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THE BIG YOUNGSTER and THE BIG CHANCE DRAGNET
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Two great episodes of Dragnet starring Jack Webb as Sgt. Joe Friday
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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 a juvenile bureau. A vicious case of wanton and willful destruction of private property occurs in your city. Suspicion points to a juvenile. Your job. Find him. If you want a long cigarette, smoke the best of all long cigarettes. Smoke extra mild Fatima. Yes, Fatima is the king size cigarette which contains the finest turkish and domestic tobaccos. Superbly blended to make it extra mild. To give Fatima a much different, much better flavor and aroma than any other long cigarette. That's why Fatima has more than doubled its smokers coast to coast. Enjoy extra mild Fatima yourself. Best of all long cigarettes. It's wise to smoke extra mild Fatima. It's wise to smoke extra mild Fatima Dragnet the documentadroma of an actual crime. For the next 30 minutes in cooperation with the Los Angeles police department, you will travel step by step 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. From official police files. From beginning to end, from crime to punishment. Dragnet is the story of your police force in action. It was Tuesday, April 10th. It was cool in Los Angeles. We were working the day watch out of juvenile bureau. My partner's Ben Romero. The boss is inspector Bowling. My name's Friday. It was 9:35am when we got to 1335 Georgia St. Captain's office. I want to Ask you to sit down. We're not going to be here that long. You sound mad. Hit your hats. Right. William. Where's the car? Right out front. All right. What's up? Rotten mess. We got in the car and drove south on Figueroa till we got to West 103rd Street. According to Inspector Bolling's directions, we turned right and went about four miles. He directed us to pull up in front of a one story frame residence that had been converted into small business offices. On the right side, going in, was a neighborhood jeweler's shop. We could see him working in the window over the door of the office. On the left was a lawyer shingle. The gold lettering was new. This way. Lawyers off. That's right. Name's Paul Wilson. It's me, Mr. Wilson. Oh, come in, Inspector. Volume. Mr. Wilson, this is Sergeant Friday, Romero, Juvenile detail. I'm assigning with this case. How you do, Sergeant? All right. Look at it. Just look at it. Look at that, Joe. Yeah. Paint. It's all over everything. Look at that leather chair. It's ruined the desk. Smeared with the stuff. Green paint. Looks like they threw it on with a mop. Done. Rug soaked with it. The walls. Look, Joe, they even got the clock. Yeah. Take a good look. Remember it when you tag whoever did it. These are your law books, Mr. Wilson? Yes, sir. I didn't have to do this. Ford paint all over? Yes, sir. When'd all this happen? Sometime last night. Found it this way when I came in this morning. Any idea who did it? That's why he called us. And we're gonna find out. I don't know who'd want to do a thing like this. Just opened my office three days ago. Just hung out my shingle. You just started practicing law, is that it? Yes, sir. Graduated from Loyola University Extension Division. Been looking for office space for a long time. Was anything taken? No. It's such a dirty, rotten thing to pull. Undoubtedly a kid. It's pretty vicious for a kid. Can you think of any enemies that you might have had, Ms. Wilson? No, sir. No one do a thing like this. Can't understand it. There's no reason for it that I can think of. Crime report shows they got in the back door. Is that right, Mr. Wilson? Can you come back here? I'll show you. Okay. Yeah, Here it is, right here. See? This used to be the kitchen. When this was a flat. I was gonna put a hot plate in here for coffee. Nice. You can see where they cut through the screen door. It's all right. It's Been checked. Okay. Oh, yeah, Yeah, I see. Any pass key would fit the inside door here. Yes, sir, that's right. You can follow the trail of that green paint right from this door all the way through the house. Yeah, I don't know how I'll ever get it all off. You know of any cleaners that handle things like this? We're not allowed to recommend anybody, Mr. Wilson. If you have somebody in mind, we'd be happy to call them for you. Thank you. I appreciate it. I was gonna make some calls, but I haven't got my phone installed yet. Estimated damage about $1,800. Is that right? That's what I figure, yes. My law books are over $600 alone. Borrowed the money from the bank for the furniture. You haven't noticed any kids in the neighborhood? None of them around while you were moving in? No, I didn't see any. I moved everything in myself. Rented a trailer. Made several trips to get it all over here. Guess that was a silly thing to do. Why? Well, the store where I bought the furniture said they'd deliver it, but I couldn't wait to see everything in first office, you know. Yeah, we understand. Well, like I said, I made several trips with the trailer and I didn't lock the office each time I left. Didn't figure it was necessary. The fellow across the hall with Bueller said he'd keep an eye on things for me. But you did lock up last night, didn't you? Oh, yes. Soon as I was moved in. I locked the place at all times when I wasn't here. That's it. We'll get right on it. I don't have to tell you again. I want a fast answer. Where do we start? With an empty paper can. Before we left, attorney Paul Wilson, we took a sample scraping of the green paint to serve as a color check. We started to canvass the neighborhood door to door. We covered the area for a radius of six blocks, questioning the residents and checking out the youngsters. We failed to come up with anything. We figured another good angle was to try the schools in the area. We checked on the students who had been in any kind of trouble involving malicious pranks. We had the principals line their students up. We looked them all over thoroughly for any evidences of pain of any kind on their person or on their clothing. The few leads we found led nowhere. After a week without success, we went back and rechecked the neighborhood, the paint stores, to see if anyone had bought any green paint, anyone they might have forgotten to tell us about. The first Time through. No leads. Monday, April 18th. Ben and I stopped for a Coke at a hot dog stand on the corner of 103rd and Oak View Avenue. A couple of Cokes, please. You want to help yourselves out? Yeah, okay. Here's one. I don't see any more. There's one lying on the side. No, no, over there with the grape. Oh, yeah. Let me get it for you. Oh, thanks. There you are. Good. Every time I think of that boy's office, it makes me sick. Now, if we could. If we could just get some kind of a lead. Anything for a start. Pardon me. I'd be satisfied. Nothing to work on. It's like stabbing in the dark. Joe. Yeah? Look down the street there. This is tin can day. Everybody's got them set out in front of the houses. It's worth a try, isn't it? Let's try a place across the street and then work down the block. All right. Come on. I had a cousin move down from San Francisco. It took him almost a year to get used to this tin can system here in la. Is that so? Yeah. Up there they throw everything into one garbage can. Tin cans? No, I didn't know that. Yeah, sure. Tad's my cousin. Never could get used to putting the cans out. Backyard was full of them. Poor's wife reminded him to put them out. Garbage kind of piled up, too. They wouldn't pick it up with the tin cans in it. You want to check these here. Okay. Don't see any paint cans? No. None here either. How about those down there? Okay. I'll get this box. Wonder if this is any good. What's that? Prune juice. See a lot of empty bottles. Any paint cans? No. Say so. That's the way it went. Block after block, house after house. We covered five blocks, checking the containers full of empty tin cans. Found a few paint cans. None of them the right color or any combinations that would go together to make the right color. It was a tiring job, but we figured it was at least a place to start. Sure, a lot of cans here. Must be a new bride. I don't know. Did you find anything? No, not yet. How about this? Huh? This one. One gallon can. Green. Let's ask. Yes? Police officers, ma'am. This empty paint can belong to you. You can have it if you want. We threw it out. Do you have any children here, ma'am? Yes, a boy. How old is he? One year. Would you mind telling us what this paint was used for? We just moved here. Is there any law about throwing out the paint cans? Oh, no, ma'am. We're investigating the case. Just like to know what the paint was used for. Did old man Boone send you over? Beg pardon? Mr. Boone? The man we rented this house from. No, ma'am. I thought maybe it was him. He said we couldn't do any painting inside. We don't know anything about that. You sure? I don't trust him. No, ma'am. You say the paint was used to redecorate? Yes. Come in. I'll show you. Thank you. In here, see? Yeah. Carlos Steele, my husband. I told him he should have waited till Sunday. Mm. Whose idea was it to paint the bathtub? Carlos. He's going to night school. Learning English. The teacher told him the best way to learn was to speak it around the house. Yes, it's better for the little one, too. Well, anyway, Carlos gets paid on Saturday night. Then he stops at the little place for the fellows he works with and has a little drink. He gets his paycheck cash there. When he came home, he said he was going to clean the bathroom for me. This is Ella. Little dude. I was in the kitchen and I yelled him to paint around the top. Around the tub. I said, yeah. Like I said, he doesn't know English too good yet. We have a green tub. I see. Well, thank you. He's going to clean the tub next Saturday. We use the shower. Painted that, too, didn't he? Well, thank you very much, ma'am. We're sorry to have disturbed you. That's all right. I'm worried about next Saturday night. Why is that? There's no telling what he's going to do with that paint remover. 4:30pm we were no closer to finding out who spread that paint around to turn the attorney's office than when we started. We continued checking the neighborhood, but we found nothing. A few minutes before five, we got a call to check back in with Inspector Bolling. You do any good out there? Nothing to tell. We had a little action, A new one. Now, what's that? Came in about an hour ago. Somebody poured kerosene on three palm trees and set them on fire. Three trees, three different blocks? Yeah. Kept the fire department busy. Tied up the traffic for several hours. I've sent additional juvenile cars out there to cover. Happening in the same general area as the paint job. Any leads? No. Anyone who smear paint over an office might set a palm tree on fire. Same type of gag, malicious mischief. Think there's a connection between the two? Well, it's anybody's guess. Paint routine's a new one. So is the palm trees. They're both one time only shots. Maybe the two connect somewhere along the line. Maybe one's got us stopped. We can't even find a place to begin. We've tried everything we know. Starting again tomorrow. It isn't going to make that young lawyer feel any better. Yep. Who? You take him down to the detention room. He does, huh? All right, I'll see him. Yeah, right now. 16 year old boy out there says he's got to see me. Would you like to talk to him alone? No, that's all right. You stay. Come in. You're the chief? My name is Bowling. Juvenile Bureau. Yeah. Could I talk to you alone? Well, these officers work with me. Can you talk in front of them, son? I guess so. Come on over here. You want to sit down, son? I'd rather stand if it's okay. All right. What's on your mind? I want to confess. What do you want to confess, son? I murdered somebody. You are listening to Dragnet. Actual case histories taken from official police files. If you smoke a long cigarette, it will be in your interest to listen to these case histories taken from the file marked Fatima on this card. Reporter Lee Silver. Statement. I need an extra mild cigarette. No other long cigarette I've tried is as mild as Fatima. Here is nurse Shirley Gilman's statement. When I go off duty, I appreciate a mild cigarette. Fatimas are extra mild. I can enjoy them more. On this card, the statement by drama Critic Richard Watts, Jr. Anyone can tell Fatima contains the finest tobaccos. It's extra mild, has a much better flavor. All agree it's wise to smoke extra mild Fatima. And that's what more and more smokers are discovering every day. Yes, actual figures show extra mild Fatima has more than doubled its smokers coast to coast. So enjoy extra mild Fatima yourself. You'll agree it's wise to smoke extra mild Fatima. It's wise to smoke extra mild Fatima. Best of all, long cigarettes. Next week, Thursday, August 24, Dragnet will be heard one hour earlier at 9pm Eastern Daylight Saving Time. 6pm Monday, April 18. The boy identified himself as Arnold Waterman. Gave his age as 16. He told us that two days before at 98th street and Second Avenue, he'd shot a man to death and hidden his body in the basement of a house. He was taken to the interrogation room where a police stenographer took his statement. Inspector Bowling sent Ben and I out to check his story. 9:30pm we drove back to Georgia Street Juvenile and went to the interrogation room. Arnold. Yes, sir. These two men have been out at 98th street and Second Avenue checking your story. Did you find the body? Well, there's no body out there. There should be. I put it in the cellar. There's no house out there. It's a vacant lot. We checked all the houses near there. You sure you killed somebody? Of course I'm sure. I stole a gun. I shot him three times in the back. What'd you do with the gun? I threw it in Westlake Park. Where? In the water. I rented a boat and rode out to the middle. That's where I threw it in. Why did you kill the man? I don't know. I didn't like him. Look, boy, you didn't kill anybody. There's nothing to back up your story. There's not an ounce of truth in it. How do you know you haven't found a body? Just wait. You'll find, and then you'll see. I killed him already. Will you show us where you hid the body? Why should I? I told you, you can find it. These men have gone over that entire area thoroughly. There's nobody out there and you know it. You cops are funny. When somebody won't admit a murder, you keep asking questions until they do. I'm telling you, I murdered somebody and you keep trying to talk me out of it. If we can find one shred of proof, we might go along with you. You can't be convicted without proof. How much do you need? You got my confession. I offered to sign it. They wouldn't let me. What more do you need? We need a victim, Arnold. If you knew where to look, you could find it. We've looked every place you told us to. You're lying to us. Huh? Why? I never liked the old man. I hated his wife. I killed her, too. I wasn't going to tell you that. Where do you go to school? I quit school to sell papers. I had to support my mother. Where's your father? I don't know. My mother wouldn't tell me. That's where I met the old man I killed selling papers. He was my boss. None of us liked him. Nobody had the nerve to do it but me. The rest of the guys were scared, but not me. What was the old man's name? I can't think of it right now. He was her boss. He never told us his name. We just worked for him. Where'd you sell papers? I don't remember. I had to sell papers. We were going hungry. I couldn't stand to see my mother starve. Couldn't your father Work. I don't know where he is. I told you that. We tried to get on relief. They wouldn't let us. I made a lot of money selling papers. After a while, we didn't need relief anymore. Made $100 a week. Why are you lying to us, son? If you think I'm lying, why don't you let me go home? We have anything to hold you for? You can go home. Not until I have a trial. Already? Call a lawyer. He'll be over pretty soon. I've sent for your mother, Arnold. She'll come down and take you home. I didn't want her to know anything about this. I may have to go to the gas chamber. It would make her feel bad. You shouldn't have called her. It's no use. Let's go back to the office. His mother ought to be there by now. All right, Romero, you want to stay with the boy? Right. You better go out and find that body. Come on, Joe. I killed that old man. You can't say I didn't. The boy's a pathological liar. Looks that way. Probably an inferiority complex. This is the way of making himself important. Well, we all know he didn't kill anybody. But I wonder if he's got something else in his mind, huh? How do you do here? Mrs. Waterman? Yes. Inspector Bowling? Yes, ma'am. This is Sergeant Friday. How do you do, ma'am? How do you do? You have to excuse my appearance. I slept a little late today. We've got your boy down the hall. He's all right. Trying to get us to swallow a few tall stories. Yeah, he's like that. What'd he tell you? He tried to give us a story about killing somebody. Well, I'm not surprised. This isn't the first time. You'll never understand that kid. Has your boy ever been in an institution, Mrs. Waterman? No, he's not bad. He just likes to lie all the time. He's an awful liar. Went to his high school principal the other day. Told him his father and I beat him. We wouldn't give him any lunch money. Where is your husband? He has a newspaper concession on one of the railroad trains. How often is he home? Once a week. Sometimes every two weeks. It's the only business he knows. Yes, ma'am. Maybe that's the reason the kid's away is my mom always used to tell me a kid needs his food. Still, whenever my hubby's home, he always does the right thing. Arnold started telling these lies a long time ago. And ever since, his Father found out, he catches it. How do you mean? Good strapping, that's all. A kid like him understands his father, knows how to handle him. Whenever he lies, he takes the strap to him. You think that's the best way to handle it, don't you? Well, you know what you're doing, Mr. Waterman. He's your son. But if you wouldn't mind a little advice. Do you mind my telling you? No, not at all. Well, that boy needs care and he needs it bad. A strap's not the answer. He needs attention, good supervision and a lot of companionship. I'm not conducting a class in child psychology. But care for that boy of yours. Care for him before the state has to. It's just those stories he hits. That's what's wrong with him. Came home the other night with the wildest tale I ever heard. Yes, ma'am. Said he threw green paint all over somebody's office. Ben and I drove out to the Waterman home. We checked the boy's belongings. His mother showed us his room. In his closet we found a pair of corduroy trousers, a white T shirt and other articles of his clothing spattered with the same shade of green paint that had been found in the office and furnishings of attorney Paul Wilson. We asked Ms. Waterman where her son Arnold was on Sunday night, April 9, the night that the office had been broken into and smeared with paint. She told us she didn't know, but that he came home that night with paint on his clothing. Ben and I went back to the office where we filed an application for a petition and detention. Section 700 sub. M WIC malicious mischief. One count. Two days later in juvenile court. The calendar was called. Arnold Waterman's name was first on the list. The judge, the subject and all those concerned in the case retired to the judge's private chambers. Ben and I, Arnold Waterman and his mother, the subject, was informed of his constitutional rights and Judge Frank J. Smith read the findings of our investigation. Arnold. And alleges in this petition that on April 9, at approximately 8:30, you entered the office of attorney Paul Wilson at 9218 West 103rd street, where you willfully and without Mr. Wilson's permission did maliciously damage his office to the extent of approximately eighteen hundred dollars by pouring paint over his rugs, furniture, books and other articles in his offices. Is this true, Arnold? Yes, sir. Did you know Mr. Wilson? No. Arnold, I'd like to know why you did that. I felt like it. You'll have to give me a Better answer than that, youngster. That's the best I can do. That's good enough, isn't it? No, it isn't good enough. We have a courtroom full of boys outside who probably want to be helped. And we're going to try to help them. We can't help you unless you want to be helped. You don't want to help me. You don't believe anything I tell you. Officer Friday. Yes, you, Honor. You and Officer Romero investigated this case from its inception. We did. As a result of your investigation, what's your opinion of this boy's truthful? Well, you, Honor, I think I can speak for Officer Romero here as well. In all our talks with the boy and our observations of him, it's our opinion, for what it's worth. The boy's a pathological liar. Basically, he seems to have the makings of a good youngster. His environment's bad. Seems to have very little, if any, parental guidance. Tells lies, you, Honor. Lots of them. That seems to be everyone's opinion. It's not mine. If you'd spend more time trying to find out if I'm lying instead of trying to put me on the spot, you'd earn your money. You're still racing, been thoroughly investigated and double checked by competent police officers. There is absolutely no basis of truth in anything you've said. I'm getting sick and tired of everybody calling me a liar. Do you hear me? Young man, sit down in that chair. We review a great many juvenile cases here in my private chambers. But that does not alter the fact that you are in a court of law. You will lower your voice, speak in a gentlemanly fashion and tell the truth. Is that Understood? Yes, sir. Mrs. Waterman, could you give this court any reason for your son's behavior? It's a mystery to me, Judge. Fred, that's his father. He can't understand it either. He's always lied. His father beats him for it, I guess he'll always lie. That's all you can say on your son's behalf? What else is there to say? He's a liar. Arnold, I'm going to ask you once more. Why did you smear paint all over Attorney Paul Wilson's office? I didn't like him. Why didn't you like him? I didn't like him, that's all. Tall, skinny, funny looking guy. You mean you destroyed his property because you didn't like his looks? Something like that. He was cheap. I saw him moving in. He had a trailer. He was moving his own stuff in. Why didn't he hire a mover like everybody else. I don't like cheap people. You know anything about this man Wilson? No. What business was it of yours whether or not Mr. Wilson decided to move his own furnitures? Do you know that he's a young man, not much older than you. Just graduated from law school. Took a lot of time. Took a lot of his money. Money that he earned to put himself through school. And you sit there, a mere sketch of a boy passing judgment on a fine young man like Paul isn't. Boy, let me tell you something. I don't know if you're a God fearing lad or not. But you better fall on your knees and ask forgiveness. And hope that somebody hears you. That he hasn't lost patience with you. You better raise up those sights of yours, lad, and pray for forgiven. I hope those tears mean something, Arnold. Now, do you have anything to say before I pass judgment on this case? Yes, sir, I have. I'd like to tell you about something else I did. There were some palm trees out there. I put kerosene on them and set them on fire. Oh, it's Friday. Would you know anything about this? Yes, your honor. That checks with the reports. Any property damage? No, your honor. Kept the fire department pretty busy at. I didn't kill anybody. I just made that up. Yes, we know, Arnold. Do you have anything else to add, Mrs. Watman? No. I don't know what else you can do with a kid. Go out of somebody else's problem. According to the findings of the probationary officers and the investigating officers and what I've heard and observed in these chambers, I have no alternative but to remove this boy from his present home and environment and place him in a foster home where he will receive closer supervision and the care that he requires. Does that meet with your approval, Mrs. Wildman? It's fine with me, Judge. Fred and I can hardly make ends meet now. And it's a shame to waste what money we have on this kid. It's all I can do to squeeze out the new clothes I need. Then you approve this plan? I can't wait to tell Fred. Well, when you tell Fred, you can also tell him the taxpayers are not going to assume the burden of the mistakes that you and your husband lavished on this boy. How do you mean, Judge? The expense of placing the boy in this foster home comes to the amount of $35 a month. You and your husband will pay this sum. The law covers that. It's an awful lot of money. The payment will be due on the first day of each month, you will meet this requirement or be held in contempt of court. I'm only sorry. That's as far as the law goes. The laws of the state of California do not make the parents responsible for the thoughts of their children unless contributory negligence can be proven. In my eyes, it is contributory negligence on your part, but unfortunately, it cannot be proven. Any faults that this boy may have are yours. You, as a parent, are responsible. We did the best we could in raising the kid, madam. You didn't raise him. Hearing this, Smith. The story you have just heard was true. Only the names were changed to protect the innocent. On April 18, the hearing was held in the private chambers of Judge Frank J. Smith, Juvenile court, City and county of Los Angeles, State of California. You have just heard the results of that hearing. And now here is our star, Jack Webb. Thank you. The working detective in the process of apprehending criminals devotes his full time and energy to the job. His alertness, intelligence, and a great amount of patience. So with a cigarette. The makers of Fatima cigarettes employ these same qualities in blending the finest Turkish and domestic tobaccos to make Fatima extra mild. Best of all, long cigarettes. Now, if you're a long cigarette smoker like I am, then buy Fatima. You'll find, as I have, that every pack is extra mild. Smoke Fatima. Next week, Thursday, August 24th, Dragnet will be heard one hour earlier at 9pm Eastern Daylight Saving time. You have just heard Dragnet, a series of authentic cases from official files. Technical advice for Dragnet comes from the office of Chief of Police W.A. parker, Los Angeles Police Department. Fatima cigarettes, the best of all long cigarettes has brought you Dragnet from Los Angeles. You are no dummy, but you're kind of acting like one. You used to crush it in school, outsmarting opponents on the field. And now, well, you're still smart, but not. Not exactly challenging yourself. You could be advancing nuclear engineering in the world's most powerful Navy. You were born for it. So make the smart choice. You can be smart, or you can be nuke smart. Become a nuclear engineer@navy.com nukesmart America's Navy forged by the sea. Marketing is hard, but I'll tell you a little secret. It doesn't have to be. Let me point something out. You're listening to a podcast right now, and it's great. You love the host. You seek it out and download it. You listen to it while driving, working out, cooking, even going to the bathroom. Podcasts are a pretty close companion. And this is a podcast ad. Did I get your Attention. You can reach great listeners like yourself with podcast advertising from Libsyn Ads. Choose from hundreds of top podcasts offering host endorsements or run a pre produced ad like this one across thousands of shows. To reach your target audience in their favorite podcasts with Libsyn ads, go to Libsynads.com that's L I B S Y N ads.com today the story you are about to hear is true. Only the names and locations 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 a homicide detail. You answer an early morning call. A police officer on patrol duty disappears. Any attempt to contact him by car radio fails your job. Find him. If you want a long cigarette, smoke the best of all long cigarettes. Smoke extra mild Fatima. Yes, Fatima is the king size cigarette which contains the finest Turkish and domestic tobaccos. Superbly blended to make it extra mild. To give Fatima a much different, much better flavor and aroma than any other long cigarette. That's why Fatima has more than doubled its smokers coast to coast. Enjoy Extra mild Fatima yourself. Best of all, long cigarettes. It's wise to smoke extra mild. Fatima. It's wise to smoke extra mild Fatima 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. From official police files, from beginning to end, from crime to punishment, Dragnet is the story of your police force in action. It was Monday, June 4th. It was sultry in Los Angeles. We were working early morning watch out of homicide. My partner's Ben Romero. The boss is chief of Detective Stad Brown. My name's. Friday was 6:45am when we got to the Imperial Highway. San Pedro cut off. Hi. Friday in? Romero? Yeah, that's right. Pete Sutton in Sheriff's department. How are you? Hello. We got here as soon as we could. Inspector Bowers fill you in? Yeah. Ed Backstrand, Central Homicide told us to check with Bowers at the sheriff's office. Bowers directed us to come out here and lend you a hint. This thing happens close to the county line. They figure both departments ought to go to work on it. Sure glad to have you. Looks like a tough one. Is this the highway patrol car the missing officer was assigned to? Yeah, this is just the way we found it. We turned off the ignition. Motor was running. Lights were on. Must have been idling quite a while. The temperature was up pretty high. When'd you find it this way? 45 minutes ago. Missing patrolman's name is Eugene Brewer. State Highway Patrol called the Sheriff's Department a little before 6am told us the missing officer wasn't acknowledging his radio call. I talked to Mark Benson. Is the radio all right? We checked it. In fact, it was operating normal when we found the car. Mike was out of the bracket laying on the seat there. Yeah. Any ideas? No signs of struggle. No blood stains this asphalt here. No footprints anywhere. Nothing on the shoulder of the road. You said the car was running? That's right. That eliminates any engine trouble. Yeah. There's more to it than that. Gotta be. Nobody has any idea why or when he left his car. You've got it all. You know as much as we do. What was the check on Brewer? Mark Benson says he's one of their top men. Been with Highway Patrol for eight years. Good record all the way. Have you talked to anybody around here? Pretty remote spot out here. A lot of truck gardens, that's about all. My partner, Dave Terry, turned up one man. Maybe he's got something. That's him over by our car. Hey, Dave, would you send him over here, please? Who is the fella? One of the farmers. Works at truck Garden out here. Name's Henry Taniguchi. Lieutenant Sutton? Yes, sir. Mr. Taniguchi, this is Sergeant Friday in Romero. Yes, sir. All right, sir. I know you filled my partner in, but would you mind going over it again for us? All right. I can tell you very little, you know. We start work early in the garden. Yes, sir. Conrad. A fellow I work with, Kanara Ishikawa. We started in a string bin about 5:00 this morning. Pin patch near Imperial Highway. Yeah. We noticed a headright stop off the side of the road. This happened all the time along the highway, but this stayed very long. About what time did you notice this, Mr. Taniguchi? Must have been ten minute past five. I remember asked Charlie Fujikuni, our cultivator man, what time was I see? Did you see or hear anything out of the ordinary? Oh, no, sir. We wait a while and head. I do not move. Conrad and I decided maybe somebody was in trouble. This highway, quite deserted. Early morning hours. What'd you do then? We walked up to see what was wrong. When we get close, we could see what state highway car. So we know everything. All right. Did you see the officer in the car? No. Door was open on the other side. We thought maybe Officer investigate something down in the brush. Did you see him down there? Oh, no. We just think he Was checkup something. So we go back to work. You saw nothing out of the ordinary? Nothing unusual? No, we don't. We hear radio play, we know everything. Okay, that checks out. The radio was functioning when we got here. You didn't notice any other cars around anywhere, did you? No, sir. Thank you very much, Mr. Taniguchi. Here's my card. Appreciate it. If you think of anything else, please let us know. Oh, yes, I will. What happened to officer and his car? We don't know. Oh, he's all right. Probably look for somebody. Well, that makes us even. We're looking for him. Monday, June 4, 8am According to our instructions, we headed back to the hall of justice to check in with Inspector Gordon Bowers and Captain Garner Brown of the Sheriff's Department. They were coordinating a search for the missing highway patrolman, Eugene Brewer. Inspector Ed Backstrand, Central Homicide was helping out to the peace officer. Cooperation with all branches of the various law enforcement agencies is essential. Each man on the force knows the value of a coordinated effort. He knows that without the aid of the many divisions of law enforcing bodies in his city and county, the task of maintaining law and order would be a total failure. The local officer depends on the man. In the federal, state and county departments, they depend on him. Without this coordination, no one department could survive 8:25am we met with Inspector Bowers and Ed Backstrand in the sheriff's office. Nothing, huh? Nobody saw him. If somebody did, we haven't found them. Inspector Bauer. We both figured the only thing to do was to ask for cooperation of the newspapers. We got it pretty good layout, right? The story is in every morning edition in town. They're running a picture and full description of the missing patrolman. Well, we talked to everybody we could find in the general area out there. We worked two hours at it. The spot where the patrol car was found is pretty remote. A couple of gas stations and vegetable gardens. We told you about the Tanagucha fella. Checked all his friends that worked with him. They couldn't add anything. Maybe the newspaper will turn up something. I sent a special detail out there to fan out and search the entire area. Five square miles. Yeah. It'll take time. There's nothing else we can do? No, there's not any more we can do. There's nothing anybody can do until we can show them the patrol cars how to carry two men. Nobody seems to be able to do anything about it. Maybe they will. Now, sending one officer out in a patrol car is like trying to run a trolley line with one man, how many cases can you remember in our department? Ed Deadmond pulled the car over in Dogtown at 3:00 one morning. I remember. Driver turned out to be a guy with a record. Dedmon couldn't know that. While he was making out the traffic ticket, the guy shot him down in the street. Dudman died before he could get help. We do a lot of griping in the detective division, but those men in the patrol cars and the motorcycle boys, they get the dirty end of the deal for sure. You bet they do. When a detective is sent on a job, he knows who he's after, what he looks like, what he can expect when he finds him. The boys in the patrol cars answer a call. A390, a 415, a 507. Sure, we know what they're supposed to be, but how often do they turn out that way? Prowler, A peeping Tom? How many times do they have a gun in their pocket? How many cops do they kill every year? We've all been through it. We know what it is. Yeah, but how often do we think about it when we're griping on stakeouts? Let me tell you something. This goes for me as well as you. Let's not forget who the real cream of the force is. The backbone of any police department. Men on wheels. No question there, skipper. Sorry, I didn't mean to make a speech. But when something like this happens, it gets to me, the riding on. Short odds as it is, there ought to be two men in every patrol car. Well, I wish there had been somebody else with Brewer. The guy on the job just doesn't disappear without a trace. That's just what he's done. We've checked everywhere, everything. Excuse me. Flowers. Who? Yeah, send them right in. This might help. Truck driver by the name of Nat Wolf says he's got something for us. Come in. Mr. Wolf. Yes, sir. Come in, Mr. Wolf. Inspector Backstrand, Sergeant Friday and Romero. Hi, how are you doing? I saw the story in this morning's Times. I don't know if what I got's worth anything, but I figured I'd better pass it along to you guys. Something on the missing highway patrolman? Well, I don't know reason I'm here. Maybe it's just a coincidence, but I gave a fellow a hand early this morning out of the Imperial highway, not far from where the paper here says the empty patrol car was found. About what was that, Mr. Wolf? Oh, around 4:30 this morning. You want to tell us about it? Yeah, I'm an independent trucker. I haul topsoil for different nurseries. Stuff out there in Imperial is good, rich stuff. We dig it right out the side of the hill. Yes, him. Well, I just loaded up and I was on my way back to town. This fella flags me down. Said he'd had a flat pulled out on the shoulder of the road to fix it. Said he didn't know it was sand. After he'd fixed the, he found out he's stuck. He couldn't get his car. You gave him a hand, huh? No, not with a flat. He already had that fixed. But I towed him out. That's how I became suspicious of this fella. How do you mean? Well, I offered to get out, hook up the tow chain. He said no, no, just stay in a cab. I figured if he could do it alone, it was all right with me. Well, I pulled him out. But here's the funny part. Yes, sir, a chain got a kink in it from the weight of the pull. It's no mean job to handle that alone. But he says, well, he'll do it himself. Seemed to me like he didn't want me to get a good look at him or his car. I could be wrong, but. Well, that's the way it struck me. Did you notice anything? Yes, sir, I did. For one thing, I got a look at him when I threw on my backup lights. And his car. That's a real funny one. What do you mean? This is a fairly new car. I'd say no older than last year's model Plymouth. At the risk of sounding completely nuts, I'm gonna tell you that car looked like it'd just been painted. There's nothing wrong in that, is there? Well, there is if you're off on the side of the road that time of the morning throwing cheap black paint all over a fairly new car. He's using a spray gun. I could understand part of it. What's that? It's his license plate. Front one. It was all painted over. You couldn't read any of the numbers. What led you to believe he just finished painting his car? Oh, his hands and arms and his. All of his clothes. Oh, I see. That kind of paint you put on the rag, you know. Oh, yeah. Well, I don't know. Was it worth bothering you guys about? You bet it was. Mr. Wolf, I can't tell you just what it means. Now, maybe it doesn't mean anything, but certainly it's out of the ordinary and worth reporting to the police. Well, I hope so. I'd like to see you boys find that missing officer? Something's pretty rotten in Denmark about that one, huh? Maybe we found a hole. Maybe. Friday, I'd like to have you and Romero help out in the next step. What's that? Throw up a roadblock. 10:30am before we left the sheriff's office the truck driver, Nat Wolf, gave Inspector Bowers a description of the man on the Plymouth sedan. Together with Lt. Pete Sutton and Dave Terry, we drove to the Imperial Highway. Nat Wolf showed us a spot beside the road where he towed the man. The area was checked and sample scrapings of the black paint were taken. There was no chance of taking a tire impression because of the loose sand in the area. All physical evidence was taken back to the crime lab for analysis. Nat Wolf returned to the office to check through mug books for possible identification of the man he helped out. Meantime, a special detail of men continued to search the area where the missing patrolman had disappeared. 3am According to instructions, a roadblock was assembled established at the spot where the abandoned patrol car had been found. Imperial Highway, San Pedro cutoff. Kgpl. Police business. Yes, sir. Wonder if you could help us out. Certainly. You travel this highway every night, ma'am? Yes, I do. I'm in the vegetable. Did you come this way last night? About this time. I run pretty much on schedule. Yes, I did. Did you notice anything unusual along the highway? I bet I know what this is about. That missing highway patrolman? Yes, ma'am. We're stopping everybody to see if they can give us any information that might help us out. I wish I could, but I didn't see a thing. That poor fella. Do you think you'll find him? We're trying awful hard. Sorry I can't help you. Can I go now? Yes, ma'am. Thank you. How'd you do? Nothing. What time you got, Joe? Almost four. Got a little more hot coffee in that jug. You want some? It's fine with me, ain't it? Here we are. Cups in the lid here, Ben? Sure. Thanks a lot. Watch your fingers. It's hot. Yeah. Yeah, it's good. I'll take this one. I'm gonna put my coffee on the fender here. Don't knock it off, huh? No worries. Thank you. Hey, wait a minute. Wait a minute. Fell. Can you see my light? I haven't even got a cigarette. I mean my flashlight. I got a cigarette lighter, if that'll do you any good. You've been drinking, haven't you? Yes, I have. I never get drunk, but I've had a little drink. I'm Sorry, but I'm gonna have to ask you to pull over the side of the road. Okay. What happened to my car? It's broke. You better let me do it, huh? You wanna slide over a little bit there? I'll never pick up hitchhiker. No, I'm just gonna move your car off the side of the highway now. Any trouble, Joe? No. It's 5:02. We'll have to hold him a while. Tell your friend to get in too. It's a salad. We're not going far. Where are we going? Right here. Is this the road to Pismo Beach? No, sir, not this one. Well, that dirty little Ernie, he lied again. He hates clams. What's that? I've been trying for five months to get to Pismo beach for a bowl of clam chowder. I haven't made it yet. All right. You just sit here a while and sober up, will you? I'm gonna hold onto your keys. I'll give them back to you. You haven't got a bottle in the car, have you? No, I never drink and drive. Alcohol and gasoline do not mix. Yeah. Do you drive this road every night? Every night. Ernie keeps telling me to take me to Pismo Beach. I love crams. You just sit here and sober up. Happy? Drunk. Yeah. He's too drunk to drive. Yeah. Getting along towards daylight. Where'd I put my coffee? Oh, I put it over here, Joe. Afraid we knocked it off. Oh, thanks. This one's mine. They seem to come in bunches. You get two or three, and then you wait for an hour. They don't use this highway much since they put through that alternate, you know, police business. Yes, sir. Do you travel this highway every night about this time? Once in a while. Haven't been over this way in a week. You didn't drive this way last night? No, sir, I didn't. Anything the matter? Routine shake. Thank you very much. You can go on. Nothing. Well, looks like a hopeless job, doesn't it? Business is picking up. Here comes another one. Looks like one of your sheriff's cars. Pete? Yeah. Reynolds, Homicide. Pete Sutton. Yeah, Reynolds. You can pack up. They found him. Is he all right? Two bullet holes in the back of his head. You are listening to Dragnet. The case history of a police investigation presented in the public interest by Fatima Cigarettes. If you smoke a long cigarette, it will be in your interest to listen to a typical case history of a Fatima smoker. It's the case of Northwest Airlines stewardess Jean Medicine. You'll see her picture in leading magazines this week. Now her actual signed statement. There's one thing I really look forward to after a long flight. A good mild smoke. That's why I prefer King Size Fatima. It's milder than any other long cigarette I've tried. Yes, I agree it's wise to smoke extra mild Fatima. And so do more and more smokers every day. Actual figures show extra Mild Fatima has more than doubled its smokers coast to coast. So enjoy Extra Mild Fatima yourself. The King size cigarette which contains the finest Turkish and domestic tobaccos. Superbly blended. To make it extra mild, you will prefer Fatima's much different. Much better flavor and aroma. You will agree it's wise to smoke extra mild Fatima. It's wise to smoke extra mild Fatima. Best of all, long cigarettes. 5am Tuesday. The body of Highway Patrolman Eugene Brewer was found half buried in a shallow grave approximately four and a half miles from the point where his car had been found standing on the highway. The scene was roped off, photographed, measurements were taken and the area carefully gone over for any physical evidence. A few scattered residents were again checked and asked if they'd heard gunshots. Since the nearest dwelling to the place where the body was found was 2 miles, there was a possibility that they could have not heard the shot. No one could give us any further information. The coroner's autopsy showed that Patrolman Brewer had been shot three times in the chest, one bullet directly entering his heart. It also been shot twice through the base of the skull. 1pm Wednesday. I get it. Homicide Friday. Pete Sutton. Joe? Yeah. Just had a call from our Hollywood substation. Woman reported her car stolen on Sunday night. Thought the guy was going to bring it back. That's why she didn't report it. What about it, Pete? It's a Plymouth sedan, last year's model. Same type the truck driver told us about. Sounds good. We already have a broadcast out on it. We're putting out an APB now. You want to check and see if they got it on tonight's hot sheet? Right. Anyone? The guy who stole the car. Boyfriend of the woman who owned it. He left her in a restaurant and got away with her car. Remember the description of the guy the truck driver helped out Monday morning? The guy that stole this woman's car? It's the same. Yeah. Still doesn't prove he had anything to do with it. Doesn't prove he didn't. Together with Pete Sutton and Dave Terry from the Sheriff's office we drove out and interviewed the woman whose car had been stolen. She told us that the man who had taken her Car had also been seen in the company of one of her girlfriends, a Ms. Helen Farrell, who worked as a cashier at a Hollywood theater. The Farrell girl identified the man as Mike Lupino and she gave us a snapshot of him. She also gave us his last known address. We had no actual tie in between the theft of of the woman's car and the murder of Patrolman Eugene Brewer, but the circumstantial evidence made it at least worth checking out. The only car known to have been in the vicinity the morning of the murder was the car the truck driver, Nat Wolf, had reported. The same make and model car had been stolen the night before the killing. The general descriptions of the man from two different people tallied closely. We figured before we'd pass this lead by, we'd check it out all the way. 4pm Wednesday. We met with Inspector Bowers, the Sheriff's office. We checked this Laina's apartment. Found a shirt and pair of pants. Black paint on both of them. I sent for that truck driver, Nat Wolf, to identify this picture here. You find anything else in the apartment? Well, this address book, there's no local places in it. They're all Las Vegas, Nevada addresses. That's it, huh? Yeah. What'd you get from the Record Bureau on the guy? The eye Bureau pulled the package on him. That is Mama sheet. Thank you. Mike Lupino spent some time at San Quentin. Armed robbery, grand theft auto, assault. Pretty good record. Still not positive he had anything to do with the Brewer killing, but he's had the training for it. Yeah, send him right in. Matt wolfe. Come in, Mr. Wolf. Thanks. Dirty. Shame about that boy. Read about it in the papers. Yeah. Got a photograph we'd like you to look at, Mr. Wolf. You bet. Yeah, that's the man. Yes, sure, sure. No mistake. Hey, why do you suppose he was painting that car at 4:00 in the morning? Maybe that's what that patrolman wanted to know. We waited for an answer on the AP V. Two days pass. Saturday, June 9th. Received a phone call from the Las Vegas, Nevada Police Department. The stolen black sedan had been found in the downtown area of Las Vegas. We requested them to put a stake out on the sedan and asked them not to disturb either the car or its contents. Together with Pete Sutton from the Sheriff's office, Mark Benson from the Highway Patrol, and Ray Pinker of our crime lab, we flew to Las Vegas. Pinker checked the stolen car. Embedded in the rear seat were two spent bullets. There were also blood stains on the seat and on the floor. Of the car. Pinker flew back to Los Angeles where the evidence was analyzed. The bullets found in the car were fired from the same gun as the bullets found in the body of the dead patrolman. Fingerprints lifted from the stolen car matched those of Mike Lapino. Saturday afternoon we checked in with Chief Harry Miller, Las Vegas Police Department. This is all you've got on him, huh, Chief? That's most of it, yeah. Since we staked out that black sedan, I've had the town covered. Filipino. No one saw him abandon that car, huh? No one we know of, no. Had good cooperation from the newspapers. Story's been on page one since the thing broke. Anything come of those names we got from Lupino's address book? The ones we phoned to you? Let's see. I got the list right here. Yeah, here we are. These are the ones my men have checked out already. George Connolly. Nothing there. Harry Carlson. He and his wife have been checked out. Nothing there. William Spencer. Nothing at his place. We've got them all staked out. That leaves two to go, huh? That's right. We're checking the last two now. Nothing from the railroad stations, the airlines. They've been covered ever since we got your phone call. I could be wrong, but I think your man's still here in town. Any reports on him? Couple of wild ones, nothing definite. Checked them out. Had one this morning from a dealer at one of the clubs downtown. About 10:30 this morning, he saw Lupino playing the two bit slot machine. We showed him his mug shot. He swears it's the guy. Well, all we can do now is sweat it out, huh? My men have covered everything. I don't know what else we can do. Yeah? Excuse me, Chief. Miller. Yeah. You sure it's him? No. Don't try to handle it alone. Keep the place covered the best you can. We'll be right out. They found him. Two Las Vegas detectives named Billings and Vance answered a phone tip from a groceryman in the east end of town. He said a man had been buying groceries from him for the past two days and lived in the apartment house above the store. The two detectives showed the grocerymen Lapino's mug shot. He gave a positive identification. They then checked with the apartment house manager. After looking at the mug shot, he identified Lapino as the tenant in apartment 10B. Detectives Billings and Vance staked out the place until our arrival, with enough men to cover the area. Vance. Yeah, Chief. What's the story? He's in there. Hasn't been out all day. Apartment 10B. We'll take the front. Chief manager thinks Lapino has a gun. Mate who's cleaning the apartment. Found some loose slugs in the dresser drawer. You still want it Friday? It's our headache. Joe and I will go in, Chief. Right. Vance, get some men up on the roof to cover. We've already fanned them out around the building. I don't know what they tell you in LA on one of these things. But here we tell them to be careful. Right, Chief. Go. Let's go. Ten Bees on the second floor. Let's take the stairs here. All right. It's a long way up, isn't it? Yeah. This way. You covered, huh? Yeah. Look out, Pete. Shot right through the door. He's got two left. He's got another gun. Let's take him. One good kick ought to get the lock right. Just a minute. Let's go, Pete. Watch it. I got it. Watch that gun. What do you let it alone? The Pino. I got it. All right. Come on, get up. You all right, Pete? Okay, I got the cops. What's a big idea? You tell us. You killed that patrolman. He got tough. You didn't have to kill him. Spotted the stolen car. What else could I do? Come on, you. He had as much chance as I did. That figures. Yeah. Two bullet holes in the back of his head. The story you have just heard was only the names and locations were changed to protect the innocent. On October 2, trial was held in Superior Court Department 91. City and county of Los Angeles, State of California. In a moment, the results of that trial. And now, here is our star, Jack Webb. Thank you. The working detective knows that every member of his local police department is a qualified man. He knows that his fellow peace officers have been carefully selected to perform their specific duties. By trial, by examination, and by results. So with a cigarette. The makers of Fatima carefully select and blend only the finest Turkish and domestic tobaccos. To make Fatima extra mild. Best of all, long cigarettes. If you're a long cigarette smoker, like I am, smoke Fatima. Every pack is extra mild. Fatima. Michael Everett Lupino was tried and convicted of murder in the first degree. The jury failed to recommend the death penalty. Lupino is now serving his life term in the state penitentiary. Ladies and gentlemen, the Los Angeles Police Department requests the cooperation of all Dragnet listeners in the following police matter. The Los Angeles Police Department would like every and any information. Regarding a gun fitting the following.38 caliber special. Smith and Wesson revolver, gold seal model. The gun has a Blue Steel 4 inch barrel. The serial number is 210-088-210088. If you have any information as to the past or present whereabouts of this gun, contact W.H. parker, Chief of police, Los Angeles, California. This is a very important matter. All information furnished will be held in strictest confidence. Thank you. 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. Coming up, Duffy's Tavern. Three chimes mean good times. On NBC, it.