 Sound off for Chesterfield. Chesterfield, the only cigarette in America to give you premium quality in both regular and king size, brings you dragnet. Ladies and gentlemen, the story you were about to hear is true. The names have been changed to protect the innocent. You're a detective sergeant. You're assigned a homicide detail. You get a call that the body of a man has been found in an alley. He's been strangled with his own necktie. The body has been robbed. There's no lead to the killer. Your job, find him. Thousands are changing to Chesterfield, both regular and king size, because Chesterfield is the first and only cigarette to give you premium quality in both sizes. That means king-size Chesterfield contains tobaccos of better quality and higher price than any other king-size cigarette. It's the same fine tobacco as in regular Chesterfield, and there's enough to give you more than a one-fifth longer smoke. Yes, more than a fifth longer smoke from king-size Chesterfield. So remember, Chesterfield is the only cigarette to give you premium quality in both regular and king size. Buy them either way you like them. Premium quality Chesterfield and much milder. Dragnet, 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 transcribed from official police files. From beginning to end, from crime to punishment, Dragnet is the story of your police force in action. Well, Sunday, February 10th, it was cold in Los Angeles. We were working the day watch out of homicide. My partner's Frank Smith. The boss is Thad Brown, chief of detectives. My name's Friday. We got in the call at 8.36 a.m., and it was 8.49 a.m. when we got to the corner of 18th and Winfield, the back alley. Must be it there. Yeah. Yeah, there's Harper. Sergeant, back here. Hi, Friday, sir. Harper, where is he? Back here. Who found him? Probably gives his name is Alexander Jones. Where's he now? Al's got him out in the car. I figured you'd want to talk to him. Pretty bad, huh? Yeah. Must've had himself a real time last night. He's seeing things this morning. We picked him up just coming out of the alley, stopped to talk to him, and looked like he was having a real rough time. Jones, huh? Yeah, probably not his real name. I've seen him around here before. There's the body. Uh-huh. Strangle. Yeah, an ambulance is here. Here's a slip he was DOA. Yeah. See how the tie is pulled up out of the shirt. Looks like he was Rob. The pocket's all turned inside out. Uh-huh. I want to call the crime lab, Frank. Yeah. Found a couple of footprints over here in the gutter. Eel indentation looks pretty good. Yeah. Put this box over him. I don't know if he'll mean anything. Thought I'd better keep him for you, though. Mm-hmm. Looks like the body was dragged back here, didn't it? Marks and the dirt. Yeah. How about the neighborhood, Harper? Anybody around here see anything? I don't know. There wasn't anybody on the streets when we picked up this Jones guy. Haven't had a chance to canvas the area. Didn't want to leave here, you know? Yeah. Well, we better call the office head and send out a couple of men. I'll leave. We'll be right out. Adam at home is sound asleep. Said he'd call the lab and have Alan bring the stuff out and leave him right here. How about the corner? He's on his way. Well, I want to call the office, Frank. Get some help checking the stores around, see if anybody heard anything. I use the phone and cigar store on the corner. Guy on there said he opened up about 7. 7.15. Said he didn't know anything about it. The store's back door is right there. See the one with the cigar posters on it? Yeah. All right, come on. I'll call in and then we can check some of the other places, huh? All right. I'll wait here as charged until the rest of them come. Fine. Thanks, Harper. I'll be on the street side there. Okay. Let us know when Lee gets here. Yeah. What do you think, Joe? Well, I don't know. The way he's dressed there, good clothes. Looks like he had money. He doesn't figure it, does he? Yeah. What was he doing down here? 9.12 a.m. I called the office and two teams of men were sent out to help us canvas the area. Frank and I checked with the owner of a liquor store who was getting ready to open for business. He told us that he'd come in early that morning to clean up his store and that he'd taken a load of trash out into the alley at about 8.25 a.m. But at that time, he hadn't seen the body. He went on to say, however, that it was possible that it might have been there, and he just didn't notice it. 9.26 a.m. Sergeant Jay Allen and Lieutenant Lee Jones from the crime lab arrived and began collecting the physical evidence. The body and the surrounding area were photographed. Photographs were taken of the footprints that Officer Harper had found. They were compared with the shoes worn by the victim, but they didn't match. The coroner went through the dead man's pockets but found nothing. Everything had been removed, all his personal effects, if any. The crew from the crime lab went through the alley and found a wallet behind the garbage cans at the rear of the liquor store. There was no money in it, but other papers hadn't been disturbed. Driver's License Social Security card and several business cards in the wallet bore the name of Arthur McKinley. The description on the license matched that of the victim. Comparison of the thumbprint on the driver's license with those taken from the body matched. McKinley's home address was listed as 9722 Willetta Street in Hollywood. The coroner removed the body. 10.52 a.m., Frank and I talked to Alex Jones, the man who had been in the alley where the body had been found. We had him take everything out of his pockets. I don't know what you're talking about. I didn't kill anybody. We didn't say you did. All we want to know is what were you doing in that alley? I went there to get away. From what? People. They're no good, none of them, no good. You got a job? Yeah, I work. What do you do? Wash dishes sometimes. Pearl dyer? No, sir, no pearl dyer. I'm bartender. I don't feel so good. You got anything to drink around here? You know better than that, don't you? I don't mean booze. Something cold. It feels like somebody's closed a valve in my head and feels like it's going to blow apart. And there's something many things as long as it's cold, right? How about a coke? Yeah, be fine. I'll get it for you. Want one, Joe? No, no thanks. Mind if I go with you? Kind of stuffy in here. All right, come on, we'll all walk down. Have you ever been arrested, Alex? Yeah, a couple of times. Pick me up for being drunk. What's your real name, Alex? Stafford. Alex Stafford, that's the truth. Where are you from? Kansas. What are you doing out here? Figured when I got out of the service I'd come out here and go to work. Yeah? Got out here, spent a couple of days looking for a job, had my muster now pay about 400 bucks. Figured I didn't have to go to work right away. Uh-huh, just a second. All right, here you go. Thanks. Want one, Frank? No, thanks. I want to check R&I and see if they've finished the run on McKinley yet. Sure cold. Tastes good. Feel better. That's fine, all right, let's go. Frank, see you back at the interrogation room. Okay, Joe. Wanna stop at the office, give the corners office a call? Yeah. Like I was telling you, I figured that I didn't have to come up with a job right away, so I started to see the town. I found a place to work where I could maybe do some good. Right. Where I could do some good. Where the tips would be good, you know, nice people. Mm-hmm. Well, I went around to the bars and talked to the bartenders, checking around. Each of the places I'd have a drink, you know, just to be sociable. Yeah. It wasn't long before my dough was gone. I was flat broke, kicked out of my room. I can't blame the landlady, she carried me for a couple of months, so I had to go. All right, go ahead. What do you mean when you said that you were running away from people? I got a job yesterday. I had washing dishes in the restaurant down on spring. I worked like a dog. When I left last night, they paid me. I guess the boss knew I didn't have any money, no place to sleep. Yeah. I started to find a bed, and then I got to thinking that a drink might make me sleep better. So I stopped at a bar and had a cup. I had a couple more. I guess I fell asleep. Yeah. Anyway, I went into the alley, that one where you found a dead man, and I sat down and I went to sleep again. When I woke up I was walking out when that cop in the car stopped me. I didn't know the man was in there. Honest, I didn't. Now you got to believe me, because somebody's got to believe me. I didn't know he was there. Anything? Not on McKinley. Not Alex Recker. Yeah. Like you said, a couple of drunk arrests, that's all. I told you. Didn't I tell you that? I got nothing to hide. I didn't even know the man was there. All right, take it easy. Anything from the corner? Yeah, Joe, I call him. Fixes a time of death at about 11.30 last night. Body hasn't been posted yet. All right. You prove where you were at 11.30 last night. Can you, Alex? I don't know. I was someplace. Yeah, we know that, but where? Well, I got a thing. 11.30. I was still working. I was washing dishes in the place over on spring. You can prove that, can you? Yeah, yeah, sure. The boss, he'll tell you he saw me. He saw me. I didn't leave until 12. That's when I left the place. 12 o'clock, he'll tell you. 12 midnight. All right, Alex. Can I go now? Oh, we gotta put in a call first. Maybe it might be better if we held you over a lot. Why? I haven't done anything. Well, it's against the law to be drunk on the streets. You know that, Alex. Yeah, I guess I do. You gonna put me in jail, huh? No, we're gonna have to book you. The judge will decide where you're gonna go. Probably be the county work farm. Yeah. That was probably better that way. Give me a chance to get off the bus. Well, I had it this time. See who knows what's the thing. Just one thing, Sergeant? Yeah. I wanna make sure you understand it. That you really believe me. What's that, Alex? I'm not a dishwasher. I'm a bartender. 12.18 p.m., we had Alex Stafford booked at the main jail on a charge of violation of 4127LAMC drunk. We called the place where he'd been employed and found that he'd been telling the truth about the time at the restaurant on Spring Street. 1.36 p.m., we drove out to McKinley's home in Hollywood, was a small stucco cottage set into the side of a hill. In front of the house, it was a boy's bicycle and a smaller child's wagon. Frank rang the bell and we waited. Yes? Mrs. McKinley? Yes, that's right. What do you want? Police officers, man. We'd like to talk to you. It's about Arthur, isn't it? Isn't it? It might be better if we talked inside, Mrs. McKinley. All right, come on in. You'd have to excuse the way the house looks. I haven't felt like cleaning it up. I've been so worried about Arthur. That's quite all right, ma'am. Now, what is it you want to tell me about him? He's dead, isn't he? You don't have to lie about it. I know he's dead. I spend the whole night thinking about it. You can probably tell I haven't gotten any sleep. I don't want you to lie about it. I want the truth. Arthur's dead, isn't he? Yes, ma'am, he is. I'll have to sit down. Is there something we can get for him, Mrs. McKinley? Water? Something like that? No, nothing. Why do you say you knew your husband was dead, ma'am? I just knew it, that's all. I can't tell you how. I can't put it into words, but I just knew it, that's all. When he called last night, I knew. What time was that, ma'am? About 6.30. He said he was just leaving the shop, and he was on his way home. It was his birthday. He's going to stop and get some beer and a couple of bottles of bourbon. He's going to have some people in. He said he was going to stop for some things. Then he said he'd be right home. Yes, ma'am. The children waited up for him till 10 o'clock. That's the way past the bedtime. I let them wait up. They had some presents they wanted to give their father. Arthur Jr. had made a wallet and handcraft class at school, all tooled and carved and everything. It's on the table there. Little bro got him an ashtray. She picked it out by herself. It's on the table, too. I guess maybe you'll never get it now. I wonder if we could call your family doctor, ma'am. You don't look like you well. No. I just can't believe it yet. But I know it's true. That's funny, isn't it? I know it's true, but I don't believe it. I know it's true, and I don't believe it. How did it happen? Was it an accident in the car? No, ma'am. He was murdered. Arthur. Arthur, he was murdered? That's right, Miss McKinley. Miss McKinley? There's no Mr. McKinley anymore. He was murdered. I think maybe you better let us call a doctor for you, ma'am. Get you something. No, there's nothing a doctor can do. Nothing anybody can do. Nothing. Who did it, you know? You know who killed it? No, ma'am. We don't. Not yet. You said your husband called you from the shop, ma'am. What shop would that be? He'd say he'd be home. He was going to stop for some things, and then he'd be home. But he wasn't. I knew it. I knew it all night. I thought, and I thought of what I'd say, what I'd do, how I'd feel. But none of it fits. None of it seems to matter. Nothing matters much. Nothing. He said he was coming right home. Who's your family, doctor, ma'am? What'd you say? Doctor, ma'am, who is he? Dr. Simkins in Hollywood. Dr. Simkins, Hollywood 27083. You want to call him? Yeah. He said he was going to pick up a few things and come right home. My husband. Far as McKinley. You know that, do you? Ma'am. There is no Mr. McKinley anymore, is there? We called the McKinley family doctor. He arrived and gave Mrs. McKinley a sedative. Frank and I talked to her before it took effect. She told us that her husband's friends, his business associates, she could give us no new leads. She told us that her husband usually brought the weekend receipts from the store home with him on Sunday night so that he could make out the deposit slipped for the bank. She said that he usually had about $300 to $400 on Sunday night. She gave us the name of the liquor store where he did business. 2.47 p.m., Frank and I drove out to the store. Tell me, what can I do for you? Mr. Kennedy. Night. Police officers, Mr. Kennedy, would you like to ask a couple of questions? Sure, I ain't gonna help the police. No, sir, it's about Arthur McKinley. He got home last night? His wife called, seemed pretty upset. Nothing wrong, is there? Was Mr. McKinley in here last night, sir? Yeah, he was. Let's see, I guess it's about a quarter to seven. Come in and get a case of beer, a couple of bottles of bourbon. Was there anybody with him when he came in? No, no, there wasn't. Did he seem all right to you when he was here? What do you mean? Well, he was in good spirits. He acted like anything was wrong. No, of course that don't mean anything. Sir? Well, even if there was anything wrong with Arthur, you'd never know it. He always laughed and always had a joke. He had a great one last night, real funny. Yeah? He told the one about the two musicians that were walking down the railroad track and one of them said to the other, boy, this is the longest stairway I've ever been down. Well, yes, sir. And then the other musician said, I don't mind that, but these low banisters are killing me. Low banisters. Say, what's this all about, anyway? Something happened to Arthur? He's been murdered, Mr. Kennedy. Arthur? Arthur McKinley? You sure? Yes, sir. We're sure. How about that? Only last night I saw him laughing away. He was killed. Y'all did it? No, sir, not yet. How about that? But his wife's pretty upset. Do you know anyone who might want to kill him? No, not Arthur. Anybody in the neighborhood he had quarrels with? Any disagreements? No, not even think of. Well, has there been anybody new? Anybody you don't know hanging around the neighborhood lately? Anybody who could have known about McKinley's carrying that money around with him? Oh, let me think. Yeah, come to think about it, there is a fella. Seen him around the last couple of days. Matter of fact, I saw him last night when I helped Arthur carry the beer out to the car. Sure, that's where I saw him. Sir? He was in the car with Arthur. February 10th, 350 p.m., we continued to question John Kennedy. He told us that when Arthur McKinley had left the liquor store, he had carried a case of beer out to the car for him. Kennedy said there was a man waiting in the car. The liquor store owner told us that he had seen the man in the neighborhood on several previous occasions. That the man had talked to most of the shopkeepers in the vicinity, asking for odd jobs. Kennedy went on to say that he had hired him himself once to wash the front windows of the store. He gave us a complete description, and Frank called it into the office. A local and an APB were gotten out on him. Kennedy was unable to give us his name or tell us where the suspect might live. He agreed to go downtown to the city hall and look through the mug books for us. He called his brother down to take charge of the store, and as soon as he arrived, Kennedy was taken down to the office. 5.17 p.m., we drove back to the McKinley home. Mrs. McKinley had recovered from the initial shock of finding out that her husband was dead. We asked her if she knew where her husband's car was, and she told us that as far as she knew, he had driven at the night before, and that she hadn't seen it since. She gave us the description and license number, and we called it into the office. A broadcast was gotten out on it. We asked Mrs. McKinley to go with us to her husband's store, and she agreed. On a table in back of the store, we found two empty beer bottles and a couple of glasses. Layton Prince was called, and they came out and lifted two sets of fingerprints from the bottles and the glasses. Crime Lab came out and photographed the place. There was no sign of a struggle, but there was evidence that there had been a party there the night before. We drove Mrs. McKinley back to her home, and at 8.13 p.m., Frank and I checked back into the city hall. Long day, huh, Joe? Yeah, I'm getting a little tired. What do you want to eat tonight? Doesn't make any difference. Go ahead. I got it. Homicide Friday. Yeti. Mm-hmm. They did, huh? Who? Let me get that. Yeah. Yeah, I got it. Okay, thanks, Dean. Yeah, you bet. Good night. It was Bergman. I made the prints on that bottle and glass. Yeah. Following him, Fred Girard did time for armed robbery. You are listening to Dragnet, the authentic story of your police force in action. We like to give you the facts about Chesterfield so you can be your own judge. Chesterfield is the first and only cigarette to give you premium quality in both regular and king size. Chesterfield is the first and only cigarette to tell you what it's made of. The world's best tobaccos kept tasty and fresh by pure and costly moistening agents. The best that money can buy. And Chesterfield's cigarette paper is of the highest purity. Now, Chesterfield is the first and only cigarette to present this scientific evidence on the effects of smoking. A medical specialist is making regular bimonthly examinations of a group of people from various walks of life. 45% of this group have smoked Chesterfields for an average of 10 years. He reports that he observed no adverse effects on the nose, throat, and sinuses of the group from smoking Chesterfield. Either way, you like them. Regular or king size, you'll find premium quality Chesterfields much milder. Sunday, February 10th, 8.30 p.m., Frank and I pulled a package on Fred Girard. He'd been arrested in 1942 on a charge of violation of 211 PC. He'd been convicted and had served five years in the penitentiary at San Quentin. We checked back with John Kennedy, the man who had seen Arthur McKinley leave the liquor store in the company of the man we figured to be the murderer. When we entered the mug room, he was talking to Sgt. Joe LaMonica and Danny Galindo. They told us that so far, he had been unable to identify the man he had seen with McKinley. We showed him a mug shot of Girard and he positively identified it. Kennedy went on to say that as far as he was concerned, there could be no mistake, and that as far as he knew, Girard was the last man seen with the victim before his death. McKinley's car had been found two blocks from the alley where we'd found the body. He was a bourbon. Layton Prince went out and dusted the car. They came up with one good set of prints other than the victims. When these were checked, it was found that they matched the file copies of Girard's fingerprints. 946 p.m. We drove out to the address listed in Girard's package. His landlady showed us to his room. It was evident that he hadn't been in it the night before. Frank and I waited for him to return. 10 p.m. Yeah, that's right. Who are you? Police officers. Oh, cops. What do you want with me? You know a man named Arthur McKinley? Yeah, I know him. When'd you see him last? Last night. Where? At his store. I came by about 6.15. We talked for a while and he closed the store. I said he had to get home for a birthday party, something like that. We went down the street to Kennedy's to get some beer and then he went back to the store. I said a couple and then I left. I ate 30 or so. I had to meet a guy out in Santa Monica, so I left. You left McKinley at his store? Yeah, that's right. What do you give me problems for? I haven't done anything. All right, take everything out of your pockets. Put it right down here. Look, you got no right to barge in here. Tell me what to do. I'm clean. Then you got no reason for not cooperating now, have you? Well, I suppose not. Then take everything out of your pockets. Mm-hmm. Your money and your wallet? I don't know. I have to count it. All right, count it. I'll see you in five, six, or seven. Eight bucks, I don't know. After six, seven, eight, nine. 92 cents. An Canadian penny. Was there anybody with McKinley and you when you were drinking? No, just went into the back of the store to have a beer, a little talk. We got along pretty good. He used to hire me once in a while to clean up a store or sweep out things like that. Yeah. Was he feeling all right when you left him? Yeah, so I didn't ask him where he didn't say anything about it. Just said he had to get home for a party that his wife would be active if he was late. Like I said, I left at 9.15. You might ask too. Bennett, he might be able to tell you something. Who's he? Once in a grocery just down the street from McKinley. You say he might know about McKinley? Yeah, he was there when I left. I was walking out when Mr. McKinley opened the door. Bennett was walking by. He said he had some things he wanted to talk to McKinley about. Mm-hmm. And when I left, Bennett went in the store. He didn't know about it anyway. Something happened to McKinley. He's been murdered. Oh, no, kid. You're a nice guy. You figured I did it, huh? That's the way it looked. Yeah. Well, I did some time. I won't try to con you. You'll probably know all about it anyway. I wouldn't kill anybody, though. I'm going straight. I've been working every day since I got out. Mm-hmm. I'll tell you, though, you might talk to Stu Bennett. He was with him when I left. Fred Gerard gave us a complete description of Stuart Bennett. We called the name into R&I, but he had no record. We checked Bennett's store and found a card on the front door that gave his home address. Frank and I drove out to his house. He lived in a new apartment development in the southwest section of town. Monday morning, 12.47 a.m., we rang the bell to his apartment. He's probably asleep. Yeah. Want to try it again? Mm-hmm. Who is it? Like, talk to ya. Just a minute. Yeah? Police officers. I'm Frank Smith. This is my partner Joe Friday. How do you do? You want to come in? Right. Well, what is it you wanted to talk to me about? You know a man named Arthur McKinley? Do you? I knew you'd find out. I knew it. I knew it right after it happened. Knew it right away. All right. You want to get dressed? Yeah, all right. I came home last night after it happened. I thought about it. I thought and thought. I wanted to go and tell you about it. I knew that I'd done a terrible thing. Killed Arthur. Killed another human being. Killed Arthur. Killed another human being. Killed another human being. You got to understand one thing, Mr. Friday. What's that? It's important to me. I'm not a vicious man. Why'd you kill him? I stopped last night to talk to him about all of us getting together as sort of a pool. Hiring Fred to sort of take care of all the stores. That's what I went to see him about. I thought it'd be nice to have someone to take care of the stores. You know, wash the windows, sweep up them. We'd all chip in and pay him. Sort of a pool, like I said. Yeah. I remember the idea. Said he'd been thinking about giving Fred a regular job in the flower shop. Said things were real good with him. He thought he'd take on an assistant. Things were going real fine for him. All right. You better get dressed. We'll go downtown. After I killed him, I took him out of the store, put him in an alley. Yeah? I wanted to come and tell you about it. I went down to City Hall. I walked up the stairs on Spring Street. You know the big ones? Yeah. I sat there. The doors were closed. The sign said to use a main street entrance. I sat down on the stairs. Sat there for a long time. I thought about telling somebody about what I'd done. Then I walked around by the police department. On the walk, it goes around. I looked into the window and saw the detectives. I wanted to go right in and tell them about it. All right. Come on. Get your clothes on. Let's go. I should prove it to you. What's that? I'm not a vicious man. The story you have just heard was true. The names were changed to protect the innocent. On June 5th, trial was held in Department 97, Superior Court of the State of California, in and for the county of Los Angeles. In a moment, the results of that trial. Now, here is our star, Jack Webb. Thank you, George Phanaman. Friends, remember now, Chesterfield is first to present this scientific evidence on the effects of smoking. A medical specialist is making regular, bi-monthly examinations of a group of people from various walks of life. 45% of this group have smoked Chesterfields for an average of 10 years. He reports that he observed no adverse effects on the nose, throat, and sinuses of the group from smoking Chesterfield. Either way you like them, regular or king size, you'll find premium quality Chesterfields much milder. Stuart Carlisle Bennett was tried and found guilty of murder in the first degree. He is now serving his term in the State Penitentiary, San Quentin, California. Murder in the first degree is punishable by death or by confinement in the State Penitentiary for life. You have just heard DRAGNET, a series of authentic cases from official files. Technical advice comes from the Office of Chief of Police, W.H. Parker, Los Angeles Police Department. Technical Advisors, Captain Jack Donahoe, Sergeant Marty Wynn, Sergeant Phan Spracer. Heard tonight were Ben Alexander, Eddie Firestone, Carolyn Jones, Herb Vigrant, scripted by John Robinson, music by Walter Schumann, Hal Gibney speaking. Sound off for Chesterfields. Either way you like them, regular or king size, you'll find premium quality Chesterfields much milder. Chesterfield has brought you DRAGNET, transcribed from Los Angeles. Tonight, more adventure with Barry Craig, confidential investigator on NBC.