Strange Shooting Affair Described In Court

Chronicle (Levin), 21 May 1949, Page 5

Strange Shooting Affair Described In Court

• Pr,ess Assqciationj

(P.ei

.ix,eniaiKame a,uegaj:ions oi nignr alarunis and excursions at Akitio Eeach, a small settlement 20 miles from Pongaroa, on Saturday, May 7, were mad.e by witnesses in the Magistrate's Court at Pahiatua yesterday when William Henry Soanes, a labourer, aged 33, married with one child, was charged that ;with intent to intimidate or annoy Eichard John Peck he did hy the dischgrge of a firearm alarm or attempt'ed to alarm Peck, he .being a person in a dvVellinghouse. He pleaded ;not guilty and was committed to the Supreme Court at Palmerston North fpr trial. Messrs J. M. Sandman and A. A. Vaughan, J.P.'s, presided. DeteetiveSergeant J. H. Alty, of Palmerston North, progeeuted gnd Mr. K. N. Struthers (Pahiatua) instructed by Mr. W. T. Gazley, of Wellington, apjieareQ for the accused. _Peek, a married man, who resides with his family at Akitio Beach, stated that he had known Soanes since the latter went to work on the Moanaroa Station about four or five months ago. On May 7 Soanes and his wife cailed at Peck's home in the afternoon, and in Peck 's car they all went to Pongaroa, arriving there at about 3.30 p.m. Peck and Soanes stayed in the hotel until about 5 p.m. Witness considered himself in a fit eondition to drive the car home and thought Soanes was about the same. Arriving at the gate of Peck's house, witness had difficulty in getting the ear up the steep grade to the garage aud eventually Soanes drove it up, witfl Peck, his wife and a man named Fred Holdem pushing thg vehiele to get it started. IJp at the garage accused got out of the car and insulted witness who struck Soanes, knocking him to the ground. When Spanes got to his feet again Peck knoclth'd him down a second time. The accused looked all right when he regained his feet. The next tiie witness saw of the accused he was going over the hill toward his own plaee. Witness said he then went inside to liave his tea. About half an hour later he was going from the seullery to the kitchen when he heard a shot. He then heard accused 's voice calling on witness to go outside and fight. Two morfe sh;tx were fired through the window. Mrs. Peck put out' the light and took the two youngest children into the sittingroom. Witness stayed in the kitchen. More shots were fired, and accused repeatedly cailed on Peck to~ go out and fight.

Witness heard accused move around to the other side of the house and some shots were fired into the bedroom wind'w. Peck said he told his wife to get out c£ the house with Ihe two children. No mcr.J ohots were fired, and witness left tho house after about half an hour. C'rcfvs Bxamined by Mr. Struthers, Peck said iie h s/2 be?r. on good terms vafi. ? |ares. He admitted he had one ccmv ction for assault about 14 years ago and that he had had several prohibition orders against himself. He had taken one out at Dannevirke last Monday. He denied tiaving assaulted a roadman named Bob Anderson this vear, or a man named Thompson at Akitio Beach recently. At Pongaroa on May 7 he had started drinking beer, then had two or three gins, later drinking beer again. He denied he had hit accused yvIpI?. he was lying on the ground, and he denied having threatened Mr.3. Scanss. The wife of tho previcus witness, Mrs Peck. cor ihorrted her liushand's evii.nce up to the time she left the house. She had then gone through scrub at the hack of the house tn her

neighbour, Mr. Gahan, the manager ot the station. This journey took her about an hour. Gahan was not at home, so she went along to Fred HoJdem's cottage. On the way she heard someone call out: "Is that you, Fred?" Witness had replied: "No. Is that you Mr. Soanes?" Accused came toward her and she saw that he had a rifle under eaeh arni. He thrust hoth harrels into her ribs. She said: "Don'.t put a bullet into me or my children," and accused had replied that he wouldn't, but that he would get her husband if.it took him teu years. _ Witness said Soanes told her he had hit a man named Bob Scott with an axe and had put -a bullet into Fred Holdem. He repeated that he was going to get Peck. Soanes then left her and went toward the Peck house. Witness went the other way, but she saw some ear lights near her house and deeided to go home. Cross-examined, witness said that occasionally her husband had hit people while he was under the influence of liquor, but he did not necessarily beeome fighting. drunk. He had had three prohibftion orders against : himSelf in the 23 years thgy had been married. He had hit Bob Anderson at Christmas constdered that Anderson hau " got all he was looking for." Apart from this occasion she had always got q'^wMI Soanes. She was in thei.h0(pse,vy]j.6q ifye aj'gument started I'^rhie, 'an&'she had conie out whhrir Mi| ^was on the ground for the

. iipqna " : " j. •, " I' 11 Get ;Yoq,kScott; ' Bob Scott, a shepherY ppipioyed on fehe. statioja, said that 'He had met Mrs. Sdahegjioh. the -.night of May 7, and as a result i'ofv^mptMng shq.-toj^ :him they we^t j|o. ^e'-epkhpusej.and .^tarted looklight went, ouggald Scott went to his whare to get sonie. inatches. On his way baek he saw someone near the woodpile. He said: "Is that you, Bill?" Soanes had replied: "I'll get you, Seott, you've got my gun." Soanes had come toward him with hoth arms raised but the witness promptly ran away and went to Holdem 's cottage. He met Holdem standing by his truck. While they wer.e there they .heard footsteps approaching. Sqanes cailed out: "Is that you, Fred?" Holdem walked arouud the truck toward Soanes but came running baek and said to witness: "Go for your lile. ' \ They ran down the road together, but Holdem slipped away down' the side of the hill to the beaph. Seott

carried on and heard . a shot behind him. Ihe next day the axe was missing from ^t;hq vvoodpile. It jvas later found on Akitio Beach. ' ' To Mr. Struthers, witness said he got on well ,with Soanes. He had known Peck for about two yeajs, had been drinking with him and had never found him quarrels.ome whc-n drunk. Identified Rifle. Frederiek Holdem, „ a labourer, of Akitio Beach, said he was near Peck's plaee whcn Peck arrived home. from Pongaroa. He saw Soanes get into the driving seat and gave aid in getting the car up the hill. An arguinent developed at the garage, and he saw Peck lcnoek Soanes to the ground twice Later Holdem saw Soanes running ovei the hill at the baek of Peck's plaee. Witness drove Mrs. Soanes to her home and then continued on to his own cottage. . Some time later he was standing by his truck when Scott arrived. They both heard footsteps approaching, and when Soanes call'ed out to witness he went around the side of the truck. He saw Soanes with a rifle in his hands and rau baek to Scott, telling him to run for his life. Hoidem said he left the mad and went down toward the beach. He heard a shot behind liim and also heard the whistle of the bullet. He could not say how far behind him the rifle had been discliarged but he was sure the - gun had been ainied in his direction. H'oldem said he was the registered owner of a .22 rifle which he had bought in January, 1949. When he left his hut that day he had lasteued tin aoor with a piece of string. The rifle had been inside and there was a box oi builets with only eight used. Ile had\ fired only eight builets from his gun which he had left well oiled and cleaned. When he returned to lns hut that aight he found the string holding the door had been brolten and the door was vvide open. He- identified a gun pro dueed in Court as that which he owned. He had examined a box of builets in Constable Webby's possession and found only 14 builets there. DetectiveSergeant Alty had shown him the gun sometime later and it had mud on and in the barrel which indieated to witness that it had been used since he last pui it'away. s Cross-examined, Holdem said he had always been on good terms vvith boanes. He had known Peck a long time, and although Peck occasionally got out of liand when drunk, he was niostly all right. Eye-witness Account. An eye-witness account of the shooting was given by Shirley Lorraine Peck, L8-year-old daughter of the complainant. She was at home when her parents returned with Mr. and Mrs. Soanes from Pongaroa. She .remeinbered there being an argument bet'vveen her father

and boanes. Her parents had expected some visitors that evening and on her mother 's instructions she went to the gate to meet them. While there she sat\ a man running from the direction Oi the cookhouse. She recognised Soanes who was carrying a gun. Ile went through the paddoeli to within a few yards of the house and she remained where she was while the shootine- was done. Constable Webby, of Pongaroa, said that in response to a telephone message he went to Akitio Beach in eompany with a man named Viv. Barrakat. They went to Peck's house and found no one at home. He saw one window with five holes in it, apparently caused by builets. At the other side of the house he found Peck and he accompanied theni along the Akitio Beach Eoad. They saw a roadman standing at the door of his. hut and they stopped. Barrakat and witness approaclied the hut, the former going up to the door. A voice which the witness recognised as Soanes' said: "It's all right, Viv." Webby moved his position until he could see Soanes who was standing in shadow near the doorway. Accused had a rifle under his right armpit. Rushed at Accused. At an opportune moment, said witness, he rushed Soanes and pinned hitarms. With Barrakat 's assistance accused was disarmed. Soanes was under the influence of liquor, and later complained of stomaeh pains which he attributed tO the stuff he had been drinking at Pongaroa. Accused said he had been firiug some shots into the air but denied he had been shooting at Peck's plaee. He was arrested. Witness said he later examined Peck's house and found in the west side of the kitchen the holes of two builets which had been fired at an aeute angle to tlie right. There were a further two holes from builets which had been fired at an aeute angle to the left. One bullet had gone through the wall of the house to the right of the window, apparently passed through the baek of a chair and through the furthest wall from the window. He was

present when Mrs. Peck picked up a bullet from the floor of the bedroom. There was another bullet hole in the wall furthest from the bedroom window. This bullet had gone aeross the room into the wardrobe, the builei falling out from among the clothes while he was looking for it. Still another bullet hole was found in the bedroom window and the bullet was lodged in the ceiling. Detective-Sergeant Alty gave evidence that two of the bullet holes were 5 feet 4 inches from the ground and another two were ,3 feet 4 inches from the ground. Accused pleaded not guilty and was committed to the Supreme Court at Palmerston North on July 18 for trial. He was granted bail in self £100 and one surety of £100, but an applicatiou bv his counsel for the veuue of the trial to be changed to Wellington was unsuc cessful.