 Ladies and gentlemen, for a more authentic presentation, portions of the program you were about to hear were actually recorded on the scene. The story you were about to hear is true. Only the names have been changed to protect the innocent. Fatima cigarettes, best of all long cigarettes, brings you drag net. You're a detective sergeant. You're assigned to robbery detail. A gang of holdup men have been running loose in your city. They've committed more than a dozen robberies. They're heavily armed, quick to shoot. Your job, stop them. If you want a long cigarette, smoke the best of all long cigarettes. Smoke Fatima. Fatima is the long cigarette which contains the finest Turkish and domestic tobaccos, superbly blended to make Fatima extra mild. And that's why Fatima has a much different, much better flavor and aroma than any other long cigarette. That's why Fatima is doubling and redoubling its smokers. So if you want a long cigarette, smoke the best of all long cigarettes. Smoke Fatima. Drag net, 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 from official police files. From beginning to end, from crime to punishment, drag net is the story of your police force in action. It was Saturday, July 21st. It was hot in Los Angeles. We were working the night watch out of robbery detail. My partner's Ben Romero. The boss is Thad Brown, chief of detectives. My name's Friday. I was on the way back from the record bureau and it was 6.55 p.m. when I got to room 27A. Robbery detail. Hi, Joey, you ready? Let's go. Where did I dump this top coat? It's too hot out tonight for that. Yeah, the rest of the guys take off already? Yeah, we better hustle. How many men are working this thing tonight? Must be at least 50. Covering every drug store in the South Central area. Which one do we draw? Naomi and South Alameda, wrecked pharmacy. Yeah. Parking lot across the street. We can cover the pharmacy from there. We better check out a Thompson from the business office first, huh? It's a good idea. We might as well be ready. Who got the tip? The gang was moving into the south end of town. Johnny Powers, one of his informants. Okay, here we are. Hey, boy, do you want to check out a Thompson for us? Thank you. Hey, might as well give us a shotgun while you're at it, Blair. Like a busy night for you fellas. Maybe. After the shotgun, too, Joe? Yeah, okay. Thompson, sub-machine gun, one shotgun. You got those serial numbers there, Blair? Yeah. Thompson 6-7-8-1-1. 6-7-8-1-1. Yeah. Shotgun 6-5-5-2-2-8. Uh-huh. 2-2-8. Okay. Signed, Friday. Serial number 22-88. Ben Romero. What's your serial number, Ben? 26-33. Oh, yeah. Nice. Ray-3. Six shells for the shotgun, 50 shells for the Thompson, okay? All right, I'll sign for him. Gang's pretty rough, I understand. Gun heavy. Yeah, that's what they tell us. Okay, here's the book. I'll sign. Okay. Here you go. Hope you don't have to clean them when we bring them back. We went down to the basement of the city hall, picked up our car, 80-K, and drove out to Naomi and South Alameda streets. We located the parking lot and pulled in. There were four other cars parked in the lot, so we wouldn't be conspicuous. Ben and I got in the back seat out of the light. From our vantage point, we had a clear view of the entrance to the Rex Pharmacy across the street. We had the shotgun and the sub-machine gun on the seat beside us. We listened to the calls coming in the radio, and we waited. It's interference. 13-J standby. There's no cooler here than Disney office. Yeah. Hot and sticky, huh? Yeah. Paper says it's going to be worse tomorrow. Rolled on your window. Will you get some air in here? Yeah. Pharmacy isn't doing much business. Not more than a dozen people in there in the last hour. No soda fountain again. Sure is hot. You have to talk about it, huh? It helps. What time you got? 10 minutes to 10. No smoke? No, thanks. I'll get it. That gang's going to show up here. Wish they'd get it over with. Powers might have got a bum tip. Well, the gang hasn't missed a weekend for two months. I wonder how much time the average cop's been waiting. I don't know. Put it all together to make a fine vacation. What do we do? Sit this out till the pharmacy closes? Yeah, 2 a.m. It was hot. Yeah. Midnight came and passed. The traffic on South Alameda thinned out. Only an occasional customer entered the pharmacy across the street. Ben kept complaining about the heat. We waited. Well, that's it, Joe. Air go the lights. Drug store's closed. Yeah, guy's locking the doors. There he goes. We might as well shove off, too. Yeah, let's get in the front seat. There's not much go for this shotgun tonight. No use checking it in. Same duty tomorrow night. Attention all units. All units in the vicinity of 8th Hill on the partner of Hill and Geneva Alley, the 2-11 and shooting code 3. Hit the light. Yeah, come on, let's roll. Sunday, July 22nd, 2.15 a.m. Ben and I pulled up at the Merchant Security Trust Company on the corner of South Hill in Geneva Alley. Two patrol cars were already on the scene and four uniformed officers were trying to keep back a crowd of people who had gathered at the top of a flight of marble stairs which led off the street down one flight to the bank's night depository. At the bottom of the stairs, an elderly man was sprawled out face down, his right arm twisted under him. The man was dead. Ben counted five bullet wounds in the victim's back. We interviewed the only witness, a young sailor. My name's Vasey, Sergeant. Don Vasey, quartermaster of second class. Here's my ID card. You saw the shooting, Vasey? I was about a half a block away. I just came out of the bar down the street there, the top hat. Had a couple of beers. Then I left and I started walking back to the hotel. When was that? About five after two. Go on. Well, before I got to the corner, I saw this man ahead of me. He crossed the street and headed over for the bank. Then this car pulled up and some guys got out. They ran over to the man and it looked like they were frisking him. All of a sudden, I heard shots. The man ran for the stairs here and it looked like he stumbled and fell. A bunch of guys jumped back in the car and drove away. What'd you do then? I ran up to see what I could do for the old man. He was lying down there where he is now. Nothing I could do for him. I yelled for a cop. Did you get a look at the man in that car? No, I just saw him from a distance. Four of them, maybe five. What about the car? Did you see the license number? The last couple of numbers, that's all. Six, nine, nine. Couldn't see the rest. What was it, a coupe or a sedan? A sedan, maroon color. It was a Pontiac, either 1940 or 41. Are you sure about that? I used to own one back in Delaware, 1940 model. I sold it to my brother when I went in the Navy. I'm sure all right. And you're sure about the number of men in the car? Oh, yes, sir, four or five, no more. I see, thanks. Well, would you drive back to the office with us and give us a full statement? Sure, Sergeant, anything you say. You've been waiting in the car, Vasey. We won't be long. Sure. What do you think? No, I don't know. Drug store gang? Said there were four guys. Could be. No description. Maroon car. Three numbers off the license plate. Pretty thin. Yeah, looks like a hard summer. We completed our preliminary investigation. The coroner arrived and the body was taken to the county morgue in the basement of the Hall of Justice. The victim was identified as Walter Conroy, the proprietor of the Flowerland Dance Hall on South Hill Street. Together with officers Fremont and Hearst from Homicide, Ben and I spent most of Sunday tracking down employees of the dance hall and interviewing them. We sent a rush teletype to the Department of Motor Vehicles and Sacramento containing the partial license number plus our scanned information on the car which the suspects drove. Early Monday afternoon, Ben and I along with Captain Ed Walker of Robbery Detail met with Chief of Detective Stad Brown. What kind of a motive are you working on? Robbery. A dance hall manager Conroy was on his way to the bank's night depository when this bunch caught up with him. He had the night's receipts with him from the dance hall. How much did they get, Walker? Uh, $350. They missed over a thousand Conroy had in an inside pocket. No idea who pulled the sticker. Could have been that drugstore gang. Why them? Well, they haven't missed working a weekend night for two months. There's no sign of any other job that they might have pulled Saturday. Just a hunch, Chief. Nothing to go on. We'll have to guess our way for a while. Sacramento checking the description of the car. The number's off the license plate. Yeah, ought to have an answer this afternoon. Any leads on the drugstore gang at all. Plenty. None of them good. Suspects are loaded down with guns. That's all we know. Excuse me. Brown speaking. And I just a minute. Friday's for you. Okay, thanks. We'll reach over here. Friday. Yeah, Ralph. How many? Yeah. Okay, thank you. All right, got an answer from DMV Sacramento about the holdup car. What'd they say, Joe? Well, they looked up the possible combinations of 1940 or 1941 Pontiac sedans with a number 699 in the license plate. Yeah. 123 possibles to check. Not much choice. No car in that description on the hot list. The killer might be the legal owners. 123. Well, even after we check them, we still might not have the right party. That's right. If we got a better lead, we'll work on it. Nope. Well, then ride this till it falls apart. For the next 13 days, Ben and I, Fremont and Hearst from Homicide, plus a half a dozen other men, hacked away at the list of 123 car registrations. Any one of which could have been issued to the holdup car. The color of the sedan didn't help us much to start with, since California vehicle registrations do not include the colors of the cars. After 14 days of gradual elimination of possibles, the field was narrowed to six, and four, and then two. August 6th, Monday, 5.30 p.m. Ben and I were called to Thad Brown's office. Gentlemen, you check out that last possible yet? About 20 minutes ago, didn't pan out. What about Hearst and Fremont? They had one left. Right here. Could be the answer. Yeah. 1940, funny accident, license number 4XA699. Last registration, San Diego. Good. We tell the type to San Diego police. They say the car's been sold to a woman out in Santa Monica. Anyone checked her? That's what I want you two for. San Diego and Santa Monica. No, it's in the right area. Can't afford to miss now. I hope it's a right one. Well, it's got to be. Check it. Ben and I checked the woman in Santa Monica, Mrs. Fielding. She told us that she had sold the car six months before to a friend who lived in Bakersfield. We contacted her friend. He told us the car had been traded in by him to an auto dealer in Pasadena. We checked the dealer. He said the car had been sold off his used car lot two months before. The new buyer had given his name as Amel Thurston. Two names were given as reference. Lloyd Newton and John Lacombe. We ran a routine check through the record bureau. And I'm through, fellas. It's the packages. Get him make point. On all three. What'd you find on Thurston? Let's see. Thurston, two-time losers, second time up to Q and five counts of armed robbery. I'm parole from Quentin now. How about the other two? Well, Lacombe. Let's see. Preston Reformatory, two terms. Went up three years ago, violation of the Dyer Act. He's on parole, too. What about Newton? Did you make him? Two terms in Oklahoma. They're looking for him now at jump parole. Can I look at that just a minute, Frank? Sure. Take a look, Ben. Each one of the Marma sheets on these three guys. Yeah. Right here under General M. O., see? Thurston, heavily armed at time of arrest. Yeah. This one, Lacombe. Heavily armed. This one on Newton. Same thing. Good and happy. Yeah. Come on. At the time he purchased the car, suspect Amel Thurston listed his home address as 1517 North Hoover Avenue. Previous robbery victims positively identified Thurston and his companions. At 1517 North Hoover, the landlady also identified Thurston and his companions as tenants. She told us they drove a red sedan and they parked the car at a Temple Street garage. An immediate stakeout was placed on the apartment house and we started the canvas of Temple Street garages from Hoover Avenue down to Rampart Boulevard. At 4 p.m. Ben spotted the car in Donnelly's garage on Temple Street near Michigan Drive. The garage attendant told us that the owner of the car had given his name as Amel Thurston. We showed him the mug shots. Yeah. Used to park his car in here a while back. Then he came in yesterday morning with these two guys and said he wanted a paint job. Hmm. Doesn't look like he needs a paint job to me. They offered me 20 bucks extra if I do it in a hurry. He wants the car painted green. When's he going to call for the car? About 10 o'clock tonight. These jobs take time. He's not going to like it if the car's not finished. He won't like it if it is. Come on, Ben. You are listening to Dragnet, authentic stories of your police force in action. Now, here is an authentic report from Fatima Cigarettes. In 1949, Fatima doubled, tripled and quadrupled its smokers. In 1950, enjoy Fatima yourself. You'll find Fatima extra mild. Because Fatima is the long cigarette which contains the finest Turkish and domestic tobacco, superbly blended to make Fatima extra mild. You'll find Fatima tastes much better. Fatima's superb blend gives you a much different, much better flavor and aroma than any other long cigarette. You'll find Fatima tops in cigarette quality. Fatima has always stood for the best in cigarette quality. For a new year of greater smoking enjoyment, buy Fatima in the appealing golden yellow package. You'll agree. Fatima is the best of all long cigarettes. 7 p.m. Tuesday, August 7th, Chief of Detective Stad Brown and Captain Ed Walker swung the entire robbery detail into action. The stake out at the apartment house on North Hoover continued. An additional detail of men was stationed in a vacant store on Temple Street directly opposite Donnelly's Garage. Donnelly's Garage was a small family outfit and the only spot from which we could cover it thoroughly without being seen was from a large paint locker set up against the right wall. The garage man cleared enough room so that Ben and I could fit into the locker in a half stooped position. Two small latches were rigged up so that we could pull the doors closed from the inside. Four ventilation holes at the top and bottom of the doors provided us with peep holes. At eight o'clock that night, Ben and I took our places inside the locker. The trap was set. We waited. Can you see all right, Joe? Yeah. It's hot in here. It's a tight fit. I'm getting a cramp on my shoulder. What time did that garage man say he closed? 11 o'clock. It was lousy paint smells. Stuffy, huh? They had car pulling in. Can you see the driver? It's nothing. Somebody getting gas. I hope they show up. Wouldn't want us to go on another night. Don't count on it. What's going to sleep? Why don't you stand still? What time you got? Let me see. Get the light on in here. Ten minutes to nine. Thanks. The popular conception of the working detective rarely includes a glimpse of his everyday run-of-the-mill duties. Filling out forms, conducting interviews, or waiting long monotonous hours parked in a car or standing half crouched in a garage paint locker. It's slow, dull, and tedious, and it's 95% of the police officer's job. By ten o'clock that night, there was still no sign of Thurston and his friends. The cramped locker got more cramped with the passing minutes. The air was thick with paint fumes. We waited. At 10.55, a taxi pulled to a stop in front of the garage. Three men got out. Can you see them, Joe? Wait till they step into the light. There's another guy still in the cab. Here they come. There's the first guy. Yeah, it's Thurston. The fourth guy's getting out of the cab. That looks like Newton, doesn't it? That's him. Yeah, it's Lacombe right behind Fat Guy. Here they come. They sure do look the part. All right, unlight your door, but don't open it. Yeah. Quiet, Ben. What's the matter? Matt, you're stuck. Wait a minute. Did you get it? No, it's really stuck. All right, tap it with your gun stock. Come on, easy. There. There he is. He's loose. Good. Can you see where they are now? Yeah. Talking to the garage man. Not looking this way. Well, they just stay that way, huh? You ready? Okay. Don't tip them off till we're right on top of them. Let them get away from that garage man, huh? Right. All right. Let's go. Approximately 25 or 30 yards separated us from the suspects. I go across Temple Street at the vacant store where Thad Brown and the other men were staked out. 25 yards is a long way to walk when you're approaching a murderer and you know that he won't hesitate to kill you in order to escape. Ben flipped the safety off the machine gun. We were almost halfway across the garage. 15 yards away, thirsty and turned in sauce. Look out, Joe! Stop, man! The truck behind the car went up the stairs. Three of them. Come on. Up the stairs. Up this way, Joe. Yeah. Watch it, Ben. Get on. There's somewhere back in that corner up there. You're trapped. Put on your guns. All right, Ben. Give it over. Cover me, Ben. I'll frisk them. All right. Stand still. All right. Next one. Two? Yeah. Two more guns on him. All right, you two. Hold it. Put those guns together. Lacombe. He's not much of a fighter. Not without a gun. The suspects were booked at different divisions to keep them separated. Amel Thurston and Lloyd Newton were taken to Holland Beck Park and booked on suspicion of armed robbery and murder. John Lacombe was booked at Highland Park Jail on the same charges. The other suspect who had been wounded in the escape attempt was identified as Harold Steves, 19 years old. He was treated for a leg wound at George Street receiving hospital and then transferred to the prison ward at the county hospital. During the next two days, each of the suspects was questioned individually. Thurston, Lacombe, Newton would admit nothing. The 19-year-old Steves broke down and agreed to turn state's evidence. We took his statement to Chief of Detectives, Thad Brown. John? Just about everything, boss. They pulled the drugstore holdups and they killed that dance hall owner, Walter Conroy. Which one of them? Well, the kid says Thurston shot him. He says Thurston's the gang leader. Good. You finally got a count on those guns you took off them? Yeah, 12 of them. Each one of them was ready to go bullet in every chamber. Did you get a complaint from the DA's officer? They were right, preliminary hearing set for Monday. Fine. You got them in jail, now put them in prison. The apprehension of the criminal doesn't mean the end of a case for a police officer. He spends just as much time helping to convict the criminal after he's caught. Evidence must be gathered and authenticated and presented to the district attorney's office. If confessions are possible, they must be obtained and put in order. The officer must also help out in formulating the case and then testifying at the trial of the suspect. On October 30th, almost three months after the Thurston gang was apprehended, they were brought to trial in Superior Court. It was a routine affair. Harold Steves took the stand and told the story of the gang's activities. The victims identified the suspects and testified to the robberies. Both Ben and I took the stand and testified to the arrest and possession of guns by the defendants. We received no cross-examination. On the morning of March 2nd, the case went to the jury. Ben and I had lunch with Lieutenant Rombo from robbery in the City Hall cafeteria, and it was five minutes past one when we got back to the office. It sure was good soup today. It was a nice lunch. You want to check the mail? I didn't, Jim. I'll get it. Robbery Friday. Yeah? When? Right. Lacombe and Thurston had just broke jail. Within seven minutes, a dragnet for the escaped criminals had been thrown around the entire city. Chief of Detectives Thad Brown directed the operation. At 14 minutes past one, he called us to the photocopy room. The machines were turning out duplicate mug shots of Thurston and Lacombe for distribution at the rate of one every four seconds. You want us to stand by, Chief? For the moment, yeah. We got all the help we need on the street. How'd they pull the break anyway? They slugged the deputy when he brought in their lunch. He used a steel leg from one of the benches in the prisoner's tank. Yeah? They beat the deputy right in the ground, but he held on to Newton. He didn't get away. Hard Thurston and Lacombe ever get out of the building. It's a real freak. They slugged the elevator man and got down to the basement. The right-tenant ambulance crew was wheeling a body in the moor. The attendant left the ignition keys in the ambulance. Shouldn't be too rough to track them if they're in an ambulance. Tougher than you think. Now, how's those copies coming, Frank? Fast as we can make them, Chief. Have another batch for you in a minute. You had any reports at all yet, boss? Couple. They're moving fast. Frank, you want to get that? I can't see in this dark room. Yeah, I'll get it. Yeah? Chief Brown in there? Yeah, come on in. Now, Walker, what do you got? A killer driver. Oh, yeah. Now, what do you got? Gas station out on Sunset. Lacombe and Thurston just held it up. We picked up our car in the city hall garage and drove out to the service station on the corner of Sunset Boulevard in Lorraine Drive. Detectives Ruiz and Stromwall from robbery were already on the scene. The two escapees had abandoned the ambulance there, robbed the station of $56 in currency and stolen a 1938 gray-packered coupe, license number 7 Robert 6336. We left the station and started to cruise the area. It was 1.55 p.m. Attention all units, attention all units. Get it up, young man. 6380 North Sunset, a 211 in progress. 6380 North Sunset, a 211 in progress. Code 3. This is a 61-minute block. Yeah, come on. 6380 North Sunset. Maybe push it. Hey, that car pulling out up ahead there. It's a gray coupe. Wait a minute. 7 Robert, that's them. Lights changing, they can't make it. They're going through, they're skidding. They hit the lamp pole, broke it off. All right, pull up, come on. Right. All right, let's go. Lucky if they live through this one. Yeah. All right, come on, help me with this door. Yeah, all right. Pull. All right, can you take them? Yeah. I'll get Lacombe. You look okay. Yeah, get Thurston out of here. All right. All right, Lacombe, come on. Oh, sure you will. Come on. All right, don't try to walk. I was thirsty, Ben. It's okay. Couple of scratches. All right, sit down over there. It's funny. They don't look very tough. They can't play their part. They haven't got their guns. You have just heard was true. Only the names were changed to protect the innocent. On March 3, 1947, trial was held in Superior Court, Department 91, City and County of Los Angeles, State of California. In a moment, the results of that trial. It's amazing how many long cigarette smokers are changing to Fatima. Here are the actual figures. New York Division. Fatima sales up 132%. Chicago Division. Fatima sales up 453%. Los Angeles Division. Fatima sales up. Yes, in 1949, more and more smokers discovered that Fatima is the best of all long cigarettes. They found Fatima extra mild. They found Fatima has a much different, much better flavor. They found the name Fatima means the best in cigarette quality. In 1950, enjoy Fatima yourself. Best of all long cigarettes. Amel Thurston, John Lacombe and Lloyd Newton were convicted of first degree murder and robbery and sentenced to life terms. For turning state's evidence, 19-year-old Harold Steves received special consideration. As a result of the jailbreak, Thurston and Lacombe were convicted of assault and escape. They are now serving life terms in the state penitentiary. You have just heard Dragnet, a new series of authentic cases from official files. Technical advice for Dragnet comes from the Office of Acting Chief of Police, W.A. Wharton, Los Angeles Police Department. Dragnet honors the city of Pasadena, state of California, and the men who make up the Pasadena Police Force, another of America's great law enforcement agencies. One of these men, Chief of Police, Clarence H. Morris, traffic specialist and veteran police administrator, dedicates his life to making yours more secure. Fatima cigarettes, the best of all long cigarettes, has brought you Dragnet, portion transcribed from Los Angeles. Be sure to hear songs by Morton Downey tonight on NBC.