The First Arrest
The whereabouts of Perkins, Graham, and True were known, but Jack Santo had dropped out of sight. A decision was made not to arrest Perkins and Graham until Santo was located, but since True was not a known criminal, it was felt that he could be picked up without alerting the others. It was to be a quiet arrest, without fanfare or media involvement. Burbank Chief of Detectives Robert Coveney, Burbank detectives Robert Loranger and Ed Vandergrift, and Dick Ruble's partner from LAPD, Ed LaVold, drove north in an unmarked car and put True's Grass Valley residence under surveillance. Wearing workmen's clothes, one of the officers went up to the house and was told by True's girlfriend told that True was in Reno, but was expected back the following day because his friend, Jack Santo, was coming to town.
The detectives held their breaths, hoping to get both suspects, but they were disappointed. True returned as planned, but Santo never showed up. He had telephoned the house and True's girlfriend had casually mentioned that some man she did not know had been there looking for John. Santo immediately dropped out of sight again.
True was arrested while taking a bath and quietly driven south to the Burbank jail. Word got out, however. True's girlfriend thought he had been kidnapped, and reported it to the local police. By the time the real facts of the situation had been established, local newspaper reporters were onto it. Two days later, the Los Angeles Examiner broke the story on its front page: SUSPECT HELD IN MONOHAN MURDER!
No comments:
Post a Comment