LAKEFRONT FRACAS

Taupo Times, Volume 20, Issue 5, 21 January 1971, Page 1

LAKEFRONT FRACAS

A fracas on Taupo 's lakefront late last Friday night involving five car-loads of Taupo youths and four youths from Wellington was described by Senior Sergeant R. Moncur in the Taupo Magistrate's Court on Tuesday Two of the Taupo youths appeared before Mr M. C. Astley S.M., in the Magistrate's Court while one other offendor appeared in the Children's Court. Eafl Dennis Torrey, 20 glazier, (Mr J. R. Nashf pleaded guilty to a charge of using threatening behaviour. Senior Sergeant Moncur

said that at 11.45 p.m. last Friday four young men from Wellington were sleeping in their van in a parking area off Lake Terrace when five carloads of Taupo youths arrived and threatened them. Bottles were thrown at the van and a window on the van was broken. Registration After the melee one of the van occupants went to a car, driven by Torrey, in an attempt to find out the car s registration number. Torrey became abusive and said that if the matter was reported to the police he would see that ' they didn t walk again". He also said that he would "knock their blocks off ". When the complainants later reported the matter to the police they said that at the time the threat was made they had a genuine fear for they had a genuine fear for their safety. Mr Nash asked for a discharge for his client under

/ Section 42 of the Crimes Act. He said Torrey was a late arrival at the scene of the fracas and was not there when the bottles were thrown and the window smashed. Torrey had tried to stop the disturbance by telling the other youths to clear out, he said. Couldn't Mr Astley said he could not possibly agree to a discharge for an offence of this nature. "It would have been obvious to Torrey that these four innocent young men had been beset by a gang and they had every right to seek all assistance possible from the law enforcement authority," he said. Torrey was fined $75 and ordered to pay court costs $5. Allan Joseph Mischewski, 18, spare parts assistant, pleaded guilty to a charge of disorderly behaviour. He was represented by Mr J. WittenHannah. Senior Sergeant Moncur said Mischewski was noticed

trying to slash one of the van's front tyres with a broken beer bottle. He was unsuccessful and then he started letting the air out of the tyre. He then threw beer inside the van. Bush Accident Mr Witten-Hannah also sought a discharge for his client He said that nearly a year agd Mischewski was involved in a bush accident resulting in the loss of a leg. Adapting to normal life he had tried hard to be one of the boys and this had been his undoing, he said. Mr Astley again refused to consider a discharge. He described the actions of the gang as degrading violent and dangerous in many respects. It was obvious that they were a cowardly gang who had been drinking too much, he said Mischewski was fined $150 with $5 court costs