Sound off for Chesterfield. Chesterfield, first cigarette with premium quality throughout in both regular and king size, brings you Dragnet. Ladies and gentlemen, the story you're about to hear is true. The names have been changed to protect the innocent. You're a detective sergeant. You're assigned a bunko fugitive detail. You get a call from another city to pick up a burglary suspect. You know the name he's using. You know where he's living. Your job, pick him up. And you're asked to try a cigarette. You want to know, and you ought to know, what that cigarette is meant to people who smoke it and who smoke it all the time. For almost a year now, a medical specialist has given a group of Chesterfield smokers thorough examinations every two months. He reports no adverse effects to their noses, their throats, or sinuses from smoking Chesterfields. More and more men and women all over the country are finding out every day that Chesterfield is best for them. Enjoy your smoking. Try Chesterfields today. You'll find Chesterfield much milder, with an extraordinarily good taste. Dragnet, the documented drama of an actual crime. For the next 30 minutes, in cooperation with the Los Angeles Police Department, you will travel step by step on the side of the law through an actual case transcribed from official police files. From beginning to end, from crime to punishment, Dragnet is the story of your police force in action. It was Tuesday, June 4th. It was hot in Los Angeles. We were working the day watch out a bunko fugitive detail. My partner is Frank Smith. The boss is Captain Steed. My name's Friday. We were on our way out from the office and it was 9.42 a.m. when we got to the corner of Selman Fountain, the Arizona Carlton Hotel. Guess we check over there, huh? Yeah. You got the muds? Yeah, right here. I'm awfully sorry, Mrs. Hartfield. Yes, I know we say each room is air conditioned. Well, yes, ma'am, but it is true. I know, ma'am, but the air conditioning is on full now. All right, ma'am. Yes, I'll send some right up. I'll be with you right away. Front. Here, boy. Send some ice water up to Mrs. Hartfield in 502 right away. Well, sorry to keep you waiting. It's all right, sir. What is it you wanted? We're police officers, sir. Here's our identification. There's nothing wrong as there. Don't know what I do if anything else went wrong. The air conditioning unit went out this morning making excuses. I don't know how much longer the ice water is going to hold up. What is it? What's wrong now? Do you have a Mr. George Richmond registered here? Probably gives his home address as Modesto. Richmond. Let's see here. Wait a minute. Sir. How do I know you're what you say? Police department's always sending out a circular saying to be careful about this sort of thing. It's a respectable hotel, you know. How do I know? Well, here's our identification again, sir. I showed it to you before. Oh, Friday. How about yours? Yeah, here you are, sir. All right. Can't be too careful. Your own office says that, you know. Careful. Anybody can come in here with a badge. Yes, sir. And if you'd just check the register for us, please. Yeah, sure thing. Oh, here's your registration. Oh, yes, sir. Here he is. Richmond George, Modesto, California. Is he here now? No, checked out the day before yesterday. Oh, excuse me. Yes, sir. Registration desk. Yes, Mrs. Hartfield. Yes, ma'am. I know that's what we advertise. Yes, ma'am, but it's on the way up. No, ma'am, I sent the boy myself. Yes, ma'am. I'm sure he'll be there. All right, Mrs. Hartfield. Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am. I may quit. Now, what was it you wanted with Mr. Richmond? Well, you said that he moved out, huh? Yes, bag and baggage day before yesterday. Did you leave any forwarding address? No, I talked to him when he left. Didn't say a word about where he was going. Uh-huh. Was there anyone in the hotel he was especially friendly with? Anybody who might know where he can reach him? No. He kind of kept to himself a nice fellow. Sure tipped good, kept to himself, though. Is there anyone around the place who might know where he was going? Bell Boys, maybe the waitress in the coffee shop? No, no, I hardly think so. He didn't eat here. Don't blame him. Well, thank you very much, sir. Here's our card. If you hear anything from Mr. Richmond, we'd sure appreciate a call. You bet. I'll give you a ring. You got any mail while he was staying here? No, no, nothing. Not even a phone call. Didn't use the room for anything but to sleep. Real quiet. Good tipper, though. Did he drive a car to you, no? No, no, not there, no. Say, come to think of it, you might check with Ernie. Ernie? Yeah, he drives a cab. Usually right out in front. He picked up Mr. Richmond one night. Might be able to tell you something. All right, sir. Thank you very much. If anything comes up, appreciate that call. Okay. Hope you get what you're looking for. Registration desk. Yes, Mrs. Hartfield. Let's go, Frank. All right. I know, ma'am, but the ice water's on the way up. I can't understand why it isn't there, but I am the manager. The fellow out there might be him. Yes, sir. Yeah. Excuse me, man. Yeah? Your name, Ernie? That's right. What can I do for you? Police officers. We'd like some information. I got a permit to park here. No, it's not that. We'd like to know if you remember picking up a George Richmond here. Oh. Richmond, huh? Yeah, that's right. Richmond. Well, name doesn't make any bells ring. What's the guy look like? You got those mug shots, Frank. Oh, yeah. Here you go. You caught two cops. Yes, Frank. I'm an officer. Yeah. You kind of look like one. Is this the guy? Yeah, sir. That's him. You remember picking him up? Yeah, seems I've seen him before. Yeah, yeah. Good tipper. Yeah, I picked him up. Let's see. A couple days ago, drove him downtown. Sure, downtown. Remember where you took him? Gee, it was a couple days ago, like I said. Yeah, sir. Haven't had the slightest idea. 10.07 a.m. We continued to talk to the cab driver. He was sure that he'd picked up George Richmond on Sunday night, but he was unable to tell us where he'd taken the suspect. We drove back downtown and checked with the cab company. On the driver's way bill, we found that he'd made three pickups that night from the hotel on Fountain Avenue. The first stop listed was a large cafeteria in downtown Los Angeles. We checked with the cashier. She was unable to identify the mugshots of Richmond. The second stop was a large apartment out on Wilshire Boulevard. We checked the manager of the place, and she told us that she didn't recognize the name. We showed her the mugshots of Richmond, and she said that she thought she'd seen the man two weeks before. When she asked him what he wanted, he said that he was looking for a Miss Norman. Because of the way he'd acted, the landlady hadn't told him that there was a tenant by that name living in the place. She gave us the apartment number of the Norman woman, and Frank and I went up to see her. Want to try it again? Yeah. Who is this? Police officers. What? Police officers. We'd like to talk to you. Just a minute. And what's this all about? Miss Margaret Norman? Yeah, that's right. What do you want with me? What if we could come in, please? It'd be a little better than talking out here in the hall. Yeah, I guess so. Come in. Thank you. My name's Friday. This is my partner, Frank Smith. Pleased to meet you, ma'am. Yeah. Hi. You alone here, Miss Norman? Yeah, I just got up. Have to excuse the way the place looks. Kind of messy. Yes, ma'am. Mind if I put on some coffee? I'm not going to be able to answer any questions before I have a cup of coffee. We'll go right ahead, ma'am. What did you want to see me about? You know a man named Richmond? Richmond? Yes, ma'am. George Richmond. Why'd you ask that? What's he done? Well, you just like to know if you know him, do you? Yeah, I know him. What do you guys want him for? We'd like to talk to him, Miss Norman. You don't want to tell me what it's about, huh? Well, it'd be better if we talked to him. Yeah. Either one of you got a cigarette? Yes, ma'am. Here you go. Match. Thanks. Thanks. You know, there's no love lost between me and George. Is that right? You bet there isn't, lousy bummer. He's got a guck-star cowboy. He's a girl out for dinner, one lousy night, and a cheap dinner. Figures he owns her. You know where he is now? I haven't got the slightest idea. If I did know, I'd sure tell you. I bet I would. I'd like to see him get his way, treatin' me. You know any of his friends? Anyone who might know where he is? I think he's got a friend. At least I never met any of them. Does he drive a car, do you know? No, not him. Always took a cab. Used to kill me anywhere we went, he'd take a cab. One lousy block and he took a cab. I liked to be a sport. Always tipping big. Regular drugstore cowboy. When did you see him last? It must have been a couple of weeks ago. That much anyway. Last time I saw him. Don't care if I never see him again where he acted. I thought he was gonna kill me. Ma'am? Went out to dinner and we got back here. He'd been drinking a lot. Got real nasty. I told him he better be gone. You know, it was late and all. Yes, ma'am. Well, like I said, it was late and he got real nasty. He started yelling at me. Called me all sorts of things. I'm not gonna let any man say things like that to me, so I told him to get out. I never want to see him again. One lousy dinner and he thought he owned me. Mm-hmm. When did he go ahead, Miss Norman? He hauled off and hit me. Right there in the hall. Hit me as hard as he could. Almost broke my jaw. Well, you know, I let out a scream and he beat it. Caused such a commotion, I had to move. Then this didn't happen here, is that it? No, a place over on Vermont. I moved the next day. Mm-hmm. Where'd you meet, Richmond? At the club. Say, you got another cigarette? Yeah. Here you are. Match. Thanks. What club's that, ma'am? Where I work. Green Lantern, downtown. I'm the cigarette girl. I met him there. He came in one night. Acted real big. Asked me if I'd have dinner with him. As it happened, I didn't have an engagement that night, so I said yes. Well, it kind of went together for a while. I see. Sure hope you get him. Real bad guy. The way he treats women. Terrible. He say, wait a minute. Yes, ma'am? I know someone who might be able to tell you where he is. Who's that, ma'am? A fellow named Hank. Used to hang around the club. I saw George talk to him at the bar once in a while. Well, do you know where we can find this fellow, Hank? No, but I can tell you where his girlfriend lives. At hell? Yes, ma'am, it will. Place over on Third out near Fairfax. Do you know his full name, ma'am? Gee, I got to think about that. Let's see, Jeanette, that's the girl. Jeanette introduced him as Palmer. That's it, Hank Palmer. I don't know about him, though. What's that, Mr. Armand? He's a real mean one. Kind of quiet. Not like George. George likes to shoot his mouth off, but... Hank is quiet. He's trouble, though. Ma'am? Well, one night we went up to Jeanette's for a couple of drinks. Hank took off his coat. That's why I say he's rough. Yeah. He's a good gun. HONKING HONKING HONKING 1.45 p.m. We got the description of Hank Palmer, and then Frank and I drove back to the city hall. We ran the name and description through R&I, but we got no make. We sent the name to George Brereton, CII, up at Sacramento. We got communication off to Washington, asking them for information on Palmer. We also checked the name of Palmer's girlfriend through our records, but we got no information. We contacted Captain Steed and arranged for a stakeout to be placed on the apartment of Palmer's girlfriend, Jeanette Allen. Two days went by. Palmer and Richmond failed to make an appearance. We talked to Jeanette Allen, but she couldn't supply us with any information as to the whereabouts of the two men. Descriptions of the men were broadcast, informants were questioned. We contacted the Modesto Police Department, and they sent us all information on the places Richmond was known to frequent while he was in Los Angeles. The kickback from Sacramento and Washington gave us no new information on the place. But Washington had him listed as having two arrests for armed robbery and ADW in the East. Another week passed. The stakeouts on Jeanette Allen's apartment continued. No sign of either of the men. Sergeant Al Ponojiza, the Bunko Fugitive Detail, worked with us in trying to trace their movements. On Saturday, June 15th, we got word from an informant that Bichman and Palmer had been seen in town. We checked with the stakeout at the apartment, but they'd seen nothing of the two men. Frank Alpino, the former of the Bunko Fugitive Detail, was seen in the apartment. Frank Alpinojiza and I drove out to relieve the stakeout. Hey, Ponoj. Yeah, Frank. Sure hot in this room, isn't it? Air just laying there. Yeah. The paper says it's the hottest June 15th on record. Is that Miss Allen? Yes, Sergeant. You haven't heard from Palmer at all since he got back, is that it? No, not a word. I don't really believe he's in town. I'm sure if he was, he'd look me up. Never done this before. Uh-huh. Say, would it be all right if I got a glass of water, Miss? Sure, help yourself right out in the kitchen. I'll give you a glass of water. No, I don't think so. Al? Yeah. Joe? Yeah? Cab's stopping out in the front. A man getting out. Might be one of them. Guy's wearing an overcoat. On a day like this? Is he coming in here, Al? Yeah. Cab's pulling away. Okay. I'm gonna take that side of the door, Frank. You better go into the bedroom, Miss Allen. You think there's gonna be some trouble? I'm not sure he's doing the way he wants it. Well, I guess you know best. I hope not. All I need is to have to move again. Somebody in the hall. Stop him. All set? Right. Who are you? You Hank Palmer? Yeah, so what? Police officers. Lousy cop! He's got a gun. I'll get him. All right, hold it up, Palmer. Stop or I'll fire. Get away from me, cop! Hold it up, Palmer! All right, come on. Pull out of here. Come on, pull! Get in the call, Frank Gray-Mercury. License number is 1S69105. Right. I better call an ambulance, too. What? Panojas. He's hurt bad. June 15th, 840 p.m. Sergeant Al Panojas was removed to Georgia Street Receiving Hospital. His condition was listed as critical. The bullet had entered his chest and was still embedded below the left lung. His family was notified, and after Frank and I got out the APB on Palmer, we drove by to pick up Mrs. Panojas. We dropped her off at the hospital and Frank stayed with her. Palmer's description was put out, as was the description of the car he'd commandeered to get to the hospital. I ran the number through our DMV and found that it was registered to a William Evans, 1627 East Point City, Hollywood. Along with Sergeant Ullery, I checked out the address. Mrs. Evans told us that she hadn't seen her husband for several hours, but when he left the house he had told her that he was going to a lodge meeting. We got a description of him and got out a local and an APB on him. I called the hospital and found that they'd operated on Panojas, but that they were unable to remove the bullet. His wife collapsed. Frank had her taken home where she was cared for by their family doctor. 1246 A.M. A radio car out in Chatsworth picked up Evans. He told them that Palmer had forced him at gunpoint to drive him to the valley. There he'd forced Evans from the car and driven off. Evans couldn't give the officers any idea of where the suspect might have been headed. Two hours later, the car was found abandoned on Spring Street. It was placed under surveillance and a dragnet of the downtown area was started. Metro Division assigned 20 teams of men to make a block by block search of the vicinity. The details at the bus stations and at the airports were alerted. 412 A.M. I got a call from Frank and I drove over to Georgia Street Receiving Hospital. Hi, how's it going? I'm good, just saw the doctor. How's Al? He just died. The You are listening to Dragnet, the authentic story of your police force in action. Chesterfield is the first cigarette to offer smokers premium quality in both regular and king size. King size Chesterfield contains tobaccos of better quality and higher price than any other king size cigarette. Chesterfield is first to name all its ingredients, ingredients that make the best possible smoke. And Chesterfield gives you this scientific report. No adverse effects to the nose and throat of a group smoking only Chesterfield's. So enjoy your smoking. Change to Chesterfield today. Much milder, with an extraordinarily good taste. Chesterfield Chesterfield Chesterfield Chesterfield Chesterfield Chesterfield Chesterfield Chesterfield Chesterfield When an officer is first accepted by the police force, he spends 13 weeks at the police academy. In that period, he learns the basic fundamentals of being a peace officer. On graduation from the academy, he is assigned either to traffic or to a tour of duty in one of the city jails. Then, depending on his aptitude and the way he conducts himself in the field, he's checked on for possible transfer to one of the detective divisions as an investigator. By the time a police officer gets his assignment to the detective bureau, he's become a professional troubleshooter. He knows how to handle himself and he knows how to treat the law breaker. He's on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and he wears a gun. When a hoodlum shoots a police officer, he's showing society that he has no regard for the law. And at the same time, he is announcing that he will not hesitate to kill an unarmed citizen. Sergeant Alfred Pinojis had been a policeman 14 years. He'd begun in traffic and then had been transferred to the juvenile division. From there, he went to homicide detail and then to Bunko Fugitive Division. He was a professional peace officer and he'd been murdered. He gave his life to protect the people who paid his salary, the taxpayers. His killer was still at large and we had to find him. The search of the downtown area was intensified, but it netted us nothing. Frank and I checked the immediate area around the abandoned car. In talking to the people in the vicinity, we found a newsboy who had seen Palmer park the car. He said he was unable to tell us where the man had gone, but he said that he thought he might have gone into a bar near the corner. We checked the place, but the bartender was unable to give us any information. Two days passed. We rechecked the known hangouts of the two men. Neither of them had been seen. Tuesday, June 18th, we got word that Palmer had been seen entering an apartment house on South Alvarado. 10, 14 a.m. Frank and I drove over to talk to the landlady. Palmer and Richmond? No, no, I don't think I know them. Why don't you take a look at these pictures, but this whole book, see if you recognize them. Sure. He's a mean one. I haven't seen him, though. This one. This one, I know him. Which one's he? Well, that's Richmond. No, that's not his name. Told me it was Reichman. Said it was John Reichman. Lives up in 206, that's in front. Is he in now, ma'am? He went out this morning early. First time in a couple of days, he went out early. You expect him back soon? Oh, I don't know. Right off. Might be. I don't generally know when they're coming back. Don't keep tabs on them, you know. Them? Yeah, tenants. Nice bunch, most of them quiet. Had a full place last two years. How long is this Reichman? Yeah, that's it, John Reichman. How long's he been here? Oh, he's kind of new. He took over the room from a friend of his. Yes, ma'am. Does he have any friends in the building? No, he's got a friend he sees quite a bit of. Well, now, there's a girl in 306. He sees quite a bit of her. Well, who's that, Miss Holbrook? That'd be Barbara McIntire. Nice girl. Dancer. Works downtown at one of the clubs. Is she in now, would you know? Oh, she should be, yes. Hardly ever gets up much before noon. Hardly ever. She works late, you know. Yes, ma'am. Does, uh, Reichman drive a car? Reichman? Oh, dear, now. Well, I don't know. I don't think so. Seems like he's always coming home in a cab. Comes in at all hours. I don't think he's gonna last here. Why you say that, ma'am? Because I don't think he will, that's all. Plays the radio late, makes noise, you know. Then there was a fight. The girl didn't want to do anything about it, but I certainly think she should have. Well, what's that about, ma'am? Oh, one night, let's see, it must have been about, uh, a week ago, Reichman, or, or Richman, or whatever his name is, came home and he was... Well, he'd been drinking quite a bit, you know. Yes, ma'am. Well, he went up to the girl's apartment and they had an awful brawl. Reichman and Yellen, an awful brawl. I went up and asked her if there was something I could do, but she yelled through the door and said, no, that everything was all right. Of course, it wasn't. Ma'am? Well, the next day, the poor thing had a black eye that just wouldn't stop, all bruised up. Had a bandage right here on her forehead, must have hit her awful hard. No, sir, I don't think he's gonna last. You're pretty sure that you haven't seen this other man, though, are you? Well, let me see that picture again. This one? No, no, no. I'm positive I never saw him. Of course, that don't mean he wasn't here. Ma'am? Well, like I said, I don't pay much attention to them. They pay their rent, and I don't bother them. They come and go and say, please, say, what do you want them for? Is it about that, Mr... Reichman? Yeah, is it about him beating up that poor girl? No, ma'am. I should have known about him. No, sir, he ain't gonna last long around here. What if we could see his room, Mrs. Holbrook? Well, I guess it's all right. I'll get the key. All right, ma'am. Thank you. Here you are. It's right up the stairs and then to the front of the hall. It's on the right at the far end of the hall. Well, we'd rather you'd come up with us, ma'am. Oh, well, all right. Glad to help. The way he must have beat that girl, a fiend, that's what he is. He sure isn't gonna last long around here. Yeah, he sure isn't. Before we looked at Richmond's apartment, we tried to check with his girlfriend. We found that she wasn't in. The manager led us into her apartment, but we found no indication where she might have gone. Then we went downstairs and searched Richmond's place. He wasn't there. The land that he stood by when we searched the place. In a closet, we found a small arsenal, a gas grenade, a sawed-off shotgun and two boxes of shells that were also several revolvers along with over 150 rounds of ammunition. We called the office and arranged for a stakeout on the building. Sergeants Ullery, Gerard, Gilmore and Miller came out. Gerard and Gilmore covered the front entrance. Ullery and Miller were stationed at the back of the building, and Frank and I covered Richmond's room. The residents of the apartment were warned to stay inside their rooms and to keep their doors locked. Ten-thirty p.m. There was still no sign of the suspects. We waited. Eleven o'clock. Eleven-fifteen. Midnight. Joe? Yeah? Looks like it might be them. Cab pulling up in front. How about Gerard and Gilmore? I can't see them from here. Yeah. Looks like Palmer and Richmond. They got the girl with them. Where is she? She's walking between them. Makes it tough, huh? Yeah. Well, they won't try to take them on the street this way. They're coming in the building. Uh-huh. They should be here pretty quick. I have figures if they're coming here. Upstairs. Girl's apartment. Sounds like it. What if they went in with her? I'll just have to wait. Wait a minute. Somebody outside there in the hall. Yeah. Hold it. I don't feel right. I tell you, it's too quiet. Something's up. All right, Mr. Gill, let's hold it. Cops, George, meet it! Oh, damn it. All right, give it up, Palmer. They made the street. Gilmore and Gerard should get them. Put that card, Joe. Let's go. Looks like they're in that store. You want to cover me while I try to get over there? All right, take it easy. All right. You all right, Frank? All right. All right, I'm coming over. I'll cover you. You see Gilmore and Gerard? Yeah. They're behind the Buick over there. Come on out of there. Richmond, Palmer, come on. Throw the guns out. You come here to take us, cop? Give it up, Richmond. You're at a dead end. There's no way out of there. Then we'll make one. They're coming out, Joe. OK, OK, I quit. You got rich, right? I'm not going to let you get away with this. I quit. You got rich, and I quit. Now don't shoot anymore. Please don't shoot anymore. You won't shoot anymore. Will you please? Throw that gun out here. Come on. All right. Here it is. I'm throwing it out. Now don't shoot anymore, please. All right, I'll check Richmond. I haven't got any gun. I gave it to you. I'm hurt. Can't you see that? I'm hurt bad. I told Gilmore to call the ambulance. Richmond's dead. How about this one? He's hit. I don't know how bad. I should have known not to kill a cop. I would have been like this if I hadn't killed that cop. I didn't mean to. I got scared. That's all scared. You can understand that, can't you? You want to shake him, Frank? Yeah. Watch it, Frank. He's got another gun. You all right? Yeah. Palmer? Palmer? Palmer. I'll check him. How about it? He's dead. Look here, Jar. What's that? He had these in his pockets. Must be 50 or 60 rounds of ammunition there. Yeah. Doesn't look like he was ready to quit. He was ready. The story you have just heard was true. The names were changed to protect the innocent. On July 26, an inquest was held in the coroner's office in and for the county of Los Angeles. In a moment, the results of that inquest. Now, here is our star, Jack Webb. Thank you, George Veneman. Friends, every day more and more people are changing to Chesterfield, and finding Chesterfield is best for them. One reason why we're here is to protect the innocent. We're here to protect the innocent. We're here to protect the innocent. We're in this anyways, we're calling a boy about avengers gather around a honor. Twenty minutes away from the cemetery, there is a short Revelation book which reads a bit, F lite le Who Hal The At the coroner's inquest, it was found that the deaths of George Thomas Richmond and Henry Donald Palmer were justifiable homicide. It was found that they were armed and were killed while resisting arrest. 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 Ben Alexander, Joyce McCluskey, Paul Richards. Hosted by John Robinson, music by Walter Schuman, Hal Gibney speaking. For a million laughs, tune in Chesterfield's Martin & Lewis show, Tuesday on this same NBC station. And sound off for Chesterfield's, either regular or king size. You'll find premium quality Chesterfield much milder. Chesterfield is best for you. Chesterfield has brought you Dragnet, transcribed from Los Angeles. Ladies and gentlemen, wherever and whenever people need help, the Red Cross answers the call. When a flood stricken family needs shelter, when a crippled child must learn to walk and play, and when a wounded soldier needs blood, the Red Cross is always there. Now the Red Cross needs your help. To keep up their many services this year, 93 million dollars is needed. So when the Red Cross volunteer calls on you, please answer the call and give generously.