 Sound off for Chesterfield. Chesterfield, low in nicotine, highest in quality, best for you. Chesterfield brings you drag men. Ladies and gentlemen, the story you're about to hear is true. The names have been changed to protect the innocent. You're a detective sergeant. You're assigned a robbery detail. A hold-up man has robbed the owner of a neighborhood grocery store. The victim has been beaten unmercifully with a sawed-off shotgun. The assailant has escaped into the city without a trace. Your job? Find him. Smokers by the thousands are now changing to Chesterfield. The only cigarette ever to give you one, proof of low nicotine, highest quality. Two, this proven record with smokers. No adverse effects to the nose, throat and sinuses from smoking Chesterfield. Chesterfield, regular or king-size, low in nicotine, highest in quality, best for you. 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. It was Wednesday, February 18th. It was raining in Los Angeles. We were working the day watch out a robbery detail. My partner's Frank Smith. The boss is Chief of Detective Stad Brown. My name's Friday. The office had called me at 3.46 a.m. By the time I got dressed and out in front of my apartment, it was 3.59 a.m. Frank was there waiting to pick me up. What's the best way to get there? Down the freeway, I guess, and cut over on the lease on, huh? All right. Who called you? The hospital or the office? The office said that Bailey had regained consciousness. We might be able to talk to him now. The rain's gonna slow us down. I better use the light and siren, Frank. We may not have much time. Huh? The way the skipper put it to me on the phone. Yeah. They still don't know if Bailey's gonna live. Raymond Bailey was 62 years old. He owned and operated a small neighborhood grocery store on the corner of Whitman and Beacon Streets. Two days before on Monday night, a man had entered the store and at the point of a sawed-off shotgun had robbed Bailey. After emptying the cash register and the safe, he'd slugged the elderly man with a barrel of the gun and he'd fled. Bailey had been rushed to Georgia Street receiving hospital and then transferred to the county hospital for treatment. For the past two days, he'd been under heavy sedative and he'd been in a coma. He was suffering from a skull fracture, cuts, and bruises. His condition was listed as critical and we'd left word to be called a minute he regained consciousness. 4.26 a.m., we got to the hospital, we went up to the fourth floor. We met and talked with the doctor who'd been taking care of Bailey. He told us that the patient had just been given another shot to ease the pain and that he'd probably drop off to sleep. We went into the hospital room and walked over to the side of the bed. It was a few minutes before the old man started to talk. I'll tell you what I remember. All seemed kind of far away like I read about it in a book. Not like it really happened to me. All right, sir, if you'd just tell it in your own words if you can. What time is it? It's quarter to five, Mr. Bailey. Who's that? I'm Frank Smith. Are you a policeman too? Yes, sir. Oh, quarter to five, huh? That day or night? It's in the morning, sir. Uh-huh. I sure have been out. If you'd tell us what happened, sir. How many of you are there in here? With just the two of us. Yeah. The way they got in my head, all the bandies can't see. Say officers. Yes, sir. The doctor said this was Wednesday. Is that true? Yes, sir, that's right. Wednesday the 18th. Can't figure where the time's gone. Can't be Wednesday. Why do you have to agree with them? Why don't you tell me for true? Well, sir, you've been asleep for a couple of days. Really? Yes, sir. Been pretty sick, huh? That's what they tell us. Mm-hmm. It seems like every time I turn around and give me another shot, it takes the pain away, but it makes everything seem so far away, like nothing is really happening to me. Yes, sir, we understand. Think you could go on with the story? Oh, yeah. This fellow came in Monday night. It was raining. It wasn't much business. I was figuring on closing when he came in. Took one of the carts and started to pick up stuff off the counter. Yes, sir. Well, the fellow picked up a lot of stuff. Had a shopping bag with him, hung it on the cart. I figured that I'd have to check the bag when he got to the check stand. We had a lot of shoplifting lately. I see. Well, after he looked the store over, he came up to the check stand. I checked out stuff he had. Came to over $5. Picked out all kinds of things. Most of them imported. I see. These are all groceries, weren't they? Yes. I had the stuff and it came to a little over $5. I got exactly how much. A little over $5. All right, sir. After I got everything all towed up, I asked him if I could put it in the shopping bag for him. I didn't want to come right out and ask to see in it. For all he might have just moved in the neighborhood. I haven't got that many regulars that I can insult him. Yes, sir. That's when he pulled the gun. Pulled it right out of the shopping bag. You saw that it was a shotgun, did you? Yes, sir. The barrel was sharp. I guess it'd been sawed off. He pointed at me and told me to give him the money in the cash register. All right, sir. And he told me to lay down on the floor and stay there for five minutes, not to move. I was going to do it. I wasn't going to give men trouble. Money doesn't mean that much to me. You get maybe my age, 62, and it's more important that you're alive than how much money you've got. Yes, sir. A lot more important. Yes, sir. Well, I'm just going to do like you said when Mrs. Colton came into the store. She's one of my regular customers, you know. I see. She saw the fellow with the gun and she let out a scream. I tried to tell her to keep quiet, but before I could say much of anything, the fellow turned around and hit me with a gun. Oh, I say, hit me just about as hard as he could. I kind of remember the sirens coming, but that's kind of hazy. Like it didn't really happen to me, like I read about it. I see, sir. Now, can you tell us what the man looked like? Yes, I guess I can. Before I do, though... Yes, sir. Would you tell me what time it really is? Right now, it's 4.50, Mr. Bailey, 4.50 a.m. Wednesday morning? Yes, sir, that's right. I don't think it's very nice, you fellas. Played a joke like this on an old man. Seems like you could be honest. If I had my watch, I could tell myself. Well, we're telling you the truth about the time, Mr. Bailey, it's 4.50. All right, then you have your little joke, but I don't think it's funny at all. Sir, can you tell us how old the man was? About 24, 26. I see. How tall was he? Tall as me. I can remember, because I could look right over straight at him. That'd make him 5 and 8. Right about that. Was he heavy or slight? I couldn't tell too well. He had a big overcoat on. How about his coloring? His complexion? Oh, his dark complexion had dark eyes. Do you remember what the color of his hair was? Well, I could just see at the temples. It was black. He had his hat on and had it pulled down. Was he clean, Shaden? Yes, he was. I'm sorry to have to ask you all these questions, but we have to get to the bottom of this. Do you have any marks for scars? Yes, sir. He had a little mole on the side of his nose. Just a small little one. Which side of his nose, would you remember? Well, when he was facing me, it was on the left, so that would be on his right. Yes, that's right, on the right side. I hope we're not tiring you too much, but was there anything different about the way he talked, an accent, something like that? No. Say, how about the things you picked up? Do you get any fingerprints from him? No, sir. He must have taken all the groceries with him. Would you know the man if you saw him again, Mr. Bailey? He just bet I would. I'd remember that face to him a dying day. I won't ever forget it. Think you've ever seen this man before? No, sir, never did. Would you know if he drove a car? I don't think so. He was so wet when he came in. He must have walked a ways, and like I said, his shoulders are just soaking wet. Yes, sir. We'd like to have you look at some pictures when you feel a little better, Mr. Bailey. You just bring them on. You got a picture of that young hoodlum. I'll know it. All right, sir. We're going to have to come back and see you. You want to try to get some sleep now? We appreciate your cooperation here. I suppose I should. The last couple of minutes, you fellas get a little further away from me. Seems like none of this is happening to me. Just like I'm dreaming it. We'll be back to see you, sir. Is there anything you need? No, sir. Not a thing. All right, fine. Thanks very much. You get some rest now. Yeah, I'll try. Hey, one thing you could do for me. What's that, sir? Would you ask the nurse to come by? I think the joke is funny, but you fellas carried it on too far. I'd like to know what time it really is. All right, Mr. Bailey. We'll send her in. Thank you. Goodbye, sir. Goodbye. Goodbye. Pardon me, nurse. Yes? What if you check Mr. Bailey in there? He'd like to know what time it is. He's been asking the same question the last two days. He won't seem to believe any of us. But you know where you could find Dr. Cardell? Yes, sir. Just down the hall. Two doors past the turn. Thank you very much. Would you like to find out when he'll be able to look at those mug shots? Yeah, it's got a good description. It'll make it easier? Yeah. I guess this is it. Two doors past the turn. Yeah. Come in. Side of body again, doctor. That's all right. What can I do for you? We were wondering when it would be possible for Mr. Bailey to look at some pictures for us. I mean when he's well enough. Well, with the way he's been reacting to treatment, he'll live. Yes, sir. But you saw the bandage. Yes, sir. He's totally blind. At 5.10 a.m., we got to the city hall. We got out of supplementary broadcast and an APB carrying the description of the suspect. We asked the stats office to make a run for us on the information the victim of the holdup had given us. They said they'd be able to give us a list of possibles by 10.30 that morning. We checked through the oddity file to see if there might be something in the records on the small mole on the suspect's nose. There were several cards turned over to us, but none of them matched the rest of the description that we had. 6.30 a.m., we went across the street. We had breakfast, and then we came back to the office and put in a call to the hospital to check on Bailey. The doctor told us that he was sleeping comfortably, and he appeared to be past the critical point. For the next hour, Frank and I checked through the mugbooks to see if there were any recent parolees who matched the description that we had. We came up with nothing that would help us in getting an identification of the suspect. The woman customer of the store mentioned by Bailey in his report of the crime had been questioned thoroughly, but she was unable to give us any additional information on the holdup man. She was unable to give us a concrete description of the thief. She'd been shown the mugbooks, but after looking at them, she stated that she was more confused than she had been before seeing them. She also told us about the suspect's black overcoat. She said that while the shoulders looked quite wet from the rain, the rest of the garment appeared to be dry. 10.30 a.m., we got the results of the run from the stats office. There were 17 names on the list. All men matched the description of the suspect and had at one time or another used the same MO used in holding up Bailey. It took us two days to check them out, and at the end of 48 hours, we were no nearer apprehending the thief than we had been before. 7.58 a.m. Saturday morning, I checked in for work. Hi, Joe. Morning, Frank. It's one of the best investments I ever made. Huh? This trench coat, sure give me a lot of wear. Well, if you only used it this week, you'd gotten your money's worth. Yeah. Sure is the answer to the rain question, though. I've been wearing that plastic coat of mine so long I'm beginning to feel like a package of frozen food. Yeah. You look like it, too. Yeah. Anything in the book? No. I talked to Stoner this morning, thought for a minute he had something for us. What's that? Well, I picked up a kid down on 7th yesterday, tried the heist to liquor store. Manager pulled a gun and held him, Stoner answered the call. Well, at first it might be the guy we're looking for him. Didn't check out, though, huh? No. Kid just got in town yesterday morning, broke and hungry. You know, I got to thinking about that Bailey thing last night. Yeah? Well, what he said about the suspect's coat. What do you mean? Well, you remember that Bailey said the guy didn't look very wet, just the shoulders on the coat. Well, no, Joe Bailey didn't say exactly that. He said the shoulders on the coat looked wet. But it was that woman customer we talked to, that Mrs. Cotten. She's the one that told us the coat looked dry except the shoulders. Yeah. Well, that's the point I'm trying to make. I don't remember who said it. But if just his shoulders were wet, the way the rain was coming down out there, he couldn't have walked far and come in out of it that dry, could he? No. There's no bus or streetcar lines within six blocks of Bailey's store. We know he doesn't live close to the store. He had to come in a car. Nobody saw one, though. Yeah. Yeah. Well, it's happened before, I guess, it's the same thing you're thinking, huh? Well, could have took a cab, huh? Maybe. Well, let's run it down. It's better in standing still. There are 22 taxi cab companies listed in the phone directory, all serving the downtown Los Angeles area. Each of these companies may have from six to several hundred cabs in service at any given time. Each driver might make as many as six trips an hour. In wet weather, the cab traffic is almost double that of any normal day. As a result of the number of possibilities, Frank and I spent the next week going through driver's way bills, checking for a cab that dropped off a customer near the corner of Virgil Avenue in Bimini Place at approximately 9.30 p.m. on the day to the robbery. After checking the reports, we came up with one trip that looked good. A driver had picked up a passenger at the corner of Mariposa and Wilshire Boulevard and had dropped him one block from Bailey's store, waited for him, and then driven him downtown. We checked with the traffic manager of the cab company and we found that the cab would be located at the cab standout on Wilshire Boulevard. Frank and I drove out to see him. We gave him the description of the suspect and asked if he'd ever seen anybody who matched it. Yeah, I remember him, a little guy. I picked him up out on Wilshire. I remember because he wanted out on a corner. I thought it was funny that he didn't want me to let him out in front of wherever it was he was going. Did you wait for him? Yeah, he gave me a saw bug and said for me to wait. I dropped the flag and, oh, I guess it was about a half an hour later, he came running back to the cab, jumped in, told me to take him down to Bruce and spring, let him out there. I remember him pretty good now. Had a big shopping bag. I see. Do you know where he went when he got out of your cab out on Bimini? No. I think it was an apartment out there. The way the rain was coming down, I didn't stick my head out to watch him. How about when you dropped him off downtown? You see where he went then? No. You think you'd know this man if you ever saw him again? Not sure. He wore his hat kind of down over his face, darkened the back of the cab. Might know him, then maybe I wouldn't. I'd have you come downtown and look at some pictures if you would, see if you can spot him for us. Sure. I got to get cleared through the dispatcher first. That's all right. We'll take care of that. What's this guy done? Something pretty bad, huh? Well, we want to talk to him. Going to a lot of trouble just to talk to the guy. Come on, you can tell me. I won't spread it around. What's a beat? What's he done? I'll be a little better if we talk to him about it. Okay. That's the way you want to play it. I don't want to get nosy. I'll get you cleared with the dispatcher. Okay. I'd like to have you show us the apartment you think the man might have gone into if you would. Sure. Glad to do anything I can to help. Oh, say about those pictures. Yeah. Sure was dark that night. I hope I can point him off. Yes, or so do we. We took the cab driver downtown and he went through the mug books, but he was unable to come up with an identification. The neighborhoods where he'd picked up the suspect and where he'd dropped him off were checked. None of the people in the vicinity could tell us anything. The usual channels of information were checked, but they yielded no new information. It had been 10 days since the holdup, and we were no nearer to finding the suspect than we'd been the day after the robbery. Another week passed without results. The thief had dropped from sight. We still had no idea where he was. On Tuesday, March 10th, we got the answer. Hot shot. I'll get it. Anything? Yeah, he just hit again. The description in the M.O. of the thief had used was the same as he'd employed in holding up Bailey. During the following three days, he hit three more times. Each time he got away without a trace. From the information we were able to get, it became apparent that he was using taxi cabs to get to and from the scene of the holdups. We checked the cab companies and got their full cooperation. They agreed to help us as much as they could, but explained that with the tremendous volume of business that they handled each day, it would be almost impossible to check every passenger that the driver's carried. We got out printed descriptions of the suspect, giving detailed information of the hat and the coat that he wore, the shopping bag that he carried, and the fact that he asked the drivers to wait for him. Another week passed without results. The bandit had stopped operating. Thursday, March 19th, three additional teams of men were assigned to the case, and a rolling stakeout was set up in the general area where the holdup man had been working. Additional cars were planted at the cab stands along Wilshire Boulevard and in the vicinity of First and Spring Streets. Another two days passed. On Thursday, March 21st, Frank and I were sitting in our car, staked out at the cab stand at the corner of Wilshire and Leeward, 8.46 p.m. That looks like it's gonna rain again. Yeah. Those clouds have been moving in all afternoon. Pretty black, aren't they? Yeah, sure cold, too. Attention, all units. All units, nine, six, four, eight, Elton Place at 211 Code 3. All units in the vicinity of nine, six, four, eight, Elton Place at 211 Code 3. Let's go. Right. This is 9,400. Should be two blocks down from here. All right. Better hold it because the cab headed this way. You see who's in it? No, he's pulling over the other side. I'll take a look. That might be. You want to check it? Yeah. All right, I'll swim you around. That cab's taking off. You see it? Yeah, he's up ahead. Yeah, I hope you don't lose him. Don't have one man in the back seat. You get a good look at him when we pass? Not too good, no. Hat pulled on its butt off. Yeah, there he is up ahead. Yeah, probably pulled a gun on that driver. All right, stick to him now. Yeah. It looks like he's headed for MacArthur Park, you know. Turn right. There's a cab. I'm gonna pull up. Stop. He said he'd kill me if I did. He had the gun pointed right at me. You see where he went? Yeah, he ran over there in the park. Good, I'll check it. I didn't know what it was all about. He said if I didn't keep driving, he'd kill me. That's all right. You stay here. I'll be right back. Yeah, sure. Joe. Yeah? You see him? No, he got away. Maybe we've got something to go on. Yeah. He dropped his shotgun. You are listening to Dragnet, the authentic story of your police force in action. Smokers by the thousands are now changing to Chesterfield, the only cigarette ever to give you one proof of low nicotine highest quality. Chemical analyses of the country's six leading brands confirm that. Two, the only cigarette ever to give you this proven record with smokers. Again and again, over a full year and one half, a group of Chesterfield smokers have been given thorough medical examinations. The doctor's reports are a matter of record. No adverse effects to the nose, throat, and sinuses from smoking Chesterfield. The responsible independent research laboratory supervises this continuing program. Chesterfield, the only cigarette ever with a record like this. Chesterfield, best for you. A blockade of MacArthur Park was ordered. The surrounding streets were checked, but apparently the suspect had made good as escape. The crime lab crew was called and they came out and went over the cab for physical evidence. In the back seat of the cab, we found the shopping bag that the thief had carried. It was a plain brown paper bag with heavy cord handles. There was no way of tracing it. In the bottom of the bag under several cans of food, there was a sales slip with a penciled notation. One of the prices that had been rung up had apparently been wrong. And after the total had been made, a credit to the customer had been deducted. There was no market name on the slip and no address, just the penciled notation. The shotgun and the cans of food were checked for fingerprints, but those that were found were so badly smudged that they were useless. The serial number was checked with gun records, and we found out that the gun had been reported stolen three months previously. We went out and talked to the man who'd made the report, but he couldn't help us. Lieutenant Lee Jones made photographs of the serrated edge of the sawed-off barrels, and they were booked as evidence. We checked at the store that had been robbed, but they told us that the sales slip wasn't theirs. Monday, March 23rd, we started out to find the store that had made out the slip. We checked all of the smaller grocery stores in the area where most of the cabs had been picked up. It took us the better part of three days. On Wednesday afternoon, we stopped at a small delicatessen at the corner of Third and Leeward Streets. The manager there told us that he didn't recognize the slip, but he said that it could have come from their cash register. He asked us to wait while he called his wife. She came over to the store, and we showed her the receipt. Yeah, that's one I made out. The customer bought four cans of tomato sauce, and I made a mistake on the register. I overcharged him a penny on each can. You noticed that he made quite a scene. It was pretty embarrassing. I apologize, and I gave him a credit. Do you know the man? He comes in quite often once twice a week. Does he live in the neighborhood, would you know? No, I can't tell you that. He just comes in, then he leaves. Do you know his name? No, I don't. Do you drive a car? I've never seen him in a car. He usually walks in, gets what he wants, then walks up. Do you ever come in with anybody else? No, he's always alone. And you don't know if he lives around here, huh? Well, I told you no. What's he done? What's this all about? We want to talk to him, ma'am. When do you think he'll be back? Well, let's say this is Thursday. Might be in this evening, maybe tomorrow. What times do you usually come in? Mostly in the late afternoon or early evening. Is there something I can do? Do you have a message I could give you? No, ma'am. We'll give it to him. We called the office and told them where we were. Sergeant Murphy and Rafferty were sent out to help us cover the place. They'd stopped by the business office and brought out two shotguns for us. Frank and I checked the small store for some place to stake out. The only place we could find where we could keep the entire store under observation and yet not be seen ourselves was on top of one of the large refrigerators that held frozen foods and dairy products. Murphy and Rafferty took up their positions outside of the store and we waited. At 5.30 it started to rain again. There was no sign of the suspect. 7 p.m., 8 p.m., still no sign of him and the rain got heavier. 8.30, 9 p.m. Every time this thing switches on, it feels like the dentist is working on the teeth. There's not much room up here. Don't shove me off. There just isn't one. What's that? Just isn't any way a man can lay on top of an ice box and be comfortable to him. Evening? Yeah. Glad to see you back. Huh? I thought you might be mad about me overcharging you the other day. Looking for anything special tonight? No, just a couple can things. I can get them. Sure is raining. Yeah. Looks good. Yeah. This wheelie comes over this way and you can jump him then, huh? Right. All right, now. Hey, what's going on? Watch it, Joe. There he goes. My police officer, hold it up. He isn't gonna stop, Joe. You see Murph and Rafferty? Yeah. They're across the street. Looks like he's going in that apartment. Come on. All right, take it easy. He should be in there. He is. All right, cover me. Right. All right, give it up, mister. Get away from me. Cover me. I'll kill you. Come on downstairs. You're gonna save yourself a lot of trouble. You okay, Joe? Yeah. He's still alive. You want to call the ambulance? Yeah. Who told you? Who tipped you off? You did. I never talked to my life. I wasn't even worried. You were once, fella. What about it? Four cents. The story you have just heard is true. The names were changed to protect the innocent. On July 16th, trial was held in Department 96, 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 Fenerman. I only need seven seconds to tell you why you should be smoking Chesterfields. Chesterfield is low in nicotine, highest in quality, best for you. I'd like you to try them. Regular or king size, Chesterfield. Earl Russell Craig was tried and convicted on three counts of robbery in the first degree and one count of assault with a deadly weapon. Robbery in the first degree is punishable by imprisonment in the state penitentiary for a period of not less than five years. Assault with a deadly weapon is punishable by imprisonment for a period not to exceed 10 years. Ladies and gentlemen, this week in Detroit, a group of men are gathered for the 60th annual conference of the International Association of Chiefs of Police. Dragnet sends best wishes to the top law enforcement officers in the nation and thanks them for the protection they daily give to our homes and families. May this conference be the best one they've ever had. 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 Winn, Sergeant Vance Brasher. Heard tonight were Ben Alexander, Ralph Moody, Lillian Bayef, Jack Krushen. Script by John Robinson. Music by Walter Schumann. Hell, give me speaking. Watch an entirely new Dragnet Case History each week on your local NBC television station. Please check your newspaper for the day and time. Chesterfield has brought you Dragnet transcribed from Los Angeles. 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