RECRUIT IN COURT

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20057, 2 October 1939, Page 8

RECRUIT IN COURT

SUCCESSFUL APPEAL TWO CHARGES DISMISSED “This young man is to leave Gisborne at 2 a.m. to-morrow to take his place in the forces against depression. He was one of the first to volunteer in this district and has been called up.” This strong appeal was made this morning by Mr. J. S. Wauehop in defending lan Dunsterville Bell, aged 21, a clerk, who was appearing in the Police Court on charges of knowingly using a car without a current license in Ormond road on Saturday morning and with failing to stop at the signal of a policeman. The charges Ware dismissed by Messrs. Chas. Matthews and A. A. Fraser, J.Ps., under section 92 of the Justices of the Peace Act. The prosecution was conducted on behalf of the police by Senior-Ser-geant J. F. H. Macnamara. He said that Bell had been seen by Constable J. Gedye at 2.25 a.m. on Saturday to be driving at a fast pace down (Ormond road. The speed of the car was estimated at 60 m.p.h. and it was seen that the car did not have the current year's piates attached. A short time later the constable saw the vehicle approaching him again and stepped out into the street and flashed his torch. The driver of the car ignored the signal to stop. It was found that the car belonged to a garage and had been taken home by one of the employees and placed in his garage. The defendant had nothing to do with the garage and had no right to drive the vehicle with demonstration plates attached. It was explained by Mr. Wauehop that the car was the demonstration car in the charge of the defendant’s brother. Bell’s car had broken down and ho had gone home to get this car in which he could go and attend to his own vehicle. The defendant admitted that he had not seen the constable, although he had noticed the flashing of a torch near a car in Ormond road. He was malting a voluntary appearance in the court and had been thoroughly frank concerning the charges. Mr. Wauehop said that the defendant was one of the red-blooded ones of the country who should be encour-aged-and that in this case the charges were trivial. The youth had an unblemished character and it would not be fair for him to go away now with two convictions' against his name.

The police declined to withdraw the charges when asked by Mr. Wauehop, but the Bench said they would take inifo (account the general circumstances of the case and dismiss the informations.