Dragnet - Season 3 - Episode 34 - The Big Frame

[Music] ladies and gentlemen story you're about to see is true the names have been changed to protect the innocent [Music] this is the city Los Angeles California I work here I'm a cop [Music] it was Monday April 20th that was windy in Los Angeles we were working the day watch out of Traffic Division hit and run felony detail my partners Frank Smith the boss is Captain Cal fee my name is Friday I making wisdom tooth had kept me awake most of the night I had an appointment with a dentist and I was trying to stop the pain until then I wasn't having much luck [Music] hi Joe morning Frank how's tooth not much better still Aiken that's rough lousy thing kept me awake most of the night you check with that dentist I told you about yeah I did he says the wisdom to this one might appear let's see well it's this one here well don't you want to show me no not particularly well I'd like to see it why well Joe I know a little about wisdom teeth I mean where the Dennises got to come out I was supposed to see him this afternoon Joe the sister had the same trouble no right yep she had him out wisdom teeth really hurt impacted know what that means jammed right up in there just hanging on to that jawbone and had to pull them right out heard terrible yeah and Joe yeah turn on this way a little more no any other way yes sir well what's the matter now puffy what your face is all swollen puffy yeah well it didn't look that way to me in the mirror you take my word for a Joe face this wall right there see puffy sure is tender I imagine it is Joe sure is funny about a wisdom teeth isn't it what's that well some people never do get him I never did know right yeah I got all the rest no wisdom teeth I said I had him though yeah you told me about she had him pull and that's another funny thing what well even after she had him taken out she could still feel him she could huh yeah for five or six days they still hurt this is after she had him pulled yeah five or six days I forget exactly how many but they still hurt they weren't they're still hurt funny in him yeah that sure is Wow don't you worry about it Joe the old doc oh yeah right out you'll see a lot better than - sure much better yes five or six days still huh yeah did you see the skipper this morning oh yeah I ran into him down the hall got something here we're supposed to check out so what do you got dead body report what's the story on it all the victims Edward Raymond Stokes 732 Delano Street apartment 2 his body was found on the gutter near 63rd in Vermont 3 o'clock this morning no witnesses only one piece of evidence yeah skid marks near the body that's all parent hit-and-run where's the body no neighborhood mortuary out there Emerald Hills funeral home one of the deputy coroner's handled the body fella named Jonathan Larimore anybody clean the body yet no okay you ready yeah skipper says if we need any help Rogers mcclendon are on hand that's funny I don't know how do we managed to draw all the choice was do you know I guess we live right skid marks in the dead body yeah well guess we better get on it huh right hey what time he's supposed to the dentist I'm supposed to call him about 12:30 he'll tell me that doesn't look like we'll be able to make it no does it we should take care of that Jill sure is funny what's it my sister same thing Adam Paul a wisdom teeth five or six days later they're still hurt really tough five or six days yeah you told me I remember you should try to get to that dentist today though Joe there really should well the way you lay it out it really doesn't make much difference does it huh I still got five or six days [Music] 8:33 a.m. Frank and I drove out to 63rd and 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 feet north of 63rd Street on Vermont we examined the skid marks closely they showed definite signs of being a lot older than 24 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 it's a nickel now are you going to be penny hey Joe well never notice this about funeral homes what's that only put awnings over the windows but they never open the drapes yeah ever wonder about that Laurel particular it sounds like a funeral going on done it yeah don't hurt yeah a little bit don't swallow too yes sir I'll be of service gentlemen police officers we'd like to talk to a mr. Laramore understand he's a deputy coroner yes i'm Larimore you can about the hit-and-run victim yes sir that's right this officer Smith my name is Friday we'd like check the body if we could certainly understand you moved the body from the scene of the accident here the mortuary yes that's right early this morning unusual case why do you say it's unusual everyone well here I've got it on the report you can see for yourself later yes sir the victims knee has a single clean cut also the wounds on the head I've never seen any like them in hit-and-run cases I've been called on you don't think the victim could have been killed by a hit-and-run car is that it no I don't say that it's possible it might have been a car well let's say it's not very probable I'm gonna say is anyone at all inquired about the body landlord no one no funny would you excuse me for a moment please I have to check down the hall I'll be right back be right back you can see the body that if you like thank you well yeah where do we start I don't know maybe we won't have to do you mean well another lead like this we'll turn it over to homicide officer there's a young lady outside mr. fuller yes sir she wants to claim the body the girl was shown the body she identified it as that of Edward Raymond Stokes she gave her a name as Marion fuller the victims fiance after she recovered from her shocks he asked if she might sit down for a while and rest how long did you know Edward Stokes mr. fuller about six years on and off we've been together pretty much last couple years though Oh kid you mind telling us exactly what happened while you're with Stokes last night everything you can remember I can't think this head it's killing me what we should try miss fuller it's important well Eddie and I had dinner at the Spanish oven place down on South Pig that was about a court at 8:00 then we drove out to the brown bear alone Vermont you know the bar I told you about Lanny and I go there most the time we stayed there and drank and play a little shuffleboard yeah well we stayed a little too long when we drank a little too much I started talking to this fella next to me Eddie got sore he always got jealous when he was drunk did he fight with this other man was fuller no I stopped him that made any mad he never could drink right always wanted to pick a fight there was the other man you remember well I don't I guess I had a lot to drink - just some guy at the bar oh this won't take much longer just a few more questions would you hand me the rest of that water please sure would one of you have a cigarette please yes ma'am thank you welcome there's a match I don't what you got there Thanks would you like to go on mr. fuller what happened after you broke up the argument between Stokes and the other man same old thing Eddie threatened to beat me up he's done it before too plenty of time yeah well around 1 o'clock I got to feeling sick so I went outside and sat in the car guess I must have passed out there and your car no I guess it belong to one of the fellas in the bar I passed out that's all I remember well did you sleep in the car all night you know I guess whoever owned it drove me home Wow they know where you lived I don't know must've been one of our friends I don't remember anything till this morning they phoned me up and said that he was dead who phoned you miss fuller one of our friends I remember Oh rotten headache come on you can do a little better in it can't you I don't remember I had a hangover my head was jumping they phoned and told me Eddie was dead somebody ran Eddie down they found him in a gutter and he was dead all right mr. fuller what if you'd mind coming with us are we going downtown will have a stenographer take you state when we have a few more questions to ask you oh look can't you leave me alone I got a terrible hangover I never had one as bad as this before neither is Eddie come on let's go [Music] on the way back to the office we stopped at a drugstore and I picked up a box of aspirin and the wisdom tooth was giving me trouble again the clerk at the soda fountain fix something for Marian Flores hangover we continued to question her but she gave us only one additional piece of information the victim Eddy 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 had argued bitterly we had a police stenographer take the fuller woman's statement and then she was released 10:45 a.m. sergeants Rogers and McClendon were assigned to check out the Vermont Avenue bar where Stokes had last been seen alive Frank and I drove out to the valley to the home of Katharine Stokes the victim's former wife we told her what had happened I guess I shouldn't be surprised excuse me I can't help it it looks like it could have been a hit-and-run driver ma'am we've been assigned to investigate oh I don't think I'll be able to help much Eddie and I have been divorced almost five years now I see the judge said he could visit the kids on weekends they never came around though Eddie never had any feeling for the kids how many times have you seen your ex-husband in the last five years I'm not sure about a dozen times I guess well when did you see him last last week I think it was yes Thursday of last week he hadn't said any money for the kids support for three months I hated to chase after him like that always so embarrassing there wasn't anything else I could do where did you meet him mr. Stokes at that bar he used to hang around it's over on Vermont it's called the brown barrel or something he was drinking quite a bit always drinking I asked him for the money we are good as usual yes ma'am there anything I can get you I think there's a bottle of beer in the icebox no thank you ma'am do you happen to know anybody by the name of Marion fuller yes Eddie mentioned her she's no good what does a man see in a woman like her do you know anything about her at all no whenever I saw Eddie he'd mentioned he was running around with her I guess he wanted to make me jealous Iommi pitied him can you think of anything at all that might possibly have a bearing on his death I guess not Eddie was probably drinking wandered into the street in the car I don't know oh there's the bakery wagon I've got to get some bread and a few things would you excuse me I think that's about all don't you Joe yeah I think so I'm gonna leave you one of our cards mrs. Stokes in case you want to contact us for any reason yes all right you know it was so wonderful when we were married Eddie and I my folks gave us this house as a wedding present we got wonderful presents that's so we had everything he wanted a car nice hops the kids it was wonderful till he started drinking then everything went his job everything it started all of a sudden I never knew why yes ma'am I didn't mean it that way how did he start I don't know ma'am we only see a part of it yes when they finish 12:00 noon Frank and I drove back into town to Vermont and 63rd Street for a meet with sergeant Rogers and McClendon they told us they checked out the bartender had been on duty the night before and also seven of his customers their stories are almost identical each Evan remembered seeing Eddie Stokes at the bar each Evan remember he was playing shuffleboard but he was drinking heavily but he left the bar at about 1:45 a.m. 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 the afternoon Rodgers McClendon Frank and I spent our time canvassing the neighborhood in the vicinity of the brown barrel tavern 4:45 p.m. we checked the proprietor of a small butcher shop two blocks down the street from the tavern yester gentlemen can I help him police officers you mr. Murray yes sir I cast a few questions sure glad to help forget you ever been on the brown barrel tavern just down the street a couple of blocks brown barrel yeah I go there all the time when was the last time you were there mr. Murray last night wife and I went to the movies we dropped in at the barrel on the way home for a beer I see about what time was that would you know well pretty close to - what's the matter some kind of trouble did you notice anything unusual while you're in there anybody fighting or arguing something like that no we're only in there a couple of minutes well now that you mention it toys something funny happened Oh was that's it well the bartender car on half a dozen of the neighborhood gang were back in one of the booths talking together it seemed kind of nervous none of them seemed to be having a good time yeah my wife and I yells hello I don't but they kind of gave us a go by then this drunk came up to us never saw him before don't know who he is I see I say excuse me I've got an order to get out what you boys like to step back here we can talk fine thank you yeah this drunk comes up to us and he whispers to me say you better get out of here there's been a fight well I don't pay much attention to him mister pretty drunk could hardly understand him I guess they had lots of fights in there anyway that all he told you they've been a fight yeah that time he came back couple minutes later and whispered the same thing you better get out of here there's been a fight he said wife and I just laughed at I see he said I know all about it guys been murdered [Music] [Applause] Frank 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 and because it was still a big doubt as to 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 we brought Marion Fuller back in andra questioned her she stuck to her story she didn't remember anything she was released again it looked like we were in for a long night I just talked to that butchers wife mrs. Murray yeah what'd she have said after the same questions we asked Murray she couldn't add much same story I don't know it's got me we don't know it's murder we don't know it's a hit and run I'm about ready for my vacation I'll put in with you that fuller woman has got to know a lot more than she's telling us she got a perfect out she was drunk the bartender swears to it well that story's phony it's got more holes in a piece of cheese whose car did she pass out and who drove her home we'll called her this morning to tell her that her boyfriend was dead hit and run felony Smith oh yeah Rogers yeah you're dead huh what's his name I see yeah we'll check it out right away Rogers here McClendon are still out the bar finally got somebody to talk a little ya with again the bar boy out there says it was a fight happened about 1:30 doesn't remember who was fighting though that's not much help is it a bar boy his name is Milner he told Rogers he went outside about 20 months to two to put out the garbage he saw the fuller woman asleep in a car parked outside did he know the card to get the license number no but he spotted something on the windshield yeah a traffic ticket Frank and I checked with the sergeant of the watch 77th Street Division he told us unit 1285 was assigned to the area where the brown barrel was located in checking their worksheet we found that unit 1285 at issue - hang on citation the night before - what car parked near sixty 330 and a half Vermont Avenue the address of the brown barrel tavern we checked the license number through our DMV and we found the car was registered to a William R huddy 14 Naylor Street The Grove - the name of street address and talked to huttese wife she told us we could find him in a bar on South olive Street 8:55 p.m. we checked in at the bar the bartender told us that the loan man at the shuffleboard table was William hoodie name what anybody yeah that's right police officers won't talk to you for a minute Oh what about like to ask you a few questions what's the matter nothing we just want to talk to you yeah all right were you at the brown bear tavern out on Vermont last night how do you yeah I was why what's the matter you know I'm Marion fuller yeah she hangs around the place goes with a guy named Eddie did you drive her home last night yeah matter of fact I did she passed out in my car nice kid but she drinks a lot I drove her home you mind telling us what happened at that bar last night while you were there well it was a pretty funny setup there I came in about nine o'clock started playing shuffleboard with a couple of guys does Eddie Stokes was one of them yeah well Eddie's not much of a player he drinks too much too hothead gotten a B for the guy at the bar over Marion nothing big though the guy left after a while all right go ahead well that's about all I left the place wrong 1:30 Eddie was beefing with some merchant seamen about that time real hot beef Eddie was choosing him he was given a guy a bad time was the floor girl stolen the bar at that time no but when I went outside I saw her sleeping in my car I drove her home left her off and then came back to bar that's when I told me told you what they said Eddie had a fight with his merchant seaman they said it'd be better if we kept it quiet who told you that Carl a bartender but I got the real story from one of the fellas I was playing shuffleboard with Leo McCarty what'd he tell you oh he said when Eddie Stokes left the merchant seaman followed him on said he chased Eddie McCarty went out about five minutes later yeah the merchant seaman was gone Stokes was lying in the gutter down the street did McCarty look at him yeah I said Stokes looked pretty bad said he look like he was dead but I wouldn't believe that if I were you why not mccartey always exaggerate 10:15 p.m. we had William hoodie 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 than the others followed the bartender Carl Jansen who also owned the bar was the last to break how about it what do you mean my luck Jansen you could give us a straight story the first time but what about the publicity now how would that look a murder in my place yeah well it could work out worse than that Jansen you've been withholding evidence you talked these people into the same deal I had to protect myself it would have ruined my bar the newspapers all that talk to scandal to correct my business I had to keep it quiet okay it's not my fault Stokes was killed I didn't do it I'm not to blame no but you know who is to blame the how about it who is he he works on the ships comes in here most of the time when he's in port what's his name Henry Baxter I care summers patient just a minute hit run felony detail Friday oh yeah he's here yeah just a minute it's for you Jansen yeah yeah freedom oh just a minute sergeant yeah it's my wife she's at the bar now she thought you ought to know what's that Henry Baxter Frida says he just came in [Applause] I talked to Johnson's wife and told her to delay Baxter as long as possible without arousing his suspicions 11:25 p.m. Frank and I and mr. Jannsen along with Rogers and McClendon drove out to the brown barrel Tavern on Vermont mrs. Jansen was waiting for us she told us that Baxter was pretty drunk by that time she'd been keeping an eye on him and she said that she knew he was still inside the place Rodgers and McClendon went around to cover the back entrance we asked mrs. Jansen to go back in the bar and give no indication that anything was wrong she told us approximately where Baxter was sitting we waited a couple of minutes until we were sure Rodgers and McClendon were in position at the back of the bar then we went in [Music] where is it that's him over there all the graces yes her closest table wait up wait give me another coke I would ask it twice that's him stay here do a way to give me another coke hi your name Henry Waxman do you wanna know police officers stand up come on sit down come on flat Jansen yes if you go around back and tell those other two officers to meet us out front yes your hands back well get the other one back there what's this all about anyway it should be you know what the beef is lousy pongetti stalks wouldn't miss him I showed him I was done yeah how'd you kill him Baxter it's easy slugged him father's head on the curb it was drunk no no what happened all right let's go gonna give me a bad time no he knows knows what a bad time really is I sure right come on Baxter outside come on you can walk better than that lousy Punk Eddie Stokes I shot him how was gone didn't I Shawna yeah you should come on thank dancing yes you fellas wanna take him downtown well hey John yeah how's the tooth what the tooth the wisdom tooth it's a funny thing doesn't hurt anymore pains gone you gotta see that dentist I don't see why it doesn't hurt anymore I don't know I'll look into it next week huh got a piece of news for you got an appointment for you the night I got a little something for you you don't know what time it is you know it's almost midnight no dentists in the world to work on at this hour of the night mine well [Music] [Applause] [Music] on July 30th trial was held in Department 92 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 of manslaughter which is punishable by imprisonment in the State Penitentiary for a period not to exceed 10 years [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music]

Channel: The Film Detective

Views: 60,676

Rating: 4.733737 out of 5

Keywords: Movies, tv, Film, TV, Classic TV Show, Dragnet - Season 3 - Episode 34 - The Big Frame, Jack Webb, Ben Alexander, Olan Soule, Vic Perrin

Id: n65REX-VSko

Length: 26min 21sec (1581 seconds)

Published: Tue Nov 20 2018