WEBVTT 00:00.000 --> 00:04.000 Los Angeles, NBC brings you Dragnet. 00:04.000 --> 00:07.000 ["Dragnet Theme"] 00:11.000 --> 00:15.000 Ladies and gentlemen, the story you are about to hear is true. 00:15.000 --> 00:18.000 The names have been changed to protect the innocent. 00:18.000 --> 00:21.000 ["Dragnet Theme"] 00:21.000 --> 00:24.000 ["Dragnet Theme"] 00:27.000 --> 00:31.000 You're a detective sergeant. You're assigned to robbery detail. 00:31.000 --> 00:34.000 You get a call that a large market has been held up. 00:34.000 --> 00:37.000 You have a good description of the thief. 00:37.000 --> 00:39.000 Your job, get him. 00:39.000 --> 00:42.000 ["Dragnet Theme"] 00:42.000 --> 00:45.000 ["Dragnet Theme"] 00:48.000 --> 00:52.000 Dragnet, the documented drama of an actual crime. 00:52.000 --> 00:56.000 For the next 30 minutes, in cooperation with the Los Angeles Police Department, 00:56.000 --> 00:59.000 you will travel step by step on the side of the law 00:59.000 --> 01:03.000 through an actual case transcribed from official police files. 01:03.000 --> 01:06.000 From beginning to end, from crime to punishment, 01:06.000 --> 01:09.000 Dragnet is the story of your police force in action. 01:09.000 --> 01:12.000 ["Dragnet Theme"] 01:14.000 --> 01:17.000 It was Monday, March 10th. It was raining in Los Angeles. 01:17.000 --> 01:19.000 We were working the day watch out of robbery detail. 01:19.000 --> 01:21.000 My partner is Frank Smith. The boss is Captain Didion. 01:21.000 --> 01:23.000 My name's Friday. 01:23.000 --> 01:26.000 I was on my way into the office and it was 8.02 a.m. when I got to room 27A. 01:26.000 --> 01:28.000 Robbery. 01:28.000 --> 01:30.000 So? 01:30.000 --> 01:32.000 Yeah, Frank. 01:32.000 --> 01:34.000 Really coming down, isn't it? 01:34.000 --> 01:36.000 Yeah, pouring out in the valley. 01:36.000 --> 01:37.000 That so? 01:37.000 --> 01:40.000 Yeah. Keeps coming down like this, going to cause a lot of trouble. 01:40.000 --> 01:41.000 Sure makes the day, man. 01:41.000 --> 01:42.000 Yeah, how's that? 01:42.000 --> 01:45.000 When it gets raining like this and she begins to think about the house, 01:45.000 --> 01:48.000 you know, doing something about it, changing stuff around. 01:48.000 --> 01:49.000 Is that so? 01:49.000 --> 01:51.000 Spent the whole day yesterday moving furniture. 01:51.000 --> 01:53.000 Finally got it all set just before dinner. 01:53.000 --> 01:54.000 Looks pretty good, too. 01:54.000 --> 01:55.000 What happened? 01:55.000 --> 01:58.000 Well, we got through dinner and all went in to look at television. 01:58.000 --> 01:59.000 Yeah. 01:59.000 --> 02:02.000 The way she had the furniture, none of us could see a thing. 02:02.000 --> 02:06.000 The chairs were either so close you couldn't see or else they rolled way across the room. 02:06.000 --> 02:08.000 Well, you're not supposed to get too close, are you, anyway? 02:08.000 --> 02:10.000 Yeah, but, Joe, we only got a 10-inch screen. 02:10.000 --> 02:13.000 We got one of those big magnifiers on it, and if you get to one side, 02:13.000 --> 02:15.000 everybody looks like they got the month. 02:15.000 --> 02:18.000 Had to move all the stuff back the way it was. 02:18.000 --> 02:23.000 So, hot shot, I'll get it. 02:23.000 --> 02:25.000 All right, get your coat. We got one to roll on. 02:25.000 --> 02:26.000 What is it? 02:26.000 --> 02:31.000 Liquor store robbery. 02:31.000 --> 02:33.000 812 a.m. We arrived at the scene of the holdup. 02:33.000 --> 02:37.000 It was a large liquor grocery store at the corner of San Marino Avenue and 6th Street. 02:37.000 --> 02:39.000 A radio unit was already there. 02:39.000 --> 02:42.000 Frank and I checked with them, and then we talked with the victim, a Mr. Henry Alden. 02:42.000 --> 02:44.000 I was just standing there at the counter. 02:44.000 --> 02:47.000 This old guy came in, pulled a gun, told me he wanted the money. 02:47.000 --> 02:48.000 I gave it to him. 02:48.000 --> 02:50.000 Uh-huh. He said on the phone that he was elderly. Is that right? 02:50.000 --> 02:53.000 Yeah, old guy. Must have been about 65 or 70. 02:53.000 --> 02:54.000 Real bum. 02:54.000 --> 02:55.000 How do you mean? 02:55.000 --> 02:58.000 Oh, he was dressed, you know, old clothes, real seedy. 02:58.000 --> 02:59.000 Uh-huh. 02:59.000 --> 03:00.000 Why don't you tell us just what happened? 03:00.000 --> 03:03.000 Well, sure. It was about 8 this morning. 03:03.000 --> 03:06.000 I opened up, and I was there making out the deposit slip for the bank. 03:06.000 --> 03:09.000 Guy walked in the back door and pulled his gun, told me he wanted the money. 03:09.000 --> 03:10.000 Uh-huh. 03:10.000 --> 03:12.000 Well, like I said, I gave it to him. 03:12.000 --> 03:16.000 He told me to get into the closet back there, tell me to lie down on the floor. 03:16.000 --> 03:19.000 I did, and he had that gun pointed right at my head. 03:19.000 --> 03:20.000 I did like he told me. 03:20.000 --> 03:21.000 I see. What happened then? 03:21.000 --> 03:26.000 Well, he walked over to the door and flipped the lock on her a couple of times, you know, to make sure it worked. 03:26.000 --> 03:27.000 Yeah. 03:27.000 --> 03:31.000 And then he figured it was okay, and he told me not to make any noise for five minutes. 03:31.000 --> 03:32.000 He locked the door. 03:32.000 --> 03:34.000 Well, that's it. Took all the money. 03:34.000 --> 03:35.000 How much money did he take, would you know? 03:35.000 --> 03:38.000 Yeah, to the penny. I just finished adding it up, just a minute. 03:38.000 --> 03:40.000 All right. 03:40.000 --> 03:43.000 I got the figures on the machine. Tell you right away. 03:49.000 --> 03:54.000 That is $5,200.52. That's it exactly. 03:54.000 --> 03:56.000 You said the guy came in the back door, then, right? 03:56.000 --> 03:57.000 Yeah, that's right. 03:57.000 --> 03:59.000 Well, were you open? I mean, was the door open for business? 03:59.000 --> 04:02.000 No, we weren't. You see, I usually don't open before 8.30. 04:02.000 --> 04:05.000 Leave the back door open, though, for deliveries, bread and milk, stuff like that. 04:05.000 --> 04:07.000 Uh-huh. What if you could give us a description of the man? 04:07.000 --> 04:09.000 Well, sure. Like I said, he was old. 04:09.000 --> 04:12.000 Say, around 70, not in there. 04:12.000 --> 04:13.000 Uh-huh. About how tall was he? 04:13.000 --> 04:17.000 I'd say maybe five-seven, not much more than that. 04:17.000 --> 04:18.000 How much did he weigh, would you know? 04:18.000 --> 04:21.000 Not much. Maybe 125. 04:21.000 --> 04:22.000 How about his complexion? 04:22.000 --> 04:25.000 Real tan, like he'd be on the sun a lot. Face was all wrinkled. 04:25.000 --> 04:26.000 How about the color of his eyes? 04:26.000 --> 04:28.000 Blue, real blue. 04:28.000 --> 04:30.000 Uh-huh. Now, what about his clothes? 04:30.000 --> 04:36.000 They were real bummed. Had on this old overcoat, brown, all frayed, ragged around the sleeves. 04:36.000 --> 04:41.000 Had a patch on the right elbow. Patch looked like it was kind of dark, surge material. 04:41.000 --> 04:42.000 Was he wearing a hat? 04:42.000 --> 04:45.000 Yeah, yeah, blue, all beat up. You could see the dirt around the brim. 04:45.000 --> 04:47.000 Uh-huh. How about his shirt and trousers? 04:47.000 --> 04:51.000 Blue striped shirt and old kind of brown pants, no press. 04:51.000 --> 04:55.000 Looked like he was getting ready to jump in, a real seedy. 04:55.000 --> 04:56.000 Did he wear glasses? 04:56.000 --> 04:58.000 No, no, he didn't. 04:58.000 --> 05:00.000 Was he clean shaven or did he wear a mustache? 05:00.000 --> 05:03.000 How about a four or five day old growth of beard, white. 05:03.000 --> 05:06.000 I see. Did he have any marked scars that you could see? 05:06.000 --> 05:09.000 No, nothing like that. At least not that I could see. 05:09.000 --> 05:12.000 How about the gun? Was it a revolver, an automatic? 05:12.000 --> 05:16.000 Well, it looked like an automatic. Might have been a.45. I didn't look too close at that. 05:16.000 --> 05:19.000 Yeah. Did he have any sort of an accent when he talked to you? 05:19.000 --> 05:21.000 No, no, nothing like that. 05:21.000 --> 05:24.000 All right, Mr. Alden. I'll get the description out. 05:24.000 --> 05:25.000 Right, right, right. 05:25.000 --> 05:28.000 Mr. Alden, did the man say anything to you that might help identify him? 05:28.000 --> 05:33.000 No, not that I can think of. He kept telling me he was real sorry he had to do this. 05:33.000 --> 05:36.000 That I'm really sorry, but I have to have the money, I have to. 05:36.000 --> 05:39.000 Kept asking me if I understood. I told him no. 05:39.000 --> 05:41.000 He said that someday I would. 05:41.000 --> 05:44.000 Real weird. Kept apologizing while he robbed me. 05:44.000 --> 05:46.000 I see. You're the owner here, are you? 05:46.000 --> 05:51.000 No, no, I'm just a manager. The owner's Mr. Wood. He's going to be real mad when he hears about this. 05:51.000 --> 05:53.000 Second time in three months we've been held up. 05:53.000 --> 05:57.000 Getting a little tired. Couple more times the insurance company isn't going to stand for it. 05:57.000 --> 06:00.000 That's it. Do you usually have that much money in the store? 06:00.000 --> 06:04.000 Most of the weekends, yeah. You see, a lot of our stuff is pretty expensive. 06:04.000 --> 06:07.000 This is about the only store in the neighborhood that's open over Sunday. 06:07.000 --> 06:11.000 We get a lot of trade. Weekend business usually runs between three and five thousand. 06:11.000 --> 06:14.000 By how many employees are there in the store? 06:14.000 --> 06:18.000 Three, all two. We stay open until two thirty in the morning. 06:18.000 --> 06:23.000 I come in in the morning and work until noon. Hank comes in and there's two of us until six. 06:23.000 --> 06:25.000 And John comes in and he works on through. 06:25.000 --> 06:28.000 Once in a while Mr. Wood comes in himself and we get busy. 06:28.000 --> 06:30.000 What if I could have their name in the business? 06:30.000 --> 06:33.000 Sure. They weren't involved there, I'm sure of that. 06:33.000 --> 06:35.000 So we have to check them out anyway, Mr. Alden? 06:35.000 --> 06:40.000 Yeah, I suppose so. But I tell you, he knew what he was doing, the way he moved. 06:40.000 --> 06:44.000 The way he knew just when to come in. This fellow's done that sort of thing before. 06:44.000 --> 06:47.000 Trying to say he was sorry about taking the money. He wasn't fooling anybody. 06:47.000 --> 06:50.000 I tell you, not at all. Real bum, seedy, you know? 06:50.000 --> 06:51.000 Yes, sir. 06:51.000 --> 06:55.000 All that baloney about how he had to have the money wasn't any other way. 06:55.000 --> 06:57.000 He wasn't sorry, not at all. 06:57.000 --> 06:59.000 Yeah, well, he probably will be. 07:03.000 --> 07:06.000 Nine thirty a.m. Frank and I started the canvas of the immediate vicinity. 07:06.000 --> 07:10.000 None of the store owners in the area had seen anyone answering the description of the holdup man. 07:10.000 --> 07:13.000 None of them had seen any suspicious cars in the area. 07:13.000 --> 07:17.000 We asked the liquor store manager to go with us to the city hall to look at the mug books. 07:17.000 --> 07:20.000 We called the store owner and when he arrived we drove downtown. 07:20.000 --> 07:24.000 The victim went through the mug books on known holdup men but failed to make an identification. 07:24.000 --> 07:27.000 A local and an APB were gotten out on the suspect. 07:27.000 --> 07:32.000 We asked the stats office to make a run on the MOUs and they came back with fourteen possible. 07:32.000 --> 07:36.000 It took us two days to check them out. They led us nowhere. 07:36.000 --> 07:40.000 The papers caught on to the story and letters began to pour in with advice and tips. 07:40.000 --> 07:42.000 On Monday, March seventeenth, the full week after the robbery, 07:42.000 --> 07:45.000 Frank and I had lunch and checked back into the office. 07:45.000 --> 07:47.000 See the afternoon papers, Joe? 07:47.000 --> 07:48.000 Yeah, pretty funny, huh? 07:48.000 --> 07:50.000 Yeah, they're taking up the story. 07:50.000 --> 07:53.000 Everybody got a different idea of who the old guy is and why he did it. 07:53.000 --> 07:55.000 Have you read some of the stories? 07:55.000 --> 07:59.000 Yeah, sure. The only thing is a lot of people seem to think the old guy is a real Robin Hood. 07:59.000 --> 08:02.000 Well, that's all right but they forget to be walking that store with a gun. 08:02.000 --> 08:05.000 Wasn't anybody to say that he wouldn't have pulled the trigger if somebody got in his way? 08:05.000 --> 08:08.000 Yeah, should be glad when we get him and find out what it's all about. 08:08.000 --> 08:10.000 I get it. 08:11.000 --> 08:13.000 I'll be fighting. 08:13.000 --> 08:14.000 Yes, ma'am, it is. 08:14.000 --> 08:16.000 No, ma'am. 08:16.000 --> 08:18.000 No, ma'am, we haven't caught him yet. 08:18.000 --> 08:20.000 What was that? 08:20.000 --> 08:22.000 Yes, ma'am, uh-huh. 08:22.000 --> 08:24.000 Would you give me that address again? 08:24.000 --> 08:25.000 Yes, I have it. 08:25.000 --> 08:26.000 Yes, ma'am. 08:26.000 --> 08:28.000 All right, thank you. 08:28.000 --> 08:29.000 Uh, there's another one. 08:29.000 --> 08:30.000 What's that? 08:30.000 --> 08:32.000 Landlady runs a place out on 9th Street. 08:32.000 --> 08:34.000 Says she's got a tenant that she's sure the old fellow we're looking for. 08:34.000 --> 08:35.000 How come? 08:35.000 --> 08:37.000 Says all the old guy does is stay up in his room. 08:37.000 --> 08:39.000 The other day the landlady's daughter went upstairs for something. 08:39.000 --> 08:43.000 Tenant chased her down the stairs, yelling at her to stay away from his room, all that sort of thing. 08:43.000 --> 08:47.000 He was tired of people not respecting his rights, the rights of an old man, something like that. 08:47.000 --> 08:50.000 I couldn't get her all the phone description she gave him pretty much matches the one we got. 08:50.000 --> 08:51.000 What do you figure? 08:51.000 --> 08:53.000 Well, we got no choice. We'll check it out. 08:53.000 --> 08:56.000 One fifty-eight p.m. Frank and I got to the rooming house on 9th Street. 08:56.000 --> 08:58.000 It was a large four-story building. 08:58.000 --> 09:01.000 We talked to the landlady and she gave us what information she could. 09:01.000 --> 09:03.000 She told us that the tenant's name was Roger Dietrich. 09:03.000 --> 09:06.000 She told us that he'd lived in the building for the past eight years. 09:06.000 --> 09:10.000 She went on to tell us that he had some sort of a private income and that he rarely left his room. 09:10.000 --> 09:16.000 The landlady explained that earlier the same morning her eleven-year-old daughter had gone to the attic to get some old newspapers 09:16.000 --> 09:18.000 and that on the way she'd run into Mr. Dietrich. 09:18.000 --> 09:21.000 The tenant had yelled at her and told her that her daughter had run into Mr. Dietrich. 09:21.000 --> 09:26.000 The tenant had yelled at her and told her that as long as he was paying rent on the room, he wouldn't have anybody snooping around. 09:26.000 --> 09:31.000 We checked and found that he got no mail except the single letter a month with the income check. 09:31.000 --> 09:34.000 Two thirty p.m. Frank and I went up to the fourth floor and knocked at the door. 09:34.000 --> 09:38.000 I want to try it again. 09:38.000 --> 09:39.000 Yeah. 09:41.000 --> 09:42.000 Go away! 09:44.000 --> 09:46.000 I don't want any! Go away! 09:46.000 --> 09:47.000 Mr. Dietrich? 09:47.000 --> 09:48.000 Who is it? 09:48.000 --> 09:50.000 Police officers. We'd like to talk to you. 09:50.000 --> 09:52.000 Oh, just a minute. 10:00.000 --> 10:01.000 Who'd you say you were? 10:01.000 --> 10:03.000 Police officers. We'd like to talk to you. 10:03.000 --> 10:04.000 What's your name? 10:04.000 --> 10:07.000 My name's Friday. This is my partner, Frank Smith. 10:07.000 --> 10:11.000 Uh-huh. I guess it's all right. Come here. 10:11.000 --> 10:12.000 Thank you. 10:14.000 --> 10:17.000 Well, you got to come out that thing this morning, huh? 10:17.000 --> 10:18.000 Sir? 10:18.000 --> 10:22.000 Why, you don't have to play cage with me. I know that she called you the old busybody. 10:22.000 --> 10:26.000 That bad kid of hers is just like her. He's always snooping. 10:26.000 --> 10:32.000 Well, there wasn't anything to it. The kid come up here, was snooping around, trying to find out what I was doing. 10:32.000 --> 10:33.000 I'm not ready yet. 10:33.000 --> 10:35.000 What do you mean, you're not ready? 10:35.000 --> 10:39.000 No. The book's not finished yet. It will be in another year. 10:39.000 --> 10:43.000 And the whole world will see it. Maybe men their ways. 10:43.000 --> 10:46.000 Give them some hope to avoid what's coming. 10:46.000 --> 10:47.000 Well, sir, that's not why we're here. 10:47.000 --> 10:52.000 Don't lie to me. I know all about you. I know that you'd be around. You're trying to stop me. 10:52.000 --> 10:55.000 I knew it. I knew it all the time. 10:55.000 --> 10:58.000 You see that stack of magazines over there? 10:58.000 --> 10:59.000 Yeah. 10:59.000 --> 11:05.000 Every copy of Life magazine ever printed, right for free. I'd be attracted to it. I use it for research. 11:05.000 --> 11:07.000 Well, I don't quite understand it, do you think? 11:07.000 --> 11:08.000 That's from my book. 11:08.000 --> 11:09.000 Oh, yeah. 11:09.000 --> 11:14.000 It's going to be in five volumes called The Eagles of the Machine Age and its Effect on Mankind. 11:14.000 --> 11:17.000 Five volumes. That's five volumes. Got the first four finished. 11:17.000 --> 11:20.000 Working on the last one now. That's how I knew you were coming. 11:20.000 --> 11:23.000 I worked it out on the chart. 11:23.000 --> 11:27.000 Well, we'd like to talk to you about what you were doing a week ago, sir. 11:27.000 --> 11:29.000 Oh, you were? Oh, well. 11:29.000 --> 11:34.000 Well, yes, I did get on that. I knew it should be checking me. I knew it. I saw it in the chart. 11:34.000 --> 11:36.000 I'm getting close now. 11:36.000 --> 11:40.000 Well, it's going to sit up and take notice. Sit right up. 11:40.000 --> 11:41.000 Yes, sir. 11:41.000 --> 11:42.000 Did you go out last Monday? 11:42.000 --> 11:47.000 Monday? Last? Yes, yes. I went out to get some supplies. I got them to come right back. 11:47.000 --> 11:49.000 Would you tell us what time of day that was? 11:49.000 --> 11:51.000 All night, sir. I always go out at night. 11:51.000 --> 11:54.000 Yes, sir. Where'd you get these, what are they, supplies? 11:54.000 --> 11:59.000 Well, that's a little place down the street. I always buy things there. Very nice, very nice. 11:59.000 --> 12:03.000 Yes, sir. And the man down there would be able to tell us if you were there, wouldn't he? 12:03.000 --> 12:08.000 Oh, sure, yes. He and me had a talk about my book. I was really interested. 12:08.000 --> 12:14.000 Really interested. We talk all the time. I just finished volume four, you know, about what's going to happen. 12:14.000 --> 12:19.000 The machine is allowed to continue. It's going to be terrible. 12:19.000 --> 12:20.000 I'll make you a pint. 12:20.000 --> 12:28.000 The way the world's going, all these atom bombs, now the hydrogen bombs, going to blow the world right away. 12:28.000 --> 12:32.000 Even if they stop there, things aren't going to be the same. They're all going to be different. 12:32.000 --> 12:33.000 They're right. 12:33.000 --> 12:39.000 You just betcha. You know what kids are going to look like a thousand years from now? 12:39.000 --> 12:42.000 Well, I imagine pretty much the same way they do now, huh? 12:42.000 --> 12:46.000 Yes, sir. And I just, where you're wrong, take a picture right here. 12:46.000 --> 12:53.000 That's volume four, you know, volume four. I'll get it. 12:53.000 --> 12:57.000 There you are. See? I'll do it up myself. 12:57.000 --> 13:00.000 Yeah. Well, what is it? 13:00.000 --> 13:04.000 Well, you see, that's the way we're all going to look. You see that? 13:04.000 --> 13:05.000 Yes. 13:05.000 --> 13:11.000 That large head, tall brain, little bitty legs. 13:11.000 --> 13:16.000 That's from the week we won't be doing any walking, you see, just riding all the time. 13:16.000 --> 13:23.000 One great big eye right in the middle of the head, and the right arm fit only for eating breakfast food that makes noise, 13:23.000 --> 13:25.000 and turning on the television sets, see? 13:25.000 --> 13:26.000 Uh-huh. 13:26.000 --> 13:31.000 Yes, sir. That's what the chart says we're going to look like if we all eat atom bombs. 13:31.000 --> 13:34.000 Yes, sir. I wonder if you'd mind coming downtown with us. 13:34.000 --> 13:35.000 In an automobile? 13:35.000 --> 13:36.000 Yes, sir. 13:36.000 --> 13:40.000 Well, I'm afraid not. You see, I don't breathe in them. They're not going to last, you see. 13:40.000 --> 13:43.000 Well, I'm sorry, Mr. D. Drake, but we have to ask you to go with us. 13:43.000 --> 13:44.000 Please, please, huh? 13:44.000 --> 13:45.000 Yes, sir. That's fine. 13:45.000 --> 13:50.000 Well, I don't like it, but I guess I've got no choice. That right? 13:50.000 --> 13:51.000 Yes, sir. That's fine. 13:51.000 --> 13:55.000 Well, all right. That way. I'd rather ride in an automobile. 13:55.000 --> 14:01.000 Won't be around long, you know. I'll just fade right out of existence. 14:01.000 --> 14:02.000 Is that right? 14:02.000 --> 14:05.000 Yeah. I think that's going to happen in my book. 14:05.000 --> 14:06.000 Uh-huh. 14:06.000 --> 14:07.000 Volume 5. 14:11.000 --> 14:17.000 3.01 p.m. We drove Roger Dietrich down to the city hall and checked him through R&I. We found no record on him. 14:17.000 --> 14:22.000 We got in touch with a holdup victim, Henry Alden, and asked him to come down to the city hall to see if he could identify the suspect. 14:22.000 --> 14:25.000 He got to the robbery squad room at 4.15 p.m. 14:25.000 --> 14:28.000 No, no, I'm sure of it. That's not the guy. 14:28.000 --> 14:31.000 Well, what's all this about anyway? What are you officers trying to do? 14:31.000 --> 14:34.000 Oh, it's all right, Mr. Dietrich. We're just conducting a routine investigation. It's all right now. 14:34.000 --> 14:35.000 Oh, it is, huh? 14:35.000 --> 14:37.000 Yes, sir. We can take you home now, if you like. 14:37.000 --> 14:38.000 In that police car? 14:38.000 --> 14:39.000 Yes, sir. 14:39.000 --> 14:41.000 Well, how about this fellow? Are you going, too? 14:41.000 --> 14:42.000 No, sir. 14:42.000 --> 14:45.000 Oh, well, GBRD just passed. 14:45.000 --> 14:51.000 Would you mind dropping me off at Person Square? I'd like to listen to a speech. 14:51.000 --> 14:54.000 A friend of mine's written it this afternoon. Brilliant, man. 14:54.000 --> 14:59.000 Oh, my. He's already written twelve books. All on odds. 14:59.000 --> 15:02.000 That's O-D-D-S, odds. 15:02.000 --> 15:06.000 Like, what are the chances of a comic falling on your house? 15:06.000 --> 15:11.000 Or, what are the chances of a certain horse winning the Kentucky Derby? 15:11.000 --> 15:13.000 All things like that. 15:13.000 --> 15:15.000 Brilliant, man. 15:15.000 --> 15:17.000 Yes, sir. He's dead and bulk. 15:17.000 --> 15:18.000 Is that right? 15:18.000 --> 15:22.000 Yep. Spends all his money on research. 15:22.000 --> 15:24.000 I got it. 15:24.000 --> 15:26.000 Probably Friday. 15:26.000 --> 15:27.000 Yeah, Barnes? 15:27.000 --> 15:28.000 Uh-huh. 15:28.000 --> 15:30.000 Yeah. When'd you pick him up? 15:30.000 --> 15:31.000 Yeah. 15:31.000 --> 15:33.000 All right. No, we'll be right over. 15:33.000 --> 15:34.000 Anything? 15:34.000 --> 15:37.000 Yeah. Barnes over at the main jail. Since they got a drunk over there, he's doing a lot of bragging. 15:37.000 --> 15:38.000 What about? 15:38.000 --> 15:40.000 Heist in the liquor store for fifty-two hundred dollars. 15:42.000 --> 15:47.000 Four thirty p.m. We had Roger Dietrich taken to his home, and then Frank and I went over to the main jail. 15:47.000 --> 15:49.000 We talked to Officer Phil Barnes. 15:49.000 --> 15:55.000 He told us that an Arnold Jefferson had been picked up and booked for L.A.M.C. 4127A on the previous day. 15:55.000 --> 15:59.000 Barnes went on to say that this was Jefferson's forty-second arrest on drunk charges. 15:59.000 --> 16:02.000 We had the suspect brought to the interview room, and we talked to him. 16:02.000 --> 16:05.000 All right, Jefferson. Now, what's all this about you holding up a liquor store? 16:05.000 --> 16:06.000 What do you know about it? 16:06.000 --> 16:08.000 You match the description of the man who committed the robbery. 16:08.000 --> 16:11.000 The clothes there that you're wearing are like the ones the victims described. 16:11.000 --> 16:14.000 Now, about it. You figure you can prove it without me telling you? 16:14.000 --> 16:16.000 Yeah. If Alden identifies you, we can. 16:16.000 --> 16:17.000 Alden? 16:17.000 --> 16:18.000 He's the man who was robbed. 16:18.000 --> 16:20.000 He's outside now. We want him to take a look at you. 16:22.000 --> 16:24.000 That won't be necessary. You got the right man. 16:25.000 --> 16:18.880 ["The 16:39.000 --> 16:43.000 We had the victim, Henry Alden, look at the suspect, Arnold Jefferson. 16:43.000 --> 16:46.000 He identified him positively as the man who had held up the liquor store. 16:46.000 --> 16:49.000 We took Jefferson back to the city hall and checked him through R.N.I. 16:49.000 --> 16:53.000 He had no felony record. Seven thirty p.m. We took him to the interrogation room." 16:53.000 --> 16:55.000 I knew you'd get me. I knew it all the time. 16:55.000 --> 16:56.000 Did I, Ryan? 16:56.000 --> 16:59.000 Sure. I knew it even before I held up the store. 16:59.000 --> 17:01.000 You know, I didn't really want to do it. 17:01.000 --> 17:04.000 You know, I really meant it when I told him I was sorry about doing it. 17:04.000 --> 17:05.000 It really meant it. 17:05.000 --> 17:06.000 Mm-hmm. 17:06.000 --> 17:08.000 Guess maybe you find that kind of hard to believe. 17:08.000 --> 17:10.000 Well, I suppose you tell us about it, huh? 17:10.000 --> 17:13.000 I guess the best way would be to start from the beginning, huh? 17:13.000 --> 17:14.000 Yeah. 17:14.000 --> 17:17.000 First thing you should understand is I think basically that I'm an honest man. 17:17.000 --> 17:21.000 All my life I've never cheated anyone or taken anything that didn't belong to me. 17:21.000 --> 17:24.000 I've tried to live pretty much by the golden rule. 17:24.000 --> 17:25.000 Yes, sir. 17:25.000 --> 17:29.000 Sometimes, maybe lots of times, it'd be a little hard to do, but I did my best. 17:29.000 --> 17:31.000 Yes, sir. Go ahead. 17:31.000 --> 17:35.000 I was born in the Middle West. Tiny little town. You've probably never heard of it. 17:35.000 --> 17:40.000 In dawn most of the map. Went school there through the eighth grade. 17:40.000 --> 17:42.000 Then I decided that I wanted to see the rest of the country. 17:42.000 --> 17:45.000 Worked my way through every one of the 48, every one of them. 17:45.000 --> 17:46.000 Uh-huh. 17:46.000 --> 17:48.000 Did a lot of things, met a lot of people. 17:48.000 --> 17:49.000 That's right. 17:49.000 --> 17:53.000 Well, all that time, all my life, I never did anything real big. 17:53.000 --> 17:56.000 Nothing that I could ever tell anybody about and be proud. 17:56.000 --> 17:57.000 Nothing to tell people about. 17:57.000 --> 17:58.000 Oh, good. 17:58.000 --> 18:03.000 I'm 72 years old now. It's a long time to live and never do anything big. 18:03.000 --> 18:05.000 A long time. 18:05.000 --> 18:10.000 Came downtown one day, sat in a plaza in the sun, met some really nice people. 18:10.000 --> 18:13.000 People like me, people without much reason. 18:13.000 --> 18:17.000 Got to coming down every day, sitting and talking, changing ideas. 18:17.000 --> 18:20.000 Found a lot of good friends. Most of them were alone. 18:20.000 --> 18:24.000 And I guess being alone made us members of the same club. 18:24.000 --> 18:27.000 Got to be a sort of a lodge. 17 of us. 18:27.000 --> 18:32.000 Used to meet, talk about things, the way the world was going, how things looked for the future, all things like that. 18:32.000 --> 18:33.000 Friends. 18:33.000 --> 18:34.000 Yeah, sick. 18:34.000 --> 18:36.000 How'd you get along all that time? How'd you live? 18:36.000 --> 18:40.000 Oh, I get a little pension from the state, enough to get along on. I don't need much. 18:40.000 --> 18:44.000 Well, one day I got to thinking about how I didn't really have anything big to remember. 18:44.000 --> 18:46.000 That's when I decided. 18:46.000 --> 18:47.000 You mean on the robbery? 18:47.000 --> 18:48.000 Yeah. 18:48.000 --> 18:52.000 Decided that if I could get my hands on a lot of money, a lot of it all at once, I could have something. 18:52.000 --> 18:53.000 Yeah? 18:53.000 --> 18:54.000 So I started to figure. 18:54.000 --> 18:57.000 First off, I had to figure out what kind of a store to rob. 18:57.000 --> 18:59.000 Had to be one where I could get enough money. 18:59.000 --> 19:01.000 Thought about it quite a while. 19:01.000 --> 19:03.000 When I had that figured, I picked up the store. 19:03.000 --> 19:07.000 And then I, uh, cased, is that right? 19:07.000 --> 19:08.000 Yeah, that's right. 19:08.000 --> 19:11.000 Well, I cased the store, figured how I'd do it. 19:11.000 --> 19:13.000 And I figured that I'd have to have a gun. 19:13.000 --> 19:14.000 Yeah. 19:14.000 --> 19:16.000 Got one of those little plastic ones. 19:16.000 --> 19:19.000 Bought the dime store, fixed it up a shoe black. 19:19.000 --> 19:21.000 Couldn't hurt anybody, just plastic. 19:21.000 --> 19:23.000 Looked real, but couldn't hurt anyone. 19:23.000 --> 19:25.000 Of course, the victim wouldn't know that, would he? 19:25.000 --> 19:27.000 Yeah, I thought considerable about that. 19:27.000 --> 19:29.000 Worried about it a lot. 19:29.000 --> 19:33.000 About how if there was any trouble, it'd make it hard with just a plastic gun. 19:33.000 --> 19:35.000 Oh, and not that I wanted to hurt anybody. 19:35.000 --> 19:36.000 I didn't. 19:36.000 --> 19:40.000 But I got to thinking, what would happen if somebody got scared and thought it was real? 19:40.000 --> 19:42.000 Could be trouble there. 19:42.000 --> 19:43.000 Mm-hmm. 19:43.000 --> 19:45.000 No, no, not before I'd go any further. 19:45.000 --> 19:48.000 I want you to know that right at this point, I knew I was doing wrong. 19:48.000 --> 19:49.000 I knew it. 19:49.000 --> 19:51.000 Knew that I'd have to go to jail for what I did. 19:51.000 --> 19:53.000 Knew it, and it didn't matter. 19:53.000 --> 19:54.000 Had to be that way. 19:54.000 --> 19:57.000 Well, now if you knew that, why'd you go ahead with the robbery? 19:57.000 --> 19:59.000 Wasn't any other way to get the money. 19:59.000 --> 20:01.000 At least none that I could think of. 20:01.000 --> 20:03.000 Believe me, I tried to think of one. 20:03.000 --> 20:04.000 All right, go ahead. 20:04.000 --> 20:08.000 And I held up the place, took the money, and then I made the man get in the closet. 20:08.000 --> 20:11.000 Did that so he wouldn't try to follow me. 20:11.000 --> 20:13.000 I was sorry about it. 20:13.000 --> 20:15.000 Tried to tell him, but I don't think he really believed it. 20:15.000 --> 20:17.000 Don't think he did. 20:17.000 --> 20:18.000 What'd you do then? 20:18.000 --> 20:19.000 I took a bus out to the airport. 20:19.000 --> 20:24.000 Thought about taking a cab, but then I figured that I'd want to save as much money as I could so I could have it later. 20:24.000 --> 20:25.000 Yeah. 20:25.000 --> 20:29.000 I inquired around out there at the airport and found a place where I could rent an airplane. 20:29.000 --> 20:32.000 I paid for it in advance so there wouldn't be any trouble. 20:32.000 --> 20:34.000 Hired it to go to San Francisco. 20:34.000 --> 20:36.000 Round trip, both ways. 20:36.000 --> 20:37.000 You hired an airplane? 20:37.000 --> 20:38.000 Yep. 20:38.000 --> 20:39.000 Big one. 20:39.000 --> 20:41.000 Carried 18 people. 20:41.000 --> 20:42.000 That's what I needed. 20:42.000 --> 20:46.000 Real comfortable seats, two mortars, had a girl paint on the front. 20:46.000 --> 20:48.000 From the wall, I guess. 20:48.000 --> 20:49.000 All right, go ahead. 20:49.000 --> 20:54.000 And I took the bus back to town, and I started walking around the plaza. 20:54.000 --> 20:57.000 I ended up with all 17 of my friends, a whole bunch of them. 20:57.000 --> 20:58.000 Talked to them all. 20:58.000 --> 21:02.000 Guys who had been nice to me, even if it wasn't anything I could do for them. 21:02.000 --> 21:06.000 Told them to meet me at First and Main, right by the fountain in front of City Hall that night. 21:06.000 --> 21:08.000 Told them that I was going to throw a party. 21:08.000 --> 21:10.000 A party they'd never forget. 21:10.000 --> 21:14.000 Well, we got together that night and took a cab out to the airport. 21:14.000 --> 21:16.000 Well, as a matter of fact, we took four cabs. 21:16.000 --> 21:19.000 Had to show the drivers that I had the money for the tickets. 21:19.000 --> 21:22.000 Guess they thought that he was going to try to get a free ride. 21:22.000 --> 21:24.000 But when I showed them the money, they drove it out. 21:24.000 --> 21:26.000 Gave them a good tip. 21:26.000 --> 21:27.000 Nice fellow. 21:27.000 --> 21:28.000 Mm-hmm. 21:28.000 --> 21:31.000 Got on the airplane and flew off to San Francisco. 21:31.000 --> 21:32.000 Wonderful. 21:32.000 --> 21:34.000 Got into the city and then we started. 21:34.000 --> 21:36.000 Really had a time. 21:36.000 --> 21:37.000 Lasted three days. 21:37.000 --> 21:40.000 Wasn't anything we didn't see, nothing we didn't do. 21:40.000 --> 21:41.000 Three days of it. 21:41.000 --> 21:42.000 Real living. 21:42.000 --> 21:44.000 Everything was on me. 21:44.000 --> 21:45.000 Paid for it all. 21:45.000 --> 21:48.000 Went to the best places, ate the best food, drank the finest wine. 21:48.000 --> 21:50.000 Really did. 21:50.000 --> 21:52.000 Where did you stay when you were in San Francisco? 21:52.000 --> 21:54.000 Hotel down on Howard. 21:54.000 --> 21:57.000 Not the richest in town, but real nice. 21:57.000 --> 21:58.000 Clean rooms. 21:58.000 --> 21:59.000 All right. Go ahead. 21:59.000 --> 22:04.000 Well, by the time that I thought we'd stayed long enough, we all got on the plane and come back. 22:04.000 --> 22:05.000 Cutting Wednesday morning. 22:05.000 --> 22:08.000 Took cabs downtown, then we all went to breakfast. 22:08.000 --> 22:10.000 Had a real whopper. 22:10.000 --> 22:12.000 Kind of a farewell to the whole party. 22:12.000 --> 22:16.000 After I settled up for the wake-up, I only had a dollar and seventy-five left. 22:16.000 --> 22:18.000 Gave it to her for a tip. 22:18.000 --> 22:20.000 Sure made her happy. 22:20.000 --> 22:22.000 I don't guess she makes much down there. 22:22.000 --> 22:23.000 Yeah. 22:23.000 --> 22:26.000 Well, does any of your friends know where you're getting the money for this party? 22:26.000 --> 22:31.000 Oh, no. You see, when I first got the idea, I told them that I had a real rich brother. 22:31.000 --> 22:36.000 Told them that he died and that I was his only relative, that all the money would get to me. 22:36.000 --> 22:39.000 I figured that I could sort of set things up for doing that. 22:39.000 --> 22:41.000 Seemed to work all right. None of them said anything. 22:41.000 --> 22:44.000 Uh-huh. You remember the man you chartered the airplane from? 22:44.000 --> 22:46.000 Oh, sure. A real nice fella. 22:46.000 --> 22:48.000 I got his card. I kept it. 22:48.000 --> 22:51.000 Started a souvenir. I can give it to you if you want it. 22:51.000 --> 22:54.000 Yeah, well, I'd like to have it. You ever done any big time? 22:54.000 --> 22:57.000 Me? Oh, no, no. No, just a grunker-esque. 22:57.000 --> 22:58.000 Lots of them. 22:58.000 --> 23:00.000 Yeah. 23:00.000 --> 23:05.000 Big thing about this is that I wish there was some way to keep the boys from finding out, so they wouldn't have to know. 23:05.000 --> 23:08.000 Of course, I know that I'm not going to see them again, but just the same. 23:08.000 --> 23:12.000 What are they going to think? How are they going to take this when they hear about it? 23:12.000 --> 23:16.000 I don't know. I sure was wrong. Really wrong. 23:16.000 --> 23:19.000 How long will they put me in jail for, you guys know? 23:19.000 --> 23:21.000 Well, it depends. 23:21.000 --> 23:22.000 Depends on what? 23:22.000 --> 23:23.000 What the court says. 23:23.000 --> 23:26.000 Oh. Still have to go to prison, though, huh? 23:26.000 --> 23:27.000 Yeah, I'm afraid so. 23:27.000 --> 23:28.000 Uh-huh. 23:28.000 --> 23:30.000 Well, I haven't got much left. 23:30.000 --> 23:33.000 Guess no matter what they say, it's going to be life for me. 23:33.000 --> 23:35.000 Well, they're not going to want us to decide that. 23:35.000 --> 23:38.000 Yes, I know. You guys have been real nice. 23:38.000 --> 23:40.000 In a way, I'm glad it's over. 23:40.000 --> 23:45.000 Like I said before, I knew you'd get me. I knew it all the time right from the beginning. 23:45.000 --> 23:50.000 Glad to figure out how it'd be when you did get me. What I'd say, how I'd act. 23:50.000 --> 23:54.000 Wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be. Not hard at all. 23:54.000 --> 23:55.000 One thing, though. 23:55.000 --> 23:56.000 Yeah, what's that? 23:56.000 --> 23:59.000 I kind of wish I hadn't done it. I really do. 23:59.000 --> 24:02.000 I keep thinking to my friends how they're going to take it. 24:02.000 --> 24:04.000 Now, you want to go? 24:04.000 --> 24:06.000 You want to take me back now, huh? 24:06.000 --> 24:07.000 Yeah, I'll bet we have to. 24:07.000 --> 24:09.000 Going to put me back in the tank? 24:09.000 --> 24:10.000 No, not this time. 24:10.000 --> 24:11.000 Upstairs? 24:11.000 --> 24:13.000 Yeah, upstairs. 24:13.000 --> 24:19.000 That means I'll have a sailor all to myself. Be nice. I'd like to be alone. 24:19.000 --> 24:21.000 All right. You all set Jefferson? 24:21.000 --> 24:26.000 Yeah. This way. 24:26.000 --> 24:30.000 Seventy-two years, nothing to show for it. Nothing. 24:30.000 --> 24:34.000 Only one thing I can really say I did with my life. 24:34.000 --> 24:35.000 What's that, Jefferson? 24:35.000 --> 25:01.000 Wasted 72 years. 25:01.000 --> 25:06.000 The story you have just heard was true. The names were changed to protect the innocent. 25:06.000 --> 25:11.000 On July 24th, trial was held in Department 89, Superior Court of the State of California, 25:11.000 --> 25:16.000 in and for the County of Los Angeles. In a moment, the results of that trial. 25:16.000 --> 25:28.000 Arnold Peter Jefferson was tried and found guilty of one count of robbery in the second degree. 25:28.000 --> 25:32.000 He was sentenced to the state penitentiary for the term as prescribed by law. 25:32.000 --> 25:37.000 Robbery in the second degree is punishable by imprisonment for a period of not less than one year. 25:37.000 --> 25:51.000 You have just heard Dragnet, a series of authentic cases from official files. 25:51.000 --> 25:56.000 Technical advice comes from the Office of Chief of Police, W.H. Parker, Los Angeles Police Department. 25:56.000 --> 26:01.000 Technical advisors, Captain Jack Donahoe, Sergeant Marty Wynn, Sergeant Vance Fisher. 26:01.000 --> 26:05.000 Heard tonight were Ben Alexander, Vic Brogman, Ralph Moody. 26:05.000 --> 26:11.000 Script by John Robinson. Music by Walter Schuman. Hal Gitney speaking. 26:11.000 --> 26:26.000 Transcribed from Los Angeles, Dragnet is an NBC Radio Network production.