Magistrate's Court Man Gaoled For Six Months For Theft As A Servant

Press, Volume CV, Issue 31000, 4 March 1966, Page 7

Magistrate's Court Man Gaoled For Six Months For Theft As A Servant

Six months’ imprisonment as imposed on Baden Frederick Reeve, aged 39, a Plastic worker, when he appeared before Mr C. S. J. Crutchley, S.M., in the Magistrate’s Court yesterday for sentence on two charges of tneft as a servant. Reeve (Mr S. G. Erber) was convicted last week on two charges of stealing brass from P.D.L. Industries, Ltd., while employed by the firm. The charges covered periods from November 1, 1962, to October 15, 1965, when 4 tons, lewt, 141 b of brass was stolen, and July 6 to July 30, 1965, when 3cwt, 3qtr, 221 b of brass was stolen. Mr Erber said there was £3OO in a trust account which was to be paid to the complainant firm. The money had come from Reeve's sister and brother-in-law, which was an indication of the esteem in which Reeve’s family held him.

In spite of the hardship that might be caused to Reeve’s wife and family he had to impose a penalty that would be a deterrent to others, said the Magistrate. It would also teach others to leave property that was not theirs alone. ABSENT FROM SHIP

Technically the defendant had been away from his ship without leave but there was the curious situation where the defendant had gone back to the ship, had been arrested and then taken off the ship shortly before it was due to sail, said the Magistrate when Gerald William Marshall, aged 39, a seaman, pleaded not guilty to being absent without leave from the Cornwall at Lyttelton on February 24. After the luncheon adjournment the Magistrate said he did not think he should give any expression to his own feelings on what had been done to the defendant but that under the Act he had committed an offence. He was convicted and ordered to be detained under provisions of Section 158 of the Shipping and Seamen Act. Bail was allowed on condition the defendant reported to the police at Nelson on his arrival today. Marshall said he had been penalised for 11 days and he wanted to know who was going to pay the costs of the matter. The Magistrate told him the Court could not give him legal advice. FINED £2O “It seems a sad commentary that you and others of your age were wandering around the Square at two o’clock in the morning,” said the Magistrate when Wayne Curtis Durham, aged 17, a labourer (Mr K. M. Hampton) appeared for sentence on a charge of having unlawful sexual intercourse with a girl aged 13 years seven months on June 16. Durham was fined £2O. Suppression of name was refused. The girl was precocious—she was wandering around the Square waiting for a “pickup,” said Mr Hampton. Durham's parents were willing and anxious to have him living at home again. INDECENT ASSAULT The matter was one of great concern to the Court, said the

Magistrate when Douglas Ayson Bain, aged 34, a freezing worker (Mr R. F. B. Perry), appeared for sentence on a charge of indecently assaulting a girl on February 20. He was placed on probation for one year and ordered to take medical treatment as directed. Mr Perry said Bain was addicted to alcohol and was in financial difficulties. He had taken out a prohibition order and he deeply regretted the offence. REMANDED FOR OBSERVATION “You seem to be given to assault, with four convictions in the last two years,” said the Magistrate when Carel Adrian Van Rees, aged 32, a welder, appeared for sentence on a charge of assaulting his wife on February 2. He was remanded for observation until March 18 under Section 37 of the Mental Health Act. Van Rees said he realised his marriage was finished and he was prepared to separate. His firm -was prepared to give him work outside Christchurch. PROBATION FOR BURGLARY It was still not too late for the defendant to make a success of her life, said the Magistrate, when Ruth Karaitiana, aged 17, unemployed (Mr M. G. L. Loughnan), appeared for sentence on a charge of burglary on February 16. She was placed on probation for one year and ordered to make restitution of £3 4s 9d. SUSPENDED SENTENCE Appearing for sentence on a charge of burglary on February 14, Michael John Joseph McGuire, aged 22, a soldier, was convicted and ordered to come up for sentence within 12 months if called upon. He was ordered to pay £lO towards the cost of the prosecution. CHARGE DISMISSED A charge against lan Charles Rogers, aged 19, an apprentice carpenter, of using insulting language on February 27, was dismissed. Rogers pleaded not guilty and was represented by Mr P. T. H. Alpers. DECISION RESERVED Decision was reserved on a charge against Kevin Edward McDonald, aged 21 (Mr N. W. Williamson) of unlawfully receiving wildlife on November 5 knowing it to have been obtained without authority. McDonald pleaded not guilty. Mr J. G. Leggatt appeared for the North Canterbury Acclimatisation Society. NON-ATTENDANCE AT SCHOOL On charges of falling to ensure their children's attendance at school, convictions were entered as follows: Stanley Clifford Johnston, two charges, £2 and £1 10s; James Henry Salt, costs only. (Before Mr H. J. Evans, S.M.) FINED FOR ASSAULT During a party in Baretta street a man was threatened with a broken bottle and was assaulted by two men, said Sergeant J ,M. Phelan. Terence Hemi. aged 20, a workman, and Maurice Patrick Api, aged 23, a moulder were fined £l2 10s each on a charge of assaulting Joseph Scanlan on March 2. They pleaded guilty. Sergeant Phelan said that during the evening Hemi hit Scanlan in the face with his closed fist knocking him onto a bed. Scanlan ran to another room and locked the door. Api and Hemi kicked at the door which was opened by Scanlan who said he was sorry and he asked that there be no fighting. Hemi had a broken bottle and threatened Scanlan. Api then took the bottle and held it against Scanlan's throat and he thought he was going to have his throat cut. Later Hemi again attacked Scanlan and hit him about the head with his fists. When Scanlan fell to the floor he was kicked in the head and Hemi stood on his neck. Another Maori came in and stopped the assault. When the police arrived they found Scanlan had several bruises and cuts to the neck and there were several sizable lumps on bls head. Sergeant Phelan said. 18 MONTHS’ GAOL "This is a negative sentence, but it is inevitable,” the Magistrate said when he sentenced Neuman Francis Price, aged 43, a cleaner (Mr D. H. Stringer), to 18 months’ imprisonment. Price was appearing for sentence on a charge of indecent assault on a boy on January 8.

POST OFFICE DEFRAUDED Shirley Ann Spence, aged 22, married, was remanded on bail to March 10 for sentence on five charges of wilfully misleading an employee of the Post Office to obtain family benefit payments to which she was not entitled. She pleaded guilty. Sergeant Phelan said Spence told the Social Security Department that her family benefit order book had been stolen from her parked car. She was given a duplicate book. It was found that orders from both the duplicate and original family benefit books were being cashed at Post Offices. Spence obtained £l5 from Post Offices by fraud. She said she had found her original book and she had cashed orders from it because she was short of money. Sergeant Phelan said. STOLE DIAMOND RING

Karl Claus Monschay, aged 35. an electrician, was convicted and remanded on ball to March 10 for a report and sentence when he appeared on a charge of theft of a diamond ring valued at £5O on or about January 31. He pleaded guilty. Senior Sergeant G. M. Cleary said that on February 15. Mary Galbraith Smith complained of the theft of a diamond ring on or about January 31. On that day, she had accused the defendant, who was living with her, of taking the ring, and said she was going to call the police. The ring was found on the floor in the house later that day.

Monschay told the police that the ring never left the complainant's room. He said it was hidden to prevent the complainant from selling it. The complainant denied ever Intending to sell the ring. DROVE UNDER INFLUENCE Denis McGonagale Blake, aged 61, was fined £25 and had his driver's licence cancelled for 18 months on a charge of driving under the influence of drink or drugs on Bridge street on February 12. He pleaded guilty. Sergeant Phelan said Blake was arrested after the car he was driving hit a parked truck. Mr J. G. Leggat. who appeared for Blake, said the accused had pulled into the side of the road when he had heard the siren of a fire engine. The truck he had hit had not been correctly parked. There were special reasons why Blake's licence should not be cancelled for three years. THEFT

Bert William Henry Poffley, aged 54. a tannery workman, was remanded on bail to March 10 for sentence on a charge of stealing a teapot, a pair of pliers and a paint brush, valued at 7s 6d. He pleaded guilty. Senior-Sergeant Cleary said that at 4.45 a.m. on February 25 Poffley was seen by the police walking along Papanui road. When they went to speak to him he ran off and they gave chase through private properties. The defendant was apprehended and he admitted stealing the articles found in his possession from the backs of houses and a garage. He had been released from prison the previous day. ONE MONTH'S GAOL John Conel Wilkie, aged 46, a workman (Mr R. G. Blunt), was sentenced to one month’s imprisonment when he appeared on a charge of driving in Buchanans road on February 15 while disqualified. Wilkie, who pleaded guilty, was also disqualified from driving for a further one year. The Magistrate said that Wilkie had been disqualified from driving for four years on January 20, and only three or four weeks later, he drove while disqualified. DROVE UNDER INFLUENCE A fine of £25 and disqualification from driving for three years were imposed on Peter Warwick Herd, . aged 23, a clicker, on a charge of driving in Ferry road while under the influence of drink or drugs on January 8. Herd (Mr L. M. O'Reilly), pleaded guilty. Sergeant Pihetan said a taxidriver saw Herd’s car wandering over Ferry road at 11.25 p.m. The taxi-driver called the police who found Herd in a house in Grafton street. He was in an advanced state of intoxication and admitted driving his car a few minutes earlier. At midnight a doctor certified him as unfit to drive. DAMAGED GLADIOLUS Charged with wilfully damaging a gladiolus plant valued at 12s 6d on February 4, Raymond John Messervy, aged 20, a carpenter, was convicted and fined £1 10s. He pleaded guilty. Sergeant Phelan said that at 10 p.m. on February 4, the defendant drove his car into a motor camp in Riccarton owned by tne complainant. Because of his behaviour, the complainant told Messervy to leave. On his way out, Messervy tore a gladiolus plant, which was in full bloom, out of the ground. Messervy later told the police that he had consumed too much liquor. He had since apologised to the complainant and had paid for the damage. GAOL FOR THEFT A sentence of two months’ imprisonment was imposed on Anzac Robert Williams, aged 22, a prison inmate, when he appeared on a charge of theft of cigarettes and chewing gum valued at £4 17s fid, the property of a person or persons unknown, on January 1. The sentence is to be served concurrently with a term already being served by Williams. STOLE SHRUBS Errol Leslie MeConchie, aged 43, a scrap metal dealer, was fined £l5 and was ordered to make restitution of £4 on a charge of stealing two shrubs, valued at £4, the property of Cyril Henry Brant Robinson, on January 3. He pleaded not guilty and was represented by Mr J. R. Milligan. PEEPED INTO HOUSE George Keith, aged 28, a saw doctor, was convicted and fined £l2 when he pleaded guilty to a charge of being found by night peering into the window of a house at 273 Kilmore street on February 26. The Magistrate said that Keith had been convicted in October, 1965, of a similar offence. UNLAWFULLY ON PREMISES Charged with being unlawfully on premises at 345 Cashel street without intent, on March 2, Toby McLean Symes, aged 21, a student (Mr W. Gilroy) was convicted and fined £lO. He pleaded guilty. The Magistrate refused an application by Mr Gilroy for suppression of Symes’s name. WILFUL DAMAGE Charged with wilful damage of a car window valued at £lO on February 25, Robin Dean Turner, aged 34, a sales agent, was convicted and fined £6, and was ordered to pay restitution of £lO. He pleaded guilty. FALSE PRETENCES Allan William Brand, aged 32, a driver (Mr W. A. Wilson), was convicted and remanded on bail to March 10 for sentence on a charge of false pretences worth £l5 on February 24. Brand pleaded guilty. Senior-Sergeant Cleary said Brand wrote out a cheque for £l5 from a stolen book. He presented it at the Jewell Casket, Gloucester street, in payment for a wrist watch, a twenty-first birthday gold key, and cash. YOUTHS CONVICTED Two youths, whose names were suppressed, were convicted and remanded on ball to March 10 for reports and sentence when they appeared on two charges of breaking and entering on February 22. One youth, who pleaded guilty to all charges, was also convicted and remanded to March 10 on a charge of breaking and entering the Templeton Book Shop on February 22. The other youth, who pleaded guilty to two charges

but not guilty to the charge relating to the Templeton Book Shop, was remanded to March 10 on the latter charge. UNLAWFULLY TOOK CARS Allan Rupuha Thompson, aged 19, an apprentice carpenter, was convicted and remanded on bail to March 10 for a report and sentence when he appeared on two charges of unlawfully taking cars, valued at £475 and £825, a charge of unlawfully taking a cycle valued at £6. and a charge of theft of registration plates valued at 10s. Thompson pleaded guilty to the charges, which were committed between December 4, 1965, and February 25. NAMES SUPPRESSED Two youths, whose names were suppressed, were remanded on bail to March 10 for sentence on charges of attempting to have unlawful sexual intercourse with a girl aged 13. They pleaded guilty. The offences occurred on New Year's day at Tahuna beach, Nelson. DISQUALIFIED DRIVING Trevor Mapu Hema, aged 23. a crane driver, was remanded on bail to March 10 for sentence on charges of driving while disqualified, falling to stop after an accident, and careless driving on December 24. He pleaded guilty to all charges. THEFT AS A SERVANT A charge against a woman, whose name was suppressed, of stealing, as a servant, groceries valued at 12s on January 21, was adjourned to March 10 for sentence. She pleaded guilty. STOLE ENGAGEMENT RING Malcolm Murray Douglas, aged 20, a soldier, pleaded guilty to a charge of stealing an engagement ring, valued at £65. the property of his brother, at Papatoetoe about September 2. The charge was adjourned to March 10 for sentence. (Before Mr K. H. J. Headifen, S.M.) FINED £3O Brian Lloyd Jones, aged 26, a carpenter (Mr S. G. Erber). pleaded not guilty to a charge that in Cathedral square on February 5 he obstructed Constable Reginald James Ferguson in the execution of his duty. Jones was convicted and fined £3O. (Before Mr E. A. Lee, S.M.) WARRANT ISSUED Paul Williams, aged 22, a rigger, failed to appear to answer a charge that on January 16 he assaulted Richard Keith Young. Mr L. G. Holder, who appeared for Williams, said that he had failed to appear first about 14 days ago, but he had understood that on that occasion Williams's non-appearance had been due to a misunderstanding. He said that on two occasions since he had written to Williams telling him he had to appear in Court yesterday. Detective-Sergeant B. 1. S. Kimber then asked that a warrant be Issued for Williams’ arrest.

The Magistrate ordered that a warrant should be issued and granted Mr Holder leave to withdraw from the proceedings.