Dragnet: The Big Frame (EP1628)

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The story you are about to hear is true, only the names have been changed to protect the innocent.

Dragnet.

You're a detective sergeant. You're assigned a hit and run felony detail. A dead body is found in the streets in the early hours of the morning. There's only one clue, a set of skid marks on the pavement. Your job find the killer.

Dragnet. 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 files, from beginning to end, from crime to punishment. Dragnet is the story of your police force.

It was Monday, April nineteenth, was windy in Los Angeles. We were working the day watch out of Traffic Division. My partner's Ben Romero. The bosses Lieutenant Calfrey, Commander A I D. My name is Friday. It was seven fifty five am when I got to the second floor at one twenty three South figure O Street. Accident investigation getting run following detail morning Joe, George, how is it? Oh, it's not much better? Still aching rough lousy thing kept me.

Up most of the night. Check of that dentis that told you about? Yeah?

I did, says it's a wisdom code this one here. Oh yeah, since got to come out. I'm supposed to go back to see him the day that's rough.

Remember a friend of mine had his wisdom teeth out, hurt like the devil terrible. Finally pulled him eight for five or six days after. Excuse me, Joe, gammicky, bet I have.

A fifty seven yesterday. Okay, most of it down. I'll finish it out Friday. Hi, Ben comin yet he's down the record, bro, Let's see that joke. Guys.

M hasn't gone down much. But it's a bad Wisdom Tooth. Dennis is gonna have to yanke it bummed down.

Man.

That's the first time I ever had any trouble with him.

I remember a few years back my sister Gertrud had trouble with the Wisdom Tooth and packed him. Yeah, all side of a face was swarm book kid was in terrible pain full week even after they pulled it.

It's still high. Hi Joe picked up the overnight reports down in the records. Mac.

Yeah, well thanks Ben, this one on top hand. I like to have you to check it out. Dead buddy report, Yeah, left me a note on him.

That's about all. Not to pick what's the story, just what you're seeing the report. The victim was Edward Raymond Stokes seven thirty two. Delinos to the apartment too.

His body was finding a gutter in there, sixty thirdy per month, three o'clock this morning. No witnesses, only one piece of evidence.

Ye see they got it listed the skid marks near the body.

That all that's it? Parent hit and run. Where's the body? Man? Neighborhood mortuary out there? Emo Hill's Huner home.

One of the deputy coroners handled the body, guy named Joe Laramore.

Anybody claim it yet? No?

Okay, Ben, you ready? Ye's go'na check you later, man.

Yeah, any help. I've got to Pennon and Rogers on hand.

Right, how do we manage to draw all the choice ones? I know, skid marks and the dead body?

Yeah?

Oh say, I almost forgot. How's your Joe still hurts? Steal swollen? What did Denny say? Wisdom tooth? Oh it's miserable. Yeah, my wife had the same thing. A couple of years back then, has tried to yank the tooth and it broke right in too.

Finally got it out. That's good funny thing about wisdom. D what's that?

After they pull them arts for five or sixth days?

Eight thirty three am, Ben and I drove out to sixty third in Vermont and rechecked the spot where the dead body of Edward Stokes had been found. According to the report, the body was found two feet west of the easterly curb and thirty two north of sixty third Street on Vermont.

We examined the skid marks.

They showed definite signs of being a lot older than twenty four hours.

The consistency of the rubber was weak, and there were heavy.

Dirt smudges over them, indicating more aware than they could have possibly had since the estimated time of the victim's death. We got back in the car and drove to the Emerald Hills Funeral Home at Vernon and Denver Avenue.

Sure he's rotten weather for April, Yeah, he's funeral home.

Do you ever notice it? What's that? Why do they always put awnings over the winds? Never opened? Ra, I don't know, you know what we're going on.

You know where the office is, mister brass played on the door over there. That's how a lot. Yes, sir, here's somebody. Joe definitely be of the service. Police officers like to talk to mister Larimore. I believe he's a deputy corner. I'm mister Larimore. He came about the hit and run victim. Yeah, that's right, the sergeant Romero. My name is Briddy. If we'd like to check the body, if you could, certainly, it's back this way when the stands. You moved the buddy from the scene of the accident

I can set the door. Yeah, thank you. Why do you say it's unusual, mister Larimore, Well here let me show you there now.

For one thing, the victim had a basil skull fracture. I don't know about you, gentlemen, but in the hit and run cases i've handled, the basil fracture is a pretty rare thing. Well, it is possible, isn't it. It's possible. Anything's possible. As they say, it's not usual. A few other things here too. Yeah, now, that's the victim's knee. Here, a single clean cut. Wounds on the head. I've never seen anything like it. And hit and run cases I've been called him.

Yeah, a wound on the knee doesn't gibe, does it? He was hit by a car. The knees should be skinned up quite a bit, exactly. You know how it usually is the automobile hits the victim. There's always signs that the body was either dragged or thrown, shredding clothing, skin, knees, legs, elbows.

No sign of that here. You don't think the victim could have been killed by hitting running cars?

No, I don't say that it's possible that it might have been a car, but well, let's say it's not very probable.

Has anybody at all inquired about the body of mister Larmor?

No, No, it's funny, all right, Tom, excuse me a moment. Yeah, sure, Well yeah, or are we start?

I don't know. Maybe we won't have to another lead like this. We can turn over to homicide D.

Yeah, there's a young lady in the lobby. Yeah, she wants to claim the body. The girl was shown the body. She identified it as that of Edward Raymond Stokes.

She gave her name as Marian Fuller, the victim's common law wife. After she recovered from her shock, she asked if she might sit down for a while and rest. We took her into one of the offices in the mortuary, and Ben got her a glass of water. She told us that she had last seen Stokes alive at about one am that morning. They had been drinking together at a neighborhood bar on Vermont Avenue between sixty third and sixty fourth Streets, half a block from where the victim's body.

Had been found sprawled in the gutter. Why don't you sit down over there?

Be for.

How long did you know Edward Stilketing's for her?

In about six.

Years and I being together pretty much for the last couple of years.

Oh my, do you mind telling us exactly what happened while your wood Stokes last night?

Everything he can remember.

I can't think his headache killing you.

Oh, we should try him a sport, it's important.

Well, I mean I had dinner together at the Spanish Oven, placed down on soft fig that was about a quarter eight, and he drove out to the brown barrel and remont. But I told you about yeah, I mean I go there most of the time. He stayed there and drank, played little shuffle board.

Yeah, go ahead.

Always stayed too long, drank a little too much. I started talking with this fella next to me, and he got sore. Always got jealous when he was drunk.

Did any fight with this other man this sport?

Oh? No, I stopped it. That made any mad. You never could drink. I always wanted to pick a fight.

Who was the other man? You remember?

No, I don't. I guess I had a lot to drink too. He did some guy at the bar headache.

It's not gonna take much longer, Just a few more questions.

Organs getting on my nerves.

What happened after you broke up the argument between Stokes and the other man?

Oh? Nothing. We stayed in the bar.

Had he played shuffle board most of the time. I was one of the booth drinking.

Yeah.

Around one o'clock, I started feeling six, so I went outside and sat in the car. I guess I passed out there your car, well, I guess I belonged to one of the fellows in the bar. I passed out, and that's all I can remember.

Did you sleep in the car all night.

No, I guess whoever owned it drove me home.

Well, how do they know where you live?

I was doing one of our friends.

I don't know.

I don't remember anything till this morning. He phoned me up and said Eddie was dead.

Who phoned you, miss far.

One of our friends.

I don't remember. I had a rotten headache.

Well you can do better than that, I.

Tell you, I don't remember your phone and told me Eddie was dead.

Somebody ran Eddie down.

All right, where are we going downtown? We'll have a stenographer take your statement.

I got a terrible hangover. I've never had one as bad as this.

Neither is Eddie. Let's go on the way back to the office.

Ben stopped at the drug show and I picked up a box of aspring. The wisdom to who was giving me trouble again? The clerk at the soda pott and fixed something for Marian Fuller's hangover. When we got her back to the office and questioned her for more than an hour, but she gave us only one additional piece of information.

The victim, Eddie Stokes, had been married before and divorced.

His ex wife lived out in the valley with their two children, and on several occasions she came to see Stokes at the Vermont Avenue bar when he failed to make the monthly payments for the support of the children.

Each time they'd argued bitterly.

We had a police demographer take the floor woman's statment, and when she was released ten forty five am, Sergeants Rogers and McLennon were assigned to check out the Vermont Avenue bar, where Stokes had last been seen alive. Ben and I drove out to the valley to the home of Catherine Stokes, the victim's former wife. She met us on the front porch. Inside, it sounded like one of the children was practicing the piano.

Who told her what had happened last week?

I think it was yes Thursday, last week Eddie hadn't send him money for the kid's support for three months. I hated to chase after him like that. There wasn't nothing else I could do.

Where did you meet him?

Mists That bar used to hang around Oban Vermont called a brown bear or something. Oh wouldn't you like to come inside?

Yes? Thank you? You happen to know anybody by the name of Marian Fuller?

Yes, Eddie mentioned he was a man seeing woman like that.

Do you know anything about her at all?

No?

Whenever I saw it, he mentioned he was running around with it because he wanted to make me jealous.

Was your husband a pretty heavy drinker?

Yes, he was, so I got the divorce. Eddie was such a fine boy when we got married, good home.

You didn't know any of the people he'd been running around with lately.

No, just the full of him on, that's all.

Can you think of anything at all? It might possibly have a bearing on his death?

No, Eddie was probably drinking, wanted in the street to part him. I don't know. Oh, there's the bakery, man, I've got to get some bread and a few things. Excuse me.

I think that's about it all, don't you, Joe.

Yeah, I'll tell you. I'll leave our cardot Miss Stokes in case you want to contact us. Funny reason why.

It was so wonderful when we were married, Eddie and I. My folks gave us his house as a wedding prison. We got wonderful prisons. Yeah, we had everything we wanted, car, nice house, kids, wonderful. We started drinking. Then everything went job. Everything I thought, all of a sudden. I never knew why, Yes, ma'am. How the men get that way? How do they stand?

I don't know. We only see a part of it.

Yeah.

When they finish.

Twelve noon, Ben and I drove back into town to Vermont the sixty third Street for a meet with Sergeants Rogers and McClendon. They told us that they checked out the bartender who had been on the night before, and also seven of his customers. Their stories were almost identical. Each of them remembered seeing Eddie Stokes at the bar. Each of them remembered he was playing shuffleboard, that he was drinking heavily, and then he left the bar at about.

One forty five am.

All of us had the idea that for some reason, the bartender and the customers were lying. In most cases, it's hard to find two witnesses who tell identical stories, let alone seven. For the rest of that afternoon, Rogers, McLennan, Ben and I spent our time canvassing the neighborhood. In the vicinity of the Brown Barrel tavern four forty five am, we talked to the proprietor of a small grocery store

So we went next door.

To the Grand shop. Had a.

Nice looking mates. And you, yeah, the stakes look good, don't they? Two pounds?

All right?

Anything else? Now, missus Kidney got some nice besh kidneys today.

I'll tach kidneys. Put it on the bill, watch mister Murray, Yes man.

Thank you, Yes, gentlemen, and I hug you police officers. Mister Murray, like to ask you a few questions. Oh, I'm sure glad to help out if I can.

Have you ever been in the Brown Barrel tavern? Down the next block? There?

Brown Barrel? I'll go there all the time. Say would you mind if I fix up another while we're talking? The customers going to pick it up in a couple of minutes. I don't like to keep waiting.

Sure, go ahead, I gotta go to the ice block. When's the last time you ran in the Brown Barrel, mister Murray?

Last night the movie.

Picture, we dropped dinn at the Barrel and way home for a beer. About what time? Is that pretty close to two? What's the matter some kind of trouble? Did you notice anything unusual when you're in there? Anybody fighting or arguing?

No, we were only in there a couple of minutes. But now that you mentioned that, there was something funny happened.

What was that?

Well, a bartender, Carl, and a half dozen of the neighborhood gang or back in one of the boots, talking together. They seemed kind of nervous, and all of them seem to be having a good time.

You know.

My wife and I yelled hello at him, but they kind of gave us to go by. Then this drunk came up to us. Uh, they say, officer, wou'd you reach that knife for me?

Which one did that?

One?

Oh? Yeah here? Yeah, yeah, go ahead. Yeah.

Well, this a drunk came up to us and whispers to me, say, you better get out of here.

There's been a fight. Isn't that a beautiful piece of meat? Well?

I didn't pay much attention to him. He was pretty drunk, could hardly understand him. I I guess they have a lot of fights in there anyway.

Is that all he told you? They'd been Afie yeah, that well.

He came back a couple of minutes later and whispered the same same thing.

You better get out.

There's been a fight, he said, wife and I just laughed at him.

He said, I know all about it. A guy's been murdered. You are listening to dragnet.

The six PM Ben and I went back to Homicide to turn the case over to them. They asked us to handle the investigation for another day because they were short of men at the moment, because there was still a big doubts or whether or not Eddie Stokes had really been murdered. Actually, the only solid lead we had was the second hand testimony of a drunken witness. That and the deputy coroner's doubts that Stokes was actually the victim.

Of a hit and run.

Mister Murray, the butcher didn't know the name of the man who told him that there'd been a murder, and he could give us only a meager description. We brought Marian Fuller back in and requestioned her. She stuck to her story. She didn't remember anything. She was released again. Looked like we were in for a long night. We went across the street for a bowl of soup and a sandwich. And when we got back, Ben called his wife and told her he'd be working late.

I called my mother working late a king.

Oh, Joseph, how's your tooth feeling?

That's a little better, mind, it's still pretty tender. I'm gonna go to the dentist tomorrow.

Yes, you gotta have that attendant to right away. Bad teeth can poison your whole system.

You be sure. And see that dentist.

Is he a good one?

Yeah, he's okay.

One of the fellas down there told me about him.

I'll see a little later. I don't wait up.

Yeah, and you don't work.

Too late, Joseph, you need your rest, Yeah, okay, Man, goodbye, all right, Joseph, goodbye, Joe. Yeah. Just talk to that butcher's wife on the phone, Miss Murray.

What'd she has to say? Ask you the same questions we asked Murray? She couldn't add much, the same story, queen.

Yeah, mat Rogers and mcclennan just called. And it's still out at that bar now. Finally got somebody to talk a little well again. The bar boy out there, he says there was a fight happened about one doesn't remember who was fighting not much half bar boy's name is Milner, he told Rogers. He went outside about twenty minutes to two to put the garbage out. He saw the fullow woman asleep.

In that car. You get the license number? No, said there was a ticket on the windshield.

Ben and I checked with the sergeant of the watch at seventy seventh Street Division. He told us Unit one to eleven was assigned to the area where the Brown Barrel was located. And checking their worksheet, we found that Unit one eleven had issued a hang on citation the night before to a car park near sixty three thirty and one a half Vermont Avenue, the address of the Brown Barrel tavern. We checked the license number through DMV and found that the car was registered to a William R. Huddy,

Eight fifty five pm. We checked in at the bar. Boy ken, Oh, yes, sir, what'll it be.

You know, if there's a William Huddy in here, he's supposed to be playing a shuffle board game here tonight.

Yeah, I know how good.

He's with the Highland Park team. Man. Let me see, Yeah, that's him up now out on the blue shirt. Thank you, Ben, I said, Bell.

Good way, make it another three?

That cleans him? Good one? Bell? Yeah, that's pretty close. Speat that one?

Nice?

Excuse me?

Yeah?

Are you William Honey? Yeah, that's right.

Police officers would like to talk to you a minute. Oh what a buff I think to asked you a few questions. You stepped over here, man, Yeah, all right.

Were you with the Brown Bell tavern out on Vermont last night?

Yeah?

I was.

Why what's the matter?

You know Marion Fuller?

Yeah, she hangs around the place. She goes with a guy named Eddy. Did you drive her home last night? Yes, a matter of fact, I did. She passed out my car. It's a nice kid, but she drinks a lot.

I drove her home. Do you mind telling us what happened at the bar last night when you were there?

All?

Well, I come in about nine o'clock and I stopped playing shuffle board with a couple of guys. This guy Eddie Soil was one of them. Yeah, they got no beef. With the guy at the bar over Marry and there's nothing. Big guy left after a while, Go ahead, what's about all? I left the place around one thirty and they said he was beefing with some merchant semen about that time.

Was the poor girl still to buy at that time?

No?

When I went outside, I saw a sleep on my car, so I drove a home. I left her off and then come back to the bar. That's when they told me. Told you what When I said Eddie had a fight with this merchant seaman, I said, be better if we kept it quiet. Who told you that? Call a bartender and I got the real story from one of the fellas. I was playing shuffle board with William mccartty.

Would he tell you?

And we said that when Eddie Stokes left, the merchant seaman followed him out. He said he chased Eddie. McCarty went out about five minutes later. Yeah, well the merchant seamen was gone and Stokes was lying in the gutter down the street. Did mccartty look at him, Yeah, he said Stokes looked pretty bad, so he looked like he was dead. But I I would believe that when on this McCarty always exaggerates.

Ten fifteen pm.

We had William Huddy come back to the office with us, where we questioned him further and took his statement. Then we had his friend Leo McCarty brought in along with the bartender at the Brown Barrel tavern and the customers that he'd framed his story with. McCarty was the first to give us the straight story, and then the others followed. The bartender Carl Jansen, who also owned the bar, was the last to break How about it, Jensen, why didn't we get a straight story to begin with?

What about the publicity? I would that look? A murderer around my place could work.

Out worse than that. Mister Janson, you've been withholding evidence. You talk these people into the same deal.

I'd protect myself, newspapers, all the scandaled recommends business.

I had to keep it quiet. It's not my fault that Stokes has killed. I didn't do it. I'm not to blame. No, But you know who is to blame?

Now?

How about it? Who is he?

He works on the ships, comes in here most of the time when he's important. What's his name, Henry Baxter?

Okay? Some of his paychecks Ben you better get the captain there.

Yeah, hit't run, Phelony Friday.

Oh yeah, no, just a minute for you, Jansen.

Thank you, yes, oh yes, just a minute, sergeant. Yeah, it's my wife. She's at the bar now. She thought you ought to know. You know, Henry Baxter. Freea says he just came in.

I talked to Jansen's wife and told her to lay Baxter as long as possible without arousing his suspicions. Eleven twenty five pm, Ben and I and mister Jansen, along with Rogers and McLendon, drove out to the Brown Barrel tavern on Vermont.

When we got there, Baxter was gone.

Missus Jansen told us he was pretty drunk by the time he left the bar.

She'd watched him go down.

One block across the street and then enter a small nightclub on the opposite side called the Pink Shamrock, eeping an eye on the place, and as far as she knew, Baxter was still inside. We went down the street to the nightclub. Rogers and McLennon covered the back entrance. We got inside in the middle of a floor show. The blonde was doing some kind of a dance. Can you sparty miss Jansen, h I don't see yet. How about over on this side, back in the corner there, No.

It was not there. It was so dark and I can't see too well. And there's a re erected to the place he could have slipped out that way.

Kenny, did you take it soon?

Your poto brat?

No, no thanks. Maybe we better check with the waiter bit on, SI man over there at that table where yeah, yeah, I mean almost positive where I lack that. I step razy just behind it to see. Yeah, yeah, that's him. That's him, all right from on bench. You stay right here, mister Johnson, your bet.

Right.

I waited in the cocatte little waiters.

None of coka. You ain't even give me back to yeh. That's say what police officers like to talk to you.

Yeah, oh yeah, outside I said nothing, and let's see a show.

Let's go outside. Come on, I want him. What's the beef anyway? You know what to do? Sure?

I know what that?

Come on allows you? Punk got his stokes trying to give me a bad time. Now you know it's what a bad time is. Thanks you come on as you punk Stokes.

I showed him how it's done to keep your boy stock.

I slugged him, hounded his hat on the curb he was talking over in the water out. Come on, I'll say, hey, everybody, I killed that he stokes.

I killed him.

That's gid him money here yea, okay, how's that tooth feel you?

It seems okay. Better have a donnage yanked out first. Anymore they call hold off a while.

The story you have just heard was true, only the names have been changed to protect the innocent.

On July thirtieth, trial was held in Superior Court, Department eighty seven, City and County of Los Angeles, State of California. In a moment the results of that trial, Henry John Baxter was tried and convicted in Superior Court of manslaughter. He received the sentence as prescribed by law and is now serving as term in the state penitentiary. You have just heard Dragnet, a series of authentic cases from official files.

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Welcome Back. The Big Frame is one of those episodes I like as a radio episode, but I really adore as a television episode. Some of these I think the radio version is superior, but the TV version often has some things going for it, because the one thing about Jack Webb is when it came to radio and television, he was very skilled at finding ways whichever medium he was operating in to really make a show stand out, and The Big Frame is one of his better ones.