ADVENTURES OF TO ALLEGED GUNMEN

NZ Truth, Issue 1207, 17 January 1929, Page 1

ADVENTURES OF TO ALLEGED GUNMEN

A 'LITTLE' less "than three, months ago, Newman, alias Kitching, was ■f/^ telephoned by ' Stonor, who wanted to • see him. : The two men met, and Stonor, alias . Stewart, said among other things, "I'm m a hole for cash." He told , his; friend about his circumstances, and, remarking: that he had no alternative but to "make a run for it," he asked Newman to accompany him. Newman agreed, and, Stonor having a car— he was m some way connected with the< Sljaw aviation concern m Melbourne— the two men- set off Without loss of time for Sydney. There the car was. sold for £250. They toured around the Newcastle district for about a week • before deciding to cross the Tasman and come to New Zealand. . -' . v On November 6 the comrades m arms stepped down the gangway of the s.s. Marama at Auckland. Stonor then had about £100 and Newman about £5. '* i They both filled m their declaration forms ( to the effect that- -they were tourists; Newman stating lie would be staying at- the Central, Auckland, and Stonor at Warner's, Christchurch;. To the question as to possession of firearms, they both replied m the negative, though they had with them m their luggage two revolvers, an automatic and a Colt. From November 6 to November 10 the two young men graced' the Central Hotel/with their presence. One of them- entertained other guests with disquisitions on a project which he alleged they w^re interested m, and which ;bore the grand title- of "The New Zealand Aerial Service." / They spent, much, of their time scouting around the city and making friends. 'In a subsequent statement to the pplice, .Stonor §aid that it was the two men's intention^ to set up m busi-> ness as "motor brokers." This schemedid not materialise. Probably they were too busy entertaining their- new-found friends, and holding little parties !at

night and m the early morning.

For a brief while Stonor contrived to maintain the illusion that he was a | moneyed man and Newman was his secretary. Through an estate agent they rented a furnished house at 11, Liverpool Street, Epsom; and, to uphold their social status., Stonor rented a car- from Snorter's garage, paying a deposit, of £26. Thence for a while the pace was quite giddy. Stonor and his fairhaired young secretary hit the high

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In Their Statements to trie Police, the Men Charged With Westfield Holdup Say They Lost Their Nerve and Forgot to Take Money That Was Hidden In The Back o£^ommandeered Motor-car

ACCUSATIONS OF PASSING FRAUDULENT CHEQUES

(From "NZ. Truth's" Special Auckland Representative)

Little did PATRICK JOHN NEWMAN, alias ROY. P. KITCHING aged twenty, a native of Victoria, realize that a telephone call he received one day m ( Melbourne, from his friend, DONALD McAFLL STONOR, an American, aged twenty seven, alias DAVID McKLNZIL STEWART, .was to bring him within the embrace of the. law m New Zealand. To that call he can attribute the fact that he stood m the dock at Auckland a. few days ago with Stonor, charged with several serious offences including alleged robbery underarms. „ '•-/>' ,..-."' ' • Both men,' pleading not guilty, were committed for trial.

spots to some order; , so much so that their neighbors sat; up and took notice, and\ grudgingly conceded that youth must have its fling, even at the expense of their sleep, .' which (was pftenMistiirbed u^f the .early hours More^tHan^'6ne^s^ social standing' partook of their hospitality, : and at least one member of the legal profession swallowed their tale, hook, line 'and sinker, while he enjoyed their convivial company.

The housekeeper they employed was not desired jto make /her 'appearance before 10 a.m. and left at. about 5 p.m. What with 'entertaining lavishly and rushing about m their rented car, the pair kept the pace, up on all cylinders while the cash lasted. All good things come to an end at last; and it was on November 24 that Ston.br- found they had come to an end of. their resources. In Newmans words, . S.tonor decided that it "was mecessary to .."rake up some." ' . . .-.• :'•'-'■' . . With this idea An view, Stonor, it is alleged, presented' a cheque: to Miss Winnie Turner,"'- - tlie ; Central Hotel booking clerk, to an account for £3/7/6, 'collecting cash /, for; £20 m change. ' * .' Stonor, said Newman, then suggested - holding tip a car, on its way back from the Te Kuiti races.. Acting on this suggestion, they . scouted out the locality near the Westfield deviation and picked ' a suitable spot on November 26. - From their statements' to .the police, it appears that Stonor worked out the

details of the propqsed hold-up, ahd Newman Avas sent to buy two boxes of tacks as a 'precaution against pursuit. Then; ; m the cosy little bungaloAV AA'hich had . been the scene of much revelry by night, they made two black ■.masks.' out. of, • 'a .pair- of stockings, ! y.~nat>ei^ black handkerchiefs across the. lOAver half of their- faces. • Before they 'set out on the adventure, Newman armed himself Avith the automatic and his Yankee friend Avith the Colt.' '•■'■■. Having hidden the car, they erected a barricade an d ■ _ agreed to wait until Stonor said: "Right." But it i s one thing to scheme a highAva'y robbery m. the; comfortable seclusion of a furnished house, and quite another . to carry it into 'successful execution, and it seems that at this juncture .their nerves began to Aveaken a little. Stonor said m his statement: "We waited for some, time, and several cars came along and stopped at the barricade, but neither of us had the courage to accost the drivers." Neither of them related how a hefty indiAddual climbed out of one car AA'hen

it came to the obstruction, and, m his annoyance said: "I'd like to get hold of the man who put this here." They did not attempt to gratify his desire! " ' Continuing his statement, Stonor said: . . "Finally a car came along containing five people, who were . obviously more or less intoxicated, and we decided that we might be able .to cope with them, due to their condition. "I climbed on to the running board, and Kitching got on< the other, and we made them drive up the road a bit and stop alongside a stone-crusher, where we ordered them out, and. .got them to remove their coats _ and vests and put them m the back of 4 the car.. ■ . "Although the automatic - pistol was empty and m- — " ~ " . •>. ■ , operative, we figured • that ..it' would be the most impressive, so Kitching had this, as he was, the man on the driver's side. .1 had the other gun m my pocket,. as. l was holding the flashlight and needed the other hand ;to hold on with." . From /then on the amateur Claude Duvals made a sorry hash of their first alleged attempt at the highwayman business. . . - ' Stonor said; "Due to our excitement and fear, we made a very poor job of searching their clothing, and (referring to the car when it had been driven up the : road) ,1 completely forgot • about V! the money m the car." ;. , The advent of the ■ motor-cycle

Put Tacks On Road

Revolvers Found

alarmed them, they said, and they, got under way after sprinkling ' the road Avith tacks. / Newman had the position at the window of the car. Stonor had handed him the .Colt, which instructions, •to fire it •dh^'.;the'.^aAr';.. J tO f ; .frighten«the r rPttr-suer.s.;-^Newma* :^ai»r.. the Colt went' off accidentally, and half a hiimite later the pursuing motor-cycle-stopped. Newmans account of the hold-up is as naive as it is interesting. Pie said: "The driver demurred (when he was told to drive." up the road a bit) and ■'.. told me to stop my funny business. The . lady became hysterical and held out her bag, and said, '■Take, all there is ".-. m it, but don't shoot him; Aye have three children at home.' "I Avas frightened that they Avere going to go' for me, and I called to Stonor, Avho had a man bailed> \ip on the other side. Stonor came over and enforced my order re taking off their coats." i All through .this one member of the. car party, Len Manson, Avas sleeping, and it Avas" only just before they Avere starting to move away m the car that they discovered him. Stonor pulled Manson out, Newman said m his statement, and apparently they Avasted

no time on him, being anxious to get away. About 1.30 a.m. they reached their house again m a state which can be well imagined though not described by either man. They lost no time m getting under cover, though they left the masks and guns m. the car. "We spent a very sleepless night," said Newman,, "expecting • the arrival of the police' at any' moment." - Soon after . daylight, leaving the house m the car, they made for New-market,-and there allegedly cashed a cheque at £lutchinson's' for five pounds, after which they sped, via Devonport, for Scott's Point, and . on to . Kaikolie, and later . \. to Ninety Mile "—■—"" • ' Beach.' . They returned to Kaikohe about December 5, practically penniless. They were' arrested, there on December 7 by .Constables Wolfendale and Duddy, to Whom 'they gave the names, of White and Davies. The constables discovered m the pedestal at the head of the bed m their room the loaded Colt and fifteen rounds of ammunition and the automatic. Questioned about the weapons, Newniah said, „"I . have nothing to say." Siorior replied, "It would not be wise to admit ; beirig the owners, of things like that." -„'■' • '....-' .' ' That .the two men were arrested as | promptly as they were Avas due to the deductions of Detective-sergeant Doyle |

and Detective O'Sullivan, who were, m charge of the case.

A search of., tiie house Stonor and -Newman" -had occupied brought. to light ■jspme niud-staine'd -trousers and a coat. '■ vising the passing of the £5 cheque as. .%'. reason 'for' swearing out ai warra/^t, . -linG^&e^ettves-^ on. this 'message tnat Constables Wol-' fendale and Duddy • acted, and appre-.; hended the men. Confronted by the detectives at Whangarei they made the statements which were handed to Magistrate. Hunt when they made their appearance before him. at Auckland on January 7. Standing m the dock, the two .alleged highwaymen, W/ho, m spite 'of their statements to the police, had through the mouths of their counsel pleaded not guilty, did not give the impression of -.being- very disturbed at the series, of charges levelled . against them and they occasionally whispered to one another. " Stonor, the taller of the two, lias rather American features, and wears glasses. ' Newmans pale eyes frequently searched the court, as if looking for somebody. The hearing of the evidence occupied most of the day. . -The charges Comprised robbery under arms; robbing Samuel and Grace Henderson and Geoi-ge Holland, and assault with intent to rob Leonard M. and Robert E. Manson; also discharg l ing a, revolver with, intent to do grievous bodily harm to the brothers Henry B. and Percy Fletcher and Douglas ■_ Wallace. Stonor -and Newman were fur-ther-charged with obtaining £5

from George Walsh, Hutchinson's . Newmarket manager, by means of a valueless cheque; credit' by fraud from Hutchinson Bros, to the extent of £12 odd;Vfrom Smeeton's, .,. Ltd., £6/11/-, and from Winnie Turner, of the Central Hotel, £23/7/6 by means '■■ of valueless cheques. !.',-' . When Detective-sergeant. Doyle -was about to read the statements from, the witness-Dox Lawyer Cocker, appearing for Stonor, made a most emphatic protest. - - " , ' He did not -want the statements admitted as evidence, he' said. He did hot wish to give his reasons for this action, but lie would do so if forced. Magistrate Hunt replied that -if counsel wished to attack the statements, he should do so then, and; there,adding, "I have no jurisdiction to -with-^ hold them from the press." ' ' : After argument, Lawyer Cocker' ; announced that his objections,. might be embarrassing to the police.- . He >sug~ gested . that inducements' had ,been offered. " ' ;•. '. ° - •Lawyers Cocker and' Buisson v(for Newman) both eventually' agreed that the objection should be noted, and the hearing proceeded after ,S.M. Hunt .had read the 'statements. . ■ : Newman,, who has all the appeaV-. ances, of a' delicate youth with a weak mouth '.and not unpleasing features, terminated his statement . thus: "My relatives; occupy a good position m Victoria, and I am anxious to return to them. I .would never have left home but. for the influence of Stonor, and I would hot have been mixed up m this trouble had I not acted under his guidance!" : ' .".'-.'''..;", ; ' The latter portion of Stonpr's statement reads: "I ' should like to. .'point out that this .hold-up was unpremeditated and, was perpetrated .solely because of -our. ; immediate.. need! of funds. We; had ho intention of ! harming ''any' of ,tlie^'6ccu'p^rits-..0f.-'the" i car|'i'as-'.a'.' ( matter' | of fact,' the only weapon which' was j

With his brother m the pursuit of the two hold-up men m the car^— v Harry Fletcher.

presented at the people 'was one that was unloaded and inoperative. We have both very much regretted the | whole affair, ahd are sincerely sorry for having engaged m it." After expressing his willingness to make good the money the people con^ cerned lost, he adds, "We are both m a position to cable pur families for,, funds." . ' When asked how they\ pleaded ' before being committed-.to the Supreme Court for trial, both men .replied, '"Not, guilty."