MAN SENT TO PRISON

Dominion, Volume 28, Issue 100, 22 January 1935, Page 11

MAN SENT TO PRISON

Deal in English Silver A “deal” in English silver at 23/- in the £1 resulted in Erie John Jones, labourer, aged 35, being charged in the Wellington Magistrate’s Court yesterday with the theft of £l3. He was sentenced to three months’ imprisonment by Mr. "W. F. Stilwell, S.M. Detective-Sergeant T. Y’. Hall said that on October 16 accused accompanied by another man, called on a man named Peters and represented that they were engineers on the Port Dunedin. After they had sold Peters a suit and dress length the conversation turned to English silver, and Peters said he had £l3 worth. In the evening another man telephoned Peters, saying that he was second engineer on the Remuera and would buy the silver at 23/- in the £l. The psuedo-engineer arrived with accused and was given the £l3. He then departed, leaving accused until such time as he brought the money to pay. A little later a telephone message was received to the effect that accused had to hurry back to his ship. He left the house, and the silver was gone. Accused was well-known to the police, and associated with criminals. Representing accused, Mr. R. Hardie Boys said that, since he had been released from jail 20 months ago. Jones bad been going straight, and with the assistance of relief work had been keeping his wife and two children. He submitted that there was no premeditation, and both men had gone to the house with the suit and dress lengths genuinely in their possession. As part of the sales talk both said they were marine engineers. Peters had raised the question of their being able to dispose of the silver, and Jones had been let down by the man who represented himself as being on the Remuera. Accused was now taking the burden of the re- . sponsibility.