EXCITING NIGHT CHASE

Chronicle (Levin), 1 February 1949, Page 4

EXCITING NIGHT CHASE

IKgs^ing Bridegroom Arrested For Converting Car ( An exciting chase by two constables and two taxi drivers after a ca,r which was r^ported to have been converted frqm Qtajd cuhninated in the arrest in Levin, last night of a man disco^ered hiding arnong stacks of timber in a timber yard in Chamberlain Street. ; It was subsequently found that he was the bridegroom who. faiied r ^p?eai\for his weddhjg, sched-uled-^for II a.m, on Saturday in Feilding. • " The owner of the vehicle, Trevor Jack McChesney, taxi proprietor, of i Otaki, was ,at ihe Otaki railway s.oation to colle'ct passengers from a ■tram, when he saw a ihan jump , mto- the vehicle and- dri-ve olf hur- | riedly in a northerly direc-tion. * He gave chase in another vehicle, but tne car ahead was travelling.at too Ifast a pace. % j The Levin police were telephoned and Constables A. T. Hielk and A. Robinson stationed themselves. on the main road in readiness. Approaching Levin at a high speed, the driver of the converted car igriored the efforts. and signals ,to stop, whereupon the constableshailed a taxi driven by Mr. Wih'iam Galloway, of Levin, and gave chase. Keeping the car in view, they saw ■it turn in'to Bath Street and Cham- • berlain Street, where it stopped outside Messrs. Harvey and France's timber yards, The driver left the car and jumped a fence, disappearing among the stacked timber. The 1 taxi driver and coiistables searched .the area, Constable Robinson eventually locating and arresting the quarry, who was well eoncealed among the timber. Was Married Man In the Police Court, Otaki, this morning, Thomas Gover, aged 36, a carpenter of Feilding, appeared before Messrs. H. B. Edhouse and W. McBeth, j.P's., charged with the jconversion of the vehicle. He was sentenced to one month's imprisonment. "Accused said in explanation that, he was a married man, but had* been separated from his wife by mutual agreement for the past j three years. 'For the last 12 mbnlhs |he had been keeping company with a woman in Feilding, and wanted to marry her. . He had "come down" to see his wife and obtain her permissiorr to secure a diyorce, and was on his way back.' He had temporarily .lost his mental ba^nce arid did not know what he was doing. . I