 Here is another in NBC's great parade of new shows. Ladies and gentlemen, the story you are about to hear is true. Only the names have been changed to protect the innocent. NBC brings you Dragnet. You're a detective sergeant. You're assigned to burglary detail. A sudden wave of jewel thefts is sweeping the city. In 16 days, 16 burglaries have been committed, one each night. They bear the same trademark. Thousands of dollars of jewels are missing. The thief is a master at his trade. Your job, get him. Dragnet, the documented drama of an actual crime, investigated and solved by the men who unrelentingly stand watch on the security of your home, your family, and your life. For the next 30 minutes in cooperation with the Los Angeles Police Department, you will travel step-by-step on the side of the law through an actual case transcribed from official police files. From beginning to end, from crime to punishment, Dragnet is the story of your police force in action. It was Tuesday, June 17th. It was warm in Los Angeles. We were working the day watch out of burglary. My partner's Ben Romero. The boss is Ed Backstrand, chief of detectives. My name's Friday. I was on the way into work that morning, and it was 7.53 a.m. when I got to room 45. Burglary detail. Hi, Joe. How are you, Walker? Gonna be a scorcher out today. Yeah, just like yesterday. Been in yet? I think he's over in communications picking up the mail. Thanks. You guys been busy? Yeah, kinda. Jewel thefts. Anything big? No, no big halls, but he's consistent. 16 nights in a row. Same guy? Think so. Same M.O. Man, everybody's got troubles. Gotta check some records. See you later, Joe. Okay, Willie. Burglary, Friday. Yeah. Okay, Mike, soon as Ben gets back. He's picking up the mail. Right. Bye. All right, Joe. Hi, Ben. Hannon just called. Chief wants to see us. Take a look at these first. What do you got, overnight reports? Yeah, I have these two. Two of them. Three diamond rings, one sapphire, one necklace jade. Big hall. Look at the other one. Ladies, watch. Diamond band, emerald bracelet, tourmaline brooch. What's tourmaline, Ben? I don't know. It must be valuable. It's gone. Uh-huh. Let's see. Owner left house about 9 p.m. Returned about 1.30 a.m., found property gone. Scratches on the door. Probably using the cellophane method. Hasn't missed yet. Two in one night. Now he's picking up his pace. Must have a bag full of loot somewhere, whoever it is. You get the description sheet from bone shop detail. Yeah, I got him right here. Let's see what luck we got this morning. Nothing so far. We need it. I'll get it, Joe. Burglar, emerald. Hi, Ben. Chief still wants to talk to you, boys. He's got an appointment at 8.30. He wants to see you before he leaves. Okay, Mike. Just checking some by-sheets. We're right in. Better make it fast. He's in a bad mood this morning. Okay, Mike. Thank you. Backstrand again? Yeah, he's in a bad mood. Come on. Wonder what's bothering him. Something's bad. He doesn't blow very often. Chief of detective's office, Hannon. Go ahead in, boys. He's waiting. Thank you, Mike. All right, ma'am. I'll connect you. Friday, Romero, sit down. Wait till I get the phone. Backstrand. Oh, yes, Mrs. Winthrop. Yes, ma'am. We're doing all we can. Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am. Yes, I'll do that. Yes, ma'am. Goodbye. Got trouble, Ed? Taxpayer, Mrs. Winthrop. You two ought to remember the name. 10 days ago, somebody lifted $2,000 worth of diamonds from her bedroom while she was at the symphony. Last night, she was hit again. A diamond watch, an emerald bracelet, and some kind of a brooch. Turmaline. I don't care what kind of was. It's gone. What's the pitch? We just read and reported a couple of minutes ago, skipper. Could be a time with those other 16 jobs. 16 jobs in 16 days. You haven't got a lead on the thief yet? Nothing shows up. No prints. Nothing. What about the pawn shops? Nobody's tried to soak any hot stuff as far as we know. We double-checked the detail. We got every hawk shop in town on the alert. Whoever it is, they've got to try to pawn the stuff some time, unless they're going to give diamond rings for Christmas presents. They haven't tried to pawn shops yet, skipper. We sure are there. Look, 16 burglaries in 16 days. Jewels and watches. Good ones. It's got to stop. It's got to stop soon. You understand? We'll stay right on top of it, Ed. We're doing all we can. For two weeks, I've had half a dozen women calling me every day. Society women. Some of them figured they should get extra treatment. They're only DR numbers to us, skipper. They all get the same attention. I'm trying to explain that to some of them. They think you're in on the racket. Maybe you boys would like to take these calls some morning. No thanks, Ed. All right then, let's get some action. Keep the pawn shop operators on their toes and get after every known fence in town. That's all. I've got an appointment. All right, Ed. Check you later. Holding a call for you, Ben. Thank you. Hello. Well, hi, Max. What? Well, hold it. Be right down. First break, Joe. What do you got? Necklace and a watch. Both of them on the stolen property list. Where? Henry's pawn shop. Fifth and main. Six minutes later at 8.25 a.m., Ben and I drove up in front of Henry's square deal pawn shop. Quick cash. No red tape. Watches bought and sold. The proprietor was Max Murphy, an old friend of Ben's. Well, pal, of all days it had to happen yesterday. He took the day off and went fishing up at Big Bear. I left my nephew in charge. Harry, a real not-head, that kid. What do you mean, Max? Joe, if I told him once, I told him a hundred and once. Whatever you do, whatever they come in with, they'll check it with the list. Check it with the stolen property list. What does he do? He forgot. He forgot. Oh, a real not-head, that boy. How old is he, Max? Thirty-two. A real not-head. I checked the slips from yesterday. Then I checked the stolen property list. There it is. Hot stuff. When the stuff come in, Max, do you know? About four o'clock yesterday afternoon. Can we look at it? Oh, sure. Back here behind the car. There it is. Did you check out the serial numbers on the watch yet, man? When I found out, yes. They match to a T. All right, let's see. Yeah. Description on this necklace matches, too. Let's have a look at your buy book, huh, Max? Yes, sir, Joe. Here you are. There's a deal right there. Here? Yeah, that's him. That's how he gave his name. Walter Tracy. One-thirty-two-and-a-half Blackstone Court, Los Angeles. Let me check the book for the description, Max. Oh, sure. Yeah, here. Mm-hmm. Okay, Max, thanks. I'll come with you later. Sure, Joe. Anytime. Sorry. All right, Max. See you later. You fellas take it easy. Right. I wanted to check and see if we're clear, Joe. Yeah, I will. 80K to control one. 80K to control one. Are we clear? Control one to 80K. Stand by. Good lead, Joe. Got a description in here. Yeah. It's too bad, Max's nephew. I just slip up. Control one to 80K. Call your office immediately. Call your office immediately, okay? Wonder what that's about. No, no. You got some change? I'll use Max's phone. Use your phone a minute, Max. Oh, you've been? Sure. Help yourself. Thank you. City Hall. 2524. 2524. This is Ben, George. You got something? Hot one. Unix then bought in place. Guy just took in a couple of rings. He checked too late. What you mean? He checked the form after the guy left. It was sign wall of Tracy. There they are, Sergeant. Both rings. Fine quality diamonds. Don't you usually check your stolen goods list before you take in stuff like this? Usually, yes. Last night? No. I don't know what I was thinking about. We have a look at your buy book. Right here. There it is. Wall of Tracy. $699 street. 145 pounds, 5'9", dark hair, build, thin. We'll have to slap a hold on these rings. I know. I should have thought. Can you think of anything else that might help us to identify the man? Well, no. Had a light suit on. Nice cut. Very well dressed. Thank you. That's all for now. Here's a card. If the guy happens to drop back, give us a call, will you? Sure will, Sergeant. Say. Yeah. I've got some nice watch pens. Yours look gold. Can I interest you? No thanks. Some other time. Come on back. That afternoon in the following morning, despite our alert and our warnings, two more pawn shops called in with reports of stolen watches taken in. We checked them out. The serial numbers on the watches matched those on the stolen property list. On the pawn shop account books, the loan was listed under the name Walter Tracy. The addresses were given as number 12, St. Vincent Place, and 700 East Flower. The descriptions of the man were the same. Slight build, well-dressed, about 145 pounds, 5 feet 9 inches tall, dark wavy hair. We had the name and description distributed to every pawn shop in Los Angeles and surrounding communities. Through our informants, we checked up on every known fence in the city. For the next two nights, we received no reports of stolen jewels. That made up for the double burglary the night before. On June 19th, the box score read, 18 successive nights, 18 successive jewel burglaries. At 3.25 in the afternoon, Ben and I sat down to check over the late incoming reports. Got anything, Joe? Not yet, no. Nothing here. Maybe the guy's left town. Nope. No such luck. Take a look. That's tip number 19. He may set a record. Now he's making monkeys out of us, isn't he? Look, man's watch, ladies' watch, Chinese amber necklace, diamond shirt, studs, and a bracelet with two large rubies. He's getting ambitious. How's the value listing? It's $1,800. One haul. I'll get it. Burglary Friday. Yeah. What? Yeah. Be right down, stall him. Let's go, Ben. Where? Kaplan's down in his second. Walter Tracy's in there now trying to hook a gold watch. Ben, cover the door. I'll go and look like I'm shopping around. Right, but watch your step. We don't know this guy. Yeah, stay close to the door, huh? Look, Mac, this is gold. 21 jewels. Well, that's the best I can do. Ah, drop dead. What's the best I can do? Don't get sore. Yeah, sure. See you later. That's him, Sergeant. Walter Tracy. I stole them as long as I could. All right, I'll check back with you later. Did you spot the guy that just came out? Yeah, I went up the street. Let's follow him. Hustle it. Spot him, Ben. Straight ahead. Straight ahead. About 15 yards. He's crossing the street. Yeah, let's get up a little closer. We'll lose him. Sure, if the light changes. Come on, run for it. What's the traffic like? Yeah. That was close. You might have spotted us as going faster. Come on, Joe. Run. Yeah. Don't lose him. This crowd's not helping. Hey, hey, wait a minute. I thought you were a cop. You're chasing somebody? All right, let go of my arm, Mr. Let go. Well, you don't have to get tough. Lossy cops take their own street. I'm going to write them names off. Oh, he's running for it. Yeah, I see him. Watch the signal up ahead. All right, Joe. I'm almost up to him. Into the parking lot. Hey, yo, stop. Look out, Joe. A gun. Yeah, I see him. All right, get away. Get away. Spot guy. It's a nice job. Yeah. He's too fast for an honest man. Let's take him in. When we got back to headquarters, Walter Tracy was under technical arrest. We took him directly to the interrogation room. We searched him thoroughly. We had him take everything out of his pockets and put it on the table. Then we had him take all the money he had in his wallet, count it out, and hold it in his hand. What is all this routine? That's all the money you have on you? $47.17, right? Yeah. OK, keep it in your hand. Ben, shake him down. All right, Tracy, take off your gold shirt, tie your shoes, and stuff. What kind of a picture is this? I'm no hood. Take them all. Two big cops. You're not pinning anything on me. I don't care what you do. Sleeves, pockets, lining. Nothing in cold, Joe. Get his shirt. Take a light with the threads. It costs money. How about the trousers, Ben? I'm seeing. Cuffs, pockets. No. Let me get the belt. Is the zipper on the inside of the belt? No, it's clean. Shoes are OK. All right, Tracy, let's see the soles of your feet. I hope you don't mind. They're dirty. Why don't you take a shower? Let's see. All right, Joe, nothing. Put your toes back on. Yeah. Thanks. All right, here. What's your name? Huh? I said, what's your name? You telling jokes? Walter Tracy. You know that. Your real name? How old are you, Tracy? 27. Where do you live? No place. Just got in town a couple of days ago. Where are you from? Salina, Kansas. Where you been sleeping the last two nights? The park, Pershing Square. Clothes don't show it. Pretty nanny. I had impressed. Where? Down by the square. I don't remember. You ever been arrested before? No. Where'd you get this gun, Tracy, the one you pulled on us? I didn't know who you were. Could have been a couple of hoods. You kind of look like it. Where'd you get the gun? I won it in a crap game, coming out on the train. Where'd you get the watch? Graduation present. You want to run a make on them, Joe? The gun and the watch? Yeah, I'll call them. Go on, check. You can't prove a thing. Pawn shop records, Gilmore. Gil is Friday. Can you give me a make on a watch? Sure, Joe, go ahead. Time master, yellow gold, man's wrist watch. Okay. Case number, 716-F23. Right. Movement number, B351-708. Okay. Now give me a make on this gun, huh? 32 S&W automatic. Cereal number, 579-461. Okay. Call me back. Right. What's your station number? 2572. I'll ring you, Joe. Thanks. Having fun? What'd you do with all those jewels you stole? When do I get out of here? I don't think you're going to get out. You got nothing on me. How tall are you, Tracy? Get your tape measure, 59. How much you weigh? 140. I'm 27. My name's Walter Tracy. I come from Salina. I've been in town two days, and I don't know what you guys are talking about. You sound smart. You don't act it. And you're a fly. I'm Brian Copper. What'd you do with those jewels you stole? I don't know what you're talking about. What color are your eyes? I don't know. I'm color-blind. What color would you say your hair is? You color-blind, too? You ever been arrested before? Straighten out. He asked me that. I'm asking you. No. You ever done any big time? No. All right. I don't care if you're level with us or not. We're going to make you on those proud jobs, all 19 of them. Sure. Sure. You guys are smart. You got in Los Angeles two days ago, is that right? Yeah. You don't know anything about any jewel theft. That's what I said. And how come your name and your handwriting's on the account books and four pawn shops in Los Angeles? Not mine. You can't prove it. We can, Tracy. Come clean. What'd you do with the stuff you stole from 1250 Maraga Drive, June 5th? I didn't steal any stuff. What'd you do with the rings and watches you took from 1400 Placerville Road, June 9th? I wasn't in town. What'd you do with the diamond dress pins you stole June 13th, 123 South Van S? Did I do that? You're not only kinky. You're a bad liar. You prove it. Border, get you a sawbuck. Your prints bounced, Tracy. Our handwriting man's going to work on those signatures of yours. You haven't got a chance. Now come on. Where'd you hide the stuff? You can't prove a thing. Where'd you say you've been sleeping the last two nights? In the park, Pershing Square. You want a map? Close. Sure does, man. I said I had them pressed. But you can't remember where. No, I can't remember where. Is that a crime? Friday talking. Joe, this is Gilmore. Here's the stuff you asked for. Let's have it, Gil. No make on the watch. No make on the gun. Okay, Gil. Thanks a lot. Yeah. You're in up your neck. You said that, didn't you? You're going to talk, Tracy. I'm kind of tired. All right. We'll let you sleep on it. Come on, Ben. Let's book him. All right. I'll get your jobs, coppers. Sure. Come on. We took Walter Tracy to the county jail and had him booked on suspicion of burglary. He was still sullen. We knew we had the guilty man. Now we had to prove it. As it often happens, the victims never see the burglar. They only know he's been there. They can't identify him, but they can identify their property. Our job was to find the property. When we did, we'd have Walter Tracy. And the 19 victims would have their property returned. But Tracy wasn't talking. We knew he'd never talk unless he thought it might help him. We took the problem to add back strength. Smart punk skipper, but he's done time before. How do you know him? Tried him out last night when we brought him in. He talks like it, and he acts like it. But he won't cop out. Are you sure? He's been talking for a hundred years. He knows he's got us in a spot. One thing's sure. We're not going to send him up without finding the loot first. He's planted the stuff somewhere in the city. We've got to find it. Ben and I have got an idea, Ed. It's not going to be easy, but it might work. What is it? Tracy tried to soak some of the stolen property at four separate pawn shops in the downtown area. At each one of those four pawn shops, he gave a local address. Now we're sure he must have a room or an apartment someplace in town. All right. Where? That's where a guest work comes in, Skipper. Every one of those addresses he gave falls within a certain area. Oh, big an area. Oh, you've got that street diagram, Joe. Yeah. Here it is, Ed. From Figueroa here to San Pedro, and from Pico down to First Street. The area's about 12 blocks wide, 14 blocks long. That's a lot of territory. How are you going to cover it? On foot. We'll take Tracy with us. Plenty of legwork. You sure it's the answer? We've got to find the stuff, and it's the only way we can figure it. How about hotels, apartments, rooming houses? There must be hundreds of places he could stay in that territory. It'll take a couple of weeks. Yeah, on foot it will. All right. It's tough, but it's your idea. Go to it. An hour after we left Cheat Backstrand, we got Tracy out of his cell in the county jail and started our canvas of the appointed area. We took the usual precautions and handcuffed Tracy's wrists to our own. We started the search for his hideout at First Street in Figueroa. It was a warm day in Los Angeles. The temperature was 91. After the first three hours, I could tell Ben's feet were ready to give out, and so were mine. We couldn't even have the comfort of complaining. That had encouraged Tracy, and he was cocky enough already to be cursed and threatened every step of the way. All right. Quit pulling, will ya? Come on, Tracy. Up the stairs. Another one to check. Warm day, Gil. Yeah, a little. What do you mean a little? Must be 110. Yes, what is it? You the manager? Yes. Could you tell me what apartment this man has in your house, ma'am? Who, him? Yes, ma'am, this one. Never saw him before. He don't live here. All right, ma'am, thank you. Yeah. Hot, ain't it? When are you gonna get wise? Come on, Tracy. That finish is this side of the street. You want to cross over, Gil? Yeah. Let's go. I'm hungry. I want to eat. Cover the other side of the street. You can't do this to me. I'm gonna get a lawyer. I'll have your jobs, both of you. Yeah, mm-hmm. Come on. We only got a couple of hundred places to go. Hi, Jants. What can I do for you? You the manager? I run the place, yeah. Which room does this man have in your place? Him? You made a mistake. He doesn't live here. All right, thanks. My feet are killing me. Wait till I get a lawyer. I'll burn both of your dumb cops. What do you think you're doing anyway? I'm gonna go. All that day and the day after that and the day after that, Ben and I with Tracy handcuffed to our wrist, canvassed the designated areas from hotel to hotel, from rooming house to rooming house, and the apartments too. Every day, our feet ached a little more. Our pace slowed down. Tracy got more irritable and the weather got hotter. The second day, it reached a high of 92. The third day, 94. The fourth day, 94. Police regulations say plain clothes officers must wear a coat and necktie on the street at all times. We wore our coats and neckties. The search continued into the fifth day. Our pace got even slower. Ben and I started to lose heart. After a while, we forgot our object was to recover the stolen jewels. All we wanted was to find Tracy's hideout. We knew we were right. We knew Tracy was our man. It was a point of pride. Whether your feet hurt or not, you don't give in to a thief. Yes? What do you want? You're the landlady here. I am. Which apartment does this man have in the building? Well, none of them. He's not one of my tenants. Thank you, ma'am. Come on, Tracy. By the sixth day, all three of us had special pads in our shoes. Our feet ached worse than ever. Tracy let us know about his every three minutes. By late afternoon of the sixth day, we'd covered more than half of the designated area. The temperature was 95. You guys gonna go on forever? I'm sweating like a horse. I'm getting tired of your moaning. That looks like the manager behind the desk. Yes, sir? You're the manager? Yes, sir. What can I do for you? Can you tell us which room this man has in the hotel? Him? He doesn't live here. Hey, you fellas look awfully warm. Like to cool off in the lobby? We're air conditioned. No thanks. I'm hungry. When do we eat? You're always hungry. You got the biggest mouth on a cup I ever saw. All right, man. I'm hungry. I want to eat now. Wait till I give this story to the papers. Mis-treating innocent guys. They'll break it. All right. Come on, up the stairs. I'm gonna get a lawyer tonight. I'll show you. Yes? Well, Mr. Baker, where have you been? We questioned the landlady, Ms. Elizabeth Hunter. She told us that Baker, alias Tracy, had rented an apartment from her about two months before. That's all the information she could give us. Tracy clammed up. He would admit nothing. We asked Ms. Hunter to accompany us as a witness. We took the elevator up to Tracy's apartment on the sixth floor. Ms. Hunter, Tracy, Ben and I. Down this way. Here. Do you want me to open it? Please, Ms. Hunter. What? There's a girl. What is it, Walter? I told you to get out of town if I didn't come back. I didn't want to leave. I didn't want to leave without you. I thought you slept in the park. Take a jump. Where is this stuff hidden? All right, Ben. Handcuff him to the chair. The girl behind him will find the stuff ourselves. All right, Tracy. All right, you're next. I haven't done anything, either. See, you can't prove it. Billy, shut up. That's better. No talking between you two. First, we'll separate you. All right, Ben. You take the living room here. I'll try the kitchen. And get a window open. It's hot in here. All right. Sergeant, you will be careful of the furniture. Yes, ma'am. I had no idea. You, Mr. Baker, of all people. Don't talk to him, please, ma'am. Oh, yes. Tin cop. Why don't you fail? Ben, look. It's only the beginning. He's got the stuff scattered seven ways for Sunday. We're going to need help. In the milk bottle? Yeah, two rings, three loose diamonds, and this bottle of mayonnaise. We found some kind of a brooch in it. A couple of watches taped to the underside of the kitchen sink. All right to you. Convinced? OK, Ben, call Backstran. There was a definite possibility that Walter Baker, alias Tracy, had stored some of his stolen loot outside his apartment. We stood little chance of ever recovering it unless we got him to break. Ben called Chief Backstran, and in 10 minutes he arrived at the apartment with another man from burglary detail, George Levine. Together we went over the four-room apartment, foot by foot. We found jewelry, watches, loose stones, and every conceivable place in cartons of cottage cheese and jars of cold cream in the garbage can everywhere. Who's your girlfriend? All right, I'll ask her. What's your name? I said, what is your name? Billy. Billy Crawford. He didn't do anything. He didn't. All right, Billy. Maybe you can tell us. Where's the rest of the stuff he stole? He didn't steal. He didn't steal anything. Billy, shut up. Keep quiet, Hugh. Ed, wait a minute. What? Just a minute. Papers. Tape to the underside of that top drawer. What is it, friend? No, no, you can't. You can't. Look at these. All right, you found them. I'll talk. No, Walter, don't. For all the papers. Here's your next con. Yeah, I'll cop out. Don't do it, Walter. Billy, shut up. Damn dame. The rest of the stuff. Where is it? On the roof. Inside the ventilator, the one near the front, you'll find a couple of paper bags. That's it. Levine, got it, Chief. I'll check it. Your papers say you did time in Oregon. What for? Fell for robbery. Did five. I owe him seven. What about the girl? Walter, I'm going with you. Her? I don't know. You figure it. All right, friendie. Romero, take the girl to Lincoln Heights and Booker. We'll take him. Right, Ed. Come on, Ben. No. No, Walter, I want to go with you. I'm sorry, ma'am. This way out. All right, easy, lady. No, no. Wait a minute. Just a minute. Walter? So long. Walter. All right, come on. Let's go. What's the matter? You feel all right? You lied. You said you loved me. You lied to me. Don't feel hurt, lady. You lied to everybody. The story you have just heard is true. Only the names were changed to protect the innocent. Walter Baker alias Walter Tracy was tried and convicted on three counts of first degree burglary and received the maximum sentence prescribed by law. He is now serving out his term in the state penitentiary. A hold has been placed on him by the state of Oregon where he will serve out seven years for violation of parole. Billy Crawford, Baker's accomplice, was tried and convicted of receiving stolen property and is now serving time in the state penitentiary for women. You have just heard the 11th in a new series of authentic cases transcribed from official police files. Technical advice for dragnet is furnished by the Los Angeles Police Department. Tonight's program is dedicated to warden Clarence A. Larkin of Folsom Prison, Sacramento, who on the evening of September 24th, 1937, gave his life so that yours might be more secure. Dragnet came to you from Los Angeles. If you enjoyed tonight's production of Dragnet, you'll want to listen this Saturday evening to a pair of adventure shows featuring two well-known Hollywood personalities. You'll enjoy Brian Donlevy, star of Dangerous Assignment. Also on Saturday's schedule is Richard Diamond, private detective, as played by the screen's romantic tough guy, Dick Powell. Listen to both of these exciting programs this Saturday over most of the same NBC stations. This is NBC, the national broadcasting company.