Dragnet - Season 3 - Episode 28 - The Big Shoplift

[Music] ladies and gentlemen story you're about to see is true the names have been changed to protect the innocent [Music] [Applause] [Music] was Tuesday August 22nd we were working the day watch out of burglary division my partner's Frank Smith the boss is Captain wisdom my name's Friday a wave of thefts had broken out in the city there was no pattern to the thief's operations there were no leads the number of thefts kept growing we had to stop [Music] sorry to keep you boys waiting but I had to sign these papers quite all right now let me see your Smith and your sergeant Fridays I say that's right well I guess you know what the problem is well I didn't get it quite clear on the phone mr. Elliott one of his last thing come up well the way we have it figured out it must have happened around closing time yesterday between 5:00 and 5:30 we figure the store was crowded at that time was it yes pretty busy we had a special prix winner showing in the fur department no one noticed it was gone till after we closed up can you give us a description of the piece of merchandise mr. Elliott yes I've got it right here silver bloomix stole satin lining to slash pockets silver chain fastener complete description of it for you and those are the code numbers and serial numbers on it are they that's right the whole thing is getting way out of hand sergeant we've had a lot of things left it from the store the last few weeks but nothing this big this keeps up I don't see how we're going to get our insurance renewed I guess your store detectives are working on this latest one the missing fur out yes but it's the same as all the other cases we pay it they haven't been able to find a thing all the personnel have been checked all the people who were around the department when the fur was stolen I mean those it was possible to check on as far as we know they're all clear what were the circumstances of the thing mr. Elliott I mean was this mink stole on a display rack did one of the models have it on exactly how was it well it was modelled yes after it was shown to several parties it was put back in stock we have a special right for the stove's regular enclosed cabinet sliding doors on it Kevin it's usually open during store hours I see there was a store detective in the department of the time all those salespeople standing around can't understand why one of them didn't see it happen mr. Elliott you say this is the first time an expensive item like this has been lifted from your store oh that's right like I said we've had dozens of less expensive things disappear everything from a 50-cent handkerchief to a $100 handbag I suppose we might have expected it I understand some of the other stores in the area have been hit pretty hard yes sir it's been the last eight weeks most of the stores for eight or ten blocks long well sure here they seem to be getting the worst of it we've got a special shoplifting detail working the area staying as close to it as possible I guess you know as well as I do we can't stay in business this place sergeant there certainly must be some way to trap whoever's doing it well we're doing everything possible sir we're trying to cover it as best we can for you I think you'll agree just about the only way to reach the thieves is to grab them when they're actually stealing the things just isn't possible for our detail to cover every department in every store yes you've got a point there what about the knows shoplifters in the city you keep a file on them don't you yes sir we do there are half a dozen people were keeping an eye on we've got our stats office and our Record Bureau helping out no definite lead so far though certainly can't understand it we've had one meeting of the store personnel already guess I'll have to call another one we'll just have to be doubly careful that's all about the personnel mr. Elliot you say there's been a check made on each one of them since this thing started yes sir that's correct and there's no reason to be suspicious of any of your people at all huh well as a matter of fact there is one sergeant salesgirl she was up on fire with a sweet-16 shop and she was moved down to cosmetics on the street floor what is it that makes you suspicious ever well before I say anything I want to make it perfectly clear to you we've never had any real proof that there was something wrong there Dorothy started with us eight years ago that's the girl's name dorothy Kirkman she came to us right out of high school she seemed to be doing all right got along with the customers dressed neatly always on time then all of a sudden the shoplifting started we didn't think there was any connection at first thought it was only a coincidence Noddy means me well just for instance wait a minute I've got the file right here on the desk let's see yeah here it is out of the first fourteen items to disappear six of them were out of Dorothy Kirkman's department right out of her section cashmere sweaters expensive blouses scarves as I say at first we wrote it off to coincidence but it kept recurring a section almost seemed to be the focal point of all the shoplifting that was at the beginning of course did you have the girl watched mr. Elliott this Kirkman girl yes we did the department head kept an eye on her and well I guess Dorothy noticed it she resented it quite a bit a little spat with the head of the department we thought it best for everyone if she transferred so we had to move downstairs to cosmetics how'd that arrangement work out well for the first few weeks fine and we started missing things out of cosmetics a lot of it didn't amount to too much a lot of it did makeup kits expensive perfumes this time we called her in try to talk to her about it in a nice way she got very resentful she denied knowing anything about yeah she got very upset of course there is one thing I will say the items in cosmetics are on display all over the counter is fairly easy for anybody to pick them up but the fact still remains the stealing began in her department upstairs she moves down to cosmetics and all of a sudden the losses increase there what would you figure yes sir I see what you mean what if he could have somebody point out this Dorothy Kirkman for us mr. Elliott I think maybe we'd better have a talk with her I'd like to help you sergeant I'm afraid that's not possible oh how do you mean she quit last Saturday we got all the information available on Dorothy Kirkman from the stores personnel files and then we called the office and gave them a description of the stolen fur we asked them to check the Kirkland girl through R&I we contacted the shoplifting detail out of forgery division and fill them in on the developments she had no previous criminal record before we left the store we went to the fur department talked to all the salespeople concerned but we were unable to come up with anything new regarding the theft of the silver blue mink stole [Music] we drove out to Dorothy Kirkman's last-known address she wasn't home but her mother was the mother told us that the day before her daughter had started on a new job as a salesgirl at the house of Raymond it was an exclusive shop specializing in all types of cosmetics we checked the phone book and found the house of Raymond was located in the same 10-block stretches on Wilshire Boulevard where the shoplifting campaign was going on it was one of the few places along there but the thieves hadn't bothered was three blocks from Anthony store for women the Kirkland girl's former place of employment no I don't mind telling ya I got sick and tired of being called a thief that's why I quit Anthony's what that goes a long way you started work here at Raymond's yesterday miss Kirkland is that right yeah that's right I think I'm gonna like it a lot better than Anthony's while you were working here at Anthony's ma'am I suppose you heard you quite a bit of shoplifting was going on yes I know about it I guess every girl in the store I knew about it had a big personnel meeting about it you have any suspicions of your own miss Curtin how do you mean that well I mean was there anyone in particular you might have been a little bit suspicious of maybe one of the customers no I've waited on some real weird ones but I didn't see any of them try to walk out with anything all I knew was what mr. Eliot told us at that meeting a list might be an embarrassing question for you miss we'd appreciate an honest answer yes what about the sales girls you worked with any of them ever give you a cause to be suspicious you mean do I think any of them were doing is stealing no it was some of them I didn't like I didn't trust him either but I wouldn't accuse him of stealing wouldn't accuse anybody unless I had proof more than I can say for some people I know by any chance did you happen to be in Anthony's this past Monday Monday no why do you ask when you were working on the fifth floor up the street there at Anthony's we understand that when the merchandise first started disappearing a pretty good percentage of it was out of your section that's what they told me yes and then when you were transferred downstairs to the cosmetics counter quite a few things started disappearing from there we'd like an honest answer miss Kirkman do you have any explanation at all for this I'll tell you the same thing I told them at the store sergeant I can't explain it but I didn't have anything to do with it believe me well you'll have to admit ma'am it's pretty much of a coincidence isn't it call it whatever you want to I didn't have anything to do with it yes ma'am the only thing I took home from that store was my paycheck [Music] 4:38 p.m. we finished questioning the suspect Dorothy Kirkman and Frank and I went back to the office and made arrangements to have the girl kept under temporary surveillance a bulletin had been gotten out on the missing first stole the pawnshop detail had been notified and a description of the FIR had been placed on the stolen property list the following day along with officers paul lepage john wood and policewoman gladys young we continued our investigation of the latest shoplifting complaints it went slow a lot of legwork and no progress like the dozens of other items of merchandise which had vanished in the last eight weeks there wasn't a trace of the missing first stole more men were added to the special detail on duty in the ten block area where the stealing was going on anyone in the city would ever serve time for shoplifting was checked and rechecked constant surveillance was maintained over a half a dozen known thieves who we figured might be involved it got us nothing Wednesday August 23rd 5:30 p.m. no leads no progress we went back to the office [Music] [Applause] Hey Joe skipper says it's gonna rain before tomorrow all right yeah so if I get home before 6 o'clock I want to get out and see that shoe repairman in our neighborhood why what's the matter boy what a Salesman I went in there the other day and he says Smith you're an officer you're on your feet all day that's it yeah he said yep you need some help with your feet Oh Charlie what do you mean I need help with my feet said well you're a cop you're on your feet all the time so I bought a pair of art supports that's nice he doesn't call him arch supports though that new name for him what's that metatarsal supports boom down here in your foot yeah I know call him it you know that yeah metatarsal well he said put one of them in your right shoe I'll be all right what was that again said just to wear one of them look my right shoe I'll be all right well how's it working out miserable feels like I'm walking around with my foot in the bucket burglary Friday oh yeah John and you know where when yeah okay yeah thanks point all right yeah it's would he thinks he might have something for us yeah that mink fur has been found two hours before at approximately 3:30 p.m. and the mean Depot of the Santa Fe bus lines a 38 year old housewife of mrs. Harriet Briggs noticed an unclaimed parcel lying on one of the benches in the depot waiting room when it became apparent to mrs. Briggs that the parcel was either lost or forgotten she picked it up and took it to the clerk in charge of lost and found articles in checking the package for some kind of identification that discovered the silver blue mink stole inside a car was dispatched to pick up the fur and was identified as the garment taken from Anthony's fur salon mrs. brakes volunteered to come along to the office to give one information she could bust people officials were instructed to notify us in case anyone called for the package 5:50 p.m. we interviewed mrs. Briggs in the squad room that's right officer was just a little before 3:30 I was in the bus depot there waiting for my husband that's when I first noticed this package lying on the bench just across from them I said would you go on please mrs. Briggs I didn't think anything of it at first and I went on reading the afternoon paper but no one came for the package just lying there it was there a long time how long would you say ma'am I mean before you picked it up and took it to the lost and found Clerk oh I'd say 20 minutes half an hour that much at least I left it with the young man at the counter there and I told him I'd be back to see if anyone claimed it well when I did get back that's after I'd had dinner with my husband Karl we found out what was in the package it's certainly strange don't you think officer yes ma'am did you happen to notice who it was that left the package there well I'm not really sure officer but I think I know who it was a short woman she had a brown jacket if I remember rightly I think you'd say she was in her late twenties or early thirties have you ever seen this woman before mrs. Briggs no I never did very attractive as I recall she wore glasses anything else about her you might have noticed let me think oh she had dark hair remember that much real pretty hair and you're sure that this woman you described is the one who left the package there well if I remember rightly she was the only one that sat across from me yes it must be her it wasn't her I don't know who else it could offend all right miss Briggs thank you very much we appreciate it that beautiful fur I know that woman must be just sick about losing it I said I hope you'll find her officer yes ma'am so do we [Music] we had the stats office make a run for us on all females with shoplifting records who fitted the description of the woman who left the mink stole in the waiting room at the bus depot we checked for the lost and found Clark at the Depot but he told us that no one had come back to report losing such a parcel together with LePage and wood we checked out the names on the list of known shoplifters which the stats office had made up for us names of possible suspects who physically resembled the dark-haired woman seen at the depot we got nowhere either they had ironclad alibis or they had since moved out of the city we ran down every possible angle on the freak recovery of the missing fur stole during the next ten days the case got more involved than it already was some of the stolen articles of new merchandise began showing up but not through any of the channels we expected some of the items were found dumped in sidewalk refuse cans some were found in hotel lobbies in the post office in theaters some were found tossed in vacant lots the only logical answer we could figure was that it was the work of somebody who was stealing for the love of stealing a kleptomaniac [Music] Tuesday September 4th fifteen-year-old girl in one of the exclusive residential neighborhoods reported finding two parcels containing women's clothing an expensive costume jewelry they still had the price tags on him Frank and I drove out to talk to the girl a Patricia Denver's or Japanese I and these things Patricia in the empty lot it's right down the block I can show you I was on my way home from the show I brought the things home and show them to my mother she called the police if nobody claims this package with the costume jewelry can I keep it certainly beautiful I'm afraid not Pat we know who the things belong to were gonna have to return them oh I certainly don't understand that how do you mean well as far as I could see she threw the things away I thought she didn't want them what do you mean Pat who didn't want nobody who threw him on the empty lot you saw the look was it through those packages in the lot digit yes I was on my way home from the show just like I told you I could see this lady walking up ahead of me she was about a block away I guess when she went by the light I saw her take these packages out from under arm and toss them in the grass she wouldn't do that if she wanted them would she did you get a good look at this woman Pat any idea what she looks like she's a good-looking woman sure has beautiful dark hair her husband's a doctor Eleni know who she is you've seen her before huh well I don't know her to talk to I just see her around the neighborhood does she live around here do you know right next door to my girlfriend [Music] Susy September 4th 5:15 p.m. with the help of a fifteen-year-old girl Patricia Danvers we got the name and address of a woman who had been seen tossing the parcels of stolen merchandise into a vacant lot in the West End of the city the woman was identified as a mrs. Virginia sterling the wife of a dr. Bruce Sterling a fairly prominent young surgeon with offices in Beverly Hills mrs. sterling and her husband had no children they leased a richly furnished house in a residential section of the city that was considered better than upper-middle class [Music] we checked Virginia sterling through R&I but she had no previous criminal record the next day with officers LePage in wood we covered the various stores along Wilshire Boulevard that had been victimized in the recent shoplifting campaign we found that mrs. sterling had charged accounts at almost every one of the stores generally speaking we found her accounts in very good standing and among the store people she was regarded as what is referred to as a fine customer a good spender a good credit risk right down to the retail credit Association there was nothing but favorable reports on the woman 7:15 p.m. we drove out to the house of dr. sterling and his wife mrs. sterling answered the door and invited us in did you like a drink no no thank you no thanks ma'am I really don't know when the doctor will be back he was called over to the hospital is it anything I could help you with well as a matter of fact mrs. darling we came out to talk to you not your husband really what is it you want to talk to me about officer ma'am we understand that you do quite a bit of your shopping along Wilshire Boulevard in the downtown area I mean yes I shop downtown quite often except for the problem of parking I find it a lot more convenient why do you ask Miss sterling do you do much of your shopping at Anthony's I believe that's in the Wilshire downtown area yes I do from our sports clothes we have a very good selection huh would you remember if you were in Anthony's on the 22nd of last month I believe that was a Tuesday no Cheers I don't think I can remember one way or the other I really don't have any special day for shopping I just go when I feel like it or when I need something have you ever been in the first Alana the Anthony's man I've ever bought anything there I suppose so been in almost every department at Anthony's one time or another I can tell you though I've never bought any furs there I said the main reason I go there at all is because of their sportswear did you tell me what this is all about please it's a routine investigation man what if you could tell us this you have occasion to travel in the area by bus bus no I don't think I've been on a bus since since I've been married that'll be six years this coming December and you've never been in the main bus depot downtown no I think I know where it is I've driven past it I've never been inside though why should you want to know that we'll be honest with you ma'am it has to do with an investigation were on we've had a couple reports that you were seen at the bus depot on August 23rd that was a Wednesday reports came from pretty reliable people well I certainly consider myself reliable I say I've never been there if you don't mind I'd like some kind of explanation for this questioning I mean you have no idea why we drove out here to talk to you of course not number one I don't understand your questions at all and number two I'd like to know what they have to do with me it has this to do with you ma'am last August 23rd a woman in a brown sports jacket answering your description left the package in the bus depot the package contain a mink stole taken from Anthony's the woman who left the package in the depot fits your description perfectly is that so well that's a coincidence yes ma'am may be I suppose you've read in the papers about the big increase in shoplifting the most of it taking place right in the area where you say you do most of your shopping we've checked out every single one of the cases mrs. sterling took a long time we found a dozen sales people in those stores every one of them tells us you were around the particular store when the shopliftings took place law of averages mrs. sterling you show up too often in the reports did you please leave my house both of you please I'm sorry mrs. sterling I'm afraid you'll have to come along with us what do you mean by that don't you know you can get in trouble making false accusations I'm gonna call my husband right now yes ma'am if you like you're right ahead sergeant yes ma'am we've got your story ma'am right up to this afternoon you went shopping today you stole things as usual when you tried to get rid of them you were seen right in this neighborhood the vacant lot down at the next corner you threw the stuff away there somebody saw you he didn't know it was me yes ma'am I know it was you 9:35 p.m. we got in the car and drove mrs. sterling downtown to the City Hall we took her to the squad room called a Polly stenographer and we began to take a complete statement one of the first things she did was to admit full responsibility for the series of shopliftings which had been going on for over two months she told us that her kleptomania the urge to steal things had started with him as far back as her junior high school years she admitted as a girl she stole books tablets pencils pieces of chalk and as she grew older it seemed to get more serious with her it carried over into her college years and that's when her stealing first got her into trouble it was when I joined this sorority it was just like high school I was all alone oh we had a lot of clever girls in our house some of them were smart some of them were pretty all of them seemed to be doing something except me I had to prove it to him I guess he had to prove it to myself and I was smart too I see and you figured that taking things was the best way to prove that yes I suppose so of course it wasn't easy you know the awful part was I got caught one day it's kind of a relief in a way I mean how could they know I was just as smart as they were if they didn't find out what I was doing did you stay on a college after that mr. sterling no I couldn't after that they voted me out of the sorority and there wasn't anything to do but leave so I left what happened after that I went to New York and stayed with an aunt I have there I got a job I had several jobs same thing came up again I lost two of the jobs same thing over again I just couldn't help it it always means so much to me taking things not being caught getting away getting away things I took they never meant anything to me nothing it's just taking them I'm not having anyone know that's all it was important I'm the stealing went on I mean after you were married no no not at first I guess maybe a year or two we were very happy Bruce and I then he got busy came out here and began to build his practice I didn't see as much of him we both wanted children we wanted them very much I weren't any Bruce began to spend more time away from home it's just like before same thing I wasn't important it's all alone again there wasn't anybody you know what I mean don't you start yes ma'am ought to be an answer someplace there isn't anything worse than being alone there has to be an answer someplace there is but you won't find it in jail [Music] on December 9th trial was held in Department 88 Superior Court of the state of California in and for the County of Los Angeles in a moment the results of that trial the suspect was tried and convicted on three counts of grand theft the terms to run concurrently grand theft is punishable by imprisonment in the State Penitentiary for not less than one nor more than ten years [Music] [Applause] [Music]

Channel: The Film Detective

Views: 39,795

Rating: 4.7569618 out of 5

Keywords: Classic TV Show, tv, Movies, TV, Film, Dragnet - Season 3 - Episode 28 The Big Shoplift, Jack Webb, Ben Alexander, Olan Soule, Vic Perrin

Id: K-ZJBubrtOU

Length: 26min 26sec (1586 seconds)

Published: Tue Nov 20 2018