The story you are about to hear is true.
The names have been changed to protect the innocent.
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You're a detective sergeant.
You're assigned a robbery detail.
Two armed bandits hold up a restaurant in your city.
The owner is slugged, beaten viciously.
One of the bandits is shot.
The other makes good his escape.
Your job, get him.
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DRAGNET.
The document, a drama of an actual crime.
For the next 30 minutes in cooperation with the Los Angeles Police Department, you will
travel step by step on the side of the law through an actual case transcribed from official
police files.
From beginning to end, from crime to punishment, DRAGNET is the story of your police force
in action.
It was Monday, June 2nd.
It was smoggy in Los Angeles.
We were working the day watch out of robbery detail.
My partner is Frank Smith.
The boss is Captain Diddy.
My name is Friday.
It was 7.53 a.m. when I got to room 27A.
Robbery detail.
Hello, good morning Joe.
Hi Frank, what's doing?
Not too much.
How was the weekend?
It was great.
I hated to come back.
It's sure nice up there.
Where'd you go, same place?
Yeah, Lake Mary.
You remember Don Camphouse up there, don't you?
Yeah, sure.
He said hello.
The fishing's real great up there.
You ought to try and make it next month or so if you can.
Fat chance.
Why, what's the matter?
The in-laws are loose again.
They're coming down for a visit.
Never stay less than a month.
That'll take care of my vacation.
That's too bad.
Why don't you say something to the wife?
What's the use?
Why start an argument?
What do we got here?
Anything hot?
Yeah, this one here.
Hold up in Slugging Cafe down South Hill.
Radio car boys jumped and shot one of them.
The other one got away.
We identified yet?
Yeah, the one who was shot, Benny Ashford.
Record long as your arm.
Graduate from Poulson.
Some of them never learn.
How about the number two man?
Don't know.
They tried to talk to this Ashford last night.
He wouldn't tell them anything.
I called the hospital just before you came in.
They operated on the guy six o'clock this morning.
You're going to call as soon as he's able to talk.
It's going to be a couple days at least.
How much they get?
Here's the crime report.
Thank you.
You talk to the victims yet?
No, not yet.
Fahrenheit's work, isn't it?
$805 in cash, man's diamond signet ring.
Estimated value of $1,500.
$17 stitches in the victim's scalp.
Slug of the revolver.
Must have meant business.
Lousy thing.
They didn't have to slug him.
He couldn't put up much of a fight anyway.
68 years old.
No other witnesses, huh?
No.
Just the owner, his wife, the bartender?
That's all they have listed yet.
You phone the victims yet?
No, it was just going to when you came in.
Two phone numbers for them.
They're both listed there.
Yeah, that's fine.
Why don't you finish up with the daybook here and I'll give them a call, all right?
Okay, fine.
Hey, you want a pencil?
Oh.
Hello, this is Friday, Los Angeles Police Department, Central Robbery.
Mr. and Mrs. Reiner there, please?
Neither one of them.
Well, how about the bartender?
Is he there?
Six o'clock, I see.
No, that's all right.
I got their home phone.
Yeah, thanks very much.
Nobody there.
Try any other number?
Yeah.
Hello, is this the Reiner residence?
Yeah, well, this is Friday, LAPD, Central Robbery, Los Angeles Police Department.
Yes, ma'am.
Yes, Mrs. Reiner.
Oh, I just called the restaurant trying to get a hold of you.
How's Mr. Reiner this morning?
I don't see him.
I wonder if it would be possible for my partner and I could drop out and see you this morning.
No, your case has been assigned to us.
Yes, ma'am.
Well, how about 10 o'clock?
That'd be convenient for you?
All right, fine.
Yes, right away.
Thank you very much.
Bye.
I got it set up, Mr. and Mrs. Reiner.
10 o'clock this morning out at their home.
How's the old man feeling?
Oh, life's just pretty rough.
He lost quite a bit of blood.
Big shock for an old man.
That's too bad.
She says he's still pretty hazy, but we can talk to him.
One thing he remembers pretty well, though.
Yeah?
The face of the man who slugged him.
8.20 a.m.
We finished making up the day book and then we went over to the main jail to interview
two other robbery suspects who'd been booked in over the weekend.
We completed our 510 reports on them and then we got in the car and drove out to the West
Chester district to talk to the victims of the cafe holdup the night before, Mr. and
Mrs. William Reiner.
9.55 a.m.
We arrived at the Reiner home and a small gray haired woman answered the door and asked
us in.
She identified herself as Mrs. Reiner.
I'm right into the living room, officer.
You can make yourselves to home.
Thank you very much.
I hope you'll excuse the way the house looks.
Everything's all upset.
I haven't had a chance to do any picking up.
It's perfectly all right, ma'am.
We understand.
I was up with my husband half the night.
He had heard him something terrible.
It was almost 6 in the morning before he got to sleep.
I hope this is enough to make up his mind for him.
How do you mean, Mrs. Reiner?
About selling the place.
I've been after him for months to get rid of it.
Business like that's for younger people.
We're getting too old to keep it up.
Besides, the doctor's been telling William he needs more rest, less worry.
I see.
I'm starting to get a little bit of a bad feeling now, ma'am.
Oh, not so well.
He lost so much blood and his head's just sore.
He's taking a nap right now.
I expect he'll be awake in a few minutes.
That's all right with you, isn't it, officer?
Yes, ma'am.
It's perfectly all right.
We'd like to go over the thing with you anyway.
It might possibly be something that you forgot to mention to the officers last night.
Well, I told them everything.
I'm sure I did.
Maybe some of the details, Mrs. Reiner, maybe some little thing that didn't seem important
to you could mean a good deal to us.
Well, I don't know.
I thought I told them everything.
Where do you want me to start?
Well, when did you first notice the two hold-up men, Mrs. Reiner?
When they came out of the bathroom.
I guess they'd been hiding there.
You noticed them earlier in the evening?
I mean, were they customers in your place?
Well, I'm not sure, but I think so.
Where were they served?
Was it in the restaurant or were they in the bar?
Well, there again.
I'm not positive, but I think it was in the bar.
I think I served them two bottles of beer.
You don't happen to remember what you did with those two bottles.
I mean, impossible.
We may be able to lift some prints off of them.
No.
The officers asked me that last night.
It wouldn't do any good.
You see, I was the only one who touched the bottles.
We used the regular big mugs and I poured the beer for them.
Neither one of them touched the bottles.
Now, how about the man who escaped, Mrs. Reiner?
You remember him pretty well, do you?
What did he look like on him?
Oh, yeah.
He's the one who did all the talking.
He's the same one who hit my husband, too.
What did he look like, ma'am?
How old would you say he was?
Oh, I don't know.
I think I'd say he was in his late 30s, yeah.
How tall, ma'am?
Well, my husband's five foot nine and I'd say the man was two inches taller than him.
He's huskier, too.
I'd guess about 175 or 80 pounds, a very strong looking man.
You remember what he was wearing, Mrs. Reiner?
It was a tan sports coat, I think, and green, slacks, light green and a dark brown hat.
Did you notice anything unusual about him?
I beg your pardon?
Anything outstanding about him?
Anything that was different?
Say a scar, a mold, tattoos, anything like that?
No, no, not that I could notice.
What was the first thing this man said to you and your husband, ma'am?
Well, he said it to all three of us, me and my husband and the bartender, that's George
O'Leary.
He's been with us for years.
He's a good bartender.
He'd only stay sober.
Yes, ma'am.
What was the first thing the holdup man said?
Well, he's the same one that hit my husband, you know.
He said in a real loud voice, he said, this is a stick up.
Get your hands up high and keep them there.
What happened then, ma'am?
We put our hands up for George.
That's the bartender, you know.
Scared him so bad he dropped a full bottle of bourbon.
Bombed it, too.
Broke all over the floor.
George isn't here.
George isn't here.
Well, that's why he drank.
Well, what did the holdup man do after they had you raise your hand?
Well, that one that hit my husband, he told the other man to go behind the bar and get
the money.
It was all spread out on the bar.
William and I was just checking the register when it happened.
I see.
Would you go on, please?
Well, after they got the register money, they put it in our bank bag.
Then they went through my purse and through my husband's wallet and through George's wallet,
too.
They took George's last dollar and a half, got eight hundred and five dollars in all cash.
I guess you knew that.
Yes, ma'am.
I'll talk to you about it after that.
Jenny!
Jenny, where are you?
Oh, will you excuse me, officers, my husband?
Yes, ma'am, right ahead.
I'll just see what he wants.
I think he'll be able to talk to you now.
All right, ma'am.
Frank, do you remember to bring that mug book?
Yes, it's out in the car.
That's good.
We can leave it here with the Reiner's.
Pick it up later tonight.
Okay, you want me to get it now?
No, let's wait and see how he is.
Officers, would you like to come back here?
Officers?
Yes, ma'am, we're coming.
Jenny, would you put up charge for the officers?
Oh, I surely.
Officers, this is my husband, Will.
How do you do, sir?
Hello.
Here you are, Sergeant.
Thank you very much.
You catch the other man yet, the one who hit me?
No, sir, not yet.
That's why we're out here.
We know that you don't feel too well, Mr. Reiner.
We'll try to keep it short.
No, I sure don't.
I guess Jenny told you, my head's killing me.
Poor girl.
I kept her up most of the night, I guess.
She was a fine nurse, Jenny.
She didn't get any rest at all.
Yes, sir.
She was just telling us about the holdup last night, sir.
How'd it happen?
I was telling them how they got the money, Will.
Didn't explain about your ring, though.
Do you want to tell them?
It was worse part of the whole thing.
I'd rather have lost anything but that ring.
How's that, sir?
Some kind of a keepsake?
It belonged to my dad, diamond signet.
Stone wasn't perfect, but money sure can't replace it.
I remember when dad gave it to me.
It was just a couple days before he died.
It was his ring.
It had been in the family way back.
Which one of the holdup men took the ring, Mr. Reiner?
The same one hit me.
The one that got away.
After they took all our money, he came over to me and said,
give me the ring, hand it over.
I told him I couldn't get it off my finger.
What did you do then, sir?
I slapped my face.
Said if I couldn't get the ring off, he could.
Said if he had to, he'd cut it off.
I pleaded with him.
I told him what it meant to me.
Didn't do any good.
When I didn't give him the ring right away,
I brought that gun down right on top of my head.
Hit me as hard as he could.
I don't remember too well after that.
You think you'd recognize the man if you ever saw him again, Mr. Reiner?
I'll never forget him.
I sure hope to find the ring, officer.
Jen and I have been through some tough times together.
I guess at one time or another, we've either sold or pawned everything we own.
But we never let go of that ring.
Never did.
Not until last night.
Isn't that right, Jen?
Yes, that's right, Will.
Well, we'll do all we can to get it back for you, Mr. Reiner.
Now, about this man who got away,
can you remember anything outstanding about him at all?
Anything unusual?
No, I don't think so.
He had mean-looking eyes.
I remember that much.
Yes, sir.
Kind of this smart aleck type, I guess.
Kept twirling his gun around his hand, on his finger, you know.
I was scared death was going to go off.
So was George.
He's our bartender.
Were you scared, wasn't he, Jen?
Oh, yes.
George was quite as cheap.
How do you mean, Mr. Reiner, he twirled the gun around?
Oh, you know, like in the movies.
Cowboy pictures.
Typical smart aleck.
He sure did run when the cops came, though.
I only wish he was the one who got shot.
Well, you're sure you'll be able to identify this man if you see him again?
I told you I'll never forget him.
Say, there's something about this I don't think I understand.
Why ask me all these questions about it?
How about the fellow who was with that crook?
The fellow that was shot wants to talk to him.
He ought to be able to tell you who his partner is.
Well, he had an emergency operation, sir, at six o'clock this morning.
His condition's still critical.
Oh, I see.
Just a matter of time, then, huh?
I mean, when he recovers, you'll be able to talk to him.
You'll find out what you want to.
Well, there's only one hit, sir.
Whether he recovers or he doesn't recover.
Yes.
Either way, we can't depend on him.
1138 A.M.
After we finished interviewing the holdup victims,
Frank got the mug book out of the car containing pictures of recent robbery releases from the state prisons,
and we left it with Mr. and Mrs. Reiner.
We instructed them that if they succeeded in identifying any one of the pictures
to take down his name and prison number and call our office immediately.
We told them we'd be back later that afternoon.
1150 A.M.
We left the Reiner home and drove down to the scene of the robbery,
the restaurant on South Hill.
When we got there, Officer Walmsley from Layton Fingerprints was just leaving.
He told us that he'd been unable to raise any legible prints at the back window
where the number two suspect had escaped.
Frank and I checked over the scene, then we headed back for the office.
There were half a dozen messages for us in the book.
One of them was to call State Parole Officer Fred Galloway at his office on South Broadway.
Frank put in the call, and Galloway said he'd be right down.
He thought he had something for us.
105 P.M.
Galloway met us in the squad room and briefed us on some of the information
that he'd received earlier that morning from one of his parolees.
It concerned the wife of a former holdup man who now was wanted by Galloway
for violation of parole.
He told us the wife had rented a car from a U-Drive lot in Santa Monica
and that supposedly the ex-con and his wife were planning to leave the city.
What's the tie, Fred? How's it figuring for us?
I was talking to a chanter this morning. He happened to mention the holdup you're working.
This fellow answered the description of the one who got away.
What was that name again, the ex-con?
Ernest Morgan, your L.A. number 178435.
False number is 12968.
The reason I got pepped on is the thief could have hurt his leg
jumping out of the back window of the bar.
You figure he could have?
Yeah, easily. It's a good 30, 35 foot drop. Why, Fred?
Well, my informant says this Ernie Morgan has a bumped foot.
Heard it so bad he can hardly walk on it.
He says he saw Morgan the day before yesterday. His leg was all right then.
Sounds like a good one to get off the street.
What do you say we check his package?
I have no idea.
Your informant say who this Morgan's been running with, Fred?
Said he didn't know or thinks he plays it alone more or less.
Go ahead, Fred.
You contact the U-Drive lot, Fred, and get the dope on the car?
Yeah, didn't want to put the teletype on until I was sure.
One of the fellas from our office had to make a call out that way.
They're taking a mug shot of Morgan's wife out there
to see if the U-Drive clerk can give them an IDENT on her.
She got a record?
She's never done any time. She's just had a couple of pinches with him.
Never could make her on anything, though.
I'll pull the pack and try to find her.
How about your victims, Joe? They any good?
Yeah, they claim they can identify the man.
I don't think we'll have any trouble there.
How about this informant of yours?
You know where we can locate the Morgan?
No, not now.
According to him, Morgan and his wife left town about nine this morning.
He thinks he might get a line of where they're headed, though.
Well, how come your informant knows so much about Morgan?
He run with him?
No, he sold with him up at the joint.
Go ahead, Joe. You want to have a look?
Yeah.
Here's the package. It's a mug shot.
Is this your Ernie Morgan print?
Yeah, that's him.
Good picture?
Yeah, looks just like him.
The description, Joe. It's got everything right down the line.
Yeah.
Check this right here. Habits and characteristics.
Yeah, looks like it, doesn't it?
What's that?
He likes to twirl a gun in his hand.
One fifty-two p.m.
We placed Ernest Morgan's picture in an envelope along with two dozen other mug shots,
and then we put in a call to Mr. and Mrs. Reiner, told them we were coming out to see them.
They told us that so far neither one of them had been able to identify any of the pictures in the mug book that we'd left with them.
Fred Galloway went back to his office and we told him we'd notify him the minute we got a positive identification.
Two twenty-five p.m. We drove back to the Reiner home. The old man was still in bed.
Been all the way through this book of yours, officer. Couldn't find one who looked like the man, could we, Jim?
No, his picture's not in there, Sergeant. We sure are there.
I'd say, well, we've got some more of them here, folks. I'd like to have you look through them if you don't mind, see if you can identify one of them.
Yes, all right. Jim, would you fix this pillow back here for me, please?
Oh, yes, of course, dear. There. There you are.
Thank you.
You see any picture in the book that resembled the man at all, sir?
No, I didn't. None of them. Wasn't the one who looked like him.
Here you are. See if any of these pictures look familiar to you.
Thank you, sir. Jim, you want to sit here by me? We can see them together.
All right, well, let's see now.
Oh, my, look at this one, Will. Doesn't he look like a mean one?
Look at this one, Jim. Look at him. Think he's a college graduate, wouldn't you?
Oh, my, yeah. Officer, this young man here, what did he do?
Let me see that, ma'am. Oh, yeah, it's Marty Lee holed up in murder, Ms. Reiner. Shot and killed an elderly lady. She ran a candy store.
Oh, my, can you feature that? Such a clean-looking boy. Never believe what you will.
Takes all kinds, I guess. Let's see now. No. No. No.
Let me see, Will. Oh, no, that's not him.
No. No, no, we've been through these already. Have you some more, officer?
No, that's all, Mr. Reiner. You sure the holed-up man's picture isn't in there?
No, sir. I looked at them all pretty carefully. I didn't see him. Did you, Jim?
No, no, I didn't see him. Was his picture supposed to be in here?
Well, we thought so, ma'am. Let's see. Here, how about this one? So you look familiar to you?
Jim? No, no, I don't know. Maybe, maybe not. We serve so many people every night.
Are you folks sure you'll recognize the holed-up man when you see him? Oh, yes.
Oh, yes. No, I mean... Just one more question here, Mr. Reiner. Yes?
Now, are you absolutely sure this is not the man who held you up and slugged you last night?
Yes, I'm sure. That's not the man.
You are listening to Dragnet, authentic stories of your police force in action.
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Monday, June 2nd, 2.45 p.m. After the victims, Mr. and Mrs. Reiner, failed to identify Ernest Morgan as the robbery suspect,
Frank and I got in the car and drove back to the office. Neither one of us had anything to say.
Just at the moment we figured that we had the suspect positively identified,
the victims themselves had contradicted what we thought was definitely the answer to the case.
It wasn't by any means a news story.
One of the first lessons a working detective learns is to keep an open mind,
regardless of how incriminating the circumstances first appear to be.
The big fallacy of a detective being too sure too soon is based, for the most part,
on the failure to recognize that police work means human beings dealing with human beings.
So instead of going by the usual odds, the human margin for error is doubled.
Frank and I didn't have too clear an idea of how or why it came about,
but suddenly we found ourselves farther away from the solution of the case than before we started.
3.10 p.m.
Lousy day, huh?
Yeah, sure.
Ten after three, feel like I haven't slept for two days.
Yeah, I know what you mean. Pretty hard to figure in it.
Sure, I hope your wife did the washing today.
Why?
She won't feel much like talking. I sure don't.
Well, let's check the book, huh?
Yeah, I'll do it.
A couple of phone calls, Joe. One from the hospital, prison ward.
What do they want?
Our number one suspect, Ashford. He's doing better than they figured.
Be available for interview tomorrow morning.
Lucky thief, huh? Was a cop he would have died.
Another message. It's from Galloway. Wants us to call him.
And still a Madison number?
Yeah.
What's the pass?
Oh, yeah, please.
There you go.
Adult parole, please, men. Thank you.
Fred Galloway, please.
Smith, robbery, LAPD. Thanks.
Hi, Fred. Frank Smith.
Yeah, that right. He sure about that?
Uh-huh, sure doesn't figure.
No, I didn't mean a thing to him, yeah.
Okay. Right, thanks, Fred.
It's got me, Joe.
Why, what's the matter?
Galloway got the report back from that U-Drive lot,
the place where Morgan's wife rented that car.
They identified her as the woman who rented that car.
She offered him a deal.
She didn't want to leave a cash deposit for the car.
Well, what'd she offer?
Man's ring, diamond signet.
After we got the word from State Parole Officer Fred Galloway,
we got out of broadcast and an APB,
in addition to those we already had out.
We requested that the rented car and the occupants be held for questioning
in connection with the robbery of Reiner's Cafe the night before.
If a man's diamond signet ring was found in possession of the occupant,
or in the car, it was to be booked as evidence.
The following morning, Frank and I interviewed our number one suspect,
Benny Ashford, in ward 13400 at General Hospital Prison Ward.
Because he had the idea his partner had run out on him and taken the money with him,
that he'd let him down, Ashford was in a fairly cooperative mood.
After talking with him for a little more than 20 minutes,
he named Ernest Morgan and identified his mugshot as his companion
in the robbery of Reiner's Cafe.
He also told us the holdup was Morgan's idea.
And that Morgan had told him the job would be a pushover.
We asked him where he thought we might locate Morgan,
and he told us our best bet was Las Vegas, Nevada.
Supposedly Morgan had a good friend in Las Vegas,
an ex-con by the name of Harry Breen.
Frank and I went back to the office where we met with Inspector Farnon and Captain Didion.
At 1.30 that afternoon, according to instructions,
Frank and I signed out a trip car and headed out US Highway 91 for Las Vegas.
We checked in at the Las Vegas Police Department a few minutes before 8.30 that night.
The alleged friend of the suspect Morgan, Harry Breen,
had already been taken into custody by Las Vegas officers on the request of Captain Didion.
We began questioning Breen and he readily admitted that he was acquainted with Morgan.
All right, how long ago did you see Morgan?
I don't know, this afternoon sometime.
About hours in an afternoon. When did you see him?
What are you so excited about? What did he do? Commit a murder?
Look, Breen, how much time do you owe the state?
What's that got to do with it?
We didn't drive all the way up here just to pass the time of day with you.
You know he's hot. If you want to cover for him, you can serve his time.
Look, I don't get it. I'm not his keeper. If you want him, fine.
I bet we're going to find him if we have to walk all over you to do it.
When the two of you are up doing time, you can figure it out for yourselves.
I'm in trouble with you cops. Once a guy does time, you can't leave him alone.
I've been leveling since I got out. I've been carrying a lunch pail every day.
All right, now look, Breen, who do you think you're giving a snow job?
We've been kidded by experts. You're not giving us anything new.
We didn't send Morgan up to see you.
If you're so lily-white, how come Morgan got in touch with you?
All right, I'll tell you, you're as bad right now as the day they locked the gate on you.
You're never sorry for what you've done. You just moaned because they caught you.
Save that act for the jury, Breen. We're not going to buy it. Now, what about it? Where is he?
Wait a minute, huh? What are you so sore at me for? I didn't rob anybody.
Who says you did? You must have been talking to Morgan.
All right, I have. I told you I'd talk to him. He came around this afternoon. Now, get off my back.
What did he want?
He's hot. He wanted to cool off.
Where is he now?
I don't know. Well, look, how should I know? He came around with his wife, asked for a favor. I couldn't do it.
I just got married. My wife's a square. I told her about it. She wouldn't go for it.
The guy's a big crybaby anyway, trying to tell me how we ought to stick together.
You see the car he was driving, Breen?
Yeah, convertible coupe, Packard. California plate.
How'd you notice? You got the license number?
No, he asked me where he could get some cold plates. I figured it was hot.
Did you get him any plates?
Look, I wouldn't know where to get them. I already told you. I've been leveling ever since I got out.
They're no use kidding. I couldn't do any more time. I'm too old. One more trip and I'm through. I'm really through.
I got a good wife. She works every day. I don't want to lose that.
All right, Breen, you take your choice. What do you mean?
What do you like the best, Morgan or your wife? What about it?
All right, you got it.
The suspect's friend, Harry Breen, went on to admit that during the conversations he'd had with Ernest Morgan that afternoon,
Morgan had told him that he and his wife were going to San Francisco.
There, supposedly, they would contact a man by the name of Baker Harrison, who operated a restaurant out by Hunter's Point.
He said the Morgans had told him that they planned on driving at night only to lessen the chances of the police spotting their car.
We immediately got in touch with Inspector George Haig of the San Francisco Police Department and notified him of the latest developments in the case.
He told us he'd read our teletypes and said that he'd placed the restaurant operated by Baker Harrison under immediate surveillance.
We told him we'd leave early the next morning for San Francisco after we'd gotten a few hours' sleep.
Before we turned in, we got off a teletype to Captain Didion, bringing him up to date on what had happened and what our plans were.
The next morning at 6.30, Frank and I left Las Vegas for San Francisco.
A few minutes after 7 o'clock that night, we checked in at the San Francisco Hall of Justice at Washington and Kearney Street.
Inspector Haig was waiting for us.
He informed us Harrison's restaurant out of Hunter's Point was still being covered, but so far Morgan and his wife had failed to put in an appearance.
Along with Inspector Haig, Frank and I drove out to the restaurant and joined the detail that had the place under surveillance.
9.05 p.m., no sign of the suspects.
10 p.m., 10.30, 11 o'clock, midnight, still no sign.
We waited.
How about this fog? I sure wish I brought my topcoat. I'm freezing.
If they don't show pretty soon, we're gonna have to pull in closer. I can hardly see the door to the restaurant.
Smell that hot coffee. Sure could use a cup right now.
Look at that fog out there, Frank.
Can't tell where the bay leaves off and the fog will begin.
Wait a minute, Chuck. Car pulling up, convertible?
Yeah. Packard. Wait till they get in the light. We can see him better.
A man getting out heading for the restaurant.
Yeah, it looks like him. Come on.
Somebody else in the car. A woman.
Haig's got it covered. George is with him.
All right, let's hustle it. Come on.
Passing under the light. It's him, Joe.
Yeah. All right, hold it. Right where you are. Police officers.
What's the matter? What do you want?
All right, hands up in front of you. Get them up high.
All right, I got them up. What's it all about? What's the trouble?
Frank, you want to shake them?
Yeah. Come on, keep those hands up and stand still.
I'm standing still? Is this a shakedown or what? I haven't done anything.
Nothing doing, Joe. Clean.
Those hands, Aaron. Your right hand, mister. Let's have a look at it.
All right. Still don't get this. What about it?
That ring on your finger. Where'd you get that?
It's mine. Why? I had it a long time.
Diamond signet. A little big for you, isn't it? Doesn't quite fit.
What are you getting at? What's my ring got to do with this?
Where'd you get it?
Crap game. I want it in a crap game. It's down in Las Vegas.
I want to gamble it.
That right.
Yeah, a bunch of guys up in the hotel room shooting a little crap.
Just a gamble I won.
You sure of that, are you?
Of course I'm sure. Just a crap game. I took a gamble I won.
No, you're half right, mister.
Yeah?
You took a gamble, but you didn't win.
The story you have just heard was true.
The names were changed to protect the innocent.
On August 8th, trial was held in Superior Court, Department 89,
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, George Fenomen.
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Ernest Harold Morgan was tried and convicted of robbery in the first degree,
along with his accomplice, Benjamin Ashford.
Ernest Morgan's wife was tried for conspiracy to commit robbery and found not guilty.
Robbery in the first degree is punishable by imprisonment in the state penitentiary from five years to life.
Ladies and gentlemen, when you buy defense bonds, you help build your own future security.
You also become a partner with Uncle Sam in building America's security.
Buy your bond today.
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 Vance Brasher.
Heard tonight were Vic Perrin, Virginia Gregg, Harry Bartel, Ralph Moody.
Script by Jim Moser. Music by Walter Schuman. Hal Gibney speaking.
King-size Fatima has brought you Dragnet transcribed from Los Angeles.
This is NBC, the national broadcasting company.
Music by Jim Moser.