08:50,400 --> 00:08:52,400 It used to be a boy tenor. 129 00:08:52,400 --> 00:08:55,400 Er... excuse me please. 130 00:08:55,400 --> 00:08:56,400 Yes? 131 00:08:56,400 --> 00:08:58,400 Are you Father Newman? 132 00:08:58,400 --> 00:09:00,400 Yes, that's right. Can I help you? 133 00:09:00,400 --> 00:09:03,400 Police officer's father. 134 00:09:03,400 --> 00:09:04,400 I see. 135 00:09:04,400 --> 00:09:07,400 This is my partner Sergeant Jacobs. My name's Friday. 136 00:09:07,400 --> 00:09:08,400 Welcome to you. 137 00:09:08,400 --> 00:09:11,400 Housekeeper over at the rectory told us we could find you here. 138 00:09:11,400 --> 00:09:14,400 I'd like to talk to you for a few minutes if you've got the time Father. 139 00:09:14,400 --> 00:09:20,400 Let's see, I have confessions starting at three o'clock. Leave me about ten minutes. 140 00:09:20,400 --> 00:09:22,400 What was it about Sergeant? 141 00:09:22,400 --> 00:09:26,400 Well we're inquiring about a Stanley Blair father. We understand that you know him fairly well. 142 00:09:26,400 --> 00:09:31,400 Oh yes, I do. As a matter of fact I read about him in the paper this morning. Trouble he's in. 143 00:09:31,400 --> 00:09:33,400 Is that what you wanted to talk about? 144 00:09:33,400 --> 00:09:37,400 Yes, that's right. We're making a check of all his known friends and relatives. 145 00:09:37,400 --> 00:09:41,400 Very unfortunate isn't it? Do the newspapers have the story correct? 146 00:09:41,400 --> 00:09:43,400 Yes, I'm afraid so. 147 00:09:43,400 --> 00:09:48,400 I wonder if we could step outside Father if we could talk out there without disturbing anyone in church. 148 00:09:48,400 --> 00:09:51,400 Sure, exactly. This way please. 149 00:09:51,400 --> 00:09:53,400 Very good. 150 00:09:53,400 --> 00:09:57,400 Certainly a tragedy. I mean happening at Easter time. 151 00:09:57,400 --> 00:10:02,400 I'll remember the boy in my mask tomorrow. Lord knows he can use some prayers. 152 00:10:02,400 --> 00:10:04,400 Yes sir, I guess he can. 153 00:10:11,400 --> 00:10:14,400 Here we are. Bench there. You care to sit down? 154 00:10:14,400 --> 00:10:16,400 No sir, it's all right. 155 00:10:16,400 --> 00:10:20,400 The newspapers weren't too specific. How did he manage to escape the way he did? 156 00:10:20,400 --> 00:10:24,400 I always thought state penitentiaries were well guarded. 157 00:10:24,400 --> 00:10:28,400 Apparently Blair was one of the trusted prisoners. It's a minimum security prison to begin with Father. 158 00:10:28,400 --> 00:10:33,400 I see. I suppose Blair and the man he escaped with thought about it a good deal. 159 00:10:33,400 --> 00:10:37,400 According to the paper it was well planned. When did they get away last night? 160 00:10:37,400 --> 00:10:41,400 Oh, it was this morning. Prison officials figure about 2 a.m. 161 00:10:41,400 --> 00:10:45,400 They slugged the guard and went over the wall. Somehow the two of them got hold of a gun, 162 00:10:45,400 --> 00:10:48,400 held up a motorist on the highway and stole his car. That's the last report we had. 163 00:10:48,400 --> 00:10:52,400 Terrible. Do the police consider them dangerous? 164 00:10:52,400 --> 00:10:57,400 Well they're armed Father. Both of them were doing time for robbery. They've both used guns before. 165 00:10:57,400 --> 00:11:01,400 How about possible contacts you might have out of town Father? Can you help us there at all? 166 00:11:01,400 --> 00:11:06,400 I'm afraid not Sergeant. I think Stan knew some people in San Francisco. 167 00:11:06,400 --> 00:11:10,400 I don't know their names or addresses though. I haven't any idea. 168 00:11:10,400 --> 00:11:15,400 And there's no special person or place that you know of that he'd be likely to go if he heads back for Los Angeles? 169 00:11:15,400 --> 00:11:20,400 No, no. I can think of. You imagine he'd be likely to come back here? 170 00:11:20,400 --> 00:11:25,400 We're not sure. The last report we had seemed to indicate Blair and his partner were heading this way. 171 00:11:25,400 --> 00:11:28,400 The prison's only about 40 miles away. He could be there in the city now. 172 00:11:28,400 --> 00:11:34,400 I don't understand. I mean, with all the police looking for them, why would they come back here? 173 00:11:34,400 --> 00:11:38,400 They probably figure they can find cover a lot easier than they could in some of the small towns. 174 00:11:38,400 --> 00:11:40,400 Sergeant. Yeah Father. 175 00:11:40,400 --> 00:11:46,400 Do you think they'll have trouble taking Stan? I mean, can they take him alive? 176 00:11:46,400 --> 00:11:50,400 Well we'll try our best to make it that way. It's like I told you Father, he's got a gun. 177 00:11:50,400 --> 00:11:53,400 If he's cornered there's a good chance he might try to shoot his way out. 178 00:11:53,400 --> 00:11:59,400 It gets discouraging sometimes. I try to help them. I pray for them. Young thieves. 179 00:11:59,400 --> 00:12:02,400 I only hope they're all as lucky as he was. 180 00:12:02,400 --> 00:12:03,400 How's that sir? 181 00:12:03,400 --> 00:12:07,400 The grotto back there in the garden. Figure of a man in it. 182 00:12:07,400 --> 00:12:08,400 Oh yeah. 183 00:12:08,400 --> 00:12:14,400 The Statue of Thismas. One of the luckiest men who ever lived. I like to tell fellas like Stan about him. 184 00:12:14,400 --> 00:12:16,400 I don't think I understand Father. 185 00:12:16,400 --> 00:12:22,400 You know the story of the crucifixion of two men who were crucified with Christ. They were both thieves. 186 00:12:22,400 --> 00:12:29,400 A few minutes before he died one of the thieves turned to Christ on the cross, confessed his crimes, asked our Lord to remember him. 187 00:12:29,400 --> 00:12:37,400 Christ told him, this day he'll be with me in paradise. The man's name was Dismas. We like to call him the good thief. 188 00:12:37,400 --> 00:12:38,400 Oh yeah. Uh huh. 189 00:12:38,400 --> 00:12:42,400 I told Stan about it right here in this courtyard. He should have remembered it. 190 00:12:42,400 --> 00:12:43,400 Yeah I guess so. 191 00:12:43,400 --> 00:12:50,400 I told him you never give up hope. You can make the grade in the last five minutes of your life. Stan ought to know better. You ought to remember. 192 00:12:50,400 --> 00:12:51,400 Sir? 193 00:12:51,400 --> 00:12:55,400 The good thief. He made it with a prayer, not with a gun in his hand. 194 00:13:01,400 --> 00:13:06,400 Before we left Father Newman we gave him our card and he gave us a list of eight names and addresses. 195 00:13:06,400 --> 00:13:09,400 People in the neighborhood who'd known the escaped convict, Stanley Blair. 196 00:13:09,400 --> 00:13:14,400 Before he was sentenced to the state penitentiary to serve time on his robbery conviction. 197 00:13:14,400 --> 00:13:24,400 3.15 p.m. We met with Sergeants Max Herman and J.E. Crowley from Robbery Detail. We divided the list of names in half and we began checking them out. 198 00:13:24,400 --> 00:13:38,400 Ed and I didn't have much luck on our end. Most of the people we talked to told us that they knew Stanley Blair but none of them had seen, heard from him, or knew anything about his activities or his family since Blair had gone to prison two and a half years before. 199 00:13:38,400 --> 00:13:46,400 The stakeouts were set up at two of the hottest places. 5.20 p.m. Ed and I went back to the office. Crowley was waiting for us. 200 00:13:46,400 --> 00:13:50,400 No, no luck on our end. The same thing. Last they heard of him was when he was set up. 201 00:13:50,400 --> 00:13:52,400 I guess that finishes it. Any late reports at all? 202 00:13:52,400 --> 00:13:59,400 Yeah, there's a teletype in the sheriff's office that was waiting here when Max and I got back. I guess their hunch was right. Looks like they headed this way. 203 00:13:59,400 --> 00:14:01,400 Well, how do you mean? Somebody spot him? 204 00:14:01,400 --> 00:14:07,400 Just this side of West Covina. Hell up a grocery store, Sludby owner. Got $23.40. It's not going to take him far. 205 00:14:07,400 --> 00:14:08,400 Descriptions match up? 206 00:14:08,400 --> 00:14:17,400 Yeah, perfectly. Suspects believed to be two prisoners who escaped this day from a California institution from Manchino. Stanley R. Blair, Wesley A. Russell. 207 00:14:17,400 --> 00:14:18,400 But something else. 208 00:14:18,400 --> 00:14:19,400 Yeah? 209 00:14:19,400 --> 00:14:29,400 The grocery store they knocked over, they picked up another gun, the Onus. Description of serial numbers on it here. Had 20 rounds of ammunition too. Supplementary APB's already out on it. 210 00:14:29,400 --> 00:14:30,400 How about a car? Did they switch over? 211 00:14:30,400 --> 00:14:36,400 They have. We don't know about it. Apparently they're still using the Buoy coupe they took from that motorist this morning. No reports on it though. 212 00:14:36,400 --> 00:14:40,400 That's a queer one. You'd think somebody'd spot it. They got the highway patrol working this? 213 00:14:40,400 --> 00:14:43,400 Highway patrol, sheriff's office, our department, everybody you can name. 214 00:14:43,400 --> 00:14:46,400 By the way, you had R. and I pull their mug shots, didn't you? 215 00:14:46,400 --> 00:14:50,400 Yeah, both of them, Blair and Russell. They're running off the duplicates now. 500 of them should be about ready. 216 00:14:50,400 --> 00:14:51,400 Pretty good shots? 217 00:14:51,400 --> 00:14:56,400 Mm-hmm. Stand-up mugs, fairly recent. I made the last time we had the two of them through here. 218 00:14:56,400 --> 00:15:01,400 How about that other list of their friends and relatives we pulled from their packages? Young and McAlib were checking them out, weren't they? 219 00:15:01,400 --> 00:15:03,400 Probably still are. No word from them yet. 220 00:15:03,400 --> 00:15:06,400 How do you size the two of them, Joe, Blair and Russell? 221 00:15:06,400 --> 00:15:11,400 I don't know. It's a tough combination. Russell's older, he's got the experience. Blair's younger, he's got the nerve. 222 00:15:11,400 --> 00:15:13,400 Anyway, you figure it's not going to be easy. 223 00:15:13,400 --> 00:15:16,400 Guns and the ammunition they grabbed, they ain't going to help much either. 224 00:15:16,400 --> 00:15:18,400 I guess the roadblocks are up, huh? Highway patrol take care of that. 225 00:15:18,400 --> 00:15:25,400 Yeah, all set working now. All our special details have been alerted. Airports, bus depots, train terminals, just about everything covered. 226 00:15:25,400 --> 00:15:36,400 Robbery crawling. Yeah, Mike, how is it? Mm-hmm. You'll stay on it, huh? Right. See you later. 227 00:15:36,400 --> 00:15:40,400 McAlib, he and Young are still checking on friends of Russell's on the places he hung out. 228 00:15:40,400 --> 00:15:41,400 Any luck? 229 00:15:41,400 --> 00:15:42,400 Not in the end. 230 00:15:42,400 --> 00:15:44,400 Either one of you see the captain on the wheel? 231 00:15:44,400 --> 00:15:46,400 No, I said he'd be over at the sheriff's office, didn't he? 232 00:15:46,400 --> 00:15:48,400 Hot shirt. I'll get it. 233 00:15:48,400 --> 00:15:53,400 Yeah. What is it? 234 00:15:53,400 --> 00:15:57,400 Clothing store out on North Fig, 211 and slugging. They're sure moving fast. 235 00:15:57,400 --> 00:15:58,400 Sam? 236 00:15:58,400 --> 00:16:00,400 You got it, Blair and Russell. 237 00:16:00,400 --> 00:16:08,400 Five-fifty-five p.m. A supplementary broadcast and an all-points bulletin were gotten out immediately on the two escaped convicts. 238 00:16:08,400 --> 00:16:20,400 While Crowley and Herman stood by at the office, Ed Jacobs and I picked up duplicate mugshots of the suspects and drove out to the scene of the robbery, a men's clothing store near the intersection of North Figaroa and Merced. 239 00:16:20,400 --> 00:16:27,400 We showed a group of mugshots to the victim and two witnesses, and they definitely identified Blair and Russell as the holdup men. 240 00:16:27,400 --> 00:16:30,400 The robbery had netted them less than $20. 241 00:16:30,400 --> 00:16:38,400 We relayed all the information we got back to communications immediately, and another supplementary broadcast was gotten out on the two fugitives. 242 00:16:38,400 --> 00:16:46,400 An hour later, at 7.05 p.m., Blair and Russell hit again, this time at a sporting goods store in the San Fernando Valley. 243 00:16:46,400 --> 00:16:52,400 It netted them $94, a.3030 hunting rifle, and 200 rounds of ammunition. 244 00:16:52,400 --> 00:16:59,400 According to the broadcast, they were last seen heading north through the valley in the Buick Coupe, the original escape car. 245 00:16:59,400 --> 00:17:06,400 7.38 p.m., Ed Jacobs and I got a call to return to our station. We went back to the city hall. 246 00:17:06,400 --> 00:17:09,400 Got a hunch, Joe. It's gonna be a long night. 247 00:17:09,400 --> 00:17:13,400 Yeah, it's a rough one, guns and ammunition. If they want to make a stand, they're all ready for it. 248 00:17:13,400 --> 00:17:17,400 Can't say how they can go too far in that hot car or roadblock setup. Somebody's bound to stop them. 249 00:17:17,400 --> 00:17:19,400 Well, they're doing all right so far. 250 00:17:19,400 --> 00:17:20,400 Go ahead, Joe. 251 00:17:20,400 --> 00:17:21,400 Yeah. 252 00:17:21,400 --> 00:17:22,400 Friday, Jacobs? 253 00:17:22,400 --> 00:17:24,400 Yeah, Captain, you want us in here? 254 00:17:24,400 --> 00:17:27,400 Not for long. Keep your coats on. Rest of the men have already left. 255 00:17:27,400 --> 00:17:28,400 What's the latest? 256 00:17:28,400 --> 00:17:33,400 This. Communication from the Ventura Sheriff's Office. Blair and Russell were spotted just across the county line. 257 00:17:33,400 --> 00:17:35,400 Sheriff figures they got them boxed in. 258 00:17:35,400 --> 00:17:36,400 How close? 259 00:17:36,400 --> 00:17:38,400 A lot of territory, 20 square mile circle. 260 00:17:38,400 --> 00:17:43,400 They say they got Blair and Russell tied down inside and they're on foot. We're sending up men to help out. You're two of them. 261 00:17:43,400 --> 00:17:45,400 20 square mile's gonna take a lot of men. 262 00:17:45,400 --> 00:17:49,400 If we need more, we'll get them. It's no easy touch. They're desperate. You heard the latest? 263 00:17:49,400 --> 00:17:50,400 What's that? 264 00:17:50,400 --> 00:17:54,400 Last place they hit in the valley. They served notice they're not gonna be taken alive. Either one of them. 265 00:17:54,400 --> 00:17:56,400 That's good sales talk. What have they got to back it up? 266 00:17:56,400 --> 00:18:03,400 Three guns and a load of ammunition. If we want to take them alive, they swear it'll cost us 10 men. They'll kill five cops apiece. You any ideas? 267 00:18:03,400 --> 00:18:16,400 Yeah. Let's make liars out of them. 268 00:18:16,400 --> 00:18:21,400 You are listening to Dragnet. Authentic stories of your police force in action. 269 00:18:21,400 --> 00:18:27,400 Fatima. America's first largest selling blended cigarette. Now king size. 270 00:18:27,400 --> 00:18:34,400 See the difference. Taste the difference. Smoke the difference. And in Fatima, the difference is quality. 271 00:18:34,400 --> 00:18:42,400 Yes, you get all the advantages of extra length. Plus Fatima quality, which no other king size cigarette has. 272 00:18:42,400 --> 00:18:47,400 You see, Fatima contains the finest domestic and Turkish tobaccos superbly blended. 273 00:18:47,400 --> 00:18:53,400 And Fatima is extra mild. With a much different, much better flavor and aroma. 274 00:18:53,400 --> 00:18:59,400 Fatima. 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Best of all, king size cigarettes. 279 00:19:32,400 --> 00:19:43,400 Saturday, April 24th, 9 p.m. Along with Captain Didion and a dozen other men from Robbery Detail, 280 00:19:43,400 --> 00:19:48,400 Ed Jacobs and I left the office and headed north up through the San Fernando Valley. 281 00:19:48,400 --> 00:19:54,400 The area where the two escaped convicts were reportedly surrounded was just on the outskirts of Ventura County line. 282 00:19:54,400 --> 00:20:01,400 On the way out, we stopped for a minute and I phoned Ben's house. His wife had been given a sedative and she was resting. 283 00:20:01,400 --> 00:20:09,400 Her folks were with her. 10, 15 p.m. We arrived at the meeting point on the edge of the blockaded area from which the search was being directed. 284 00:20:09,400 --> 00:20:15,400 Communication facilities had been set up along with a field kitchen to feed the men taking part in the hunt. 285 00:20:15,400 --> 00:20:22,400 There were over 500 of them. From our office, the L.A. Sheriff's Department, the State Highway Patrol, the Ventura Sheriff's Department, 286 00:20:22,400 --> 00:20:26,400 and a couple of dozen private citizens who lived in the area. 287 00:20:26,400 --> 00:20:32,400 Together with Max Herman and Crowley, Ed Jacobs and I took up our position in the line of men that stretched north and east, 288 00:20:32,400 --> 00:20:38,400 then north again circling the entire area, 20 square miles of it. 289 00:20:38,400 --> 00:20:48,400 The line drew slowly inward. 12 midnight. 1 a.m. No sign of the suspects. We stayed at it. 290 00:20:48,400 --> 00:20:52,400 You get no idea the size of these hay fields till you start hiking them. 291 00:20:52,400 --> 00:20:58,400 Well, throw the light over there, will you Ed? Irrigation ditch there. 292 00:20:58,400 --> 00:21:00,400 Right there? That it? 293 00:21:00,400 --> 00:21:07,400 Yeah. That's okay. It's a long hike. I'd sure like to see some of that hot coffee pretty soon. 294 00:21:07,400 --> 00:21:12,400 Yeah, same here. Nice setup they got, huh? That field kitchen? 295 00:21:12,400 --> 00:21:14,400 Hey Joe! Joe Cardy! 296 00:21:14,400 --> 00:21:16,400 Yeah, Crowley? 297 00:21:16,400 --> 00:21:18,400 You got the riot gun, haven't you? 298 00:21:18,400 --> 00:21:20,400 Yeah, we got it. 299 00:21:20,400 --> 00:21:28,400 You want to send up another player? Towards the clump of trees, over this way. Play it up good, huh? 300 00:21:28,400 --> 00:21:30,400 Okay, Crowley! 301 00:21:30,400 --> 00:21:34,400 About a 45 degree angle, Joe. That ought to do it, huh? 302 00:21:34,400 --> 00:21:36,400 Yeah, okay. 303 00:21:36,400 --> 00:21:43,400 That ought to do it. Really lights it up, doesn't it? 304 00:21:43,400 --> 00:21:46,400 You got any extra magnesium shells there, Ed? 305 00:21:46,400 --> 00:21:49,400 Yeah. I think I found one right here. 306 00:21:49,400 --> 00:21:52,400 Here you are. 307 00:21:52,400 --> 00:21:54,400 Thanks. 308 00:21:54,400 --> 00:21:56,400 There we go. 309 00:21:56,400 --> 00:21:58,400 Friday? That you? 310 00:21:58,400 --> 00:21:59,400 Yeah, Cap. Over here. 311 00:21:59,400 --> 00:22:02,400 I don't know you speeding the brush here anymore. We're moving up three miles north. 312 00:22:02,400 --> 00:22:03,400 How come? 313 00:22:03,400 --> 00:22:06,400 Blair and Russell, they hit again, kidnapped an old couple from a farmhouse. 314 00:22:06,400 --> 00:22:07,400 They're still on foot? 315 00:22:07,400 --> 00:22:12,400 Yeah, as far as we know, they're hemmed in a two square mile area. They may try to break out, use the old couple for a shield. 316 00:22:12,400 --> 00:22:13,400 Where does that leave us? 317 00:22:13,400 --> 00:22:14,400 I don't know. 318 00:22:14,400 --> 00:22:15,400 You think they'd harm the old couple? 319 00:22:15,400 --> 00:22:21,400 They kidnapped them. They're desperate. You figure it. 320 00:22:21,400 --> 00:22:29,400 1.45 a.m. All of the men in the search party were shifted north to the area where the two escaped convicts and their kidnapped victims were last seen. 321 00:22:29,400 --> 00:22:38,400 Two officers were sent to each farmhouse in the immediate neighborhood to make sure that the suspects and their victims were not hid out or that they were being held as hostages. 322 00:22:38,400 --> 00:22:44,400 The officers were ordered to remain at the homes in the event that Blair and Russell might try to find cover. 323 00:22:44,400 --> 00:22:48,400 The searching party moved in slowly over the affected area. 324 00:22:48,400 --> 00:22:52,400 We knew for certain the suspects were still somewhere inside. 325 00:22:52,400 --> 00:22:55,400 2.15 a.m. Still no sign of them. 326 00:22:55,400 --> 00:23:00,400 The lines drew in closer. 2.30 a.m. 327 00:23:00,400 --> 00:23:03,400 Can't be much longer, that's sure. 328 00:23:03,400 --> 00:23:06,400 Yeah, well, I can't understand it. We should have jumped them by now. 329 00:23:06,400 --> 00:23:11,400 It's only a few hundred feet to go. There's the other line closing in toward us. I wonder if they could have slipped through. 330 00:23:11,400 --> 00:23:14,400 Beats me, Ed. Where's that coming? Can you see? 331 00:23:14,400 --> 00:23:17,400 Yeah, it looks like Crowley. Yeah, that's him. 332 00:23:17,400 --> 00:23:18,400 Joe? Ed? 333 00:23:18,400 --> 00:23:19,400 Yeah. 334 00:23:19,400 --> 00:23:21,400 Over here. You got any word? 335 00:23:21,400 --> 00:23:24,400 They found the old couple tied up in an irrigation ditch half a mile south of here. 336 00:23:24,400 --> 00:23:25,400 They all right? 337 00:23:25,400 --> 00:23:29,400 Yeah, they're okay. Old lady's far at bad head wound. She was slugged. 338 00:23:29,400 --> 00:23:31,400 She and her husband have been taken to the hospital. 339 00:23:31,400 --> 00:23:32,400 How about Blair and Russell? 340 00:23:32,400 --> 00:23:37,400 No word. Just heard the captain ask for the car with the loudspeaker. He's over there now with Sheriff Durley. 341 00:23:37,400 --> 00:23:40,400 Well, they couldn't have gotten through the lines. They gotta be around here somewhere. 342 00:23:40,400 --> 00:23:42,400 Doesn't figure we combed every foot of this neighborhood. 343 00:23:42,400 --> 00:23:50,400 Attention all officers. Attention all officers. This is Captain Dinion. 344 00:23:50,400 --> 00:23:59,400 Return to your posts immediately. The search has been canceled. The search has been canceled. 345 00:23:59,400 --> 00:24:00,400 How about that? 346 00:24:00,400 --> 00:24:04,400 I don't know. Come on, let's find out. 347 00:24:04,400 --> 00:24:06,400 There he is, just getting out of the car. 348 00:24:06,400 --> 00:24:07,400 Captain? 349 00:24:07,400 --> 00:24:08,400 Yeah? 350 00:24:08,400 --> 00:24:10,400 What's the matter? Are we giving it up? 351 00:24:10,400 --> 00:24:14,400 No, maybe we've been going at it backwards. We've been trying all night to jump them. Got a new idea. 352 00:24:14,400 --> 00:24:15,400 Yeah? 353 00:24:15,400 --> 00:24:17,400 Maybe we can make them jump us. 354 00:24:17,400 --> 00:24:26,400 Two forty-eight a.m. Captain Dinion and Sheriff Durley ordered the men to return to the sheriff's office. 355 00:24:26,400 --> 00:24:31,400 With the exception of two deputy sheriffs, Captain Dinion, Sheriff Durley, and Ed Jacobs and myself, 356 00:24:31,400 --> 00:24:34,400 the rest of the searching party vacated the area. 357 00:24:34,400 --> 00:24:38,400 The plan was to give the general impression that the search had been called off 358 00:24:38,400 --> 00:24:41,400 in the hope that it might bring the suspects out in the open. 359 00:24:41,400 --> 00:24:45,400 Because of the darkness and the early morning fog settling over the terrain, 360 00:24:45,400 --> 00:24:48,400 we knew that the odds were all against us. 361 00:24:48,400 --> 00:24:55,400 Captain Dinion and Sheriff Durley decided instead to try and lure Blair and Russell from wherever they were hiding out. 362 00:24:55,400 --> 00:25:01,400 Each of the small farmhouses in the immediate neighborhood, eight of them in all, were already under surveillance. 363 00:25:01,400 --> 00:25:09,400 Each of the occupants were requested to park their cars in a conspicuous place outside their homes with the distributor heads removed. 364 00:25:09,400 --> 00:25:12,400 They were asked to turn all the lights off in their houses. 365 00:25:12,400 --> 00:25:17,400 In the event they heard anyone trying to start their cars, they would remain indoors. 366 00:25:17,400 --> 00:25:21,400 Ed Jacobs and I were assigned to cover two of the houses. 367 00:25:21,400 --> 00:25:23,400 The other men covered the rest of them. 368 00:25:23,400 --> 00:25:27,400 The two houses that Ed and I were assigned to cover were separated by about five hundred yards. 369 00:25:27,400 --> 00:25:34,400 We staked out in between the two of them. We waited. Four a.m., four thirty. 370 00:25:34,400 --> 00:25:42,400 Sure cold, huh? Yeah. Fog was right through you. 371 00:25:42,400 --> 00:25:45,400 You're going to be getting light pretty soon. 372 00:25:45,400 --> 00:25:48,400 I just remembered. Yeah, what's that? 373 00:25:48,400 --> 00:25:54,400 Easter morning. I wonder how long this is going to go. I promised to hide Easter eggs for the kids today. 374 00:25:54,400 --> 00:25:58,400 If it's going to break, it has to break soon. It'll be daylight in a half hour or so. 375 00:25:58,400 --> 00:26:01,400 They won't have a chance then. 376 00:26:01,400 --> 00:26:04,400 Wait a minute. 377 00:26:04,400 --> 00:26:10,400 Farmhouse down on the left. Yeah, sounds like it. Come on. 378 00:26:10,400 --> 00:26:13,400 Can you see the car? Wait a minute. 379 00:26:13,400 --> 00:26:19,400 Yeah, you cover the passenger side. I'll come up on the driver's right and watch it. 380 00:26:19,400 --> 00:26:24,400 Joe Hussle, they're getting out of the car. All right, hold it up. Police officers. 381 00:26:24,400 --> 00:26:31,400 Watch it, Joe. Blair, Russell, you haven't got a chance. Throw down the gun. 382 00:26:31,400 --> 00:26:35,400 All right, Ed, let's give it back. 383 00:26:35,400 --> 00:26:37,400 Come on, don't shoot, don't shoot. 384 00:26:37,400 --> 00:26:40,400 Throw out the guns. Come toward us with your hands open. 385 00:26:40,400 --> 00:26:47,400 Don't shoot West. Do what they say. Come on out. Don't shoot West. 386 00:26:47,400 --> 00:26:51,400 All right, come on. Keep coming. 387 00:26:51,400 --> 00:26:55,400 That's far enough. All right, cover him, Ed. I'll shake him down. 388 00:26:55,400 --> 00:26:56,400 Yeah. 389 00:26:56,400 --> 00:26:59,400 We'll break him. Look out, Joe. 390 00:27:03,400 --> 00:27:08,400 You want to throw the cuffs on him? Yeah, right. 391 00:27:08,400 --> 00:27:11,400 I'll go get the car. You want to keep him covered, Ben? 392 00:27:11,400 --> 00:27:13,400 Excuse me, Ed. Ed, I mean. 393 00:27:13,400 --> 00:27:17,400 Sorry. Too bad he wasn't here tonight. 394 00:27:17,400 --> 00:27:21,400 Nothing you tell for sure. 395 00:27:27,400 --> 00:27:32,400 The story you have just heard was true. The names were changed to protect the innocent. 396 00:27:32,400 --> 00:27:39,400 On July 16th, trial was held in Superior Court, Department 88, City and County of Los Angeles, State of California. 397 00:27:39,400 --> 00:27:41,400 In a moment, the results of that trial. 398 00:27:41,400 --> 00:27:43,400 And now here is our star, Jack Webb. 399 00:27:43,400 --> 00:27:49,400 Thank you, George Feneman. Friends, we all hope that you enjoyed listening to Dragnet in 1951. 400 00:27:49,400 --> 00:27:53,400 We all like to think that you'll be with us during the new year. 401 00:27:53,400 --> 00:28:01,400 On our part, we hope to do two things. To bring you the kind of entertainment you want and to introduce you to Fatima. 402 00:28:01,400 --> 00:28:07,400 Fatima, America's first largest selling blended cigarette, now King Size. 403 00:28:07,400 --> 00:28:11,400 And believe me, it's the best of all King Size cigarettes. 404 00:28:11,400 --> 00:28:16,400 So next time, buy a pack of Fatimas. Compare them yourself. 405 00:28:16,400 --> 00:28:24,400 When you see the difference, taste the difference, and then smoke that difference, I'm convinced that you'll switch to Fatima. 406 00:28:24,400 --> 00:28:28,400 Because in Fatima, the difference is quality. 407 00:28:28,400 --> 00:28:43,400 Stanley Blair and Wesley Russell were tried and convicted on three counts of first degree robbery and one count of kidnapping. 408 00:28:43,400 --> 00:28:46,400 They received sentences as prescribed by law. 409 00:28:46,400 --> 00:28:50,400 First degree robbery is punishable by imprisonment from five years to life. 410 00:28:50,400 --> 00:28:56,400 Kidnapping is punishable by imprisonment for not less than one nor more than 20 years. 411 00:28:56,400 --> 00:28:59,400 One count of escape is still pending. 412 00:29:09,400 --> 00:29:14,400 You have just heard Dragnet, a series of authentic cases from official files. 413 00:29:14,400 --> 00:29:19,400 Technical advice comes from the Office of Chief of Police, W.H. Parker, Los Angeles Police Department. 414 00:29:19,400 --> 00:29:22,400 Heard tonight were Barney Phillips and Big Perrin. 415 00:29:22,400 --> 00:29:26,400 Script by Jim Moser. Music by Walter Schuman. 416 00:29:26,400 --> 00:29:28,400 Hell give me speaking. 417 00:29:28,400 --> 00:29:51,400 Fatima cigarettes, best of all, king size cigarettes has brought you Dragnet.