Magistrate’s Court Traffic Officer Gaoled For “Vicious” Assault On Wife

Press, Volume C, Issue 29514, 16 May 1961, Page 20

Magistrate’s Court Traffic Officer Gaoled For “Vicious” Assault On Wife

Returning home under the influence of liquor on Anzac Day. a traffic officer demanded his tea. hit his eight-year-old son without reason;' and when his wife objected he put his hands around her throat and tried to strangle her. He then struck her several blows on the face with his clenched fist and threw her on to the floor, said Sergeant T. A. A. Marson. in the Magistrate’s Court yesterday. Henry Lovell, aged 32, a traffic officer employed by the Christchurch City Council, was sent to prison for seven days by Mr Raymond Ferner, S.M., when he pleaded guilty to assaulting his wife, Elizabeth Nora Louise Lovell, on April 25. Lovell was represented by Mr G. R. Lascelles. On the evening of April 24 Lovell left his home without saying where he was going and was away all night. Sergeant Marson said. He returned home at 1.15 p.m. on the following day after his wife and family of six children had had their dinner and the table had been cleared. When Lovell entered the house he opened the oven door, and as no dinner had been kept for him he turned around, left the house and Rrove away in his car. No argument took place, and he did not say where he was going. Lovell returned home again at 5.30 p.m. under the in-

fluence of liquor, and at that time his wife and his family had just finished tflieir tea He then assaulted his wife and son. He inflicted an injury to his wife’s left eye and bruises to her jaw and body. Mrs Lovell was attended by Dr. N. J. Mcllroy. who ordered her to hospital for an X-ray examination and she was later admitted to the Princess Margaret Hospital. “When Mrs Lovell was seen by the police and the doctor she gave the appearance of have been viciously assaulted," said Sergeant Marson. Lovell was under the influence of liquor when interviewed by the police, but he was not drunk. He would neither admit nor deny having assaulted his wife, and said he would see his solicitor. He had no previous convictions. The incident was the, culminating point of family dissension, Mr Lascelles said Lovell had come home on several occasions and his meals had not been prepared. He had been married 14 years and had six children, and because of this there was a certain amount of tension in the home. He regretted his actions very much. “Lovell has been employed by the City Council as a traffic officer for six years and a half, and has had a blameless record,” Mr Lescelles said. “If a conviction is entered he will lose his job. This would be a severe penalty Arising from an unfortunate domestic matter.” Mr Lascelles asked that Lovell be discharged without conviction under section 42 of the Criminal Justice Act. Mr Lascelles also asked for the suppression of Lovell’s name. “This appears to have been quite a serious assault without provocation, and at the hands of a man who should know better," said the Magistrate. “I don't think he is deserving of any leniency.” ALLEGED ASSAULT

When a wife handed a constable a letter written by her husband containing a threat to kill her the husband snatched the paper from the constable and refused to return it. The constable tried to reason with the man, but he became violent and struck him some blows, Sergeant Marson said. The man, whose name was suppressed, was remanded in custody to May 29 for a report under the Mental Health Amendment Act. The accused was represented by Mr G. S. Brockett. On May 13 Constable T. W Iles, of Waikari. was called to a house where the occupier told him that his housekeeper’s husband, the accused, had come to the home, and he was afraid he might attack his housekeeper. said Sergeant Marson. The accused would not speak to the constable. When the wife gave the constable some papers the accused snatched them from his hand and put them in his pocket. He refused to return them and the constable was struck. A struggle ensued and the occupier of the house came to the constable’s assistance, as the accused became quite violent. The accused was arrested, and when the paper was examined it was found to be a letter written by the accused in which he said he intended to kill his wife, said Sergeant Marson, who handed the letter to the Magistrate. The letter indicated that the accused’s mentality was not as strong as it might be, Sergeant Marson said. He suffered from some mental derangement, particularly when he had been drinking. That had been mentioned in March, when he was before the Court for assaulting his wife.

The accused had five previous convictions, two of which were for assault and one for fighting, and it appeared he was of a violent nature, said Sergeant Marson. Mr Brockett said that the accused’s wife had left home and had taken the three children with her. Summonses had been issued by the wife for maintenance and guardianship orders, which the accused had agreed to enter into. Last year the accused had had a lot of time off work about the time of the birth of his youngest child. He had a lot of property under hire-purchase, and the payments got into substantial arrears. The payment of these. together with the maintenance, had got him depressed. This was not the first time he had committed such thoughts to paper, and this seemed to give him some form of relief, Mr Brockett said. He had no intention of carrying out any such act. The accused denied raining any blows on the constable. but admitted that he struggled when the constable tried to take back his letter. The accused had taken considerable liquor for some time as an escape from his problems, and had been drinking before he went to Waikari. He was in regular employment. “This man has a predeliction to violence, and a medical report will have to be obtained,” said the Magistrate. 18 CHARGES On 18 charges, including shopbreaking, unlawful car conversion, and receiving stolen propertv, four youths were remanded until May 22. Three were remanded for sentence and one for trial.

The three youths remanded for sentence were David William Hare, aged 19. John Francis Pagel, aged 17. and Clifford Leonard Humm. aged 17. Noel Alexander

Davies was remanded to May 22. Mr G. R. Lascelles appeared for Hare and Davies. Pagel and Htimm were represented by Mr A. B. Harman. The charges against Pagel were two of shopbreaking, five of car conversion, one of breaking and entering and committing theft and one of schoolhouse breaking and theft. He pleaded guilty to all the charges. The offences were committed between February 2 and April 28. Hare pleaded guilty to a charge of breaking and entering and committing theft and also to one of car conversion. The first offence occurred on April 26 and the other the following day. Humm pleaded guilty to a charge of converting a car on February 2 and to two charges of receiving stolen property on January 30 and February 5. To charges of shopbreaking and theft and of receiving stolen property Davies pleaded guilty. To a charge of unlawfully getting into a car he pleaded not guilty. The th?ft charges concerned mainly money, cigarand tobacco, said Sergeant Marson. There was nothing unusual about the car conversion charges, he said. They seemed to follow the pattern of young people taking a car. driving it around the countryside, and then abandoning it. YOUTH’S THEFTS A youth who had been given friendship and shelter by an Ashburton family had stolen £6 and £3 10s from a woman which he had spent on clothing and cigarettes, said Sergeant Marson.

Brian Thomas Serong, aged 19. a storeman. pleaded guilty to two charges of stealing money, the property of Thelma Campbell, on May 6 and 11. He was remanded in custody to May 22 for sentence. Serong had arrived in Ashburton on May 6. and was friendly with a young woman, who was the niece of the complainant. He was sleeping at one house and was having his meals at another, Sergeant Marson said. On May 6 he took a change purse containing £6 from a woman’s blazer, and on May 11 he took £3 10s. On each occasion the money was found to be missing the accused was in the kitchen, said Sergeant Marson. PROBATION FOR FORGERY On charges of committing forgery by altering the number on a cheque for £74 18s 3d issued by the Australia and New Zealand Bank, and false pretences by obtaining £74 18s 3d from the bank by representing that the cheque was a good and valid one, Gerald Patrick Clarke, aged 26, a commercial artist, was placed on probation for two years. Mr R. Twyneham, asking for probation, referred to Clarke’s financial difficulties H» had committed the two offences when he “did not know which way to turn for money.” He had an obligation to support his wife and children, and other payments to meet, Mr Twyneham said He said it was the first time Clarke jiad been before the Court, and he had made full restitution.

The Magistrate said forgery and false pretences usuallv merited a prison term. Clarke would be sent of gaol if he did npt observe the terms of his probation. CORRECTIVE TRAINING A sentence of corrective training was imposed on Brian Peter Meadows, aged 24, when he appeared for sentence on four charges of theft, and three of housebreaking and theft, committed between December 11 and April 12. The Magistrate told Meadows, who was not represented by counsel, that he had a bad record, of housebreaking offences for his age. THEFTS FROM ARMY FUNDS Paul George Smith, aged 24, was ordered to make restitution of £350, and was placed on probation for two years, when he appeared for sentence on two charges of theft and one of false pretences. Smith, a former soldier stationed at Addington Military Barracks, had pleaded guilty last week to the theft of £3OO from the funds of the Army Department’s canteen and from the Soldiers’ Club proceeds at Addington. His counsel, Mr B. G. Dingwall, said Smith's actions were largely dictated by ignorance and muddle when he was given charge of the funds.

Smith's troubles began when he started borrowing from the funds. He had no experience of keeping accounts and his position became hopeless, said Mr Dingwall. He lent money to other soldiers who imposed on him. Other soldiers were suspected by Smith of having manipulated funds as well, and another person would appear in a charge shortly, said Mr Dingwall. The Magistrate said it was fortunate that Smith had a previously clear record. He said he considered the accused had been caught up in a very unsatisfactory situation and atmosphere. OBSCENE EXPOSURE William Shepherd Newman. aged 36. was fined £2O when he appeared for sentence on a charge of obscene exposure on April 24. Mr B. J. Drake, for the accused, said he had neves been in trouble before apart from a drunken escapade which ended in the conversion of a motor-car on VJ Day in 1945. The case was not the usual one of its kind, in that Newman had not gone out of his way to commit the offence, which occurred in his own bedroom within view of the road. Newman had been heavily punished in losing hj« job

and bringing disgrace on his family.

THEFT OF CAR PARTS Ivan Barry More Hough- i ton, aged 20, a workman, was fined £lO on each of two charges of theft of car par’s valued at £27 14s from parked cars on the evening of March 22. He was also placed on probation for two years. INTOXICATED DRIVER Robert Samuel John Chamberlain's actions when he ( failed to give way to a: Transport Department patrol car after he had “glanced to the right and kept going” at Hospital corner at 6.40 pm. on April 28 were typical of those of a person who had had more liquor than was good for his driving, although he was not a bad case of intoxication, said the Magistrate.

He convicted Chamberlain on a charge of driving while under the influence of drink or drugs in Hagley avenue and fined him £l5 and cancelled his driving licence foi three years. Chamberlain, aged 21, a sawmill hand (Mr B. J Drake), pleaded not guilty to the offence. Traffic Officer C. S. Hansen said he followed Chamberlain to Montreal street after his failure to give way, and told him to stop. , To Mr Drake. Traffic Officer Hansen said that, apart from the incident at Hospital corner. Chamberlain's driving was fairly accurate when he was followed, and he stopped for traffic lights and gave way to a car when told to stop and pull into the kerb. He had no reason to suspect that Chamberlain had been drinking until he opened the car door to speak to him about failing to give way, and then noticed the strong smell of liquor, Traffic Officer Hansen said. Dr. P. B. Maling said he examined Chamberlain at 7 p.m. and considered him unfit to drive, but not a bad case. Two police officers who saw Chamberlain after his arrest said they would not have arrested Chamberlain, but would have taken his car keys. In evidence Chamberlain said he had had between six and 12 beers at Halswell between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. As he was crossing the intersection he saw the patrol car, but decided to keep going. as it had braked for him Dr. T. M. O'Brien said he examined Chamberlain at 8.5 p.m. He found him to be normal, and he gave a full account of his driving. He was fit to drive. To Sergeant Marson he said he would not concede that Chamberlain had been very intoxicated at any stage.

“I don’t think he could have pulled himself together to the state he was in when I examined him if he had been intoxicated,” Dr. O’Brien said. Questioned by the Magistrate, he said he would expect to see the maximum signs of intoxication at 7 p.m., although this could vary widely with individual conditions. DISORDERLY BEHAVIOUR When a constable was questioning a youth in Worcester street on Ma.y 13 the youth said to the accused, “This cop has been picking on me," and the accused then replied, “Why don't you hang one on him." said Sergeant Marson. Appearing before the Court was Eric Ross Hardy on a charge of behaving in a disorderly manner in Worcester street. He first pleaded not guilty, but then changed his plea to guilty, saying that it would not do him any good, as he would get the same whatever he pleaded. He was remanded until May 22 for a probation officer’s report and sentence. Bail was allowed. Sergeant Marson said that the constable first noticed the accused who, in the company of other youths, was calling out and scuffling with pedestrians who were using a pedestrian crossing in the Square. He saw them talking to a girl, aged about 11, and while he was questioning them about this the offence took place, said Sergeant Marson. CHARGE DISMISSED Saying that he was not convinced that the accused had any intention of stealing the goods, the Magistrate dismissed a charge against Leonard Brown, aged 48, of stealing 27 rolls of cotton binding and a bucket, worth £4O from Nancy Lee, Ltd., on April 25. He pleaded not guilty, and was represented by Mr G R. Lascelles. Constable A. G. Adams said that while on duty in Buchan street he found the accused rummaging among the ruins of the property of Nancy Lee. Ltd., which had been destroyed by fire the previous night. The goods were found in his car, which was parked in the front of the property, he said. In evidence, the accused said he had been given permission by the mother of the owner of the property to take away two rolls of binding, and he returned to find anything more that might be useful, as he understood that as the building had been burnt out anything he could salvage he could keep. FINED £2O Appearing for sentence on charges of assaulting a constable and obstructing the police on March 4. William James Sullings was fined £lO on each. On a further charge of using obscene language he was convicted and discharged. Mr B. J. Drake, who appeared for Sullings. said that the accused had been one of the fringe cases in the disturbance at the Scottish Society's Hall and he had been involved in it against his will. DRUNKENNESS Arrested in Colombo street at 6.30 p.m. on Saturday, William Kenneth Sullivan, aged 43, pleaded guilty to being

found drunk in a public place, having had four previous convictions for the same offence within the last six months. Sergeant Marson said Sullivan had a list of offences, most of which were in the vagrancy class. The accused had a few beers with friends after knocking off work, said Sullivan’s counsel. Miss A. Bacchant. He realised it was a serious offence because of the number of his previous convictions. The Magistrate remanded Sullivan until this morning to see if arrangements could be made to send him to Rotoroa Island. REMANDED

William Reginald Duder, aged 32,. an insurance salesman. was remanded on bail to May 22 on charges of driving while under the Influence of drink or drugs, and using obscene language in Beresford street on May 13. James Douglas Bass, aged 44. was remanded to May 22 on a charge of forgery at Christchurch on May 9. Bail was renewed. (Before Mr A. P. Blair, S.M.) YEAR'S PROBATION “It is quite obvious that you have an extreme fondness for drink and none for work, said the Magistrate when he sentenced Frederick James Nichols, aged 35, to one year's probation on a charge of stealing a man’s jacket, valued at £3 19s 6d. from a city store on April 28 On a charge of having illegal lottery tickets in his possession Nichols was convicted and discharged. Nichols was appearing for sentence. He was represented by Mr G. T. Mahon. Mr Mahon said that the accused had suffered many misfortunes and had been unable to pull himself together. Drink had been a major cause of his troubles, he said. The Magistrate ordered 'Nichols to take out a prohibition order and also to live 'where ordered by the probation officer.