Originally Aired: January 4, 1951

Dragnet #82, "The Big Holdup," finds Sergeant Joe Friday and his partner Ben Romero hunting a dangerous criminal known as the rattlesnake bandit. This vicious holdup man has already robbed six people in the Los Angeles area, savagely beating his victims for no apparent reason even when they cooperate. Operating in stolen cars with an attractive blonde accomplice who seems to encourage his violence, the bandit strikes again while Friday and Romero are investigating his previous crimes. What makes this criminal particularly dangerous is his unpredictability—the holdups net him little money, rarely more than fifty dollars, yet he continues to brutally assault his victims without provocation.

The case takes a deadly turn when the bandit attacks high school teacher Ralph Younger and his companion Ethel Donovan, a grade school teacher. After beating Younger and finding only three dollars in Donovan's purse, the bandit shoots her in the head and wounds Younger when he tries to intervene. Friday and Romero race against time to track down this increasingly violent criminal before he can strike again, working with the limited descriptions provided by traumatized victims while Ethel Donovan fights for her life in critical condition.