DARING BURGLARY.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXX, Issue 401, 23 June 1908, Page 2

DARING BURGLARY.

Theft of Jewellery. A sensational occurrence took place on Sunday morning, when a burglar broke the window of a jeweller’s shop in Cuba Street, Wellington, and stole a number of valuable articles worth several hundred pounds. Inquiry elicited the fact that the shop of Mr T. Crouch, jeweller. No 40 Cuba Street, was the scene of the theft, which took place in the darkness 315.30 a.m., before the city was awake. Constable McGregor relieved the constable on duty in Cuba Street, at five o’clock, and passed Mr Crouch’s shop a few minutes before the burglary was committed. The constable was making his way up the street towards Messrs Veitch and Allan’s corner, trying the doors of the shops en route, according to custom, when he heard the sound of breaking glass. He traced his steps trying to locate the place of the occurrence, as he went along and eventually came to the jeweller’s shop owned by Mr Crouch.

Here he found the window of thick plate glass broken, the weapon used to do the damage apparently being a large stone which was found on the footpath. Further investigation revealed the fact that the act had been committed with intent, a quantity of jewellery since found to be mostly rings and a few brooches, stated to be valued at between £4OO and being missing. Mr Crouch, who was sleeping on the premises, heard the sound of breaking glass, but not thinking it was his own front window, took no further notice of it. There were no shutters on the window, the only covering being a canvas screen drawn across the glass. By the time the constable arrived on the spot there was no one about. The thief took a big risk in adopting the crude method of breaking the window with a stone, and would appear to have been a foolish or desperate man. The detective force have the matter in hand.