Prison term for burglary charges

Press, 14 February 1986, Page 9

Prison term for burglary charges

Eighteen months in prison was the sentence given by Judge Sheehan in the District Court yesterday to a man who, he said,, had committed 19 burglaries in the last six years.

He told Kevin Gary Pike, aged 23 (unemployed), that the community took an unfavourable view of burglars “just getting rapped over the knuckles” for committing burglaries. The Judge said he was concerned at the high number of burglaries committed in Christchurch, and said he was convinced that some people were making their living from such offending.

Pike was appearing for sentence for burgling the Wordsworth Street premises of the Sydenham Countdown store on January 25 from where cigarettes worth $lBl5 were stolen.

He was also for sentence on a charge of dangerous driving in which t eight cars were damaged during a highspeed chase after the burglary.

Counsel, Mr P. B. McMenamin, said his client had been drinking for the best part of the day on which the burglary took place. Pike, he submitted, had not been aware of the intentions of his associates to commit a burglary until it was under way. On the charge of dangerous driving Pike was disqualified from holding or obtaining a driver's licence for three years.

No order was made for the payment of $2779 sought in respect of the damaged vehicles.