Police Court.

Feilding Star, Volume XVII, Issue 247, 23 April 1896, Page 2

Police Court.

Wednesday, April 22nd. (Before Dr. Monckton and Mr J. C. Thompson, J's.P.) The following evidence was beard after we went to press yesterday, in the case Police v. J. T. Looney, who was churged wih having stolen a portmanteau, the property of Mr K. \J. Harden, from the Feilding Hotel : Geo. Towler's evidence continued : Accused said if witness would take him some food he (accused) would give witness a' photo of bis brother; accused gave witness one photo, accused said that in two years' time he would receive a fortune. Cross-examined : At first thought the photo was -of accused's brother, but did not think so now. . Thomas Towler, deposed : Was 12 years old ; identified 'accused as theperson he saw on April Bth in Russell street, opposite an old building used by swaggers; accused said he was working on a contract on Waituna road ; accused first gave his name as "Horn" and afterwards said it was "Looney." Geo. Towler, recalled, deposed: At the time accused gave witness the photo, he had three more like it with him. W. G. Robinson, deposed: Drove his father's coach between Feilding •imd Waituna ; knew accused ; on 7th April saw accused at Feilding, when he showed witness a photo similar to one produced ; accused said he got it from Palmerston, and that it was of a relative; on the 11th met accused at Cinder Hill, going in the direction o£ Waituna ; accused gave witness one of three photos be had. Cross-examined : When accused came to Feilding from Waituna, he had a swag- tied up in a flour bag, and ; when witness saw him going home on the 11th, he had the same swag from all appearances. Constable F. 3. Really, deposed: A robbery wos reported from Hastie's on the night of April 6th ; made enquiries and became possessed of the photo produced, from young Towler; on April 12th went to Stormy. Point (Waituna), where accused lived; two photos of Mr Harden were given to witness by accused's mother in the presence of accused, who said he found them by the roadside near Makino ; accused showed witness the locality, and stated it was on the morning of the 11th when he found them; accused said he only found three photos, and admitted having given one- to Robinson; had not arrested accused at this time, but did so on arrival at • the police station. Cross-examined : A list of articles stolen was given to accused it but did ■ not include the photos. : Mr Reade submitted there was no case for the defence to answer, as there was no evidence to show that accused had been near Hastie's hotel that night, or to connect him in any way with the theft. Accused alept out in a shed on the night of the 6th, went for a walk early next morning, and found the photos on the Makino " road. He asked that the case be dismissed. The Bench having decided to hear ; the defence, Mr Reade called Ellen Looney, mother of accused, who deposed : Resided in the village of Welford, near Waituna; accused only had £1 7s 6d when he came to Feilding on Easter Monday ; accused had a swag with him when he left home ; he could read and write very little ; when accused returned on the 11th he said he had some photos which he found ; witness' son was in Waituna on April 2nd ; gave up the photos when they were asked for by the constable ; none of the articles, excepting the photos, alleged to be stolen, were in witness' house ; accused was subject to fits, and that was the only- reason witness could assign for his having given rambling statements. John Thomas Looney (the accused) deposed : Was a laborer residing at Waituna ; came to Feilding on the morning of Easter Monday ; spent his money the same day : during the evening walked about the town and then went to the Salvation Army Barracks . and stayed there till the meeting was over ; after that went to the Empire Hotel for about an hour ; slept that night in a shed; in the morning walked up Makino road, and there found four photos beside a flax bush j had nothing to eat all day on Tuesday and stood outside the racecourse; stayed in a whare in Russell street on Tuesday night ; saw Towler's boy on Tuesday night and asked him to get witness something to eat ; the boy at first refused ; then offered him a photo if he would get witness some food j did tell the boy he (witness) was coming into a fortune, but this was only a "yarn"; stayed in the whare until about 12 noon ; at about 3 o'clock on Bth saw Mr E. Goodbehere, who paid him Vs ; went to Palmerston the same evening by train to see his sister and set work if he could ; returned on Friday night and slept in Feilding j started for home on Saturday morning ; met W. Robinson at Cinder Hill and gave him a photo ; arrived home at about 6 p.m. ; gave the remaining two photos to his mother ; gave the photos to the constable when he asked for them, and could not explain why be (witness) said he found them on Saturday when it was Tuesday morning lie found them. Cross-examined : Must have remained in the Army Barracks for two hours on the night of April 6th ; there were abont six persons at the swaggers' whare on Tuesday night ; did not. know who they were; when be found the photos could see them from the road ; it was abont , eight o'clock when he fpund the photos ; didn't meet anyone while walking up the road towards Makino; went for a walk because he was cold. After retiring for a few minutes the Bench stated they had come to the con« elusion that there was no evidence connecting accused with the robbery, but they could not shut their eyes to the . fact that he had some of the stolen property in his possession. His being in possession of. stolen property bad to be accounted for, but everything accused said in explanation of the manner in which he obtained the. photos was a lie. Under the circumstances they would commit him to trial at the next sitting of the Supreme Court in Wellington, to be held on June 1. . ; "