Ladies and gentlemen, the story you are about to hear is true.
The names have been changed to protect the innocent.
Drag nets.
You're a detective sergeant.
You're assigned to robbery detail.
A holdup man has been hitting the banks in your city.
After two months of following down leads, you get a possible identification.
Your job, check it out.
It was Thursday, July 25th.
It was warm in Los Angeles.
We were working the day watch out of robbery detail.
My partner is Frank Smith, the boss of Chief of Detectives Thad Brown.
My name is Friday.
We were on our way out from the office and it was 1042 A.M. when we got to 896 Dwayne
Street.
Front door.
I'll get it again.
This is nobody home.
Yeah.
You see in that window?
No, can't see anybody moving around in there.
Let's try the back.
All right.
Round this way.
Uh-huh.
Hey, sure pretty, isn't it, Joe?
What's that?
Rose tree there.
Bella Portugal.
Sure pretty.
What?
It's a little bit of a fence.
Isn't that big, but we got roses on it already.
What did you call it?
One of those Bella Portugal rose trees.
Oh.
I'll pick a couple for you.
Bring them in the office.
Thanks, Frank.
I don't know what I'd do with them, do you?
Well, you can give them to Ann.
She'd like them.
Yeah.
I get it.
See anybody?
No, looks like there's someone in the lawn chair over there, doesn't it?
Huh.
Miss Clark?
Yes, who is it?
Yeah, come on.
You miss Viola Clark?
That's right.
Police officers, Miss Clark.
This is Frank Smith.
My name's Friday.
Well, how do you do?
How you doing, ma'am?
What can I do for you?
We'd like to ask a few questions.
About Louie?
Yes, ma'am.
Well, would you mind talking inside?
I'd rather the neighbors didn't know all my business.
All right, fine.
We can talk in there without anybody hearing.
Yes, ma'am.
Sure beautiful morning.
Hot.
Mm-hmm.
We're planning a little trip down to the desert this weekend.
Get some rest and a little sun.
Yes, ma'am.
I was trying to get a tan before then.
Mm-hmm.
Look, come on in.
Thank you.
Just go on through the kitchen.
We can talk in the dining room.
All right, thank you.
I just feel funny going to a place where there's a swimming pool and sitting there without
a tan, don't you?
Yes, ma'am.
Well, I do anyway.
It makes me feel self-conscious like.
I see, ma'am.
Well, just go on in and sit down.
I'll get us something cold to drink.
No, that's all right, Miss Clark.
Thank you.
How about you, Mr. Smith?
No, ma'am.
Well, I'm going to have something.
Bill, that's my husband.
Brought me a case of that new kind of drink, you know, without any calories.
Yes, ma'am.
All kinds of flavors, supposedly.
Supposed to be for people who are supposed to reduce, of course.
I don't really need it, just that Bill bought it and all.
Sit down.
Thank you.
Now, what was it about Louis?
He's your brother, is that right?
Well, yes, actually.
He's my half-brother.
You see, his father died and our mother remarried.
I see.
He's my half-brother.
When did you see him last?
Oh, let's see.
I guess it was before the trial.
I don't know.
I don't know.
I don't know.
When did you see him last?
Oh, let's see.
I guess it was before the trouble I had about ten years ago.
You heard anything from him since?
Oh, a couple of times.
Different people have told me they saw Louis.
We always send it there.
But you haven't talked to him, huh?
Well, no, not in ten years.
Would you excuse me a minute?
I forgot the bottle opener.
Yes, ma'am.
When Louis got into trouble, we sort of stopped seeing each other.
I tried to write to him when he was in prison, a little talky talky letter, but they just
seemed to separate us more.
What was that again, ma'am?
I didn't hear you.
I said that I tried to write to him.
I tried to write to him.
I tried to write to him.
I tried to write to him when he was in prison, sort of a, you know, a talky talky letter,
but, well, they just seemed to separate us more.
I see.
Did you see him when he was in prison?
Oh, no, it was during the war and I was pretty busy with other things.
Uh-huh.
Huh.
Bill, my husband, was overseas and I was writing to him, sending him little things.
Just never seemed to get around to seeing Louis.
Oh, I thought about it, but just never quite seemed to get to it.
New flavor, pineapple pie, kind of tangy.
You sure you don't want any?
No, no, thank you.
Oh, that's good.
I've got some little crackers, low calorie.
Would you like some of them?
No, ma'am, thank you.
Well, when Louis got out of jail, I heard he went back east, Salt Lake, I think, got
a job with a paint store back there.
He did pretty good.
Something happened, though.
He quit or got fired or something.
Anyway, he came out here again.
Do you have any idea where your brother might be staying?
No, last I heard it was in some furnished room down on Pico.
Would you have the address?
I'm afraid not.
Do you have any idea where we might be able to get it?
Not the least.
Uh-huh.
What's he done this time?
Well, it'll be better if we talk to him about it, ma'am.
Well, it seems to me I'm the sister.
You should be able to tell me.
I'm certainly going to cooperate with you.
I think it'd be better if we talked to him, though.
That's the way you're going to handle it.
There's not much I can do.
Did your brother have any hobbies, anything that he might try to work at?
No, not that I can remember.
Well, when he was a kid, I think he used to collect stamps,
but then I guess every boy does that.
Mostly, though, he used to read a lot, always had his nose in a book.
Uh-huh.
Had a big collection of those books you could buy in the five-and-dime,
you know, the little thick ones.
Yeah, I kind of know what you mean.
I guess he had just about every one that was ever published.
There was a big thing with the kids in the neighborhood.
Well, Louie had about 100, all different stories.
He built a case for them out in the garage out of apple boxes.
I remember that, out in the garage.
Yes, ma'am.
Had a library going, little cards and everything.
Charged the kids two cents to read the book.
Real going business.
Uh-huh.
Oh, he was a funny kid.
Always trying to figure out how to get somebody else to do the work for him.
He'd say that if he had his way,
he'd get what he wanted without really working for it.
I wonder if being in jail made him change, if he still feels like that.
What does that mean?
That he can live the easy way.
He's still trying.
11 31 a.m.
We left the house and continued checking out the friends and relatives of the suspect Louie wrote.
According to his book, he'd been arrested for the first time,
10 years previously on charges of 459 burglary, five counts.
He'd been sentenced to San Quentin.
He'd been released four years previously.
On June 11th, he walked into a bank at the corner of Reservoir and Montana streets
and robbed the place of $1,180.
He'd hit again on June 19th, July 12th, and July 23rd.
In each instance, the victims were shown mug books,
but they were unable to make a positive identification.
On July 24th, we talked to a cab driver who had driven the suspect away from the latest holdup.
He was able to give us an identification of the suspect,
but when we checked the area where Rode had left the cab,
we were unable to come up with additional information.
The other victims were shown Rode's picture, and all of them made a positive identification.
Locals and APBs were gotten out on him, and all places he was known to frequent were checked.
Still, we couldn't take him into custody.
Two days passed while we looked for the suspect.
On Friday, July 26th, the bank located on Hollywood Boulevard was held up for $1,800.
The suspect matched the description of Rode.
From one of the people in the vicinity, we got the number of the cab the suspect was supposed to have taken.
We got in touch with the traffic manager of the cab company and got the name and stand number of the driver.
9.20 p.m. Frank and I drove out to see him.
The car of Hollywood and Loma Linda?
That's right.
Bank near there.
What time was it supposed to be?
The way we got it, about five.
Tonight?
That's right.
I don't recall the guy. Are you sure it was me?
Well, we got the number of your cab.
You're pretty busy today. Let me check the way, though.
All right.
Let me take a look here.
Yeah, yeah, here it is. Loma and Hollywood.
Where'd you drop the fare off?
2,000 block on Sensei.
That'd be near Echo Park?
Yeah.
Can you tell us anything about the man?
No, like I told you, I've been pretty busy tonight.
Well, that's pretty important.
Oh, what kind of things you want to know?
Well, what'd he say to you when he got into the cab?
Oh, not much.
Seems to me he just told me to drive right down Sunset and then he'd tell me where to let him out.
Was there anything about him that stood out? An accent maybe? Star? Birthmark? Anything like that?
No, it doesn't seem to me that there was.
I could only get a glimpse of him in the rear view mirror.
He was kind of sitting off to one side. Kind of hard to see.
You don't remember anything about him, then, huh?
No, nothing had helped.
Did you say where he was going?
Well, not that I remember. Just told me to drive right down Sunset until he told me to stop.
When he got out of the cab did you see where he went?
I didn't notice.
He said something about getting a drink and asked me if I could name a good bar for him.
Did you?
I couldn't. I don't know the neighborhood very well. I told him they were all probably pretty good.
Did he seem drunk to you?
Well, he had more than a couple. I can't tell you how many.
You know, some guys can hold more than others without showing it.
Yeah.
Well, he was like that. Hard to tell how many he'd lifted.
Uh-huh.
Say, something might help. I just thought of it.
You know, what's that?
He had a kind of a mole on his face right by his mouth.
On which side do you remember?
Well, let me think now. I was looking at him in the mirror.
It was on his left side.
Mirror shows things on the side that don't...
Yeah, yeah. It'd be on his left side.
Yeah, I always get mixed up like that. You know, you know, when you look in the mirror,
if you got something on the right side of your face, it's on the left side of the mirror.
Yeah.
Well, I was looking at him so it'd be on the same side as I saw it.
Yes, there was a left side.
Where was the mole?
Right here. Right by the upper lip.
Not real big so as you'd notice it right off.
Yeah, I forgot about it until just now.
The one he paid the cab bill, what'd he use?
You mean the size bill he gave me?
Yeah.
A 20. I think I got it right here.
Real new.
Yeah, yeah, here it is. He had a whole fistful of those.
Just like this. All brand new.
I asked him if he was going on a trip. You know, people draw a lot of money out when they're gonna take a trip.
I figured maybe that's what he was gonna do.
What'd he say?
Well, he said he wasn't. He said he just made a withdrawal from the bank, but he said he wasn't going away.
Well, he's wrong there.
Huh?
As soon as we find him, he is.
The cab driver identified Roach's mugshot, and at 10.08 p.m., Frank and I drove over to the 2000 block on Sunset Boulevard.
We checked at several bars, but we were unable to find the suspect.
One of the bartenders said he thought that a man answering Roach's description might have been in, but he couldn't be sure.
In each of the places, we left our card, and we asked the owner or the bartender to notify us if the suspect should come in.
12.26 a.m., Frank and I checked back into the office.
You want to check the book, I'll sign us out.
All right.
Anything?
Yeah.
We got a message here from Fay.
Yeah?
She wants you to stop by the drugstore and pick up a refill prescription for the baby.
Oh, it says she's already called him. You just have to pick it up.
Oh.
Well, that blows the coffee.
Well, I ought to get home anyway. I'd like to get a good night's sleep.
All right. See you in the morning, old buddy.
All right.
You gonna have breakfast at home?
I don't know. Say it was up half the night with the kids. Might be better if I let her sleep.
Well, why don't you meet me at that dairy place?
Good deal. About seven, huh?
That'll be fine with me.
All right.
You go on ahead. I'll get the lights, sir.
Hold on. I'll get it.
Robbery Friday.
Yes, sir?
No, sir. We're the ones.
How long ago was that?
I see.
Right away.
What do you got?
Bar out on Sunset.
Yeah?
There were two suspects there now tearing the place up.
We left the city hall and we drove over to the bar on Sunset Boulevard.
By the time we'd gotten there, a police unit had arrived and the disturbance was under control.
The suspect had left the scene and the broadcast was put out to all cars in the area carrying his description and the description of the clothing he was wearing.
When we walked into the bar, the bartender was sitting at one of the tables in the back of the place holding a stake to his left eye.
The place itself was a mess. Bar stools were scattered over the floor. Tables were upended.
The back bar was smashed and the mirror that ran along the length of the bar itself was broken.
Frank and I checked with the officers from the unit and then we went back to talk to the bartender.
Why don't you guys tell me about him?
Sir?
Why don't you tell me who he was? I didn't know. Look at this place. Look what he did.
What started the fight?
I don't know.
Did you recognize him when he came in?
No, right off. He sat down, ordered a drink. Next thing I know, the place is coming down around me.
When did you know he was the man we were looking for?
After he bellowed the fellow next to him. That's when I knew.
He called you right away. He should have told me he was rough. He should have told me.
We told you not to try to take him yourself.
But you didn't make a point of it. I just thought it was something you told everybody.
Can you tell us what he said when he came in?
We were having a nice night. Pretty good business. Sitting there watching the fights on the television.
Nice and quiet. Poring good. Looked like a good night for the till.
Yeah.
Door swings open and in comes this guy. I didn't pay any attention to him. Walked over and sat at the bar.
Right there in the middle. Sat at the bar.
Mm-hmm.
Ordered a highball. You had a couple. I should have known right then.
Had been in this business any time at all. You should be able to spot the ones here like they caused trouble.
What'd he ask for in the drink?
Bourbon and ginger. I mixed it, collected for it, and then went back to watching the fight.
Had a little bet on it. Always take the white corner with one of the regulars. You know, a couple of bucks.
Mm-hmm.
I'm standing there watching the fight. All of a sudden there's one going on in the room.
This new guy and the fellow next to him. Going at it hot and heavy.
Fine. Go on.
This do any good, you know?
What's that?
Hole in a stake on a black eye. Supposed to take swelling down.
I wouldn't know, sir.
Sure hope so. Guy laid a bottle on my cheek. Feels like he broke something.
You want us to call a doctor for you?
No, I'll check one later. Other cops ask me the same thing. I'm all right.
Sir, would you like to go ahead with the story, please?
Not much more to tell. Place just seemed to explode. I jumped over the bar. I got a billy club in the back.
Grabbed that and jumped over the bar and tried to get the two guys apart.
They were throwing everything they could lay their hands on at each other. Well, look at the place.
You bet if I just put a lock on the door and open up someplace else, it'd be easier.
Just to be sure, would you take a look at these?
Just the man who caused the fight.
Wait a minute. I can't see them good.
Yeah, that's him.
You're pretty sure, are you?
Yeah, Louis Routh. That's the fellow.
This afternoon when we talked to you, you said you didn't know him.
I didn't make much of an impression then. When I saw him in person, I remembered.
Well, he was in here earlier then.
Yeah, same guy.
Did you hear him say anything at all that might help us find him?
No, but you ought to talk to the guy you had the fight with.
Yeah? He went to school with Routh.
We got the name of the man the suspect had the fight with.
We drove over to his home and talked to him.
He explained that he'd been enrolled in a night class with Routh.
We went on to say that they'd met at school when both of them were studying criminology at one of the colleges in the area.
We got what information we could about Routh, and then Frank and I went back to the office.
We tried to contact the school, but we were not able to reach anyone who could check the registration records for us.
The next morning we called the head registrar and asked her to check the records in the college night extension courses for a Louis Routh.
Thirty minutes later she called back with the suspect's address.
Frank and I left the office and drove out to the place, a two-story boarding house out on Adams Boulevard.
Routh had moved, but he'd left a forwarding address.
We drove over there and found that he was still registered.
We got the number of the room and we went upstairs.
Frank stood on one side of the door while I took the other.
Just a minute.
Yeah?
You Louis Routh?
Yeah, what do you want?
Police officers, you're under arrest.
For what?
Spishing the robbery.
How'd you get to me?
We did.
Can I get a coat?
No, you tell us where it is. We'll get it for you.
Closet over there.
I'll get it.
There's a bottle of aspirin in the pocket there. Make sure you don't drop it.
Hangover I got, I'm gonna need something.
Yeah.
I don't think I ever have a headache like this one.
Terrible.
You better get used to it.
Huh?
They're gonna get worse.
Her show up was arranged and all of the victims of the holdups were present.
They all gave positive identifications of Louis Routh as the man who'd held them up.
A complaint was issued by the district attorney's office and on the following Friday, August 2nd,
a preliminary hearing was held in Division 34 of municipal court.
Routh was bound over for the charges filed against him.
September 2nd at 10 a.m., the suspect fled guilty to robbery in the first degree, two counts.
Routh asked for immediate sentence and the judge complied with the request.
He was sent to San Quentin where he went through the clinic.
On recommendation of the authorities at the prison, the board ordered him sent to the penitentiary at Chino, California.
Seven months had passed since his arrest and from what we heard, Routh was a model prisoner.
During that time, we cleaned up a string of loan company holdups
and Frank's children had gone through the chickenpox and several types of virus.
On Sunday, February 23rd, Frank and I were in the office trying to catch up on the detail work.
You got the L.A. number on Lawrence Pichetti?
Yeah.
Wait a minute.
Here they are.
168947.
Six, eight, nine, four, seven.
You sure mean what you say.
Yeah.
Terrible what he did to that kid.
Oh, man.
Robbery Friday?
Yeah, Savage.
Mm-hmm.
When did it happen?
Well, you know how he did it?
All right, we'll check in on it right away.
No, no. Send it down, will you?
Right.
Bye.
Teletype in from Chino.
Yeah?
Roach just broke out of jail.
An immediate watch was put out on all the places Roach was known to frequent.
All officers in the field were supplied with descriptions and pictures of the suspect.
From the story as we got it from the prison officials,
we were able to piece together the method of Roach's escape.
Several months before he'd started on the bank robberies,
he'd gotten work as a day laborer up at Chino.
He managed to bury a gun and several hundred dollars in a watertight container in the prison grounds.
On his arrival at the prison, he'd waited for the right moment,
and then he dug up the weapon and the money and made a break.
He picked Sunday, a day when the prison grounds were crowded with visitors.
Fortunately, there had been no one hurt when Roach had escaped.
However, we knew he was armed and was to be considered dangerous.
Two days after his escape, a man answering his description held up a grocery store.
From the clerk, we obtained a positive identification of Roach.
The next day, he hit again.
This time, he beat one of the clerks in the store when the man refused to open the cash register.
Additional information was forwarded to all law enforcement agencies throughout the area.
Roach's picture was carried on the police television show,
and the daily newspapers cooperated and carried his likeness and description.
Calls began to come into the complaint board from people who thought they'd seen the suspect.
In each instance, the information was checked out and several of the reports appeared authentic.
On Wednesday, March 4th, we got a call from Calvin Niles, the bartender who'd given us the original information on Roach.
Frank and I drove out to see him.
I tried to hold him here, tried my darnest, but he wouldn't go for it.
Did you talk to him at all?
Yeah, I had a couple of words.
What about?
Mainly about the fight he had before he got him.
You know, when he broke up the place?
Talked about that, he said he was sorry about it, told me the other fella caused it.
Said he'd like to be able to pay for it, but he didn't have the money.
I thought he was going to hit me up for a loan.
The way he acted, I thought sure he wanted to make a touch.
Did you see anything at all about where he was staying?
No word.
Didn't give you any indication at all?
Nope.
Was he driving a car?
Nothing I could see.
When he walked out, I went over to the door to see if I could spot anything, but by the time I got out from behind the bar, he disappeared.
Was there a cab stand around here?
A couple of blocks up the street.
Think he might have taken a taxi?
We'll check it.
I don't think he could have gotten that far on the time it took me to get to the door.
I can see that far and I didn't see him.
I don't think he took a taxi.
Did he come in alone?
As far as I could tell, he came in, sat down, ordered a highball, drank it up and left.
I don't think he was here more than five minutes also.
But you're pretty sure there wasn't anybody with him, are you?
Yeah, I had been. I'd have seen him.
Did he look like he was going to meet anybody here?
Not especially.
Did he give you any reason for coming in?
Not right out, he didn't.
How do you mean?
Lucky I did it now, I guess. I didn't plan it that way.
What's that?
I told you, I thought he wanted to make a touch.
I told him I'd just taken the money to the bank, dropped it in the night depository, said I'd cleaned the place out.
He left right after that?
Yeah, finished up his drink and walked out.
Sure got a lot of nerve, you ask me.
What do you mean?
He comes in the place once, breaks it up, then comes back to try to hold it up.
Well, you're not sure about that, are you?
As far as I'm concerned, that's what he came in for.
Can you give us a description of what he was wearing?
Uh, plain blue suit, looked like it was gabardine, two button.
How about a hat?
No, he wasn't wearing one. He had on a white shirt, black knit tie, you know, the narrow kind.
One of those little stick pins shaped like a little ladybug. You know the kind I mean?
Yeah, sir.
One of those.
All right, Mr. Niles, if any more comes up, we'd appreciate a call from him.
You've got it. I'll tell you one thing, Sergeant.
What's that?
After that fight, I did just about everything I could to help business, help pay for the damage.
Yeah, sir.
This is one customer I want to lose.
For the next two days, the search for the suspect went on.
Roaming houses where he might have been staying were checked.
Friends and relatives were interrogated.
Al Gaiten, down in San Diego, was notified, and he alerted the authorities at the border
in the event Rowe tried to escape into Mexico.
In the meantime, a rolling stakeout was set up in the area where the thief had been hitting.
Two more days passed without activity.
On Monday, March 9th, Frank and I were in Unit 1K80, cruising on West Pico.
Sure is a quiet night.
Yeah.
I'll be glad when it's over. I'll get home and hit the sack.
How you coming with the books?
Huh?
Oh, you mean for the Sergeant exam?
Yeah.
Oh, pretty good.
All units, attention. All units, a 211 has just occurred at the grocery store
at the corner of Pico Boulevard and Ottawa Street.
Unit 1R13 handled the call, code 3.
Better hit it.
Yeah.
All units, attention. All units, a 211 has just occurred at the grocery store
at the corner of Pico Boulevard and Ottawa Street.
Unit 1R13 handled the call, code 3.
1K80 to Control 1.
Control 1 to 1K80, go ahead.
Code 6 to Pico Boulevard and Ottawa Street.
Control 1 to 1K80, Roger, KMA 367.
Attention all units, attention all units, be on the lookout for the following described suspect
wounded in connection with 211 at grocery store at Pico Boulevard and Ottawa Street.
Suspect described as WMA 40 or 50 years, size C8 and 1 1 1 1, 150 to 155, medium belt, gray hair.
Suspect is wearing a dark blue suit, snow-packed white shirt, black tie and black shoes.
Suspect has a mole on the left side of his face just above the mouth.
He is carrying a large blue steel revolver, western type.
Suspect believed to be driving a 1952 crack
sedan, dark in color, license number unknown.
The vehicle has a damaged lift rear fender, use caution.
Suspect is considered dangerous, KMA 367.
Sounds like roast, doesn't it?
Yeah.
Hang on.
Here at Pico, the car that just passed us.
Yeah.
Dark Chrysler sedan, damaged left fender.
You better check it.
Right.
Hold it.
It's taken off, you better lean on it.
It doesn't look like it's gonna stop.
Watch it, Frank, the street car.
Is it a close one?
As long as they don't come any closer, huh?
You see him?
Yeah, up ahead.
You gonna try a shot at him?
No, we can't, there's too many people around.
We're pulling up.
All right, hold it steady.
Pull over, police officers.
He doesn't act like he hears you.
It's rolled all right.
Yeah.
Try to cut him off.
All right, come on, ropes, pull over.
All right, cut him off.
All right, hang on.
Come on, pull up, let's go.
You really plowed into that lamppost.
Yeah.
All right, come on, out of the car.
All right, getting out.
Getting out?
I see I've got my hands up in the air.
Throwing like you'd like.
All right, come on, move it.
Come on, put your hands on the car here.
Lean on it.
I'll check it.
Here's the gun, Joe.
All right.
Come on, Ruff, get your hands behind you.
Yeah.
All right, let's go.
I'm about my car.
We'll take care of it.
You're not going to just leave it there, are you?
I wouldn't worry about it.
Huh?
You're not going to be driving it for a while.
Louis Albert Roach was tried and convicted of robbery in the first degree,
four counts, and violation of Section 4530 PC escape.
Robbery in the first degree is punishable by imprisonment
in the State Penitentiary for a period of not less than five years.
Escape from a state prison is punishable by imprisonment
for a period of not less than one year.
Said second term of imprisonment to commence from the time
the prisoner would otherwise have been discharged from said prison.
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