 the story you're about to hear is true only the names have been changed to protect the innocent Fatima cigarettes best of all long cigarettes brings you dragnet you're a detective sergeant you're assigned to robbery detail in four months 15 food markets in your city have been held up and robbed the bandit is well dressed well armed your job stopping you'll be amazed when you compare Fatima with other long cigarettes you'll find they now cost the same but in Fatima the difference is quality you see Fatima is the quality king-size cigarette because it contains the finest turkish and domestic tobaccos superbly blended and Fatima is extra mild with a much different much better flavor and aroma than any other long cigarette because of its quality its extra mildness its better flavor and aroma Fatima has more than doubled its smokers coast to coast so try comparing Fatima yourself Fatima's now cost the same as other long cigarettes but your first puff will tell you that's different yes in Fatima the difference is quality ask your dealer for Fatima the quality king-size cigarette best of all long cigarettes start enjoying Fatima tomorrow 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 from crime to punishment dragnet is the story of your police force in action it was monday february 12th it was cold in Los Angeles we were working the night watch out of robbery detail my partner's ben romero the boss is thad brown chief of detectives my name's friday it was 9 48 p.m when we got to room 25a interrogation room have a chair mr barton yeah thanks now uh what is it that you want to tell us sir well uh you have a cigarette please hello there you are no nervous this never happened to me before what's that well after i thought it over i knew it wouldn't be any use to keep it up i knew you'd find me i don't think i quite follow you want to confess that's why i came here real i knew i was doing wrong i just couldn't help myself what have you done i'm not trying to defend myself i needed money that's all wasn't anything else i could do well we still don't know what you're talking about pauler you've been after me four months thought maybe you recognized me from the description some of the people must have seen me huh those food market hold-ups you pull those robberies by yourself yeah 15 of them needed the money pauler is that your true name that's right you have frank pauler you ever been arrested before drunk charge that's all i don't know why i went wrong it just did have you ever done any big time no so why do you want to confess want to get off my mind i want to tell somebody everybody look call in newspapers i'll give him a whole story i'll tell him everything the how many of those markets did you hold up pauler 15 you said you needed the money is that right why personal reasons and look you got a light again my smoke's out yeah here yeah thanks you used pretty much the same routine on all of the hold ups is that right yeah i only pulled one job a week figured that was the safest way to dress pretty well like a salesman always had a brief case with me said where you carrying the gun yeah always work to show up at closing time get the manager in the back room then pull the highs what kind of a gun did you use service pistol i had it from when i was in the army how do you usually work it well when i got the manager alone in the back office i'd just pull a gun not say give me the money all of it they knew i wasn't fooling they give me the talk you don't seem to fit the hold up man's description too closely did you wear a mask on those jobs is that sometimes it did sometimes it didn't how about the man who worked with you where's he wasn't anybody else just me worked him alone that's where your cops are wrong you thought there were two of us didn't we thought so yeah pull every job by myself that's where it crossed you up anyway i was doing i didn't need any help and how about that market out of west seven that you held up last night did you pull that one alone too yeah sure i always work alone i guess i had you guys going huh your story doesn't come very close the man where after doesn't use a service pistol he never wears a mask either what are you guys getting that i told you i pull those robberies i don't know how it happened i use a service pistol did you use it in that robbery last night that went out on west seven sure i always use the same gun last night was no different you're wasting time mister what do you mean i look i just want to confess no sir there wasn't any robbery last night on further questioning the suspect frank pollard broke down and admitted his confession was a lie he explained that he wanted the publicity to impress a girlfriend we had him fingerprinted and delivered him to the george street hospital detail was filed on and then removed to the psychopathic ward at the county hospital for further examination and treatment our four month old search for the market bandit went on in the two weeks that followed we tracked down more leads they led nowhere the real market bandit was still at large on the night of february 25th he hit again this time at a supermarket out on san amonica boulevard we interviewed the manager of mr harry talbot in his small office at the rear of the store i guess i should have known better i got the bullet and you sent out on the guy's description everything i i just wasn't thinking i guess he came in the market just before closing time is that right yeah a couple of minutes after eight looked well dressed had a briefcase under his arm i fell forward like the rest of my thought he was a salesman how about the man's description uh about five foot 1170 pounds i guess uh gray suit it's the same description you have printed up in the paper was anyone else around when the man came in the door one of my clerks ever had smiledy he saw him leave and get in a car right after the robbery was this clerk still around we'd like to talk to him oh he went down the street a minute he'll be right back yeah maybe that's him yeah mr talbot you remember me mrs bolton oh yes ma'am like to ask you a favor mr talbot as an old customer i'm tied up right now ma'am could i see you a little later i won't even come in mr talbot you see we're having our annual benefit week party down at the community church they were going to have it next thursday but i made them put it off another week so we could get some decent prizes oh yes ma'am of course a lot of our people are good customers of the store here so i knew you'd be willing to give something to the prize list oh yeah shall i put you down for one of the door prizes maybe two or three market baskets full of canned corn peas things like that yeah okay mrs bolton i'll have ever fix them up tomorrow of course well thank you very much mr talbot i'll have my boy robert pick them up tomorrow you'll have the baskets fixed up real nice won't you yes ma'am i'll take care of it well thank you again goodbye goodbye ma'am goodbye gentlemen goodbye mr talbot i wonder if you could tell us what happened after you got back here in your office with the holdup man well it happened pretty fast he reached into the briefcase he was carrying like he was going to get his order book and he came up with this gun he told me to open that safe there but i stalled i said i didn't know how nice and that's when he started telling me what he'd do to my family my wife if i didn't open the safe he knew all about us my address my wife's name my kids he said he'd get them if i didn't do what i was told same ammo never failed him what'd you do then tell me well money's not worth that much to me i opened the safe and gave him everything little over four hundred dollars i still don't know i got that information about my family do you have any suspicions at all no nobody i can think of how about the gunny hand can you describe it well just like you have it listed in that bulletin on him uh 38 revolver blue steel long bow mr talbot come on in ev officers this is my clerk everett smiley i'm sorry i forgot your name party and remerial roberty tampon hi no hello there mr talbot says that you saw the holdup man leaving the market is that right yeah that's right you walked right out of the store and down the street just like nothing happened i didn't know anything was wrong till later did you notice if the men got in the car yeah i did car was parked about halfway down the block another guy was driving motor was running you catch the license number no but it was a brand new sedan a Pontiac i think you shouldn't have much trouble finding it without a license number well it's a brand new car i remember the color i couldn't forget that yeah bright red just like a fire engine 90 percent of the time color identification of a car means nothing for one thing a getaway car can be painted in a matter of a few hours and for another the color of a vehicle is not listed on the registration slip it's impossible to check a car through dmv on color alone but in this case we figured that we had half an exception to the rule the car used in the robbery was new was painted a very distinctive color we began an immediate canvas of automobile dealers throughout the city after a day and a half of calling and checking we found two dealers who had sold two new cars within recent weeks with fire engine red paint jobs we got the names and addresses of the purchasers and checked them out one of them was a miss mona taylor an ad taker for one of the daily morning paper i'm sorry to bother you at your work miss not at all most of it's over for today what is it you want to know we understand that you bought a new potty accident about three weeks ago is that correct yes i did uh if this is about that parking ticket why i've already taken care of it no man that's not it we just like to know if you still own that car well i don't own it yet i'm still paying on it colors are bright red is that right yes it is fire engine red i like bright colors well does anyone else beside yourself drive the car miss telly well yes once in a while i lend it to my boyfriend al al daily i've known him for a long time oh excuse me last five ads miss taylor yes sir two room apartment unfurnished all right you've got a small joke here's a man i got view bevel hill that's it then eighty dollars okay yes sir tomorrow morning's edition yes two dollars and all cents for two days could i have your name address and telephone number sir thank you sir about this friend of yours miss taylor and this al daily how long have you been lending him your car since he got his new salesman's job he has to make night calls on customers out in the valley so i let him have a car usually about once a week when's the last time that he borrowed the car miss two nights ago for mona taylor we got the address of her boyfriend al daily we located him in a rooming house on south bowvard avenue he admitted he borrowed the taylor girl's car the night before but he denied that he drove it anywhere in the vicinity of the robbery how about your friend jimmy bray i don't know i loaned the car that's all he gave me 30 bucks well that's an awful lot of rental money why did he need a car savane i don't know can i ask him where does he stay farlet hotel achon flower you're going over to see him now that's right why well i thought if you were going over there you wouldn't mind taking this with you he left it in the car when he brought it back his briefcase let's have a look it's a matter it's all a fuss about a briefcase yeah what is it let's see all right you got an answer for that daily sure a funny place to keep a gun we took al daily downtown where he was held for questioning we had a stakeout placed on his rooming house we had both daily and bray checked through r and i no criminal record the briefcase and the 38 revolver were booked as evidence with a property clerk there was no record of prints on the gun the taylor girl's car was impounded to be checked for fingerprints 7 p.m we drove out to the barlet hotel on eighth and flower the room clerk confirmed the fact that jimmy bray was a registered guest at the hotel you want to call the office jim yeah all right i'll do it you got changed yeah i think i have yeah okay city hall 2511 2511 robbery powers joe friday john we're out at bray's hotel we're going to stake it out he's not in yet that's what i figured what do you mean the market out on 12th street was held up a minute ago yeah bandit carried briefcase you are listening to dragnet authentic stories of your police force in action you'll be amazed when you compare fatima with other long cigarettes via pack you'll find fatimas now cost the same lighter fatima that's different what a difference yes friends in fatima the difference is quality quality of tobaccos the finest turkish and domestic varieties extra mild and superbly blended to give you a much different much better flavor and aroma than any other long cigarette quality of manufacture smooth plump cigarettes rolled in the finest paper money can buy quality even to the appearance of the bright clean yellow package carefully wrapped and sealed to bring you fatimas rich fresh extra mild flavor try comparing fatima yourself fatimas now cost the same as other long cigarettes but your first puff will tell you ah that's different yes in fatima the difference is quality ask your dealer for fatima the quality king-size cigarette best of all long cigarettes start enjoying fatima tomorrow 11 30 p.m. after checking bray's room and finding nothing ben and i remained on stake out at the barlet hotel the suspect failed to show up at midnight young and mckenzie came out and relieved us we drove back to the office and got the particulars on the hold-up of the 12th street market the mo was almost exactly the same as in the other 16 robberies the victim's description of the hold-up man matched perfectly with bray's by noon the next day the suspect still had not returned to his hotel an intensive canvas of the immediate neighborhood around the barlet hotel netted us nothing nobody remembered bray we checked the bars and restaurants but he was known to patronize no one had any idea where he might be details at the airport railroad stations and bus terminals were alerted we got out a supplementary description on our original apb the sheriff's office was kept advised two days passed still no sign we questioned and re-questioned al daly either he couldn't or he wouldn't add anything to what he'd already told us about bray a series of stakeouts were placed at food markets in areas where bray had staged robberies previously a composite picture the suspect was made up and given wide distribution throughout the city it all went for nothing the following tuesday march 4th bray robbed a neighborhood market in highland park of 150 dollars i had to give them the money sergeant he threatened my wife and kids said he'd see something happen to them if i didn't open the safe did you say he wore gloves sir that's right i thought it didn't jive at first salesmen wearing gloves like that didn't think about it till it was too late did you notice if he was on foot or did he get away in a car he had a car all right parked down the street there saw it through the window not a fellow is at the wheel did you notice anything else about the car the license number maybe no i couldn't see that but it was a coupe i'm sure that yeah it was red bright red it was one angle we couldn't figure if bray was been on a steady career of robbery why did he use an escape car painted the most conspicuous color possible we checked out mona taylor's car again there was no connection the search went on two weeks three weeks another month bray kept to his usual schedule one robbery a week the legwork went on too on march 20th we got a call from one of ben's informants he told us that he'd seen a man answering bray's description in the venice park amusement area down to the beach and we drove down to venice to check it out what a good crowd for a cold night yeah where do we find this friend of yours see where the money go around here's up ahead yeah just beyond that he runs one of the booze you throw baseballs at phony milk bottle three chances for a dime you know oh yeah he and his wife running they've been out here for years i don't know how they ever make a living there hey uh those hot dogs smells good don't they that's your friends booze across the way there yeah yeah girls have a free throw step up when it flies looks like morg's running a place tonight morght that's his wife oh yeah how you doing side of the cold night huh this is my partner joe friday how are you glad to know you joe get you're looking for scooter huh yeah is he around just down the way sarge hey how about it say have a try you like what a good crowd tonight morght oh yeah but they're not to spend them hasn't been good at all lately where'd you say your husband was ma'am just down the way old man husband's out to child scooter runs a merry-go-round for him while he eats now thank you morght we'll drop back and see you before we leave all right glad to met you joe glad to met you goodbye can you say girls have the scooter is that what you said is that the guy's name yeah that's right he used to run the scooter drone you know the little electric car you drive around bumpers all around yeah here joe friday how are you yeah glad to know you what's the story scooter uh it's like i told you on a phone uh murphy down the penny arcade he knows the guy first he pointed him out to me sure it's close to praise description well when did you first see him oh two nights ago i wasn't so sure it was brave first time and i saw him last night that cinch to i didn't hear that i say i saw him last night not that cinch oh well when did this murphy was that his name when did he first see him about a week ago he's got an eagle eye for strangers to hang around murphy thinks the guy's staying out here someplace really idea where where'd you spot this man scooter the same place murphy did it he's hanging around the shooting gallery down the way the guy who runs the place says no we don't know him well enough to ask them about it you mean this man who looks like gray just hangs around the corner there well no not exactly you see his little office to one side of the shooting gallery and the times i seen the guy he was either coming in or going out of there when's the last time you saw him scooter i say when's the last time you saw him oh earlier tonight about 6 30 yeah i i think murphy is right the guy's holding up in there yeah hold on thank you lot scooter we'll take back with you before we leave yeah okay so i just hope it helps you out i got a message right see you later there's the shooting gallery down there by the bullseye son yep the guy is bray it's funny that he hasn't been spotted before this area is pretty well patrolled here yeah are you skilled fellas 10 shots only quarter where police officers like to ask you a few questions oh what about what's your name gridly max gridly you know anybody by the name of james bray bray about this mr gridly you know anybody who fits that description a man answering that description has been seen entering and leaving this office right next door over here it's part of your concession isn't it yeah that's right but i'm the only one who uses somebody must have got the wrong slant then you wouldn't mind if we looked it over routine investigations i don't know sometimes i have my lunch in here taking that once in a while looks pretty well lived in all those clothes are yours mr gridly that's right hold on this thing oh it's a customer excuse me man be right back yeah go ahead hey joe yeah over here have a look this towel yeah look at the name stenciled on it barlet hotel 9 30 p.m we advise the shooting gallery operator not to attempt any phone calls then i called the office and rickets and powers came out to help us with the stakeout on the shooting gallery in the adjoining office ben and i covered from the penny arcade directly opposite the shooting gallery rickets and powers were staked out two doors away at a stand that advertised handwriting analyzed 25 cents we waited ben munched on a bag of popcorn 10 30 p.m no sign of the suspect 11 o'clock still no sign getting pretty cold everybody going home yeah you got any more of that popcorn oh yeah here you are two pieces left very good must have been not much in there now oh i'm sorry i can get another bag machines right over there no turn it off how about some peanuts no no thanks oh sure there's some in there joe once i know sure would like to see bray show up hate to spend the night staked out here yeah wait a minute look huh the shooting gallery the guy in the blue suit he's talking to the manager he's going around the side door that month he's going inside all right hold it right there mr don't watch it wicked jelly cover the back i don't get the door let's hit it yeah yeah bro let's roll him over huh yeah all right how about it joe short dark complexion fat what do you think i don't know but it's not bray rickets and powers remained on stake out at the shooting gallery while ben and i took the suspect downtown along with a proprietor of the shooting gallery max gridley we had the man treated for cuts and bruises at georgia street receiving hospital and we took him to the office he identified himself as blake chatfield an unemployed salesman after two hours of questioning he broke down and admitted that he was brays accomplice in each of the 18 robberies he drove the getaway car he said for the past month he and bray had been living in the office adjoining the shooting gallery it was booked at the new city jail on suspicion of 211 pc max gridley was held for further questioning 1 35 a.m we checked back in at the office yes i had too many hot dogs out there you know what's the matter i'm indigestion maybe it was the popcorn a couple of messages in the book the wife wants you to call her before you go home both are Graham brand well i'll try okay hey i'm by robbery friday johnny farris joe yeah john how's it going jimmy bray finally showed we got him any trouble no drove up in a bright red coupe couldn't miss him you're coming in now yeah just leaving see you right john by well i picked up bray bring them in now sure been a long haul almost five months yeah it's a long time hey joe yeah where am i going to get a loaf of graham bread at this time in the morning i just heard was true only the names were changed to protect the innocent now here is our star jack webb thank you for the past few weeks i've asked you to send me the names of dealers who are out of fatimas you see the demand for fatimas is so great i want to make sure that all of you can buy them so keep on writing if you find a dealer fresh out of fatimas let me know we'll have something done about it write your dealer's name and address on a card and mail it to me jack webb post office box 951 hollywood 28 that's jack webb post office box 951 hollywood 28 now a word for you mr dealer the coming holiday season will find new thousands insisting on fatima quality so step up your orders for fatima tomorrow get in on the increasing demand for the quality long cigarette james arbray and blake a chat field were tried and convicted on several counts of armed robbery and received sentences as prescribed by law max gridley was filed on for failure to register as an ex-convict bray and chat field are now serving their terms in the state penitentiary technical advice for dragnet comes from the office of chief of police w. h parker los angeles police department this is bob hope can we steal a second chester feels chester feels always winters play that milder miles oh open a pack give me a smile don't forget to give cross be for christmas i mean the chest to feel christmas carton with being his papa santa claus see you tuesday the team of cigarettes the best of all long cigarettes has brought you dragnet portions transcribed from los angeles coming up with the people then screen directors playhouse on mbc