SERGEANT MAGUIRE'S DEATH

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 366, 18 April 1910, Page 5

SERGEANT MAGUIRE'S DEATH

THE INQUEST. "WILFULLY S1I0T." Palmer.s'ton North, Saturday. * An inquest touching the death of'tha late Sergeant Maguire was held to-day before Mr. A. D. Thomson', S.M., Acting* Coroner, and a jury of six. Dr. Martin gave evidence that death' was caused by septic peritonitis, due to the effect of a gun wound, and the shot had been a richochet From the nature of the wound lie judged that the shot bad been fired at close quarters, there being considerable blackening round the wound. The track of the wound was upward?'. U e thought the shot was fired sideways or upwards from the ' ground, and cither both men were lying down or the Sergeant was standing above t lie man who fired. Dr. Martin also read the statements made by deceased shortly before ■ Jiis death, which were to the'effect that he could not swear it was Powelka with whom he struggled. The man had a big hard hat or. He had struck the man in the faea '■•"itli him haudciiHV, ;nul th ~y closed and fell to the ground. lie called Detective Quartcrniam, and the latter eame. an<l fivel Uvn slioK was certain that Powelka fired the first shot, which was the bullet that "•tiiH'k him. lie was lying on the ground when he was struck. Div Martin also deposed that the .bullet produced by Inspector ilson as being one of those in the revolver fired bv Quarter], lain was totally different to that extracted from the deceased. Inspector Wilson deposed to having received the cartridge and revolver from Detective Quartermain. The bullet taken from the cartridge in Quartermain'.s was diderent ;n structure, size and weight to that extracted from deceased. *nb-Tn«peHr O'Donovan, in evidence, said that. Mignire had, in reply to a question In witness as to why he had not taken n revolver with him, said "I'm ail 1 didn't. I would not have used it at any rale, and T might have shot him. but I'm better pleased that he shot me." The account of Mr. Hampton, owner of thi> house where the shooting incident took place, was' that lie saw a man lie thought was Powelka go into hia garden. ITe fetched the police, and while he and Detective Quartermain were searching the orchard, Magnire being ill the front of the house, he heard two frightened squeals, which he thought he ri cognised as Powelka's v He and QuarteTmain rushed back on to the front lawn, where two men were struggling. Whm some yards awav they saw a flush, and Quartermain at once fired in that direction. It mis dark, and they didn't sec the sergeant's' assailant escape. ; , |;

Detective Qnnrtermain said that when they readied the lawn it was too dark to see any thins;', lint lie saw a flash and heard a report", and l llleu >HW a Jigni'e standing up. The Hash came from that figure, and lie fired at it. It was too dark to be sure who the man was, and they were giving chase when they found Sergeant Maguire 011 the ground. Y\ hile they paused to see what was wrong, the iran camped. Serjeant Maguire told the' 1 witness at the time that lie had closed with the man they saw, and both had tfalien to the ground. The other man was up first, and bad the sergeant shot while he was lying on the ground. Detective Siddels deposed to having found a green cap lying on the lawn after the shooting incident, and Albert Robertson identified the cap as having 'been stolen, with some food, from his house on the Saturday night prior to the shooting. I The jury returned a verdict that the j deceased, John Patrick llackett Magtiire died at the public hospital, Palmerston North, 011 the 14th dav of April. l!' 10 from the effects of a gun wound wilfully inflicted by the man with whom he was grappling while endeavoring to arrest him at Karle Hampton's property in Ferguson street east 01; Sunday-, April 10th, 1910." SERGEANT MAG-LURE'S FUNERAL. A LENGTHY CORTEGE. Wellington, Last tfight. The burial of Sergeant Maguire took place this afternoon at Karori Cemetery. There was a very large a tendance, and the hearse was preceded and surrounded •by nearly a hundred members of the police force. About seventy cariages l followed, and there were many peojple 071 foot. The cortege was about half a mile long. THE GENESIS OF POWELKA. (Manawatu Times). 4,-i PoweJka, who is suspected of the shooting of Sergeant McGuire, and whose name has been 011 everyone's lips during the past fortnight, has had a meteoric career of notoriety. He is but 22 years of age, and up till recently, when his domestic differences were revealed, was unknown to the police. It was only through that fact that his connection with the extraordinary thefts of furniture, clothing, etc., were revealed. He was well known to many in the Kinibolton district (where his people reside), ■ and in the Feilding, Ashhurst and Palmerston districts, where he was employed in delivering meat for various butchers, and at the Palmerston abattoirs. All Ms employers speak well of him as industrious, honest and obliging. Hje was also liked by his customers. He was, though not looking a strong man, possessed of greater reserve strength, a'id was in the habit of handling 30011) guar l ters of beef with ease at the abattoirs. He was teased by men occasionally and when -so teased showed fierce temper, and on one occasion after a dispute over A hose at the abattoirs vvitli one of the workers, who was his room-mate, startled that individual by threatening to "do for him" with his revolver if it ever occurred -asain, producing the revolver at the same time. The man was so im- j pressed that -he fled. Powelka had a reputation as a revolver shot, as 1 -lie used to shoot rats running at the abattoirs with his weapon (which is now in the possession of the nolice), and also shot rabbits with it. both feats which not one man in ten thousand would find himself able to accomplish. At the abattoirs he appeared to- go practically out of his mind for a time and threatened to commit suicide. This lasted some days and his employers urged him to take n liolidav and offered to keep his billet open. After two or three davs i he broke awav to drown himself in the lagoon. hut was nursued and cantitred bv Mr. Anderson before reaching it. He struggled fiercely with his captors but directly the nolice came, became quite I calm and said he would sro ouiot.lv with them if they did not handcuff him. Ilej 1 became a patient at the Palmerston Hospital, where he was operated upon j by Dr. -Martin, a very large abcess be-' ing removed from his side and imrtions . of three ribs. The man was at the verge of death, but was pulled through. He was pathetically fearsome of death, but with the nurses and others n.t the institution he became n favorite. Diurimr this time he was constantly visited by ' his future wife, and shortly after coming out of the institution was married to her. Then came the beginning of that acquaintanceship with the nolice. which so rapidlv developed that the man who is not yet convicted of anything has become a hunted outlaw with a price unon his head, known the world over as "The notorious Powelka." oy "The dangerous criminal Powelka." and against whom a series of charges will be made, whenever lie is caught. from nrett-v larceny to murder. It is not necessarv to recapitulate the story of the wav in which be furnished his bouse, but it is interestingl to recall thnt whiV the circumstance would suggest that ho must necessarily have had an accomplice in the getting of his furnitirre. 110 ono but himself has vet been eh'Timd. The discovery that he was the lont-r>d-fnv mirloinor of other people'* good- 1,- as directly due to h's nintrinien'-tl tvtmb'pa, fny it. was when a coirst-bli to the hou=e w'+h Mr=. Prv<-"'t.-„ to Tpt "wav her wlyV fiiv-aolf vis clotaineri at +I ID noV°e that lie the nrH.-'os *hnt hj" were '■'wiltprl," a' If l i"vn- li '"'°t!Ori ,1 "- sultcl in mo't M-Hlin" rli-covries. The arrest, the committnl'for trial, and file two oscnnos lirinr th" m *r> the ovpTits that nrp fre;'h in everybody's TiMiid, fulminating in the tragedy-of "McGiiive's .Vntli. of which Powelka is suspected to have been the cause. MANUFACTURING COPY. Says the Palmerston Standard:— Anion? the many sensational and untrue statement' published by contemporaries was one to the effect that SubTncnector O'Dnnovan issued firearms, in eoiinection with the PoweTka scare in Palmerston. to persons outside the ip-

lice force. This was such a serious] statement that the Police Commission-1 er's office has been called upon to deny I it. Those who are acquainted with Sub- J Inspector <VDonovan are aware that hej is opposed to the carrying of gun- :.il | revolvers by citizens, and we o;ih:.j. mi- 1 derstand any reputable joir:.al laying such a charge at his door.-,. The police have experienced a very trying time in -Palmerston during the past week, and their difficulties have been increased by the vagaries of some newspaper writers < who appear to think that the Force exists merely for their benefit, and that when no ' information is forthcoming they are Vicing unjustly treated. The police have also been subject, to untair criticism by a number of street-corner "inspectors" and "sergeants," but any statements by the latter require to he well investigated before receiving publication.