 Ladies and gentlemen, the story you're about to hear is true. The names have been changed to protect the innocent. Dragnet, brought to you by Chesterfield. America's most popular two-way cigarette. Chesterfield king size at the new low price, and Chesterfield regular. You're a detective sergeant. You're assigned a robbery detail. A special officer has been shot during a routine patrol. His assailants have escaped into the city. There's no lead to their whereabouts. Your job, find them. What a pair. What a buy. King size Chesterfield, now at the new low price, and Chesterfield regular. They're the quality twins. The same highest quality. The same low nicotine. Either way you like them, you get the same wonderful taste and mildness. A refreshing smoke every time. Change to Chesterfield. America's most popular two-way cigarette. Yes, the Chesterfield you smoke today is the best cigarette ever made. What a pair. Chesterfield regular, Chesterfield king size. They satisfy millions. They're 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 Saturday, May 21st. It was warm in Los Angeles. We were working the night watch out a robbery detail. My partner, Frank Smith, the boss of Chief of Detective Stad Brown. My name's Friday. We're on our way back from the scene and it was 10.56 p.m. when we got to Georgia Street receiving hospital. Treatment room. Thank you, doctor. No, ma'am, police officers. Doctor said we could ask you some questions. About the robbery? Yes, ma'am. It's my partner, Frank Smith. My name's Friday. Hello, Ms. Montgomery. You heard anything about Keith? Is he all right? Well, the doctor's still with him. Is he going to be all right? We better talk to the doctor about that, I think. You tried to stop the man from robbing us. You tried to throw him out of the store. Yes, ma'am. Now, can you tell us what happened? Well, I guess so if the doctor said I could. Well, any time you don't feel like going on, just tell us, please. All right. What time did the man come into the store? 9.30, right around in there. Yeah. Keith and me were sitting in the back room playing cribbage. We usually play a couple of games before we close up, especially when business is kind of slow. Uh-huh. These two men came in. Keith went out to wait on them. Did you go with him? No. There wasn't any reason to. Just two customers. No reason for me to go out. It looked like they came in together. Did you get to see him from where you were, huh? Oh, yes. We had the card table set up right in the doorway of the back room. All right, ma'am. Would you like to go on? Well, Keith went out and asked them what they wanted. Yeah. One of them said he wanted a bottle of vodka. Keith asked him what kind, and the man said it didn't make any difference, said he wanted a hundred proof, though. Uh-huh. Keith got the bottle off the shelf and came back. Told the man how much the bottle was, and that's when the other man pulled out the knife. You say the second man drew the knife, huh? That's right. Short fell. Had this kind of knife with a spring blade where you push a button and the blade snaps out. You know how? Yes, ma'am. Did the men know you were in the back room? They must have. All they had to do was look through the door, and they'd have seen me. I wasn't trying to hide. All right. Feel like going on? Yes. The doctor gave me some kind of pill. It makes me a little numb, but I feel all right. All right. You please go ahead. Now, what happened after they pulled this knife? Well, the short one told Keith to give him the money. He said it was a hold-up. Could you remember his exact words? I don't know. It seems he said, all right, old man, this is a stick-up. Put all the money in the register in a paper bag and don't cause any trouble. This is near as I can remember. That's what he said. All right. What happened then? Well, Keith told him to get out of the store. Said the two of them were too young to get mixed up in that kind of foolishness. Told him to get right out. Yeah. Little fella, the short one with the knife, grabbed Keith and told him they weren't playing games. But if he knew what was good for him, he'd do like he was told. Had the knife right at his chest. I thought he was going to cut Keith. Mm-hmm. That's when I came out of the back room when I thought they were going to hurt Keith. All right. Oh, yes. I want to get this over and tell you what you need to know so you can catch the fellas. All right, ma'am. What happened when you came into the store? Well, I tried to get the men out of the place. Told them that if they knew what was good for them, they'd leave right then. Uh-huh. Might as well have been talking to a wall. They didn't pay any attention to me. Yeah. Well, that's when I tried to get to the phone. I wanted to call the police. What was your husband doing at this time? Standing there trying to keep him moving into the knife. This short little fella had it pressed right against his chest. Had the point right here. Keith made any kind of a move. He'd have been stabbed. I see. When they saw me go to the phone, the tall one grabbed me and hit me with his fist closed. Hit me about as hard as he could. As soon as he did that, Keith seemed to go crazy. Wrenched himself away from the one with the knife and jumped on the tall man and fought him as hard as he could. Yeah. Terrible the way it happened. Yes, ma'am. The tall man hit Keith along the neck with the edge of his hand and knocked my husband down. Then the little fella jumped on him. Hell, this knife ratted his throat and told him to take the money and put it in a bag. But he didn't want any more trouble or he'd kill us both. All the time he had the knife right here at Keith's throat. Yes, ma'am. Your husband did what they said? Yes, that's right. He opened the register and gave him the money, put it in a paper bag. I thought they'd leave after that, but they didn't. Only made them matter. Why was that, you know? It wasn't enough money. Only about 30 or $35. They said we had more in the back room and they wanted that too. Sad for us to get it or they'd kill us. Well, did you get it for them? Yes. I went back and took it out from where we hid it. Handed it right over. Mm-hmm. What did the doctor say about Keith? He must have said something. Frank, would you check with Dr. Sebastian and see what's going on in there? Yeah, I will. Would you want, please? After they got the other money, the two men left the store with the cash in the paper bag and walked out. Said to me to stay still for five minutes so they'd come back and kill Keith and me. Mm-hmm. When did the special officer come into the store? We didn't. Ma'am. He drove up when we were arguing with the men on the sidewalk and after they left the store, Keith got up and ran after them, tried to hold him. Did the officer know what was going on? No, not at first. He thought it was just an argument. When he walked up, Keith tried to tell him that the store was being robbed, but the tall robber said it was just a personal fight. Said it didn't concern anybody else but Keith and him. Were you on the sidewalk at the time? Yes, right beside Keith. I see. Robert said that Keith was just an old crackpot trying to cause trouble, that the officer should forget about it. Yeah. I guess it didn't sound very good to him because he said it'd be better if Keith and the men talked to a policeman. That's when the tall holdup man grabbed the gun and shot. At the officer? Yes. Grabbed the gun out of his holster and shot him in the stomach. What happened then? The smaller of the two stabbed Keith a couple of times and both of them ran down the street. Did you see where they went? Yes. They got into a car. It was parked about a half a block away. Jumped into the car and left. All right, Ms. Montgomery, just a couple more questions now. Did either of the two men use a name at any time? What do you mean? Well, when they were talking to each other, did they use a name of any time? Do you remember? Yes. When they shot the officer, the big one, he did the shooting. He said, come on, Hank, let's get out of here. Like that, he said it. I see. Now, was there anything outstanding about the two men that you can remember? Anything that would make them easier for us to identify? Oh, I can't think of anything right off. Just that one was tall and the other one was short. That's all I can think of. About how tall, do you remember? The big one? Yes, ma'am. Over six feet. I'd say it was about six feet, three, maybe even more. Did he have any special marks or scars that you can recall? No, no, nothing like that. Now, how about the short one? Anything that would make it easier for us to identify him? Just his fingernails. How do you mean? They looked like he'd never cleaned them. They were long and dirty. I remember that. Was there anything else? No. Did either of them speak with any kind of an accent, would you remember? No. It sounded just like anybody else. Nothing special about him. I'll see you. Joe. Yeah, Frank? See you, ma'am. Did you find out about Keith? Did you talk to the doctor? He'll be right in to see him. Is Keith going to be all right? Why don't you tell me what's happening? Try to take it easy, ma'am. The doctor will be right in. All right, but time to hurry, please, please. Yes, we'll do that. Did you call county? Yeah, they're operating on Holman. How's he doing? Well, as soon as they get the bullet out, he should make it move. It's not serious. What's going on in Montgomery? He just died. Nightphones. The story we'd gotten from Irene Montgomery was pretty much the same as Special Officer Kenneth Holman had given us. Immediately after the robbery, a local and an APB had gone out on the suspects. In canvassing the neighborhood, the investigating officers had found two eyewitnesses to the shooting stabbing. A man and a woman had been parked in an automobile directly across the street from the Montgomery store. They'd been able to give us a description of the car that the suspects had driven away from the scene, along with the last three numbers on the license plate. Frank and I had been talking to Mrs. Montgomery. Officers Benson and Herman from robbery detail had been going through the Department of Motor Vehicle Records looking for the owner's name. Information on the method of operation used in the crime was sent to the stats office and the run was started. The moniker file at R&I was checked for a suspect with a nickname Hank, who matched the description of the smaller thief. The two eyewitnesses were brought into the city hall to go through the mug books for a possible identification. While Frank went to the office to check with Benson and Herman, I worked with the witnesses. On this page. How about here? No, I don't see him here either. All right. Wait a minute. Let's follow here. See? This one? Yeah, it's not the whole up man, but he's got the same kind of ears close to his head like the same kind of ears. You're sure it's not the man, though? Uh-uh. Just got ears like him. All right, Mr. Steele, would you go on, please? Here. I remember those years. I used to go to school with a kid who had ears like that. You remember that kid? Yes, sir. You mean kid? I never forget him. It was real mean. I don't guess I've thought of him for at least 15 years. Never forget him, though. Mean? Yes, sir. You waited for me after school once. Had a big fight. I don't even know what I was about. Big fight. It beat me up. Sure like to meet him now. I'll be a different story. What, you got another one? Yeah, I get it. Say, how many more God of these things, anyhow? Quite a few. You can see them right here on the shelves. You want me to go through all of them? Well, we'd like to have you check the pictures, yes, sir. That's going to take a while. You and your wife are the only two people who can give us an identification. Well, how about the woman who was held up? What's her name? Mrs. Holman? No, Montgomery. Holman was the officer who was shot. Yeah, well, about Mrs. Montgomery. Can't she tell you about the robbers? She's under the care of her doctor, her husband died, you know. Yes, sir, that's right. That's too bad. We didn't know what it was all about, you know. Yes, sir. We and Harriet are just sitting there all of a sudden, there's this fight and a shot. We didn't know what the brakes were. Yes, sir. I wonder if we can go on with the books here. Oh, yeah. How about right here? No, not here. All right. Say, he's mean. What'd he do? Robbery. Yeah, you can tell. Look at the face. I don't see him here. Perry. Sir? Perry Nicholson, that's the guy's name. One of the close years, I remember it now. I haven't thought of it. 15 years, Perry Nicholson. Bully. If you'd like to meet ol' Perry now, it'll be a different story if you want to fight now. A whole different story. John. I just found it abandoned. Two officers in a radio unit found a parking lot at the corner of Rosemont Avenue in Waterloo. When the vehicle was discovered in the similarity to the description that had been broadcast was noticed, the car was put under surveillance, and our office had been notified. Frank and I left the city hall and drove out to the parking lot immediately. The car was placed under surveillance again, and we checked it through DMV. We found the car was owned by an Edwin Vargas, 1879 Moss Street out in Burbank. We checked the name through R&I, but we found that he had no criminal record and covered the rear of the place. I rang the bell of the house and waited. Yeah? Do you like to see Mr. Vargas? He's not in right now. Anything I can do? You know where he is? No, I imagine he got held up downtown, probably working late. What if we are if I wait for him? I'm not sure. You mind telling me who we are? Sorry, police officer. My name's Friday. What the cops want Ed for? Might be better if we talk to him. You alone? Anybody else in the house, ma'am? I'm sure he took it to work within this morning. It might be better if I wait inside, huh? All right, come on in. I don't know what this is all about, but you can bet it's some kind of mistake. Ed's never had no trouble with the cops, never none. Where's that door lead over here? Bedroom. If I take a look? Go ahead, you ain't going to find anything. What's that over there? The bathroom? Yeah. Just the one bedroom? No need for any more. Me and Ed don't have any children. Say, if you're looking for something, maybe if you'll tell me what it is, I can help you. You just want to check the house, ma'am. Is this all the rest of the house? I told you we don't need any more room. Let me see. Just unlocking your back door, ma'am. My partner's out there. All right, Frank. Who is this? Another cop? This is my partner Frank Smith, Ms. Vargaston. Seems to me you should be able to tell me what this is all about, Mr. Friday. Can you give us a description of your husband? He's in no trouble. You got something on your back and you're trying to dump it on Ed and it isn't going to work. You want to give us a description? What do you want to know? How tall is your husband? Six-three. How old? Thirty-two. What color is his hair? Kind of sandy. Look, what is this? A third degree. What are you trying to prove with all these questions? I just want to get at the truth, ma'am. It's a kind of hard way to do it, if you ask me. Well, I'm sorry for causing any trouble. You are. Where's your husband work? He's a salesman. Who for, ma'am? You usually work this late? No, I told you that. But you think he's at work tonight? Yes. Well, then you wouldn't mind if we called him, would you? I'm not going to have you causing him any embarrassment. Don't worry about him, Ms. Vargaston. Would you like to give us the number? It's in the phone book. Look, under emergency numbers. You want to make the call, Frank? Yeah, I'll do it. Look, what do you think he's done? It's police business, ma'am. I'm his wife. I've got a right to know. It'll be better if we talk to him, I think. That's what you say. Your husband ever been in trouble with the police before? How long you lived here? You mean in California? That's right. I was born here. How about your husband? He's been here a couple of years. Where's he from? New York State. Where? New York State. A little place right outside of Utica. Ever been in trouble back there, would you know? Well, if he was, he didn't say anything to me about it. How long has he had the job? Since the week after he came out, it's a smart guy. He'd have no trouble getting work. How about it? I talked to the building superintendent. Yeah. He says Vargast left at 5.30 this afternoon. You are listening to Dragnet, the authentic story of your police force in action. Meet the young man with a horn. America's number one band leader, Ray Anthony, who's taking over the Perry Como show this summer. Ray and his attractive wife, Dee, are another couple who always say, Chesterfield's for me. I spoke Chesterfield regular size. My reason is simple enough. They give me the taste and mildest I want. I know they're best for me. Ray and I agree. I'm just about everything. And Chesterfield is no exception. Like a lot of people, though, I like a longer smoke. So I smoke king-size Chesterfield. What a pair. Chesterfield king-size at the new low price and Chesterfield regular. America's most popular two-way cigarette. The description of the owner of the car used in the hold-up coupled with his absence made him a prime suspect in the robbery. We continued to talk to his wife. She gave us some of the background on Vargas. She told us that they'd only been married a little over a year and that they were still trying to pay off the debts that her husband had incurred before they're married. She went on to say that in the last few days he'd been depressed about their finances and that on that morning Vargas had said he'd figured a way out for them. Frank called the office and the broadcast was gotten out asking if the man be picked up and detained for questioning. 1.15 a.m. We asked Mrs. Vargas about her husband's friends. Isn't anyone Ed's real close to? Well, is there one man he's with more than the others? Would you know? Maybe somebody he works with. No. Unless maybe it's Vic. Ed don't have much to do with him though. He knows I don't care for him. Don't like to have him around. Who's Ed, man? Vic Noble. He works in the same office as Ed. What's he look like? Oh, not much. Little guy, kind of nondescript. Never did figure out he could be a good salesman. I'd never buy anything from him. Honestly, he makes me nervous just to have him around. Oh, excuse me. Yes, go ahead. If it's your husband it might be better if you didn't tell him we were here. All right. Hello? Yeah, honey, where you been? What? Well, do you know when? Uh-huh. Well, did you call the police? Well, you should have called them right away. Yeah. No, I'll drive right down to pick you up. You wait right there. Uh-huh. Well, right away. That's right. Well, look, tell me where it is. Oh, yeah, yeah, I know. Turn left, yeah. All right, I'll find it. You wait right there, will you? All right, goodbye. Bye. That was Ed. Yeah. You're going to have to find yourself another boy. Ma'am. Well, whatever this is, it has something to do with Ed's car, doesn't it? That's right. And then you're all wrong about it. He couldn't have had anything to do with it. What do you mean? Ed's car was stolen tonight. We got the address of the bar where Ed Vargas had called from. Frank and I drove down and talked to him. He told us that he'd left work and stopped in the bar for a couple of drinks before he went home. However, when he left the place, he found that his car was gone. He returned to the bar and spent the next several hours trying to figure out what to do. We talked to the bartender and he verified Vargas's statement that he'd been in the place all evening. He was released from custody and allowed to return home. Frank and I continued to talk to the bartender. Got to get ready to close up pretty quick. Just a couple more questions. Well, you mind if I clean up the back bar while we talk? No, sir, go right ahead. Thanks. Well, what do you want to know? You told us that Vargas came in about a quarter of a sex, is that right? There's, I can remember. Yeah, give or take a couple of minutes on either side. But he was here before 7. For sure. Do you meet anybody here? How far is this going to go? What do you mean? Is wife going to find out if I tell you? Not from us. Well, Ed and the Mrs. haven't been getting along so good lately. You know, been beefing a lot. Yeah. Ed's a funny guy. He don't like no trouble at home. Soon as Sarah started giving him problems, he found another girl, kid that works in his office. They usually drop in here for a couple of drinks before he goes home. Yeah. Nothing serious going on with him. Just they like to sit and talk. Ed's all the time telling her how this wife doesn't understand him. Old line, but I think he means it. He was in here with a girl tonight, was he? Yeah. Just like all week, every night they come in about a quarter to five, sit in the back booth, have a couple of martinis, and then they leave. I think maybe Ed drops her off on the way home. She don't have a car. Yeah. Tonight they have more than just a couple of drinks. I think maybe there was something wrong. You know, a little problem? What about? Look, people come in here to relax. They all got something on their minds. I make it a practice not the eavesdropper in here. What was their problem, do you know? Sarah won't hear it? No, we told you before. Yeah. Wouldn't want her to come around here causing no beef. She's jealous, you know? Real jealous. That's all? Oh, yeah. Anyway, Ed must have told the girl that he was thinking of leaving his wife because tonight she told him to do something about her as she was walking out. Had a little kind of tiff and then she left. After that, he went out to get the car and found it been stolen. Where'd he leave it, you know? A lot behind the building. Did he leave the keys in the car? I don't know. You saw him when he left carrying a big load. He don't remember. Probably did, though. You have anybody else in here tonight that looked like Vargas? Well, as tall as he was, maybe. A lot of tall people come in here. We understand. But were there any tonight? A couple, yeah. Any of them come in with a shortfall about five, six, or seven? Yeah. What time they come in? About a little after seven. When they leave? I don't know. Maybe seven, 30, quarter of eight. I'm not sure. As one of the tables back there, I served them a couple of times. Didn't take much notice when they left. They paid for the drinks. When I brought them, left a half a buck tip, took off. They come in here regular, do they? Yeah, a couple of times a week, maybe more. They usually together? I've never seen them any other way except once. I'd rather not remember that time. What do you mean? Came in there early, spent the whole night here boozing, got pretty plastered. I had to take Nick home. He couldn't make it alone. Which one is Nick? Short one, little guy. What's he do for a living? Nothing I ever heard of. Well, how's he live? Any way he can. Always seems to have dough. I think maybe some kind of gambler something like that. Always loaded. Well, he looks though. You'd think he was some kind of mechanic, but he's not. Is that right? Sure, he dresses nice. Always got a good suit on, but he doesn't know how to carry it off. What do you mean? It's fingernails. They match those of the thieves perfectly. The bartender closed the place and took us down the street to a hotel where he said he'd taken Nick Roxford. We talked to the desk clerk but found that Roxford had moved several months before. By checking with some of the people in the hotel we got a forwarding address for him. It was a cheap rooming house down on South Peaco. Frank and I went by the city hall and ran the name through R and I. We found that Roxford had an arrest record for petty theft in ADW. We'd served a term in the county jail and was present under the jurisdiction of the court. His mugshot was pulled taken out to the witnesses for identification. We checked with the manager of the boarding house and we found that Roxford and a Henry Larson were registered in one of the rooms. In the company of the manager, we went up to the room, but the pair wasn't in. We contacted the office and told them where we were. They told us that Roxford had been positively identified as one of the holdup men. We settled down to wait for the suspects to come back. 3.30 a.m., four, five, 5.15 a.m. Sounds like somebody's coming. Well, there wasn't no other way. You was there, I didn't see you doing nothing to stop it. You shut the cop. I still think so. All right, hold it right there. What are you doing here? Police officers. You're under arrest. Watch it, Frank! God! Let us take him downtown. Yeah. I better check the cuffs. I don't want them too tight. No, you might hurt them, huh? Two suspects were taken downtown to the interrogation room. Henry Larson was handcuffed to the chair in robbery while Frank and I talked to Nick Roxford. It's a bad beef. I know it. You guys are going to find out. Why don't you tell us about it? I think I'd tie no robbery rap to me. Look, we've already done it. The witnesses gave us a positive identification on you. How could they? They've never seen me. We've got a picture of you. It's pretty good. You want to tell us about it? I got nothing to say. I want a lawyer. I ain't going to talk till I see a lawyer. You all right? Yeah. Do you know the old man died? I don't know nothing about no old man. His wife says you're the one who stabbed him. She's crazy. She's willing to take it to court. It'll never stick. We think it will. We think we can make you for first degree. What about Hank? Who? Larson? Yeah, what happens to him? He's in charge. He know it yet? Well, you're the first one to hear. What if I give you a hand? I didn't mean that. Well, I suppose I'd tell you what's Hank's idea of the whole thing. Go any better with me? You know, we don't decide that. Well, it seems like if I helped you, it'd be better with me. All right. Do you want to tell us about it? I'll make you a deal. No deals. Look, just promise me you won't tell Hank if I give you the real story, huh? All right. Go ahead. Well, the whole thing was his idea right from the start. He cased the store. The whole thing was his idea. What about the car? Well, that was Hank's, too. It was a good deal. You checked the car. You'll find his prints all over it. All right. What happened after that at the store? Well, it was Hank again. I didn't want no part of it. Hank made me. He said if I backed out, he'd get me. He's a big man. He gets mean when he's crossed. I wasn't about to give him no trouble. Go ahead. Well, we got to the place and he made me go in. He made me take a piece of the action. Now, wait a minute. Let's back up here and get this straight. You trying to tell me all the time you wanted no part of it? No. No, you got to believe it. Well, wait. We got it. We got the knife. Well, I got scared. That's all. I got scared. I didn't know what I was doing. Sure you did. Look, you got to believe me. I'm telling the truth. It was all Hank's idea. The whole thing. I want no part of it. Never did. All right. Just keep your voice down, will you? I told you, now you know about the whole thing. You won't tell Hank, will you? What difference does it make? He finds out I told you. He'll kill me. Remember I asked you before? Huh? What difference does it make? The story you've just heard is true. The names were changed to protect the innocent. On September 4th, 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. Friends for taste and mildness that you just can't beat. Get yourself a carton of Chesterfields. Either Chesterfield King size at the new low price, or Chesterfield regular. Try them, and you'll be sold on America's most popular two-way cigarette. They're really mild. They're best for you. Henry Taylor Larson and Nicholas John Roxford were tried and convicted of murder in the first degree. On recommendation of the jury, they received maximum sentence and were executed in the lethal gas chamber at the State Penitentiary, San Quentin, California. 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 Wynne, Sergeant Fance Prasier. Heard tonight were Ben Alexander, Virginia Greg, Whit Connor, Herb Ellis. 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, transcribed from Los Angeles. Today, L and M filters have a nationwide demand never before equal by any other cigarette in so short a time. The reason? This is it. It's the filter that counts. And L and M has the best. L and M's exclusive miracle tip contains alpha cellulose to give you effective filtration. Two other things are important. L and M's have much more flavor, much less nicotine. Buy America's highest quality and best filter tip cigarette. Light and mild L and M. Enjoy Crime and Peter Chambers tonight on the NBC Radio Network.