SERIES OF TOOL THEFTS

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 351, 11 May 1928, Page 1

SERIES OF TOOL THEFTS

CARPENTERS’ LOSSES

MAN FACES TEN CHARGES A table laden with caroenters’ tools of every description figured in the trial of William Henry Higgins in the Supreme Court this morning, on 10 charges of theft. Higgins pleaded not guilty to the theft of carpenters’ tools of a total value of £56 2s 6d, ranging over a period from November, 1925, to March, 1928. There were 10 charges of actual theft preferred, with the same number of counts of receiving the property. Mr. Justice MacGregor was cn the bench; Mr. Hubble appeared for the Crown; and Mr. Wyatt represented the accused.

Mr. Hubble stated that the charges involved thefts from half-completed houses on the Westmere Estate. They were mean thefts, he said. The evidence in support of the charges would be given by nine carpenters, who had suffered the loss of tools. Three thefts occurred on November 7, 1925, two on other dates, and five on March 9, 1925. Some of the tools were eventually traced to the home of the accused, and when asked for an explanation he first stated that they had been there for over 12 months. He later said he had found them on a rubbish heap near his home. A number of tools, which would be identified by the owners, were found in pawnbrokers’ shops. The case is proceeding.