July 31, 2023 • 26 mins
Dragnet, one of the most iconic old-time radio series, captivated audiences during its heyday. Originally airing from 1949 to 1957, with a revival in the 1960s, Dragnet brought a realistic and gritty portrayal of law enforcement to the airwaves. Created and produced by Jack Webb, who also starred as Sergeant Joe Friday, the show followed the investigations of the Los Angeles Police Department. Known for its distinctive rapid-fire dialogue and the infamous line "Just the facts, ma'am," Dragnet presented a no-nonsense approach to solving crimes. With its emphasis on authenticity, the series drew inspiration from actual police cases and featured real stories from the LAPD. This immersive experience, combined with Webb's impeccable delivery, made Dragnet a beloved and enduring radio program, allowing listeners to vicariously experience the challenges and triumphs of law enforcement. Check out all of the great radio programming available to one and all at www.xzbn.net
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Los Angeles MBC Brimsho Gragnet, Ladiesand gentlemen, the story you were aboutle
here is true. The names havebeen changed to protect the innocence. You're
(00:27):
a detective sergeant. You're assigned torobbery detail. You get a call that
a large market has been held up. You have a good description of the
thief. Your jobs get him.Dragnet the documentar drama of an actual crime.
(00:52):
For the next thirty minutes, incooperation with the Los Angeles Police Department,
you will travel step by step onthe side of the law to an
actual case, from official police party, from beginning to end, from fign
to punishment. Drag Mets is thestory of your police force. In action.
(01:14):
Was Monday, Mikes Kant was drainingin Los Angeles. We're working to
day watch out the robbery detail.My partner's Frank Smith. The boss is
Kevin Didion. My name Friday.I was on my way into the office
and it was eight or two amwhen I got to Room twenty seven.
A robbery. Yeah, yeah,Frank, it's really coming down in it
yeah, going out in the valley. That's so yeah. Keep it coming
(01:37):
down like this. It's gonna causea lot of trouble. R makes say,
man, yeah, how's that.Don't get raining like this, and
he begins to think about the house, you know, doing something about it,
changing stuff around. That's so that'sthe whole day yesterday, moving furniture.
Finally got it all stepped us beforedinner. Looks pretty good too.
What happens? Finally got through dinnerand all went into look at television.
Yeah, the way if she hadthe furniture, none of us could see
(02:00):
a thing. A Charis three.That's so close you couldn't see her out.
They were away across the room.Well you're not supposed to get too
clothes, are you anyway? Yeah, but Joey only got a tan at
screen. They got one of thosebig magnifiers on and if you get the
one side, everybody looked like theygot some months. Had to move all
the stuff back to way. Itwas got shot all guys, I get
(02:23):
your coat. We got one toroll on. What is it? Liquor
store? Robbie a twelve am weelided at the seam of the hold up.
It was a large liquor grocery storeat the corner of San Marino Avenue
in sixth Street. The radio.Unip was already there, sang and I
checked with him, and then wetalked with the victim and mister Henry Alden.
I was just standing at the counter. This little guy came in,
(02:45):
pull the guns, told me oneof the money. I gave it to
him. He said in the phonethat he was elderly. Is that right?
Yeah, old guy, I musthave been about sixty five or seventy.
Real bump, What do you mean? Oh it was dressed, you
know, old closed, real CDHuh what if it's like this? What
happened? For sure? It wasabout eight this morning. I opened up
and I was making out the depositsflip for the bank. I walked in
(03:07):
the back door and pulled his gun. Told me one of the money.
Well, I said, I gaveit to him. And he told me
to get into the closet back there, told at the light on on the
floor. I did, and hehad that gun point it right on my
hand. I did like he toldme, and see what happened then while
he walked over to the door andput the lock on her a couple of
times, you know, make sureit works. Yeah, And then he
(03:27):
figured it was okay, and hetold me not to make any noise.
For five minutes he locked the door. Well, I said, took all
the money. How much money didhe take? Would you know? Yeah,
there's a plenty. I just finishedadding it up in just a minute.
We got the figures on the machinetake right away. That is five
(03:50):
thousand, two hundred dollars and fiftytwo cents. That's pretty exactly he said.
The guy came in the back doorthen, right, yeah, that's
right. Well were you opening?I mean, was got open for the
business? No wearing? You seeguy I usually on open before eight thirty.
He's a back door open though fordelivery's bread stuff like that. But
if you can give us a descriptionof the man for sure, Like I
said, he was all older.They around seventy, not in there not.
(04:12):
How tall was he all right sayingmaybe yeah, five to seven,
not much more than there? Howmuch didy way would you know? Not
much? Maybe one hundred and twentyfive? How about his complection, real
tan like you'd be on the sun. Alte face was all wrinkled. How
about the color of his eyes blue? Real blue? Now what about his
clothes? And a real bump hadon this old overcoat brown all frayed around
(04:34):
the sleeves, had a patch onthe right elbow. Pressional fighter was kind
of Dutch surge material. Was hewearing a half yeah? Yeah, blue,
all beat up? You could seethe dirt around the brim. How
about his shirt and shoulders, bluestriped shirt and old kind of brown pants.
No, press, I thought hewas getting ready to jump in a
real CD if it. Did hewear glasses? No, I didn't,
(04:58):
but he clean shaven. Did hewear my thing? Well, I have
about a four or five day oldgrowth of beds of white I see.
Did he have any mictress guys,if you could see? No, nothing
like that, at least not thatI could see. How about the gun
of a revolver and automatic? Well, I looked like an automatic might have
been to forty five. I didn'tlook too close to the Yeah. Did
you have any sort of an accentwhen you're talking? No? No,
(05:19):
nothing like that. Oh, I'mit's all him, So I'll get the
description of right for anything. God, alldon. Did the man say anything
to you that might help identify him? No, not that I can think
of. He kept telling me hewas real sorry he had to do this,
that I'm really sorry, but Ihave to have the money I have
to keep back to me if Iunderstood. I told him no. He
(05:39):
said that some day I would realweird. Kept apologizing while he robbed me.
I see you're the owner here.I no, No, I'm just
a manager owners. Mister Wood,he's gonna be real mad when he hears
about this. Second time in threemonths. We've been held up, getting
a little tired a couple more times, the insurance coming. Here's gonna stand
for answer? Do you usually havethat much money in the store most of
(06:00):
the weekend? Yeah, you see, a lot of our stuff is pretty
expensive. This is about the onlystore in the neighborhood to toping over Sunday
and get a lot of trade.Weekend business usual runs between three and five
thousand. By how many employees outthere in the store? Three all tour.
We should to open until two thirtyin the morning. I come in
in the morning and work until noon. Hand comes in then and there's two
of us until six, and Johncomes in. He works on through want
(06:25):
in a while, mister Wood comesin himself and we'll get busy. What
if I could happen in business?I'm sure they were involved there I'm sure
that, so we have to checkhim out anyway. Materroal him. Yeah
so, but I tell you heknew what he was doing, the way
he moved, Wayne knew just whento come in, and Sto has done
that sort of thing before. Tryingto say he was sorry about taking the
(06:45):
money. He wasn't fooling anyway us, not a soul real bump CD.
You know, he's oh at bologna, abug how he had to have the
money, wasn't any other way.He wasn't sorry, not at all.
Yeah, well probably will be.Nine thirty am. Frank and I started
the canvas of the immediate vicinity.None of the store owners in the area
(07:08):
had seen anyone answering the description ofthe hold up man. None of them
had seen any suspicious cars in thearea. We asked the liquor store manager
to go with us to the cityhall to look at the mug books.
He called the store owner and whenhe arrived, we drove downtown. The
victim went through the mug books onknown hold up man, but failed to
make an identification. A local andan APD were gotten out on the suspect.
(07:28):
We asked the stats office to makea run of the muse and they
came back with fourteen possible. Ittook us two days to check them out.
They let us know where The paperscaught onto the story, and letters
began to pour in with advice andtips. On Monday, March seventeen,
for four week after the robbery,Frank and I had lunch and check back
into the office. See the afternoonpapers. Job, Yeah, pretty funny.
Yeah, I'd taken up the story. Everybody got a different idea of
(07:50):
who the old guy is and whyI did it. We read some of
the stories. Yeah, sure.The only thing is a lot of people
seem to think the old guys arereal Robin Hood, that's all right.
They forget that he walked in thatstore with a gun. Wasn't anybody to
say that he wouldn't have pulled thetrigger. Somebody got in his way.
Yeah, I'm glad and we gethim. Fine out what it's all about,
and I get it. Probably findydeath man. It is no man,
(08:16):
no man, we haven't caught himyet. All of that. Yes
man, h huh? Would yougive me that address again? Yes?
I have it? Deaf man,all right, thank you. There's another
one Landord He runs a place outon Ninth Street, because she's got a
tenant that she's sure the old fellowwe're looking for come, says. All
the old guy does to stay upin his room. The other day the
(08:37):
lanled his daughter went upstairs for somethingtennant, chased it down the stairs.
The only additor to stay away fromhis room and all that. Suddenly he
was tired of people not respecting hisrights, the rights of an old man.
Something. I couldn't get it all. The phone description she gave him
pretty much matches the one we got. What do you figure? We got
no choice. We'll check it out. One fifty eight pm, Frank and
I got to the running house onNinth Street. It was a large force
(09:00):
story building. We talked to thelandlord, didn't. She gave us what
information she could. She told usthat the tenant's name was Roger Dietrich.
She told us that he'd lived inthe building for the past eight years.
She went on to tell us thathe had some sort of a private income,
that he rarely left his room.The landad He explained that earlier the
same morning, for eleven year olddaughter had gone to the attic to get
some old newspapers, and that onthe way she'd run into mister Dietric.
(09:20):
The tenant had yelled at her andtold her that as long as he was
paying run him the room, hewouldn't have anybody snooping around. We checked
and found that he got no manexcept the single letter a month with the
income check. Two thirty pm.Frank and I went up to the fourth
one after the dark. I wantto try it again. Yeah, whoa
(09:43):
whoa work? That's the dtrict whoplay stopted? We like talught to you.
Would you say you were police officer? We'd like to talk to you.
(10:03):
What your name? My name isFriday. This is my partner,
Frank Smith. Uh huh, Iguess it's all right, come here.
Than huh. It's about that thingthis morning, though, sir, Why
you don't have to play kje withme? I know that she called it
the old busy about it, thatback kid about it, just like he's
always snoopy. Well, there wasn'tanything to do it the kid. Come
(10:26):
up, kids, we're snooping aroute and trying to find out what I
was doing. I'm not ready yetwhat he means, are not ready?
No, the book's not finished.Yet it will be in another year and
the whole world can see it.Maybe member ways give me something to hope
to avoid it. But it's coming. Well, that's not why we're here.
(10:46):
Don't don't lie to me. Iknow all about you. I know
that you'd be around. You're tryingto stop me. I knew it.
I knew it all the time.You see that stack of magazine over there,
every copy of Life magazine never printedrights for free. I'd be tracked
it all used for research. Well, I don't quite understand it did that's
(11:07):
for my books? Oh yes,because to be in five volumes called the
Eagles or the Machineries and its effecton mankind. Five volumes, that's a
five volumes, got the first fourvideos working all the last one. Now
that's how I knew you were coming, said, I worked it out on
the on the chart, or we'dlike gothy about what you were doing a
week ago it saying oh you wouldso well, well, yes, I
(11:30):
could get on that. I knewit to be checking me. I knew
it. I saw it in thechart. I'm getting closed now, Well
it's gonna shut up and take notice. Shit right up? Yes, did
you go out last Monday, Monday, Well, yes, yes, I
want out to get some supplies.I thought, can't come right back.
What did you tell us what timeof day? That was? All night?
Yes, I always go out atnice Yes. Where did you get
(11:52):
these? What other supplies? Well, that's a little place Dona sees.
Always buy things that very nice enough. Anything, and the man down there
would be able to tell it ifyou were there with me. Oh sure,
yeah. Here we had to talkabout my book. I was really
interested. We talk all the time. I y, I just finished firing
four. You know about what's gonnahappen to the machine is allowed to continue.
(12:16):
Ah, it's gonna be terrible.I make your fine. The way
the world's going all he's had amob now the Hydrian Bob. I'm gonna
throw the world right away. Evenif they stop bare things, aren't it
gonna be the same? All gonnabe different? All right, He's just
match you. You know what kidsare gonna look like a thousand years now?
(12:39):
Well, I thought, I imaginepretty much the same way to do
it now. Yes, and Ijust where you're wrong. If I picture
right here, it's faring four.You know it's faring four. I'll get
it. Hey, h see,do it up myself? Yeah, well
what is it? Well? Ishe? That's the way we're all gonna
(13:03):
look is he? There as largehere, all brains legal, busy legs.
That's from that. We won't bedoing any walking, you see,
just riding all the time, onegreat big eye right in the middle of
the head and the right arm fitonly for eating breakfast food. It makes
noise. Didn't turn it on thetelevision said to see h cover, Yes,
(13:26):
sir, that's what the charge says. We're gonna look like if we
all eat at a mom Yes,sir, I want if you mind coming
downtime with us. You're an automobile, Yes, sir, I'm afraid not.
You see, I don't breathe him, and I'm gonna last all I'm
time at the day tricks. Butwe have to ask you to go with
us police business. Huh, yes, say that's righte. Well, I
(13:46):
don't like it, but I guessI got no choice. That's that's right.
Yes, say that's fine. Well, all right, that's why I
was gonna ride an automobile. Won'tbe wrong long? You know, I
just saved right away system. Isthat right? Yeah, that's what happens
in my book. Bought him fivethree oh one pm. We go Roger
(14:13):
Detrict down to the City Hall andcheck him to R and I. We
found no record on him. Wegot in touch with the hold up victim,
Henry Alden and asked him to comedown to the City Hall to see
if he could identify this aspect.He got to the Robbie squad room at
four fifteen pm. No, no, I'm sure that that's not the guy.
But what's all this about? Anyway? What are you always trying to
do? Oh? Sor right?Mister Ditrict? Was just conducting a routine
investigation. All right now, ohit is huh, yes, we can
(14:35):
take you home now if you're likein that police star yeah, Sue.
Oh how about this feller? Areyou going to? Oh well maybe all
Vija Bat, would you mind adoptingthe office person's square all I'd like to
listen to the speech friend of Byemakes this this afternoon with him? Man
I, oh my, he's alreadywritten twelve books, all on on odds
(15:01):
on Like, Jim, what arethe chances of a comic falling on your
house? There are? What arethe chances of a stratain horse weren't even
contacted derby all things previous answers.He's dead both right, hell and all
his money on research. I gotit probably Friday, Yeah, bon h
(15:26):
huh, Yeah, when'd you pickhim up? Yeah? All right,
now we'll be right over all right, Yeah, Barn's over to the main
jail. Says they got a drunkover. They were doing a lot of
bragging. What about pisting the liquorstore for fifty two hundred dollars. Four
thirty pm, we had Roger Dietrichtaken to his home, and then Frank
and I went over to the mainjail. We talked to Officer Phil Barnes.
(15:48):
He told us that an Arnold Jeffersonhad been picked up and booked for
l AMC forty one twenty seven Aon the previous day. Mines went on
to say that this was Jefferson's fortysecond arrest on drunk charges. We had
the suspect about to the interview roomand we talked to him. All right,
Jefferson, what's all us about?You hold up a liquor store?
How do you know about it?You metched the description of the man who
committed the robbery. The closed therethat you're wearing it like the ones the
(16:10):
victims described about it. The figurehe's improved about me telling him, yeah,
if Alden identifies your wee can aldhm, he's the man who was robbed.
He's outside now. He wanted himto take a look at you and
don't beget you say he's got theright man. We had the victim,
(16:40):
Henry Aldham, look at the suspect, Donald Jefferson. He identified him positively
as a man who had held upthe liquor store. We took Jefferson back
to the city Hall and checked himto an ane. He had no felony
record. Seven thirty pm. Wetook him to the interrogation room. I
knew you'd get me. Knew itall the time, right, Sure,
I knew it even before held upthe store. You know I didn't read
you wanted to do it. Youknow, I really meant it when I
(17:02):
told him, and I was sorryabout doing it. It really meant it.
Because maybe you find that kind ofhard to believe. I suppose you
tell us about them. Yeah,I guess the best way to be to
start from the beginning here. Yeah, first thing you should understand is,
I think basically that I'm an honestman. All my life. I've never
cheated anyone or taking anything you didn'tbelong to me. I've tried to live
(17:22):
pretty much but the golden rule.Sometimes, maybe lots of times to be
a little hard to do, butI did my best go ahead. I
was born in the Middle West,tiny little town. You probably never heard
of it. He didn't done mostof the map. Went school there through
the eighth grade. Then I decidedthat I want to see the rest of
the country. Worked my way throughevery one of the Party eight. Every
(17:44):
one of them did a lot ofthings, met a lot of people well
all that time. All my life, I never did anything real big,
nothing that I could ever tell anyabout about and be proud, nothing to
tell people about. I'm seventy twoyears old now. It's a long time
to live and never do anything big. Long time. Came downtown one day,
(18:06):
sat in a pleasure and the sun. Met some real nice people,
people like me, people without muchreason that's coming down every day, sitting
and talking, changing ideas. Founda lot of good friends. Most of
them are alone, and I guessbeing alone made us members of the same
club. Have to be started alodge seventeen of us used to meet talk
(18:27):
about things where the world would go, and how things looks for the future,
all things like that. Friends,I'd get along all the time I
live. Oh, I get alittle pension from state, enough to get
along on. I don't need much. Well, one day I got to
thinking about how I didn't really haveanything big to remember. That's when I
decided give me on the robbery.Yeah. I decided that if I could
(18:48):
get my hands on a lot ofmoney, it's a lot of it all
at once, I could have somethingnow. So I started the figure.
First off, I had to figureout what kind of a store to rob
had to be one where I couldget enough money. Thought i'd quite a
while. When I had that figured, I picked up store and then I
case that, right, Yeah,that's right. Well, had I case
the store, figured how I'd doit, and I figured that I'd have
(19:12):
to have guns. Got one,though, a little plastic one bought the
dime store, picked up a shoeblack couldn't hurt anybody, just plastic looked
real, but couldn't hurt anyone.Of course, let them wouldn't know that,
would it? Yeah? I thoughtyou said it about that worried about
it a lot, about how ifthere's any trouble that it'd make it hard
with just a plastic gun, ornot that I wanted to hurt anybody.
(19:34):
I didn't, but I got tothinking what would happen if somebody got scared
and thought it was real? Couldbe trouble there? No, no,
no, Before I go any further, I want you to know that right
at this point, I knew Iwas doing wrong. I knew it,
knew that I'd have to go toGato for what I did. Knew it,
and it didn't matter. Had tobe that way a lot. If
(19:55):
you knew that, why did yougo ahead with a robbery? Wasn't any
other way to get the money?Be none that I I could think of,
Believe me, I tried to thinkof one. Oh, I'd go
ahead, and I held up theplace, took the money, and then
I made the man get in thecloset. Did that so he wouldn't try
to follow me. I was sorryabout it, tried to tell him,
but I don't think he really believedit. I don't think he did.
(20:15):
What did you do? Then?I took a buckshot the airport, thought
about taking a cab. But thenI figured that I'd want to stay as
much money as I could so asto have it later. You know.
I inquired around out there at theairport and found a place where I could
rent airplane. I paid for anadvance or there wouldn't be any trouble.
Hired it to go to San Franciscoround trip both ways. He hired an
(20:36):
airplane yep, big one carried eighteenpeople. That's what I needed, a
real comfortable seats. Two motors hada girl paint on the front from the
wall. I guess, oh God, and I took the buck back to
town, and I started walking aroundthe plaza, rounded up all seventeen of
my friends, whole bunch of things. Talked to them, all guys who
(20:57):
had been nice to me them.There wasn't anything I could do for them.
Told him meet me at first mainright for the fountain from the city
Hall at night. Told him andI was gonna throw a party, a
party they'd never forget. Well,we got together that night and took the
cab about the airport. Well,a matter of fact, it took four
tab had to show the drivers thatI had the money for the tickets.
(21:18):
Yes, they thought he's gonna tryto get a free ride. But anyway,
when I showed him the money,they drove without give him a good
tips. Nice fellers got on theairplane and throw up to San Francisco.
Wonderful, got into the city andthen we started really ahead of time.
Lasted three days but wasn't anything.We didn't see, nothing we didn't do.
(21:40):
Three days of it real living.Everything is on me. They'd for
at all. Went to the bestplaces, they best food, drank finest
mine really lived. What to stay? We here in San Francisco hotel down
on Howard, not the richest intown, but real nice clean rooms.
Ahead. About the time that Ithought we'd stayed long enough, we all
(22:02):
got on the plane, come back, got a Wednesday morning, took cabs
downtown and then we all went tobreakfast. Had a real hopper kind of
a farewell the whole party. AfterI settled up with the wakers, I
only have dollars seven to five left. Give it to her for a tip.
Sure made her happy. I don'tguess she makes much down there.
(22:22):
Yeah, well, there an't tobe a friend. Now you've getten the
money for this party. Oh no, you see you When I first got
the idea, I told him thatI had a real rich brother, told
him that he died and that Iwas his only relative, that all the
money would get to meet. Ifigured that I could start or set things
up by doing that seemed worth allright. None him said anything. Uh
huh. You remember the man youstarted the airplane firm? Oh sure,
(22:44):
real nice fella. I got hiscard. I kept it, started a
souvenir. I can give it toif you want it. Yeah, we'll
have to have it. You've everdone any big time? We? Oh?
No, no, no, justthe gunk arrest, lots of them.
Yeah. Big thing about this isthat I wish there was some way
to keep the boys and find notsure they wouldn't have to know. Of
course I know that I'm not goingto see him again, but just same,
(23:07):
What are they going to think?How are they gonna take this when
they hear about it. I don'tknow. I'm sure we're wrong, really
wrong. How long they put mein jail for? You guys know,
Well, it's depend ben John Wattwhat the court's saying. Oh I still
have to go to prison? Ohhuh yeah verde so h yeah, I
(23:29):
haven't got much left. Yes,no matter what to say, it's gonna
be life for me. Well,so we're not the ones to decide that.
Yes, I know you guys beenreal nice the way. I'm glad
it's over. Like I said before, I knew you'd get me, and
knew it all the time right inthe beginning, gid to figure out how
to be when you did get me. What I'd say, how i'd act.
But it's hard. I thought itwas going to be not hard though.
(23:53):
One thing though, now, what'ssense? I kind of wish I
hadn't done it. I really dothinking of my friends, how they're going
to take it. Yeah, youwant to go You want to take me
back now? Huh yeah, great, we have to. I'm gonna put
me back in the thank gone offthis time upstairs? Yeah upstairs. That
means I'll have a sail all onmyself. Be nice. I'd like to
(24:17):
be alone, not the allside.Jeffersons. Yeah, that's right. Seventy
two years, nothing to show fornothing, only one thing I can.
We're gonna say I did with mylife? What's about? Jeffersons wasted seventy
two years A The story you havejust heard was true. The names were
(25:03):
Jane to protect the illiphants. OnJuly twenty fourth, trial was held in
Department eighty nine, Superior Court ofthe State of California in and for the
County of Los Angeles. In amoment the results of that trial, Arnold
Peter Jefferson was tried and found guiltyof one count of robbery in the second
(25:26):
degree. He was sentenced to thestate penitentiary for the term as prescribed by
law robbery in the second degree aspunishable by imprisonment for a period of not
less than one year. You havejust heard Dragnet, a series of authentic
(25:48):
cases from official fires. Technical advicecomes from the Office of Chief of Police,
w A. Deparker, Los AngelesPolice Department Technical Advisors, Captain Jack
Donahoe, Sergeant Marty wins A,confense Pleacher Hurd. Tonight we have been
Alexander Vic Rodman, Ralph Moody.Scripted by John Robinson, music by Walter
Schumann, hell Given speaking transcribed fromLos Angeles. Dragnet is an NBC Radio Network production
Los Angeles MBC Brimsho Gragnet, Ladiesand gentlemen, the story you were aboutle
here is true. The names havebeen changed to protect the innocence. You're
(00:27):
a detective sergeant. You're assigned torobbery detail. You get a call that
a large market has been held up. You have a good description of the
thief. Your jobs get him.Dragnet the documentar drama of an actual crime.
(00:52):
For the next thirty minutes, incooperation with the Los Angeles Police Department,
you will travel step by step onthe side of the law to an
actual case, from official police party, from beginning to end, from fign
to punishment. Drag Mets is thestory of your police force. In action.
(01:14):
Was Monday, Mikes Kant was drainingin Los Angeles. We're working to
day watch out the robbery detail.My partner's Frank Smith. The boss is
Kevin Didion. My name Friday.I was on my way into the office
and it was eight or two amwhen I got to Room twenty seven.
A robbery. Yeah, yeah,Frank, it's really coming down in it
yeah, going out in the valley. That's so yeah. Keep it coming
(01:37):
down like this. It's gonna causea lot of trouble. R makes say,
man, yeah, how's that.Don't get raining like this, and
he begins to think about the house, you know, doing something about it,
changing stuff around. That's so that'sthe whole day yesterday, moving furniture.
Finally got it all stepped us beforedinner. Looks pretty good too.
What happens? Finally got through dinnerand all went into look at television.
Yeah, the way if she hadthe furniture, none of us could see
(02:00):
a thing. A Charis three.That's so close you couldn't see her out.
They were away across the room.Well you're not supposed to get too
clothes, are you anyway? Yeah, but Joey only got a tan at
screen. They got one of thosebig magnifiers on and if you get the
one side, everybody looked like theygot some months. Had to move all
the stuff back to way. Itwas got shot all guys, I get
(02:23):
your coat. We got one toroll on. What is it? Liquor
store? Robbie a twelve am weelided at the seam of the hold up.
It was a large liquor grocery storeat the corner of San Marino Avenue
in sixth Street. The radio.Unip was already there, sang and I
checked with him, and then wetalked with the victim and mister Henry Alden.
I was just standing at the counter. This little guy came in,
(02:45):
pull the guns, told me oneof the money. I gave it to
him. He said in the phonethat he was elderly. Is that right?
Yeah, old guy, I musthave been about sixty five or seventy.
Real bump, What do you mean? Oh it was dressed, you
know, old closed, real CDHuh what if it's like this? What
happened? For sure? It wasabout eight this morning. I opened up
and I was making out the depositsflip for the bank. I walked in
(03:07):
the back door and pulled his gun. Told me one of the money.
Well, I said, I gaveit to him. And he told me
to get into the closet back there, told at the light on on the
floor. I did, and hehad that gun point it right on my
hand. I did like he toldme, and see what happened then while
he walked over to the door andput the lock on her a couple of
times, you know, make sureit works. Yeah, And then he
(03:27):
figured it was okay, and hetold me not to make any noise.
For five minutes he locked the door. Well, I said, took all
the money. How much money didhe take? Would you know? Yeah,
there's a plenty. I just finishedadding it up in just a minute.
We got the figures on the machinetake right away. That is five
(03:50):
thousand, two hundred dollars and fiftytwo cents. That's pretty exactly he said.
The guy came in the back doorthen, right, yeah, that's
right. Well were you opening?I mean, was got open for the
business? No wearing? You seeguy I usually on open before eight thirty.
He's a back door open though fordelivery's bread stuff like that. But
if you can give us a descriptionof the man for sure, Like I
said, he was all older.They around seventy, not in there not.
(04:12):
How tall was he all right sayingmaybe yeah, five to seven,
not much more than there? Howmuch didy way would you know? Not
much? Maybe one hundred and twentyfive? How about his complection, real
tan like you'd be on the sun. Alte face was all wrinkled. How
about the color of his eyes blue? Real blue? Now what about his
clothes? And a real bump hadon this old overcoat brown all frayed around
(04:34):
the sleeves, had a patch onthe right elbow. Pressional fighter was kind
of Dutch surge material. Was hewearing a half yeah? Yeah, blue,
all beat up? You could seethe dirt around the brim. How
about his shirt and shoulders, bluestriped shirt and old kind of brown pants.
No, press, I thought hewas getting ready to jump in a
real CD if it. Did hewear glasses? No, I didn't,
(04:58):
but he clean shaven. Did hewear my thing? Well, I have
about a four or five day oldgrowth of beds of white I see.
Did he have any mictress guys,if you could see? No, nothing
like that, at least not thatI could see. How about the gun
of a revolver and automatic? Well, I looked like an automatic might have
been to forty five. I didn'tlook too close to the Yeah. Did
you have any sort of an accentwhen you're talking? No? No,
(05:19):
nothing like that. Oh, I'mit's all him, So I'll get the
description of right for anything. God, alldon. Did the man say anything
to you that might help identify him? No, not that I can think
of. He kept telling me hewas real sorry he had to do this,
that I'm really sorry, but Ihave to have the money I have
to keep back to me if Iunderstood. I told him no. He
(05:39):
said that some day I would realweird. Kept apologizing while he robbed me.
I see you're the owner here.I no, No, I'm just
a manager owners. Mister Wood,he's gonna be real mad when he hears
about this. Second time in threemonths. We've been held up, getting
a little tired a couple more times, the insurance coming. Here's gonna stand
for answer? Do you usually havethat much money in the store most of
(06:00):
the weekend? Yeah, you see, a lot of our stuff is pretty
expensive. This is about the onlystore in the neighborhood to toping over Sunday
and get a lot of trade.Weekend business usual runs between three and five
thousand. By how many employees outthere in the store? Three all tour.
We should to open until two thirtyin the morning. I come in
in the morning and work until noon. Hand comes in then and there's two
of us until six, and Johncomes in. He works on through want
(06:25):
in a while, mister Wood comesin himself and we'll get busy. What
if I could happen in business?I'm sure they were involved there I'm sure
that, so we have to checkhim out anyway. Materroal him. Yeah
so, but I tell you heknew what he was doing, the way
he moved, Wayne knew just whento come in, and Sto has done
that sort of thing before. Tryingto say he was sorry about taking the
(06:45):
money. He wasn't fooling anyway us, not a soul real bump CD.
You know, he's oh at bologna, abug how he had to have the
money, wasn't any other way.He wasn't sorry, not at all.
Yeah, well probably will be.Nine thirty am. Frank and I started
the canvas of the immediate vicinity.None of the store owners in the area
(07:08):
had seen anyone answering the description ofthe hold up man. None of them
had seen any suspicious cars in thearea. We asked the liquor store manager
to go with us to the cityhall to look at the mug books.
He called the store owner and whenhe arrived, we drove downtown. The
victim went through the mug books onknown hold up man, but failed to
make an identification. A local andan APD were gotten out on the suspect.
(07:28):
We asked the stats office to makea run of the muse and they
came back with fourteen possible. Ittook us two days to check them out.
They let us know where The paperscaught onto the story, and letters
began to pour in with advice andtips. On Monday, March seventeen,
for four week after the robbery,Frank and I had lunch and check back
into the office. See the afternoonpapers. Job, Yeah, pretty funny.
Yeah, I'd taken up the story. Everybody got a different idea of
(07:50):
who the old guy is and whyI did it. We read some of
the stories. Yeah, sure.The only thing is a lot of people
seem to think the old guys arereal Robin Hood, that's all right.
They forget that he walked in thatstore with a gun. Wasn't anybody to
say that he wouldn't have pulled thetrigger. Somebody got in his way.
Yeah, I'm glad and we gethim. Fine out what it's all about,
and I get it. Probably findydeath man. It is no man,
(08:16):
no man, we haven't caught himyet. All of that. Yes
man, h huh? Would yougive me that address again? Yes?
I have it? Deaf man,all right, thank you. There's another
one Landord He runs a place outon Ninth Street, because she's got a
tenant that she's sure the old fellowwe're looking for come, says. All
the old guy does to stay upin his room. The other day the
(08:37):
lanled his daughter went upstairs for somethingtennant, chased it down the stairs.
The only additor to stay away fromhis room and all that. Suddenly he
was tired of people not respecting hisrights, the rights of an old man.
Something. I couldn't get it all. The phone description she gave him
pretty much matches the one we got. What do you figure? We got
no choice. We'll check it out. One fifty eight pm, Frank and
I got to the running house onNinth Street. It was a large force
(09:00):
story building. We talked to thelandlord, didn't. She gave us what
information she could. She told usthat the tenant's name was Roger Dietrich.
She told us that he'd lived inthe building for the past eight years.
She went on to tell us thathe had some sort of a private income,
that he rarely left his room.The landad He explained that earlier the
same morning, for eleven year olddaughter had gone to the attic to get
some old newspapers, and that onthe way she'd run into mister Dietric.
(09:20):
The tenant had yelled at her andtold her that as long as he was
paying run him the room, hewouldn't have anybody snooping around. We checked
and found that he got no manexcept the single letter a month with the
income check. Two thirty pm.Frank and I went up to the fourth
one after the dark. I wantto try it again. Yeah, whoa
(09:43):
whoa work? That's the dtrict whoplay stopted? We like talught to you.
Would you say you were police officer? We'd like to talk to you.
(10:03):
What your name? My name isFriday. This is my partner,
Frank Smith. Uh huh, Iguess it's all right, come here.
Than huh. It's about that thingthis morning, though, sir, Why
you don't have to play kje withme? I know that she called it
the old busy about it, thatback kid about it, just like he's
always snoopy. Well, there wasn'tanything to do it the kid. Come
(10:26):
up, kids, we're snooping aroute and trying to find out what I
was doing. I'm not ready yetwhat he means, are not ready?
No, the book's not finished.Yet it will be in another year and
the whole world can see it.Maybe member ways give me something to hope
to avoid it. But it's coming. Well, that's not why we're here.
(10:46):
Don't don't lie to me. Iknow all about you. I know
that you'd be around. You're tryingto stop me. I knew it.
I knew it all the time.You see that stack of magazine over there,
every copy of Life magazine never printedrights for free. I'd be tracked
it all used for research. Well, I don't quite understand it did that's
(11:07):
for my books? Oh yes,because to be in five volumes called the
Eagles or the Machineries and its effecton mankind. Five volumes, that's a
five volumes, got the first fourvideos working all the last one. Now
that's how I knew you were coming, said, I worked it out on
the on the chart, or we'dlike gothy about what you were doing a
week ago it saying oh you wouldso well, well, yes, I
(11:30):
could get on that. I knewit to be checking me. I knew
it. I saw it in thechart. I'm getting closed now, Well
it's gonna shut up and take notice. Shit right up? Yes, did
you go out last Monday, Monday, Well, yes, yes, I
want out to get some supplies.I thought, can't come right back.
What did you tell us what timeof day? That was? All night?
Yes, I always go out atnice Yes. Where did you get
(11:52):
these? What other supplies? Well, that's a little place Dona sees.
Always buy things that very nice enough. Anything, and the man down there
would be able to tell it ifyou were there with me. Oh sure,
yeah. Here we had to talkabout my book. I was really
interested. We talk all the time. I y, I just finished firing
four. You know about what's gonnahappen to the machine is allowed to continue.
(12:16):
Ah, it's gonna be terrible.I make your fine. The way
the world's going all he's had amob now the Hydrian Bob. I'm gonna
throw the world right away. Evenif they stop bare things, aren't it
gonna be the same? All gonnabe different? All right, He's just
match you. You know what kidsare gonna look like a thousand years now?
(12:39):
Well, I thought, I imaginepretty much the same way to do
it now. Yes, and Ijust where you're wrong. If I picture
right here, it's faring four.You know it's faring four. I'll get
it. Hey, h see,do it up myself? Yeah, well
what is it? Well? Ishe? That's the way we're all gonna
(13:03):
look is he? There as largehere, all brains legal, busy legs.
That's from that. We won't bedoing any walking, you see,
just riding all the time, onegreat big eye right in the middle of
the head and the right arm fitonly for eating breakfast food. It makes
noise. Didn't turn it on thetelevision said to see h cover, Yes,
(13:26):
sir, that's what the charge says. We're gonna look like if we
all eat at a mom Yes,sir, I want if you mind coming
downtime with us. You're an automobile, Yes, sir, I'm afraid not.
You see, I don't breathe him, and I'm gonna last all I'm
time at the day tricks. Butwe have to ask you to go with
us police business. Huh, yes, say that's righte. Well, I
(13:46):
don't like it, but I guessI got no choice. That's that's right.
Yes, say that's fine. Well, all right, that's why I
was gonna ride an automobile. Won'tbe wrong long? You know, I
just saved right away system. Isthat right? Yeah, that's what happens
in my book. Bought him fivethree oh one pm. We go Roger
(14:13):
Detrict down to the City Hall andcheck him to R and I. We
found no record on him. Wegot in touch with the hold up victim,
Henry Alden and asked him to comedown to the City Hall to see
if he could identify this aspect.He got to the Robbie squad room at
four fifteen pm. No, no, I'm sure that that's not the guy.
But what's all this about? Anyway? What are you always trying to
do? Oh? Sor right?Mister Ditrict? Was just conducting a routine
investigation. All right now, ohit is huh, yes, we can
(14:35):
take you home now if you're likein that police star yeah, Sue.
Oh how about this feller? Areyou going to? Oh well maybe all
Vija Bat, would you mind adoptingthe office person's square all I'd like to
listen to the speech friend of Byemakes this this afternoon with him? Man
I, oh my, he's alreadywritten twelve books, all on on odds
(15:01):
on Like, Jim, what arethe chances of a comic falling on your
house? There are? What arethe chances of a stratain horse weren't even
contacted derby all things previous answers.He's dead both right, hell and all
his money on research. I gotit probably Friday, Yeah, bon h
(15:26):
huh, Yeah, when'd you pickhim up? Yeah? All right,
now we'll be right over all right, Yeah, Barn's over to the main
jail. Says they got a drunkover. They were doing a lot of
bragging. What about pisting the liquorstore for fifty two hundred dollars. Four
thirty pm, we had Roger Dietrichtaken to his home, and then Frank
and I went over to the mainjail. We talked to Officer Phil Barnes.
(15:48):
He told us that an Arnold Jeffersonhad been picked up and booked for
l AMC forty one twenty seven Aon the previous day. Mines went on
to say that this was Jefferson's fortysecond arrest on drunk charges. We had
the suspect about to the interview roomand we talked to him. All right,
Jefferson, what's all us about?You hold up a liquor store?
How do you know about it?You metched the description of the man who
committed the robbery. The closed therethat you're wearing it like the ones the
(16:10):
victims described about it. The figurehe's improved about me telling him, yeah,
if Alden identifies your wee can aldhm, he's the man who was robbed.
He's outside now. He wanted himto take a look at you and
don't beget you say he's got theright man. We had the victim,
(16:40):
Henry Aldham, look at the suspect, Donald Jefferson. He identified him positively
as a man who had held upthe liquor store. We took Jefferson back
to the city Hall and checked himto an ane. He had no felony
record. Seven thirty pm. Wetook him to the interrogation room. I
knew you'd get me. Knew itall the time, right, Sure,
I knew it even before held upthe store. You know I didn't read
you wanted to do it. Youknow, I really meant it when I
(17:02):
told him, and I was sorryabout doing it. It really meant it.
Because maybe you find that kind ofhard to believe. I suppose you
tell us about them. Yeah,I guess the best way to be to
start from the beginning here. Yeah, first thing you should understand is,
I think basically that I'm an honestman. All my life. I've never
cheated anyone or taking anything you didn'tbelong to me. I've tried to live
(17:22):
pretty much but the golden rule.Sometimes, maybe lots of times to be
a little hard to do, butI did my best go ahead. I
was born in the Middle West,tiny little town. You probably never heard
of it. He didn't done mostof the map. Went school there through
the eighth grade. Then I decidedthat I want to see the rest of
the country. Worked my way throughevery one of the Party eight. Every
(17:44):
one of them did a lot ofthings, met a lot of people well
all that time. All my life, I never did anything real big,
nothing that I could ever tell anyabout about and be proud, nothing to
tell people about. I'm seventy twoyears old now. It's a long time
to live and never do anything big. Long time. Came downtown one day,
(18:06):
sat in a pleasure and the sun. Met some real nice people,
people like me, people without muchreason that's coming down every day, sitting
and talking, changing ideas. Founda lot of good friends. Most of
them are alone, and I guessbeing alone made us members of the same
club. Have to be started alodge seventeen of us used to meet talk
(18:27):
about things where the world would go, and how things looks for the future,
all things like that. Friends,I'd get along all the time I
live. Oh, I get alittle pension from state, enough to get
along on. I don't need much. Well, one day I got to
thinking about how I didn't really haveanything big to remember. That's when I
decided give me on the robbery.Yeah. I decided that if I could
(18:48):
get my hands on a lot ofmoney, it's a lot of it all
at once, I could have somethingnow. So I started the figure.
First off, I had to figureout what kind of a store to rob
had to be one where I couldget enough money. Thought i'd quite a
while. When I had that figured, I picked up store and then I
case that, right, Yeah,that's right. Well, had I case
the store, figured how I'd doit, and I figured that I'd have
(19:12):
to have guns. Got one,though, a little plastic one bought the
dime store, picked up a shoeblack couldn't hurt anybody, just plastic looked
real, but couldn't hurt anyone.Of course, let them wouldn't know that,
would it? Yeah? I thoughtyou said it about that worried about
it a lot, about how ifthere's any trouble that it'd make it hard
with just a plastic gun, ornot that I wanted to hurt anybody.
(19:34):
I didn't, but I got tothinking what would happen if somebody got scared
and thought it was real? Couldbe trouble there? No, no,
no, Before I go any further, I want you to know that right
at this point, I knew Iwas doing wrong. I knew it,
knew that I'd have to go toGato for what I did. Knew it,
and it didn't matter. Had tobe that way a lot. If
(19:55):
you knew that, why did yougo ahead with a robbery? Wasn't any
other way to get the money?Be none that I I could think of,
Believe me, I tried to thinkof one. Oh, I'd go
ahead, and I held up theplace, took the money, and then
I made the man get in thecloset. Did that so he wouldn't try
to follow me. I was sorryabout it, tried to tell him,
but I don't think he really believedit. I don't think he did.
(20:15):
What did you do? Then?I took a buckshot the airport, thought
about taking a cab. But thenI figured that I'd want to stay as
much money as I could so asto have it later. You know.
I inquired around out there at theairport and found a place where I could
rent airplane. I paid for anadvance or there wouldn't be any trouble.
Hired it to go to San Franciscoround trip both ways. He hired an
(20:36):
airplane yep, big one carried eighteenpeople. That's what I needed, a
real comfortable seats. Two motors hada girl paint on the front from the
wall. I guess, oh God, and I took the buck back to
town, and I started walking aroundthe plaza, rounded up all seventeen of
my friends, whole bunch of things. Talked to them, all guys who
(20:57):
had been nice to me them.There wasn't anything I could do for them.
Told him meet me at first mainright for the fountain from the city
Hall at night. Told him andI was gonna throw a party, a
party they'd never forget. Well,we got together that night and took the
cab about the airport. Well,a matter of fact, it took four
tab had to show the drivers thatI had the money for the tickets.
(21:18):
Yes, they thought he's gonna tryto get a free ride. But anyway,
when I showed him the money,they drove without give him a good
tips. Nice fellers got on theairplane and throw up to San Francisco.
Wonderful, got into the city andthen we started really ahead of time.
Lasted three days but wasn't anything.We didn't see, nothing we didn't do.
(21:40):
Three days of it real living.Everything is on me. They'd for
at all. Went to the bestplaces, they best food, drank finest
mine really lived. What to stay? We here in San Francisco hotel down
on Howard, not the richest intown, but real nice clean rooms.
Ahead. About the time that Ithought we'd stayed long enough, we all
(22:02):
got on the plane, come back, got a Wednesday morning, took cabs
downtown and then we all went tobreakfast. Had a real hopper kind of
a farewell the whole party. AfterI settled up with the wakers, I
only have dollars seven to five left. Give it to her for a tip.
Sure made her happy. I don'tguess she makes much down there.
(22:22):
Yeah, well, there an't tobe a friend. Now you've getten the
money for this party. Oh no, you see you When I first got
the idea, I told him thatI had a real rich brother, told
him that he died and that Iwas his only relative, that all the
money would get to meet. Ifigured that I could start or set things
up by doing that seemed worth allright. None him said anything. Uh
huh. You remember the man youstarted the airplane firm? Oh sure,
(22:44):
real nice fella. I got hiscard. I kept it, started a
souvenir. I can give it toif you want it. Yeah, we'll
have to have it. You've everdone any big time? We? Oh?
No, no, no, justthe gunk arrest, lots of them.
Yeah. Big thing about this isthat I wish there was some way
to keep the boys and find notsure they wouldn't have to know. Of
course I know that I'm not goingto see him again, but just same,
(23:07):
What are they going to think?How are they gonna take this when
they hear about it. I don'tknow. I'm sure we're wrong, really
wrong. How long they put mein jail for? You guys know,
Well, it's depend ben John Wattwhat the court's saying. Oh I still
have to go to prison? Ohhuh yeah verde so h yeah, I
(23:29):
haven't got much left. Yes,no matter what to say, it's gonna
be life for me. Well,so we're not the ones to decide that.
Yes, I know you guys beenreal nice the way. I'm glad
it's over. Like I said before, I knew you'd get me, and
knew it all the time right inthe beginning, gid to figure out how
to be when you did get me. What I'd say, how i'd act.
But it's hard. I thought itwas going to be not hard though.
(23:53):
One thing though, now, what'ssense? I kind of wish I
hadn't done it. I really dothinking of my friends, how they're going
to take it. Yeah, youwant to go You want to take me
back now? Huh yeah, great, we have to. I'm gonna put
me back in the thank gone offthis time upstairs? Yeah upstairs. That
means I'll have a sail all onmyself. Be nice. I'd like to
(24:17):
be alone, not the allside.Jeffersons. Yeah, that's right. Seventy
two years, nothing to show fornothing, only one thing I can.
We're gonna say I did with mylife? What's about? Jeffersons wasted seventy
two years A The story you havejust heard was true. The names were
(25:03):
Jane to protect the illiphants. OnJuly twenty fourth, trial was held in
Department eighty nine, Superior Court ofthe State of California in and for the
County of Los Angeles. In amoment the results of that trial, Arnold
Peter Jefferson was tried and found guiltyof one count of robbery in the second
(25:26):
degree. He was sentenced to thestate penitentiary for the term as prescribed by
law robbery in the second degree aspunishable by imprisonment for a period of not
less than one year. You havejust heard Dragnet, a series of authentic
(25:48):
cases from official fires. Technical advicecomes from the Office of Chief of Police,
w A. Deparker, Los AngelesPolice Department Technical Advisors, Captain Jack
Donahoe, Sergeant Marty wins A,confense Pleacher Hurd. Tonight we have been
Alexander Vic Rodman, Ralph Moody.Scripted by John Robinson, music by Walter
Schumann, hell Given speaking transcribed fromLos Angeles. Dragnet is an NBC Radio Network production
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