by Hal Erickson
synopsis
In the final episode of Dragnet's fifth TV season, Friday (Jack Webb) and Smith (Ben Alexander) investigate a series of burglaries, all of which have occurred at local auto-rental agencies over a period of seven weeks. Chasing after one of the suspects, a police officer is seriously wounded, but is able to identify his assailant. When Friday and Smith catch up with the alleged perpetrator, the man insists that he was watching television at the time of the shooting--and "proves" it by naming the TV show he was viewing. Cliff Arquette, who had played character roles in several earlier Dragnet radio and TV episodes, here shows up in his familiar comic guise as witty hayseed Charley Weaver (and receives special billing for his efforts).
