Speaker 1: Welcome to the Great Detectives of Old Time Radio from Boise, Idaho.
This is your host, Adam Graham. In a moment, we're
going to bring you this week's episode of Dragnat. But first, guy,
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Great Detectives dot net. But now, from October twenty fifth,
nineteen fifty one, here is the Big Market.
Speaker 2: The story you were about to hear is true. The
names have been changed to protect the innocent. You're a
detective sergeant. You're assigned a robbery detail. A pair of
bandits are staging a rapid fire campaign of holdups in
your city. In twenty one days, eleven food markets have
been robbed. The hold ups go on the suspects are
still unidentified.
Speaker 3: Your job get.
Speaker 4: Them Dragnet the documented drama of an actual crime. Well
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 buyers, from beginning to end, from crime to punishment.
Speaker 3: Drag Net is the story of your police force and action.
Speaker 5: It was Tuesday, September twenty sixth, was hot in Los Angeles.
We were working the day Watch out of robbery detail.
My partner's Ben Romero. The boss is Captain Didions. My
name is Friday.
Speaker 3: Was nine to eighteen am.
Speaker 5: When I got to the record Bureau that's in in
Cunningham's office.
Speaker 3: Joh, what's doing? Not too much?
Speaker 5: Got a job you can do for us? Frank like
to have it as soon as you can get it out. Oh,
it's about on these market bandits. We've already gotten out
a dozen teletypes and bulletins on them. I like to
get out some mimiographs too. If we can general distribution,
then what do you want on them?
Speaker 3: Well, I better lay out the whole thing for you.
Speaker 5: A lot of the copies are going to the Retail
Grossers Association all their members.
Speaker 3: No luck with those two fives so far. No, I
know closer than we weren't three weeks ago. Figure this
ought to plug another loophole. How many copies you figure
you want on this? By a thousand? Yeah, let's find
that how to do it? All? Right? Okay? Now what
do you want to go in at? Joe?
Speaker 5: And you better lead off with the first job they pulled.
That was on the third of this month. Makes a
little better than three weeks now. They hit a supermarket
out on Pico Okay, got it. Ever since, they've averaged
about three jobs a week. We know they're hitting nothing
but supermarkets. All of them are main thoroughfares, No small
neighborhood stuff.
Speaker 3: You got it.
Speaker 5: So far, they've confined their operations to the seventy seventh
Street division in the county territories, generally the south end
of town.
Speaker 3: There are two men, and they got a pretty well
established them all. I've established them. Okay.
Speaker 5: They're hitting in the morning hours, usually from the time
the market's open up until around noontime. They use a
stolen car ninety five percent of the time, a car
stolen from the industrial area. Cars they steal for the
jobs are always either a Pontiac or Nash. We also
know they're dropping the stolen cars within a short radius
of the hold up scene, about a half a dozen
blocks or so.
Speaker 3: In some instances, they use.
Speaker 5: A second automobile or a public transportation some kind buster
street car, you know, to make their getaway after they.
Speaker 3: Drop out over kind. I'm sorry, I went a little faster.
Speaker 2: Yeah, okay, I got it.
Speaker 3: Okay, Well go ahead.
Speaker 2: Now.
Speaker 3: They usually pull up and park directly.
Speaker 5: In front of the market that they're going to hold up.
One of the men always remains in the car behind
the wheel. Apparently it's always the same man. There's a
description meager. We know he's good size, MWA, fairly large build.
Here's about the best description we been able to piece
together on the second man, picked up a little bit
from each victim. Second man described as MWA, also about
five foot eight inches, medium bill, one hundred and fifty
five one hundred and sixty pounds. Always wears a hat,
brown suit, rough material of some kind, maybe tweed.
Speaker 3: Want a smoke, Frank, huh smoke? Oh no.
Speaker 5: When he enters the market for the hold up, the
second man always holds a white handkerchief, holds a white
handkerchief to his face as if he's wiping his eyes,
keeps most of his face covered with it. During the robbery,
he's armed with a nickel plated revolver, possibly thirty eight caliber.
Speaker 3: We know the jobs are well.
Speaker 5: Cased because in almost every instance, the suspect goes directly to.
Speaker 3: The manager of the market.
Speaker 5: Directly the manager, he hands the manager of brown paper sack,
tells him to put the money in it, and then
he takes off.
Speaker 3: So far, he's never attempted any rough stuff, no gun play.
Speaker 5: On three occasions, when the suspects got only small amounts
of money at one market, they hit again in fifteen
or twenty minutes at another store in the same general area.
They never make any attempt to disguise or conceal a
license number, run and get away car, as I say,
they always abandoned the car a short distance from the
whole up scene.
Speaker 3: Let's see. Yeah, okay, I got it.
Speaker 5: Well that's about all of it, Frank, I guess you
can boil it down into some kind of shape her.
Speaker 3: Yeah, okay, I'll have it typed up in the form.
I'll get your copy before we make the rod and
see if it's okay with you find things now go
it's a good huh, No, it isn't.
Speaker 5: Frank, pretty slow. I've been on top of the thing
for a couple of weeks. Now we're still looking for
some kind of a break.
Speaker 3: See.
Speaker 6: I understand, Ben Chandler from your office to go for
some fishing down in Mexico.
Speaker 5: Huh yeah, not doing bad. But I hear I got
a cat from yesterday. He's down by ken o'bay. He
put the bite on me to send him a dozen
mount and plugs.
Speaker 3: Yeah. Fish must be hitting pretty good down there, that's
what he says.
Speaker 5: Yeah, it's a big brown sea bass especially. I wouldn't
mind getting in a couple of days down there myself.
Speaker 3: Excoose me. Yeah, I give view a cunt again. Yes
a minute, you're Joe, thanks man? Yeah, oh yeah, Man?
When all right? Yeah, okay, right away?
Speaker 5: Yeah, fine, check that formul later. Frank might be a
little change market Bandits they hit again.
Speaker 3: At nine eight.
Speaker 5: Am, Ben and I got in the car and drove
to the scene of the Bandit's latest hold up, a
new supermarket out on Swason near the intersection of South Broadway.
Speaker 3: After interviewing the.
Speaker 5: Manager of the store and all available witnesses to the robbery,
there wasn't much doubt about the identity of the suspects.
The description and m O fitted perfectly with that of
the two men who'd been staging the whirlwind campaign of
market robberies throughout the south end of the city for
the past three weeks. The approach and execution of the
hold up was the same in every detail, even to
the stolen car they'd used, which was found abandoned a
short distance from the robbery scene. There was only one deviation,
and that was the first break we'd had in the
case since it started. A woman customer at the market
and Missus Thomas Swanson, saw the hold up man as
he left the store and ran to the getaway car.
She told us that the car door apparently stuck when
he tried to pull it open, but he took away
the handkerchief which he'd held to his face in order
to pull the door open with both hands.
Speaker 3: During those few seconds. She got a good look at him.
Speaker 5: After taking the crime report and making our preliminary investigation,
we brought Missus Swanson downtown.
Speaker 3: We had her check through mug.
Speaker 5: Books of all recent parolis from the state penitentiary, all
ex convicts with robbery records.
Speaker 3: After a couple of hours.
Speaker 5: Of checking mugshots, she couldn't seem to make positive identification.
Speaker 7: Very sorry, off, sir, just gets a little confusing after
a while looking at all these pictures. I did get a
good look at the man's face. I just can't settle
on one of these pictures, though.
Speaker 8: Well, from what you did see of missus Swanson, the
lower part of the man's face especially, Can you find
a good likeness in any of these Well.
Speaker 7: Yes, I can find good likenesses for some of his features,
but none of them are altogether in any one of
these pictures here, Like the mouth and chin on this
man here, yes, ma'am, is that pretty close most exactly,
i'd say, And then the nose on this one here,
it's the very same. I just hadn't seen any picture
that fits them all together, you know what I mean.
Speaker 3: That's right, I understand.
Speaker 5: Now these five pictures here that you've picked out, you'd
pretty much say that they incorporate all the features of
the man that you saw getting there.
Speaker 7: This man here, and this one too, i'd say, the
lower part of his face was exactly like that. The
small mouth mustache just like that, and the chin pointed
like on this man, and the.
Speaker 8: Upper part of his face. Would you say it resembles
these others yet?
Speaker 7: Yes, these three here, just the upper part you see
around the eyes beforehead, I'd say that was very close.
I'll just put the two sets of pictures together. I
think you'd have the man perfectly. Sorry, I can't be
more help to you, as I say, looking at all
these books of pictures, it kept.
Speaker 3: A little confusing. Well, you've given us quite a bit
of help, man, Thank you very much, not at all.
Speaker 7: Is there anything else?
Speaker 3: No, thank you? Not right now.
Speaker 5: We've got your address and telephone. We'll probably be contacting
you in a day or two. If you'd like to
wait right here, we'll make arrangements to have one of
the officers drive you back your home.
Speaker 3: All right, Thank you very much, by man, we'll be
talking to you. Yeah, yes, buyout. What do you think, Joe?
Speaker 5: You know what's more than we had yesterday? Her description
is the best we've got him the guy so far.
Speaker 8: How about getting a composite picture made up from the
mug shots you picked up?
Speaker 5: That's what I was thinking. Do you want to duck
in and get somebody to drive him Swanson home. I
want to go in here in the captain's office.
Speaker 3: Filmy. Oh okay, thanks man Friday. How'd you make that?
Could have been worse, Captain.
Speaker 9: I wouldn't find anything in the mug books.
Speaker 3: No positive identification.
Speaker 5: She picked out five of them she thought were close.
I think maybe put off over the crime, about to
be able to make up a pretty good composite from him.
Speaker 3: Mm hm.
Speaker 9: She fairly positive about the man's description.
Speaker 3: Yeah, it seems to have a clear idea good composite.
Ought to help us quite a bit.
Speaker 9: You get this new description, that memi graph you haven't
made up?
Speaker 3: No, not yet. I want to see Frank about it.
Speaker 8: Then, Hi, s camper Man got a hold of just
guns out hez Joey's gonna drive miss Swanson home?
Speaker 3: Fine? Did you ask her if he checked on that
last run we made through the stats office? Yeah, he
picked it up.
Speaker 8: He and Frankistrater gonna start checking the names this morning.
It's not much of a list and pretty well picked
over already.
Speaker 9: So you got from the witnesses out there this morning
description from this missus Swanson.
Speaker 3: Yeah, it's about it. The rest of it was there.
He usual remo.
Speaker 5: Swanson woman was the only one who got a good
look at the guy when he took the handkerchief away
from his face.
Speaker 3: I'm about to get away.
Speaker 8: Are they find same as Yeah, there's Leyton prints checked
it over clean.
Speaker 9: Well, two thieves had their share luck. When we get odds.
Speaker 5: How about Metro division Captain? Can we get any help
out there?
Speaker 3: What do you got in mind?
Speaker 5: Well, we know the take that the two thieves got
in that job this morning was pretty small for him.
Speaker 3: Three hundred and forty dollars. Yeah, from their.
Speaker 5: Remo in the past, we know whenever they get a
small take on a job, they usually hit another place fast.
They work in a fairly concentrated area down the South end.
They only go after big markets on the main thoroughfares. Well,
I was thinking if we could get some help from Metro,
put maybe fifteen or twenty crews down in the area
for the next couple of days, might stand a good
chance of grabbing him.
Speaker 8: When we're talking to Dick Tiern and O what the
Sheriff's office kipper, he says he could put some of
his men down that area too, cover the county on
the on the fringe's the territory around there?
Speaker 3: What do you think? I'm fine?
Speaker 9: Frankon gets Stevens at Metro right now, said it up.
So you've got twenty crews right just about?
Speaker 3: Yeah, with any kind of luck at all. We ought
to lend him.
Speaker 9: Sure worth trying, lieuten Stevens. Please, Yeah, Joe, it's Harry Dideon.
Speaker 3: Fine.
Speaker 9: Fine, we got a little stickout problem here. How about
using some of your men about thirty all right, I'll
settle for twenty five okay, yeah, and south end of
town those market bandage.
Speaker 3: Fine.
Speaker 9: Do you haven't report here at robbery seven o'clock tomorrow morning?
All right, thanks a lot, and I'll set you got
twenty five men seven o'clock tomorrow morning. Oh case, we'll
give you a dozen teams to start with, and Dalas
and the strata one more. I mean you figure working
from the Sheriff's.
Speaker 3: Office, about four or five teams I mentioned.
Speaker 9: All right, it's your operation, you too, me in charge
on our end. You run the show. You'll brief them
in if you need anything, call me right.
Speaker 8: How about the overall plans, gip you've got any special
ideas on it?
Speaker 3: Just one you know, get.
Speaker 5: Them one to eighteen pm. We got the revised description
of one of the hold up men into Lieutenant.
Speaker 3: Point Cunningham at the Record Bureau.
Speaker 5: He told us a thousand copies of the special mimiograph
form containing all available information on the two market bandits
would be ready for us.
Speaker 3: That night.
Speaker 5: We met with Sergeant Putoff, the artist at the Crime Lab,
and he went to work making up a composite picture
of one of the suspects from the mugshots selected by
the robbery witnessed Missus Swanson. When the picture was completed,
we had Missus Swanson check it for similarity to the
actual hold up man, and then we brought it back
to the Record Bureau where a thousand copies were.
Speaker 3: Made of it.
Speaker 5: The pictures, along with the mimiograph forms, were sent immediately
to the Retail Grocers Association for distribution to all market
operators throughout the city. Additional copies of the picture and
the information sheet were given to each man who was
to work the stakeoff when we met in the squadron
at seven o'clock the next morning. Besides the men from
Metropolitan Division and the men from Robbery who are going
to work with US. Lieutenant Dick Tiernan and Sergeant Dave
Terry from.
Speaker 3: The Sheriff's Office were also there for the briefing.
Speaker 8: Well, briefly, that's a rundown on the two saspects and
the molda follom.
Speaker 3: It's the same information and description on them. You will
find those memio forms we handed out. Joey, let's take
over give them their sign. Yeah. Well, if you just
take a look at this spin.
Speaker 5: Up map here for a minute, I'll try and brief
you on how the steak out's going to go the
way we got it figured anyway. Well, we've worked out
a plan we think ought to be the easiest and
the best way to work it. If any of you
have any suggestions as we go along, which you'd like
to have them all right now, as you can see
from the map here, the steakout areas in the south end.
Speaker 3: It runs from can y'all see it from there? Okay?
Speaker 5: It runs from Santa fe Avenue over here on the east,
the Vermont Avenue on the west, running north and south.
Now we'll have to cover from Santa Barbara Avenue on
the north down of Manchester. That'll be the southern boundary.
I said, that's the area the thieves have been working,
and we're going to have fourteen of our own crews
covering that area, and Dick tenn And and Dave Terry from
the Sheriff's office, we'll have their men covering and joining
county territory. Now we've broken a map down into equal units.
As you can see here, each unit will be covered
by one car, and each of you will be assigned
a unit number Romal and myself will be an eighty K.
Speaker 3: We'll have a roving unit. We'll cover the entire area.
Speaker 5: You'll have three way radios in your car, so you'll
be able to contact us directly if you have to. Now,
if you'll check the map again, you can see these
green pins we've placed here in well. Each one of
them represents a market robbery. Now notice that every one
of them is on a main thoroughfare. Hey, Manchester Golf Broadway,
Vernon South Hoover. Now I don't have to tell you
that that's where you'll have to keep a sharp watch
on the main street.
Speaker 3: Each of the individual units here on the.
Speaker 5: Map will be covered by one car. As is said,
each one's roughly nine blocks square. Now you'll be responsible
for the area assigned to you. We haven't got too
much time, So before we go down the list to
assign the areas, have you got any questions, any questions
at all? Ah?
Speaker 10: Yeah, suppose there's a two to eleven call in somebody
else's area, I mean, other than the.
Speaker 3: One you're assigned to. Do we leave our area and
head over there. No, Jess, I meant to bring that out.
Speaker 5: If there's a robbery call in somebody else's area, stay
put soul you get a call.
Speaker 3: In the hand, anything else?
Speaker 11: Yeah, how about the managers of these markets, they've been
briefed on a steak off.
Speaker 3: I know we're going to be covering the area. Yeah,
they've all been alerted.
Speaker 5: Now in case of a hold up, they might try
to contact you directly.
Speaker 3: They'll be looking for you. You'll be looking for them. Bet it,
Bob's I've covered for you. Yeah.
Speaker 9: Well, I'm just wondering about this Number two suspect, the
want of drives to get away car.
Speaker 3: Yeah, well it says you have a dope sheet.
Speaker 5: Number one suspect carries a nickel play at a revolver.
Speaker 3: How about number two he carry a gun? Well, I
wish I could answer that we don't know all the
information we got on Amazon the sheet right there.
Speaker 9: I see.
Speaker 3: Well, they're never try any rough stuff anyway, do they?
No gun player? They've never heard anyone. No, not yet.
Don't let them make you. The first.
Speaker 5: Seven thirty am we finished handing out the assignments and
the men left to take up their stakeout positions in
the south end of the city, two men to a team,
each team in a three way radio car, each car
to patrol a designated nine square block unit. There were
twenty such units within the frame of the overall stakeout area.
At the same time, cruiser cars from the Sheriff's Office,
operating on their own radio setup, began patrolling the fringe positions,
which fell in county territory. Through Control one at our
Communications division. We kept in continual contact rhythm. Eight am,
all the cars were in position, each of them patrolling
their individual nine square block unit. The first two hours
passed no reports, no sign of the mockt bandits.
Speaker 3: Between ten am and noon, half a dozen.
Speaker 5: Possible suspects were stopped and questioned by different teams, and
then brought to the seventy seventh Street Division for processing.
All of them were eliminated. The afternoon of the first
day went pretty much the same. We had shakedowns on
four parked cars in the area and more shakedowns on
possible suspects. Nothing materialized. The next morning, Ben and I,
along with the other thirty two men in the Steakhoup,
picked up where we left off again, no sign of
the suspects, no reports. The morning of the third day,
the Steakhout detail met in the squad room as usual
and then left to take up their regular assigned positions.
Speaker 3: Seven thirty five am. How about it, Joey ready to go? Yeah,
just a minute, Okay, let's go. I'll get it. Okay.
Robbery Friday? Yeah, where when was that? Yeah? By the way, Oh,
come on, we got a hurry. What is market bandits?
Maybe we got him. Seven fifty am.
Speaker 5: Ben and I arrived at the intersection of fifty eighth
in San Pedro Streets. Two of our Steakhout Cruiser cars
were pulled up at the southwest corner. One of the
teams was Jess Gonzalez and his partner Frank Estrada. Gonzalez
briefed us on what had happened.
Speaker 10: Victims, the owner of the supermarket down the block in
San Pedro was walking from his house to the store.
Speaker 3: He passed the corner here about seven thirty five am.
Speaker 10: Had three hundred and forty dollars on him party yesterday's
receipts from the store. They got him right at the street,
took every dollar of it. He sure it was in
market band memo description. They check out all the way.
We had two teams on as soon as we got
the word located to hold up car a minute ago?
Where is it Donna avalon Boulevard?
Speaker 3: How about the Steve's chest? Car was empty? No trace.
Speaker 5: Saturday, eight o five am, the latest victim of the
market Bandit's the owner of the supermarket on San Pedro Street,
was taken to the seventy seventh Street Division, where the
crime report was made. He told us that one of
the men who robbed him bore a very close resemblance
to the composite picture which we'd had drawn.
Speaker 3: Up of one of the suspects.
Speaker 5: We figured we missed grabbing the holdup men by a
matter of minutes, even though some of our units were
in the general area at the time of the robbery.
Speaker 3: It did little good.
Speaker 5: The victim had delayed reporting the hold up five minutes
because the bandits had threatened to find him and kill
him if we did. Despite the fact that they'd changed
their mo to the extent of robbing the store owner
on the street instead of in the market proper, we
had no doubt that the same two men we were
looking for had committed to hold up. The abandoned car,
which they'd used in the robbery, was gone over.
Speaker 3: For fingerprints, but it was clean.
Speaker 5: Meantime, the steakout went on Saturday, passed Sunday, Monday, nothing,
no leads on the suspects, not a trace of them. Tuesday,
the same thing all over again. The operations settled down
to a dull routine. Tuesday night we checked the closing
of the last market in our steakout area ten forty
five pm. Ben and I drove back the seventy seven
Street Division.
Speaker 8: Every day seems to get a little longer. These lousy
steak cutsure don't wear very well on me.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I don't know what the setup is going to be.
Speaker 5: If we don't get a break pretty soon, we can't
hang onto the gang from Metro Division forever.
Speaker 3: Joe has been a bad month. All I need now
is a visit from the in law and do it
at fine.
Speaker 5: You talked to Jesse dinner, didn't jail. What do you
say about those two men they picked up on South
Maine this afternoon.
Speaker 3: They brought him in for processing, checked him out. I
couldn't find anything wrong. Both of them came gold. Yeah.
How about grabbing some lead after we check on? Okay,
I want to stop by Johnny Cokins. What about uh
frank dip sandwich? How's that sound? I haven't had one
for a long time. It suits me.
Speaker 2: How was that? Oh?
Speaker 3: Sorry, I know. Oh wait a minute, he just came in.
It's for you.
Speaker 5: Friday turned in from the Sheriff's off. Oh yeah, thanks
Bob Friday talking. Got Dick just now. Yeah, we'll be
over right away. Ain't got anything market bandits pulled a
hold up a couple of minutes ago and store on
Graham Avenue. It's out in County Territory. Yeah, one of
the sheriffs. You gonna took the call. Chase the hold
up car two miles They get the themes while you're
half right, huh they got one of them. Ten fifty
two pm, Ben and I drove to the Sheriff's Firestone Substate,
where the market bandit suspect was taken after his apprehension.
Speaker 3: When we got there, we talked to Deputy.
Speaker 5: Sheriff's sergeants Eddie Jones and Mel Viney, who had made
the arrest. They said they arrived at the scene of
the hold up the market on Graham Avenue a few
moments after the bandits pulled away and they're stolen Nash Sedan.
Jones and Viney gave chase, but when they finally forced
the hold up card to a halt, the driver was
the only one in the car. Somewhere along the route
of the two mile chase, the second robbery suspect had
succeeded in jumping out along with the loot taken in
the robbery and making good his escape. A broadcast and
the bulletin was gotten out immediately. The hold up suspect
they'd apprehended had been fingerprinted and they were checking on
his identification Downtown. Ben and I went in to talk
to him. Jones and Viney stood by while we questioned him.
Speaker 3: I still don't know what it's all about.
Speaker 8: Property clerk could give you an itemizer sipt for everything
you have on you take everything out of your wallet.
Speaker 3: Now put it out in tailor.
Speaker 6: Making a pretty big thing out of nothing, aren't you.
I haven't done anything. You want to check those things
from his wallet? Band, the cards, some of those papers?
I mean, yeah, that's your true name on this card here,
Grant B. Jameson, All right, that's right. This is your
present address.
Speaker 3: Yeah. Have you ever been arrested before? Oh? You asked
that it's not gonna take too much time to find out.
Speaker 6: You might as well tell us. We still don't know
what this is all about. I was speeding a little,
that's all. I haven't done anything.
Speaker 3: You know.
Speaker 5: You're kidding yourself, James, And we got everything on you
that we need. What do you think you're gonna gain
my stallings? You must have me mixed up with somebody else.
I don't know what you're getting at this card here
you took out of your wallets. You recognize why these
names and addresses you've got jotted down on the back
of it? Mind checking them out for I don't know
what you mean. Take a look he's here? Whose addresses
are they?
Speaker 3: Who are the people?
Speaker 6: Let's see? No, I don't think I even remember 'em.
Just something I scribbled.
Speaker 3: Down, that's all. You don't even remember one of 'em. No,
I don't think so how do you ask? Why don't
you come off with? Mister? What are you talking? You
know what we're talking about. You know it as well
as you know your own name.
Speaker 5: Fourteen robberies down here in twenty eight days you had
picked up in the hold up car. After the last
try tonight your partner gets away. Now you go right
on kidding yourself, Jamison, play it real close. You see
how far it gets you. I sure wish I know
what you're talking about. I don't know a thing about
any robberies. All right, then you stand by mister. You're
going to know a lot more about him. You're gonna
know a lot in the hurry. Yeah, just as soon
as we pick up your partner.
Speaker 3: Twelve twenty am.
Speaker 5: We continued to question the suspect, Grant Jamison, but he
refused to admit anything, even the fact that he'd stolen
the car that he'd been apprehended in.
Speaker 3: The only strong lead.
Speaker 5: We could pick out from the articles found on his
person was the list of Foreig names and addresses jotted
on the back of a.
Speaker 3: Car found on his wallet.
Speaker 5: Twelve thirty am, Ben and I left the sub station
and drove to the address Jamison that told us was
his present residence, an apartment house on Vernnon Avenue. The
manager told us he'd moved least a year ago without
leaving a forwarding address. One am, we began checking out
the list of four names and addresses which we'd found
in the suspect's wallet. The first was a Jack Williams.
His address a Spring Street roaming house. The land lady
told us he'd moved to Cleveland, Ohio, three months before.
The second was a John Gallagher. His address a third
rate hotel in East Hollywood. He hadn't been registered there
in the past two months. The third was a Matthew Sandford.
His address turned out to be an apartment house in
the Crenshaw District.
Speaker 3: One. A place to light on the mail box is
over here, Joe. Yeah, here you go. You see the
name there? Mm yeah, here.
Speaker 8: Here it is mL Sandford. That out of be a
apartment five. Right, let's try.
Speaker 3: Front door open, Saint yeah, let's company number five should
be done this way? I guess number five. Okay, give
it a try. Go ahead. That you police officers, you
Matthew Sam get up here, all right, get it all right?
Come on, I've a gun down alright, got it? Joe?
All right, get your hands, I'll cover him. Look around.
Huh right, what is this anyway? What's the idea you
tell us you pulled the gun. You've got no business
in here, You got no right? All right?
Speaker 8: You just stand still. We'll explain it. Downtown money sacks.
Joe found him in the desk, same market they hit tonight.
All right, Samford, you've got nothing from me. I don't
know what you're talking about it yet his coat?
Speaker 3: What have you been?
Speaker 10: Yeah?
Speaker 3: What are you trying to build anyway? You haven't got
anything on me. Fourteen robberies, mister, that's what we got
on you. Do you think you got proof? We got it? Yeah,
fourteen victims. Come on, let's go.
Speaker 2: The story you have just heard was true. The names
were changed to protect the innocent.
Speaker 4: The two Market bandit suspects, Grant Burton Jamison and Matthew
Roy Sanford were tried and convicted on fourteen counts of
first degree robbery and received sentences as prescribed by law.
First degree robbery is punishable by imprisonment in the state
penitentiary from five years to life. You have just heard
Dragnet a series of authentic cases from official files. Technical
advice comes from the Office of Chief of Police W. H. Parker,
Los Angeles Police Department.
Speaker 1: Welcome back. Well a good case and one of those
episodes where the capture comes from a partnership with Los
Angeles County, which is really important in real life to
so many LAPD operations. I also did like the scene
of making the composite picture. It was a bit different
other scenes that I had seen. For example, in He
Walked By Nine, they had kind of like pre cut
images of different features to determine how the person looked,
and they had multiple witnesses. Here you just had one witness,
but she was able to say it looked a little
bit like this top of the face and that bottom
of the face, and that was a way they produced
the composite. And of course there is the secret star
of the episode, the mimeograph. It's not something that people
are as familiar with, but it was really important before
you had photo copiers come along. Starting in the latter
part of the sixties and then into the seventies, these
were a huge step ahead for printing and running off copies.
And certainly would be a vital tool in trying to
get multiple copies of anything out to the police force.
And I actually know of the mimeograph. My first time
hearing of it wasn't in this episode of Dragon That
or any other episode or movie from the era, or
even radio program. You don't hear those mentioned a lot.
It was actually from a nineteen eighty sitcom. My favorite
comedy show when I was growing up was Perfect Strangers,
and it featured a mimeograph machine. They made it believable.
It was the first episode where they were working in
the newspaper, and the writers recognized the mimeograph machine would
be a great set piece for the sort of physical
comedy they did on that show, And so the writers
had the copy machine breakdown, and so Balki had to
use the mimeograph machine. Cousin Larry tried to help him,
and hilarity in suit believable in nineteen eighty seven that
a venerable Chicago newspaper would have one of those machines
still around, But these days I don't think you would
find one outside of a museum or a private collection. Perhaps, Well,
now it's time to then call our Patreon supporter of
the day, Thank you song on Spend twenty fifteen, currently
supporting the podcast at the much level of four dollars
or more promont Thanks so much for your support, John.
That will do it for today. If you're enjoying the podcast,
please follow us using your favorite podcast software and be
sure to rate and review the podcast wherever you download
it from. We'll be back next Thursday with another episode
of drag Nap. But join us back here tomorrow for
yours truly, Johnny Dollar.
Speaker 11: Where, hey, Marian, having trouble? Yeah, some kids been monking
just a lot.
Speaker 3: You want some bait?
Speaker 2: No, this is one trip I didn't come to fish.
Speaker 11: How is it by the way fish?
Speaker 3: Yeah? Fine, just my lot.
Speaker 11: No, I'm supposed to meet somebody there.
Speaker 3: Oh, it must be that fellow out there. He was
already there when I got here.
Speaker 11: Oh you see that boat the bottom side up on
the pier in.
Speaker 3: Near the end.
Speaker 11: I mean the man sitting beside her, Yeah, and himself
a fishing rod. Looks like could be on some bait.
I'll walk out with you and see if you go mine.
Speaker 5: Not at all.
Speaker 11: So their fishing has been good?
Speaker 3: Huh? What have they been catching?
Speaker 11: Quite a few bass last couple of days off the pier. Yeah,
there's some kelp beds and close brings me in around here.
Speaker 3: Funny and your friend there. You don't see it.
Speaker 12: Hey sleep, I guess, Hey, watch out, he's living. Got
but hm, hey, mister, mister, he isn't sleeping.
Speaker 3: That's right, he's dead.
Speaker 1: I hope you'll be with us then in the meantime.
Send your comments to Box thirteen at Great Detectives dot ne.
Follow us on Twitter, Radio Detectives. Check us out on Instagram,
Instagram dot com, slash Great Detactives from Boise, Idaho. This
is your host, Adam Graham signing off.