THEFT OF SILVER

Hokitika Guardian, 22 June 1933, Page 6

THEFT OF SILVER

/ * $ ! H *' '' ' \ Wanganui Charge. TAXI-DRIVER FOR TRIAL. WANGANUI, June 21. John Ralph Penney was charged at Me Police ’O'Jurt this morning, with the theft cif isi-lvCr valued at £Bl3, at Wanganui, the property of William 'Toomey, of Auckland. Toomey gave evidence thot he engaged Penney to drive him with the silver from Auckland to We'.lingtoii, on the l evening of June 3. Near Te Kuiti, Penney stopped the ear, and entered some bush on the roadside and was away twenty minutes. During that .interval, witness noticed lights in the rear. When he looked a,»a.tu, the car twa« not there.- At daylight the next morning, on the way to New Plymouth, a Blue Bird taxi cair,-passed 'him.

Ho gave evidence how the car was taken wh'de Penney and he were having ,tea at the Royal Willows, Wan. ganui. On their return to Auckland Penney remarked to witness he thought he would 'be able to get the silver returned to him. William Tew, motor mechanic, of. Auckland, stated Mat Penney asked him to accompany him to Wanganui, to see .a man on urgent business. On the run through, Penney said he was not going to see a man, but to look for the stolen silver. He suggested that If found they could put it in the. upholestery of the car. He detailed how Penney searched on the roadside near Pukirimu road without success, then went nearer to Wanganui, and tunned, with the intention of proceeding to Auckland. On the why, thej ,\yere overtaken by Detective Murray. Detective Walsh stated that when Penney w?s arrested, he denied all knowledge of the ignition key being found tin the taxi when recovered on Braseey Read. While the police were searching for the silver, Penney and Tew cable on the scene, and the former was arrested.

Penney, in a statement to the police, read in .Court, s' a id it was not the fir s t time he had driven Toomev to Wellington with silver, and this fact was known to others in Auckland. A man named Hyman had approached accused several weeks before' this matter _ had developed, and had to'd Penney that he was’ a fool not to get down on the silver. \ He (Hvman) could fix it that the owners of th© silver would not do anything, -'because they -were liable - -to imprisonment, for two years. Hyman had kept- pestering the accused, and.: had suggested that the accused give him th©- keys of liis car, n nd that if the accused could leave the silver in his cal’, he would steal it. That was about six weeks ago, and the accused knew that Hyman, wanted the keys •to hive duplicates made, so that he cOuld get. into the car when there was silver in it.

The accused had not given him thel keys, but about three weeks ago, a man named Glover, also- of Auckland and •a friend of Hyman’s had been permuted by accused to borrow his car. When the keys were handed back to accused, h e noticed that one was.. a. strange one. A day or two later Hyman met accused, and -said he knew that Toomey and a man named Washington''were getting ■a ' swig of silver together to tike to Wellington: “Hyman 'Seemed to be well awaire of everything that wp s doing about the silver,” said the accused, in hi s .statement, which went on to. describe his ■ trip from Auckland, which had given ri s e to the presen t proceed-

ings. , , . . He toW of a “Blue. Bird” taxi, which passed them, and he recognised two men in it afe Hyman and Glover. The accused did not tell Toomey. When accused’s car was taken at. W«ngmui. be had a fair <ide,% that Hynrn and

Glover had turned up. When the car whs found with the silver musing, he recognised the key in the switch, as the original one he bad possessed. The accused’s statement then to d of ne_o Rations in Auckland with the solicitor Mr Singer, and Hyman, niid also an Viter view with Glover, who was in hospital. Glover told him where to Gnd the silver near Wanganui, but the accused's search was without res^t.

Detectives Walsh and Murray gave evidence of an intensive search, which was kept up for 13 days, most of it near the Thirteen (Mi’e Peg north from Wanganui. The s : lver was discovered detective Walsh, H males Rom Wanganub 'The accused was icommiited to b-m Supreme Court .at Wellington for trial.