Two Men Face Charge Of Entering P.O.

Chronicle (Levin), 4 February 1948, Page 3

Two Men Face Charge Of Entering P.O.

WELLINGTON, Feb. 3. The prosecution's case agaiust Roy Yineent and Eobert Spring, on a cliarge of breaking and entering the Lower Hutt Post Office with intent to conimit tlieft, was coneluded before tlie OMef .lustice, Sir Humplirey O'Leary, in tlie Supreme Court tliis afternoon. Tlie defence will open tomorrow morning. Outlining tlie Crown case, Mr. Gunuingbam said the poliee were called to the Lower Hntt Post Office at daybreak on December* 7 and found tlie strongroom door had been packed witli gelignite and fuses. Everything appeared to be in readiness for the fuse to be liglited. The two aoeused were deteeted walking slowly but out of breath in nearby High Street. Spring possessed a paiT of gloves and a box of matches and Vineent had a small tyre lever in his pocket. Gelignite and detonators were fotind in a poliee seareh of Spring Js house. Mr. Cunningham said the poliee were in High Street within a minute or two of their having disturbed someone inside the post office by theix arrival, and the jury wonld have to eonsider whether the aecused were in faet the men disturbed by the gollCQo .William Mervyja Boyd Aiiderso^

coll'ee stall jiroprietor, in Andrcws Street^ said that afler the arrival of the poliee car he saw no one pass up Andrews Avejiue going north. ITomj the time he saw the poliee car pull up' at the vestibule door till he saw men getting into it in High Street, would not be more than iive minutes. Deteetive-Sergeant P. O. Scocx said that on the morning of Hecember 7 he made a seareh 'of the home of aecused Spring at 67 Eliabeth Street, with Acting-Detective Baker and found a three-eornered lile, a large stiek of gelignite and two pieees of eelluloid. Celluloid of tke-type found was coinmonly used by ■criminals for a eertain type of spring loelc manipulation. Huder an old sack in an outside shed witness found a tin eontaining sc'ven plugs of gelignite, a pieee of blue coloured 'fuse about eight feet long, and a small tin eontaining- about 24 detonators. The gelignite found in the tin was the same brand as that used at the post office. The fuse was the same colour and the detonators appeared to be similar. Subsequent to the seareh witness interviewed aecused Spring who said he know nothing of the gelignite and eelluloid, and had not seen it before. Senior-Detective W. MeLennan gave evidenee of flnding gelignite in the lock of the strongroom door at the post office and a quantity of gelignite, fuses and tools on some newspaper in front of the strongroom door.