Pocket Picking Suspected

Levin Daily Chronicle, 9 May 1918, Page 4

Pocket Picking Suspected

TWATJ WORTH £2000 ARRESTED.

INCIDENT IN AUCKLAND CROWD. A man who claims to bo worth something over £2000 was arrested among the crowd at the Auckland Opera House on Saturday night, on the unusual charge that, fceinj; a reputed thief, he frequented a public place with felonious intent. The accused man, who gives the name ofi George Carrick, was observed by Plain-.Clothes Constable McHugh to fall into the queue of people waiting to buy tickets for the performance, to fall out of line when close to the ticket box and to again take a place in the queue further back, and again drop out when he had pushed up near the box once more. This behaviour, coining on top of other matters causing Carrick to be suspected or pocket-picking, resulted in his arrest. He then had on him £160 in cash, and securities for banked sums of over £2000. When brought before Mr F. V. Frazer, S.M., he was charged as Carrick, alias James W. Walker (84), and when Mr W. Hackett' applied on his behalf for bail, the police having asked for a week's remand, Chief Detective McMahon opposed the application for bail. The Chief Detective stated that from papers found on. accused and statements made by him the police had reason to believe that he had not been truthful with the military authorities, and intended to shirk his military obligations. Further, so far as the police knew, accused had done no work since 1914 and yet he had in some way got together a sum of about £2000. His Worship rcni®,rlted that on tne charge accused was not bailable as of right, and he did not feel inclined to grant bail while the police opposed it on the grounds stated. Accused would be remanded for a week, bail not being allowed meantime.