 Ladies and gentlemen, the story you are about to hear is true. The names have been changed to protect the innocent. Dragnet is brought to you by Chesterfield, made by Liggett and Myers. First, major tobacco company to bring you a complete line of quality cigarettes. You're a detective sergeant. You're assigned a juvenile detail. You get a report of drug addiction within a group of teenagers. You don't know if the information is true. Your job? Check it out. Meet Peter Lindhays and Mary Healy, America's favorite husband and wife comedy team. They are typical of smokers everywhere who are saying, Chesterfield's for me. Mary says, I've smoked regular-sized Chesterfields for about seven years. Guess that ought to prove how I feel about Chesterfield's taste and mildness. Peter says, Chesterfield's for me, too. For as I'm concerned, King is the only size, and like Mary says, Chesterfield is the only cigarette. Either way you like them. I bet you'll find Chesterfield is best for you. Yes, smoke America's most popular two-way cigarette, regular and King-sized Chesterfield. For the taste you want, the mildness you want, join the thousands now changing to Chesterfield. Always say, Chesterfield's for me. 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 10th. It was cold in Los Angeles. We were working the day watch out of juvenile detail. My partner's Frank Smith. The boss is Captain Powers. My name's Friday. I was on my way into the office, and it was 8.01 a.m. when I got to Georgia Street Juvenile Squad Room. Hi, Frank. Well? Hmm? Well, what do you think? About what? Ruth, what do you think? Oh, she's nice, sure. Was that all you got to say? Well, what do you want me to say? Did you like her? She's a nice girl, yeah. You got another date with her? No, I told her I'd call her sometime. You said you'd call her, huh? Mm-hmm. Did you say when? No, I just said sometimes. Sometimes? Well, Faye's not going to like it. Why? She's just not, Joe. You're not sure we had it this time? Well, look, Frank, I think it's real nice of you and Faye to be concerned. I don't think that I don't appreciate it, but when you asked me over last night, I figured we're just going to have dinner and set her on and talk. I didn't know anything about this girl going to be there. Don't you think you should have told me? Let me know. Joe, you like girls, don't you? Well, of course I like girls. Well, we couldn't have done that, you know. It would louse the whole thing up if we'd told you ahead of time. We just wanted you to meet her. Got the full effect, bang, like that. I got the full effect. And we tried to set it all up for you. She is pretty, don't you think? Yeah, I guess so. Blue eyes, red hair? I think she's real pretty. Mm-hmm. You know, Faye and me had a whole evening planned, right from the time you two met. I kind of got that idea. What do you mean? Well, you were about as subtle as a water buffalo. Now, you tell me where we were obvious. Go ahead, tell me. Well, all right. First off, the music. That album or records are yours there. What's it called? Love music or whatever it was? Mood for lovers. Yeah. Mm-hmm. I bought them special. Yeah. And the flowers on the table? Well, you gotta have flowers. You gotta have something for the center of the table. You must have gone a long way for those. Orange blossoms? You had to have those. Well, Faye's not gonna like it. Well, I'm very sorry about that, Frank. Well, we're just trying to show you the advantages of getting married. Well, I appreciate you and Faye trying, but let me do it my way, huh? Is there any mail this morning? Huh? Any mail. Yeah. Skipper put a note in your box. Okay. Tickets for the police show. You gotta sell tickets, huh? Yeah. So do you. Here's your book. You're not mad, are you, Joe? No. Man, it's just that all the time people are trying to be helpful, you know. Well, I kind of hate to say it behind her back. Hmm? I say I hate to say it behind her back, but it was Faye's idea. I didn't have any part in it. Yeah. Faye's idea. Faye's idea. You sure you're not sore, huh? No, I told you I'm not mad. Sure? I'm sure, Frank. Yeah. No, Ruth. What? Look, it, uh, wasn't the fact that she was a redhead, was it? Friday? Yeah. Yeah, Skipper says to run this down. Thanks, Ed. What do you got? Take a look at this. Huh? Dear sir, I have some information for you about a big dope ring. It's important I talk to you. I'll meet you at the streetcar stop at 7th and Broadway on the east side after 3.45 p.m. tomorrow afternoon Wednesday. That's today, huh? Yeah. Read the rest of it. I can't tell you my name now, but I'll be wearing a green skirt and a plaid sweater. I'll be standing right by the streetcar stop. What do you think? I don't know. No signature. You got anything in the envelope? No. Postmarked LA, addressed to juvenile division. No way of telling where it came from. You think it's from a crime? There's one place we can find out. Yeah. 7th and Broadway. The fact that the note had been addressed to juvenile division instead of narcotics detail indicated that the person who wrote it had some knowledge of the workings of the police department. It also led us to believe that the writer was a juvenile. We checked again with Captain Powers on the letter and it was decided that we'd make the meet that afternoon. Frank and I spent the rest of the morning going over reports on a case that we just finished and at 3.15 p.m. we left the office. Frank stopped the car at 8th and Broadway for a traffic signal and I got out and walked the remaining block. There was no one at the streetcar stop dressed in a green skirt and a plaid sweater. While Frank circled the block, I waited. 3.40 p.m. still no sign. At 3.52, a woman of about 23 got off a streetcar and waited on the corner. She was wearing a dark green suit with a plaid blouse. I waited for some indication that she might be the person we were waiting for, but she gave name. Finally she turned, walked across the street and disappeared into the crowd. 4 o'clock, 4.15, still no sign of a letter writer. 4.30, quarter to five. Frank pulled into a loading zone near the corner and I went over to talk to him. What do you think? A lot of no. She's an hour late now. A note must have been from a crank. I guess so. Come on, get in. We better go back to the office. Yeah. Wait a minute, Joe. What? Right there, across the street. Oh, yeah. Matches the description. Must be her. Look on this way. I'll check it. She looked about 15. Brown hair and a thin young face. She was carrying an armful of school books. She paused in the corner and watched me. I walked up to her and told her I was a police officer. She nodded and then walked out to the safety zone and climbed onto a waiting streetcar. I followed her. She walked to the back of the car and took a seat. I sat down next to her. I could see Frank following us in our car. We rode three blocks before she spoke. I'm sorry I was late. I usually try to be on time, maybe even a little early. That's the way it should be, don't you think? What was it you wanted to talk about, Miss? I got hung up at school, couldn't get away when I thought I would. Yeah. That's the reason I'm late. You said something in the note about a narcotics ring. How much am I going to get involved in this? What do you mean? How deep am I going to get? I don't want any trouble myself. We're doing this to help somebody. But I don't want to get mixed up in it myself. Maybe you better tell me what it's all about first, huh? We can decide the rest of it later. That's the way it has to be. Well, you called us, remember? Yeah, I guess so. What's your name? Edna. Your last name? Well, that isn't going to help any of you. How old are you? 15. All right, what about this dope ring? I want to tell you about it. A friend of mine is in pretty deep. I think she's hooked bad. I want to help her. What's your friend's name? You have to have that? Well, we're not going to be able to do very much without it, are we? Catherine. I can't give you her last name. I can't. How old is she? 15. All right, now what makes you think she's using narcotics? I just know that's all. Well, that's a pretty serious charge. You must have some reason for saying it. I've got a reason. I've got good reasons. You think I'd go to the cops if I didn't have? You think that? What kind of narcotics do you think she's using? Heroin. You know that for sure, do you? Yeah, I've seen her take a fix. Where? Hmm? Where'd she take the fix? I've seen her do it in her room at home. Placing her school up at Lewis Apartments. Lewis? Lewis Conklin. He got Catherine hooked. He's the one I want to see you get. How's he? Well, I don't know. I think around 2021. Where'd you meet him? Down at Balboa last summer. Catherine and me went down for a week. We met them then, Lewis and Vince. You know this Vince's last name? I think it's B-O. B-E-A-L? I guess so. Well, these two boys, are they supplying Catherine with a heroin? Yeah, they got it for her. How'd you happen to meet him? First day we were down at Balboa. We went down to the beach. We saw them then. We didn't talk to them right off, not the first day. Uh-huh. The next day, they came over to where we were and laid down on the beach. They had a portable radio and they were playing it loud. They were playing it real loud. Yeah. Well, Lewis asked us if they had the radio on too loud and we said no. Then we got to talking. All right, go ahead. We found out that they knew a lot of the kids that go to our school, so we talked about them. We talked and listened to the radio. Uh-huh. Were either you or Catherine's parents with you? No. Catherine's father's got a friend, Elizabeth Balboa, all the time. We were staying with her. All right, go ahead. After we knew them a week, one night they suggested that we go for a ride down the coast toward San Diego. Yeah. They'd never given us any trouble, so Catherine and me talked it over and decided to go. They'd never gotten fresh or anything, so we thought it'd be all right. Uh-huh. We drove down the beach and then we stopped. The boys had some beer in the car and we drank some of it, just a little. We didn't think it would hurt, just a little. All right. I guess we drank more than we thought because we both got a little drunk. The first time I ever got drunk, all I wanted to do was go home and go to sleep. That's all I wanted to do. I didn't feel good. I remember that. I didn't feel good. Go ahead. I got out of the car and I walked around for a while. After I walked I felt better and I went back to the car. Catherine and the two boys were smoking. I could smell it when I got in the car. Real sweet. Sickly. Marijuana? Yeah. Vince asked me if I wanted some. I told him I didn't and they all laughed again. Said I was just a little kid, called me chicken. So I did. You smoked the marijuana, did you? Yeah, but not very much. Got sick again and I threw the stick away. That made Vince sore because I hadn't smoked very much. He got out of the car and found what was left of the cigarette and put it in a box he had. Then he got in the car and the three of them all drank some more of the beer and smoked the rest of the marijuana. They were all laughing and yelling. Catherine was smoking too? Yes, she was having great time laughing it up. Seems like everything that happened was just about the funniest thing she ever heard. They were all laughing and telling me what a square I was. Finally I couldn't stand it anymore. So I said if they wouldn't take me home I'd walk. What'd they say to that? Told me to go ahead. Said I was a drag anyway and they'd be glad to get rid of me. You left then? Yeah. I tried to get Catherine to go with me. She said she was having too good a time and she wasn't leaving. She told me to go home and to expect her when she walked in. Yeah. So I left. The guy in the car and walked up the highway. He was going to catch a ride back to town. Pretty scared but I wanted to get back. I didn't feel very good. I waited for the car but the ones that went by wouldn't stop. Then Vince and Lewis and Catherine came by. They told me to get into the car and we drove home. I had to wait out in front with Catherine until she sobered up. Said she was too drunk to go into the house. What time did you get home? Must have been three or three thirty. Did you see Vince and Lewis again? Well I didn't but Catherine did. Every night we were there she went out with him. I didn't want to have anything more to do with him. She told me if I said anything to the people we were staying with she'd cause me a lot of trouble. I like Catherine. She's my best friend. I didn't want to see her get into any trouble. I thought when we left that boy she'd quit seeing the fellas. That's what I thought. She'd stop seeing them. Did she? No. When school started again she was still going with Lewis. I'd see her around the school but she wouldn't have anything to do with me. Said I was a cube. Talking all the time about how she didn't know they grew corners like me anymore. How'd you find out she was on heroin? One day I saw her take a pop. She was at her house and I came over to talk to her. She was pretty sick and she went into her room. I went in after to see if I could help and I saw her taking a fix. After that I didn't see much of her. I guess she didn't want me around knowing she was hooked. When was all this? About two months ago. I've seen her a couple of times since she looks real bad. Her parents know anything about the narcotics? I don't know. There's just her father. I don't think he cares much. If he does he's not doing anything about it. I'm just telling you all this so you'll get Lewis and Vince. They're the ones who started her. They're seeing that she gets the age. You know where we can find them? Yeah. Lewis has a little apartment over in the Westlake area. You know the address? No, but I can show you where it is. All right. I just want to see you get them. Get them good. Mm-hmm. She was my best friend. Now she won't have anything to do with me. Nothing. Well maybe we can straighten it out. What do you want to do now? Well first we better get off this street car. Mm-hmm. End of the line. Edna and I got off the street car and Frank picked us up. We stopped at a drug store and put in a call to the office requesting that a police woman be sent out to take the girl into custody. Ten minutes later, Officer Irene Gardner arrived and the four of us drove over to the Westlake area. The young girl pointed out the building where she told us that Vince Beale and Lewis Conklin lived. She gave us a description of the two suspects and finally after Miss Gardner had talked to her she also gave us the full name of her friend, Catherine Pilgrim. We checked at the building and found that the two suspects occupied apartment 4G. Frank and I talked to the manager of the place but she told us that the pair weren't in a hurry to find out when they'd be back. We returned to the car and told Officer Gardner to take Edna to George Street Juvenile and Holder until we could get there. After that, Frank called the office and ran the names Vincent Beale and Lewis Conklin through R&I. They both had misdemeanor records in California and Beale had served time in the county jail for possession of narcotics. We called Captain Powers and told him what had happened and then we returned to the apartment and set up a surveillance. At 7.25 p.m. we heard someone coming down the hall. Thank goodness you're all going to be all right. I'm sick Vince, real sick. I know, make a call, get you fixed up, just calm down. All right, hold it right there, police officers. Hey, what are you doing in here? You got no right to break in like this. What's this all about? I got to go, Vince, I got it. Hold it up, Miss Feldman. How do you know who I am? What are you going to do? Don't say anything, Kathy, don't tell them nothing. Turn around, Beale. What for? What are you shoving me around? Turn around, here, turn around. I'll shake them. Stand still. You won't find nothing, cop. I'm clean. Call it nothing. Where's Conklin? You got to figure it's so good you'd tell me. Better watch that mouth, kid. I'm just going to get you into trouble. You tell me all about it, cop. I got no problem. What are you taking us in on? What's the charge? Violation of the narcotics act and contributing. Yeah. You didn't find anything on me. You didn't find anything in the pad. You've been on the spike, cop, and you know it. Now why don't you run along and I'll forget all about you being here. All right, let's go. Where are you taking this? Downtown. To jail? To juvenile hall. You going to call my father? That's right. Well, he won't tell you anything. He won't tell you a word. Keep your mouth shut. Why? I got nothing to hide. I'm not a hype. Yes, my father. Here. Where'd you get those marks? You tell me. Let me see your arms, Miss Pilgrim. It's not going to prove anything. Not a thing. Let me see them. Go ahead, honey. If you don't go along with them, they bring out the rubber hose. Somebody messed with you a long time ago. Come on, Miss Pilgrim. Let me see your arms. Well, all right, here. How about it, John? Take a look. Yeah. Fresh needle marks. We called narcotics division and asked them to come out and go over the room. In an attempt to find a trace of narcotics, we put in a call to the office and Irene Gardner came out and took the Pilgrim girl into custody. The stakeout was set up on the apartment to apprehend the other suspect, Louis Conklin. Frank and I took Vince Biel to the office and questioned him for over an hour, but he failed to come up with his source of supply for the heroin. He was turned over to officers from narcotics detail and booked in at the main jail in suspicion of violation of the State Narcotics Act, a felony. A call had been put into the father of Catherine Pilgrim, and at 9.37 p.m. he arrived at the office. Friday and Smith. Where are they? My name's Friday. What can I do for you? I'm Robert Pilgrim. I want my daughter. She's downstairs right now. A doctor's taking care of her. What for? Well, she's pretty sick, Mr. Pilgrim. Sick? What's the matter? You've got no right to give her any kind of medication without my approval. We couldn't reach you. How hard did you try? We called your home and your place of business. We got no answer. Our doctor thought it was best to give the girl something right away. What's wrong with her? Your daughter's a narcotic addict, Mr. Pilgrim. That is a lie. Now, you get her up here right now. You hear me? You get on that phone and have her brought to this office right now. I'm taking her home. I'm afraid we can't do that. Who are you to tell me what's going to happen? I pay you a salary, officer. Don't forget it. If you don't get on that phone and have my daughter brought up here right now, I'll make some calls and you'll be pounding the beat out in the tulies. I've got a lot of friends in this town. And you've got a daughter who's hooked bad. Has she told you that? No, sir. But all the tests point that way. She's got needle marks all up and down her arm. Well, you'd better get out and find a lawyer fast because I'm going to pull that tin badge right off you. Is that so? You bet it is. How do I get a line? Dial 9. Hello, Jack, this is Bob Pilgrim. I'm down at the police station. Yeah, Kathy's here. The cop says she's a hophead. I want you to tell him. Here, you talk to him. Yes, sir. Who am I speaking with? Mm-hmm. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Well, we did find hypodermic marks. I see. All right, sir. We'll be checking with you. Now you'll get my daughter? I'll have her sent right up. You want to come out to the hall, Frank? Yeah. Who'd he call? He's a family doctor. We might not have a case here. What's the matter? Well, the doctor says he's been treating the girl for the past six months. Yeah. Been giving her hypodermic injections. You are listening to Dragnet, the authentic story of your police force in action. Tobacco has been one of man's basic pleasures for over 400 years. And the Chesterfields you smoke today are the best cigarettes ever made. And when I say that, I mean Chesterfield regular, I mean Chesterfield king size. Remember, this is the cigarette that's tested and approved by 30 years of scientific tobacco research. The cigarette that gives you proof of highest quality, low nicotine, the taste you want, the mildness you want, the cigarette that has an established good record with smokers, proven by test after test. Yes, friends, the Chesterfields you smoke today are the best cigarettes ever made. So join the thousands now changing to Chesterfield, regular or king size. Always say, Chesterfields for me. With a doctor's statement, there was nothing we could do, we could release the girl to her father pending further investigation. The parents of the teenager who had written us the first letter came to the office and she was released to them. At 11.40 p.m. that night, we got word that the other suspect had returned to the apartment and had been taken into custody. It was identified as Louis Conklin, age 23. It was taken to the main jail and booked on the same charges as Vincent Beale. Their apartment was gone over, but no trace of narcotics was found. We questioned both suspects again, Frank and I checked out of the office and went home. The following morning, we drove out to see the doctor who had told me he was treating the pilgrim girl. He said the girl was underweight and highly nervous and that he had been giving her vitamin injections. He went on to say that he'd stopped treating her five months previous at her father's request and that he had not seen the girl since then. February 11th, 10.24 a.m. We checked the car belonging to Vincent Beale. In the trunk we found an expensive leather jacket that looked too expensive to be worn by a man who had the reputation of never holding a job. We took the jacket over to the crime lab and had it checked. From a cleaning tag, we got the name of the cleaner who'd serviced the jacket. We contacted him and he remembered the jacket as having been among several stolen from his store. With this information, we went back to the main jail and had the Conklin boy brought from his cell. He told us that the jacket belonged to Vincent Beale. He was brought into the interview room. This leather jacket belonged to you, Vince? No, I never saw it before. Conklin says it's yours? I don't know. Maybe it is. What difference does it make? Take a look. We want to know. Yeah, yeah, it's mine. Where'd you get it? Where do you think I bought it? You know, someplace you can get these without buying them? Yeah, the same place you picked this one up. What's that supposed to mean? You know a man named Ted Hartman? Who? Ted Hartman. Ted Hartman. Never heard of him. Who knows you? Maybe he's got a better memory than me. Says you used to work for him. Is that right? Yeah. Now how about it? Maybe I did. I had a lot of jobs. The cleaner says you worked for him a couple of weeks last December. That's a long time ago. Says this jacket was stolen from him. Where do I fit? He thinks you stole it. He's crazy. You sure enough to make a complaint? He'll laugh him out of court. Conklin says it's yours? I told you I bought it. Conklin wants no part of a burglary wrap. What'd Conklin tell you? Maybe we ought to get your side of it, huh? What'd he tell you? I got a right to know. Look, he's going to make a beef like that on me. I got a right to know what he said. He wants no part of it. He lays it all on you. He's no good. I hadn't figured for a guy I could trust. He did all right on the deal. Luke kept us both going. What do you mean? I thought he told you all about it. Yeah, well, we want to hear it from you. A lot of times stories get all mixed up. Now, we want to get it right. Now, we knocked the place, but it was both of us. Luke was in on it all the way. Go ahead. We were scratching for H. We had it real bad. We needed some way out. I thought about the cleaning place. Figured we could score a good. Well, we did all right. Took care of three of us for a long time. You confident in the pilgrim girls, had it? Yeah, that's it. What were you shooting? Me and Luke kept it down to pilgrim kids. She built up fast. She was using five caps a day. I should have listened to Lou. He kept telling me to drop her and leave her alone. Well, it wasn't anything between us. It was just for last. And then all of a sudden, she was hooked bad. We had to do something. We stole her jacket so we could keep her supplied. Five caps a day. You know, it's a lot of H. I tried to break her down. I tried to cut her habit. I did what I could. You can see that, can't you? I did everything I could. How much was that? 5.23 p.m. Frank and I, along with policewoman Irene Gardner, drove out to the pilgrim residence. We went up to the front porch and rang the bell. Yeah. What do you want? I'd like to see your daughter. Now, you get out of here. You get out of here right now. I've had enough of this shoving around from you. It's about time you learned your place. It might be better if we came in. Anything you've got to say to me, you can say here. I don't want any cops in my house. You want to get your daughter? What for? We're gonna have to take her down to juvenile hall. You guys just don't give up, do you? You want me to call my doctor again? We talked to him this afternoon. And you know the story. Now, get out of here. You want to get your daughter? Look, I've got a gun inside. If you're still here when I come back, I'm gonna use it. Now, you listen to me, mister. You've been acting like a big man long enough. You can play the part of the outrage parent with your family, but don't try it with us. I'm not gonna have you talk to me like that. Not much you can do about it. We've got the boys been supplying your daughter with narcotics. It's pretty clear that this home isn't the place for her. She's a good girl. We didn't say she wasn't. Then why don't you leave her alone? You know better than that. I can do you boys some good downtown. I got a lot of friends. You're gonna need them. All right. You want to make a case out of this? I'll fight you in every court in the country before I let you take my daughter away from me. Now, you just try it. Your daughter's a drug addict. She's sick. She's got to be straightened out. She needs help. Who are you to set yourself up as the jury? You got a fine girl in there. She got all the breaks except somebody who thinks enough of her to stand by her. There isn't anything she wants. She doesn't have it. What about the things she needed? You let her run all over the town by herself. She gets in trouble, and you won't take the time to care for her. What about those two men who got her started? What are you going to do with them? They're guilty. If it hadn't been for those two, this never would have happened. They'll be taken care of. You lay the blame any place you want, Mr. But if you're honest, you'll keep it. What's going to happen to her? She'll be given medical attention. We'll do what we can. I can afford to take care of her. I've got the money. I'll hire the best people. I want her to have the best. Yeah. She's mine. I'm her father. I've got the right to take care of her. Yes, sir. That's right. Why didn't you? The story you've just heard is true. The names were changed to protect the innocent. On June 3rd, trial was held in Department 98, 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. Earlier, George Fenneman told you exactly why the Chesterfield you smoke today is the best cigarette ever made. And best for you. Now, the rest is up to you. Get a carton of the Chesterfield. Smoke them, and you'll say, as we do, it's Chesterfield's for me. Vincent Norman Beale and Louis Shelman Conklin were tried and convicted of one count of burglary, and additional charges of violation of the State Narcotic Act of felony and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. They received sentences as prescribed by law. Burglary is punishable by imprisonment for a period of not less than five years in the state prison. Catherine Noreen Pilgrim had a hearing in juvenile court, and was made a ward of that court. You have just heard Dragmit, 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 Vance Brasher. Heard tonight were Ben Alexander, Joyce McCluskey, Harry Bartel, Carolyn Jones. Script by John Robinson. Music by Walter Schumann. Hal Gibney speaking. Watch an entirely different Dragnet case history each week on your local NBC television station. Please check your newspapers for the day and time. Chesterfield has brought you Dragnet transcribe from Los Angeles. Filter cigarette smokers. Here is headline news. Nationwide demand for L and M filters drops price. Now you save up to four cents a pack. 40 cents a carton. Now everyone can afford America's highest quality and best filter tip cigarette. Remember only L and M's have the miracle filter tip containing alpha cellulose. You get much more flavor, much less nicotine. By L and M filters, the distinctive monogram cigarette is at a new low price. L and M filters. Peter Chambers following John Cameron Swayze on the NBC radio network.