The Big Sophomore

Originally Aired: July 19, 1951 Dragnet #110, "The Big Sophomore," finds Sergeant Joe Friday and his partner Ben Romero assigned to Juvenile Bureau, investigating a puzzling series of petty thefts plaguing neighborhood merchants near a local high school. Grocery store owner Henry Loomis reports that for nearly two weeks, merchandise has been disappearing during the lunch hour rush when high school students crowd his store. The thefts follow a strange pattern: always small amounts, never more than a few dollars worth of canned goods, bread, and butter, and curiously, the cash register is never touched. Loomis suspects a red-haired boy named Harry who hangs around with the other students, though he admits he has no proof. As Friday and Romero expand their investigation, they discover the problem extends throughout a twelve-square block area. Two dozen similar cases have been reported involving two grocery stores, a drug store, newsstands, and a variety store. Newspaper distributor George Brophy, whose coin boxes have been broken into for small change, believes underprivileged neighborhood kids are responsible. The detectives face the challenge of determining who's behind this peculiar crime spree and, more importantly, understanding why anyone would risk getting caught for such meager gains.