The Big Mustache

Originally Aired: March 23, 1954

Dragnet #240, "The Big Mustache," Sergeant Joe Friday and Officer Frank Smith are called to investigate an armed robbery at a local Los Angeles supermarket. The episode opens with Frank preoccupied by a domestic dispute with his wife Faye over an innocent comment he made about her dress size, but the detectives quickly shift focus when they arrive at the crime scene. An armed robber wearing a disguise has struck during the early morning hours, threatening cashier Irma Watson at gunpoint and making off with the store's receipts. The day manager, Gerald, suffered a head injury during the incident, though Mrs. Watson suspects he may be exaggerating for sympathy based on his past behavior.

Friday and Smith interview the witnesses, including the talkative Mrs. Watson and Tom Spence, who runs the meat concession. The suspect entered the store posing as a customer, asked about anchovy locations to establish his cover, then pulled a gun on the cashier upstairs and demanded she fill a wooden box with money. When Irma screamed, Tom grabbed a meat cleaver and the staff attempted to respond, but the disguised thief managed to escape, leaving the detectives with limited information about his true appearance.