Prisoners Heid At Bay With Shotgun

Chronicle (Levin), 7 October 1948, Page 6

Prisoners Heid At Bay With Shotgun

.The iwq prisonm vfho escape3 from ' the;Aucklaiici prison. quari^r last Thurs'day \yere ' clriv matieally recaptiired ip 'a -V sinall stove at Pirongia toniglit. r. Held at bay for* iO "ihiriutes by Scbwartfeger \yhb was armed with a shotgun; thb escapees/ james Daniel Pease aiid Peter : Seatoh Young; wete atresfed by Sgt. J. Bissett of Te. 4y^amutu .at' 9 p.m. ' Hearing- the -sound of breaking glass in the store of- W. H. Bell and Go., storekeepers, Pirongia, at 8:15 p.m., Mr. G; Bromell- immedi•a.teIyUeft'bn..;his''bicycIe to inforih Mr. Schwartf eger, an assistant in tbie sitore who lived a quarter of a uiile away. Snatchiiig his shotgun from his shed and loading it as he ran- tov - the store, Mr. Schwartfeger arrived there few ininutes' time. After a quick examination of the outside of the store, . and , aecoiiipanied by - Mr. Bromell, he entered the store by the front door. After. switchitig on fhe light's, - Mr. SehWartfeg'er cha.de his way .to .the;rear 'pf. the shop- while • Mri Broihell - stopd guard a t - f he door, - ' ' • - • • : 3 ' . "As\soon.'as the.;fbrmer had. passed thp couiiter, -the two intr'udcirs .aitempted .to dash for .the:* door but were ; brought to an abrupt standstill byyMr/ Schwartfeger 's threat to Use the Shotgun; / , The twp,:;meh;' who had be.en immediately' recognised by both Mr. Schwartfeger and. Mr. Bromell as. the hunted prisoners, ,at first adopfed a hostile attitude. Evidently yrealising that Mr. Schwartfeger was in earnest in his threat- to open',iire.-if they :attempted to escape, the two men resighed themseryes to the .. position. ' ' " • . • At 9 p.m. Sexgeant Bissett, with tliree constables from the Te Awamutu station, arrived. at . the store and arrested the men. They were later .transferred to the Hamilton police stationThe first indication of the possibility of the prisoners being in tlie Waikato area, was given when a car cohtaining the two men and reSembling one stplen ' from Kaukapakapa on Tuesday night, was seen iri Pranktoh this morning. Intensive inquiries by the Hamilton police failed, however, to -eonfirm that the car was the tnissing one and it was not until the message from Pirongia was reccived that it was definitely established that the prisoners wefe in. the area. E.arlief .iii the. day the. search for. the two mdii had been eoncenttated in the Helensville area over 100 miies from where .the eapture V eventualiy 'took place. This seafch' was diseontinued when if was found'that the prisoners had slipped through the' police cordori. ?-■