Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:07):
Ladies and gentlemen. The story you're about to hear is true.
The names have been changed to protect the innocent. Drag
Met is brought to you by Chesterfield, made by Ligott
and Myers, first major tobacco company to bring you a
complete line of quality cigarettes. You're a detective sergeant. You're
(00:34):
signed a robbery detail. A supermarket in your city has
been robbed. The thief for a disguise. You don't know
who he is or what he looks like. Your job
find him today. Friends, You hear these three words everywhere.
Chesterfield's for me. The Chesterfield you smoke today is the
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good record with smokers, proven by test after test. Yes, Friends,
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Join the thousands now changing to Chesterfield always say Chesterfield's
for me.
Speaker 2 (01:47):
Drag Mat The document a drama of an actual crime.
For the next thirty 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 finance, from beginning to end, from crime
to punishment, Dragnet is the story of your police force
in action.
Speaker 3 (02:12):
It was Wednesday, August thirteenth. It was warm in Los Angeles.
We were working the day watch out of robbery detail.
My partner's Frank Smith, the boss, a chiev Detective stad Round.
My name was Friday. I was on my way into
the office. It was seven fifty eight am when I
got to room twenty seven a robbery.
Speaker 1 (02:26):
Wondered, Frank, have you been in law about ten minutes?
There gonna be a hot one to day And then yeah,
that's what the paper says.
Speaker 4 (02:33):
Anything in the book.
Speaker 1 (02:34):
No, how about those mugs they come in from Burton.
Speaker 4 (02:38):
Yeah, I put them in your box, Thank you.
Speaker 3 (02:41):
Should you take a look at him?
Speaker 4 (02:45):
Hey, Frank, what I said? Did you see the mugs? Oh? No,
all right, what's the matter, Faye? What happened? Tell you
know me?
Speaker 1 (02:57):
You know how I feel about Faye, So you gotta
know it. Didn't mean anything by it.
Speaker 4 (03:01):
If he didn't mean anything, certainly not.
Speaker 1 (03:02):
It's the fatherest thing from my mind. What was what
she thought I meant? You know, Joe, sometimes I think
they just don't understand me. Well, I don't understand either
on this one.
Speaker 4 (03:11):
Oh that's right. You weren't there. So he got to
thinking to myself. You were, you know I do.
Speaker 1 (03:17):
I got to thinking to myself, and we got a problem,
you know, trying to think your old buddy knows all
about it. Yeah, so I gotta fill you in. I'll
tell you all about it right now.
Speaker 4 (03:24):
Yeah. You see, after.
Speaker 1 (03:26):
Dinner last night, we had those Swedish meatballs that they
make so good?
Speaker 4 (03:29):
What meatballs?
Speaker 1 (03:30):
Swedish ones? Oh yeah, I know, I had those out. Yeah,
I wondered, very good, excellent. Well, after dinner last night,
we went in the living room, sat down to watch
the television. I switched on the set and I kind
of arranged the pillows and settled back. A couple of
minutes later, Fay comes in with a box on those
big flat ones like dresses.
Speaker 4 (03:47):
Come in. You know, she bought a new dress, Joe.
That's why she.
Speaker 3 (03:51):
Fixed the meatballs. I don't know how this is going
to end. But up to here I must be on
face side.
Speaker 4 (03:56):
I guess. Yeah, well I don't understand any of it. Oh, well,
i'll straighten that out.
Speaker 1 (04:01):
You see, whenever she wants me to go along with
something she's already done, she always makes Swedish meatballs.
Speaker 4 (04:06):
Well I could figure that part out. What was in
the box? A dress? Joe? She bought a dress? Oh
it was a dress.
Speaker 1 (04:13):
Yeah, she opened up the box, she shows it to me,
told me how she bought it on sale. Do you
ever notice every time a woman buys a dress, it's
always on sale.
Speaker 3 (04:22):
No, I can't see as I ever have. Well, believe me, buddy,
it always is on sale, on sale. I don't want
you to go through the whole day with this on
your mind. But if you don't get to the point
the three time horses sign.
Speaker 1 (04:33):
Out and talk about well, I didn't mean anything but nothing.
She held the dress up for me to see, and
all I did I just said, what size is it?
Speaker 4 (04:41):
You know how you do? Well?
Speaker 1 (04:43):
Look at these mugshots? Now, wait a minute, I want
to finish. Ask me what I was mad about. I
wanted to tell you. I asked her what size the
dress was? She told me it was a twelve.
Speaker 4 (04:51):
A twelve, A twelve.
Speaker 1 (04:53):
Yeah, So I just kind of casually mentioned that when
we got married she wore nine. That's all I said,
that she wore at nine. Wan, look at the mug shots. Now, no,
wait a minute, well do you help me with this thing?
So used to being partners. If you can't help a
little will look at the mug shots. When we were married,
she wore a nine, and she just flipped her wig Joe.
Speaker 4 (05:13):
She got real mad, walked out of the room, right
out of the room.
Speaker 1 (05:16):
Yeah, yes, she thought. I meant she was getting fat.
Speaker 4 (05:20):
Yes, she did. She was mad, hot shot. I'll get it.
Let's go corner of Grand View and Union, Eh. Hold up.
Speaker 3 (05:36):
By the time we got to the supermarket, a broadcast
carrying the description of the suspect had been gotten out
to all cars in the city. A small crowd of
people had gathered in front of the store, and the
officers from the radio unch were attempting to keep him
back from the entrance. An ambulance had been called, and
when we got there, the attendants were giving emergency treatment
to the day manager of the store.
Speaker 4 (05:52):
He'd been struck on the.
Speaker 3 (05:53):
Left side of the head just above the ear by
the suspect when he made his getaway. The attendant told
us that the man was suffering from a mild concussion.
Frank and I entered the store and talked to one
of the policemen who was there. He led us back
to a small office in the rear of the place,
where we met the other two victims. One was the
cashier of the store, Irma Watson. The other was the
man who had the meat concession in the store, Tom Spence.
We asked him to tell us what happened.
Speaker 1 (06:13):
First thing I saw him was round the park, mccar
and a lot. Guy was standing right beside door.
Speaker 5 (06:18):
That's right, just standing there, commas could be. I saw
him when I opened up the place.
Speaker 4 (06:22):
You want to go ahead?
Speaker 5 (06:23):
Well, I unlocked the door and we all came in.
Man did too, just walk right in.
Speaker 1 (06:27):
We don't normally let people come in for eight hardly ever,
but since Jerrold was there, we figured he could take
care of the man.
Speaker 4 (06:32):
I mean, Jerald's the man the ambulance.
Speaker 1 (06:34):
Yeah, that's right, Pull up, fellow, gi him an awful
cloud on the head. Give him concussion. Concussion the head.
Speaker 5 (06:39):
Tell you something about that too.
Speaker 4 (06:41):
What's that? Ms Watson.
Speaker 5 (06:42):
I don't really think Cherl's hit that hard. I think
he's just putting on to get sympathy.
Speaker 6 (06:45):
Now, that ain't right? Not good say things like that.
Speaker 5 (06:48):
Maybe not, but I tell you remember remember the time
he cut his finger when he was moving the cases
of empty soda pop bottles. Yeah, well you were there,
had to rush him to the hospital, have his hands
sewn up. A lot of foolishness. Peace, but he's would
have taken care of it. Sympathy that's what he wants.
Speaker 1 (07:03):
Uh.
Speaker 4 (07:03):
Can we go on with what we were talking about?
What happened after he came in the store, please?
Speaker 5 (07:07):
Well I went upstairs and I turned on the lights.
Speaker 6 (07:09):
Have to turn 'em off from up their officers up there.
Speaker 5 (07:11):
That's where I were. Mmmm, turned on the lights, then
come down to open the safe.
Speaker 4 (07:15):
Is that your job to open the safe in the morning? Yeah?
And she's cashier, yes, sir. What happened then?
Speaker 1 (07:20):
Well, Gerald was going out back to open the delivery door.
I was over in the meat section kind of straightening up.
Speaker 4 (07:25):
Where was the hole up? Man?
Speaker 5 (07:26):
During this time, we're just kind of strolling around looking
at the different displays up and down the aisse just looking.
Speaker 1 (07:32):
Gerald opened up the back door and come back. Asked
the fella if there's something specially he's looking for. The
guy said he wanted to know where they the left
the van Chovi was. Gerald told him, fella went back
to get something.
Speaker 4 (07:43):
That's what Gerald thought. But we know different now.
Speaker 6 (07:45):
Yeah, a lot different.
Speaker 4 (07:46):
Thought. Where'd you go on? Please?
Speaker 5 (07:48):
Well? I was upstairs counting the receipts from yesterday, getting
the bank statement ready.
Speaker 6 (07:52):
Irma's cashier, Yeah, yeah, we know.
Speaker 4 (07:54):
Would you go on please? Well?
Speaker 5 (07:56):
First thing, I know, the man standing right behind me
holding this gun pointed right at me. You can just
bet he liked to scared me out of my wits.
Speaker 6 (08:02):
Must have been terrible, Irma, it was.
Speaker 5 (08:04):
I just turned around and there he was with this gun,
just about scared me to death.
Speaker 4 (08:07):
That's when he asked you for the money? Did he He.
Speaker 5 (08:08):
Didn't ask He just told me to put in a
wooden box. He had just put it in the box.
Speaker 4 (08:12):
What did he say? What were his exact words?
Speaker 5 (08:14):
Well, he just kind of walked over and said, put
the money in the box, and don't cause no trouble.
This is a stick up.
Speaker 4 (08:19):
Like that, he said, it's Irma did just what he said.
Speaker 5 (08:21):
Yes, sir, I gave him the money, dumped it all
in the box, just like he said. Then he told
me to lay down on the floor, just told me
to lay down and not to make any noise. He'd
come back and kill me. I think he had done
it too.
Speaker 6 (08:30):
I think he would have Irma.
Speaker 5 (08:31):
That's why I did what he said, flatten the floor.
Speaker 4 (08:34):
Did he have the box when he came in.
Speaker 1 (08:35):
Yeah, I had it under his arm out down behind
the meat counter. And all of a sudden, I heard
this scream.
Speaker 4 (08:39):
That was me.
Speaker 5 (08:41):
I let out a yelling, and Tom here heard it, so.
Speaker 1 (08:43):
Gerald we kind of looked at each other, and then
I grabbed a meat cleve and starved up the stairs.
I didn't know what was wrong, but I didn't know
Irma was in trouble. I appreciate that, Tom, and I
knew you're in trouble. And now came her on and
got the stairs, come up to the office, and then
I saw him. He was just coming down. He still
had the gun, did he Yeah, I had a gun
in the box. I didn't know what was in it
at that time, but I had an idea. I just
(09:04):
hefted the Cleveland and started upstairs, stopped when he saw me,
stopped writing his tracks.
Speaker 5 (09:08):
Tom's awful brave.
Speaker 1 (09:10):
So he told me to get out of his where
else he killed me? Where he was pointing that gun around.
Kind of believed him, so I backed down the stairs
and him right behind me. All the time he had
that gun pointed at me.
Speaker 4 (09:20):
Where was the manager all this time?
Speaker 5 (09:22):
You mean Gerald?
Speaker 6 (09:23):
I don't know.
Speaker 4 (09:24):
I was upstairs.
Speaker 6 (09:25):
No, I saw him. He's down to the cash register
in front.
Speaker 1 (09:28):
He saw this guy coming down the stairs, and he
ran for the phone to call the police. Fellow saw
him and he took off after Gerald. I thought he
was gonna shoot him, but he didn't. Just hit him,
give him a concussion of the head. He's after sympathy.
That's all one hour. You're wrong, I've seen it. He
give Gerald an awful hit right along here, real hard.
Speaker 4 (09:45):
Which way did the man go after he left the
store place?
Speaker 6 (09:48):
He ran down that way down Union?
Speaker 4 (09:49):
Uh? Huh? Or was he describe the man for us?
Speaker 7 (09:52):
Well, it was about five feet shake a little better
if you told us one of the time, I guess
you'd never get it that way A little difficult, So
you go ahead.
Speaker 5 (09:59):
Irma well, I I told the other policeman. He was
about the funniest looking little man I ever saw.
Speaker 6 (10:03):
Real little or not really, I think he just kind
of hunched over.
Speaker 5 (10:07):
Well, he looked little.
Speaker 4 (10:08):
About how tall was he?
Speaker 6 (10:09):
Oh about five point eight maybe nine, I guess.
Speaker 5 (10:11):
That's about right. Tell him about the way he was dressed.
Speaker 6 (10:14):
Oh?
Speaker 1 (10:14):
Yeah, had on this black overcoat and the hat all
pulled down over his eyes.
Speaker 4 (10:19):
The hat, I mean, what color was his hair? Do
you remember?
Speaker 6 (10:21):
Well, what I could see of it was kind of blonde,
light colored.
Speaker 5 (10:24):
Yeah, that's right. And he had a mustang Yeah.
Speaker 4 (10:26):
Real big.
Speaker 1 (10:27):
Looked like the old fashioned kind like people wore when
I was a kid, you know, handlebar black, real black. Well,
he left the start. Did you notice that he got
into a car? Yeah, he did. I saw him run
down the street and jump in one dark color I'm
not sure what kind it was. I think it might've
been a Hutching Lake model.
Speaker 5 (10:43):
I saw that. I was looking out the side window upstairs,
and I saw the same thing.
Speaker 4 (10:47):
Did you tell the other officers about it? Well? I
didn't neither, Did you die? I guess I better got
out of broadcast on it. Yeah, she happened to get
the license number of the car. Yeah, that's where.
Speaker 1 (10:54):
I went to work. Got it written down right here
on my apron. She numbers ain't too plane, But you
can make him.
Speaker 4 (11:01):
Out, No, sir, I can. You'll have to help me there.
Speaker 5 (11:05):
I got it too right here. I saw him getting
the car, and I wrote it down.
Speaker 4 (11:10):
Thank you.
Speaker 6 (11:11):
Having the number of the car is going to make
it easier to catch PI, l ain't it.
Speaker 5 (11:13):
They should make it a snap to find out who
owns the car and that's the man.
Speaker 3 (11:17):
Well, it's not going to be that easy, in friend,
both numbers are different. A supplemental broadcast was gotten out
carrying both the license numbers that the victims had gotten.
Frank put in a call to DMV asking him to
forward all information on the numbers. The crime lab crew
came out and went over the place for fingerprints, but
they were not able to turn up anything that we
could use. We continued to question the butcher and the cashier.
(11:40):
We got a complete description of the thief. The one
outstanding thing that both of them agreed on was the mustache.
Both said that it was a direct contrast to the
color of the man's hair and said that it might
have been darkened with shoe polish or some kind of grease.
People in the vicinity were questioned, but none of them
were able to supply us with any new information. The
injured manager was removed to Georgia Street Receiving Hospital for
emergent treatment and then referred to his own doctor.
Speaker 4 (12:02):
Frank and I.
Speaker 3 (12:03):
Talked to him, but he only verified the story that
we've gotten from the other two people in the store.
Twelve forty five pm, we returned to the City Hall
and asked the Staft's office to start a run on
them for us. The victims were asked to go through
the mug books, but they were not able to identify
any of the photographs.
Speaker 4 (12:17):
Frank and I spent the.
Speaker 3 (12:18):
Rest of the day talking to the other storekeepers in
the vicinity of the robbery. We asked each of them
if they'd seen anyone loitering in the area, anyone who
looks suspicious. From each of them, we got the same answer.
None of them could help us in establishing the identity
of the suspect. The kickback on the license number came
in from Sacramento, but when we checked out the information,
we were no closer to apprehending the thief. The next morning, Thursday,
August fourteenth, Frank and I met in the squad room.
Speaker 4 (12:40):
Hi, Joe one, how's my old buddy this morning?
Speaker 3 (12:44):
I'm all right, sound happy? The problem with face straight
and now? Oh yeah, sure, got home last night.
Speaker 4 (12:48):
Everything's great, all right? They started last night. What's that?
They and me?
Speaker 1 (12:53):
We're going on a diet. Both gonna lose little weight.
Oh that's nice, yeah, lose little weight.
Speaker 4 (12:58):
Anything new in the market?
Speaker 3 (12:59):
Hole lift, No, the stat's officer had finished the run
for us this morning. When you start checking out the.
Speaker 4 (13:02):
Possibles, it's a good thing. I wore my walking shoes. Huh,
I get it. Robbery Friday. Yeah, mm no, that's right. No,
that's a right. We'd like to hear it.
Speaker 1 (13:14):
M yeah, sure, all right, we'll be out and see you.
No right away, all right, thank.
Speaker 4 (13:21):
You very much. Bye.
Speaker 1 (13:22):
Well you got cashier out of the market. That Erma Watson, Yeah,
might have something for us.
Speaker 4 (13:26):
What's that? She says?
Speaker 3 (13:28):
She thinks she knows who the suspect is. Frank and
I drove out to the market. We went upstairs at
the office in the rear of the store and met
Erma Watson. She was seated at a desk with a
large ledger book opened in front of her.
Speaker 5 (13:41):
I got to thinking it over last night after I
got home about the hold up man. Yes, ma'am, there
was something about him that we acted and talked and
made me think I knew who he was, that I'd
seen him someplace before.
Speaker 4 (13:50):
Uh huh, lady.
Speaker 5 (13:51):
Most of the night just thinking about it, and then
all of a sudden it came to me right out
of the air. It came to me, yes, ma'am, go ahead, Well,
I knew where where's it? I thought I knew him
from where, ma'am. Right here in the store.
Speaker 4 (14:03):
You mean he's a customer, No, he works for us.
Speaker 5 (14:05):
Right here in the store. That's where I've seen him.
Mustache kind of fooled me for a minute, but not
for long. I remembered what's the man's name? I didn't
remember that, Oh, I see, not last night. But I
came down here this morning and started through the books
and came upon it. Got it right here. Take a
look for yourself.
Speaker 4 (14:22):
See right there, that's Jed Ellsworth.
Speaker 5 (14:25):
That's him. I'm sure of it.
Speaker 4 (14:26):
We's Ellsworth's work here now.
Speaker 5 (14:28):
Well, yes, and no, ma'am, well he does and he doesn't.
He still got the job, but he ain't working right now.
Got a leave of absence. He's got ulcers, said he
wanted to get him taken care of. Said he had
to go out of town and see a specialist get
his ulcers fixed.
Speaker 4 (14:40):
I see when'd he leave last week?
Speaker 5 (14:42):
See? I got it right here. Last day he worked
was Wednesday, August sixth. That was the last day.
Speaker 4 (14:47):
Do you have his home address?
Speaker 5 (14:48):
You just bet got it right here, wrote all the
information out for you.
Speaker 4 (14:52):
Thank you very much.
Speaker 5 (14:53):
It's him. I'm sure of it.
Speaker 4 (14:55):
All right, miss Watson. We'll check into it.
Speaker 5 (14:57):
Only thing I can't figure out is that mustache. What's
a the mustache? I can't figure out how he could
have grown it so fast. Takes longer than a week
to get a mustache like that, doesn't it.
Speaker 4 (15:05):
It depends on what where you buy it.
Speaker 3 (15:11):
Frank and I returned to the office to run the
name jed Elsworth through the record bureau. While Frank went
through the packages, checking the description we've gotten of the suspect,
I went down to the stat's office and picked up
the list of possibles that they had for us. Ten
twenty six am. I met Thank back at the R
and I encounter. Right, how's it going? It looks like
we got a live one. Got a jed Elsworth here,
pretty close to the description. Yeah, record in the East
(15:31):
Saint louis done big time back there.
Speaker 4 (15:33):
Nothing locally though, windy fall forth. I'm robbery.
Speaker 2 (15:45):
You are listening to Dragnet, the authentic story of your
police force election.
Speaker 1 (15:49):
Meet the Tom Harmon's You know Tom as Michigan's All
American football star, now a top sports announcer. Missus Harmon
is the motion picture and television star at Least Knocks.
They're typical of people everywhere who are saying Chesterfields for me.
Speaker 5 (16:05):
I like regular size Chesterfields half for years. They're best
for me, at least I think so because of that
Chesterfield quality.
Speaker 7 (16:14):
That's the way I feel about them too. I've always
smoked Chesterfields. Now I go for the king size. Yes,
I like a longer smoke.
Speaker 1 (16:23):
So whether you smoke regular size like at Least Knocks,
or king size like Tom Harmon and Joy America's most
popular two way cigarette, Chesterfields for me, you hear it everywhere.
The Chesterfield you smoked today is the best cigarette ever
made for the taste.
Speaker 7 (16:42):
You want the mildness. You want join the thousands. Now
changing to Chesterfield.
Speaker 3 (16:58):
We sent an immediate request to the authorities Saint Louis
ask him that they forward all available information on their suspect,
Jed Ellsworth. One fifteen pm, Frank and I drove out
to the address we've been given him by the cashier
at the supermarket. Was a one story of redwood house
in the Beverly Glen area. We rang the front door bell.
Speaker 4 (17:14):
Yes, we'd like to see Jed Elsworth.
Speaker 5 (17:16):
He's not here.
Speaker 4 (17:17):
Well, you know where we can reach him.
Speaker 5 (17:19):
What's just a boudy in trouble again, ma'am jet in
trouble again.
Speaker 4 (17:22):
We'd like to talk to him. Please your cops or
police officers.
Speaker 5 (17:26):
Uh, huh, figures what's he done this time?
Speaker 4 (17:28):
Oh, it's just a routine. We wanna ask him a
couple of questions. Where is he?
Speaker 6 (17:31):
I don't know, Well, he lives.
Speaker 4 (17:32):
Here, doesn't he?
Speaker 5 (17:33):
Yeah, I don't know where he is. I haven't seen
him since day before. Yesterday's packed up and left. I
don't know where he went.
Speaker 4 (17:38):
Well, didn't he give you any idea where he was going?
Speaker 5 (17:40):
None? Went through my purse up but money. I hadn't
shoved off. Don't much matter to me. If I never
see him again, I'd probably be better off.
Speaker 4 (17:47):
I wonder if we could see his things?
Speaker 5 (17:49):
Do you mean when he left esp? Sure, come on in.
D're in his room. I'm about to throw him out.
I don't want him, and I don't think he'll be
back for him this time? Down the hall, this way,
Thank you, man? What are you after him for?
Speaker 4 (18:04):
We'll be a little better if we talk to him.
Speaker 5 (18:05):
Sure, don't matter to me. I'm through with him. Nothing
but trouble with cops since we've been married. I didn't
know he had a record when I met him. It
wasn't til after we got married. I found out he
was a jail bird. Right after we got married, the
cops started coming around.
Speaker 4 (18:19):
Asking questions, how long have you been married?
Speaker 5 (18:22):
Eighteen months? D him back in Saint Louis. That's been
right after he got out of jail. I didn't know
what saying. I wish they dead. Wouldn't have nothing to
do with him, Give me nothing but trouble.
Speaker 4 (18:32):
Would you know if he has any people in California.
Speaker 5 (18:35):
That I ever saw? He never talked about him.
Speaker 4 (18:37):
Does he drive a car?
Speaker 5 (18:38):
Jed, Yes, ma'am. No, he didn't know him one. Never
he needed one to go to one of these rental agencies.
Rent one. This is his room, steps there on the bed.
Speaker 4 (18:47):
Thank you, I'll check it.
Speaker 5 (18:49):
I'm gonna throw it all out. Anything now you want,
just take it with you.
Speaker 4 (18:52):
I don't think I will be necessary.
Speaker 5 (18:53):
Well, the offer is still good. What you don't take,
i'll throw up.
Speaker 4 (18:56):
Your husband got any close friends at all in town?
Speaker 5 (18:58):
Yeah, got a lot of bums.
Speaker 4 (19:00):
Can you give us their names?
Speaker 5 (19:01):
Only one name? I know, Larry jessep him and Jed
used to peal around all the time. I think his
job at the store took up too much pal time.
That's the reason Jed quit.
Speaker 4 (19:10):
Understand your husband had trouble with his stomach.
Speaker 5 (19:11):
You yeah, ul sir.
Speaker 4 (19:13):
Was he under the care of a doctor?
Speaker 5 (19:15):
Uh huh, all the time, taking pills and eating special things.
Got to the point where nothing I cooked was right
for the ulcer. We did nothing but fight all the time,
miserable eighteen months. I'm glad he's gone and never see
him again. It'll be a week too soon.
Speaker 4 (19:27):
Can you give us the doctor's name?
Speaker 5 (19:29):
Yeah, it's some one of the bills there. Got it
in with the rest of 'em reminds me, can you
answer me something? Well?
Speaker 4 (19:34):
What's that?
Speaker 5 (19:35):
Am I responsible for his bills? The ones he ran
up himself without my help? I gotta pay him?
Speaker 3 (19:40):
Well, man, that's not a police problem. You better check
with a lawyer on there.
Speaker 5 (19:43):
Oh yar, yes, ma'am. More expense. Seems like all I
do is put out money for him. Oh, I'm glad
he's gone.
Speaker 4 (19:49):
You haven't pickt tureule.
Speaker 5 (19:50):
You mean like a snare shot, Yes, ma'am. No, Jed
wouldn't let nobody take pictures of him. Said it was
bad luck.
Speaker 4 (19:55):
M Yeah, I mustached, didn't he nothing?
Speaker 1 (19:59):
Say?
Speaker 5 (19:59):
No?
Speaker 4 (19:59):
It is all Yeah. You know what's on these dictograph records? Oh?
Speaker 5 (20:03):
Those are mine? I'm a stenographer. Sometimes I do work
at home, as are mine. Huh's letters? So one thing
he ever did for me?
Speaker 4 (20:09):
What's it? Made?
Speaker 5 (20:10):
That box for records? Real big thing took him all
day to make it, just a plain simple wooden box.
Either thought it was a taj Ma hall. Only thing
he ever did for me.
Speaker 4 (20:17):
You see your husband get many phone calls here?
Speaker 5 (20:20):
No, I said, you've noticed Larry'd call once in a while.
I told you there was real Pali.
Speaker 4 (20:25):
Did you ever hear any of the conversations by any chance,
Just still on this end. You know what they were
talking about?
Speaker 5 (20:30):
Not too good. They used to get a real secret,
you know, low voices. They were planning something. No, I
don't know what it was, but they were playing it something.
Speaker 4 (20:37):
Oh it was fell of Jessipe drive a car.
Speaker 5 (20:39):
Yeah you know what, kid, Yeah, New Hudson.
Speaker 3 (20:48):
We got the address of the suspect's friend, and then
we drove back to the city hall. We made arrangements
for a stake out to be placed on the house,
in addition to asking Missus Ellsworth to call us in
the event that she heard from her husband. But ran
the name Lawrence Jessup threw our and eye and we
came up with a criminal record for him that listed
several arrests for burgery.
Speaker 4 (21:02):
And auto theft.
Speaker 3 (21:03):
According to his package, he'd never been convicted in California.
We sent a teletype up to George Breton, CII and
Sacramento asking for further information on the man. Four fifty pm,
Frank and I left the office and drove out to
the address giving us with the suspect's wife was a
large boarding house in the Hollywood Hills area. We talked
to the landlady. She told us Jessep wasn't in, but
she expected him by six pm. We asked if she'd
(21:24):
never seen a man answering jed Elsworth's description, she said
that such a man was a frequent visitor in Jessop's room.
Five pm, Frank and I and the company in the landlady.
Speaker 4 (21:32):
Checked the room. We found nothing to tie Jessap in
with a robbery.
Speaker 3 (21:36):
We waited for him. Five fifty eight pm. He came
up the stairs and opened the door. What are you
guys doing here? Police officers? Is Frank Smith, My name
is Friday.
Speaker 6 (21:44):
I still want to know what you're doing here.
Speaker 4 (21:45):
Got a couple of questions we want to ask you.
Speaker 7 (21:47):
Jessep, go ahead, I got nothing to hide. Ask where's
jed Elsworth?
Speaker 6 (21:51):
I don't know. I haven't seen him a couple of days.
Speaker 3 (21:52):
Why understand you two a pretty good friends. We're friends,
guys are off his rocker? How do you mean that
what I said? You only got out of the can
a couple of years ago.
Speaker 6 (22:00):
Go right away. He's doing his best to get back in.
Speaker 4 (22:01):
That right sure.
Speaker 7 (22:02):
A couple of days ago he called said he had
to see me right away, had a big idea for
both of us make a lot of money. Yeah, well,
I don't want to have to work all my life.
So I told him I'd listen. Laid out this big
deal where he could knock off a supermarket, told me
he had it all planned, how it all work out.
Speaker 6 (22:15):
Real good, couldn't miss. I told him I didn't want
no part of it.
Speaker 7 (22:19):
I could sure he use a doll yeah, but not
to take a chance on going to jail for it.
Already got a record. I had enough to do with
cops to last me the rest of my life.
Speaker 4 (22:26):
Been lucky the.
Speaker 7 (22:26):
Last couple of times it didn't fall. But I don't
want to press. I'm punching a clock now, and that's
where it's gonna be. I told him that they said
he was gonna go ahead with the job. No, I
just said I was crazy not to pick up some
easy money. He hurd telling him, says that, Yeah, so
I'm yesterday. He came over in the morning, told me
to forget all about the market job. Said he realized
it was wrong, asked me to drive him out to Pomona.
What Ford, he say, Yeah, he said he'd walked down
on Hazel Uh that's his wife. Yeah, we know, said
(22:49):
he left her and we was going to Pomona. I
had a job out there. You drive him, yeah, to
a motel there. I can show it to you if
you want, because he's still there.
Speaker 1 (22:55):
I don't know.
Speaker 6 (22:55):
As far as I know he is. That's where I
left him, sitting out there counting his money. What money?
Speaker 7 (23:00):
He told me he drew all the dough out of
his in Hazel's account, said she wasn't going to get
any of it. Must have had about four thousand bucks.
Speaker 4 (23:06):
You know what bank he had the money in.
Speaker 7 (23:07):
No, I didn't say. I didn't know him and Hazel
had that much. Of course, she works pretty hard, drifty,
you know. Jed always said she was stingy. A lot
of money had it in this wooden box, all stacked
in their really hard to believes about the box. Jed's
about the laziest guy I ever knew, last one to
work with his hands. Sure proud of it though, said
he made the box himself.
Speaker 3 (23:31):
Larry, Jessip Frank and I drove out to the motel
and Pomona. We checked with a manager, but founded the
suspect had checked out that morning. Fortunately the room had
not been cleaned yet, and we went over it on
a shelf in a closet, we found the wooden box
that Jessup had spoken of was a duplicate of the
one that we'd seen at the suspect's home. We told
the manager we were taking it with us and asked
her to notify us in the event Ellsworth returned. We
asked if he had a car when he left. The
(23:52):
manager told us he didn't, but that he had asked
for the name of some automobile rental agencies in Promoona.
Jessup and I went out to our car and waited
for Frank to come back.
Speaker 4 (23:59):
From the suspect.
Speaker 6 (24:00):
Sure looks like he pulled a robbery. Huh.
Speaker 4 (24:02):
It seems to fit him real good, doesn't it. Joe? Yeah,
look at that?
Speaker 7 (24:07):
Found it out of the bed, only black mustache.
Speaker 3 (24:14):
We checked with the automobile rental agencies in the area.
None of them had seen a man answering the suspects description.
We asked him the call us if such a man
did come in. We drove by Elzoru's house and picked
up the wooden box that he'd made for his wife's
dictograph records. Both of the containers were taken to the
crime lab for comparison. We drove to the market that
had been held up. All three of the victims were
shown the false mistache that we'd found in the motel.
All three said it was identical with the one that
(24:35):
the hold up man had worn. After his investigation, Lee
Jones said that the two wooden boxes were cut from
the same piece of three ply wood. Paint particles on
the wood mask. The nails used were made by the
same machine. The box we found at the motel was
shown to both the butcher and the cashier. They said
that it was the same one that the thief had carried.
A local and an APB were put out on the suspect,
(24:55):
asking that he'd be picked up for suspicion of robbery.
For the next three days, valance on the suspects house
was maintained. All of missus Elsworth's activities were observed. Sunday,
August seventeenth, we got a call that the suspect's wife
had left the house carrying a suit case. The officers
on stakeout followed her to the subway terminal in downtown
Los Angeles. We met them there. Missus Elsworth walked down
(25:16):
to the landing and appeared to be waiting. Frank and
I took over the surveillance. We waited nine thirty pm,
ten ten fifteen, ten eighteen pm. Joh, yeah, I see
it looks like the description. Yeah, going towards his wife. Right,
let's let him get together. Yeah, yeah, let's say him.
Speaker 4 (25:34):
Come on, hey, Caesars, Yeah, get out of it.
Speaker 1 (25:41):
Come on right, right, Ellsworth, hold it up, police officers,
come on, drop the gun.
Speaker 4 (25:46):
Ellsworth, you're not gonna get out of here. Let's give
it back to him. Come on night, he's hurt. Yeah,
I'll get an ambulance. Right he did.
Speaker 5 (25:59):
Did you kill him?
Speaker 4 (26:00):
Now we've sent for an ambulance.
Speaker 5 (26:01):
Didn't want to get hurt. I didn't get hurt.
Speaker 4 (26:03):
Once you calls when you heard from him, No, I
don't know.
Speaker 5 (26:07):
He said, if I met him, and give me some
money so I could pay the bills for you. He
was gonna give me some money. I was gonna call
you after I got the money. I was gonna call.
Speaker 4 (26:14):
Yeah. Sure, you were a chance to.
Speaker 5 (26:16):
Get out for Mondon. Get even. He didn't care when
we were together. I was the one who worried about it.
He never cared. He never paid a bill.
Speaker 3 (26:23):
Don't no worry, He's gonna pay this one.
Speaker 1 (26:32):
The story you've just heard is true. The names were
changed to protect the innocent.
Speaker 2 (26:37):
On January seventeenth, trial was held in Department ninety seven,
Superior Court of the State of California in and for
the County of Los Angeles. In a moment the results
of that trial. Now here is our star, Jack Webb.
Speaker 4 (26:49):
Thank you. George Fenneman.
Speaker 3 (26:50):
You know the Chesterfield you smoke today is the best
cigarette ever made and best for you. Now that's a fact,
and to my way of thinking, it's the very reason
for you to change to Chesterfield. Try him either way
regular or King size. If you try umph, I think
you'll say with all of us, Chester feels for me.
Speaker 2 (27:14):
Jed Warren Ellsworth was tried and convicted of robbery in
the first degree and received sentence as prescribed by law.
Robbery and the first degree is punishable by imprisonment in
the state penitentiary for a period of from five years
to life. You have just heard Dragnet a series of
(27:48):
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 Winns,
Sergeant FAM's Racer. Heard tonight were Been Alexander, Ralph Moody,
June Whitley, script by John Robinson, music by Walter Schumann.
(28:08):
Hell give me speaking. Watch an entirely different.
Speaker 1 (28:13):
Dragnet case history each week on your local NBC television station.
Please check your newspapers for the day and time Chesterfield
has brought you Dragnet. Transcribed from Los Angeles filter tip smokers.
This is it.
Speaker 7 (28:30):
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plenty of good taste, much more flavor, much less nicotine,
and effective filtration. Only the L and M filter contains
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Speaker 4 (28:51):
Yes, this is it.
Speaker 7 (28:53):
As Helen Hayes puts it, L and M filters are
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the distinguished monogram cigarette. L and M Filters America's highest
quality and best filter tip cigarette.
Speaker 1 (29:25):
Here Rocky Fortune, following John Cameron, Swayzee and the News
on the NBC Radio Network
Ladies and gentlemen. The story you're about to hear is true.
The names have been changed to protect the innocent. Drag
Met is brought to you by Chesterfield, made by Ligott
and Myers, first major tobacco company to bring you a
complete line of quality cigarettes. You're a detective sergeant. You're
(00:34):
signed a robbery detail. A supermarket in your city has
been robbed. The thief for a disguise. You don't know
who he is or what he looks like. Your job
find him today. Friends, You hear these three words everywhere.
Chesterfield's for me. The Chesterfield you smoke today is the
(00:57):
best cigarette ever made. Best for you because Chesterfield gives
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Chesterfield is best for you because it has an established
(01:21):
good record with smokers, proven by test after test. Yes, Friends,
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made for the taste you want, the mildness you want.
Join the thousands now changing to Chesterfield always say Chesterfield's
for me.
Speaker 2 (01:47):
Drag Mat The document a drama of an actual crime.
For the next thirty 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 finance, from beginning to end, from crime
to punishment, Dragnet is the story of your police force
in action.
Speaker 3 (02:12):
It was Wednesday, August thirteenth. It was warm in Los Angeles.
We were working the day watch out of robbery detail.
My partner's Frank Smith, the boss, a chiev Detective stad Round.
My name was Friday. I was on my way into
the office. It was seven fifty eight am when I
got to room twenty seven a robbery.
Speaker 1 (02:26):
Wondered, Frank, have you been in law about ten minutes?
There gonna be a hot one to day And then yeah,
that's what the paper says.
Speaker 4 (02:33):
Anything in the book.
Speaker 1 (02:34):
No, how about those mugs they come in from Burton.
Speaker 4 (02:38):
Yeah, I put them in your box, Thank you.
Speaker 3 (02:41):
Should you take a look at him?
Speaker 4 (02:45):
Hey, Frank, what I said? Did you see the mugs? Oh? No,
all right, what's the matter, Faye? What happened? Tell you
know me?
Speaker 1 (02:57):
You know how I feel about Faye, So you gotta
know it. Didn't mean anything by it.
Speaker 4 (03:01):
If he didn't mean anything, certainly not.
Speaker 1 (03:02):
It's the fatherest thing from my mind. What was what
she thought I meant? You know, Joe, sometimes I think
they just don't understand me. Well, I don't understand either
on this one.
Speaker 4 (03:11):
Oh that's right. You weren't there. So he got to
thinking to myself. You were, you know I do.
Speaker 1 (03:17):
I got to thinking to myself, and we got a problem,
you know, trying to think your old buddy knows all
about it. Yeah, so I gotta fill you in. I'll
tell you all about it right now.
Speaker 4 (03:24):
Yeah. You see, after.
Speaker 1 (03:26):
Dinner last night, we had those Swedish meatballs that they
make so good?
Speaker 4 (03:29):
What meatballs?
Speaker 1 (03:30):
Swedish ones? Oh yeah, I know, I had those out. Yeah,
I wondered, very good, excellent. Well, after dinner last night,
we went in the living room, sat down to watch
the television. I switched on the set and I kind
of arranged the pillows and settled back. A couple of
minutes later, Fay comes in with a box on those
big flat ones like dresses.
Speaker 4 (03:47):
Come in. You know, she bought a new dress, Joe.
That's why she.
Speaker 3 (03:51):
Fixed the meatballs. I don't know how this is going
to end. But up to here I must be on
face side.
Speaker 4 (03:56):
I guess. Yeah, well I don't understand any of it. Oh, well,
i'll straighten that out.
Speaker 1 (04:01):
You see, whenever she wants me to go along with
something she's already done, she always makes Swedish meatballs.
Speaker 4 (04:06):
Well I could figure that part out. What was in
the box? A dress? Joe? She bought a dress? Oh
it was a dress.
Speaker 1 (04:13):
Yeah, she opened up the box, she shows it to me,
told me how she bought it on sale. Do you
ever notice every time a woman buys a dress, it's
always on sale.
Speaker 3 (04:22):
No, I can't see as I ever have. Well, believe me, buddy,
it always is on sale, on sale. I don't want
you to go through the whole day with this on
your mind. But if you don't get to the point
the three time horses sign.
Speaker 1 (04:33):
Out and talk about well, I didn't mean anything but nothing.
She held the dress up for me to see, and
all I did I just said, what size is it?
Speaker 4 (04:41):
You know how you do? Well?
Speaker 1 (04:43):
Look at these mugshots? Now, wait a minute, I want
to finish. Ask me what I was mad about. I
wanted to tell you. I asked her what size the
dress was? She told me it was a twelve.
Speaker 4 (04:51):
A twelve, A twelve.
Speaker 1 (04:53):
Yeah, So I just kind of casually mentioned that when
we got married she wore nine. That's all I said,
that she wore at nine. Wan, look at the mug shots. Now, no,
wait a minute, well do you help me with this thing?
So used to being partners. If you can't help a
little will look at the mug shots. When we were married,
she wore a nine, and she just flipped her wig Joe.
Speaker 4 (05:13):
She got real mad, walked out of the room, right
out of the room.
Speaker 1 (05:16):
Yeah, yes, she thought. I meant she was getting fat.
Speaker 4 (05:20):
Yes, she did. She was mad, hot shot. I'll get it.
Let's go corner of Grand View and Union, Eh. Hold up.
Speaker 3 (05:36):
By the time we got to the supermarket, a broadcast
carrying the description of the suspect had been gotten out
to all cars in the city. A small crowd of
people had gathered in front of the store, and the
officers from the radio unch were attempting to keep him
back from the entrance. An ambulance had been called, and
when we got there, the attendants were giving emergency treatment
to the day manager of the store.
Speaker 4 (05:52):
He'd been struck on the.
Speaker 3 (05:53):
Left side of the head just above the ear by
the suspect when he made his getaway. The attendant told
us that the man was suffering from a mild concussion.
Frank and I entered the store and talked to one
of the policemen who was there. He led us back
to a small office in the rear of the place,
where we met the other two victims. One was the
cashier of the store, Irma Watson. The other was the
man who had the meat concession in the store, Tom Spence.
We asked him to tell us what happened.
Speaker 1 (06:13):
First thing I saw him was round the park, mccar
and a lot. Guy was standing right beside door.
Speaker 5 (06:18):
That's right, just standing there, commas could be. I saw
him when I opened up the place.
Speaker 4 (06:22):
You want to go ahead?
Speaker 5 (06:23):
Well, I unlocked the door and we all came in.
Man did too, just walk right in.
Speaker 1 (06:27):
We don't normally let people come in for eight hardly ever,
but since Jerrold was there, we figured he could take
care of the man.
Speaker 4 (06:32):
I mean, Jerald's the man the ambulance.
Speaker 1 (06:34):
Yeah, that's right, Pull up, fellow, gi him an awful
cloud on the head. Give him concussion. Concussion the head.
Speaker 5 (06:39):
Tell you something about that too.
Speaker 4 (06:41):
What's that? Ms Watson.
Speaker 5 (06:42):
I don't really think Cherl's hit that hard. I think
he's just putting on to get sympathy.
Speaker 6 (06:45):
Now, that ain't right? Not good say things like that.
Speaker 5 (06:48):
Maybe not, but I tell you remember remember the time
he cut his finger when he was moving the cases
of empty soda pop bottles. Yeah, well you were there,
had to rush him to the hospital, have his hands
sewn up. A lot of foolishness. Peace, but he's would
have taken care of it. Sympathy that's what he wants.
Speaker 1 (07:03):
Uh.
Speaker 4 (07:03):
Can we go on with what we were talking about?
What happened after he came in the store, please?
Speaker 5 (07:07):
Well I went upstairs and I turned on the lights.
Speaker 6 (07:09):
Have to turn 'em off from up their officers up there.
Speaker 5 (07:11):
That's where I were. Mmmm, turned on the lights, then
come down to open the safe.
Speaker 4 (07:15):
Is that your job to open the safe in the morning? Yeah?
And she's cashier, yes, sir. What happened then?
Speaker 1 (07:20):
Well, Gerald was going out back to open the delivery door.
I was over in the meat section kind of straightening up.
Speaker 4 (07:25):
Where was the hole up? Man?
Speaker 5 (07:26):
During this time, we're just kind of strolling around looking
at the different displays up and down the aisse just looking.
Speaker 1 (07:32):
Gerald opened up the back door and come back. Asked
the fella if there's something specially he's looking for. The
guy said he wanted to know where they the left
the van Chovi was. Gerald told him, fella went back
to get something.
Speaker 4 (07:43):
That's what Gerald thought. But we know different now.
Speaker 6 (07:45):
Yeah, a lot different.
Speaker 4 (07:46):
Thought. Where'd you go on? Please?
Speaker 5 (07:48):
Well? I was upstairs counting the receipts from yesterday, getting
the bank statement ready.
Speaker 6 (07:52):
Irma's cashier, Yeah, yeah, we know.
Speaker 4 (07:54):
Would you go on please? Well?
Speaker 5 (07:56):
First thing, I know, the man standing right behind me
holding this gun pointed right at me. You can just
bet he liked to scared me out of my wits.
Speaker 6 (08:02):
Must have been terrible, Irma, it was.
Speaker 5 (08:04):
I just turned around and there he was with this gun,
just about scared me to death.
Speaker 4 (08:07):
That's when he asked you for the money? Did he He.
Speaker 5 (08:08):
Didn't ask He just told me to put in a
wooden box. He had just put it in the box.
Speaker 4 (08:12):
What did he say? What were his exact words?
Speaker 5 (08:14):
Well, he just kind of walked over and said, put
the money in the box, and don't cause no trouble.
This is a stick up.
Speaker 4 (08:19):
Like that, he said, it's Irma did just what he said.
Speaker 5 (08:21):
Yes, sir, I gave him the money, dumped it all
in the box, just like he said. Then he told
me to lay down on the floor, just told me
to lay down and not to make any noise. He'd
come back and kill me. I think he had done
it too.
Speaker 6 (08:30):
I think he would have Irma.
Speaker 5 (08:31):
That's why I did what he said, flatten the floor.
Speaker 4 (08:34):
Did he have the box when he came in.
Speaker 1 (08:35):
Yeah, I had it under his arm out down behind
the meat counter. And all of a sudden, I heard
this scream.
Speaker 4 (08:39):
That was me.
Speaker 5 (08:41):
I let out a yelling, and Tom here heard it, so.
Speaker 1 (08:43):
Gerald we kind of looked at each other, and then
I grabbed a meat cleve and starved up the stairs.
I didn't know what was wrong, but I didn't know
Irma was in trouble. I appreciate that, Tom, and I
knew you're in trouble. And now came her on and
got the stairs, come up to the office, and then
I saw him. He was just coming down. He still
had the gun, did he Yeah, I had a gun
in the box. I didn't know what was in it
at that time, but I had an idea. I just
(09:04):
hefted the Cleveland and started upstairs, stopped when he saw me,
stopped writing his tracks.
Speaker 5 (09:08):
Tom's awful brave.
Speaker 1 (09:10):
So he told me to get out of his where
else he killed me? Where he was pointing that gun around.
Kind of believed him, so I backed down the stairs
and him right behind me. All the time he had
that gun pointed at me.
Speaker 4 (09:20):
Where was the manager all this time?
Speaker 5 (09:22):
You mean Gerald?
Speaker 6 (09:23):
I don't know.
Speaker 4 (09:24):
I was upstairs.
Speaker 6 (09:25):
No, I saw him. He's down to the cash register
in front.
Speaker 1 (09:28):
He saw this guy coming down the stairs, and he
ran for the phone to call the police. Fellow saw
him and he took off after Gerald. I thought he
was gonna shoot him, but he didn't. Just hit him,
give him a concussion of the head. He's after sympathy.
That's all one hour. You're wrong, I've seen it. He
give Gerald an awful hit right along here, real hard.
Speaker 4 (09:45):
Which way did the man go after he left the
store place?
Speaker 6 (09:48):
He ran down that way down Union?
Speaker 4 (09:49):
Uh? Huh? Or was he describe the man for us?
Speaker 7 (09:52):
Well, it was about five feet shake a little better
if you told us one of the time, I guess
you'd never get it that way A little difficult, So
you go ahead.
Speaker 5 (09:59):
Irma well, I I told the other policeman. He was
about the funniest looking little man I ever saw.
Speaker 6 (10:03):
Real little or not really, I think he just kind
of hunched over.
Speaker 5 (10:07):
Well, he looked little.
Speaker 4 (10:08):
About how tall was he?
Speaker 6 (10:09):
Oh about five point eight maybe nine, I guess.
Speaker 5 (10:11):
That's about right. Tell him about the way he was dressed.
Speaker 6 (10:14):
Oh?
Speaker 1 (10:14):
Yeah, had on this black overcoat and the hat all
pulled down over his eyes.
Speaker 4 (10:19):
The hat, I mean, what color was his hair? Do
you remember?
Speaker 6 (10:21):
Well, what I could see of it was kind of blonde,
light colored.
Speaker 5 (10:24):
Yeah, that's right. And he had a mustang Yeah.
Speaker 4 (10:26):
Real big.
Speaker 1 (10:27):
Looked like the old fashioned kind like people wore when
I was a kid, you know, handlebar black, real black. Well,
he left the start. Did you notice that he got
into a car? Yeah, he did. I saw him run
down the street and jump in one dark color I'm
not sure what kind it was. I think it might've
been a Hutching Lake model.
Speaker 5 (10:43):
I saw that. I was looking out the side window upstairs,
and I saw the same thing.
Speaker 4 (10:47):
Did you tell the other officers about it? Well? I
didn't neither, Did you die? I guess I better got
out of broadcast on it. Yeah, she happened to get
the license number of the car. Yeah, that's where.
Speaker 1 (10:54):
I went to work. Got it written down right here
on my apron. She numbers ain't too plane, But you
can make him.
Speaker 4 (11:01):
Out, No, sir, I can. You'll have to help me there.
Speaker 5 (11:05):
I got it too right here. I saw him getting
the car, and I wrote it down.
Speaker 4 (11:10):
Thank you.
Speaker 6 (11:11):
Having the number of the car is going to make
it easier to catch PI, l ain't it.
Speaker 5 (11:13):
They should make it a snap to find out who
owns the car and that's the man.
Speaker 3 (11:17):
Well, it's not going to be that easy, in friend,
both numbers are different. A supplemental broadcast was gotten out
carrying both the license numbers that the victims had gotten.
Frank put in a call to DMV asking him to
forward all information on the numbers. The crime lab crew
came out and went over the place for fingerprints, but
they were not able to turn up anything that we
could use. We continued to question the butcher and the cashier.
(11:40):
We got a complete description of the thief. The one
outstanding thing that both of them agreed on was the mustache.
Both said that it was a direct contrast to the
color of the man's hair and said that it might
have been darkened with shoe polish or some kind of grease.
People in the vicinity were questioned, but none of them
were able to supply us with any new information. The
injured manager was removed to Georgia Street Receiving Hospital for
emergent treatment and then referred to his own doctor.
Speaker 4 (12:02):
Frank and I.
Speaker 3 (12:03):
Talked to him, but he only verified the story that
we've gotten from the other two people in the store.
Twelve forty five pm, we returned to the City Hall
and asked the Staft's office to start a run on
them for us. The victims were asked to go through
the mug books, but they were not able to identify
any of the photographs.
Speaker 4 (12:17):
Frank and I spent the.
Speaker 3 (12:18):
Rest of the day talking to the other storekeepers in
the vicinity of the robbery. We asked each of them
if they'd seen anyone loitering in the area, anyone who
looks suspicious. From each of them, we got the same answer.
None of them could help us in establishing the identity
of the suspect. The kickback on the license number came
in from Sacramento, but when we checked out the information,
we were no closer to apprehending the thief. The next morning, Thursday,
August fourteenth, Frank and I met in the squad room.
Speaker 4 (12:40):
Hi, Joe one, how's my old buddy this morning?
Speaker 3 (12:44):
I'm all right, sound happy? The problem with face straight
and now? Oh yeah, sure, got home last night.
Speaker 4 (12:48):
Everything's great, all right? They started last night. What's that?
They and me?
Speaker 1 (12:53):
We're going on a diet. Both gonna lose little weight.
Oh that's nice, yeah, lose little weight.
Speaker 4 (12:58):
Anything new in the market?
Speaker 3 (12:59):
Hole lift, No, the stat's officer had finished the run
for us this morning. When you start checking out the.
Speaker 4 (13:02):
Possibles, it's a good thing. I wore my walking shoes. Huh,
I get it. Robbery Friday. Yeah, mm no, that's right. No,
that's a right. We'd like to hear it.
Speaker 1 (13:14):
M yeah, sure, all right, we'll be out and see you.
No right away, all right, thank.
Speaker 4 (13:21):
You very much. Bye.
Speaker 1 (13:22):
Well you got cashier out of the market. That Erma Watson, Yeah,
might have something for us.
Speaker 4 (13:26):
What's that? She says?
Speaker 3 (13:28):
She thinks she knows who the suspect is. Frank and
I drove out to the market. We went upstairs at
the office in the rear of the store and met
Erma Watson. She was seated at a desk with a
large ledger book opened in front of her.
Speaker 5 (13:41):
I got to thinking it over last night after I
got home about the hold up man. Yes, ma'am, there
was something about him that we acted and talked and
made me think I knew who he was, that I'd
seen him someplace before.
Speaker 4 (13:50):
Uh huh, lady.
Speaker 5 (13:51):
Most of the night just thinking about it, and then
all of a sudden it came to me right out
of the air. It came to me, yes, ma'am, go ahead, Well,
I knew where where's it? I thought I knew him
from where, ma'am. Right here in the store.
Speaker 4 (14:03):
You mean he's a customer, No, he works for us.
Speaker 5 (14:05):
Right here in the store. That's where I've seen him.
Mustache kind of fooled me for a minute, but not
for long. I remembered what's the man's name? I didn't
remember that, Oh, I see, not last night. But I
came down here this morning and started through the books
and came upon it. Got it right here. Take a
look for yourself.
Speaker 4 (14:22):
See right there, that's Jed Ellsworth.
Speaker 5 (14:25):
That's him. I'm sure of it.
Speaker 4 (14:26):
We's Ellsworth's work here now.
Speaker 5 (14:28):
Well, yes, and no, ma'am, well he does and he doesn't.
He still got the job, but he ain't working right now.
Got a leave of absence. He's got ulcers, said he
wanted to get him taken care of. Said he had
to go out of town and see a specialist get
his ulcers fixed.
Speaker 4 (14:40):
I see when'd he leave last week?
Speaker 5 (14:42):
See? I got it right here. Last day he worked
was Wednesday, August sixth. That was the last day.
Speaker 4 (14:47):
Do you have his home address?
Speaker 5 (14:48):
You just bet got it right here, wrote all the
information out for you.
Speaker 4 (14:52):
Thank you very much.
Speaker 5 (14:53):
It's him. I'm sure of it.
Speaker 4 (14:55):
All right, miss Watson. We'll check into it.
Speaker 5 (14:57):
Only thing I can't figure out is that mustache. What's
a the mustache? I can't figure out how he could
have grown it so fast. Takes longer than a week
to get a mustache like that, doesn't it.
Speaker 4 (15:05):
It depends on what where you buy it.
Speaker 3 (15:11):
Frank and I returned to the office to run the
name jed Elsworth through the record bureau. While Frank went
through the packages, checking the description we've gotten of the suspect,
I went down to the stat's office and picked up
the list of possibles that they had for us. Ten
twenty six am. I met Thank back at the R
and I encounter. Right, how's it going? It looks like
we got a live one. Got a jed Elsworth here,
pretty close to the description. Yeah, record in the East
(15:31):
Saint louis done big time back there.
Speaker 4 (15:33):
Nothing locally though, windy fall forth. I'm robbery.
Speaker 2 (15:45):
You are listening to Dragnet, the authentic story of your
police force election.
Speaker 1 (15:49):
Meet the Tom Harmon's You know Tom as Michigan's All
American football star, now a top sports announcer. Missus Harmon
is the motion picture and television star at Least Knocks.
They're typical of people everywhere who are saying Chesterfields for me.
Speaker 5 (16:05):
I like regular size Chesterfields half for years. They're best
for me, at least I think so because of that
Chesterfield quality.
Speaker 7 (16:14):
That's the way I feel about them too. I've always
smoked Chesterfields. Now I go for the king size. Yes,
I like a longer smoke.
Speaker 1 (16:23):
So whether you smoke regular size like at Least Knocks,
or king size like Tom Harmon and Joy America's most
popular two way cigarette, Chesterfields for me, you hear it everywhere.
The Chesterfield you smoked today is the best cigarette ever
made for the taste.
Speaker 7 (16:42):
You want the mildness. You want join the thousands. Now
changing to Chesterfield.
Speaker 3 (16:58):
We sent an immediate request to the authorities Saint Louis
ask him that they forward all available information on their suspect,
Jed Ellsworth. One fifteen pm, Frank and I drove out
to the address we've been given him by the cashier
at the supermarket. Was a one story of redwood house
in the Beverly Glen area. We rang the front door bell.
Speaker 4 (17:14):
Yes, we'd like to see Jed Elsworth.
Speaker 5 (17:16):
He's not here.
Speaker 4 (17:17):
Well, you know where we can reach him.
Speaker 5 (17:19):
What's just a boudy in trouble again, ma'am jet in
trouble again.
Speaker 4 (17:22):
We'd like to talk to him. Please your cops or
police officers.
Speaker 5 (17:26):
Uh, huh, figures what's he done this time?
Speaker 4 (17:28):
Oh, it's just a routine. We wanna ask him a
couple of questions. Where is he?
Speaker 6 (17:31):
I don't know, Well, he lives.
Speaker 4 (17:32):
Here, doesn't he?
Speaker 5 (17:33):
Yeah, I don't know where he is. I haven't seen
him since day before. Yesterday's packed up and left. I
don't know where he went.
Speaker 4 (17:38):
Well, didn't he give you any idea where he was going?
Speaker 5 (17:40):
None? Went through my purse up but money. I hadn't
shoved off. Don't much matter to me. If I never
see him again, I'd probably be better off.
Speaker 4 (17:47):
I wonder if we could see his things?
Speaker 5 (17:49):
Do you mean when he left esp? Sure, come on in.
D're in his room. I'm about to throw him out.
I don't want him, and I don't think he'll be
back for him this time? Down the hall, this way,
Thank you, man? What are you after him for?
Speaker 4 (18:04):
We'll be a little better if we talk to him.
Speaker 5 (18:05):
Sure, don't matter to me. I'm through with him. Nothing
but trouble with cops since we've been married. I didn't
know he had a record when I met him. It
wasn't til after we got married. I found out he
was a jail bird. Right after we got married, the
cops started coming around.
Speaker 4 (18:19):
Asking questions, how long have you been married?
Speaker 5 (18:22):
Eighteen months? D him back in Saint Louis. That's been
right after he got out of jail. I didn't know
what saying. I wish they dead. Wouldn't have nothing to
do with him, Give me nothing but trouble.
Speaker 4 (18:32):
Would you know if he has any people in California.
Speaker 5 (18:35):
That I ever saw? He never talked about him.
Speaker 4 (18:37):
Does he drive a car?
Speaker 5 (18:38):
Jed, Yes, ma'am. No, he didn't know him one. Never
he needed one to go to one of these rental agencies.
Rent one. This is his room, steps there on the bed.
Speaker 4 (18:47):
Thank you, I'll check it.
Speaker 5 (18:49):
I'm gonna throw it all out. Anything now you want,
just take it with you.
Speaker 4 (18:52):
I don't think I will be necessary.
Speaker 5 (18:53):
Well, the offer is still good. What you don't take,
i'll throw up.
Speaker 4 (18:56):
Your husband got any close friends at all in town?
Speaker 5 (18:58):
Yeah, got a lot of bums.
Speaker 4 (19:00):
Can you give us their names?
Speaker 5 (19:01):
Only one name? I know, Larry jessep him and Jed
used to peal around all the time. I think his
job at the store took up too much pal time.
That's the reason Jed quit.
Speaker 4 (19:10):
Understand your husband had trouble with his stomach.
Speaker 5 (19:11):
You yeah, ul sir.
Speaker 4 (19:13):
Was he under the care of a doctor?
Speaker 5 (19:15):
Uh huh, all the time, taking pills and eating special things.
Got to the point where nothing I cooked was right
for the ulcer. We did nothing but fight all the time,
miserable eighteen months. I'm glad he's gone and never see
him again. It'll be a week too soon.
Speaker 4 (19:27):
Can you give us the doctor's name?
Speaker 5 (19:29):
Yeah, it's some one of the bills there. Got it
in with the rest of 'em reminds me, can you
answer me something? Well?
Speaker 4 (19:34):
What's that?
Speaker 5 (19:35):
Am I responsible for his bills? The ones he ran
up himself without my help? I gotta pay him?
Speaker 3 (19:40):
Well, man, that's not a police problem. You better check
with a lawyer on there.
Speaker 5 (19:43):
Oh yar, yes, ma'am. More expense. Seems like all I
do is put out money for him. Oh, I'm glad
he's gone.
Speaker 4 (19:49):
You haven't pickt tureule.
Speaker 5 (19:50):
You mean like a snare shot, Yes, ma'am. No, Jed
wouldn't let nobody take pictures of him. Said it was
bad luck.
Speaker 4 (19:55):
M Yeah, I mustached, didn't he nothing?
Speaker 1 (19:59):
Say?
Speaker 5 (19:59):
No?
Speaker 4 (19:59):
It is all Yeah. You know what's on these dictograph records? Oh?
Speaker 5 (20:03):
Those are mine? I'm a stenographer. Sometimes I do work
at home, as are mine. Huh's letters? So one thing
he ever did for me?
Speaker 4 (20:09):
What's it? Made?
Speaker 5 (20:10):
That box for records? Real big thing took him all
day to make it, just a plain simple wooden box.
Either thought it was a taj Ma hall. Only thing
he ever did for me.
Speaker 4 (20:17):
You see your husband get many phone calls here?
Speaker 5 (20:20):
No, I said, you've noticed Larry'd call once in a while.
I told you there was real Pali.
Speaker 4 (20:25):
Did you ever hear any of the conversations by any chance,
Just still on this end. You know what they were
talking about?
Speaker 5 (20:30):
Not too good. They used to get a real secret,
you know, low voices. They were planning something. No, I
don't know what it was, but they were playing it something.
Speaker 4 (20:37):
Oh it was fell of Jessipe drive a car.
Speaker 5 (20:39):
Yeah you know what, kid, Yeah, New Hudson.
Speaker 3 (20:48):
We got the address of the suspect's friend, and then
we drove back to the city hall. We made arrangements
for a stake out to be placed on the house,
in addition to asking Missus Ellsworth to call us in
the event that she heard from her husband. But ran
the name Lawrence Jessup threw our and eye and we
came up with a criminal record for him that listed
several arrests for burgery.
Speaker 4 (21:02):
And auto theft.
Speaker 3 (21:03):
According to his package, he'd never been convicted in California.
We sent a teletype up to George Breton, CII and
Sacramento asking for further information on the man. Four fifty pm,
Frank and I left the office and drove out to
the address giving us with the suspect's wife was a
large boarding house in the Hollywood Hills area. We talked
to the landlady. She told us Jessep wasn't in, but
she expected him by six pm. We asked if she'd
(21:24):
never seen a man answering jed Elsworth's description, she said
that such a man was a frequent visitor in Jessop's room.
Five pm, Frank and I and the company in the landlady.
Speaker 4 (21:32):
Checked the room. We found nothing to tie Jessap in
with a robbery.
Speaker 3 (21:36):
We waited for him. Five fifty eight pm. He came
up the stairs and opened the door. What are you
guys doing here? Police officers? Is Frank Smith, My name
is Friday.
Speaker 6 (21:44):
I still want to know what you're doing here.
Speaker 4 (21:45):
Got a couple of questions we want to ask you.
Speaker 7 (21:47):
Jessep, go ahead, I got nothing to hide. Ask where's
jed Elsworth?
Speaker 6 (21:51):
I don't know. I haven't seen him a couple of days.
Speaker 3 (21:52):
Why understand you two a pretty good friends. We're friends,
guys are off his rocker? How do you mean that
what I said? You only got out of the can
a couple of years ago.
Speaker 6 (22:00):
Go right away. He's doing his best to get back in.
Speaker 4 (22:01):
That right sure.
Speaker 7 (22:02):
A couple of days ago he called said he had
to see me right away, had a big idea for
both of us make a lot of money. Yeah, well,
I don't want to have to work all my life.
So I told him I'd listen. Laid out this big
deal where he could knock off a supermarket, told me
he had it all planned, how it all work out.
Speaker 6 (22:15):
Real good, couldn't miss. I told him I didn't want
no part of it.
Speaker 7 (22:19):
I could sure he use a doll yeah, but not
to take a chance on going to jail for it.
Already got a record. I had enough to do with
cops to last me the rest of my life.
Speaker 4 (22:26):
Been lucky the.
Speaker 7 (22:26):
Last couple of times it didn't fall. But I don't
want to press. I'm punching a clock now, and that's
where it's gonna be. I told him that they said
he was gonna go ahead with the job. No, I
just said I was crazy not to pick up some
easy money. He hurd telling him, says that, Yeah, so
I'm yesterday. He came over in the morning, told me
to forget all about the market job. Said he realized
it was wrong, asked me to drive him out to Pomona.
What Ford, he say, Yeah, he said he'd walked down
on Hazel Uh that's his wife. Yeah, we know, said
(22:49):
he left her and we was going to Pomona. I
had a job out there. You drive him, yeah, to
a motel there. I can show it to you if
you want, because he's still there.
Speaker 1 (22:55):
I don't know.
Speaker 6 (22:55):
As far as I know he is. That's where I
left him, sitting out there counting his money. What money?
Speaker 7 (23:00):
He told me he drew all the dough out of
his in Hazel's account, said she wasn't going to get
any of it. Must have had about four thousand bucks.
Speaker 4 (23:06):
You know what bank he had the money in.
Speaker 7 (23:07):
No, I didn't say. I didn't know him and Hazel
had that much. Of course, she works pretty hard, drifty,
you know. Jed always said she was stingy. A lot
of money had it in this wooden box, all stacked
in their really hard to believes about the box. Jed's
about the laziest guy I ever knew, last one to
work with his hands. Sure proud of it though, said
he made the box himself.
Speaker 3 (23:31):
Larry, Jessip Frank and I drove out to the motel
and Pomona. We checked with a manager, but founded the
suspect had checked out that morning. Fortunately the room had
not been cleaned yet, and we went over it on
a shelf in a closet, we found the wooden box
that Jessup had spoken of was a duplicate of the
one that we'd seen at the suspect's home. We told
the manager we were taking it with us and asked
her to notify us in the event Ellsworth returned. We
asked if he had a car when he left. The
(23:52):
manager told us he didn't, but that he had asked
for the name of some automobile rental agencies in Promoona.
Jessup and I went out to our car and waited
for Frank to come back.
Speaker 4 (23:59):
From the suspect.
Speaker 6 (24:00):
Sure looks like he pulled a robbery. Huh.
Speaker 4 (24:02):
It seems to fit him real good, doesn't it. Joe? Yeah,
look at that?
Speaker 7 (24:07):
Found it out of the bed, only black mustache.
Speaker 3 (24:14):
We checked with the automobile rental agencies in the area.
None of them had seen a man answering the suspects description.
We asked him the call us if such a man
did come in. We drove by Elzoru's house and picked
up the wooden box that he'd made for his wife's
dictograph records. Both of the containers were taken to the
crime lab for comparison. We drove to the market that
had been held up. All three of the victims were
shown the false mistache that we'd found in the motel.
All three said it was identical with the one that
(24:35):
the hold up man had worn. After his investigation, Lee
Jones said that the two wooden boxes were cut from
the same piece of three ply wood. Paint particles on
the wood mask. The nails used were made by the
same machine. The box we found at the motel was
shown to both the butcher and the cashier. They said
that it was the same one that the thief had carried.
A local and an APB were put out on the suspect,
(24:55):
asking that he'd be picked up for suspicion of robbery.
For the next three days, valance on the suspects house
was maintained. All of missus Elsworth's activities were observed. Sunday,
August seventeenth, we got a call that the suspect's wife
had left the house carrying a suit case. The officers
on stakeout followed her to the subway terminal in downtown
Los Angeles. We met them there. Missus Elsworth walked down
(25:16):
to the landing and appeared to be waiting. Frank and
I took over the surveillance. We waited nine thirty pm,
ten ten fifteen, ten eighteen pm. Joh, yeah, I see
it looks like the description. Yeah, going towards his wife. Right,
let's let him get together. Yeah, yeah, let's say him.
Speaker 4 (25:34):
Come on, hey, Caesars, Yeah, get out of it.
Speaker 1 (25:41):
Come on right, right, Ellsworth, hold it up, police officers,
come on, drop the gun.
Speaker 4 (25:46):
Ellsworth, you're not gonna get out of here. Let's give
it back to him. Come on night, he's hurt. Yeah,
I'll get an ambulance. Right he did.
Speaker 5 (25:59):
Did you kill him?
Speaker 4 (26:00):
Now we've sent for an ambulance.
Speaker 5 (26:01):
Didn't want to get hurt. I didn't get hurt.
Speaker 4 (26:03):
Once you calls when you heard from him, No, I
don't know.
Speaker 5 (26:07):
He said, if I met him, and give me some
money so I could pay the bills for you. He
was gonna give me some money. I was gonna call
you after I got the money. I was gonna call.
Speaker 4 (26:14):
Yeah. Sure, you were a chance to.
Speaker 5 (26:16):
Get out for Mondon. Get even. He didn't care when
we were together. I was the one who worried about it.
He never cared. He never paid a bill.
Speaker 3 (26:23):
Don't no worry, He's gonna pay this one.
Speaker 1 (26:32):
The story you've just heard is true. The names were
changed to protect the innocent.
Speaker 2 (26:37):
On January seventeenth, trial was held in Department ninety seven,
Superior Court of the State of California in and for
the County of Los Angeles. In a moment the results
of that trial. Now here is our star, Jack Webb.
Speaker 4 (26:49):
Thank you. George Fenneman.
Speaker 3 (26:50):
You know the Chesterfield you smoke today is the best
cigarette ever made and best for you. Now that's a fact,
and to my way of thinking, it's the very reason
for you to change to Chesterfield. Try him either way
regular or King size. If you try umph, I think
you'll say with all of us, Chester feels for me.
Speaker 2 (27:14):
Jed Warren Ellsworth was tried and convicted of robbery in
the first degree and received sentence as prescribed by law.
Robbery and the first degree is punishable by imprisonment in
the state penitentiary for a period of from five years
to life. You have just heard Dragnet a series of
(27:48):
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 Winns,
Sergeant FAM's Racer. Heard tonight were Been Alexander, Ralph Moody,
June Whitley, script by John Robinson, music by Walter Schumann.
(28:08):
Hell give me speaking. Watch an entirely different.
Speaker 1 (28:13):
Dragnet case history each week on your local NBC television station.
Please check your newspapers for the day and time Chesterfield
has brought you Dragnet. Transcribed from Los Angeles filter tip smokers.
This is it.
Speaker 7 (28:30):
L and M Filters, the one filter tip cigarette with
plenty of good taste, much more flavor, much less nicotine,
and effective filtration. Only the L and M filter contains
the miracle product alpha cellulose, the purest material for filtering
cigarette smoke.
Speaker 4 (28:51):
Yes, this is it.
Speaker 7 (28:53):
As Helen Hayes puts it, L and M filters are
just what the doctor ordered by L and M Filters,
the distinguished monogram cigarette. L and M Filters America's highest
quality and best filter tip cigarette.
Speaker 1 (29:25):
Here Rocky Fortune, following John Cameron, Swayzee and the News
on the NBC Radio Network
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