The Big Rip

Originally Aired: April 19, 1953 Dragnet #200, "The Big Rip," Sergeant Joe Friday and his partner Frank Smith face one of their toughest cases yet: a sophisticated gang has pulled off 35 safe burglaries in just two months, netting nearly $36,000. The thieves are professionals who leave virtually no clues behind, working with precision and using the same pry bar technique to crack safe after safe. Despite checking informants, following leads, and coordinating with the crime lab, Friday and Smith hit dead end after dead end. The gang operates with such tight security that nobody in the criminal underworld seems to know their identities, and all the usual suspects have been cleared. The case takes a turn when Don Jackson, a former suspect in an unrelated burglary who was cleared and released, contacts Friday with information about the safe burglaries. Jackson, now working at a downtown clothing store, calls the detective with what might be their first real break in the investigation. Friday and Smith rush to meet him at a nearby coffee shop, hoping his rumble on the gang will finally give them the lead they desperately need to crack this elusive operation.