 The story you are about to hear is true. Only the names have been changed to protect the innocent. Fatima cigarettes. Best of all long cigarettes brings you dragnet. You're a detective sergeant. You're assigned to robbery detail. Four young hoodlums wanted for a series of robberies are headed for your city. They're armed, reckless, cold-blooded. Your job. Get'em. If you want a long cigarette, smoke the best of all long cigarettes. Smoke king-size 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 has more than doubled its smokers coast to coast. So enjoy Fatima. The best of all long cigarettes. It's wise to smoke extra mild Fatima. It's wise to smoke extra mild Fatima. Dragnet. The documented drama of an actual crime. For the next 30 minutes in cooperation with the Los Angeles Police Department we'll 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, Dragnet is the story of your police force in action. It was Friday, December 10th. It was cold in Los Angeles. We were working the day watch out of robbery detail. My partner's Ben Romero. The boss is Thad Brown, chief of detectives. My name's Friday. It's 8.55 a.m. when I got to room 27A. Robbery detail. Morning. Hi, Joe. Morning. Hi, Joe. Cold out, isn't it? Frank, what are you doing here this early? Can't you sleep? I'm waiting for something. Special liver letter from my brother. Went up in Frisco with the police department? Yeah. Only up there they don't like it when you call it Frisco. Yeah. He's in robbery detail. Called him last night. All three kids had their tonsils out the same day. Thought it'd be nice to call, see how they work. All three at once. Yeah. Tonsils and nothing these days. How'd they make out? Good. Home already. What's letter got to do with it? Oh, well, my brother told me he was sending down some dope on four pretty rough characters. Thinks they're headed our way. Sending mug shots, too. You and your brother running a detective agency on the side? It's a little irregular. The official correspondence will come a little later. What do you know about the guys? Almost killed a man. I didn't get any details. It's all in the letter. I ought to be here any minute. Mailed it at noon yesterday. How come you moved down here with your family, Frank? You like it up north? Well, like L.A. better. More elbow room. Here you live in a house and a lot, not just an apartment. I get it. Robbery Friday. It's Wilson. The only shop is there, Joe. Yeah, I think so. Hold it, will ya? Tony here? Huh? I didn't see him behind that paper. For me? Yeah, he's here. One of you is not busy asking to come over, girls. Can't speak English. I guess we can spare him for a while. I'll tell him. What's up? That's Wilson in auto detail. He'd like you to go over and act as an interpreter for a couple of Mexican girls. Are they pretty? You're not going down there to marry him. I'll bet you while I'm at parties. Nothing much doing. Slow day. They don't come often enough for me. If they did, we'd be out of a job. It was one of those rare slow days. We killed a couple of hours going over the daily reports, cleaned out the top drawer on my desk, sharpened a few pencils. At 10.15 a.m., the special delivery letter came for Frank. He slit the top open with his pocket knife and shook out four mug shots. Here it is. Following four men wanted for robberies, auto thefts, and safe burglaries in San Francisco Bay area. Cliff Small, 19. George Shum, 20, both escaped from Preston. Julius Carver, 18. Fred Malick, 20, both Army deserters. Well, it checks out with that APB from SF last week. What are the records of that? Small shot an Army captain during an argument at a bar. And two capers. These men shot it out with us and escaped. Information shows all four left for Los Angeles several days ago. Driving stolen car, blue Chevrolet, probably using cold plates. Let me see those mug shots. Now we know who we're looking for. Brother tell us where. Just a couple of nice girls that got mixed up with the wrong guys. Take a look at these pictures. Oh, the mugs from San Francisco. Says they're in a stolen car, cold plates. That's how these girls were picked up, in a hot car. They went for a ride with a couple of guys they met at a movie. When the car ran out of gas, the boys' dog the girls got picked up. They have a lead on the guy? No, not a thing. The young guys? Around 20. You think these might be the ones from Frisco? Let's talk the girls. Come on. Frank, you want to cover the office? Oh, yeah, sure. They speak English at all? Not enough to make sense. That's Dolores and this one is Marie. Puente. Señoritas, estos señores son empleados del robbery detail. They say en acero ustedes algunas preguntas. Nosotras no hicimos nada. Nada. She says they didn't do anything. I suppose they told you all they know already, huh? They're not much help. They say they don't know anything about the fellows they were with. I'm showing these. Ask them if they've ever seen them before. Yeah. Conocen ustedes estas individuos? Sí. Estas. Estas son los muchachos. Sí. Sí. These are the guys who took them out last night. Ask them. ¿Quieren decir que estos dos son los que las llevaron anoche? Sí. Ellos son. Carver and Malik, the army deserters. Ask them to describe them, will you? ¿Cómo eran los muchachos? Me alejimos. Estuvimos en el carro todo el tiempo. Estaba oscuro. Pero parecían muy guapos y hablaban bien. She says they sat in the car all the time it was dark. But they look very handsome and they talk nice. Where did the fellows pick them up? They told me in front of the Jubilee Theater, second in Broadway. Yeah. And then what? You know, the girls couldn't understand English, but they understood when the boys motioned them to hop in. Ah. Eh... ¿Han aceptado ustedes los paseos con extraños antes? ¡No supuesto que no! María creo haberlos visto en la iglesia el domingo. She says no. Marie thought she recognized them from church Sunday. Pero estaba equivocada. But she was mistaken. Must have been some date. The boys couldn't talk Spanish and the girls couldn't talk English. Where'd they go on this ride, Tony? They don't know the streets. They just know they got to the beach and then they turned around and were about halfway back when the car ran out of gas. Ask them again. See if you can get Marie here to talk. María. Sí. ¿Qué camino tomaron para ir a la playa? No sé. ¡Ay, María! Primero, paramos cerca de un hotelito. Esperamos mientras los muchachos llevaron a un perito y lo dejaron en su cuarto. She doesn't know, but she remembers they stopped near a little hotel. The girls waited while the boys took a little puppy out of that car and put it in their room. A puppy? Well, if they don't know where the hotel was, maybe they can tell us what it was near. ¿Qué edificios había cerca del hotel? En la esquina había una estación de gasolina. She says there was a gas station on the corner. What else? ¿Qué más? De al otro lado de los rieles había dos o tres garajes. Dos o tres. No creo que sí, dos o tres. She says across the car tracks there were two or three big garages. Yeah. Could be in the west like this street. That's the garages and secondary hotels run there. East 1st Street. Maybe Grand Avenue and Pico. Pico. Pico. Ahora me acuerdo. Esta calle era Pico. We took the girls with us and drove out to Grand and Pico and then up and down Pico slow until the girls pointed out a hotel just south of Flower. They weren't sure. Ben and I got out. We walked up to the hotel desk. The clerk was just starting to vacuum. We're looking for Julius Carver and Fred Malik. Do they stand here? What's the names? Can't hear you over the vacuum. Julius Carver and Fred Malik? No, I'm not here. Police officers. We take a look at these pictures. Well, it could have been two of the boys who checked out this morning but they didn't look as tough as this. How many were there? Four. Here are two more pictures. You have a look, please. It could be about the right age. How long did they stay? Just two nights. Did they have a pup with them? What? I said they have a pup with them. Puppy dog? Yes, they did. Yes, a little collie pup. Did they pay up? No, they skipped out owing me two days. Can we see how they registered, please? Shut off this dang vacuum. A person can hardly hear himself think over that racket. Now, I want to see the register. We use cards here. Let me see. Now, here they are. Bob Reynolds, Jack Sharp, Jim Smith, and William Grant, Las Vegas, Nevada. I must have picked those names out of a hat. They say where they were going? No forwarding address. Did they write these cards out themselves? I bet they did. That's the law. You mind if we borrow them for a while? We'll have them photostatted and return to you. We're supposed to keep them, you know. You'll get them back. I like to do everything legal. Those boys in some kind of trouble. They leave anything in their room? They did. It's all in the vacuum. They're having to come back. Give us some ring, will you? Here's our card. Robbery detail. Good day, Rob. I took you for two days rent. It was 2 p.m. when Tony Chavez picked us up. He had Frank O'Donnell with him. We stopped at a dairy lunch and I called the office and we split up into two teams. While Tony and Frank checked parking lots in the neighborhood for stolen cars, Ben and I ran down the other hotels. In the next three hours, we talked to a dozen desk clerks and roaming house managers. Always the same answer. No. 5.30 p.m., we tried the Achilles Hotel on Grand Avenue. We walked into an overheated lobby crowded with modern furniture. There were a couple of canary cages in front of the faded wall tapestries. The desk clerk was a woman in her early 40s. Good afternoon, ma'am. Police officer. Police officer. Walter! Walter, will you see what these policemen want? Well, just take a minute. I'd like to know if you recognize these pictures here. No. This one? No. No, we only take in honest, hard-working men. Sure. I don't like anybody lazing around the rooms all day. I'm cleaning up. Maybe your room has got a collie pup. A dog? I'd die before I had a loud dog in this house. If these fellows were the dogs trying to rent a room, would you please phone us? Here's the number. Millie. Now, get on back in there, honey. Work nice and more. Go on, Millie. Go on. Millie's on the nest now. Yes, ma'am. We'd appreciate you watching for these, ma'am. For your own protection, too. No, I'll let you know. Thank you, ma'am. Let's go back. Don't say before you go. Would you gentlemen do me a favor seeing how you're a policeman? Yes, ma'am. Mr. Marinelli, up in room 14, would you mind these rent? Would you do me a favor and go up and talk to him? I'm sorry, lady. We can't handle him. That's a civil matter. I'd advise you to go to room 260 and out the city hall and see the city attorney. They'll help you. No matter what I tell you, they won't do it. That's the way it went. It was dark out now and getting cold again. We walked back to Pico and Flower to pick up Frank and Tony. Tony was there waiting for us. All right. Come on up to the next corner. Frank's up there. We've got a hot car staked up. Yeah. Just half a block from the hotel where the guys checked out. Any luck? No. Did you find anything in the car? He's still in it. Nothing else. I could have stolen it last night after they left the girls, huh? I called in and checked. He was taken in front of 1192 Duhini Drive between 2 and 4 this morning. We got out of code 4. Mm-hmm. That's about six blocks from where they ditched the car with the girls in it. Yeah, we're out of gas. It's all downhill. It would have been the natural way for him to go. Could be the right car. Better keep the stake out. Yeah. Oh, hi, Frank. Hi. You doing any good? No. Frank, you and Tony want to go cover the car when you get back. We'll go for a chop. Good deal. Well, it's a lot. Well, let's sit in the car, huh? Yeah, all right. Go ahead. Mm-hmm. Get the radio on. Want a cigarette? No. What do you think? I don't know. Maybe it's the same guys, maybe not. Same neighborhood. A couple of things might tie in. Can't be sure. We're really making a headway. About all we know is they're in town. Yeah, it's a good-sized town. Right now, it's the biggest in the world. 7 p.m. We knew the four gunmen were in town. We knew they'd been seen. We figured there was no reason for them to skip town until they pulled a job or heard that we were looking for them. Time was in their favor. Time to rob, time to kill, time to get away. The check on the hotels continued. We left Franco Donald and Tony Chavez on the stake out, and Ben and I picked up the hotel routine. One place after another. 8.30 p.m. We walked down a long narrow lobby to a little ball-headed man at the desk. He was wearing glasses and reading a magazine called astrology. When we walked in, he tried to hide the bottle. Police officer. Oh. Would you take a look at these pictures, please? What for? See if you can identify him. No. No, they don't look familiar to me. They may be carrying a collie pup. Collie pup? Hmm. Let me see those pictures again. All right. Do they look familiar now? They had a pup with them, all right. Yes, I think so. I study faces. Yes, the same. Are they here? I don't know. You mean they're out for the evening? I don't know. Are they registered here? Yes, they are. What room? Are they expecting you? Now listen. This is important. Just answer the questions. What did they do? What's their room number? Second floor, room 22. You have the key? Yes. Just a second. Here, thank you. Come on, man. Cover me, huh? Yeah. 22. Give me the key. I'll watch it. Well, maybe we're home. Clothes, shoes, all our stuff here. They'll be back. You are listening to Dragnet for the step-by-step solution to an actual police case. Here, step-by-step are the reasons why Fatima has more than doubled its smokers from coast to coast. Step one. The name Fatima has always stood for the best in cigarette quality. Step two. Long cigarette smokers discover Fatima has a much different, much better flavor and aroma. Step three. Long cigarette smokers find Fatima extra mild. Fatima is the long cigarette which contains the finest Turkish and domestic tobaccos superbly blended to make Fatima extra mild. And that's why more and more smokers every day agree it's wise to smoke extra mild Fatima. It's wise to smoke extra mild Fatima. Yes, the name Fatima on that golden yellow package is your insurance of an extra mild smoke. So enjoy King-sized Fatima, the best of all long cigarettes. In the files of the Los Angeles Police Department, there are countless case histories that never got space in the daily newspapers. The case of Cliff Small, George Shum, Julius Carver, and Fred Malick was one of these. Four young hoodlums wanted for a series of robberies and petty burglaries. These men were armed and they'd shown that they wouldn't hesitate to shoot. By comparison with the sensational crime headline, the news value of this story rated an inch of type on the fourth page of the second section. Yet the line separating these four young thieves from banner headlines and back paid space is much thinner than the average citizen realizes. The danger in a criminal case isn't always determined by the space allotted to it in the newspapers. Many a peace officer's name has appeared in the obituary column of the same newspaper that allotted one inch of back paid space to the crime story that was considered unimportant. I phoned the office and asked for two men to cover the stolen car. As soon as the replacements arrived, Frank O'Donnell and Tony Chavez left the stake out on the stolen car and joined us at the hotel. At 5.55 p.m. When did they do back? Any idea? No, sir. I told these other officers. I did tell you, didn't I? Yeah, you said they were out for the... That's it. I knew I told you something. Was it you two? Or was it you two? Was this fella and I? Oh, yeah. I don't remember things I say so good, but I know faces, things. Are you the manager here? Oh, no. This place belongs to Claude. Claude who? Tinney. Then you're in charge now. Only when Claude's not around. This is one of his places. Yeah, maybe you better leave that bottle alone or we'll get this straightened out of there. Oh, no. I don't hit it heavy anymore. Just a little nip down again. Crafty in here. Any idea where we can wait for these fellas and keep an eye on the lobby? No, not enough room in this lobby to turn around in. I've said that to Claude. Yeah, we know him. Hey, Claude, where does this door lead to? No, don't go in there. There's a light in here. I say we'll barge in. We'll barge in. We'll barge in. I save old bottles. Ragman gives me a penny each for them. Is that a storage room? What's that? That room over there. Oh, that's the linen room. We keep all the linen there. That's about the only place there is, Joe. If you want to wait out in the car. All right, we'll wait in there. There's a couple of chairs in there. I'll send the boys back when they come in. Be better if you tell them nothing. How are they going to know you're here? We'll tell them. You just don't say anything. All right, sir. The boys get the message. Now look, mister, you just sit there and read your magazine. Don't say anything. You got that? Okay. That's the way you want it. Come on, let's go. What's that smell in here? Bleach, I think. Strong. What time is it? Can't see. Frank, you got a little miss watch. 9.28. Evening, Mike. Give me an 8 o'clock call. The smell is giving me a headache. The air is bad in here. Yeah. Is there anything I can get you, gentlemen? No, you just stay at the desk, will you please? Say, Claude, Tini's his name. He's the manager. Remember you asked me about that? Yeah, yeah, we know. What do you want him for? Look, you're going to have to stay away from this door. We don't want him to know we're here. Okay, that's the way you want it. I could use a cigarette. Yeah, all we need in here now. What time is it, Frank? Never mind. There's two of them. Ben, you come with me. Frank, Tony, stay here. Right. Hi, we're checking out tomorrow. It's Carver and Malik. Let's go, Ben. Yeah, come on. I got your hands up. Hey, what's going on? Stand still. What's it be? There's a 380 automatic on Carver. 38 caliber revolver in this hip pocket. Another 38 on Malik. Don't hold it. That's it. Put out your hand. Let me have your cuff, Joe. Where are your pals? What pals? Cliff Small and George Shum. We know you're running with them. You know that. You know where they are. How old are you? 18. What's your name? Fred Malik. I'm 20. Tony. You and Frank want to take him downtown? Right. We'll see you down there. Let's go, Frank. Say, you got them, huh? Don't wait for the other two now. You just play it straight and stay away from that linen room. How long are you going to be in there? Chamber maid starts making up the beds around 7 a.m. You'll have to be getting out that linen in there. It's only 10.30. Lots of time. We changed the sheets three times a week in this hotel. I'm not a worry in the world. Let's get back in there. I know what that smell is in here. Lysol. Yeah, I forgot about that pup. That'll be the tip, huh? I'll go get him. Come on, little fella. Come on, boy. He's hungry, Joe. Look, I'll put him down on the floor. Don't step on him. Yeah, what do you want? Are you going to wait for the other two boys? Yeah, will you get away from the door? Say, I want to help you all I can. Yeah, yeah. That fuzzy little pup of theirs. He's running all around the lobby. Yeah, we've got him in here. Yeah, you better go out there and get him. He's parking. It'll tip him off. There again, he'll have to wait in here. Let me see your watch. No? Must be around 11. That's a clerk again. Yeah, say, listen. I've been all over the lobby. You fellas are in the clear. What do you mean? That dog of theirs. He's gone. You're in the clear. Look, he's in here with us. Now will you stay away from here, please? Yeah, it's okay. The dog's gone. That's their room. Come on. Get your hands off. Watch him, Joe. Wait, I'm at you. Get your hands off me. You didn't have to slap me. You didn't have to pull that gun. All right, over here. Stand still. 38 revolver on this one. Here it is. 45 Colt. What's your names? Cliff Small. Here's George Shum. How old are you? 19. Cops? How many are? That's all of them. Yeah. Now let's feed that pup. 12.15 a.m. We took the prisoners down to the city hall to the interrogation room. Tony Chavez and Frank O'Donnell were there with the other two, Carver and Malick. While Ben helped question the suspects and made out the necessary reports, I went across the street to the federal cafe. I picked up two 10 cent bottles of milk and a few slices of bread. Look at him go. Well, here, let's see. Four stolen cars, eight known robberies in San Francisco they copped out to. Three jobs important they admitted. You remember that Bakersfield liquor store hold up about four weeks ago? A Watson job? They pull that? Yeah, probably a lot more. They haven't told us all of it yet. Got out of an APP. We'll probably get a lot more wants on him. Well, that's it. None of them are even old enough to vote yet, but they've committed practically no more left to work out. What do we do with the pup? How about the SPCA they find a home for? No, not this little guy. Why don't you take him Tony, you've got kids. You've got a deal. Here. Your mother had a colleague but today in Adalante, you were a police officer. Translation, your mother was a colleague but from now on you're a police dog. The story you have just heard was true. Only the names were changed to protect the innocent. On February 9th, trial was held in Superior Court, Department 88, 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 is the actual report. From coast to coast, King size Fatima has more than doubled its smokers. Yes, more and more smokers every day are discovering that Fatima is the best of all long cigarettes. Long cigarette smokers find Fatima has a much different, much better flavor and aroma. Long cigarette smokers find that Fatima is extra mild because it's the long cigarette which contains the finest Turkish and domestic tobaccos superbly blended to make it extra mild. So enjoy extra mild Fatima. Best of all, long cigarettes. It's wise to smoke extra mild Fatima. It's wise to smoke extra mild Fatima. Clifford Small, George Shum, Julius Carver and Fred Malick were released to San Francisco authorities where they were tried and convicted on eight counts of robbery in the first degree. A hold was placed on them by the state of Oregon. They are now serving their terms in the state penitentiary. You have just heard a series of authentic cases from official files. Technical Advice for Dragnet comes from the Office of Chief of Police W.A. Wharton, Los Angeles Police Department. Fatima Cigarettes, the best of all long cigarettes has brought you Dragnet from Los Angeles. Tomorrow, hear the Ronald Coleman's charming series, The Halls of Ivy on NBC.