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 homicide detail.
You get a call telling you that the body of a man has been found in the motel room.
There's no lead to his true identity.
Your job?
Check it out.
Dragnet, the documented drama of an actual crime.
For the next 30 minutes of in cooperation with the Los Angeles Police Department, you
will travel step by step on the side of the law to an actual case transcribed from official
police violence.
From beginning to end, from crime to punishment, Dragnet is the story of your police force
in action.
It was Tuesday, July 19th.
It was hot in Los Angeles.
We were working the night watch out of homicide detail.
My partner is Frank Smith.
The boss is Captain Warman.
My name is Friday.
I was on my way back from the main jail and it was 5.27 p.m. when I got to room 42.
Homicide.
I ought to go.
He's willing to make a statement.
He copped the whole thing.
I'm sorry, I'm sorry.
I'm sorry.
Cuz he couldn't take that baby.
I don't know.
I think, you know, he might be just prickly trying not to sex that bad.
But he's just very darn handsome.
Who doesn't?
He done this to the kid this morning.
Way really good at doing stuff, ain't he.
Looks like a dope belly from awerk with her at home where she's been kept closer to car
permanent shutDDLEat.
No, she didn't think it was that bad.
Not to call a doctor.
Just enough to keep me awake worrying about it.
This morning the whole thing's gone though.
No trouble.
Says it was probably a heartburn.
Why don't you give her a couple of your Pepto pills?
Oh Joe, that's very funny.
Honey.
Homicide Friday.
Yeah, that's right.
What's that?
What's that address?
No, I will be right out.
No, no, not at any.
Nice. Goodbye.
Work?
Work.
We made it to the motel out on Sepulveda, found a body in one of the cabins.
Yeah.
Thinks it's a suicide.
Frank and I left the office and drove out to the address.
It was a modern motel set back from the highway.
There were 14 cabins surrounding a swimming pool on the lot.
We met with the woman who placed the call and the owner of the place.
Right over there, number eight.
Mm-hmm.
Has anyone been touched in the room?
No, sir.
Since I saw him, I knew what had happened.
I locked the door and called you.
What's his name?
Registered as Tom Rustad, Phoenix.
How long has he been here?
About 10 days. I'd have to take the card to be sure.
Be alone?
Mm-hmm.
Here, I got the key.
Go ahead.
Thank you.
Goodbye.
Did you touch the body at all?
No, I should say not.
Mm-hmm.
I've worked around motels for a long time, yet and so nothing bothers me.
Tell you though, this almost, they'd like to scare me half to death.
Yes, ma'am.
Better call the lab after we come out, huh?
Yeah.
You all right if I use the phone in the office?
Sure, you go right ahead. It's on the desk back in the county.
All right.
Thing like this, it isn't going to do the place any good.
I hope it can be played down in the papers.
This is the first kind of trouble we've had.
Suicide sure isn't going to help.
We'll have to find some way to change it.
Well, there is, but that wouldn't help much either.
What do you mean? He's dead, isn't he?
Yeah, but he had help.
6.03 p.m. The crew from the crime lab arrived and started their investigation.
Apparently the victim had been killed with a small caliber gun.
However, a search of the room failed to turn it up.
The coroner's office was notified.
They came out to check the body and go through his effects.
6.18 p.m. Frank and I talked with the motel owner in his cabin.
Here's the registration card you can see there where he signed it.
Is he driving a car, do you know?
Oh, I never saw one.
How'd he get here?
You mean when he checked in?
Yeah.
By cab.
Did he tell you why he was in town?
No, he never mentioned it.
Did he work?
I don't know.
When he checked in, did he say how long he'd be staying?
No, he said it might be a week, ten days.
How about visitors? You haven't seen him?
I haven't seen him.
What about phone calls?
Yeah, I've made some.
Do you have a record of him?
No, usually we do. All the calls go through the board, but he's the phone booth outside.
Oh, cool.
A couple times I was out by the pool at night, you know.
I'd be out there and I'd see him in the booth.
A couple times he talked for quite a while.
But you haven't got any idea who he was calling?
No. A dime call, though.
What's that?
Cost him a dime. I heard the bell ring when he dropped the money.
Well, they all do.
You get any mail?
No.
You pay for his room in advance?
Yeah, the first time he gave me the money for a week.
And just a few days ago he paid for another week.
How'd he pay it?
What do you mean?
Well, by checks or cash.
Oh, cash.
What size bills do you remember?
I never saw him use anything smaller than a 50.
Oh, who?
Sure seemed to have a lot of them.
I guess maybe a couple thousand dollars.
Does he always carry that kind of money with him?
Well, I wouldn't know about that.
Mm-hmm.
I guess he must have kept something smaller, though.
He's an everybody can change a 50.
Not everybody.
You gonna let his people know?
What's that?
Well, he must have some people over in Phoenix that should know about him being dead.
Yeah.
Sure don't feel it's my place to tell.
No, sir, we'll take care of it.
Okay.
It's gonna be a shock to him, a guy his age.
Probably got a wife and family, not gonna do him any good.
Well, it works both ways, doesn't it?
Didn't do much for him.
The crime lab found the room had been ransacked.
Although none of the possessions of the victim had been taken,
there was no money in the room and no personal identification could be found.
The place was gone over for fingerprints.
Several clean steps were lifted, but they belonged to the dead man.
No other usable physical evidence was recovered.
The coroner's office checked through the victim's luggage.
In one of the suitcases, they found an unscathed body.
The body was found in the basement of the crime lab.
The coroner's office checked through the victim's luggage.
In one of the suitcases, they found an unstamped letter
addressed to a June LaSalle in Reno, Nevada.
Its contents explained that the victim expected to be in that city at the end of the month.
There was no way of establishing a relationship between the two people.
The coroner sealed the motel room and Frank and I returned to the office.
We sent a radiogram to the authorities in Phoenix
asking for all information on Tom Rue's death.
The following morning, Wednesday, June 20th, we got their answer.
There it is, Joe.
Yeah, take a look.
Yeah, boy, it's going to make it rougher.
Yeah.
I never heard of him.
In the hope of getting an identification of the victim,
his fingerprint classification and description was sent to George Breton
up at C.I.I. Sacramento, FBI headquarters in Washington,
and to the police departments in the seven western states.
A close check of his clothing revealed that Tom Rue's dead suits were tailor-made
and had been made in Reno.
We contacted the authorities there and asked them to check on the tailor shops in the area.
We also asked that they check out the woman Rue's dead had written to.
While we waited for the answer, we contacted the cab company that had serviced the area around the motel.
We asked them to go over their waybills and report all trips from the motel and all trips to the address.
Two hours later, we got the list and started to check out the drivers.
Sure, I remember that guy.
A couple more like him, I could buy my own cab company.
What do you mean?
He's a big tipper.
Never heard anything less than a half a sawbuck.
Down at the stand, you got to be a real battle.
I was going to pick him up, you know, at a loop.
Where do you usually take him?
Different places, restaurants, shows, different places.
Did he ever tell you what he was doing in town?
We'd talk.
You know, long drive downtown, you'd find a doll.
A couple of times he rode in the front seat with me.
Guess maybe the company wouldn't like it, but that's the way he wanted it.
What did you talk about?
Weather, fishing, lots of things.
Mostly about girls, though.
He thought he was quite a ladies' man.
The way he dressed, all that money, he should have been.
Ever see any of his friends?
Listen, how come you're asking all these questions?
This place, matter.
I knew that when I got the word from the front office.
They told me to ride with you all the way.
What's the beef? You have to roost that or something?
Investigation.
Now what about his friends?
Well, she wouldn't want them to find out about the whole deal.
Probably wouldn't call me anymore.
What's that?
Marcia.
Who?
I don't know her last name.
Some bimbo roosted that in them.
Ever meet her?
Not twice.
What's that mean?
Well, she was in the cab.
You know, I'd pick him up here, drive over to her place
and take the two of them down to a restaurant.
So, real beautiful.
Tall, blonde, gorgeous.
Bruce, that was pretty fiddly with her, wasn't he?
Yeah, I guess so.
The way he talked, he liked her a lot.
You got her address?
Yeah, I suppose.
Huh?
Why, you guys are out there.
It's going to lead right back to me.
He caused a lot of trouble.
Tell you, he's a funny guy.
He talks about a lot of things,
but he don't like to have you ask questions.
Especially about him.
Yeah.
Got real touchy when I talk about where he was from,
what he did for a living.
Yeah.
That's why it's important
you don't get in any trouble with him.
I can use those tips.
Well, don't count on them anymore.
Huh?
They won't be coming.
We got the address of the woman the driver knew as Marcia.
We called the office to check on the wires we'd sent.
There's been no answer to any of them.
1.30 p.m., we drove over to see the woman.
The place was a new apartment building on Wilshire Boulevard.
On the mailbox, we found the name Marcia Lovequist
and the information that she occupied Apartment 14.
We went up and rang the bell.
I know.
Doesn't look like she's home.
We'll check with the man with you.
All right.
Sure is a pretty pool in there, Joe.
Yeah.
You know, you ought to get a place out here.
It'd be great for you.
It would, huh?
Sure.
Nice apartment, pool, get some sun.
Yeah, we got a lot of time for that.
Well, once in a while.
It wouldn't cost so much.
Mm-hmm.
Be nice.
Me and Faye, come over and see you
and bring the kids.
You bet.
I'll see you later.
Bye.
All right, thanks.
That's what I thought.
You bet.
Well, you wouldn't want to be a hog
about the pool, would you?
Not me, Frank.
You feel that way,
just forget the whole thing.
That's what I was planning.
You just forget it.
Here's the manager.
Can I help you?
What if you could tell us
where you can find Miss Lovequist?
Martin?
Yeah, that's right.
Oh, just a few minutes ago.
Oh, yes.
There she is over at the pool.
See, with the star hat.
Oh, yeah.
Thanks very much.
Sure.
Thank you, ma'am.
Miss Lovequist?
Yes?
The police office, like to ask you a few questions.
Policeman?
I don't know what I could tell you, but go ahead.
Sorry if we sit down?
Sure, fill up a couple of shoes.
Thank you.
I'll go.
Thank you.
This is Frank Smith, my name's Friday.
How do you do?
That's fine.
Now, what do you want to see me about?
You know a man named Ruth, Ted?
Yeah, why?
Look in, tell us about him.
You in trouble?
No, we're just checking.
Oh, well, what do you want to know?
You know where he's from?
Me and Tom Town?
What's that?
Some place up north, I don't think you ever said.
How'd you happen to meet him?
Cocktail party, Hotel Downtown.
It was a convention, my agent got me a job as a hostess.
I'm a model, I do some work in TV.
I can get a little luck, I'll take what she can get.
Yeah.
Tom was there, we got to talking, went out to dinner.
Tom got a bit out of there.
Did he tell you what he did for a living?
No, I don't think so.
Fair old man, I think.
Talk like one.
What about this convention?
You know what it was for?
Oh, Dennis.
But he didn't have anything to do with that, he was just there.
Tom, he was sitting at the bar and one of the guys asked him to come up and have a cup of drinks, that's all.
He wasn't a Dennis, though.
I see.
Do you have any friends here in town, would you know?
Yeah, I don't.
Listen, why don't you ask him, he'd go along with you, nice guy.
He'd be able to answer these questions a lot better than me.
Well, we're checking everybody who knew him.
Oh, I see.
Oh, nice guy.
He had a lot of fun.
I wanted to see him last night.
He stayed for yesterday, had dinner, took a dive.
Came by for a nightcap and then he called a cab and went home.
Did you hear from him yesterday?
No, didn't really expect to.
Why?
Well, you see, we had kind of a fight.
Nothing serious.
I didn't figure I'd hear from him until maybe today, you know, until we both got over the mad.
Can you tell us what the argument was about?
Well, the same to you, I'd rather not.
It was pretty important that we know.
Well, guess we can't do any harm.
He was just getting too serious, that's all.
What?
Too serious.
Told him I had to go out of town on a modeling job.
Santa Barbara had begun a couple days and he got real mad.
Said he didn't want me running around like that anymore.
Very progressive.
I told him he didn't have any right to tell me what to do, that we weren't married, you know.
Well, the mad got loud.
Him telling me I wasn't going to Santa Barbara and me saying he couldn't stop me.
He finally called and came and went home.
What time was that?
I guess about 3.30.
Might have been 4, no later.
All right, thank you very much.
If you could think of anything else, we'd appreciate a call.
Sure.
Leave you one of our cards?
Mm-hmm.
Ask for either one of them?
Yes, ma'am.
Hey, I'll tell you who you ought to talk to.
Who's that?
Well, you ought to see him anyway.
I haven't heard anything, but Tom might have gone over there.
Who?
This photographer I was going to Santa Barbara with.
Tom might have gone over to see him.
Can you give us his address?
Yeah, I've got it upstairs.
Did Roostad know this photographer?
Well, he never met.
He knew about him, though.
Yeah.
That's why he might be able to tell you something.
Well?
Well, Tom thought there was something between us.
He's rather fell on me.
Of course, I told him it was silly.
It didn't make any difference, though.
Real jealous possessive.
Mm-hmm.
Said him and the other fellow were going to tangle someday.
I hope not.
Why?
I know the other guy.
Yeah.
He killed Tom.
We got the name and address of the photographer,
and then we drove back to City Hall.
We made a check through RNI, but we found no record on him.
3 or 6 p.m.
Well, looks like we might have a lead.
Yeah, well, it turns out, don't you?
Mm-hmm.
Homicide Friday.
Yeah.
Yeah, Jack.
No, we've been waiting for it.
Can you give it to me over the phone?
We'll pick up the copy later.
Okay, go ahead.
Mm-hmm.
What?
How do you spell that?
R-O-S-S-E-L-L-E.
Yeah.
All right.
Soon as it comes in.
Yeah, we'd appreciate a call on it.
Right.
Okay.
Jack Ricketts down in communication.
Yeah?
Got a teletype from Reno.
About Ruth, then?
Yeah, they got a record on him.
Real name is Thomas Rosell.
That's the name on the letter?
Yeah, they ran it down.
What'd they got on him?
Been arrested for bunkos, grand theft, money, forgery.
Haven't been able to make any of them sticks.
Mm-hmm.
And what they say, a couple of months ago,
he went into a new line.
They figure that's what he's pitching now.
What's that?
Nautotics.
Mm-hmm.
What about this Rosell woman?
She assisted?
No, his wife.
Huh?
Married, got three kids.
Her up there and a smarty woman here
and he's flung a real line.
Well, did they come up with anything more?
Possible motive, maybe.
Yeah.
When Rosell left town,
they got a rumble he was coming down here on business.
Uh-huh.
Had 12 ounces of heroin to peddle.
We put on a call to Narcotics Division
and talked to Captain Walters.
He told us they didn't have anything on Rosell,
but they'd heard about a new supply
of high-grade heroin being moved into town.
We told him what we'd found,
and then we drove out to talk to the photographers
the victim's girlfriend had mentioned.
Well, I'm sorry, fellas.
I haven't got any idea what you're talking about.
Have you seen Tom Roostad or Rosell?
Sure, I didn't say I hadn't,
but I didn't have anything to do with killing him.
How'd you know he was dead?
It's all over the afternoon papers,
don't you boys read your own publicity?
When did you see him?
Roostad?
Yeah.
Night before last.
Monday?
Yeah, I guess already Tuesday morning.
What time?
Oh, about 4.15.
Yeah, that's it.
It was 4.15, I remember,
because he woke me up.
I looked at the clock.
What do you want?
Oh, he had some wild idea
there was something going between me and Marsha.
Was he?
Well, I don't see if there's any of your business,
but it doesn't matter to me,
so I'll tell you, no, there wasn't.
Mm-hmm.
He's a model, I'm a photographer.
She worked for him there.
They had her 25 bucks an hour.
That's all there was.
Yeah.
I ain't gonna tell you it wouldn't have been nice,
but this didn't happen.
I don't believe in romance around the office.
Doesn't do anything that would cause trouble.
Yeah.
What happened when Roostad came in?
Oh, made a lot of accusations.
I told him they weren't true.
Said he had a filthy mind.
Told him to get out.
Did he go?
No, I tried a little muscle.
I bellied him a couple of times, and then ended it.
Mm-hmm.
Bought him a drink to show him
there weren't any hard feelings,
and a couple more.
Yeah.
Picked it around a while, and then he left.
What'd he talk about?
Looked at my suspect, that wheel on my back.
We're talking to everybody who knew him.
We didn't cross my name off the list.
I bellied him, that's all.
I didn't shoot him.
Right.
Did he call a cab from here when he left?
No, I was going to, and he decided to walk.
Did you see him leave?
Certainly.
I locked the door after.
Mm.
Watched him walk outside from the window there.
Must have changed his mind about the cab, though.
What?
Cab.
Must have changed his mind.
I thought you said he didn't take one.
I said he didn't call.
When the cruiser picked him up, they drove off.
You didn't get the number of the cab, did you?
Look, a guy woke me up at four o'clock in the morning,
came in here, wanted to start a beef.
I finally got rid of him.
I'm a nine to six boy.
I haven't got time to stand around windows
and get cab numbers for you cops.
I went back to sleep.
Fine, that's when anything comes up,
give us a call, will you?
Yeah, sure.
Take this guy away.
Mm-hmm.
Oh, look, I'm sorry if I sounded off,
just that I don't want to get mixed up in it.
You can understand that, can't you?
Sure.
No hard feelings, eh?
No.
I'll be honest with you.
I didn't like Rustad.
I didn't like him an inch, but I didn't hate him.
Not enough to kill him.
Somebody did.
We contacted the cab company again
and asked them to check the way bills
from Nestler's address.
They came up with one trip on Tuesday morning.
The dispatcher gave us the driver's name
and told us where we could find him.
Yeah, I remember the guy.
Looked like he had a beef with somebody,
you know, a real cut up.
Mm-hmm.
Where'd you take him?
Let me think.
It was a hotel downtown.
Remember the name?
I dropped him off at the corner of Margo.
He went into a hotel there.
See now.
The Royal Arms, I think it was.
Yeah, yeah, that's the place.
All right, thanks a lot.
I'm glad to help out.
Say, this fella,
he the same one who was killed yesterday?
That's right.
I wish I'd seen a lot of him.
Newspapers, television, a lot of him.
Always works that way, don't it?
What do you mean?
After you're dead, you're famous.
Mm-hmm.
When it's too late to enjoy it.
Frank and I drove down to the Royal Arms Hotel.
We talked with a clerk who had been on duty Tuesday morning.
He remembered a man answering the victim's description
and told us he'd inquired about a guest named Wallace Alney.
Because of Ruth's dad's insistence,
the clerk had put through a call to Alney,
and the guest said to let the victim come upstairs.
He went on to say that about 30 minutes later,
both men had left the hotel together.
9.40 p.m.
We went up to Wallace Alney's room.
Here it is, John.
Come on.
Yeah, it's me.
Yeah?
Wallace Alney?
Yes, sir?
Please talk to me.
I'd like to talk to you.
Sure, come on in.
This is Frank Smith.
My name's Friday.
Hi.
Hi, sir.
That's all right.
Like a drink?
I'm just going to fix myself one.
No, thanks.
I'd like a drink before dinner.
Sharpens up the old appetite.
Yeah.
Mind if we look around?
No, go ahead.
Do you look for anything special?
I might be able to help.
No, it's all right.
All right, text me a plaza.
Well, maybe you'd better have some of this
if this is all about, huh?
You know a man named Tom Roostad?
A little zeal.
Why?
You know him?
Yeah, I met him.
I'm just playing a joke.
I don't know much about him.
Now, what about Roostad?
When did you see him last?
I don't know.
A few days ago.
Want to pin it down for us?
Monday.
Yeah, Monday.
That's the last time you saw him?
Yeah, we had a couple of drinks in the bar at the corner.
I haven't seen him since.
We got two people who say you did.
All right.
Yeah.
Well, then go talk to them.
Leave me alone.
You ever been arrested?
Why?
Have you?
Yeah.
What be?
I don't think I'm going to answer that.
You don't have to.
We'll find out.
Well, I'm going to go.
I'll see you later.
Bye.
B-bye.
Bye.
Michael.
Where are you from?
All around.
Name a city?
Francois Vegas, KC, all around.
How about Reno?
Yeah, I've been through.
Oh, you meant Roostad?
Look, uh.
What do you guys ask?
You got the answer to that one I've saved some time.
I've got a lot of time.
Go away.
Let's be honest with each other, huh?
Go ahead.
Why don't you guys lay out what you got and I'll tell you how close you are.
Can they count as silly women?
Why?
Like playing checkers with yourself.
Nothing I can do then.
How about the closet?
Look, you make a pinch, I got no choice.
If you're wrong, I'll own City Hall.
I don't think we are.
Then be my guest.
All right, you're under arrest.
Charge?
For suspicion of murder.
I'll take the closet.
Save it in trouble.
I killed him.
A search of the closet turned up a driver's license and other identification for Thomas Rosell.
They also found a.25 caliber gun, $2,700 in cash, and a quantity of heroin.
The suspect was taking to City Hall for questioning.
They ran his name through R&I and found that he had several arrests in the state of California for violation of the state narcotics act.
12, 16 a.m. We got the full story.
We were in business up north.
Reno?
Yeah, we made a lucky buy.
He came down here to sell it.
I gave him some connections where he could dump it.
Go ahead.
He's been down here a couple days.
He sent a wire telling me the merchandise wasn't moving.
I knew it was a lie.
Right away I knew it.
Good stuff like that would have to be a market.
And I got the word.
What do you mean?
A friend of mine, he called, told me about Tom and his Marsha doll, how they were running around.
This guy told me Tom was going great with the 8.
Said he dropped about seven grand of it already.
Sure, as soon as I heard that I got on my horse and made it down here.
What happened?
Couldn't find out where he was staying.
Didn't have a trace.
What about the motel?
Well, I didn't know about that.
As far as I knew, he was supposed to be here.
That's the way we arranged it.
Yeah.
I sent out word I wanted to see him for him to get in touch right away.
He did.
Tried to give me the same line about how he couldn't sell it.
What's the market for it?
I told him we better call the whole deal off.
He gave me the stuff back, we called the whole deal off.
Yeah.
Took some talk and then we headed for his place.
That's the motel?
Yeah.
How'd you get there?
My car.
What happened there?
When I saw how much he had left, I told him he was lying.
I called him a dirty thief and we had a fight.
Nice shot.
All right.
You're willing to give us a statement?
Sure.
Why not?
I'll get the snide.
This wife know you?
I guess so.
That's too bad.
I know her.
She's a real nice kid.
She's really in love with that town.
I guess she did it pretty hard.
I wouldn't know.
I don't know on her she would.
Nice kid like that and he's running around with another broad.
Boy, he was a real nice kid.
He was a real nice kid.
The way she loved him and doing a thing like that there.
Why don't you take another look?
What?
What did you do to her?
The story you've just heard is true.
The names were changed to protect the innocent.
On November 19th, trial was held in Department 99, Superior Court of the State of California
in and for the County of Los Angeles.
In a moment, the results of that trial.
Wallace Hamilton, old name, was tried and convicted of murder in the second degree and
received sentence as prescribed by law.
Murder in the second degree is punishable by imprisonment for a period of from five
years to life in the state penitentiary.
You have just heard the story of the man who was killed in the state penitentiary.
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 Frasier.
Heard tonight were Ben Alexander, Dick Perrin, Helen Cleaves, Lillian Bios, Stacey Harris.
Scripts by John Robinson, music by Walter Schuman.
Hell, give me speaking.
Watch an entirely different Dragnet case this week on your local NBC television station.
Please check your newspapers for the day and time.
Chesterfield has brought you Dragnet, transcribed from Los Angeles.