WEBVTT 00:00.000 --> 00:10.400 Ladies and gentlemen, the makers of Fatima cigarettes and the entire cast and crew and technicians of Dragna 00:10.400 --> 00:35.400 respectfully dedicate tonight's program to the memory of Barton Yarbrough who created and portrayed the role of Sergeant Ben Romero. 00:35.400 --> 00:48.400 Fatima cigarettes, best of all king-size cigarettes brings you Dragnet. 00:48.400 --> 00:52.400 You're a detective sergeant. You're assigned a robbery detail. 00:52.400 --> 00:57.400 Two convicts escaped from a nearby state penitentiary in the early morning. 00:57.400 --> 01:00.400 According to reports, they're heading for your city. 01:00.400 --> 01:03.400 They're both armed. They're both dangerous. 01:03.400 --> 01:09.400 Good job. Get them. 01:09.400 --> 01:14.400 Fatima, America's first largest selling blended cigarette. 01:14.400 --> 01:18.400 Now king-size. See the difference. Taste the difference. 01:18.400 --> 01:23.400 Smoke the difference. And in Fatima, the difference is quality. 01:23.400 --> 01:30.400 Yes, you get all the advantages of extra length plus Fatima quality, which no other king-size cigarette has. 01:30.400 --> 01:37.400 Fatima quality that gives you extra mildness, a much different, much better flavor and aroma. 01:37.400 --> 01:42.400 Definitely the best quality in its class, but the same price as a cigarette you're now smoking. 01:42.400 --> 01:52.400 So compare Fatima yourself today. When you see the difference, taste the difference, smoke the difference, you'll switch to Fatima. 01:52.400 --> 01:56.400 Because in Fatima, the difference is quality. 01:56.400 --> 02:00.400 Ask your dealer for Fatima in the bright, sunny, yellow pack. 02:00.400 --> 02:10.400 Fatima, best of all, king-size cigarettes. 02:10.400 --> 02:14.400 Dragman, the documentary drama of an actual crime. 02:14.400 --> 02:18.400 For the next 30 minutes, in cooperation with the Los Angeles Police Department, 02:18.400 --> 02:24.400 you will travel step-by-step on the side of the law through an actual case transcribed from official police files. 02:24.400 --> 02:36.400 From beginning to end, from crime to punishment, Dragnet is the story of your police force in action. 02:36.400 --> 02:39.400 It was Saturday, April 24th. It was Houghton, Los Angeles. 02:39.400 --> 02:41.400 We were working with Daywatch on a robbery detail. 02:41.400 --> 02:45.400 My partner's Ben Romero. The boss is Captain Didion. My name's Friday. 02:45.400 --> 02:50.400 It was five minutes past 8 a.m. when I got to room 27A. Robbery detail. 02:50.400 --> 02:51.400 Morning, Joe. 02:51.400 --> 02:56.400 Hi, Crowley. How's it working out? Any more word on the escape prisoner? 02:56.400 --> 02:57.400 Nothing this morning, no. 02:57.400 --> 02:59.400 Captain likes to see you, Joe. 02:59.400 --> 03:00.400 Okay. 03:00.400 --> 03:03.400 Ben checking you? 03:03.400 --> 03:04.400 No. 03:04.400 --> 03:06.400 Getting a little late. 03:06.400 --> 03:07.400 Guess he was held up, huh? 03:07.400 --> 03:10.400 Captain wants to see you right away. Some bad minutes, Joe. 03:10.400 --> 03:11.400 Oh, what's the matter? 03:11.400 --> 03:13.400 Maybe it'd be better if he told you. 03:13.400 --> 03:17.400 Oh, all right. 03:17.400 --> 03:18.400 Oh, morning, Joe. 03:18.400 --> 03:19.400 Hi. You want to see me? 03:19.400 --> 03:20.400 Yeah, come on in. 03:20.400 --> 03:23.400 All right. 03:23.400 --> 03:27.400 Sit down. 03:27.400 --> 03:28.400 Yeah? 03:28.400 --> 03:30.400 Got some bad news, Joe. Real bad. 03:30.400 --> 03:31.400 What's the matter? 03:31.400 --> 03:34.400 I know how much it means. I wish I didn't have to be the one to tell you. 03:34.400 --> 03:36.400 Tell me what? 03:36.400 --> 03:39.400 Sorry, Joe. It's about Ben. Something's happened. 03:39.400 --> 03:40.400 Ben? What do you mean? 03:40.400 --> 03:44.400 We were notified about it early this morning. I thought about calling you. 03:44.400 --> 03:46.400 I figured it'd be better if I told you in person. 03:46.400 --> 03:48.400 What's the matter? Is Ben sick? 03:48.400 --> 03:52.400 He's dead, Joe. Ben's dead early this morning. 03:52.400 --> 03:53.400 What? 03:53.400 --> 03:59.400 Sorry. Heart attack. Happened a little after six o'clock this morning. 03:59.400 --> 04:01.400 No. 04:01.400 --> 04:06.400 Got out of bed, started dressing, went to work, went downstairs, put a pot of coffee on, make some toast. 04:06.400 --> 04:13.400 Wife heard him fall. She went downstairs and found him. Already dead. Went fast. 04:13.400 --> 04:16.400 Look, I don't get this. It couldn't be. 04:16.400 --> 04:19.400 Sorry, Joe. It means a lot to all of us. 04:19.400 --> 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. 04:24.400 --> 04:27.400 Well, maybe that was a trouble. With his heart, all right. 04:27.400 --> 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. 04:33.400 --> 04:38.400 His wife called me. Snuck a tear your heart out. 04:38.400 --> 04:43.400 I can't believe it. What'd she say? 04:43.400 --> 04:48.400 She didn't break up. Too shocked to realize it, I guess. Sounded apologetic. 04:48.400 --> 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. 04:55.400 --> 04:58.400 That's terrible. What a lousy shame. 04:58.400 --> 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. 05:04.400 --> 05:05.400 Yeah. 05:05.400 --> 05:09.400 Joe Whitehead and I went out there right away. Tried to talk to her. Wasn't much use. 05:09.400 --> 05:13.400 Excuse me. 05:13.400 --> 05:15.400 I'm sorry. 05:15.400 --> 05:18.400 Yeah? You were with him a long time. 05:18.400 --> 05:22.400 Yeah. Eleven years. 05:22.400 --> 05:27.400 The day I came on the job, they assigned me as his partner. 05:27.400 --> 05:30.400 You know, this is a tough one. It's hard to believe. 05:30.400 --> 05:33.400 Tougher on his wife? 05:33.400 --> 05:35.400 If it's all right with you, I'd like to go see her. 05:35.400 --> 05:39.400 All right. I wish I could give you the day off, Joe. I know what it means to you. 05:39.400 --> 05:41.400 The escape convict thing. I just can't spare you. 05:41.400 --> 05:44.400 Yeah, that's all right. I just have to work. 05:44.400 --> 05:49.400 I figured I ought to talk to Amy, though. Might help to take the edge off of the court, maybe. 05:49.400 --> 05:54.400 Sure. Go ahead. 05:54.400 --> 05:56.400 Joe? 05:56.400 --> 05:59.400 Yeah? 05:59.400 --> 06:05.400 I know what it is. I've been on the job 19 years, lost two partners, good cops. 06:05.400 --> 06:09.400 One of them was killed in the line of duty. The other one worked at his job until he dropped. 06:09.400 --> 06:10.400 The same thing, Joe. 06:10.400 --> 06:11.400 Yeah. 06:11.400 --> 06:16.400 In my book, they both are eight medals. 06:16.400 --> 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. 06:23.400 --> 06:27.400 I thought about what I was going to say to his wife. 06:27.400 --> 06:32.400 I thought about his little boy. I thought about Ben. 06:32.400 --> 06:39.400 Eleven years I'd been working as a cop. All of a sudden it wasn't the same anymore. 06:39.400 --> 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. 06:47.400 --> 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. 06:53.400 --> 06:58.400 The ones that came before us. The ones that will take our place. 06:58.400 --> 07:06.400 I thought about their lives and their homes and their families. What they meant. What their jobs meant. 07:06.400 --> 07:15.400 I thought about Ben. Eleven years. Stakeouts, the early morning watch, interrogations, office duty. 07:15.400 --> 07:20.400 You could cover it in volumes or you could write it in the back of an envelope. 07:20.400 --> 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. 07:27.400 --> 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. 07:34.400 --> 07:38.400 All things considered she seemed to be taking it fairly well. 07:38.400 --> 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. 07:44.400 --> 07:48.400 Temporarily Sergeant Ed Jacobs was assigned to work with me. 07:48.400 --> 07:51.400 The big problem at the moment was a pair of escaped convicts. 07:51.400 --> 07:55.400 Jacobs and I drove out to run down on a possible lead. 07:55.400 --> 07:59.400 11.05 a.m. we got to the address listed, the Cathedral of St. Augustine. 07:59.400 --> 08:03.400 We checked in at the rectory and then we went around to the church. 08:08.400 --> 08:09.400 Go ahead. 08:09.400 --> 08:21.400 Okay. 08:21.400 --> 08:23.400 It's a very beautiful church isn't it? 08:23.400 --> 08:25.400 Yeah, a nice choir isn't it? 08:25.400 --> 08:27.400 I wonder if they're holding services. 08:27.400 --> 08:30.400 No, the choir's probably just practicing. 08:30.400 --> 08:32.400 You see the priest around anywhere Ed? 08:32.400 --> 08:33.400 No. 08:33.400 --> 08:37.400 Oh yeah, there's someone over by the side altar there. Looks like a padre. 08:37.400 --> 08:42.400 Yeah, come on. 08:42.400 --> 08:43.400 Easter hymns. 08:43.400 --> 08:45.400 They're pretty, aren't they? 08:45.400 --> 08:46.400 Yeah, they sure are. 08:46.400 --> 08:49.400 It really takes me back. You'd never believe it, Kel. 08:49.400 --> 08:50.400 What's that? 08:50.400 --> 08:52.400 It used to be a boy tenor. 08:52.400 --> 08:55.400 Er... excuse me please. 08:55.400 --> 08:56.400 Yes? 08:56.400 --> 08:58.400 Are you Father Newman? 08:58.400 --> 09:00.400 Yes, that's right. Can I help you? 09:00.400 --> 09:03.400 Police officer's father. 09:03.400 --> 09:04.400 I see. 09:04.400 --> 09:07.400 This is my partner Sergeant Jacobs. My name's Friday. 09:07.400 --> 09:08.400 Welcome to you. 09:08.400 --> 09:11.400 Housekeeper over at the rectory told us we could find you here. 09:11.400 --> 09:14.400 I'd like to talk to you for a few minutes if you've got the time Father. 09:14.400 --> 09:20.400 Let's see, I have confessions starting at three o'clock. Leave me about ten minutes. 09:20.400 --> 09:22.400 What was it about Sergeant? 09:22.400 --> 09:26.400 Well we're inquiring about a Stanley Blair father. We understand that you know him fairly well. 09:26.400 --> 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. 09:31.400 --> 09:33.400 Is that what you wanted to talk about? 09:33.400 --> 09:37.400 Yes, that's right. We're making a check of all his known friends and relatives. 09:37.400 --> 09:41.400 Very unfortunate isn't it? Do the newspapers have the story correct? 09:41.400 --> 09:43.400 Yes, I'm afraid so. 09:43.400 --> 09:48.400 I wonder if we could step outside Father if we could talk out there without disturbing anyone in church. 09:48.400 --> 09:51.400 Sure, exactly. This way please. 09:51.400 --> 09:53.400 Very good. 09:53.400 --> 09:57.400 Certainly a tragedy. I mean happening at Easter time. 09:57.400 --> 10:02.400 I'll remember the boy in my mask tomorrow. Lord knows he can use some prayers. 10:02.400 --> 10:04.400 Yes sir, I guess he can. 10:11.400 --> 10:14.400 Here we are. Bench there. You care to sit down? 10:14.400 --> 10:16.400 No sir, it's all right. 10:16.400 --> 10:20.400 The newspapers weren't too specific. How did he manage to escape the way he did? 10:20.400 --> 10:24.400 I always thought state penitentiaries were well guarded. 10:24.400 --> 10:28.400 Apparently Blair was one of the trusted prisoners. It's a minimum security prison to begin with Father. 10:28.400 --> 10:33.400 I see. I suppose Blair and the man he escaped with thought about it a good deal. 10:33.400 --> 10:37.400 According to the paper it was well planned. When did they get away last night? 10:37.400 --> 10:41.400 Oh, it was this morning. Prison officials figure about 2 a.m. 10:41.400 --> 10:45.400 They slugged the guard and went over the wall. Somehow the two of them got hold of a gun, 10:45.400 --> 10:48.400 held up a motorist on the highway and stole his car. That's the last report we had. 10:48.400 --> 10:52.400 Terrible. Do the police consider them dangerous? 10:52.400 --> 10:57.400 Well they're armed Father. Both of them were doing time for robbery. They've both used guns before. 10:57.400 --> 11:01.400 How about possible contacts you might have out of town Father? Can you help us there at all? 11:01.400 --> 11:06.400 I'm afraid not Sergeant. I think Stan knew some people in San Francisco. 11:06.400 --> 11:10.400 I don't know their names or addresses though. I haven't any idea. 11:10.400 --> 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? 11:15.400 --> 11:20.400 No, no. I can think of. You imagine he'd be likely to come back here? 11:20.400 --> 11:25.400 We're not sure. The last report we had seemed to indicate Blair and his partner were heading this way. 11:25.400 --> 11:28.400 The prison's only about 40 miles away. He could be there in the city now. 11:28.400 --> 11:34.400 I don't understand. I mean, with all the police looking for them, why would they come back here? 11:34.400 --> 11:38.400 They probably figure they can find cover a lot easier than they could in some of the small towns. 11:38.400 --> 11:40.400 Sergeant. Yeah Father. 11:40.400 --> 11:46.400 Do you think they'll have trouble taking Stan? I mean, can they take him alive? 11:46.400 --> 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. 11:50.400 --> 11:53.400 If he's cornered there's a good chance he might try to shoot his way out. 11:53.400 --> 11:59.400 It gets discouraging sometimes. I try to help them. I pray for them. Young thieves. 11:59.400 --> 12:02.400 I only hope they're all as lucky as he was. 12:02.400 --> 12:03.400 How's that sir? 12:03.400 --> 12:07.400 The grotto back there in the garden. Figure of a man in it. 12:07.400 --> 12:08.400 Oh yeah. 12:08.400 --> 12:14.400 The Statue of Thismas. One of the luckiest men who ever lived. I like to tell fellas like Stan about him. 12:14.400 --> 12:16.400 I don't think I understand Father. 12:16.400 --> 12:22.400 You know the story of the crucifixion of two men who were crucified with Christ. They were both thieves. 12:22.400 --> 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. 12:29.400 --> 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. 12:37.400 --> 12:38.400 Oh yeah. Uh huh. 12:38.400 --> 12:42.400 I told Stan about it right here in this courtyard. He should have remembered it. 12:42.400 --> 12:43.400 Yeah I guess so. 12:43.400 --> 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. 12:50.400 --> 12:51.400 Sir? 12:51.400 --> 12:55.400 The good thief. He made it with a prayer, not with a gun in his hand. 13:01.400 --> 13:06.400 Before we left Father Newman we gave him our card and he gave us a list of eight names and addresses. 13:06.400 --> 13:09.400 People in the neighborhood who'd known the escaped convict, Stanley Blair. 13:09.400 --> 13:14.400 Before he was sentenced to the state penitentiary to serve time on his robbery conviction. 13:14.400 --> 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. 13:24.400 --> 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. 13:38.400 --> 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. 13:46.400 --> 13:50.400 No, no luck on our end. The same thing. Last they heard of him was when he was set up. 13:50.400 --> 13:52.400 I guess that finishes it. Any late reports at all? 13:52.400 --> 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. 13:59.400 --> 14:01.400 Well, how do you mean? Somebody spot him? 14:01.400 --> 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. 14:07.400 --> 14:08.400 Descriptions match up? 14:08.400 --> 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. 14:17.400 --> 14:18.400 But something else. 14:18.400 --> 14:19.400 Yeah? 14:19.400 --> 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. 14:29.400 --> 14:30.400 How about a car? Did they switch over? 14:30.400 --> 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. 14:36.400 --> 14:40.400 That's a queer one. You'd think somebody'd spot it. They got the highway patrol working this? 14:40.400 --> 14:43.400 Highway patrol, sheriff's office, our department, everybody you can name. 14:43.400 --> 14:46.400 By the way, you had R. and I pull their mug shots, didn't you? 14:46.400 --> 14:50.400 Yeah, both of them, Blair and Russell. They're running off the duplicates now. 500 of them should be about ready. 14:50.400 --> 14:51.400 Pretty good shots? 14:51.400 --> 14:56.400 Mm-hmm. Stand-up mugs, fairly recent. I made the last time we had the two of them through here. 14:56.400 --> 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? 15:01.400 --> 15:03.400 Probably still are. No word from them yet. 15:03.400 --> 15:06.400 How do you size the two of them, Joe, Blair and Russell? 15:06.400 --> 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. 15:11.400 --> 15:13.400 Anyway, you figure it's not going to be easy. 15:13.400 --> 15:16.400 Guns and the ammunition they grabbed, they ain't going to help much either. 15:16.400 --> 15:18.400 I guess the roadblocks are up, huh? Highway patrol take care of that. 15:18.400 --> 15:25.400 Yeah, all set working now. All our special details have been alerted. Airports, bus depots, train terminals, just about everything covered. 15:25.400 --> 15:36.400 Robbery crawling. Yeah, Mike, how is it? Mm-hmm. You'll stay on it, huh? Right. See you later. 15:36.400 --> 15:40.400 McAlib, he and Young are still checking on friends of Russell's on the places he hung out. 15:40.400 --> 15:41.400 Any luck? 15:41.400 --> 15:42.400 Not in the end. 15:42.400 --> 15:44.400 Either one of you see the captain on the wheel? 15:44.400 --> 15:46.400 No, I said he'd be over at the sheriff's office, didn't he? 15:46.400 --> 15:48.400 Hot shirt. I'll get it. 15:48.400 --> 15:53.400 Yeah. What is it? 15:53.400 --> 15:57.400 Clothing store out on North Fig, 211 and slugging. They're sure moving fast. 15:57.400 --> 15:58.400 Sam? 15:58.400 --> 16:00.400 You got it, Blair and Russell. 16:00.400 --> 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. 16:08.400 --> 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. 16:20.400 --> 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. 16:27.400 --> 16:30.400 The robbery had netted them less than $20. 16:30.400 --> 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. 16:38.400 --> 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. 16:46.400 --> 16:52.400 It netted them $94, a.3030 hunting rifle, and 200 rounds of ammunition. 16:52.400 --> 16:59.400 According to the broadcast, they were last seen heading north through the valley in the Buick Coupe, the original escape car. 16:59.400 --> 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. 17:06.400 --> 17:09.400 Got a hunch, Joe. It's gonna be a long night. 17:09.400 --> 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. 17:13.400 --> 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. 17:17.400 --> 17:19.400 Well, they're doing all right so far. 17:19.400 --> 17:20.400 Go ahead, Joe. 17:20.400 --> 17:21.400 Yeah. 17:21.400 --> 17:22.400 Friday, Jacobs? 17:22.400 --> 17:24.400 Yeah, Captain, you want us in here? 17:24.400 --> 17:27.400 Not for long. Keep your coats on. Rest of the men have already left. 17:27.400 --> 17:28.400 What's the latest? 17:28.400 --> 17:33.400 This. Communication from the Ventura Sheriff's Office. Blair and Russell were spotted just across the county line. 17:33.400 --> 17:35.400 Sheriff figures they got them boxed in. 17:35.400 --> 17:36.400 How close? 17:36.400 --> 17:38.400 A lot of territory, 20 square mile circle. 17:38.400 --> 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. 17:43.400 --> 17:45.400 20 square mile's gonna take a lot of men. 17:45.400 --> 17:49.400 If we need more, we'll get them. It's no easy touch. They're desperate. You heard the latest? 17:49.400 --> 17:50.400 What's that? 17:50.400 --> 17:54.400 Last place they hit in the valley. They served notice they're not gonna be taken alive. Either one of them. 17:54.400 --> 17:56.400 That's good sales talk. What have they got to back it up? 17:56.400 --> 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? 18:03.400 --> 18:16.400 Yeah. Let's make liars out of them. 18:16.400 --> 18:21.400 You are listening to Dragnet. Authentic stories of your police force in action. 18:21.400 --> 18:27.400 Fatima. America's first largest selling blended cigarette. Now king size. 18:27.400 --> 18:34.400 See the difference. Taste the difference. Smoke the difference. And in Fatima, the difference is quality. 18:34.400 --> 18:42.400 Yes, you get all the advantages of extra length. Plus Fatima quality, which no other king size cigarette has. 18:42.400 --> 18:47.400 You see, Fatima contains the finest domestic and Turkish tobaccos superbly blended. 18:47.400 --> 18:53.400 And Fatima is extra mild. With a much different, much better flavor and aroma. 18:53.400 --> 18:59.400 Fatima. Definitely the best quality in its class. 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Best of all, king size cigarettes. 19:32.400 --> 19:43.400 Saturday, April 24th, 9 p.m. Along with Captain Didion and a dozen other men from Robbery Detail, 19:43.400 --> 19:48.400 Ed Jacobs and I left the office and headed north up through the San Fernando Valley. 19:48.400 --> 19:54.400 The area where the two escaped convicts were reportedly surrounded was just on the outskirts of Ventura County line. 19:54.400 --> 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. 20:01.400 --> 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. 20:09.400 --> 20:15.400 Communication facilities had been set up along with a field kitchen to feed the men taking part in the hunt. 20:15.400 --> 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, 20:22.400 --> 20:26.400 and a couple of dozen private citizens who lived in the area. 20:26.400 --> 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, 20:32.400 --> 20:38.400 then north again circling the entire area, 20 square miles of it. 20:38.400 --> 20:48.400 The line drew slowly inward. 12 midnight. 1 a.m. No sign of the suspects. We stayed at it. 20:48.400 --> 20:52.400 You get no idea the size of these hay fields till you start hiking them. 20:52.400 --> 20:58.400 Well, throw the light over there, will you Ed? Irrigation ditch there. 20:58.400 --> 21:00.400 Right there? That it? 21:00.400 --> 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. 21:07.400 --> 21:12.400 Yeah, same here. Nice setup they got, huh? That field kitchen? 21:12.400 --> 21:14.400 Hey Joe! Joe Cardy! 21:14.400 --> 21:16.400 Yeah, Crowley? 21:16.400 --> 21:18.400 You got the riot gun, haven't you? 21:18.400 --> 21:20.400 Yeah, we got it. 21:20.400 --> 21:28.400 You want to send up another player? Towards the clump of trees, over this way. Play it up good, huh? 21:28.400 --> 21:30.400 Okay, Crowley! 21:30.400 --> 21:34.400 About a 45 degree angle, Joe. That ought to do it, huh? 21:34.400 --> 21:36.400 Yeah, okay. 21:36.400 --> 21:43.400 That ought to do it. Really lights it up, doesn't it? 21:43.400 --> 21:46.400 You got any extra magnesium shells there, Ed? 21:46.400 --> 21:49.400 Yeah. I think I found one right here. 21:49.400 --> 21:52.400 Here you are. 21:52.400 --> 21:54.400 Thanks. 21:54.400 --> 21:56.400 There we go. 21:56.400 --> 21:58.400 Friday? That you? 21:58.400 --> 21:59.400 Yeah, Cap. Over here. 21:59.400 --> 22:02.400 I don't know you speeding the brush here anymore. We're moving up three miles north. 22:02.400 --> 22:03.400 How come? 22:03.400 --> 22:06.400 Blair and Russell, they hit again, kidnapped an old couple from a farmhouse. 22:06.400 --> 22:07.400 They're still on foot? 22:07.400 --> 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. 22:12.400 --> 22:13.400 Where does that leave us? 22:13.400 --> 22:14.400 I don't know. 22:14.400 --> 22:15.400 You think they'd harm the old couple? 22:15.400 --> 22:21.400 They kidnapped them. They're desperate. You figure it. 22:21.400 --> 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. 22:29.400 --> 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. 22:38.400 --> 22:44.400 The officers were ordered to remain at the homes in the event that Blair and Russell might try to find cover. 22:44.400 --> 22:48.400 The searching party moved in slowly over the affected area. 22:48.400 --> 22:52.400 We knew for certain the suspects were still somewhere inside. 22:52.400 --> 22:55.400 2.15 a.m. Still no sign of them. 22:55.400 --> 23:00.400 The lines drew in closer. 2.30 a.m. 23:00.400 --> 23:03.400 Can't be much longer, that's sure. 23:03.400 --> 23:06.400 Yeah, well, I can't understand it. We should have jumped them by now. 23:06.400 --> 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. 23:11.400 --> 23:14.400 Beats me, Ed. Where's that coming? Can you see? 23:14.400 --> 23:17.400 Yeah, it looks like Crowley. Yeah, that's him. 23:17.400 --> 23:18.400 Joe? Ed? 23:18.400 --> 23:19.400 Yeah. 23:19.400 --> 23:21.400 Over here. You got any word? 23:21.400 --> 23:24.400 They found the old couple tied up in an irrigation ditch half a mile south of here. 23:24.400 --> 23:25.400 They all right? 23:25.400 --> 23:29.400 Yeah, they're okay. Old lady's far at bad head wound. She was slugged. 23:29.400 --> 23:31.400 She and her husband have been taken to the hospital. 23:31.400 --> 23:32.400 How about Blair and Russell? 23:32.400 --> 23:37.400 No word. Just heard the captain ask for the car with the loudspeaker. He's over there now with Sheriff Durley. 23:37.400 --> 23:40.400 Well, they couldn't have gotten through the lines. They gotta be around here somewhere. 23:40.400 --> 23:42.400 Doesn't figure we combed every foot of this neighborhood. 23:42.400 --> 23:50.400 Attention all officers. Attention all officers. This is Captain Dinion. 23:50.400 --> 23:59.400 Return to your posts immediately. The search has been canceled. The search has been canceled. 23:59.400 --> 24:00.400 How about that? 24:00.400 --> 24:04.400 I don't know. Come on, let's find out. 24:04.400 --> 24:06.400 There he is, just getting out of the car. 24:06.400 --> 24:07.400 Captain? 24:07.400 --> 24:08.400 Yeah? 24:08.400 --> 24:10.400 What's the matter? Are we giving it up? 24:10.400 --> 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. 24:14.400 --> 24:15.400 Yeah? 24:15.400 --> 24:17.400 Maybe we can make them jump us. 24:17.400 --> 24:26.400 Two forty-eight a.m. Captain Dinion and Sheriff Durley ordered the men to return to the sheriff's office. 24:26.400 --> 24:31.400 With the exception of two deputy sheriffs, Captain Dinion, Sheriff Durley, and Ed Jacobs and myself, 24:31.400 --> 24:34.400 the rest of the searching party vacated the area. 24:34.400 --> 24:38.400 The plan was to give the general impression that the search had been called off 24:38.400 --> 24:41.400 in the hope that it might bring the suspects out in the open. 24:41.400 --> 24:45.400 Because of the darkness and the early morning fog settling over the terrain, 24:45.400 --> 24:48.400 we knew that the odds were all against us. 24:48.400 --> 24:55.400 Captain Dinion and Sheriff Durley decided instead to try and lure Blair and Russell from wherever they were hiding out. 24:55.400 --> 25:01.400 Each of the small farmhouses in the immediate neighborhood, eight of them in all, were already under surveillance. 25:01.400 --> 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. 25:09.400 --> 25:12.400 They were asked to turn all the lights off in their houses. 25:12.400 --> 25:17.400 In the event they heard anyone trying to start their cars, they would remain indoors. 25:17.400 --> 25:21.400 Ed Jacobs and I were assigned to cover two of the houses. 25:21.400 --> 25:23.400 The other men covered the rest of them. 25:23.400 --> 25:27.400 The two houses that Ed and I were assigned to cover were separated by about five hundred yards. 25:27.400 --> 25:34.400 We staked out in between the two of them. We waited. Four a.m., four thirty. 25:34.400 --> 25:42.400 Sure cold, huh? Yeah. Fog was right through you. 25:42.400 --> 25:45.400 You're going to be getting light pretty soon. 25:45.400 --> 25:48.400 I just remembered. Yeah, what's that? 25:48.400 --> 25:54.400 Easter morning. I wonder how long this is going to go. I promised to hide Easter eggs for the kids today. 25:54.400 --> 25:58.400 If it's going to break, it has to break soon. It'll be daylight in a half hour or so. 25:58.400 --> 26:01.400 They won't have a chance then. 26:01.400 --> 26:04.400 Wait a minute. 26:04.400 --> 26:10.400 Farmhouse down on the left. Yeah, sounds like it. Come on. 26:10.400 --> 26:13.400 Can you see the car? Wait a minute. 26:13.400 --> 26:19.400 Yeah, you cover the passenger side. I'll come up on the driver's right and watch it. 26:19.400 --> 26:24.400 Joe Hussle, they're getting out of the car. All right, hold it up. Police officers. 26:24.400 --> 26:31.400 Watch it, Joe. Blair, Russell, you haven't got a chance. Throw down the gun. 26:31.400 --> 26:35.400 All right, Ed, let's give it back. 26:35.400 --> 26:37.400 Come on, don't shoot, don't shoot. 26:37.400 --> 26:40.400 Throw out the guns. Come toward us with your hands open. 26:40.400 --> 26:47.400 Don't shoot West. Do what they say. Come on out. Don't shoot West. 26:47.400 --> 26:51.400 All right, come on. Keep coming. 26:51.400 --> 26:55.400 That's far enough. All right, cover him, Ed. I'll shake him down. 26:55.400 --> 26:56.400 Yeah. 26:56.400 --> 26:59.400 We'll break him. Look out, Joe. 27:03.400 --> 27:08.400 You want to throw the cuffs on him? Yeah, right. 27:08.400 --> 27:11.400 I'll go get the car. You want to keep him covered, Ben? 27:11.400 --> 27:13.400 Excuse me, Ed. Ed, I mean. 27:13.400 --> 27:17.400 Sorry. Too bad he wasn't here tonight. 27:17.400 --> 27:21.400 Nothing you tell for sure. 27:27.400 --> 27:32.400 The story you have just heard was true. The names were changed to protect the innocent. 27:32.400 --> 27:39.400 On July 16th, trial was held in Superior Court, Department 88, City and County of Los Angeles, State of California. 27:39.400 --> 27:41.400 In a moment, the results of that trial. 27:41.400 --> 27:43.400 And now here is our star, Jack Webb. 27:43.400 --> 27:49.400 Thank you, George Feneman. Friends, we all hope that you enjoyed listening to Dragnet in 1951. 27:49.400 --> 27:53.400 We all like to think that you'll be with us during the new year. 27:53.400 --> 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. 28:01.400 --> 28:07.400 Fatima, America's first largest selling blended cigarette, now King Size. 28:07.400 --> 28:11.400 And believe me, it's the best of all King Size cigarettes. 28:11.400 --> 28:16.400 So next time, buy a pack of Fatimas. Compare them yourself. 28:16.400 --> 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. 28:24.400 --> 28:28.400 Because in Fatima, the difference is quality. 28:28.400 --> 28:43.400 Stanley Blair and Wesley Russell were tried and convicted on three counts of first degree robbery and one count of kidnapping. 28:43.400 --> 28:46.400 They received sentences as prescribed by law. 28:46.400 --> 28:50.400 First degree robbery is punishable by imprisonment from five years to life. 28:50.400 --> 28:56.400 Kidnapping is punishable by imprisonment for not less than one nor more than 20 years. 28:56.400 --> 28:59.400 One count of escape is still pending. 29:09.400 --> 29:14.400 You have just heard Dragnet, a series of authentic cases from official files. 29:14.400 --> 29:19.400 Technical advice comes from the Office of Chief of Police, W.H. Parker, Los Angeles Police Department. 29:19.400 --> 29:22.400 Heard tonight were Barney Phillips and Big Perrin. 29:22.400 --> 29:26.400 Script by Jim Moser. Music by Walter Schuman. 29:26.400 --> 29:28.400 Hell give me speaking. 29:28.400 --> 29:51.400 Fatima cigarettes, best of all, king size cigarettes has brought you Dragnet.