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Ladies and gentlemen, the story you are about to hear is true.
The names have been changed to protect the innocent.
You're a detective sergeant.
You're assigned a robbery detail.
A pair of hold up men have been staging a series of robberies in your city.
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Chesterfield.
Dragnet, the documented drama of an actual crime.
For the next 30 minutes in cooperation with the Los Angeles Police Department, you will
travel step by step on the side of the law through an actual case transcribed from official
police files.
From beginning to end, from crime to punishment, Dragnet is the story of your police force
in action.
It was Tuesday, September 6th.
It was warm in Los Angeles.
We were working the day watch out of robbery detail.
My partner is Frank Smith.
The boss is Captain Didion.
My name is Friday.
I was on my way into the office and it was 8.02 a.m. when I got to room 27A.
Robbery.
Joe, is that you?
Yeah.
Did you just get in?
Yeah, a couple of minutes ago.
That last run from the stats office come in yet?
No, I called them.
They said it'd be about 10.
Hey, you look kind of like a cop.
Yeah, you look kind of beat.
Yeah, I had a little trouble sleeping last night.
Went over this thing.
Some place the guys must have made a mistake.
I can't figure it.
Yeah, I've been trying to figure an angle too.
Saw the skipper this morning.
What did he say about it?
Nothing.
I asked how we were doing.
I told him we had a couple of things, but then he didn't say anything.
I guess he's getting plenty of heat from the front office.
His pills are getting bigger.
Stomach's giving him trouble again, I guess.
Yeah, he had some this morning.
Looked big enough for a horse.
I never saw such big pills, Joe.
He could hardly swallow them.
Purple too.
Yeah, 11 jobs in three months.
All the same M.O., all the same descriptions.
None of them add up to anything we can make.
Yeah.
Skipper said he had a call from the insurance company that underwrote the jewelry store they
hit last Thursday.
Yeah.
Said the guy was real nasty.
Said if we couldn't clean it up, he was going to the police commission to get some action
that way.
Robbery Friday.
Who?
Oh yeah, Rod.
Yeah, sure, I remember.
How's it going?
I don't know, that's good.
What?
Yeah.
Yeah, I guess we can come back.
All right, sure.
Okay, Rod, thanks.
We'll be right there.
Remember Rod Neeland, the guy we nailed for robbery five years ago?
Neeland?
Yeah, I know who you mean.
He wants to see us, says he's got some information.
Yeah?
About the guys we're after.
For the past three months a pair of hold-up men had been victimizing the owners of large
jewelry stores and supermarkets.
In each case, the descriptions of the two suspects was the same.
Suspect number one was described as WMA, 30 to 35 years old, red hair, tall and lean.
Suspect number two was described as WMA, 25 to 30 years old, 5 foot 7, 120 pounds.
Victims reported that the larger of the two bandits had a slight stutter, but neither
of them had any visible marks or scars.
In each instance, the method of operation the bandits used was the same.
The two men would enter the store at about 10 a.m.
The smaller of the two thieves would ask to use the telephone.
They'd go to the rear of the store and there he would produce a.32 caliber automatic.
The other man would pull a sawed-off shotgun and together the two of them would tape the
victim's hands and feet and lock them in a rear room.
Then they'd rifle the safe and leave.
None of the victims could tell us if the pair used a car.
Everyone concerned had been shown mug books, but they were unable to make an identification.
The ammo had been run through the stats office, but after the possibles had been checked out,
we had nothing.
Identifications had been gotten off to George Brereton up at C.I.I. Sacramento, but they
were unable to help us in making an identification.
For three months, the holdup men were able to hit where they wanted and when they wanted.
It seemed as if we were unable to stop them.
All sources of information had been checked, but they netted us no new leads.
Eight twenty-five a.m., Frank and I drove over to see Rod Neeland.
He worked in a small machine shop on South La Brea.
He checked with the shop foreman and got permission to talk to us.
He led us to a small lunch stand around the corner from the shop.
We ordered a cup of coffee and Rod told us why he'd called.
I got to reading the papers, read about these holdups and figured maybe I could give you
guys a hand.
We can use it, Rod.
You guys were pretty nice to me when I got picked up.
I sort of figured I owe you a favor.
What's the information you got, Rod?
Well, I was in the bar the other night, see, Friday night, placed down on the third, you
know, having a beer.
Yeah.
Well, I sat there for a little bit, chewing up a storm with a bartender and these two
guys come in.
Got a girl with them.
Uh-huh.
Well, the three of them go over to a booth, sit down and order drinks.
I didn't pay much attention to them, you know, it's none of my business.
Yeah, go ahead.
Well, when they put in their order, bartender and me got kind of laughing about it.
Why is that?
Well, the two guys ordered bourbon, but the girl ordered one of those weird mixed things,
you know, creamedy mince and creamedy cocoa and chopped up ice, real weird.
I looked over at her, usually the only people who order things like that are young kids.
I asked the bartender about it.
Yeah.
I never saw the girl ever order.
I said they came in all the time, steady customers.
Well, what makes you think the other ones were after Rod?
Well, the way they looked and acted, two fellows were loaded with money, had a roll of the
choke of hort.
Right then I didn't think much about it, figured maybe they were just trying to impress the
girl, you know.
Uh-huh.
Didn't really think much about it then.
On the way home, I stopped and picked up a morning paper.
I read about the robberies.
I noticed the descriptions you had on them.
Fit the two guys in the bar to a tee.
Tall red head, short dark fellow.
Big one, even had that stutter.
You got any names on these two fellows?
No, I didn't hear anything, not from them anyway.
I asked the bartender.
He said the big one was called Chet and the little guy's name Vince.
He didn't know much about them, just said they came in a lot and had a lot of money
to spend.
Any idea where they live?
No, I don't think he knew.
How about a car?
Did you see one?
Uh-uh.
No, like I said, I was there when they came in and I left before they did.
If I'd known what the bit was, I'd have stuck around and tried to get some more information
for you.
I didn't even figure it until I got home and saw the papers.
You heard anything around about the two men?
Not a thing.
That's straight, too.
I'm carrying a lunch bucket now.
I got a job and I keep my nose out of trouble.
I had enough jails.
I don't want any more of it.
Well, that's good to hear, Rod.
I learned.
No more.
It's tough to learn it that way, but I guess there ain't no other.
Now, sir, I'm clean.
I'm going to stay that way.
Like I said, though, you guys were nice to me.
You gave me a break.
I want to help you out, you know, sort of say thanks.
Yeah, Rod, and we appreciate it, too.
You know that.
Listen, anything I can do, I'm with you, fella.
Where is this bar?
It's a place on Third called Tad's.
It's a little joint.
Yeah, we know it.
Most of the guys come in there for contact, you know, trying to set something up.
Mm-hmm.
Well, that's just it, Rod.
What do you mean?
Well, I think that if Frank and I walk into the place, somebody will make us sure we're
known there, we'll burn the place, lose the two men.
I guess so.
Well, you want me to hang around there, keep you posted, let you know what the guys are
doing?
Well, what's kind of up to you, Rod?
Well, they found out I was playing footsie with you, they nailed me sure, you know that.
Well, you know we'll give you all the help we can if you want to do it.
It's going to be a little expensive sitting in there.
You can't just sit without ordering something, you know.
Yeah.
Well, here.
Here's 10 bucks.
That ought to keep you going for a while.
Yeah, as well, for a while.
What do you want me to find out?
Well, get an address, if you can.
Find out where these guys work, what they do for a living, if they own a car.
Get the license number, if you can.
Who the girl is, where she lives.
Just as much as you can, you know.
Okay, how'll I get back to you?
Well, we'll be around, you won't have to look far.
Hope not.
Once those two guys get on to me, I got big trouble, you know.
Well, you don't have to do this if you don't want to, Rod.
Well, I want to.
You guys have helped me plenty of times.
Maybe I can kind of pay you back this way.
I know I don't have to do it, Joe.
It was my idea.
It's okay by me if you guys will stay close.
We will, Rod.
Well, let's put it this way.
You guys just stay close by.
I'm 37, I got 28 years to go.
Yeah.
I'm going to be around for that Social Security.
We got the description of the girl who'd been seen with the two suspects, then Frank and
I drove back to the office.
We checked the names Chet and Vince through the moniker files in R&I.
We came up with several possibles, but they were eliminated.
For the next three days, we kept in constant contact with Rod Neelan.
He would report for work at 8 a.m., finish up at 5, and then after a dinner downtown,
he'd spend the evening in the bar down on 3rd Street.
During that time, he had no contact with the two men.
They'd failed to make an appearance at the bar.
The kickbacks from up north arrived, but we got no new leads from them.
Saturday, September 10th, Frank and I met with Neelan for lunch.
He told us that he hadn't seen the suspects since the night he told us about.
He said that the bartender told them that they hadn't been in the place on 3rd Street.
316 p.m., Frank and I checked back into the office.
Well, that went no place.
I wonder where they are.
I don't know, Joe, nothing around town.
Maybe they decided they were running their luck a little close, huh?
It could be, but they got no reason to quit.
As far as they know, they're in the clear.
There's nothing to scare them off.
No.
You think Rod is playing ball with us?
Well, I don't know.
There's no reason not to.
He came to us.
We didn't go to him.
Guess he learned his lesson.
It takes a lot of nerve to do what he's doing.
Glad to see he's playing it straight, though.
Yeah.
You want to check the book?
Yeah.
Anything there?
No, nothing.
Mr. Carlson Faye wants me to call her before I leave the office.
There are a couple of teletypes here.
Joe?
Yeah?
Here's our answer.
What?
Teletype from San Francisco.
The jewelry store was heisted for $150,000.
Yeah.
Two men, one with a sawed-off shotgun.
We sent a teletype to San Francisco immediately, asking for full details on the holdup.
The answer gave the MO that the two thieves had used and their descriptions.
In every detail, the operation matched that of the two men we were looking for.
We put in a call to Rod Neelan, but we found that he hadn't reported for work that day.
Frank and I drove out to his apartment, but his landlady told us that she hadn't seen
him since the day before.
Frank and I checked the places where he ate and where he spent his time when he wasn't
working.
None of his friends had seen him.
We spent the next two days looking for him.
From a bartender on 7th, we heard that Rod had been in the place on Sunday the night
before, and at that time, he'd been pretty drunk.
The bartender said that he appeared frightened and nervous.
Monday, September 12th, 5.30 p.m.
Frank and I checked into the office to sign out for the day.
I'll sign us out.
All right, I'll check the box.
I got it.
Robbery, Friday.
Yeah.
Well, where you been?
We've been looking all over for you.
We thought something would happen.
What?
When?
Yeah.
Well, take it easy, Rod.
Yeah, we'll get to you.
Yeah, what model?
You got the license number?
Just a minute.
All right, go ahead.
Two and a half.
Yeah, we'll get to you.
Yeah, what model?
You got the license number?
Just a minute.
All right, go ahead.
Two and three, nine, two, nine, one.
Yeah.
Okay, yeah.
We'll see you there.
All right, be careful.
Rod?
Yeah.
Says he's been trying to get a hold of us all day.
Says he didn't want to leave his name.
Two suspects are back in town.
Rod says they got a bankroll like Fort Knox, sporting a new car.
He got the number.
We better check it right away.
Well, where's he been?
Well, he said he was worried.
He's been trying to stay out of sight.
Said we better get the guys fast.
Yeah.
He thinks they're on to him.
Our informant, Rod Nealon, told me on the phone that he'd been hiding for the last two
days.
He said that on the night the robbery suspects had gotten back into town, the bartender had
let it drop to them that Rod had been asking questions.
They'd started after him and he'd been on a two-day drunk trying to hide from them.
He said that he tried to call us at the office several times, but he'd found that we weren't
in.
He was reluctant to leave his name or a message for fear that the two hoodlums might in some
way find out about it.
Frank drove over to his apartment but found that he wasn't there.
When I'd spoken to him on the phone, he told me that he'd wait there until we could pick
him up.
The landlady at his place hadn't seen him and told Frank that she didn't even know that
Rod was in the building.
While Frank was gone, I checked the license number of the car through RDMV.
They called us back to tell me that the car was registered to a Miss Dolly Keen at 18924
Elmwood Drive, Hollywood.
Frank got back to the office and we drove out to see the girl.
On the apartment register, she was listed as the tenant of apartment 406.
We knocked at the door to the manager's apartment and waited.
Yes?
You're the manager, ma'am?
Yes, something I can do for you.
We're police officers.
We'd like to talk to you.
Here's our identification.
I see.
Try to.
Yes, ma'am.
This is my partner, Frank Smith.
How do you do?
I'm Barbara Townsend.
Would you like to come in and talk?
Might be better than the hall.
Thank you very much, Miss Townsend.
It's Mrs. I'm a widow.
I'm a widow woman.
My husband died seven years ago.
I'm sorry to hear that, ma'am.
It's all right, Mr. Friday.
I used to be in a widow now.
Just sit down.
We can have our talk.
Thank you.
Now then, what was it you want to talk about?
Not something I've done, I hope.
No, Miss Townsend.
It's about one of your tenants, Miss Dolly Keen.
Oh, that one.
You might have known it.
Why do you say that, ma'am?
Just because I always knew she was going to cause trouble here.
I knew it.
I told Sinbad about it.
I told him a lot of times.
Sinbad?
Give us a description of the man.
Tall man, over six feet, red hair, had a kind of stutter.
I never talked to him.
I just heard him when they came in.
My door's right near the front, you know.
Yes, ma'am.
Do you have any other friends in the building, ma'am?
Do you know?
Oh, no, no.
Isn't anybody in the building likes her?
Well, except that Mr. Newton on the second floor.
He's kind of flighty, impressed with a pretty girl, you know.
But she's not friendly with anybody.
Does she have any visitors?
Anyone who came to see her?
Just her boyfriend, the redheaded one.
And then there was the other one.
I don't think he was a friend of hers, though.
What other one's that, ma'am?
There's a little man, dark.
I think he was a friend of the boyfriend.
It seemed that way to me.
Any of them drive a car, would you know?
Well, I don't know about the others, but Miss Keen just got one.
Brand new, 1953.
Don't know where she got the money for it, but by golly, she's got the car.
She worked, ma'am.
I don't know.
When she signed the lease, she told me that she was a designer for a clothing company
out here.
That's a fact.
She's got mighty cushy hours.
Seems to come and go whenever she pleases.
But when did she get the new car, do you know?
It was a couple of days ago.
She told me that she had to go out of town on some business.
Wanted me to keep an eye on her apartment.
She didn't have to tell me that.
I'm the manager here.
Of course, I'm going to watch the place.
Yes, ma'am.
About the car, please.
Oh, yeah.
She had it when she came back.
Just drove up in it, smart as please.
Tell me that she wanted a garage for it.
She didn't want to leave it on the streets at night.
I told her she'd just have to wait.
We got 18 units here and only 10 garages.
All of them are taken.
I told her she'd just have to wait.
She said she'd maybe leave it over at her sister's for a few days.
Her sister's?
Yeah, she has a sister in the neighborhood someplace.
Do you know where she lives?
No, I don't.
I'm pretty sure it's someplace in the neighborhood.
Would you know her sister's name?
No.
Sorry, I can't help you out there either.
She's married.
I don't know her married name.
Miss Keen never mentioned that.
How about mail, Miss Townsend?
Miss Keen get much mail?
I couldn't tell you that.
They got their own keys.
They opened their own mailboxes.
I got no way of telling what they get.
I see.
Of course, I could see in through the little slots in the mailbox.
She got a few letters.
I couldn't tell you where they were from, though.
I see.
Is she in now, would you know?
No.
I mean, I don't think she's in.
I haven't heard her.
Usually she comes in laughing and carrying on, so I'd know if she was in.
What's all this about anyway?
What's she done?
Well, we'd just like to talk to her, Miss Townsend.
Like that, is it?
Ma'am?
Got something secret to talk about.
No, ma'am, it's not that.
It'd be better if we talked to her, that's all.
No?
Well, I hope you get the chance to.
Big pardon?
Well, last time I saw her, she talked about leaving town.
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In the company of the manager, Frank and I went through the girl's apartment.
In the closets, we found clothing that indicated that she'd returned to the place.
We called the office and told them that we were setting up a stakeout on the building.
Frank and I went downstairs and parked the car up the street.
Frank was in the front seat of the car.
I stayed in the back.
Eight thirty p.m.
There was still no sign of the girl.
Frank called the office and found that our informant, Rod Neelam, was still missing.
We waited.
Nine thirty p.m.
Ten.
Eleven thirty p.m.
A car answering the description of the girls pulled up in front of the apartment building.
Joe?
Yeah, I see him.
Car matches.
Can you see the license?
No, not from here.
Two people in the car, girl and a man.
Yeah.
Well, let's try it.
All right.
I'll cover the other side, huh?
All right.
Excuse me.
Yeah?
What is it?
Like see your identification, please.
Well, what for?
I'm told nothing.
Police officers like see your ID.
I don't know what this is all about.
All right, mister, get out of the car.
I don't know what you guys are trying to prove with all this.
And so a guy can't take his girl out anymore without cops.
Well, it looks like the other one in the car that just pulled up.
Yeah.
Vince, get out of here.
It's the cops.
I'll get him.
All right.
Get your hands in back of it.
Lousy cops.
You'll never get him.
Stand still.
You'll never get him.
He's probably got your partner by now.
All right.
Get back in the car.
What's going on, chief?
Lousy cops.
They think they got us.
Vince is a good shot.
All right.
Give me those ignition keys, lady.
What for?
Give them to me.
All right.
I'll get the car.
Joe, in the apartment house.
Over here.
How about it?
He's up there on the second floor.
All right, come on, mister.
Give it up.
Get away from me, cop.
Get away.
Throw that gun down here.
Come on.
Throw that gun down.
What do you figure, Joe?
I don't know.
Cover me.
I'll go up.
All right.
How about it?
I don't see him.
Stop it.
Don't shoot.
I give up.
Don't shoot anymore, please.
All right, mister.
Throw that gun out here.
Come on.
Throw it out here.
All right.
There it is.
You got it.
I'll give you a break.
I got it, Joe.
All right, come on.
Put your hands against that wall.
I'm hurt.
He shot me.
Now leave me alone.
I'm hurt.
Did you see that?
I'll shake him.
All right.
He's clean.
Call a doctor.
Give me a doctor.
I'll believe you that you don't give me a doctor.
I'm not hurt that bad.
Now come on.
Let's go.
I'll give you a hand.
Come on.
All right, come on.
What's all the shooting about?
Shot him, huh?
Yes, ma'am.
I better call Georgia Street, Frank.
Get the other ones in the car.
Yeah, I'll stay here with this one.
Frank?
What's the matter?
Something wrong?
Yeah, I got to get out of broadcast.
They're gone.
When the number two suspect had started firing at Frank, I handcuffed the first suspect and
I went to Frank's aid.
On returning to the car, we found that both suspects had escaped.
The man was still handcuffed, so moving around would be difficult for him.
A broadcast was gotten out to all units in the area on the two escaped suspects.
The car they'd driven was still parked out in front of the apartment.
An ambulance arrived and removed the wounded suspect to the county hospital.
Before he was taken away, he gave us the names of his two accomplices, a Chester Rayburn
and Dolly Keene.
We called the office and told them what had happened.
Additional teams of men were sent out to help us canvas the area.
Frank and I went through the personal effects of Dolly Keene.
In a desk drawer, we found a telephone book, and one of the numbers in the book bore the
name Sis.
It gave a telephone number and an address three blocks from the apartment house.
We got in touch with Captain Didion and informed him of the developments.
Several men from Metro Division were sent out to cover the address listed in the telephone
book.
Captain Didion also told us that our informant Rod Nealon had been found in a rooming house
on 3rd Street where he'd been hiding since the two bandits had gotten back into town.
He was placed in protective custody.
Frank and I went over to the sister's apartment.
Yeah, what do you want?
Police officers, you Patricia Saxon?
Yeah, so what?
I want to look at your apartment.
What for?
There's nothing here that means anything to you.
Has Sister been here tonight?
No.
I haven't seen her the last couple of days.
Anyone here with you?
No.
We're gonna have to look.
Yeah, maybe I don't want you to.
That's tough lady.
All right, let's shake it down, Frank.
Yeah.
There's no one here.
Is anybody with me?
The closet in the bedroom.
Yeah.
Better stay away from there.
He's got a shotgun.
Cover that side, Frank.
Yeah.
All right, Rayburn, open the door slow and throw that gun out here.
Rayburn, we'll tell you once more.
We know you're in there.
Now throw that gun out here.
He's not coming out of there.
He's not coming out, Joe.
All right, cop, here it is.
I don't want no trouble.
You hear?
No trouble.
You got the gun.
All right, come on.
Get up, Rayburn, on your feet.
You too, Miss Keen.
Come on out there.
Don't shoot.
Please don't.
We didn't mean nothing.
Don't shoot.
We give up.
Well, come on out of there.
Keep your hands on your head there.
I'll get him.
Wasn't anything else I could do.
Had to do what they tell me.
Come in here with that gun and wanted something to cut those handcuffs off with.
Had to do what they said.
Yeah, sure.
They'd have killed me if I didn't.
I know it.
They'd have killed me.
Couple more minutes and we'd have had it made.
Just a couple more minutes, that's all.
That's all we needed.
Though we got up north, he never got us.
We'd have had it made.
One more big job.
That's what you said.
One more and we'd be through.
Well, wise God, where are we now?
Right where he said you'd be.
What?
You're through.
The story you've just heard was true.
Chester Lloyd Rayburn and Vincent Robert Parker were tried and found guilty on nine
counts of robbery in the first degree.
They were sentenced to the state penitentiary for the term prescribed by law.
Robbery in the first degree is punishable by imprisonment for a period of not less
than five years.
Lillian Keene, alias Dolly Keene, was tried and convicted of being an accessory.
She received sentence as prescribed by law, aiding a principal in a felony as punishable
by imprisonment in the state penitentiary for a period of not more than five years.
Ladies and gentlemen, in the fight against an old enemy, polio, medical research has
armed us with a powerful new weapon, gamma globulin.
Used soon enough, it can prevent the paralyzing effects of polio.
But first, you must furnish the raw material, blood.
Doctors urgently need your donation of blood to make gamma globulin.
So call the Red Cross.
Please don't put it off.
It's too important.
Call the Red Cross tomorrow and make an appointment to give blood.
You have just heard Dragnet, a series of authentic cases from official files.
Technical advice comes from the Office of Chief of Police, W.H. Parker, Los Angeles Police
Department.
Technical advisors, Captain Jack Donahoe, Sergeant Marty Wynn, Sergeant Vance Brasher.
Heard tonight were Ben Alexander, Peggy Weber, Peter Leeds.
Script by John Robinson.
Music by Walter Schuman.
Hal Gibney speaking.
For A Million Laughs, tune in Chesterfield's Martin and Lewis show, Tuesday on the same
NBC station.
And sound off for Chesterfield's.
Either regular or king size, you'll find premium quality Chesterfield's much milder.
Chesterfield is best for you.
Chesterfield has brought you Dragnet transcribed from Los Angeles.
Now new Fatima has the tip for your lips.
Fatima tips of perfect cork.
King size for natural filtering.
Fatima quality for a much better flavor and aroma.
Now remember, new Fatima has the tip for your lips.
Fatima, see how smooth they are.
Remember, Fatima is made by the makers of Chesterfield.
Higgin and Myers, one of tobacco's most respected names.