Motor Mechanic Charged With Theft Of Car

Chronicle (Levin), 9 July 1949, Page 5

Motor Mechanic Charged With Theft Of Car

Pleading not guilty to two eharges of theft and one of false pretenees, iKeith Stewart Dawson, a motor m-e-chanic, married, aged 39, was committed to tlie Supreme Gourt for triafl by M.essrs F. Woods and P. Curtis, J.P. 's in the Magistrate 's Co'urt at Palmerston North yesterday. - pgwson was cliarged with the theft of a 10 h'.p. car valued at £500, the property of J. C. Milne, Ltd., Oxford St., Levin, the theft of a car identification' ; light, valued at about £3, the property of the same firm, and with attempting to defraud C. F. Cronin, by obtaining from him the sum of £250 by f alselv ; representing that he was the owner of a car. ; Senior-Retective O. Power, prQsecur, ed. Mr J. A. Ongley representcd the aecused, who reserved his defence. i Raymond Harry Hazelwood, a textile Ihand, of iFoxton, said that on May 29 ihe hired a reptal car from Milne 's garage, the' aecused arranging the trans- ! .aetiop on behaif of the gafage. The &ear was returned at ten minutes after midnight on the same day. The garage was not open and the car was parked outside the main door, and the keys put through a slot in the door' of the garage. Witness had subsequently been sbown a car at the poliee statiqii and from various features considered it to be the one he had hired. The owner of the garage, Peter John ^Yard, stated thgt the aecused had been employed by him for about eight months as a garage foreman. The car in qiiestion had beep purchased by witness ip August 1948 and in January 1949 a new engine was fitted. He eould identify the engiije particularly because the old generator had been affixed to it and for this purpose a special base had been made in the garage. On June 1, said the witness, he was checking the rental agreements for thc cars and saw that one hired by HazelWoqd should have been returned on May 29. He telephoned Hazelwood and as a result of what he was told looked in the key box attacked to the garage fioor and found there the key of thc car. Witness asked aecused about the car and IQawfon replied that he, knew no more about it than the witness. The theft of the par was reported to the poliee and on June 24 he identified a car at the Palmerston ISlorth poliee station as >the missing^vehiele. It had been' tepainted and the registration plates jiaJ been changed, bpt portioins of the origingl paint were ' sfiowing through in plaees.' The speedometer gave a reading of only 1000 miles more than whep. it went missing. The car was valued at £500. A vehiele identification 'light found in the baek of the car he idenpified'as hm -own property. Its value was approximately £3. Further evidenee regarding the ideutity of the car was given by~Simon Portanger, a motor meehanic employed by "^"atd, and by William Rose, over seer at the Pqst and Telegraph Departg mept gt Levin, who had hired the car frqm. l|larch 21 to May 20. A taxi-driver employed by Ward, Reginald Higgs, produeed a receipt hook ■jyhieh he said w_a£ p.gually kept in ' the pockret of the taxi. The very back car-

bon ih the book showed a receipt dat; ed April 15, 1949 and showing t'he re1 ceipt of some £375 from K. S. Dawson; and signed "H. R. Taylor." Witnesu knew nothing of this item. | William James Taylor, assistant' supt ervisoc of the motor registration bran6! j at the Palmerston North Post .Officej. produeed ap applicaj;iqn for regpstral tion of a motor-car lbdged in the jjaniq of 'Keith Stewart Dawson, of 235 Greyj Street, Palmerston North. Registratio;.. was effected. Wifpes's said that when H vehiele was registered and tbe licencq was not renewgd for a period of twj complete years, the rpgistration lapseCl and further appljeatioji for a licenc \ was described as a re-registration aa:' would nqt rqquire the production oi' the previous registration papers. •' Details of an advance qf £25,0 t ' Dawson against the security of a car: were given by Charles Francis Cronin i manager of a Palmerston North loax ' and discount company. Tfie aqcused hau said he had purchased the car fo £375 from a dpaler called H. R. Taylo of Durham Street, Lyall Bay, Welling ton. . ' ." Detective-Sergeant J. H. Alty sait' inquires had been made biit there wa: no Durham Street in Lyall Bay. Theri was a Dftrham Street off Aro Strr-e' but no person by the name of Taylo eould be loeatqd there. When interview ed, Dawson 1i ad deniecl that the car be longed to Wapfi. Dawson was committeed for tri,al as stptpd, bajl being renewed in three siims of self' £200 and two spreties qi £100 each, a condition being that he yeport daily to the goliee.