The story you are 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.
Four young hoodlums wanted for a series of robberies are headed for your city.
They're armed, reckless, cold-blooded. Your job, get them.
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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 Friday, December 10th. It was cold in Los Angeles. We were working the day
watch out of robbery detail. My partner's Ben Romero. The boss is Thad Brown,
Chief of Detectives. My name's Friday. It was 7.55 a.m. when I got to room 27A,
robbery detail. Morning.
Hi, Joe. Morning.
Hi, Joe. Cold out, isn't it?
Right. What are you doing here this early? Can't you sleep?
I'm waiting for something. A special liver letter from my brother.
Went up in Frisco with the police department?
Yeah. Only up there, they don't like it when you call it Frisco.
Yeah.
These are robbery detail. I called them last night. All three kids had their
tonsils out the same day. Thought it'd be nice to call, see how they were.
All three at once?
Yeah. Tonsils are nothing these days.
How'd they make out?
Good. Home already.
What's the letter got to do with it?
Oh, well, my brother told me he was sending down some dope on four pretty
rough characters. Thinks they're headed our way, sending mug shots too.
You and your brother running a detective agency on the side?
It's a little irregular. The official correspondence will come a little later.
What do you know about the guys?
Almost killed a man. I didn't get any details. It's all in the letter.
I ought to be here any minute. Melded at noon yesterday.
How come you moved down here with your family, Frank?
Don't you like it up north?
Well, like L.A. better. More elbow room. Here you live in a house and lot,
not just an apartment.
I get it.
Robbery Friday.
This is Wilson. The only shop is that, Joe.
Yeah, I think so. Hold it, will you? Tony here.
Huh?
Oh, I didn't see you behind that paper.
For me?
Yeah, he's here.
Well, if he's not busy asking to come over to order, it's a question to a couple
of Mexican girls who can't speak English.
Well, I guess we can spare him for a while. I'll tell him.
What's up?
Well, that's Wilson in auto detail. He'd like you to go over and act as an
interpreter for a couple of Mexican girls.
Are they pretty?
You're not going down there to marry them.
I'll bet you a while I'm at parties.
Eh, nothing much doing. Slow day.
They don't come often enough for me.
If they did, we'd be out of a job.
It was one of those rare slow days.
We killed a couple of hours going over the daily reports,
cleaned out the top drawer on my desk,
sharpened a few pencils.
At 10.15 a.m., the special delivery letter came for Frank.
We slit the top open with his pocket knife and we shook out four mug shots.
Here it is.
Following four men wanted for robberies, auto thefts and safe burglaries in San
Francisco Bay Area. Cliff Small, 19.
George Shum, 20. Both escaped from Preston.
Julius Carver, 18.
Fred Malick, 20. Both army deserters.
Well, that checks out with that APB from SF last week.
What are the records of that?
Small shot an army captain during an argument at a bar.
And two capers, these men shot it out with us and escaped.
Information shows all four left for Los Angeles several days ago.
Driving stolen car, blue Chevrolet, probably using cold plates.
Let me see those mug shots.
Well, now we know who we're looking for. Brother tell us where.
Just a couple of nice girls that got mixed up with the wrong guys.
Take a look at these pictures, will you, Tony?
Oh, the mugs from San Francisco.
Yeah, says they're in a stolen car, cold plates.
That's how these girls were picked up, in a hot car.
They went for a ride with a couple of guys they met at a movie.
When the car ran out of gas, the boys dug, the girls got picked up.
They have a lead on the guy?
No, not a thing.
The young guys?
Around 20. You think these might be the ones from Frisco?
Let's talk to the girls. Come on.
Frank, you want to cover the office?
Oh, yeah, sure.
Do they speak English at all?
Not enough to make sense.
That's Dolores and this one is Marie.
Yes.
Senoritas, these ladies are involved in the robbery, they say.
They say they want to ask you some questions.
We didn't do anything.
Nothing?
She says they didn't do anything.
I suppose they told you all they know already, huh?
They're not much help.
They say they don't know anything about the fellows they were with.
Show them these. Ask them if they've ever seen them before.
Do you know these individuals?
Yes. These are the guys.
Yes.
These are the guys that took them out last night?
Ask them.
Do you mean these two are the ones that took them out last night?
Yes, they are.
Carver and Malik, the army deserters.
Ask them to describe them, will you?
How were the boys?
We already told them. We were in the car all the time and it was dark.
But they looked very handsome and they spoke well.
She says they sat in the car all the time, it was dark.
But they looked very handsome and they talked nice.
Where did the fellows pick them up?
They told me in front of the Jubilee Theater, second in Brockwood.
Yeah. And then what?
The girls couldn't understand English, but they understood when the boys motioned them to hop in.
Have you ever taken strange walks before?
Of course not.
Maria thinks she saw them in the church on Sunday.
She says no.
Maria thought she recognized them from church Sunday.
But she was mistaken.
But she was mistaken.
Must have been some date. The boys couldn't talk Spanish and the girls couldn't talk English.
Where'd they go on this ride, Tony?
They don't know the streets.
They just know they got to the beach and then they turned around
about halfway back when the car ran out of gas.
Ask him again. See if you can get Maria here to talk.
Maria.
Yes.
What did they take to get to the beach?
I don't know.
Oh, Maria.
First, we stopped near a hotel.
We waited until the boys took a puppy and left it in their room.
She doesn't know, but she remembers they stopped near a little hotel.
The girls waited while the boys took a little puppy out of their car and put it in their room.
A puppy?
Well, if they don't know where the hotel was, maybe they can tell us when it was near.
What buildings were near the hotel?
There was a gas station in the corner.
She says there was a gas station on the corner.
What else?
What else?
On the other side of the rails there were two or three garages.
Two or three?
I think so. Two or three.
She says across the car tracks there were two or three big garages.
Yeah.
Hmm. Could be in the Westlake district.
That's a garage in second-rate hotels around there.
Or East 1st Street.
Maybe Grand Avenue and Pico.
Pico. Pico.
Now I remember. This street was Pico.
We took the girls with us and drove out to Grand and Pico,
and then up and down Pico slow until the girls pointed out a hotel just south of Flower.
They weren't sure. Ben and I got out.
We walked up to the hotel desk.
The clerk was just starting to vacuum.
We're looking for Julius Carver and Fred Malick.
Do they stand here?
What's the names?
Can't hear you over the vacuum.
Julius Carver and Fred Malick?
No, I'm not here.
Police officers.
Can you take a look at these pictures?
Well, it could have been two of the boys who checked out this morning,
but they didn't look as tough as this.
How many were there?
Four.
Here are two more pictures.
You have a look, please.
Could be about the right age.
How long did they stay?
Just two nights.
Did they have a pup with them?
What?
I said they have a pup with them.
Puppy dog? Yes, they did.
Yes, a little collie pup.
Did they pay up?
No, they skipped out owing me two days.
Can we see how they registered, please?
Shut off this dang vacuum.
Person can't hardly hear himself think over that dragon.
Now, you want to see the register.
We use cards here.
All right, sir.
Let me see.
Now, here they are.
Bob Reynolds, Jack Sharp, Jim Smith, and William Grant, Las Vegas, Nevada.
I must have picked those names out of a hat.
Did they say where they were going?
No, no forwarding address.
Did they write these cards out themselves?
I bet they did. That's the law.
You mind if we borrow them for a while? We'll have them photostatted and return to you.
We're supposed to keep them, you know.
You'll get them back.
I like to do everything legal.
When those boys in some kind of trouble.
Did they leave anything in their room?
They did. It's all in the vacuum.
If they happen to come back, give us a ring, will you? Here's our card.
Robbery detail. Who'd they rob?
They took you for two days rent.
It was 2 p.m. when Tony Chavez picked us up.
He had Frank O'Donnell with him.
We stopped at a dairy lunch, and I called the office, and we split up into two teams.
While Tony and Frank checked parking lots in the neighborhood for stolen cars,
Ben and I ran down the other hotels.
In the next three hours, we talked to a dozen desk clerks and roaming house managers.
Always the same answer. No.
5.30 p.m. we tried the Achilles Hotel on Grand Avenue.
We walked into an overheated lobby crowded with modern furniture.
There were a couple of canary cages in front of the faded wall tapestries.
The desk clerk was a woman in her early 40s.
Good afternoon, ma'am. Police officer.
Police officer.
Walter! Walter, will you see what these policemen want?
Well, just take a minute.
I'd like to know if you recognize these pictures here.
No.
This one?
No.
No, we only take in honest, hard-working men.
Sure.
I don't like anybody lazing around the rooms all day.
It keeps me from cleaning up.
Any of your rumors got a collie pup?
A dog? I'd die before I'd allow a dog in this house.
Well, if these fellas were the dogs riding around the room, would you please phone us?
Here's the number.
Millie. Now, get on back in there, honey.
We're at the nice moor. Go on, Millie.
Go on.
Millie's on the nest now.
Yes, ma'am. We'd appreciate you watching for these men.
For your own protection, too.
No, I'll let you know.
Thank you, ma'am. Let's go, ma'am.
Oh, say, before you go, would you gentlemen do me a favor, seeing as how you're a policeman?
Yes, ma'am.
Mr. Marinelli up in room 14 is a week behind on his rent.
Would you do me a favor and go up and talk to him?
I'm sorry, lady. We can't handle that. That's a civil matter.
I'd advise you to go to room 260 and out the city hall.
See the city attorney. They'll help you.
Walter, what'd I tell you? They won't do it.
That's the way it went. It was dark out now and getting cold again.
We walked back to Pico and Flower to pick up Frank and Tony.
Tony was there waiting for us.
Hi. Come on up to the next corner. Frank's up there.
We got a hot car staked out.
Yeah?
Just half a block from the hotel where the guy's checked out.
You had any luck?
No.
Did you find anything in the car?
The key's still in it. Nothing else.
They could have stolen it last night after they left the girls, huh?
I called in and checked.
It was taken in front of 1192 Doheny Drive between 2 and 4 this morning.
We got out of code for it.
It's about six blocks from where they ditched the car with the girls in it.
Yeah, we're out of gas. It's all downhill.
It would have been a natural way for them to go.
Could be the right car. Better keep the stake out.
I am.
Oh, hi, Frank.
Hi. You do any good?
No.
Frank, you and Tony want to go eat and Ben and I'll cover the car.
When you get back, we'll go for a chop.
Good deal.
Well...
So long.
Well, let's sit in the car, huh?
Yeah, all right. Go ahead.
Mm-hmm.
Get the radio on.
Want a cigarette?
No.
What do you think?
I don't know. Maybe it's the same guys, maybe not.
Same neighborhood.
Couple of things might tie in.
Can't be sure.
They're really making headway.
About all we know is they're in town.
Yeah, and it's a good-sized town.
Right now, it's the biggest in the world.
Thirty-two points.
Seven p.m.
We knew the four gunmen were in town.
We knew they'd been seen.
We figured there was no reason for them to skip town until they pulled a job or heard that we were looking for them.
Time was in their favor.
Time to rob, time to kill, time to get away.
Time to kill, time to get away.
The check on the hotel's continued.
We left Frank O'Donnell and Tony Chavez on the stakeout, and Ben and I picked up the hotel routine.
One place after another.
Eight-thirty p.m.
We walked down a long, narrow lobby to a little ball-headed man at the desk.
He was wearing glasses and reading a magazine called Astrology.
When we walked in, he tried to hide the bottle.
Police officer.
Would you take a look at these pictures, please?
What for?
See if you can identify them.
No.
They don't look familiar to me.
They may be carrying a collie pup.
Collie pup?
Let me see those pictures again.
All right.
They look familiar now?
They had a pup with them all right.
Yes, I think so.
I study faces.
Yes, the same.
Are they here?
I don't know.
You mean they're out for the evening?
I don't know.
Are they registered here?
Yes, they are.
What room?
Are they expecting you?
Now listen, this is important. Just answer the questions.
What did they do?
What's their room number?
Second floor, room 22.
Do you have the key?
Just a sec.
Here.
Cover me.
How?
22.
Give me the key.
Watch it.
Well, maybe we're home.
Clothes, shoes, all our stuff's here.
They'll be back.
You are listening to Dragnet
for the step-by-step solution to an actual police case.
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In the files of the Los Angeles Police Department, there are countless case histories
that never got space in the daily newspapers.
The case of Cliff Small, George Shum, Julius Carver, and Fred Malick was one of these.
Four young hoodlums wanted for a series of robberies and petty burglaries.
These men were armed and they'd shown that they wouldn't hesitate to shoot.
By comparison with the sensational crime headline, the news value of this story rated an inch of type
on the fourth page of the second section.
Yet the line separating these four young thieves from banner headlines and back page space
is much thinner than the average citizen realizes.
The danger in a criminal case isn't always determined by the space allotted to it in the newspapers.
Many a peace officer's name has appeared in the obituary column of the same newspaper
allotted one inch of back page space to the crime story that was considered unimportant.
I phoned the office and asked for two men to cover the stolen car.
As soon as the replacements arrived, Frank O'Donnell and Tony Chavez left the stakeout on the stolen car
and joined us at the hotel. It was 8.55 p.m.
When are they due back? Any idea?
No, sir. I told these other officers.
I did tell you, didn't I?
Yeah, you said they were out for the evening.
That's it. I knew I told you something.
Was it you two? Or was it you two?
It was this fellow and I.
Oh, yeah. I don't remember things I say so good, but I know faces, things.
Are you the manager here?
Oh, no. This place belongs to Claude.
Claude who?
Tinney.
Then you're in charge now.
Only when Claude's not around. This is one of his places.
Where are we going to stake out, Joe? Not enough room to turn around this lobby.
That's what I've been telling Claude. Claude Tinney. This is one of his places.
Yeah, maybe you better leave that bottle alone until we get this straightened out, huh?
Oh, no. I don't hit it heavy anymore. Just a little nip now and again. Crafty in here.
Any idea where we can wait for these fellows and keep an eye on the lobby?
No, not enough room in this lobby to turn around in. I've said that to Claude.
Yeah, we know.
Hey, clerk, where does this door lead to?
No, don't go in there.
There are light in here.
I save old bottles. Ragman gives me a penny each for them.
Is that a storage room?
What's that?
That room over there.
Oh, that's the linen room. We keep all the linen there.
That's about the only place there is, Joe, unless we want to wait out in the car.
All right, we're waiting there.
There's a couple of chairs in there. I'll send the boys back when they come in.
It'd be better if you tell them nothing.
How are they going to know you're here?
We'll tell them. You just don't say anything.
All right, sir.
Now then, if I can just have your names, I'll see that the boys get the message.
Now look, mister, you just sit there and read your magazine. Don't say anything. You got that?
Okay. That's the way you want it.
Come on, let's go.
What's that smell in here?
Bleach, I think.
Strong.
Oh. What time is it?
Can't see.
Frank, you got a luminous watch.
928.
Good evening, Mike.
Good evening, Mr. Swinney.
Give me an eight o'clock call.
Yes, sir.
All right.
Good night.
That smell's giving me a headache.
Air is bad in here.
Yeah.
Is there anything I can get you, gentlemen?
No, you just stay at the desk, will you please?
Say, Claude Tinnies' name. He's the manager.
Remember you asked me about that?
Yeah, yeah, we know.
What do you want him for?
Look, you're going to have to stay away from this door. We don't want them to know we're here.
Okay. That's the way you want it.
I could use a cigarette.
Yeah.
I'll take it.
I'll take it.
All we need in here now is smoke.
What time is it, Frank?
Oh.
Never mind.
That's it. There's two of them. Ben, you come with me. Frank, Tony, stay here.
Right.
All right. We're checking out tomorrow.
It's Carver and Malik. Let's go, Ben.
Yeah, come on.
Now, get your hands up.
Hey, what's going on?
Stand still.
Okay. What's it be?
Frisk them.
There's a.380 automatic on Carver,.38 caliber revolver in this hip pocket.
Another.38 on Malik.
I'll hold it.
That's it. Put out your hand.
Let me have your cuff, Joe.
Here you go.
Where are your pals?
What pals?
Cliff Small and George Shum. We know you're running with them.
If you know that, you know where they are.
How old are you?
18.
What's your name?
Fred Malik. I'm 20.
Tony.
Yeah?
You and Frank want to take them downtown?
Right. We'll see you down there. Let's go, Frank.
Say, you got them, huh?
Got two of them. We're going to wait for the other two now.
You just play it straight and stay away from that linen room.
How long are you going to be in there?
Chambermaid starts making up the beds around 7 a.m.
You'll have to be getting out that linen in there.
It's only 10.30. Lots of time.
We change the sheets three times a week in this hotel.
Another worry in the world.
Let's get back in there.
I know what that smell is in here. Lysol.
Yeah. I forgot about that pup.
That'll be the tip-off.
I'll go get him.
Come on, little fella. Here we go. Come on, boy.
He's hungry, Joe.
Yeah. Look, I'll put him down on the floor.
Don't step on him.
Yeah, what do you want?
Are you going to wait for the other two boys?
Yeah, will you get away from the door?
Say, I want to help you all I can.
Yeah, yeah.
That fuzzy little pup of theirs, he's running all around the lobby.
Yeah, we've got him in here.
Yeah, you better go out there and get him. He's barking.
It'll tip him off.
Yeah, all right. Now go on back to the desk.
All right, then. You stay in here. I'll see if I can catch him.
He comes around here again. He'll have to wait in here.
Can you see your watch?
No.
Must be around 11.
Yeah, must be.
It's that clerk again.
Yeah.
Say, listen, I've been all over the lobby. You fellas are in the clear.
What do you mean?
That dog of theirs, he's gone. You're in the clear.
Look, he's in here with us. Now will you stay away from here, please?
Yeah, it's OK. The dog's gone.
Hey, Pop, give me the key from 22.
Yes, sir.
That's their room. Come on.
Yeah.
Get your hands up. Watch him, Joe.
Wait a minute, you.
You hold it.
Get your hands off me.
All right.
You didn't have to slap me.
You didn't have to pull that gun.
All right, now over here. Stand still.
38 revolver on this one.
Here it is, 45 Colt. What's your names?
I'm Cliff Small. He's George Shum.
How old are you?
19.
Cops?
We weren't. You'd be in a lot more trouble than you are.
That's all of them.
Yeah. Now let's feed that pup.
It was 12.15 a.m. We took the prisoners down to the City Hall to the interrogation room.
Tony Chavez and Frank O'Donnell were there with the other two, Carver and Malick.
While Ben helped question the suspects and made out the necessary reports,
I went across the street to the Federal Cafe.
I picked up two 10-cent bottles of milk and a few slices of bread.
Look at him go. He was hungry.
Yeah. How'd you come out?
I got it all here. Four stolen cars, eight known robberies in San Francisco.
They copped out two. Three jobs in Portland, they admitted.
You remember that Bakersfield liquor store hold up about four weeks ago?
A Watson job? Did they pull that?
Yeah, probably a lot more. They haven't told us all of it yet.
We got out an APB. We'll probably get a lot more wants on them.
Well, that's it. None of them are even old enough to vote yet,
but they've committed practically every crime in the book.
Just one thing more left to work out. What do we do with the pub?
How about the SPCA? They'll find a home for him.
No, not this little guy.
Why don't you take him, Tony? You got kids.
You got a deal.
Translation. Your mother was a colleague, but from now on you're a police dog.
The story you have just heard was true. Only the names were changed to protect the innocent.
On February 9th, trial was held in Superior Court, Department 88,
City and County of Los Angeles, State of California.
In a moment, the results of that trial.
It's amazing how many long cigarette smokers are changing to Fatima.
Here is the actual report.
From coast to coast, king-size Fatima has more than doubled its smokers.
Yes, more and more smokers every day are discovering that Fatima is the best of all long cigarettes.
Long cigarette smokers find Fatima has a much different, much better flavor and aroma.
Long cigarette smokers find that Fatima is extra mild because it's the long cigarette
which contains the finest Turkish and domestic tobaccos superbly blended to make it extra mild.
So enjoy extra mild Fatima. Best of all long cigarettes.
It's wise to smoke extra mild Fatima.
It's wise to smoke extra mild Fatima.
Clifford Small, George Shum, Julius Carver and Fred Malick were released to San Francisco authorities
where they were tried and convicted on eight counts of robbery in the first degree.
A hold was placed on them by the State of Oregon.
They are now serving their terms in the state penitentiary.
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. Wharton, Los Angeles Police Department.
Fatima cigarettes, the best of all long cigarettes has brought you Dragnet from Los Angeles.
Tomorrow, hear the Ronald Coleman's charming series, The Halls of Ivy, on NBC.