CURIOUS SHOOTING CASE.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 292, 3 September 1908, Page 8

CURIOUS SHOOTING CASE.

A NOCTURNAL TRESPASSER. MENTALLY DERANGED'., ■ i- *~r — ' ACCUSED COMMITTED FOR TRIAL..; ; 181 TEtEQBAPH.—SPECIAL COIIiIESroNDEHT.I -■ Creytown, September 2. f Tho sequel to tho recent shooting incident ■■ in Grey town, when a midnight trespasser - was shot at and injured by a local resident", was hoard; in thq Magistrate's Court here '" to-day beforo Mr. W. P. James; S.M.y when - Alfred Herbert Hayes; draper,., Greytown';--was charged, on the information of the police'; •> ; ; that' he did on August ;19, 1908, "discharge '* "a gun, loaded with' destructive,material, to wit, powder and shot, at one. Andrew,. Hope,--with intent to disable the said Andrew Hope." ... ' Detective Broberg, conducted the police : -'prosecution. The accused was'represented ; •.. by Mr. Tate.' '' ' - - ■ .. THE EVIDENCE;,:... ' ' ; . , Following was the sworn evidence:—., . "' Charles 'I'olloy,. butcher; Greytown, remem be red seeing tho accused on the forenoon - of Wednesday, August 19.' Accused stated, in the course of conversation with witness, , that there had. been a. burglar in his ;house the night before, , and he . had fired * four ! at, him. ■ Accused further-; stated that ; Jjo thought the .man was on his.-premises ■'V : stoaling;. Accused said that after, firing one '•-■■ shot the man cried, "Oh!" The man was "' thon on the: street. Later, in the day, between 4.30 and 5 o'clock, witness discovered ' a man, afterwards found to be Hope, the "person shot, in a paddock on his hands and ■ • knees, about a quarter of .a. mile from aci\ cused's house. Witness-conveyed Hope' to . c an hotel, gave him" something" to ' eat, and •-then led him to the lock-up. lie had seen ■ Hope - several times that same morning,'a '' fow chains away from Hayes's private resid- , •"•voice. Hope informed witness that he had '"■ been shot, . but' hb" know who' had '' '' shot him. ' Hope made a complaint to -wit?" ■ ness. :-■■■ • Dr. William Bey, physician, practising at ' Greytown, saw Hopo on August 19 about ■ 8 p.m. in tho Greytown Police Station, and f ! examined him for lunacy, and found '.him to be ilisane. Hope had since been com- ...' mitted to ; the mental hospital, where he was 1 at present'an inmate. In consequence "of : i :a complaint made to witness by Hope, witness ■ examined his body, fie found three : j\.or four small penotrating wounds, three in the-back of tho\left thigh- and one in the' - back of the right thigh. 1 Tho wounds were ■ - similar in appearance, and had ■ evidently ' . been inflicted within the previous 48 hours. Ho should say that the wounds were '.caused ; by small' gunshot. Tho shot were :in the, ' wounds, and just beneath the - skin. Witness thought, from the manner in which the •-'.'' ■shots had..spread, that they had, beeii fired from some considerable,distance, and thought that they were pretty well'spent. A 'STRANGE STORY. - : • Constable Hugh Douglas Armour, stationed at Groytown, found Hqpe in charge of Tolloy in the lock-up on August 19. -Ho. had : Hopo examined for lunacy that day by Dr. j .! Boy, who also made an examination of his! ' - body. Hope; was committed to the Welling-: ton-Mental Hospital:on August 20..'.0n the • morning of-August". 19, before proceeding, to • Masterton, accused stopped witness a.t his (accused's).gate,• and-said. that'between-.one" i and two o'clock that morning a: man had . ; ..■been prowling about his place. .'Accused { said .that he had fired two shots at the, man , ,- while he was:at, tho gate/ and that he had' 1 'v. afterwards fired two more shots to frighten - him as the'trespasser was on. the road. -..Ac- ,,' cused stated that .clothes beon stolen • v previously, from his; clothes . line, and ho • ■ .thought that ho; had better tell witness about the matter. Witnfss saw accused < again on August 23 and asked him further. - - particulars about the shooting. Hayes then .V stated that on; August 19,. about one, or- two : • in the riiorning, he was awakened by bis dog : barking, and'looking out ; of tho window saw - a . man going through his' garden towards - tho back premises. Accused said he called. • out several times to the man to clear out.: ■ - Tho man made- f no reply,. and. H.ayes .isaitl- . that ho 1 . (Hayes) went inside and got his •gun. The man ran about, thirty yards from the verandah- towards; the gate, and Hayes'fired .two;,'shpts,;,over his head to frighten him. The man-ran across and up the street, and- accused then said . that ho' went inside to get two ' more cart-; :"• ridges. -. The' fugitive then'!ran down ;the t road on the; opposite . side' of. the street, . and when ho got seventy yards from tho .verandah accused fired one more shot over his; - -.head. ,: Accused said then that he fired the; ,: other- shot low down in the.direction.of-.the, v man's legs, just about at the ke'rbing of the • footpath. After tho last "shot was. fired the man cried out, "Oh', and ran towards the town. Accused declared,,that' ho had a valuable .stock': ;of. drapery, on the premises, and'he thought that the,marauder. . might be a local thief. Accused also said he thought .that there were two men'on his . premises on the eventful morning. .' Another shot was "fired, but at the distance he (Hayes) ' ■ did not think'that they , would hurt." .. ..At . the place indicated .by the x accused, where. . >. he fircd' his last, shot,, witness found three shots in the fence., The distance from'where the shot " were embedded in tlie fence to ; Hayes's . residence was from 1 seventy '. to ' seventy-five yards.' Tho gun used, was, a,' double-barrelled shotgun. ,; Allan H. W. Morris, blacksmith, and Mar-- - garet Beard, wife of Ernest Beard, Greytown, , both residing near, accused's house,': also give' evidence. . , •- ' As Hope is at present mentally deranged , ' the police could not put in, any, statement : - from him. ; This closed the case for tho 'prosecutiori.. . ' The accused reserved his defence, and was . committed for trial -at the next criminal : Supreme Court sittings to be held at Wcllington on November 16. Bail was-allowed,' - and forthcoming, accused on his own- recognisances of-£SO and ono surety'of-£SO. ; • In conncction with the ease it ' is' understood that''Hope was mentally afflicted" at the time lie was trespassing lipon Hayes's property, and, there ,is no suggestiorf that • the fusillade-to'which lie" was subjected'caused his present mental distress. ; . ■-