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 Dragnet. But
first I do want to remind you our listener support
and appreciation campaign continues and you can become one of
our ongoing Patreon supporters at Patreon dot Great Detectives dot net.
But now, from June twenty one, nineteen fifty one, here
is the vague run.
Speaker 2: The story you were about to hear is true, only
the names have been changed to protect the innocent.
Speaker 3: Fatima Cigarettes, best of all Long Cigarettes, brings you Dragnet.
Speaker 2: You're a detective sergeant. You're assigned to accident investigation hit
and run detail. You receive a call that two elderly
women have been struck down on a crosswalk by a
hit and run driver. The women lie in Georgia Street Hospital.
Their condition is critical. Your job find the driver.
Speaker 3: Drag met the documented drama of an actual crime. For
the next thirty minutes, in cooperation of 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 buyos. From beginning to end, from crime to punishment.
Drag Net is the story of your police force in action.
Speaker 4: It was Saturday, September fifth, was mild in Los Angeles.
We're working the day Watch out of accident investigation, get
and Run detail. My partner's Ben Romero. The boss is
Benny Caldwell, Chief of Traffic. My name's Friday. It was
seven thirty five PM when I got to forty six
to fifty six Collis Avenue my.
Speaker 5: Front door.
Speaker 2: Here?
Speaker 6: Is that your jersey?
Speaker 5: Yeah? Ma got both Sunday papers.
Speaker 7: I'm good. It's nice music on the radio, isn't it.
Speaker 5: Yeah, it's pretty. It's your favorite song, isn't it.
Speaker 7: Yes? See you in my dreams. Every Saturday night we
used to get together down there were Cromwell House and
west Adden's Boulevard Weekly dance you know, yeah, I know
you have him a lovely old home down there, have
a beautiful ballroom upstairs. Always that had a good time
at the Cromwell House.
Speaker 5: Was that before you were married?
Speaker 6: Oh?
Speaker 7: My, Yes, met your father through Mildred Cromwell. You know
she was quite fond of him too, that's all. Yes,
she was. Oh, nothing was serious, but cheers to think
quite a lot of Sam.
Speaker 5: And you broke him up.
Speaker 7: Huh, Joseph, You know I wouldn't do a thing like that.
Millie was only mightily interested in Sam. I wouldn't come
between the two people that were happy.
Speaker 5: You know that. Oh there's no way he used to
tell it, So you just broke him up, that's all.
Speaker 7: Yes, Well, you ever tell you about the time all
the girls in bode of some of the fellows from
the Royal Order of the Western Wildlife Protective Brotherhood Southern
chiter over to the basket bappele to a what basket raffle?
All the girls packed tasty lunches and the boys bid
for them a douction.
Speaker 5: Oh yeah, uh.
Speaker 7: It was a warm summer evening, just like tonight. It
was a grand affair. Annie Shellman was there with Jim Donahoe,
and your father came with Lorenzo Fisher, the Grand Faesier
of the wildlifeers Man.
Speaker 5: Sounds like quite an evening.
Speaker 7: Joseph, It really was. Samuel bid the highest for my basket,
ten dollars and fifteen cents. I'll always think to this day,
that's the reason Millie Cromwell's been so cool toward me.
Speaker 5: Well could be? Do you want part of the examiner? Mark?
Speaker 7: Thank you, son. I want to finish turning this collar
in your shirt.
Speaker 5: Okay.
Speaker 7: You wouldn't think a basket lunch could come between two
good friends, would you?
Speaker 5: A big barn I say, we'd.
Speaker 7: Never think a basket lunch should break up of friendship
like me Crown.
Speaker 5: That was n no, ma'am, you wouldn't. I'll get it.
Speaker 8: Man Friday talking Joe. Oh yeah, man, got a bad one.
Speaker 9: Two utterly women who struck by.
Speaker 5: Hit and run. Well, just have been a mc McCanny. Hey, Ma,
would you turn down the radio please? Thank you? Yeah? Man,
go ahead, three.
Speaker 10: Blocks west the rivers side of Lost Phelis. We have
two traffic cars out there now for the preliminary investigation.
Speaker 5: Better roll on it, right Mac, right away.
Speaker 10: I've already notified Romeo. He's on his way over to
pick you up.
Speaker 2: Now.
Speaker 5: Okay, I'll be ready. Give me informed, right Mac?
Speaker 7: May you have to go back to work?
Speaker 5: Truth? Yeah? Where'd you put in my flashlight? Do you remember?
Speaker 7: Right here?
Speaker 5: Okay? Thank you?
Speaker 7: Where does it sound an accident?
Speaker 5: Yeah? Bad one. It sounds like hit and run.
Speaker 7: Who is it? They say?
Speaker 5: A couple of elderly women struck down up on Los Veields.
Speaker 7: That terrible.
Speaker 5: Yeah, they're all terrible.
Speaker 4: Ten minutes after I hung up the phone, Ben arrived
and at eight ten pm we got to the intersection
of Lost Phelis Boulevard and Commonwealth Avenue. The bodies of
the two victims had been removed and taken to the
Georgia Street Receiving Hospital. One of the uniformed officers was
taking photographs of the scene. His partner was picking up
particles of glass and all physical evidence left by the
hid and run driver.
Speaker 5: He identified himself as Officer E. W. Hyde, Unit sixty one.
Speaker 9: T A few pieces of the headlight lands and the
chrome ring about all.
Speaker 5: And this is the point of impact.
Speaker 9: Yeah, that's right. It's twenty four feet south of the
northerly pavement in about twelve feet es to the westerly
curt line.
Speaker 4: Right in the crosswalk up there. Huh yeah, and freshly painted.
The driver couldn't miss seeing it.
Speaker 5: Yeah, it's well illuminated and good street lighting up here.
Hide with the signals in operation. No, they weren't.
Speaker 9: Boulevard stopped here though, blinkers are all in operation.
Speaker 5: How far were the bodies of the victims thrown Briday.
Speaker 9: Number one was thrown seventy feet buddy number two was
not thirty eight feet in the southwest direction. Both came
to rest approximately at the center line of the street.
Speaker 5: MM.
Speaker 9: Whoever did it was going at a high rate of speed.
That's when we figured. I told you there were no
skid marks, didn't they?
Speaker 5: Yeah? You did.
Speaker 9: Any witnesses Yeah, there's three, but only one I think
will be helpful. That's the name in Andrew. He's right
over there in the curb. Now, name's Richard Mortigan, runs
the nursery there.
Speaker 5: Well, thanks, Hide. You're gonna make the reports and book
the evidence.
Speaker 9: Right, yeah, I'll take care of it.
Speaker 5: Thanks.
Speaker 9: Mortigan over there in the ten overalls. All right, thanks
a lot, Hide.
Speaker 4: Okay, Uh, your name Richard Mortigan?
Speaker 5: Is that right, sir? Yeah, that's right.
Speaker 4: Police officers. Mister Mortigan is asige at the mill or
are you? My name is Friday. We're out of accident investigation.
I talk to you about the accident that just happened here.
Speaker 5: Sure was a bad one. I hope you catch those kids.
Didn't even slow down.
Speaker 4: Understand you witnessed the accident wonder if you'd be kind
enough to tell us what you saw.
Speaker 11: I would just closing up my nursery here, just unlock
my car. ARM was about to get in when I
saw this car come shooting up Los Phelis there fast
clip went away with the two women. They were just
stepping off the curve under the crosswalk over there. I
could tell they didn't see the car. Yelled hawk my horn.
I guess I wasn't quick enough. Just off the going
this morning. Oh away, that car hit those women. Looked
to me like he knocked him fifty feet at least,
and then just like nothing at all. The car raced
right on through the intersection on Don Los Phylis that way,
M need you get a look at the driving, No, sir,
not too good. But I believe he had blonde hair.
Looked to me like he was alone in the car.
Speaker 5: Anything more about him.
Speaker 11: Looked like a young kid to me, I bet on
that he was young, blond kid, about oh eighteen nineteen
on in there.
Speaker 5: Now, how about the car he was driving? Can he
help us out there?
Speaker 9: See?
Speaker 5: I believe it was a Ford.
Speaker 11: I don't know what year, Yeah, uh Ford sedan two door?
Speaker 5: What color was it? Black, dark blue, I'd say black.
Did you happen to get the license numbers? See? Oh?
Speaker 11: Sure, everything happened so fast time. Guess there was kind
of stunned for a minute, you know how you'd be sorry?
Speaker 5: I wish I did.
Speaker 12: And you're pretty sure about the car, mister Mortigan. Are
you familiar enough with cars to be positive it was Afford?
Speaker 5: Yeah? I think I am.
Speaker 11: And you don't know what year the car went, Oh, sir,
I'm sorry, I don't just know what's a Ford Sadam.
Speaker 5: Well, thank you very much, mister Mortigan. We may have
to check back with you later anytime. You'd better do
whatever I can to help you get that driver udden
we get a hold of him this morning. Well, I'm
right here all times.
Speaker 11: Mortigan, Nurseries forty four oh two los Phyllis four number,
Normandy three two two five seven. I seem thank you
very much. It's too or woman didn't never chance a minute.
They stepped off the curb. Crazy kid didn't even stop
to see if you could help him.
Speaker 5: Yes, sir, we know. Man again, maybe you didn't see him.
Maybe it wasn't his fault. Whose fault was it? He
didn't stop before we left the scene of the accident.
Speaker 4: We interviewed the other two witnesses, but they could add
nothing to Richard Mortigan's statement. Investigation disclosed that victim number
one was on Marcella R. And Norton, aged fifty eight.
Victim number two was identified as Elizabeth Anne Care.
Speaker 5: Aged sixty five.
Speaker 4: Ben and I drove over to the Hollywood station where
we met Officer Hyde, who was just completing his reports
and was booking the physical evidence found at the scene
of the accident. Included in the evidence were the top
coats worn by the victims at the time they were
struck down.
Speaker 5: All this was turned over to Lieutenant Lee Jones in
the crime lab.
Speaker 4: Ben and I compiled a small amount of information that
we had the physical evidence found at the scene and
the scanned information that the witnesses were able to give us.
Not enough for us to attempt to identify the driver
of the hid and run car. Well, it wasn't much
to go. On nine to fifty four pm, we got
a call from Lee Jones who said that he'd completed
his investigation and wanted to see us right away.
Speaker 5: We went over to the crime lab.
Speaker 9: I think maybe I got what you need ed well,
we haven't got much now, so almost anything will help Lee.
I's go back then, all right. First off, your witness
out there, what was his name?
Speaker 5: Mortigan? Yeah?
Speaker 9: Well Mortigan is right. The cow was black and the
microscopic analysis and scrapings found on the victim's coats. Yeah,
I'd say a black car previously painted tan or sand
color under the black.
Speaker 5: That was one of the things he's positive about. How
about the make and the models? Anything? There is not
too much there.
Speaker 9: I think maybe I can help you there too. What's
a break in Let's see, just got back from the
lighthouse and a lens meet a test and those pieces
of broken head light lens and the diapter reading shows
that that particular type lens was made in nineteen thirty four.
Speaker 5: How about the make of the car?
Speaker 9: League The only company that used this type of lens
was the Ford Motor Company.
Speaker 5: Pretty positive.
Speaker 9: Buy ran a spectrographic test on the chemical composition of
the glass and the lens checks out. Huh, I got
a car to work on, that said, nineteen thirty four
Ford Black.
Speaker 5: Oh, thanks a lotly. It's all right.
Speaker 9: When you find the car, I can tie it in
definitely for you.
Speaker 5: Oh, it's fine.
Speaker 9: Oh excuse me, Crime Lab Jones. Right here, Mac, just
a minute there, either one of you. It's Mick Deerman.
I'll take a gymp Okay, yeah, I'm Max from Meryl.
Oh when yeah, I mean too? Yeah right, Mak just
got work from Georgia Street. Yeah, both victims had just died.
With the death of the two.
Speaker 4: Victims, what had only been a hit and run felony
had now become a case of manslaughter, two counts. Ben
and I went back to the office and met with
Lieutenant mcderman. Past experience has proven to the traffic officer
that the quickest and surest way to a successful prosecution
of a hit and run case is with the full
cooperation of the average citizen. A hit and run felony
differs from the ordinary police case in that the investigating
officers are not dealing with a criminal suspect. In the
case of this nature, the guilty party could well be
the outstanding citizen of his community. In all probability, he
had no motive for a crime, only motive and running
from the scene of the accident. Well, the one way
to gain citizen cooperation was to acquaint him with all
the details of the accident. And he and all information
that we had or would obtain as the case worked
towards solution ten to fifteen pm Saturday, September fifth.
Speaker 5: In addition to the emergency.
Speaker 4: Broadcast put out at the time of the accident, supplemental
broadcasts and apbs were sent out.
Speaker 5: Ben and I then started to make up a special
police bulletin wanted fremnus laughter and hit and run felony.
Speaker 4: Okay, uh information regarding identity of occupant of following hit
and run vehicle.
Speaker 5: Regarding identity of occupant.
Speaker 4: Yeah vfl okay got it involved in accident resulting in
death of two female pedestrians.
Speaker 12: Accident destiny. Accident occurred September fifth, Proximen.
Speaker 5: Day, What times Joe seven thirty pm.
Speaker 12: Right on Rose Famous Bulletvard at intersection Commonwealth Avenue.
Speaker 5: Okay, now I can see what we got. Thank you.
Speaker 4: Occupant young Mail Caucasian, approximately eighteen to nineteen years of age.
Vehicle nineteen thirty four Ford Sedan, black with tan undercoat,
driven by Mail occupant. This car will have extensive damage
to front end. Facsimile photographs of type of car wanted
to appear on this bullet We got the photos right,
here side and front and back view. Okay, this ought
to do it. Let's get it down to the printing
bureau right away.
Speaker 12: Yeah, auto banks, shops, wrecking yards, garages, repair stations.
Speaker 5: Used car lots, insurance company. The daily papers are running
a spread on it in the next edition. That all
to cover. Yeah, it's all there if it gets to
the right person.
Speaker 4: Wednesday, September ninth, ten forty five am, the inquest of
the two hit and run victims was held and the
jury returned a quick verdict of manslaughter two counts, naming
it John Doe is guilty. For the next three weeks,
we received numerous phone calls concerning the black Ford Sedan.
All leads were checked out and failed to materialize. Cars
fitting the description of the wated vehicle were constantly being stopped,
and the occupant's question we got nowhere. Ben and I
followed up on our bulletins. We checked various garages and
paint shops. Used car lots were checked and rechecked.
Speaker 5: No luck.
Speaker 4: Monday, October third, two thirty pm, we were on our
way back to the office after having canvas several wrecking
yards and repair stations.
Speaker 12: I never knew they made so many Black thirty four
to Ford. Yeah, I don't see how we could have
overlooked anything.
Speaker 5: You.
Speaker 4: No, I don't something ought to break on this thing soon.
We just had a little more to go on that
license number. If somebody could have seen any that'd help,
wasn't it.
Speaker 5: I'll get it. Traffic Friday.
Speaker 10: Hello, my name is Dan Provost. I run to use
car lots Dan's corner at five four Avenue.
Speaker 5: Yes, sir, I like it.
Speaker 10: Talk to somebody regarding that last bullet and you sent
out September seventh this year.
Speaker 5: Well, I think maybe I can help you, sir.
Speaker 10: Then thirty four Ford you're looking for on that hit
and run.
Speaker 6: Thing, Yeah, that's right, young kid blonde says he's got
some repair work for us.
Speaker 10: Yeah, I got one of my mechanics stalling him.
Speaker 5: Now, what's the car looked like, mister provo?
Speaker 10: Like the one you're looking for. The reason I called
is because he says he banged up the front end
right away.
Speaker 5: I remember the bullet all right, So see if he
can hold him there, will you We'll be right over.
Speaker 10: I'll do my best.
Speaker 5: We'll be right there.
Speaker 10: I think I've got your man for you.
Speaker 4: It took us fifteen minutes to get to fifty four
to seventy three sixth Avenue Dan's corner. We crossed over
the gravel covered lot to the rear, where we found
a small wooden shack marked office. Dan Provost met us
at the door.
Speaker 9: I'm Provost you the police. Yes, sure, i'ry. I'm sorry.
I did my best, but I couldn't hold him here
without making him suspicious. But I'm sure he'll be back.
Speaker 5: How do you know?
Speaker 9: We see he bought this car from it says he
had a little accident and wanted us to fix it
up for him. I told him we would if he'd
bring it in.
Speaker 5: Why do you think he left? It's only been about
fifteen minutes and you called us downtown real.
Speaker 9: He might have heard me talking to you.
Speaker 5: Well, if he didn't, he's our man. I doubt very
much if he'll be back.
Speaker 9: I bet he. Well, a lot kid about nineteen years old,
driving him black thirty four or four, just like the
one year after.
Speaker 5: Well, can he give us his name and the licensed
number of the car?
Speaker 9: Sure, it's Curly Watson license number. I got it right here,
nine or nine seven o seven. I looked it up
on his contract and.
Speaker 5: His name Curly. You have his full name.
Speaker 9: Sorry, I guess I'm a little excited. It's uh wilfred E. Watson.
Everybody around here calls him Curly. I'm pretty sure he's
the one you want. I know that car bought it
from us about five months ago.
Speaker 5: It's just too bad you couldn't have detained him just
a little longer, mister Provos.
Speaker 9: Well, like I say, you don't have to worry, he'll
be back.
Speaker 5: What makes you so sure?
Speaker 9: And the way he described the damage to us, I'd
say he's got about seventy five two hundred dollars worth
of work on that front end. Yeah, I know he's
a man you want. I'm gonna be in trouble if
he's not. What do you mean what was the only
thing I could do on the spur of the moment
like that? Yeah, that's how I know for sure he'll
be back here. Well, how's that I told him I
fix his car free.
Speaker 3: You are in the forgery division of a metropolitan police department.
Handwriting analysis All right, now write the alphabet and lower
case please. You are listening to a handwriting expert taking
an exemplar of a suspect's handwriting.
Speaker 5: Now write the numerals from one to ten. Please.
Speaker 2: This handwriting sample will be compared with a Forge signature
side by side. Two signatures may often look alike, but
closer examination will prove a world of difference.
Speaker 5: We call Lieutenant mcderman and filled him in.
Speaker 4: He sent Sergeants Kill, Patrick and McLendon now to really
Been and me and to maintain a stake out on
Dan's corner the used carlot in the event the suspect
should return. We went back downtown to R and I.
Wilfredy Watson had a record and was wanted by the
Fresno Police Department, where he had jumped bail. The charge
was grand theft. We took Watson's mug shot back to
the used car lot, where he was positively identified by
Dan Provos. Ben and I went to his last known address.
The landlady told us that Watson had moved approximately a
month ago and had not left a forwarding address from
his mamma's sheet, We obtained a list of his friends
and associates. All efforts to locate him failed. The stakeout continued.
We showed the mug shot to Richard Mortigan, the one
good witness to the accident. He said he could not
identify Watson as he did not get too good a
look at him, but he stated that there was a
possibility that he could be the man.
Speaker 5: A week went by, the whereabouts of the suspect was
still unknown.
Speaker 4: Tuesday, October tenth, Ben and I were out running down
Elite on Watson when we received a call to return
to the office.
Speaker 5: Lieutenant mcderman met us. As we got there, I put
that call in for you anything doing. Then I got
a lead. I don't know how good it'll be.
Speaker 13: But we ought to check it out right away. What
he got, well, we just received a call from the
Santa Monica PD. Missus Agnes Hastings called in and gave
him a little something. As I say, maybe there's nothing
in it, but see what you think. The Hastings woman
stopped in at the local soda fountain down there. Place
is patronized by the hot rod crowd, said she overheard
part of a conversation between a couple of the kids.
This one dark haired boy was sitting at the counter
when another kid walked in the front door. The kid
that came in had red hair. The dark haired kid
said higher, red and the redhead sat down by him.
Speaker 5: Yeah, And one of the kids made some remark about
the boy's red hair, asked him why he died. The
redhead said, well, they're looking for a blonde, aren't they. Yeah,
it could be a little summer, I thought so.
Speaker 13: And the Hastings woman followed the redheaded boy outside and
took the license number of his car. Anything there, I
don't know yet. Ran it through DMV, but it's not
in the file. Mark Benson's got to call him to Sacramento. Now,
anything new on Watson, No, nothing yet.
Speaker 5: Where can we find this, agues Hastings man.
Speaker 9: Well, here's the address right here.
Speaker 5: Okay, thank you.
Speaker 9: Well that's all she had said.
Speaker 13: She'd been following the hit and run story in the papers,
thought this might be worth forwarding anyway.
Speaker 5: Yeah, just a minute traffic mcdermon, oh high art. Yeah,
well you did.
Speaker 14: Huh m hmm, yeah, I see, uh huh yeah, yeah,
right bye, that was our Killpatrick Ian McLendon picked up Watson.
Speaker 5: Yeah.
Speaker 13: Anything, they're bringing him in now, they say this. Watson
denies the hit and run. Jones will check his car
over then.
Speaker 5: We'll know a little more. There's not much we can do.
Speaker 12: We hear from Benson on the Santa Monica think, well
maybe there is What's that We got two leads.
Speaker 5: We can hope one of them is right.
Speaker 4: While waiting for the call from Mark Benson at HP
Ben and I drove over to the police garage on
South figure Ona. Wilfrid Watson's car had been impounded and
Lee Jones had made his investigation. His findings eliminated Watson's
thirty four to Ford as being the hit and run car.
Investigations showed that Watson's car was involved in an accident,
but this was five days prior to the killing of
the two women pedestrians.
Speaker 5: Wilfrid E.
Speaker 4: Watson was booked to the Fresno authorities for prosecution on
their warrant. This left only the one lead, the red
headed boy who had dyed his hair. If Agnes Hastings
observations had been correct. The fact that the boy originally
had blonde hair made him a possible suspect.
Speaker 5: Eleven a m.
Speaker 4: The information from DMV came through from Sacramento. The car
was registered to a Calvin L. Martin sixteen Boardwalk Lane,
Santa Monica. The car was a nineteen thirty nine Dodge
Sedan legal. The same sixteen boardwalk lane was a small
beach house facing out on the Pacific Ocean in the
town of Santa Monica.
Speaker 5: Eleven twenty six a m. We arrived in front of
the house. This is at number sixteen. Yeah, alright, let's
go up on the porch. I don't see anybody around.
Looks like nobody's Oh well, let's try the bell. Well,
I guess you're right. Nobody home. Yeah, let's check the garage. Huh. Alright,
around the side, isn't it. Yeah?
Speaker 12: I had that's right there.
Speaker 5: Oh yeah, padlock.
Speaker 12: Uh uh, maybe there's a window around the side. Yeah,
come in, Joe, alright, wind is kind of dirty. Uh,
wipe it awful at all?
Speaker 5: Yeah, that's better. Huh. Can you see anything? Take a look,
you know, I see? Yeah, looks like a thirty four
to ford to me, notice a left front fender. Uh,
it's pretty badly dented, isn't it. Mm, looks like we're home.
Speaker 12: Maybe I don't like to get a closer look. They
young kid got out of a car out front. Looks
like a red head from a clo.
Speaker 15: Hi.
Speaker 5: You men want something, police officers?
Speaker 9: Yeah?
Speaker 5: Do you live here? Yes?
Speaker 3: I do.
Speaker 9: What's wrong?
Speaker 5: What's your name?
Speaker 9: Louis Martin?
Speaker 5: Who is Calvin L. Martin? My father? Why does he
on a nineteen thirty nine Dodge? Yeah, that's right?
Speaker 9: Anything wrong?
Speaker 5: Whose car is that down in the garage there?
Speaker 9: Belongs to a friend of mine? I just let him
keep it in there?
Speaker 5: What's his name? Jesse? Yeah? What? Jesse? What?
Speaker 9: Jesse Armstrong?
Speaker 5: Where does he live?
Speaker 9: All run Venice Boulevard?
Speaker 5: What's the number?
Speaker 9: I don't know offhand?
Speaker 5: And you let him park his car here in your garage?
You don't know where he lives?
Speaker 15: Well, I know, but I just can't think of it.
I don't understand what's wrong? You got a key to
the garage, No, Jesse's got it. You don't keep a
key to your own garage?
Speaker 9: No, I let Jesse keep it.
Speaker 5: You always had red hair? Sure? Why? Red on top
of blind at the roots? Is that it?
Speaker 9: I wish you'd tell me what's going on?
Speaker 5: No, ar'mstrung? You tell us, well, what's a joke?
Speaker 10: Alright, alright, let's hold it right here?
Speaker 7: I didn't do.
Speaker 5: Well? How about it? Son? That's the second time you
tried to run, now, isn't it?
Speaker 9: How'd you find me?
Speaker 15: Who told you you wanna tell us about it. I
didn't mean to hit those two women. I was coming
home from up in La. I was late, and I
was trying to hurry to get home. I didn't see
him until it was too late.
Speaker 5: Why didn't you stop? Why'd you run?
Speaker 9: I was afraid. I just couldn't face it.
Speaker 5: I thought I could get away with it. I guess.
Speaker 9: I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do it.
Speaker 5: Do you know those two old women died as a
result of you running him down?
Speaker 9: No, I didn't know they'd die.
Speaker 5: All right, come on, son, let's go.
Speaker 9: I didn't really mean to do it. I'll tell everybody
I'm sorry.
Speaker 5: I am sorry.
Speaker 9: That'll make a difference on it.
Speaker 5: You kill two people? You figured.
Speaker 2: The story you have just heard was true. Only the
names were changed to protect the innocent.
Speaker 3: On December seventeenth, trial was held in Superior Court, Department
eighty one, City and County of Los Angeles, State of California.
In a moment the results of that trial, the suspect,
Lewis T. Martin, was found guilty of manslaughter. He was
sentenced to one year in the county jail and was
placed on probation for five years. 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 2: Fatima Cigarettes, best of all, Long Cigarettes, has brought you Dragnet.
Transcribed from Los Angeles.
Speaker 5: Stay tuned for Counterspy next over most NBC stations.
Speaker 1: Welcome back. It's an interesting episode that highlights the challenge
of trying to be a fugitive while remaining in the
same place. And our suspect just made so many mistakes
that gave himself away. A boy dying his hair red
in this era would stand out a lot more than
a blonde boy who looked like the vague description of
the suspect. And then, of course you had the car,
which was a dead giveaway. And there might have been
some things he could have done to mitigate that, like
wait a few weeks to get it fixed, but then
he'd have a risk of people noticing he was walking,
and then he was probably done for as soon as
he left the the accident and decided to try and
go about his life as if nothing had happened, with
a few modifications that just made him stand out like
a sore thumb. Well, now it's time to thank our
Patreon supporter of the day, and I want to thank
Jim and Rachel, Patreon supporter since March twenty sixteen, currently
supporting the podcast at the Shawmus level of four dollars
or more per month. Thank you so much for your
support and 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 will be back next
Thursday with another episode of Dragnet. But join us back
here tomorrow for yours truly.
Speaker 6: Johnny Dollar ware, can you come down ahead of Lake
City mister Dollar right away? Well, it depends.
Speaker 2: What's it all about? I?
Speaker 5: I Andrew.
Speaker 6: Well, don't you know he's the man who founded Lake
City a door. He's dead, mister Dollar.
Speaker 10: Or rather he isn't it.
Speaker 6: Well, that is to say, he died, mister Dollar, about
five years ago, and well in due time, of course,
we paid off the claim on his life insurance policy
fifty five thousand dollars. Everything in order and perfectly all right.
Speaker 4: Well but now, oh oh.
Speaker 6: No, mister Dollar, you just won't believe it unless you
come here and see for yourself.
Speaker 9: Oh, don't believe what.
Speaker 6: Ian McAndrews has come back, either he or his his
ghost has come back here.
Speaker 5: Oh no, no, it's true.
Speaker 6: It's absolutely true. Sir, Ian McAndrews is haunting Lake City.
So please come as quickly as you can.
Speaker 1: Hope you'll be with us then. In the meantime, send
your comments to Box thirteen at Great Detectives dot net,
follow us on Twitter at Radio Detectives, and check us
out on Instagram, Instagram, dot com slash Great Detectives from Boise, Idaho.
This is your host, Adam Graham signing off.