 Chesterfield brings you dragnet put a smile in your smoking by Chesterfield smoother cooler Best for you Ladies and gentlemen the story you are about to hear is true the names have been changed to protect the innocent You're a detective sergeant. You're assigned to robbery detail You get a telephone call from a woman who wants to see you She says it's about her husband. She's afraid he's going to pull a hold up your job. 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It tells you only Chesterfield is made the modern way with Accu-ray 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 drag net is the story of your police force in action It was Wednesday, May 18th was cool in Los Angeles We're working the day watch out of robbery detail my partner's Frank Smith the boss's chief of detective stad Brown My name's Friday. I was on my way into the office. It was 749 a.m. When I got to room 27 a robbery Morning Joe. Hi, Bob Well Well, what? Good morning Frank. Oh, hi. What's eating you? Nothing. You're mad about something. I'd be mad about I don't know But you didn't say good morning I'm just not going over there anymore. That's over. Where's the Talbott's who the Talbott's, you know, live down the street So it's real estate. Oh, you bought our house from it. I see We got to be friends. This is wife and fair friends. I never cared for him much myself. Mm-hmm What happened? Hmm between you and him do you have fight? I don't fight with people Joe. You know that Oh, that's right. I just found him out that's all just found him out the kind of a guy really is all right Yeah, they use signals What signals him and his wife can you imagine that they use them what kind of signals different ones for different words What do you mean when they play charades? Oh, I think yeah Well, that's too bad had us over their place last night some other couples too about eight or ten of us and all Yeah, ten five on each side each side and for the charade game you played it haven't you yeah I want to about ten years old used to play when I look buddy. It's no kids game not the way they play Is that right? I'll give you stuff to act out titles and quotations. You've never even heard a half of them And to top it off they got signals Yeah, now verb little word big work person's name letters the alphabet they got signals for all them you can spell something out What's the point of the game? Well beat you pretty bad didn't they hmm last night in the game you lost I haven't got anything to do with it. No, it doesn't matter who wins or loses It's a principle of the things all it is signals. Yeah, I got it and they use them robbery Friday Yes, ma'am Well, I don't know what seems to be the trouble. I see yes, I guess we could Where is that? Are they open this early? All right. Yes, ma'am. We'll be there goodbye Lady wants to talk to a session me to set a bar out on Melrose. What's it all about her husband? Yeah, he bought a gun Frank and I drove over to a small bar on the corner of Melrose and ate It was 823 a.m. When we got there Morning gents on it well Well, it'll be a lie opener just coffee. How about you? I'll have a cup to please now if it isn't ready yet I just finished putting it on that's all right. We're no hurry. There's a cafe right around the corner. They're open now Well, we'll wait suits yourself. I guess you guys aren't like me. How's that? Oh, and I want my morning coffee. I want it right now Mm-hmm. I don't even know I'm awake until after I've had a couple of cups Start if we take a booth sure first one's all cleaned up. I haven't had time to get to the others yet. All right Thank you. What you got here first. Yeah, should give you a name. Hmm. Did she tell you her name? No, no, I said she didn't want to talk over the phone Joe, I know. Hi, Sally. Hi. Give me a shot with you. Scotch. Yeah. Okay Go ahead, mister. Take a good look. I was waiting for somebody. I guess I made a mistake. Yeah, you sure did. I'm sorry Little later on I might be interested but not at 8 30 a.m. Getting worse all the time, isn't it? Y'all can't even have a morning pick me up without some guy starting to move in on it He's looking at you Mike. Down a hatch. Put on a tab. Yeah, sure Hey, your coffee's about ready. All right. Thank you. Want cream and sugar? No black. How about you? Same. Coming up Don't pay no attention to Sally. Yeah. You must have got out on the wrong side of the bed today Usually she's real friendly, you know to me now, so just don't take it personal. That's all right. Forget it That's too bad. You guys came in so early long toward evening. We get a lot of action here We're meeting somebody. Okay. Just telling you that's all Whoo. Yeah, boy, that's hot. All right. I think I burnt my tongue. That's too bad Tomcat bar Mike speaking. Yeah Okay, sure. Hey, when you guys got a name sounds like Friday. That's right. Well, you're being stood up Huh? She said to tell you not to wait Frank and I left the Tomcat barn. We went back to the office 10 17 a.m. An informant called with a tip about a grocery store holdup that had taken place the previous Monday We interrogated a possible suspect but his alibi checked out the next day Thursday, May 18th 9 43 a.m. Robert Smith No, oh yeah, just for you Okay, Friday. Yeah. Yeah, I remember well, we were there Why don't you give me your name this time? No, I'm sorry. We'll have to have your name Flint FL INT All right. Now look miss flint of this some kind of a gag All right, if you're sure this time Right. All right. Goodbye the woman again. Hmm woman who called yesterday morning. Oh, yeah, what you want now same thing Meet us at the bar. I think she's on the level. I don't know. It sounds like it this time Why didn't she show up yesterday that says she tried but she just couldn't why not? Said something about loving her husband. Yeah, when the chips were down She couldn't bring herself to turn him into us. Yeah, but she will not say she has to that She can't wait any longer. Why says it might be too late 10 16 a.m. Frank and I left the office and drove out to the bar when we got there There was only one customer in the place a small dark-haired woman sitting in the corner booth How are you today? Well, it'd be coffee again. Yeah, okay. What do you want? Well, we'll let you know. Hmm that woman over there in the corner Yeah, you know who she is Oh, I don't think she's been before all right. Thank you. I say that reminds me. Yeah, Sally was around last night I asked about you. Yeah, I guess you had a change of heart. She's a pretty good kid. Yeah miss Flint Are you miss Flint? Yes, well, my name's Friday. It's my partner Frank Smith Can we sit down man? Guess so you guys what your coffee over there? Yeah, I'll be fine. How about the lady? Would you like something, ma'am? I'd like a drink. All right. I'm gonna need it. What'll it be? I don't care bourbon, I guess bourbon and ginger ale lady wants a bourbon and ginger ale. All right Does he know ma'am the bartender does he know your cops? No, I don't think so. We haven't told him Anybody finds out I talked to you if rod ever finds out Well, I guess that just about washes up rods your husband's all right. Yeah, Rodney Flint Well, is that his name? Not really not his real name. What is it then? I Don't know if I'm doing the right thing. I just don't know He'd never understand he'd say I was double-crossing him. Maybe I am maybe I Hey, aren't two coffees and bourbon and ginger where we owe you. That's a buck even There you go. Okay. Thank you for years. I've been thinking about it living with it Four years. I've been trying to make up my mind whether I should go to the police or not Yes, ma'am But things seem to be working out. He was doing so well making good money. He's changed too. Honest. He has Well, I suppose you give us the whole story You married sergeant. No, ma'am How about you? Yeah, I'm married Tell me something mister, and you tell me the truth. What's that? Suppose your wife got you in trouble. Suppose she squealed on you. What would you think of her? Well, I guess it would depend on why she did it. Oh, I've got a reason Best reason in the world I'm in love with him. Yes, ma'am If I wasn't I'd just walk out if I didn't love him I'd have walked out years ago Now when you called us yesterday, you said your husband had bought a gun Yeah, that's right. Do you know what he wants with it? No, not for sure You got a pretty good idea though, haven't you? Was your husband ever done any time as Flynn? Yes. What for? He stole a car. Anything else? Robbery. Supermarket back east. Where about? Michigan. He used to live in Detroit. How much time did he do? Seven years. Did he come out free? I don't know what you mean. I'm sorry afterwards was he on parole? But he had to report to a parole officer. Oh, yes. For how long? It was supposed to be ten years. When did he get out of prison? Five years ago. When did you come to California? About a year later. Did he have permission to leave the state of Michigan? No. Well, what made him leave then? He just came home one day. Said he couldn't take it any longer. Said he was going to LA and that it was up to me whether I came with him or not. Do you know if he's wanted for anything else besides violation of parole? I don't think so. You know, you still haven't told us his real name. Frazy. Ralph Frazy. All right, then it's Mrs. Frazy, huh? What about the gun? Well, like I said, everything was going on pretty well. He's got a good job and he's had three or four raises. Where does he work? Oil refinery. Pacific Crest Oil Company. I see. He likes the work. They like him, but the longer we live out here, the better things are. Well, that just makes him more scared. Well, what's he scared of? Well, that somebody will find out who he really is and then he'll have to go back to prison. If he just sees a cop, he goes all the pieces. He's sure they've finally caught up with him. Just a traffic cop even. Uh-huh. He gets worse all the time. Jumpy and nervous and well scared. That's the only word for it. He's been drinking a lot more too nearly every night. Uh-huh. Then just last week he ran into a guy that used to be a friend of his. Back in Detroit? Yeah. This fellow knows all about him, that he's been in prison. And Rod's afraid... I mean Ralph. I've called him Rod so long I keep forgetting that it isn't his real name. Sure. Anyway, he's afraid this guy'll say something to somebody that'll all come out. It's just driving him crazy. So he bought a gun. Do you say why? He was pretty drunk the night before last. That's when he brought it home. He mumbled something. If he was going to go back to prison anyway, he might as well make it worth their while. Maybe he's planning another robbery. I don't know. I don't really think he would. But with all this drinking and being so darned upset, well, I don't know what he might do. Where's the gun now, Miss Frazier? At home. He hid it in the stove in the pan under the broiler. At least that's where he put it last night after... After what? Well, you see, he was carrying on doing a lot of talking. He was holding the gun at the same time, waving it around, telling me how easy it'd be to go out and rob somebody. Said that way he could get enough money for us to leave the country and go to Mexico, maybe where they'd never find us. Right in the middle of everything, the pistol went off. I see. It was just an accident. He wasn't pointing at anything. The bullet only went into the ceiling. I'm sure he didn't mean to pull the trigger. Yes, ma'am. But when he heard the shot, he acted like he was going out of his mind. He was sure the neighbors had heard it too, and that they'd report it to the police. What'd he do then? Well, he dug the bullet out of the ceiling, got rid of it. Mm-hmm. After that, he just waited. Now, that proves he's changed, doesn't it? That he really isn't a criminal anymore? Well, how do you mean that? Well, he didn't run away. Yeah. He stayed there all night long, waiting. And he didn't keep the gun. He put it in the oven. He didn't have it on him. So there wouldn't have been any trouble, even if the police did come. Mm-hmm. See, I kept praying that they would. Over and over, I prayed you'd come and find out who he is. He's got to go back to prison and finish out his sentence. I'm sure of that now. If he doesn't, I just don't know what'll happen to him. What about you, Ms. Frazy? Me. While he's in prison, what'll you do? I can work. I did before. I'll manage. Mm-hmm. Ms. Frazy, what time's your husband come home from work? It's later and later, since he started drinking. Nine o'clock, maybe even ten. He's never there for supper anymore. Is there someplace else you can go this evening? Over to a neighbor's, maybe? I suppose so. Why? Well, it might be better if you weren't there when we pick him up. But you can't. I mean, well, not so soon, not tonight. Does it have to be tonight? Yes, ma'am, it does. You know it was me that had something to do with it. He's bound to know. We'll keep you out of it if we can. What are you going to tell him? What kind of an excuse will you use? Let's see what kind he has. When you shop, stop. Remember, vacation time is carton time. The cigarette to take with you is Chesterfield. Made the modern way, with accu-ray. Take along a couple of cartons and put a smile in your smoking. Chesterfield. Smoother. Cooler. Best for you. Remember in the whole wide world, no cigarette satisfies like Chesterfield. Put a smile in your smoking, just give them a try. Chesterfield's best for you. They satisfy. Frank and I continued to talk to Mrs. Frazee. She agreed to be out of the house during the evening. She also gave us a description of her husband. She said he was WMA 38 years old, 5'11". And he weighed about 170. She told us he had black hair, brown eyes, and a dark complexion. At 11.27 a.m., we went back to the office. We ran the names Rodney Flint and Ralph Frazee through our eye. They had nothing on Flint. Under Frazee, we found a want from the state of Michigan for a violation of parole. The dates given on the want checked with what Mrs. Frazee had told us. We contacted the Pacific Crest Oil Refinery, and without stating that we were from the police department, we learned that a man named Rodney Flint had been employed there for the last three years. They said he was a steady, dependable worker. 6.32 p.m., we drove out to the address Mrs. Frazee had given us. It was a modest one-story home just off Santa Monica Boulevard. We parked across the street and waited for Frazee to return from work. 7.05 p.m., we saw Mrs. Frazee go into a neighbor's home three doors west. Frank and I continued to wait. 8.46 p.m. Joe, across the street. He's turned into the driveway. Let's give him a minute, let him get inside. All right. Now the lights are on now, let's go. I see the bell. Over there. We'd like to talk to you for a minute. What about? We're police officers. What? Police. This is Frank Smith. My name's Friday. I didn't send for no cops. Sorry if we come in. What do you want? Just want to talk to you, that's all. You're talking out here. It'd be easier if we were inside. I ain't got all night. Neither have we. This won't take very long. Okay, come on. All right, stand right here. Hey, what? Still. Yeah. What is all this? He's clean, Joe. What's your name? Come on, give us your name. Flint. First name too. Rod. Rodney. You alone? Yeah. You live alone? Our wife's such. She left me a note that she's going over the neighbor's babysit form. Mm-hmm. Were you home last night? Yeah, I was home. All night? From about 10 o'clock on. Did you hear a gun go off? What? A gun. Did you hear one go off? Of course not. Well, somebody did, and they reported it. Said it sounded like it came from this house. Last night, you said. That's right, Flint. Boy, what a police force. Your cops ought to be real proud of yourself. Yeah. That's all you gotta do, check up on some character who's been hearing things. There wasn't any shot, huh? Well, I didn't hear. I see. Kind of late to be asking, ain't it? We just got around to it. Took a whole day, huh? I suppose you need a cop. What are you supposed to do, make an appointment ahead of time? You're sure about this, huh, Flint? About what? You didn't hear any gunfire. I didn't hear nothing. There's a lot of traffic down the boulevard. Maybe a car was backfiring. Maybe that's where it was. Mm-hmm. Do you own a gun? Uh-uh. You're sure about that? Well, I'd know if I had a gun, wouldn't I? Sorry, did we look around? What for? Want to give you a place to once over? No, it's not okay. Oh? You can have your busting in here now. Come on, go out and beat it, huh? We can get a search warrant and come back. Are you listening to me and you're listening good, huh? Yeah. This isn't skidroll, mister. This is my home. I own it. Now, you're not messing around on Main Street bomb, either. I got a good job for a big company. They pay a lot of taxes in this town. They pay a lot of your salary. Yeah. My boss is a pretty important guy. He's got friends. So now you just take your little badges and move on. All right, Flint, if that's the way you want it. That's the way I want it. Just give us one more thing. What are you afraid of? I'm not afraid of anything, you guys, especially. I'm sure not very anxious for us to look around. There must be a reason for that. Well? Okay, okay. Go ahead and search. It's no skin off of my nose. All right, thanks. If that chance, you'd have a fine on something, even if it was here. Dumb cops, it took you a whole day to get here. A whole day to answer one lousy crackpot call. Well, don't forget. Yeah? It got answered. Frank and I began a routine search of the house. While Frank went through the two bedrooms, I took the living room and dining area. We found nothing suspicious. 9.42 p.m. We'd finished with the front part of the home and we went into the kitchen. The suspect followed us. Okay, if I fix myself a drink, will you're messing to join up? That's up to you. You guys want one? What? A blast. You want one? No, thanks. What about you? No, thanks. You don't drink, huh? Not hurting my feelings. I'll check the service force, Joe. All right. You know, my wife's gonna raise Cain when she sees what you guys had done to the house. Well, be as careful as we can, Flint. Yeah, sure. Well, now come on. How about winding it up, huh? Just a couple of minutes. Well, you boys really believe in wasting time, don't you? What do they do? Pay you by the hour? There's nothing out there, Joe. I guess that takes care of it. Yeah. All right, come on. I'll be glad to show you to the door. We'll find our way. Just a minute. Did you check the stove? Huh? The stove. No, I thought you did. All right. No, I know what. We forgot something. Yeah. Well, look, Samty. What's with you? You think I'm cooking a gun? Yeah, it's okay, Joe. All right. As soon as I get this pan back. Hey, watch it there. Grab them, Joe. Wait a minute. You're not going anywhere. Look, I don't know what this is all about. I never saw that gun before in my whole life. Yeah. I don't even know how it got. Well, let's talk about it downtown. Huh? Come on. Look, wait a minute now. You can't haul me in like this. What have I done? You've got to have a charge. I know the law. You've got to charge me with something. You won't find it. We found a gun. We drove this aspect down to the city hall, rolled his prints and booked him in on suspicion of robbery. 1106 p.m. We brought him into the squad room for questioning. All right. Sit down over there. What kind of a frame is this? Come on, how about letting me in on it, huh? Who'd I rob? You forget about our robbery charge. I guess we made a mistake. Well, that's what I've been telling you, eh? We had to check the gun. We had to be sure. All right. So now you know. Yeah. Okay. No hard feelings. Sit down, Frazier. What? You heard me. Sit down. Maybe we were wrong about the robbery charge, but we came up with something else. A want from Michigan. A violation of parole. What about it, Frazier? Well? Well, what do you want to know? You've got it the whole story. Why'd you leave Michigan? Why'd you jump parole? Oh, what difference does it make? I suppose you tell us about it. I didn't have no choice. Yeah. I used to play around with some pretty rough boys. I got out of the joint. They're still in Detroit. Looked me up. Ah, you guys don't think I'm conning you, but... Well, look, I wanted to go straight. They had different ideas. Yeah. So we came out here, Dorothy and me. She's my wife. I see. You can check on me. I've been clean ever since. Ask the company. Talk to anybody about me. They'll tell you I'm clean. No. That gonna help back in Michigan? No, that's not up to us. Sure. I thought that was why they sent you to jail, so you'd learn something. So when you come out, you won't do it again. That's part of it. Well, I learned what good did it do me. Maybe you didn't learn enough. Huh? There's a law against the next convict having a gun. Are you gonna stick me with that one, too? That's not up to us, either. Well, I see. The gun that had him into that gun, you never found me. Well, it might have taken a little longer, that's all. Sure, that's what did it. I don't know why it went off the other night. I thought the safety was on just my luck. I never had a decent break in my whole life, not one. Mm-hmm. Well, is there any more you guys want? No, I guess not. Not now, anyway. It's all right if I call my wife. Yeah, we'll fix it for you. I wonder how she's gonna take it. I don't know. I guess she'll stick by me. She always has. They're all the rotten breaks no matter what. She'll stick. Well, you must have had one good break then, huh? Huh? When you married her. The story you've just heard is true. The names were changed to protect the innocent. On Thursday, May 25th, the meeting was held in the district attorney's office in and for the county of Los Angeles, state of California. In a moment, the results of that meeting. Now, here is our star, Jack Webb. Thank you, George Veneman. Friends, discover for yourself what modern science can do to increase your cigarette enjoyment. Remember, accurate puts a smile on your smoking. Enjoy a smoothness and coolness never possible before. Chesterfield, best for you. In the interest of justice and because of the suspect's good behavior record in Los Angeles, it was decided not to press charges against him for possessing a gun. Ralph Putnam Frazee, alias Rodney Flint, was turned over to Michigan authorities to serve out his previous sentence. He has since been released and has returned to his former employment in Los Angeles. You have just heard Dragnet, a series of authentic cases from official files. Technical advice comes from the Office of Chief of Police, W.H. Parker, Los Angeles Police Department. Technical advisors Captain Jack Donahoe, Sergeant Marty Wynn, Sergeant Van Sprecher. Perd tonight were Ben Alexander, Stacey Harris, Herve Ellis, Vivi Janis. Script by Frank Perth. Music by Walter Schuman. Hell, give me 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. This is it, L&M filters. It stands out from all the rest. Miracle tip, much more flavor. L&M's got everything. It's the best. Yes, L&M's got everything. Superior taste, superior tobaccos, superior filter. It's the Miracle Tip, pure and white. Buy L&M, America's best filter tip cigarette. Here, Dragnet, next week, same time, same station. Tonight here is special broadcast, The Atom, Menace and Promise on most NBC radio stations. Thanks for watching.