Original subtitles

This is the city— Los Angeles, California.

A lot of people earn a living here, and there are a lot of ways to do it.

Some of them have jobs that weren't even thought of five years ago.

Some of them are learning jobs guaranteed to be obsolete in another five.

A few work in the cleanest places on Earth,

and a few don't.

They all have one thing in common— It takes a day's work to get a day's pay.

Not everybody buys the idea. There are a lot of ways around it.

When somebody tries a shortcut with a gun, then it becomes my job.

I carry a badge.

It was Thursday, December 15. It was cool in Los Angeles.

We were working the day watch out of Homicide.

The boss is Captain Hugh Brown.

My partner's Bill Gannon. My name's Friday.

We received a phone call from the city's largest bank.

They had a woman at one of their branches.

She had a problem. We had to try and solve it.

The story you are about to see is true.

The names have been changed to protect the innocent.

10:1 7 a.m.

Bill and I left P.A. B. and took the

Hollywood Freeway toward Lankershim Boulevard.

It took us 18 minutes to get to the

Universal City branch of the Bank of America.

We identified ourselves to the branch manager, Ray Righetti.

Righetti explained he had asked the woman to wait in the conference room.

I wanted as little fuss here in the bank as possible.

- You understand? - Yes, sir, we understand.

She didn't want to at first, but I told her

the only thing to do was to call you people.

- Does she have an account here? - I think she just came to the first bank she saw.

This way, please.

Miss Ohrmund, this is Sergeant Friday, Officer Gannon.

How do you do, Miss Ohrmund? Won't you sit down, please?

I don't know what good you can do. He's got Miss

Vincent. He's got a gun pointed right at her.

- Could we have your full name? - Janet Ohrmund.

And your address. 211 Central Park South, New York City.

O-H-R-M-U-N-D.

Everybody spells it wrong. Thank you.

Tell us about it, please.

Well, I guess it was about 8:30 this morning.

The doorbell rang, and I went to get it right away

before they could ring again and wake Miss Vincent.

I'd been up for a while. I couldn't sleep. I only flew in yesterday afternoon.

I guess I'm still on New York time. Takes a while to get adjusted.

Well, anyway, I— I opened the door a little ways,

and there was this young fellow.

Before I could say anything, he poked a gun in

through a crack in the door and made me let him in.

He said if I did anything cute, he'd kill me.

- Is that the way he said it? - His exact words.

Then he made me take him back to Miss Vincent's bedroom and wake her up.

- You told him she was there? - Oh, no. He knew it was her house.

He said, "Where's Adele Vincent? She's the one I want."

Everybody knows her, of course. Adele Vincent Cosmetics.

My wife has a small bottle of cologne.

It's a very expensive line. It's in all the finest shops and salons.

- Then what happened? - He took us back into the living room and made us sit on the couch.

He had the gun pointed at us all the time.

Told Miss Vincent that if she didn't give him $75,000, he'd kill her.

I tried to tell him it's not easy to get that much in cash together,

but he said he knew she had more than that...

and that she spends that much every year on clothes.

She doesn't, of course. She gets everything at a discount.

Well, anyway, we talked about it for a few minutes.

Then, just before 10:00, he told me to— To go out and get the money.

He said, "Go to a bank or someplace."

Well, he said that I have to be back with

it by 12:00 noon, or he's going to kill her.

- And he's holding her now? - He certainly is.

May I have the address, please?

10328 Toluca Lake Avenue.

- Is there anybody else in the house? - No.

Can you give us a description of the man?

Do we have to go through all this rigamarole?

- Yes, ma'am, I'm afraid we do. - Well, it's using up valuable time.

Well, he's, um...

He's about 5-foot-9 or 10 inches tall.

He's, uh, not bad-looking.

Heavyset.

He weighs somewhere between 170, maybe 180 pounds.

He's, uh— He has dark hair.

He's maybe 23, 24 years old.

He looked clean. At least he shaved this morning.

- Did he ever refer to himself by name? - No.

Any identifying marks or scars? No.

Initials on his clothes, anything like that?

No. How's he dressed?

Well, he has on a green slipover shirt with short sleeves.

Um, it's a...

dark color— Hunter green, I think.

Uh, Dacron.

And then he has on, um, slacks.

They're gabardine, cocoa brown.

Uh, fairly expensive.

I guess for out here you'd say he's well-dressed.

- You're staying with Miss Vincent? - That's right.

You're a friend of hers?

No, I work for her. I thought I told you that.

I've been with her for 11 years. I run her New York salon.

- Can you describe her? - Well, she's lovely, of course.

She's taller than I am.

She's, uh, maybe 5-foot-6 in her stocking feet.

She's... 34 years old.

She's blonde, fair.

- A brilliant woman. - And you're out here on business?

Sergeant, I told this gentleman...

I-I'm sorry. Righetti.

I—I guess you can see how upset I am.

I told Mr. Righetti that I'd let him call you...

because he said I couldn't get the money unless he did.

That's the only thing that's important right now—the money.

These questions can wait.

I'm afraid they can't, ma'am. This is just routine.

It's perfectly ridiculous.

- You said it yourself, Miss Ohrmund. - What?

It's not easy to get this much money.

Do you have any identification, Miss Ohrmund?

Oh, I see.

Well, I'm not a crank or anything like that.

- I guess you do come up against them. - Yes, ma'am, we do, on occasion.

Here is my driver's license, my Social Security card,

my library card, my credit cards.

You see, Miss Vincent has 14 salons around the

country. The main office is here, of course.

Once a year, each of her managers has to come

out and spend three or four days with her.

That's why I'm here. I don't mind telling you it's no picnic.

She goes over your entire operation with a

fine-tooth comb all day and half the night.

Sometimes I have a headache the whole time till I get back on the plane again,

the way she orders you around— Fix coffee for her, things like that.

- Why didn't you go to the main office? - Well, it's downtown.

- I hardly know how to get there. - Could have telephoned.

Well, they wouldn't have $75,000 in cash on hand.

- They have a bank. - Well, I don't know.

All I could think of was to hurry. I'd seen this

place when I was passing by, and so I came here.

Mr. Righetti, I wonder if you have a private phone we might use.

Yes. There's one outside, just to your left.

Thank you. Excuse us.

Sergeant? Yes, ma'am?

I guess it's important that you have all this information exactly correct.

- Yes, ma'am. - Well, don't say where you heard it,

but, uh, Miss Vincent really isn't as young as I am.

She's 37 if she's a day.

Joe. You think she's telling the truth? Yeah, I do.

I reported the information we had to Captain Brown.

He agreed we had to accept Miss Ohrmund's story.

He recommended that we make no attempt to move

in on the house or to arrest the suspect...

until we had done everything we could for the safety of Miss Vincent, the hostage.

The captain also decided we should try to

get the money and deliver it to the suspect.

It was just possible he'd release the two women.

10:57 a.m. We continued questioning Miss Ohrmund.

He wants the money in old 10s and 20s— No consecutive serial numbers.

- What kind of car did he drive? - I'm pretty sure he walked to the house.

Did he say what he was gonna do after he gets the money, how he was gonna leave?

- No. - Are there cars at the house?

Yes, Miss Vincent has two cars.

A white Mercedes-Benz and a gold Imperial with a black vinyl top.

I don't suppose you know the license numbers.

The Mercedes is outside. I drove it here.

Are they registered to Adele Vincent?

I don't think so. They're probably owned by the firm. It's a tax thing.

They must have a record of it downtown.

Could you call and get the license number of the Imperial for us?

I'll try.

Use mine, Miss Ohrmund.

Right this way.

Gannon. Right here.

It's the skipper.

Captain Brown contacted Police Chief Thad Brown.

The chief agreed we should try to get the suspect

to release the two women he was holding...

before we attempted to make an arrest.

We were authorized to make arrangements with the bank to borrow $75,000...

in used 10 and 20-dollar bills.

1 1:04 a.m.

I asked Mr. Righetti to find out how quickly we

could get the money and what the procedure was.

He said it wouldn't be that easy.

We don't have that much surplus cash. I don't understand.

We hardly ever carry that much extra. None of the branches do.

We don't have any call for it. We do now. Is there someplace you can get it?

The central cash vault. Would you see what you can do?

It'll take time, Sergeant. That's something we don't have much of.

Here's what's happening.

The skipper's called the North Hollywood Division, getting one of their area maps.

He's keeping all the black-and-white units away

from the house, out of the area altogether.

Nobody's to make any direct mention on the

air about the kidnapping or what's happening,

handling all communications about it by telephone.

They've alerted six detective units so far. They're probably calling in now.

They'll cover the roads away from the house, try to pick him up when he leaves.

Skipper got Ed Parker at home. It's his day off.

He's got this panel truck— Yeah, I know.

He'll be Mobile Unit One. Hoyt Porter and Bob Hunt have their own rifles.

They've gone home to get 'em. Bob's taking a walkie-talkie.

They'll be Outpost One.

1 1:10 a.m.

Janet Ohrmund got the license number of Adele Vincent's 1966 Imperial.

1 1:47 a.m. We continued questioning Miss Ohrmund about the suspect.

No, the one he has is much larger, and it's shiny— it's chrome-plated.

- Nickel-plated. - Which hand is he holding it in?

Right hand. He kept pulling this thing back with his thumb.

It's the hammer.

I'm getting awfully worried. It's almost 12:00.

Everybody's doing the best they can, Miss Ohrmund.

Did he say anything about an accomplice?

- Somebody waiting for him with a car, maybe? - No.

Can you think of anything else he said,

anything he did that might be important to us?

Just as I was going out, he said not to try anything funny.

- Are those the words he used? - No.

He said, "I know you're going to try something funny, but

it won't do you any good, because I'll kill her if you do."

Sergeant Friday, the money's here.

Henderson. Good morning.

This way.

What's going on?

Everybody's acting like it's a matter of life and death. It is.

1 1:5 1 a.m. There were nine minutes left.

How much more time?

- Let's go. - Joe, I haven't even got 20 of these serials.

Yeah, I know. Now, Miss Ohrmund, we think he may take one of the cars.

He may leave both of you in the house. He may take you with him.

We don't know for sure what he's gonna do.

- We'll have your house under surveillance at all times. - I understand.

He may kill us both. You don't have to say it.

Don't you worry. We won't let that happen.

I'll do it. I told Miss Vincent I would.

- Ready? - Yeah.

Let's go.

Oh! My driver's license.

- Did you give it back to me? - Yes, ma'am.

We'll follow you part of the way, Miss Ohrmund.

I don't like her, you know. Not a bit. Never have.

I'm scared. If you asked me, I couldn't tell you why I'm doing this.

Well, you've worked for her a long time. Yes.

Habit. That might have something to do with it.

Sergeant, that's a hell of a lot of money. Suppose she's not telling the truth.

Suppose she is.

1 1:56 a.m.

We drove from the bank and proceeded to Toluca Lake A venue.

We followed Miss Ohrmund's car toward the Vincent home.

We turned off Toluca Lake A venue at the 10000 block...

and Miss Ohrmund proceeded alone.

We were two and a half blocks from the Vincent home.

It was as close as we could get without being seen from the house.

1 1:59 a.m. We waited.

All units concerned.

Outpost One reports a white 1966 Mercedes sedan,

license George-Adam-Nora 589,

has pulled into Vincent driveway.

A woman carrying a briefcase, or a small suitcase, has entered the residence.

You know, we didn't count that money. Yeah, I know.

Wasn't time. Something else— you didn't sign for it either.

What do you mean, I didn't sign for it? Why didn't you? It's your baby, Joe.

I know, but, partner, remember, it's 5-0, 5-0.

I sure wish we'd counted that money and you'd signed for it.

Sam-Henry-Adam 501. That's the Imperial.

Give him a minute.

Let's go.

1-K-80, 1-K-80. 1-K-80, go ahead.

1-K-80. We are proceeding northbound on Toluca Lake Avenue...

approaching the 10800 block.

Suspect vehicle in sight half a block behind us.

It is a gold 1966 Imperial with a black vinyl top,

license: Sam-Henry-Adam 501.

Roger, 1-K-80.

Let him close up a little now.

1-K-80. Suspect vehicle has turned left onto

Riverside Drive and is now proceeding westbound.

We have him in sight. Roger, 1-K-80.

Who's that he's got in the front seat? It's a woman. Doesn't look like Janet Ohrmund.

No. She's a blonde.

1-K-80, 1-K-80. 1-K-80, go ahead.

Suspect has a woman in the car with him.

Could be second female victim, Adele Vincent. She's in the right front.

Roger, 1-K-80.

Is anybody checking the Vincent house?

They're doing it now. 1-K-80, roger.

He's probably going onto the freeway at Laurel Canyon.

Well, let's get up there.

He turned right. Colfax Avenue.

1-K-80, 1-K-80. 1-K-80, go ahead.

Suspect vehicle has turned right onto Colfax Avenue. Now proceeding northbound.

We will continue west on Riverside Drive.

Roger, 1-K-80.

Now where is he heading?

1-K-80. This is 1-K-80. Go ahead.

1-K-80, Unit 4-K-32 now has suspect in sight.

Proceeding northbound on Colfax.

Continue northbound on Laurel Canyon. Roger.

Unit 1-K-80. 1-K-80. Go ahead.

15-W-9 has checked the Vincent house. No one there.

Suspect probably has both female victims in vehicle.

One in the right front, the other, Janet Ohrmund,

in the trunk or on the floor in the rear.

Roger, 1-K-80.

All units concerned, suspect vehicle has turned left onto Victory,

now westbound.

15-W-8 has vehicle in sight. 1-K-80, roger.

He's heading for that freeway, all right.

Well, if he gets on it it's gonna be rough to catch him.

1-K-80, 1-K-80. 1-K-80, go ahead.

We are now proceeding northbound on Laurel Canyon toward the freeway.

Have other surveillance unit meet us at Kittridge and St. Clair.

Roger, 1-K-80.

1-K-80. 1-K-80. Go ahead.

15-W-1 is en route to your location.

1-K-80 to Control. Will proceed to freeway.

We will attempt to block northbound on-ramp at Victory.

Have other unit block southbound on-ramp.

Roger, 1-K-80.

What do you got in mind? Let's try to fake an accident.

12:34 p.m.

Sergeant Doug Bentley and his partner, Al Gastaldo,

met us at the corner of Kittridge and St. Clair.

We decided to block the freeway on-ramp just ahead of the suspect...

by faking an accident between two police units.

This would give the officers in the pursuing vehicles...

the best chance of approaching the suspect without alarming him...

and afford a little more security for the two women hostages.

Bentley and Gastaldo drove ahead of us in the left lane.

A t about a hundred feet up on the ramp, Bentley cut across in front of us.

Bill eased our vehicle into theirs.

Al Gastaldo remained out of sight in the front seat.

Doug Bentley, Bill and I got out to inspect

the damage and exchange driver's licenses.

There he is—third car down.

Sorry. We've had a little accident up there.

What's going on? We've had an accident.

We're gonna be late to work. I'm sorry. I'm on my way to call a tow truck now.

We've had an accident up there. I can see that.

There's nothing else we could do. That guy cut right in front of us.

- I'm in a hurry! - You might try swinging out, backing off the ramp.

Be glad to watch the traffic for you.

Is Adele all right? She's fine.

I heard him say that if she tried to get help or if she tried to jump out,

he was gonna empty his gun into the back of the car, into the trunk at me.

Yes, ma'am. Are you all right now? Yeah.

You guys are really something else, aren't ya?

What do you mean by that? You sure don't believe in giving a guy much of a chance.

How much did you give those two women?

12:39 p.m.

It was exactly two hours and 22 minutes from the

time we had first been notified of the crime.

Neither A dele Vincent nor Janet Ohrmund had been harmed.

The suspect gave his name as Donald Joe Albers.

He was informed of his constitutional rights.

1:1 7 p.m. We took Albers downtown to Homicide Division.

He made a complete statement and was booked on

209 P. C., kidnapping for the purpose of robbery.

2:03 p.m. We met in the captain's office to return the $75,000.

Everyone concerned waited while the bank manager, Ray Righetti, counted it.

That's it.

Right to the penny.

You people, all of you, are to be complimented.

It's a great deal of money to have been handled

by as many different individuals as it was.

All of those small bills, and not a dollar short.

I wonder if you'd mind signing this receipt.

- Not at all. - Thank you.

You're a brave woman, Miss Ohrmund.

I'm glad it all worked out.

- Friday and Gannon here will run you back to the bank. - Fine. Thank you, Captain.

Wanna let me have that receipt, Gannon? Oh. Yes, sir.

- Better let me have the other one too. - The other one?

The checkout receipt for the money, the one you signed at the bank.

You two know it's departmental policy.

I'll wait for you outside, Joe.

Uh, Skipper, would you like the door open or closed?

Closed, with you inside.

The story you have just seen is true.

The names were changed to protect the innocent.

On March 10, trial was held in Department 183,

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 found guilty on two counts of kidnapping for the purpose of robbery.