The Big Break

Originally Aired: December 14, 1950

Dragnet #79, "The Big Break," Sergeant Joe Friday and his partner Ben Romero close in on George R. Hoffman, a career criminal responsible for 18 armed robberies over three months. Acting on a tip that Hoffman is holed up in a bungalow on Buchanan Avenue, Friday and his team move in during a foggy night to make the arrest. The dangerous suspect, armed with two revolvers and a hunting rifle, attempts to flee but is cornered when his getaway car fails to start. With multiple victims identifying him in a lineup, Friday and the district attorney build what seems like an airtight case.

However, on the morning of his scheduled court arraignment, Hoffman pulls off a daring escape from the county jail. Using steam from shower faucets to obscure the guard's view, he climbs out a window and scales down seven stories on the outside of the Hall of Justice building. After slugging a bailiff and disappearing into the street crowd, he immediately commits another robbery. Friday and the entire police force mobilize to recapture the desperate fugitive before he can strike again.

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